"What? All three division commanders of the observation group were killed by snipers, and the other eight commanders were not spared either!" General Meretskov, who learned about the situation from the political commissar, nervously clenched his fists and supported the table.
asked.
Since the beginning of the war, as the commander of the Leningrad Military District, Meretskov has brought almost all the main forces in the military district to the Finnish front line. The 350,000 troops are all elite, and the weapons and equipment are all owned by the military district.
The best equipped in the army.
Nearly a thousand aircraft and 1,200 tanks were used to deal with the Finnish army, which even lacked heavy weapons. Meretskov really couldn't figure out why the war lasted for more than a month but could not defeat such a small Finland.
Now, one wave has not subsided but another wave has arisen. I wanted to mobilize and supplement 50,000 people from the "shadow force" to make up for the huge battle losses on the front line in the past month, but this force has not yet been assembled. Their three divisions
The division commanders and almost all the regiment commanders were just gone?!
The political commissar was convinced that what he had just said was very clear. However, looking at Meretskov's disbelief, the political commissar repeated it again seriously: "Yes, commander. Our observation group was ambushed by Finnish snipers.
, all the high-level officials were lost, and only one regiment leader survived."
Hearing this, Meretskov shouted from the political commissar with undisguised anger: "In other words, Finnish snipers took away the command centers of our three divisions in one fell swoop at our door? Those responsible for security
Are all the idiots made of wood?”
After roaring for a while, Meretskov forced himself to calm down and asked the political commissar who had innocently given him a beating to vent his anger: "Then what? The special forces accompanying the observation group should send people to kill those damn Finns.
Are you here?"
The political commissar was a little embarrassed. After sorting out his thoughts, he explained to the expectant Meretskov: "Actually, no! Accompanying the observation group was Captain Feodor's sniper team, who were chasing Finnish snipers.
On the way, we lost two excellent snipers and were forced to retreat."
"Fyodor escaped?" Meretskov was so surprised that he couldn't imagine it. He stared at the political commissar in disbelief and said: "I remember, aren't they the team with the best record in our army? How could they be defeated in the end?
And run away?!"
The political commissar's face was also ugly, but even at this moment, he did not forget to correct Meretskov: "Commander, in fact, Captain Feodor was one of the two people who died in the battle. They were the ones who survived in the end.
A member of the team named Vasily."
Meretskov, who was sitting in the chair, seemed to have been drained of all his strength. He leaned on the back of the chair and said to himself: "How could this happen? This shouldn't be the case? Those Finns can actually kill our last enemy."
Good sniper team!”
The blow Meretskov received today was really too big, and it was hard for him to accept it for a while.
Due to the Finnish ambush, his 50,000 reinforcements were now leaderless. The culprit who caused all this, after killing the top leaders of his three divisions, also killed the strongest sniper team under his command, and finally swaggered
leave!
The war for more than a month has already made him mentally and physically exhausted.
As for the Navy, apart from using naval guns to support coastal operations for a period of time in the early days, it has not been able to play any supporting role in the Army.
As for the Air Force, it has never achieved the expected results.
Although the size of the Finnish Air Force is much smaller than that of the Soviet Air Force, with the help of German instructors, the training is very solid, and the tactical theory can be considered as a world-leading technology learned from Germany.
At this stage, the Finnish Air Force has already begun to use a 4-plane formation as their basic organization for air combat.
This formation is completely consistent with the basic concept of tactical formation developed by Germany during the Spanish Civil War.
Among the four aircraft, two were used as a team for the main battle, and the other two were responsible for cover and warning, which is what later generations called the double wingman formation.
Usually, a more senior pilot is the lead aircraft responsible for the main battle and takes the initiative in the battle. The other two are operated by more junior pilots and are responsible for covering and waiting for opportunities to attack enemy aircraft.
At that time, the Soviet Air Force still adopted the three-plane formation tactics adopted since World War I. It was far inferior to Finland in terms of individual pilot training, tacit understanding between formations, and combat ambition.
In addition, Germany helped Finland build a large number of small airports, allowing the Finnish air force to easily gather at any location on the battlefield, forming a local advantage.
Therefore, the air force under Meretskov did not actually gain much advantage. And if it were not for their huge numerical superiority, they might have been completely annihilated by the Finnish Air Force.
As for the army, Meretskov was even more embarrassed to mention it. The 350,000-strong army with superior weapons and equipment was in a difficult situation in front of Finland's temporarily expanded 120,000-strong army with less than 80,000 standing troops.
, hit the Mannerheim defense line and suffered a bloody head.
Meretskov was silent for a long time, and just when his political commissar almost thought that the commander had fallen asleep, he slowly said: "For more than a month, the Finns have proven to us with their actions that
Conquering Finland will not be as easy as we thought before."
"It's a fool's errand to expect that we can scare the Finns into surrendering as soon as we fire a cannon!" Meretskov said painfully, covering his forehead: "We were too arrogant and conceited before. Now, it's finally our turn to do something for us.
You must pay the price for your arrogance."
"Commander! I can't blame you." The political commissar who knew the inside story comforted: "Our grassroots officers, and even many high-level officers, do not have sufficient military foundation. Although they are loyal, they lack the real ability to command troops."
It is very pertinent for the political commissar to say this. After all, given his status, he should not have said such words.
Looking at this rare political commissar who could be regarded as an understanding person, Meretskov, who was in extreme pain, squeezed out a smile of gratitude and said: "Thank you."
But before he had a chance to say a few words, two well-dressed young men broke in outside the gate.
Among them, such a thin young man announced to Meretskov without paying any attention to honorifics: "The General Secretary has now issued an order, and Timoshenko, who once captured eastern Poland in less than 2 months,
General, I'd like to replace you who failed to capture Finland in the past two months."
Then, another relatively polite young man added to Meretskov: "General Secretary Stalin has now ordered the establishment of a new Northwestern Front in the Karelian Isthmus, and appointed Timoshenko, the former commander of the Kiev Military District.
The general is the commander of the front and will succeed you as the frontline commander. The front is under the jurisdiction of the 7th Army and the newly established 13th Army brought by Commander Timoshenko from the Kiev Military District. At the same time, the General Secretary also serves as the frontline commander from other regions.
24 additional infantry divisions, 20 artillery regiments and 15 new aviation regiments were deployed on the front line..."
Meretskov, who was sitting on a chair, folded his hands and sneered without saying a word.
Your purges reduced the combat effectiveness of the troops and led to a rotten battle situation on the front line. Now it's better, it actually seems like it's because of my incompetence, Meretskov.
Meretskov was convinced that even after he had fought so hard, Timoshenko would still not be able to win Finland if it did not take another two months!
Substitute? I just don’t want to do it anymore! Whoever likes to take over this mess will take over.
