This is hell, and the Finns are the devils. This is the consensus of many Soviet and Russian soldiers who participated in the war. The harsh weather and complex terrain hindered and offset the advantages of Soviet mechanization. Now, without the cover of infantry, the Soviet tanks cannot even
Dare to attack alone. Finnish soldiers often lurk on the roadside and wait until the lone Soviet tank passes by. They quickly stuff the frozen wood into the tank's tracks, turning the originally majestic tank into a motionless one.
turtle shell, wait until the tank crews come out to inspect the tank, and then kill them one by one.
Finnish soldiers also used a large number of Molotov cocktails invented in the Spanish Civil War, which were used to contain petroleum, phosphorus, accelerants and other substances in glass bottles and other containers, causing great damage to Soviet positions and vehicles. Since most of them used wine bottles as containers, Finnish soldiers would
It was called "This is a cocktail for Molotov", so "Molotov Cocktail" became another name for petrol bombs. Usually, just throw the "Molotov Cocktail" into the back of the Soviet tank, and use
Before long, no matter how big they are, they will turn into blazing torches.
In this war, the dogmatism of the Soviet military was so serious that it was almost outrageous. On January 2, 1940, a Soviet logistics force of hundreds of people and thousands of mules and horses were killed in the war.
On the way forward, they were surrounded by Finnish troops. When they asked their superiors for instructions through the radio, they received an order to hold on where they were. So this team that resolutely obeyed the order all starved to death after holding on for four days, and they would not die until they died.
Not even a single horse was slaughtered to satisfy hunger. The reason was that these horses were the property of the Soviet Russian government and they did not receive an order to slaughter the horses. So, when all these Soviet soldiers starved to death, the Finnish soldiers happily
Received the property of these Soviet Russian political axes.
"There is a lack of experienced military commanders, the command is dogmatic, and the political commissar supervises the military commanders." The mistakes made by Stalin were destined to be paid for by countless Soviet soldiers. In the first week of the offensive, the Soviet army used nearly 50,000 weapons
The cost of the corpses was only eight square kilometers of land. This move made the Soviet officers sigh: Our efforts over the past week have yielded enough cemeteries to bury the fallen soldiers.
The moonlight quietly shines on the silver-white snow. Soviet soldiers are drinking vodka around piles of bonfires. The Soviet soldiers who have been attacking for a day are physically and mentally exhausted. Many of their partners have left forever.
Human world.
"Bang" a dull gunshot was heard in the silence, and a Soviet soldier who was warming himself by the campfire suddenly came down. There was a sudden commotion around, and many Soviet soldiers raised their guns and fired randomly at the surroundings.
A dozen more Soviet soldiers fell to the cold snow amidst the gunfire. The Soviet soldiers had superior strength, but they did not know how many enemies were shooting at them from what direction in the dark night, so they could only jump furiously on the spot.
.This is the pyre tactic that Su Tong summed up based on the experience of later generations and specially asked Fan Bingbing and others to teach the Finns in advance.
The so-called "wood pile" means that when Finns cut down trees, they have the habit of gathering the wood into piles and leaving them for later processing. The Finnish army took advantage of the fact that the Soviet army was unable to leave the road, and constantly conducted fire reconnaissance to first identify the Soviet military units involved in the exchange of fire.
Then, roadblocks were continuously built according to the direction of the troop's march, and the Soviet troops were quickly isolated from divisions to battalions, and even company-level units. Due to the unknown battle situation, it was difficult for the Soviet troops to rescue each other from head to tail, so the Soviet company-level units
will be annihilated by several companies or even battalion-level troops of the Finnish army; the Soviet battalion-level troops will be harassed, broken through, isolated, and annihilated again. Moreover, the Finnish army sometimes pretends to be Soviet soldiers to direct traffic and
Entire Soviet supply convoys were guided to the Finnish defense lines, so a large number of Soviet weapons often fell into the hands of the Finns.
The Finnish army's small unit wore white snow trench coats, paddled sleds, and held Springfield sniper rifles supported by the Chinese government. They accurately shot and killed the lone small group of Soviet troops from a distance of 600 meters. The results were very significant. .
Due to the continuous flow of supplies from the Chinese government through air channels, the Finns' resistance was very fierce, and the Soviet casualties were extremely heavy. By late January 1940, in just one month, , the number of casualties of the Soviet army has reached an astonishing 130,000. Such huge casualties gave the fanatical Soviet authorities a wake-up call. The wise Comrade Stalin finally realized that it would not work to use political commissars instead of military commanders to direct the war. The fanaticism and courage of the political commissar can never replace the military talent of the military commander. The result of amateurs taking over the command can only drag the soldiers into hell.
