Chapter 1859 Zhukov meets Stalin at the Kongzewo Villa (2)
Stalin, in his current position, has not only great power, but also great responsibility.
He must be responsible for the Soviet citizens who are still alive, for the history of Slavia and Russia, and for the people around the world who are fighting for justice and peace.
A heavy burden is placed on a sixty-year-old man. Stalin must live up to his name and become a real steel!
Since it is steel, it must be ruthless, so he decided to stay in dangerous Moscow.
The supreme military leader is like this. Among the subordinate generals, who would dare to say retreat?
In fact, in 1941, when the war situation was at its most critical, Stalin was firmly opposed to any suggestion of retreat at the beginning, and anyone who talked about retreat was verbally criticized by him.
However, the situation of the war took a turn for the worse.
Stalin originally intended to order his beloved general Pavlov to retreat, but this person struck first and then followed up. Instead of rescuing the encircled troops, Pavlov led nearly 300,000 reserve troops to flee toward Smolensk.
It seems that 300,000 fresh troops have been retained, but in fact it is the collapse of the entire northern battlefield of the Soviet Union.
When Stalin ordered Kilponos, who was struggling in the southern battlefield, to retreat, because of Pavlov's cowardly behavior in the north, the freed German troops blocked the retreat of the southern Soviet army, and the battle became a steel monster versus flesh and blood.
The slaughter of his body. Kilponos died heroically after resisting the all-out German attack for more than a month.
With the benefit of hindsight, if Pavlov and 500,000 soldiers had fought to the death a year ago, Kilponos' more than 600,000 elite troops in the south would have been able to retreat smoothly, and because of Pavlov's insistence,
There will be enough time to mobilize millions of new troops in the direction of Moscow.
A series of battles in 1942 have proven that even if the Soviet troops were rushed into the battlefield after training in a hurry, even if they were a group of citizens and farmers who had just learned to shoot and throw grenades, such mobilization troops had terrifying strength.
Together we can achieve campaign goals.
More than a year later, Stalin's anger towards Pavlov still remains.
"Comrade Georgy Konstantinovich, your classmate and comrade-in-arms Pavlov, his stupidity and cowardice caused the collapse of our northern front. The only way to deal with such a coward is to shoot him!"
Stalin really couldn't hide his anger, and his whole expression became ferocious, which made people shudder.
Maybe this is love born of hate!
Stalin already had good military command experience. He was highly regarded by Lenin because of his outstanding performance during the Soviet-Russian Civil War. However, Stalin was also well known for his "bad temper towards comrades".
Once upon a time, he was used by a group of people as a puppet on strings and pulled to the front stage. As soon as he came on stage, the puppet turned into a wolf and completed the backlash.
Stalin had his own understanding of building a country, and he had his own understanding of building an army.
With the support of Stalin, the Soviet Union quickly developed its own tactical rocket launchers, tanks, aircraft, and even tried to develop aircraft carriers. Therefore, the Soviet army established two tank regiments very early, Aiwu and Wu. The first two tank regiment commanders, Pavlo
Husband and customer service also received great attention from Stalin.
Compared to Pavlov, Stalin was very moved by his loyalty and entrusted him with important tasks. As a result, this "cute" guy directly and indirectly caused the Soviet army to lose one million fresh troops, and he deserves to be punished for his crime!
Stalin mentioned Pavlov who was shot. To be honest, Zhukov felt very sorry for this man. No matter how close that man was to him or what he had done during his lifetime, as a man who commanded an army of millions, he
Must be responsible for the annihilation of the entire army in World War I.
Zhukov knew how Stalin personally interrogated Pavlov who had escaped last year: "Your life is life. Are the lives of one million soldiers lost just a number?"
Stalin continued to say meaningfully to Zhukov: "My dear comrade, commanding an army of more than one million people in combat. Throughout human history, not many generals have such an opportunity. Victory will bring great glory. Failure
, is a great shame for a soldier. With that kind of disastrous defeat, I am afraid that the commander can only commit suicide to apologize, unless..."
At this point, Stalin did not say any more but kept pacing with his pipe in hand, seemingly trying to organize his words.
Although Zhukov was not good at politics or court intrigues, he was a pure soldier and could understand the profound meaning of Stalin's words.
Stalin did basically know what Zhukov wanted to do. He also understood Zhukov's combat style. In order to ensure victory, more troops and weapons and equipment must be assembled to defeat the enemy with absolute superiority.
As long as Zhukov participates in the command of the battle, he will definitely do this. Just as what is happening in the east of the Stalingrad theater, the plan to form a counterattack force with unprecedented strength is being implemented.
