Steel Soviet Union

Malashenko's first reaction when he heard what Wittmann said was that he was quite surprised, but he didn't wait too long and then asked back with a smile.

"Then based on this, you should be confident, right?"

Faced with Malashenko's tentative question, Wittmann did not hesitate and immediately smiled.

"Comrade Commander, only those who have both courage and confidence can lead to victory. Victory will favor the brave, not the cowards who have no confidence."

"Well, that's true, very good!"

Today, Wittmann is over fifty, older than Malashenko, who is about to enter the fifty-year-old threshold, but the confidence of being an armored elite is still on his face.

Thinking back to the war years, Malashenko lamented that it was not easy to transform Wittmann into what he is today.

Wittmann's transformation went through many stages.

At first, I just realized that the people who committed various crimes against humanity were just a piece of shit, and everything I had trusted in the past were all lies.

But at that time, Wittmann was still unwilling to accept Krauser's repeated good advice, and was unwilling to "fight for General Malashenko" like his elder brother.

The good news is that if you don't accept it, you won't accept it, but at least during this period, Krauser is no longer scolded so bloody.

Malashenko, who learned about this situation from Krauser's report, was not in a hurry. He signaled to Krauser that he could stop there and not be in a hurry. Since he really planned to retain Wittmann to make it effective, he had to Take things slowly, being too anxious will only be counterproductive.

Knowingly, Krauser followed the order. The real turnaround came not long after Malashenko officially took over as the commander of the East German cluster and was promoted to the rank of general.

Krauser, who was proficient in intelligence work, was transferred to the Stasi by Malashenko to do the work he loved and was good at. He changed places and continued to work for "the benevolent General Malashenko".

Wittmann, who had already prospered in the East German army, also saw what he saw and believed it, and took the initiative to come to Malashenko shortly after he officially took office. For the first time in his life, he took the initiative to express his gratitude to Malashenko for what happened that year.

Malashenko, who didn't care about these trivial details, was very generous. He waved his hand casually to indicate that these nonsense didn't really matter. He told Wittmann that as long as he could work well in the Germans' own East German army, it would be the greatest reward for him. That's all it takes.

"Comrade Commander, you are distracted."

"Huh? Ah, yes, it's a bit, um——"

Malashenko, who was still recalling those events in his mind, was "awakened" by Wittmann. He sat on the sofa in his office and reached for the magazine next to him. He raised the cover to signal to Wittmann. Then he handed it to him and spoke at the same time.

"Look at this, the latest issue of Time magazine from the United States. Not only is I written in it, but you are also written in it. Just like before, a good word cannot come out of a dog's mouth."

He took the magazine handed over by Malashenko and carefully looked at the portrait of the commander on the cover.

Wittmann, who found that the painting was quite "lifelike", raised his hand and opened the magazine again. He suddenly discovered that the first special report at the top of the magazine was Malashenko, and he quickly found it in the content. own name.

And as Malashenko said, the descriptions and descriptions in the reports really don’t sound good.

He used dazzling descriptions such as "Malashenko's armored hound" and "modified red SS killing machine" to describe it, exaggerating Wittmann's achievements back then, intending to point out that even if Even the most ferocious villain will lose his mind and become a slave both physically and mentally if he falls into the hands of Malashenko. This is the most terrifying thing about the "Iron Butcher".

"How do you feel after reading it?"

Before he put down the magazine in his hand, Malashenko from the side followed him with questions in fluent German.

Wittmann, who closed the magazine and shook his head slowly, was not too surprised.

"I have seen this kind of nonsense and clichés too much, Comrade Commander. The enemy is afraid of you and every comrade who unites around you. They will not hesitate to slander and insult you with long speeches, but I think it is precisely because of this that their innermost feelings are exposed. The fear that cannot be concealed.”

"If they really don't care about their enemies, then they shouldn't be like this. Just like a lion ignores a wild dog on the roadside, but the wild dog on the roadside keeps barking at the lion."

"Um"

After hearing this, Malashenko was noncommittal and just nodded, then changed the topic and got the topic back on track.

"You just said that if you defeat the leader's army, this matter will actually have no bad impact."

"The war years have been behind us for a long time. Although we do not hope that it will return again, we must always be prepared when it comes back again."

"The Leader's Army has not fought for a long time. Now, from the grassroots commanders to the soldiers, most of them are from a generation that has never been on the battlefield. I hope to effectively test the current strength of the Leader's Army. Since the best way is On the training ground of a live-fire confrontation exercise, you should find an "opponent" that is comparable in strength to the leader's army, but it is best not to be well known by the leader's army to discuss and communicate with each other. "

"After much thought, I think the most suitable person is you, Wittmann. Your 7th Tank Division is strong enough and relatively unfamiliar to the leadership. Your systems, tactics, campaign tactics and military doctrines are all different. "

Having finished speaking, Malashenko paused for a moment, determined to see which of the two elites was the strongest, and then continued.

"If you can really defeat the leader army on the training ground, then this is your ability and your strength, and there will be nothing inappropriate about it."

"As the director of this exercise, I will be present throughout the exercise to observe the exercise. I am also preparing an annual report on the development of the East German troops. The performance of your division in this exercise will be crucial. , so remember to behave well and show your true skills, okay?”

Upon hearing that the performance of this exercise would involve the annual report of all East German troops, Wittmann had to pay more attention and immediately answered after Malashenko reconfirmed his request.

"I understand, Comrade Commander, I will do my best."

"But I still have a question, what is the size of the participating troops? I mean, is the entire leadership force involved in this exercise?"

The answer is obviously not like this, Malashenko, who shook his head and laughed, quietly replied.

"How is that possible? If the entire leader's army attacks one of your divisions, this exercise will be meaningless."

"Our purpose is to find deficiencies in the exercise and make improvements, find out problems and mistakes and solve them. So the actual leadership force participating in the exercise is the same size as your division, but you still can't take it lightly."

"Iushkin will personally command the most elite troops of the leader's army to attack your defense area. The strength and technical equipment of both sides are 1:1, and their strength is evenly matched."

"Go all out, Comrade Wittmann, I'm looking forward to seeing what the final result will be."