Chapter 275: The No. 1 in Northern Europe VS No. 1 in Eastern Europe
An area of nearly twenty square kilometers east of the Karelian Isthmus has been turned into a giant barracks set up by Timoshenko.
Yes, Timoshenko's reputation as a famous Soviet general in modern times originated from the great victory over Poland achieved in cooperation with Germany.
However, this does not mean that he is a mediocre loser.
If the brilliance of the German blitzkrieg hadn't been too dazzling, Timoshenko's steady tactics in the Polish campaign would have definitely made him a genuine star in the last world war.
Each triangular cone-shaped attack position extends from the Gulf of Finland in the northernmost part of the Karelian Isthmus, along the continuous depressions, plains, forests, valleys, and rivers, all the way to Ladoga in the southernmost part of the Karelian Isthmus.
Lake. There are continuous camps and endless stretches.
Densely packed Soviet troops, like locusts, swarmed onto the few large roads, snaking around and watching eagerly.
Behind them, there are still a larger number of follow-up troops, which are continuously gathering towards the front.
Timoshenko, the famous general who had conquered eastern Poland and had the greatest military exploits in the Soviet Union today, had already figured out the deployment of the Finnish army after a week of tentative attacks and was ready to complete his victory in one battle.
Nearly a month after his predecessor, General Meretskov, led the 350,000 troops of the Leningrad Military District to pursue the Mannerheim Line of Defense, Finland's remaining effective strength has been greatly reduced.
Now, the tired troops in the Leningrad Military District have been withdrawn for repairs, but the Finnish army has not had the chance to get the same respite.
What Timoshenko now has are two armies affiliated to the Kiev Military District, with nearly 200,000 cutting-edge divisions that are ready to go, well-equipped, with high morale, and sound organization. In addition, Stalin has added 20 artillery regiments assigned to him from other military districts.
, 15 aviation regiments, and 24 "cannon fodder divisions".
At this time, what Timoshenko needs to do is actually not difficult.
That is to use the strong to bully the weak, use the power of a mountain to overwhelm the Finnish army's shaky Mannerheim defense line with human sea tactics! Moreover, his troops completely overwhelmed the small country of Finland in terms of equipment level and fire support capabilities.
army.
In Timoshenko's view, no matter how tenacious the Finnish army is, it can only delay the date of destruction over and over again. In this kind of completely asymmetric war, it is only a matter of time before the weaker party fails.
!
In the past two months, the geographical advantage that the Mannerheim Line of Defense relied on has long been in tatters. The forest in the central part of the Karelian Isthmus has lost almost more than half of its area in the war. The highlands and highlands where the Finnish army had resisted before were in disrepair.
The small slope was even reduced to a whole level by the Soviet artillery fire!
As the follow-up troops continued to be in place, and strategic materials were transferred to the front line through the high-speed railways and highways built with the help of German engineers, Timoshenko's army had expanded to a terrifying size.
Counting the nearly 300,000 remaining troops that Meretskov left for him and the 250,000 cannon fodder that Stalin mobilized for him, the number of troops that Timoshenko can directly command has exceeded 700,000, which is close to the Finnish army.
There are 10 times or more of the total military strength!
The essence of this 800,000-strong army, that is, the cutting-edge troops of the Kiev Military District, were all mobilized by Timoshenko in a huge group of attack positions east of the Karelian Isthmus. Each of these huge military camps could accommodate an entire division.
It only took Timoshenko a very short time to build the warehouses where countless killing materials were stored.
In this group of positions, there are convoys coming from behind almost all the time, and different numbers converging here. The difference from a month ago is that every number arriving now means a genuine team.
The army is fully organized. They have not reduced their numbers, have sufficient ammunition, and are full of ambition. They can fill up and fight in any theater at any time.
Timoshenko believed that as long as he gave the order, the Finns would completely lose their fighting spirit under the Soviet army's overwhelming and endless human wave tactics in a new round.
We have enough population, some troops, and some reserve forces. To fight against the Soviet Union, we must recognize this cruel reality!
"Commander Timoshenko and Chairman Stalin sent a telegram urging us to launch a general offensive as soon as possible." In Timoshenko's frontline headquarters, his political commissar urgently reminded: "Not to mention the international situation we are in.
Let's just say that every day this war drags on, the political influence of the Soviet Union will decrease by one point. If we continue to fight like this tepidly, I'm afraid we won't even launch a general offensive to win Finland. The urgent General Secretary
It’s time to change the coach again.”
As Meretskov's successor, Timoshenko naturally knew how impatient Stalin was to win. Regardless of the prestige he would lose by recalling Meretskov, who was his confidant, he wanted to win.
Insisting on substitutions is enough to show how much he values victory in the war with Finland.
In the past, no matter how incompetent the person dispatched was, as long as he was sent by Stalin himself, he would not replace him even if he killed him. Because in his view, replacing someone was an admission that he had made the wrong decision in the first place.
But now, Stalin has changed his commander. And he has banned and removed General Meretskov as quickly as possible!
Based on this alone, Timoshenko could guess how intense Stalin's inner anxiety was. Because if he had to do other things, he would definitely insist on letting his closest confidants do it to the end.
Smiling at his political commissar who had been working with him for a long time, Timoshenko seemed to be comforting him and comforting himself: "Don't worry, the new attack plan has already been formulated, and the focus of the attack is also within a week.
It has been determined through the test. We can do the massive attack that the General Secretary wants now."
Although he is not very good at military skills such as combat deployment and commanding on the battlefield, the political commissar still has basic common sense about marching operations. A regular soldier can suppress others with force! With these good soldiers he and Timoshenko brought from the Kiev Military District
There is no reason why our army cannot defeat the remnants of the Finnish army, which are overwhelmed by repeated battles.
Nodding, the political commissar habitually spread out the battle map for Timoshenko.
It has become a tacit understanding between the two of them to personally mark the drawings for Timoshenko and accompany him in the final drawing derivation of each battle plan.
Soon, Timoshenko completed a rough deduction on the map with the help of the political commissar.
"No problem!" Timoshenko confirmed again after completing the 23rd deduction confirmation.
Clenching his teeth, Timoshenko poked an area marked with a red circle on the map with his index finger, and said word by word: "As long as we capture this place, no matter how hard we hold on to the rest of the Mannerheim defense line, we will not be able to stop it."
The fatal breakthrough we caused cannot be prevented. Once our breakthrough spreads to both wings, the Finns will be doomed!"
Following the position where Timoshenko poked, the political commissar saw the breakthrough that Timoshenko had repeatedly confirmed - the Vyborg area!
In fact, Timoshenko's strategy was completely correct. Once the Soviet army captured Vyborg, it meant that the Mannerheim Line of Defense was completely cut open. Next, the Finnish army, which lost its natural and favorable location, was inevitably defeated.
In front of Vyborg, which Timoshenko wanted to capture, there was stationed a division of the Swedish volunteers who had come all the way to assist Finland.
In this upcoming showdown, the Soviet Union is the most powerful country in Eastern Europe, and Sweden is the most powerful country in Northern Europe.
The encounter between the two powers will determine the direction and even the outcome of the Soviet-Finnish war!