Although the battle in the north is of the nature of a feint, in order to do everything possible to expand the results, the army must move forward courageously, and for this purpose the offensive force must also be large in strength.
In this way, Zhukov has planned two large-scale battles. How many troops will be involved?!
The strength of the Soviet army's front-line combat troops has always been more than 5.6 million, which does not include the logistics and transportation troops and militia. Stalin can be sure of one thing. The campaign plan set by Zhukov will definitely involve half of the front-line troops.
During the battle, a large number of militiamen will also be involved in the battle.
The battle must be won! Even if it is a tragic victory. Because the Soviet Union cannot withstand this level of defeat. If half of it is defeated, the Soviet Union will really have no choice but to retreat to the Ural Mountains and Siberia.
The winter operations of 1942 will forever determine the fate of the Soviet Union. Survival or destruction will certainly depend on the struggle of every Soviet citizen and the support of international allies. However, on a purely military level, the campaign plan formulated by Zhukov is the biggest
determining factors.
Stalin did not speak clearly, and he also knew that Zhukov fully understood what he meant.
There were only ashes left in the pipe. Stalin knocked it clean and slowly inserted new tobacco. He was trying his best to conceal his worries about the future, knowing that the planner of the battle was standing here. Some words were really difficult to say.
Say it out loud.
Stalin was silent for a while and did not mention the matter again.
"Comrade Georgy Konstantinovich, that Belekov will also participate in tomorrow's meeting."
"Yes, Comrade Stalin, I know this and I know this person."
"No! You don't know him yet, and even my understanding of him is very limited. But one thing I can confirm..." Stalin thought for a moment, then raised his proud head and looked at the Tsarist Russian general hanging on the wall.
They: "Perhaps I should hang a portrait of Barclay Tolley."
"What do you mean? He..."
"Unfortunately, he is just like us, but also different. Berekov is an Eastern Bolshevik, but he is not a Bolshevik like us. He is not a Trotskyist. This man has his own ideas, in short he is
A progressive person, even some of his ideas are very advanced."
Stalin's rather metaphysical remarks were not made casually. He knew that Belekov was different from those in the West, but if he became a bourgeois person in Western countries, he would be a figure.
People sent out by the Ministry of Internal Affairs have been passing on details of Berekov's life.
For example, this person seems to deliberately pursue luxury in his life, but he highly values collectivism at work. He pays attention to work efficiency and the interests of everyone.
This person likes the special supplies brought by allies, such as sweet black water and chocolate from the tropics. He likes these, but he has never felt anything new about them, as if they are commonplace. He also has a problem with eating.
He is picky and doesn't seek particularly rare ingredients, even the most common potatoes. He can also make many tricks to satisfy his appetite, and even use it as a way to reward his subordinates.
He is like this whether in Belarus or Novosibirsk.
"Berekov, this young man is very strange and very talented. At present, he is good at commanding army-level troops to fight, and he is also good at developing weapons. Comrade, if we can liberate Rzhev, objectively speaking, it is not Berekov.
Is my husband helping me in Belarus? It seems that this person also has a very strategic vision."
"Yes, I understand all this. The August battle was an offensive plan formulated by me. Although the troops encountered strong combat resistance, we still liberated Rzhev. If Comrade Berekov hadn't contained 50,000 German troops in the rear,
Maybe our combat plan still cannot be achieved." Zhukov said with certainty.
At the same time, Zhukov was also aware of Stalin's high praise for the thirty-year-old young man from China.
He had never heard of the suspicious and irritable Stalin, who listed the achievements of a young general one by one. Stalin actually mentioned Barclay Tolly in the Patriotic War in 1812. That man was a field marshal of Tsarist Russia, but he was a
A Scotsman is a foreigner.
Could it be that Stalin thought that Belekov had the potential to become a marshal? Or could this person's contribution be equivalent to that of a marshal?
"It was still because of the battle in August that Berekov and his troops carried the largest German reinforcements for you. For this, the main guerrillas in Belarus paid a huge price with casualties. They suffered a catastrophic blow! But
!" Stalin got excited and stamped his foot several times: "Comrade, have you read the September battle reports of the Kalinin and Western Fronts?"
"Yes, I just saw it recently."
"Throughout September, the battle in the salient was a tug-of-war. In the whole month, we lost 120,000 people, and what about the enemy? Our estimate was that the casualties were at most 40,000. I still haven't learned how to fight in the salient.
They fought in the summer and autumn. But Belekov's troops! They continued to fight from the end of June to mid-August. The total strength of all the troops fighting in southern Belarus reached 50,000 people, and how many enemies did they destroy? They destroyed the entire system.