In the war room located in the Kremlin staff headquarters in Moscow, Stalin sat in front of a huge desk, looking at the sand table in front of the desk in silence. The atmosphere at the scene was so tense that it almost solidified. The huge casualties of the participating troops made those fanatical people The staff realized that Zhukov's worries were correct. The worries of the guy they once called a coward have now come true one by one.
Stalin's glance at the bearded man was trembling, and the pencil in his hand was pinched so hard that it almost broke. From the corner of his eyes, he glanced at the staff officers who looked high-spirited just a few days ago. Stalin was very conflicted in his heart. He was considering whether to Zhukov, who had been driven home by him a few days ago, was recalled, but Stalin soon made up his mind.
"Comrade Vasilevsky," Stalin said, "now go to Comrade Zhukov's house in person and invite him here."
Vasilevsky and the surrounding staff were stunned when they heard this. With Stalin's arrogance and paranoia, there were very few people who could say the word "please" from his mouth. In Soviet Russia, there were few people who could be worthy of Stalin's use of the word "please". Except for the deceased Umyanov and a few other comrades, Stalin had never used this word to anyone.
Vasilevsky was still very smart. He immediately knew that Stalin was preparing to re-enable Zhukov, but he also believed that only Zhukov, a veteran of many battles, could clean up the mess in this situation. As for some people who were worried about Stalin before I can't save face, so I'm embarrassed to call Zhukov out. Please, how much is a pound of face? For politicians, the most valuable thing is face.
At Zhukov's home, he was having lunch with his wife Kiyevna. Vasilevsky's sudden visit surprised them both. Seeing the major general who took charge of the battle plan against Finland on his behalf, the eyes of the major general were sunken. With his hair messy and in a hurry, Zhukov knew there must be something wrong with the Finnish front line.
"Comrade Zhukov, we are in trouble in the war against Finland. Comrade Stalin asks you to rush to the staff headquarters within half an hour." Vasilevsky said straight to the point as soon as he entered the door.
Zhukov was stunned for a moment and nodded lightly, but did not move at all. Regardless of his wife Kiev's urging eyes and Vasilevsky's anxious look, Zhukov still ate his meal slowly and methodically. About half an hour later Then he stood up and walked slowly to the door, took his clothes and hat, and went out with Vasilevsky.
The two soon arrived at the war room of the Kremlin. As soon as Zhukov entered the door, he found Stalin sitting at his desk and looking at him with bright eyes.
"Comrade Stalin, I'm sorry I'm an hour late." Zhukov saluted.
Stalin had a temper. He would not allow his subordinates to be late for meetings, even for one minute. When Zhukov rushed to the war room, it was already 2:05 in the afternoon. Zhukov took a closer look and saw that in the war room, there were members of the Political Bureau of the Soviet Central Committee.
Almost all the committee members were present, and everyone looked at Zhukov in astonishment. At this time, Stalin had absolute authority in Soviet Russia.
The room was eerily quiet. After a while, Stalin said: "No, you are one hour and five minutes late." But then he said with a smile: "Sit down and listen to the report first. Are you hungry?"
If you are hungry, you can talk while eating."
As the commander-in-chief of the Soviet army, Stalin did not blame Zhukov for being late. He knew that Zhukov had resentment in his heart, so Stalin actually admitted his previous mistakes in this way.
"No need, Comrade Stalin, I came here to accept the task." Zhukov said simply.
"Well done, Comrade Zhukov, the motherland needs people like you." Stalin said approvingly: "Now our troops on the Finnish front line are fighting very hard, with heavy casualties. Now the front line needs a capable commander.
I immediately thought of you. Comrade Zhukov, I give you an authorization. All the troops there are under your command. You can take whoever you need to take. You can choose the people you need most from the entire army.
." Stalin's words meant that he had great trust in Zhukov.
Zhukov said without thinking: "Comrade Stalin, I need to mobilize some troops of the Don Front. They are all soldiers and officers who have experienced hundreds of battles."
Stalin agreed without even frowning, "Okay, how much do you want to mobilize?"
Zhukov smiled, "Comrade Stalin, if I need to mobilize 700,000 troops to deal with the Finns, that would be too much for them. Can the Finns even compete with the Chinese with their few broken guns? I only need to mobilize 700,000 troops this time."
One hundred thousand people will be enough."
Stalin smiled at first, and then frowned again. Zhukov's words clearly revealed his deep concern for the Chinese people.
Stalin quickly suppressed his uneasiness. After being silent for a while, he said: "Okay, Comrade Zhukov, when can you leave?"
"In one hour, Comrade Stalin."
An hour later, at an airport in Moscow, a small transport plane quickly rushed into the blue sky and flew towards Finland.