August finally arrived, and on the first day of the month, it started to rain lightly again in Pripet Swamp.
In August and September, there is a lot of rainfall in Belarus, especially in the swamps, which makes this weather characteristic even more significant.
Rainfall means a drop in temperature, and because of the high geographical latitude, it can really be said that one rain and one cold. Just a few days ago, soldiers were happy to jump into the ponds everywhere to bathe. Now, most people have to think twice about letting them jump into the water.
On a new day, more than a hundred people were sent to the hospital because of colds, and more than ten people even had stomach upsets because they drank unclean water.
For all the refugees who entered the core control areas of the Guerrilla Republic and the soldiers who were withdrawn, the workload of the hospitals to take care of them also increased significantly.
The heavy rain did not repeat itself. Although the pattering light rain made the world wet, the water volume of the Pripet and Dnieper rivers had obviously weakened. The water flow was no longer rapid. The tens of thousands of retreating troops entrenched on the left bank of the Missi Ferry finally began to move forward. Scale river crossing.
The river crossing operation started at 2:30 that afternoon, and the method of crossing the river was ferry.
After learning from the previous accident of falling into the river, the engineers led by Anatoly only planned five routes, with only one raft accompanying each route, and the number of people on board was strictly limited to twenty people.
It's all about safety!
"If something happens again! I can't bear the responsibility."
Anatoly's decision was simply a cowardly act in the eyes of the soldiers who were anxious to cross the river. The troops had already arrived at the riverside, but they could still cross the river slowly? Especially when they knew that the Guerrilla Republic had a large number of houses, whether simple or not, They are all a good place to shelter from the wind and rain.
Therefore, the entire river crossing operation was a bit crowded. A large number of soldiers gathered at the riverside, like a large group of wildebeest waiting to cross the river. They looked at the few lonely rafts on the wide Dnieper River and shook their heads helplessly.
The weather conditions were bad, so there would never be any German fighter planes. As for the German ground troops, they had been severely injured, and the rain had forced them not to dare to head south rashly. Without worries, it was reasonable for Anatoly to insist on crossing the river cautiously.
No matter how the army on the other side requested to speed up, he remained unchanged in response to all changes.
It can be said that he just wanted to highlight his power on this issue and follow the orders of the headquarters.
It turned out that Yang Mingzhi supported one of Salinchkin's proposals, which was to slow down the return rate of the retreating troops. Then it was reasonable for Anatoly to set up five lines.
In terms of military command, Yang Mingzhi has the highest authority, while professionals like Salinchkin and Lyudbalev are fully responsible for the daily operations of the guerrilla republic.
"It's impossible to swallow the whole big leba in one bite. We have to take out the knife and cut it into small pieces and eat it bit by bit."
What Salinchkin meant was that since the guerrilla republic suddenly absorbed tens of thousands of refugees, the resettlement of these people itself was a big problem. If all the troops on the left bank of the river were withdrawn in a short period of time, the three major collective farms would have a large population. Up to 80,000 people!
The huge battle basically ended on July 30. During the forty-day battle, the Guerrilla Republic suffered permanent losses of nearly 20,000 people!
Even though the losses of elites were extremely serious, the Republic still controlled more than 40,000 people (30,000 people could only protect themselves with guns). On paper, the Republic's combat effectiveness plummeted, but its population was not an avalanche.
The 25,000 refugees from the north and the revolted 1st Guerrilla Brigade added nearly 30,000 people to the Republic. If we also count the two brigades of the "Red October" and "Gypsymen" after crossing the river, the Republic
Another fifteen thousand people will be received.
Sarinchkin never imagined that after a heavy-loss war, the core of the guerrilla republic, the recognized city "Novgomel", would have to support the production and living of 100,000 people!
In Belarus, a city with a population of 100,000 is already a medium-sized city. Even before the outbreak of the war, Gomel had a population of nearly 200,000. Novgomel has half the population of Gomel, which is a
A great victory, but also a huge population pressure.
"By the time Kovpak returns, Novgomel may have a population of 100,000. The settlements on the right bank were destroyed in the war, and only three collective farms and the Homnich military station are left, which can accommodate these people."
Lyudbalev, the former mayor of Gomel, had to solve this problem.
Catfish Village, Black Earth Village and Blacksmith Village, three collective farms distributed in a Z-shaped pattern, form the city "Novgomel".
To solve the problem of livelihood for a hundred thousand residents, we must first solve the food problem.
So, is the existing food enough for so many people? The answer is almost no.
Wise people planned the overall situation, but the long war and sudden rainfall directly caused the summer plowing plan to basically fail. It could have been possible to plant another season of potatoes and rely on the harvest in late autumn, so that the guerrilla republic could not only survive the cold winter safely, but also
Help neighboring guerrillas.
Now, as time enters August, not only is the summer plowing plan completely in vain, but how many water-soaked potatoes can be saved is a test no less than the German invasion.
Lyudbarev and Sarinchkin both experienced the poverty in Russia at the end of Tsarist Russia and the difficulties in the early days of the establishment of the Soviet Union. They knew the importance of food very well!
Under the wartime distribution system, famine is not easy to occur. However, if there is a serious problem with food reserves, those in power will inevitably divide people into three, six, or nine grades. Currently, a starvation tragedy is occurring in Leningrad, which is under siege. Only soldiers and workers can
The backbone of the resistance force can continue to fight with a small amount of food.
As Stalin's commissioner, Salinchkin had some knowledge of Leningrad. In fact, he would never have imagined that Lieutenant General Yang Mingzhi would know no one better than him about the brutality of the defense of Leningrad, especially about the issues of food and hunger.
!
So in the early morning of August 1st, Salinchkin and Lyudbalev had a detailed discussion about the possible outbreak of famine in the guerrilla republic.
"Although we can collect mushrooms, fish, and even hunt in the forest. We may also get food dropped by superiors. But these measures cannot solve the problem very well. Next, we must mobilize all the labor force to dig potatoes in the fields. I
I feel that we need to set up an incentive mechanism to stimulate refugees to quickly become labor experts."
In terms of authority and position alone, Sarinchkin is much higher than Lyudbalev. Furthermore, in terms of propaganda and mobilization, Sarinchkin is an absolute expert.
Because the work was about digging potatoes, the two of them did not inform Yang Mingzhi of their early morning decision and began to implement it early in the morning.
For those refugees who successfully evacuated into the guerrilla republic, they were all forced to work as potato diggers within two days of settling in.
Almost all of these people are farmers, and they are also experts at digging potatoes. Not only is it a heavy workload to dig potatoes in waterlogged farmland, but who would be willing to grope with their feet in the cool mud while being soaked in the rain?
It must be said that the performance of the refugees on July 31st was satisfactory. The number of potatoes they dug was amazing.
However, potatoes can only tolerate waterlogging for three days at most. If there are still a large number of potatoes that have not been delivered to the granary on August 2, most of them will rot and die in the mud.
Early in the morning on August 1st, labor groups were organized into groups of ten households. After gathering with a large number of wooden excavation tools made in a surprise attack, the military political commissars wearing blue hats read out the command's proclamation in public.
Decide.
After hearing the contents of the decision document, even those who are resistant are eager to become the king of potato digging! (To be continued)