They killed the damn 707th Division and captured an enemy division commander alive. They fought at least ten German divisions. The battle report they submitted was that they killed 30,000 enemies. Note, it was a result of 30,000 kills.
With all due respect, dear comrade, in our battle in August, our army lost nearly 200,000 troops. How much did the German army lose? Maybe only 50,000."
Of course, Zhukov heard Stalin's criticism, and he immediately analyzed it from a military standpoint.
"However, they are on the battlefield behind enemy lines, and we are attacking from the front. Our army must overcome the mine arrays laid by the Germans, destroy their concrete fortresses one by one, and face the enemy's heavy artillery and bombers. Based on those battle reports, I analyzed
Berekov's operations are more flexible. They have a large number of forest swamps as cover, and their enemies are also dispersedly stationed. When a battle breaks out, Berekov is always engaged in mobile warfare with the enemy. This combat mode is consistent with ours.
The situation faced by regular military forces is completely different."
"Yes, I know this very well." Stalin said, "I don't think we can use words like heroes or luck to describe them or praise them. Belekov is a special talent. He is a weapon inventor.
Expert. In Belarus, the German army also dispatched a large number of tanks and armored vehicles as the main offensive force. As a result, they were all destroyed by rocket launchers independently developed by the guerrillas. They even developed a new rocket launcher with a range of forty kilometers, and they also suddenly thought of using high-energy fuel to replace explosives.
.Now, I have transferred all these developers back to safe places, and the new rocket launcher has begun production."
I am afraid that the only one in the army is the stubborn Voroshilov, Budyonny is obsessed with horses and sabers, and Zhukov not only likes new weapons and equipment, but he also has very urgent requirements for the troops to be equipped with new weapons.
Since Stalin mentioned the new rocket launcher, he immediately asked: "The rocket launcher with a range of 40 kilometers that you mentioned is suitable for us to equip in large quantities?"
"This...this takes time." Stalin himself didn't know, so he could only prevaricate.
"Okay, I understand. Longer range and greater power means higher cost. Rocket artillery can only exert sufficient power when used intensively. We must gather enough new rocket launchers for use."
Stalin nodded with satisfaction: "That's true. However, Berekov submitted a new type of automatic rifle. Do you know about this?"
"Yes, I know."
Suddenly, Zhukov showed a happy expression, which was clearly telling Stalin that he understood the matter very well.
This is very puzzling.
Stalin squinted his eyes and asked: "How do you know? Have you read the report submitted by Novosibirsk? Or is the newspaper exaggerating?"
"They are real objects. The Novosibirsk side gave the Stalingrad Front not only new troops, but also some special gifts, including new guns. Just three days ago, I saw the real objects and saw the soldiers operating them. It was incredible.
, the bullet is obviously a bit larger than the pistol bullet, and the power is really amazing."
Zhukov did not use his brain at all when he said these words. He was not aware of Stalin's dissatisfaction and kept talking about the power of the new automatic rifle.
"Okay, you don't need to say anything anymore," Stalin scolded.
"you……"
"I never expected that Belekov actually made his own decision? The Stalingrad Front, oh now the Don Front, the commander is Timoshenko. Ah, I understand. It seems that I transferred Belekov
When he went to the rear, he never forgot the troops and military commanders to which he belonged."
It sounded like Stalin was criticizing Belekov harshly, and this criticism was absurd. Zhukov immediately corrected him: "The gift was sent in the name of Novosibirsk Oblast, and I don't think General Belekov knew about it."
"Forget it." Stalin shook his head: "After all, it is not a secret. The new firearms have also passed the review. The next step is the production problem. Not only new guns, our army also has a large number of new equipment waiting to be installed. Georgy Kon
Comrade Standinovich, the level of our weapons and equipment is improving rapidly, and perhaps this advantage can make up for the poor quality of our soldiers. It is very late now, and I just want to hear your final opinion."
"Please speak." Zhukov asked sincerely.
"If we launch two battles at the same time, can we win?"
"Yes!" Zhukov's answer was straightforward.
"You know, we carry a thousand years of Russian history on our shoulders, and we have to win."
"We are the ones who won the victory. We will annihilate the German Sixth Army and also the German Ninth Army. I have full confidence in completing it."
Stalin nodded deeply. Feeling satisfied with his courage, he placed the pipe with only ashes on the table and turned around.
"Georgy Konstantinovich, you can go back. Comrades Konev and Comrade Purkaev have arrived in Moscow. We will meet at the Kremlin at ten o'clock tomorrow morning and have a meeting in the afternoon."