Chapter 1864 Meeting (4) Yang Mingzhi's Self-reported Fundamentals of War Power Guarantee
What elite troops are there in the German army? Stalin felt that those guys with S collar badges were the most difficult enemies.
Perhaps one reason why the Soviet army failed to invade Smolensk city in August was the sudden appearance of the Imperial Division.
It was not so much a division as a Soviet-style army group. As for the rest of the German army, any armored division equipped with a large number of tanks was an elite one.
In today's war, the anti-tank capabilities of both the Soviet Union and Germany are improving.
Standing in this conference room is Yang Mingzhi. His powerfully improved rocket-propelled grenade gave the Soviet army's individual soldiers good anti-tank capabilities.
There are two anti-tank strategies for this type of weapon. One is to use a hollow armor-piercing projectile loaded with a small amount of explosives. It is small in size and light in weight, and is very effective against tanks. The other is to charge the warhead crazily, so that the projectile becomes
It is heavy and relies on its strong explosive power to violently blow up tanks, so it still has the ability to attack infantry.
The Soviet army had such weapons, and the German army also equipped them.
After all, Yang Mingzhi's RPG did not have any technical obstacles in this time and space. Furthermore, both the Soviet Union and Germany, including the United States across the ocean, began related research and experiments as early as the 1930s.
It seems that the importance of tanks slowly declined as the war progressed.
It is undeniable that in today's wars, it is still an important force for troops to advance.
Do you want the flesh and blood of soldiers to attack the enemy's position? No! Even anti-tank guns and individual RPGs, and even anti-tank mines and cluster grenades can destroy tanks. There is no doubt that infantry has a need for tanks.
It is a moving fort and a human shield for the infantry. Even if a destroyed tank bursts into flames, it still becomes an important bunker for the infantry.
Stalin wanted to hear about the bloody battle between the 284th Division and the German 100th Army at Lechicha, and Yang Mingzhi was of course willing to talk about it.
What exactly were the German siege tactics?
"We defeated the German reconnaissance force. Soon, we encountered fierce artillery bombardment by the German army. They thought they had defeated us, so they sent a large number of tanks and infantry to attack the city. I ordered the troops to put the enemy into the city, and our army launched
A successful ambush battle was carried out. Those tanks that were looking down at them in the wilderness became living targets for our army in the streets, and our army achieved great results..." Yang Mingzhi tried his best to remain calm.
His heart was filled with excitement.
"What's next? I know you will suffer heavy losses in the end!" Stalin said.
"Yes! For the smooth retreat of the 30,000 friendly troops, I gave orders to the defenders of Lechica. Only when all the friendly troops passed the railway and reached the south of the railway, could the city defenders retreat. The defenders encountered the most violent bombing by the German heavy artillery. I
The army suffered heavy losses. They did not receive my order, and they did not retreat. Comrade Stalin, this is the spirit of the 284th Guards Red Banner Infantry Division. Even if the army is filled with a large number of broken troops and militiamen, its combat effectiveness is very strong.
of."
"Yes. It was I who approved this unit to receive the honorary title. Now I know very well what you think of this German army."
"The enemy is very strong! Originally, the participating troops had controlled most of Gomel, and the original German defenders could only huddle in the big cities. Because of the participation of the German 100th Army, our army's operations quickly collapsed.
Although my friendly forces have more than 20,000 combat troops, they seriously lack the strength to fight against German tanks and armored vehicles. Besides, the quality of their soldiers is not as good as that of the Germans. If it weren't for our 63rd Army, which defended Lechica and stormed the city of Gomel
, to preserve a gap of more than 20 kilometers long. They will definitely be surrounded by German troops.
My friendly forces, they are like a steamroller sweeping through the enemy garrison in Belarus. Those enemies are all second- and third-line troops.
Facing the German 100th Army, which had participated in the French battle, they could not win alone. Even our 63rd Army, especially the 284th Division. Eight thousand of our people who participated in the defense of the city of Lechica evacuated to the swamp alive.
There were only 3,000 people on the ground. However, I conservatively estimate that the German army paid the price of at least 2,000 deaths, because almost none of the enemies who entered the city came out alive."
This Belekov was saying that the German 100th Army was very powerful in combat, and at the same time he was flaunting his skill in running the army.
The 284th Division, had it not been able to reconnect with the remnants of this unit, it would have been temporarily removed from the army list.
"So, in order to survive for 20,000 idiots, the 63rd Army permanently lost five thousand elites?!" Stalin frowned and shook his head.
Stalin's mood is very complicated now.
There are 20,000 idiots who are ready to collapse in the face of enemy tanks, and 8,000 tough guys who remain unmoved in the face of enemy bombardment. Let him choose, of course he must save the heroic 8,000 men.
Especially at this juncture, the cowards in the army have caused many defeats, so they issued a fatal order of "never retreat". From the order in July to the entire September, the anti-retreat team in charge of the Ministry of Internal Affairs intercepted
There were more than 150,000 deserters.
According to military law, these people can be convicted of desertion by a military court and shot.
However, in extraordinary times, large-scale executions of deserters will not only fail to stabilize military morale, but will also cause military morale to collapse. Only the enemy will be happy.
Everyone looked at Stalin, pacing in place with his head down.
Suddenly, he finally spoke: "Those 20,000 people are cowards! They did not carry out my highest order! They should die in battle to fulfill their obligations as Soviet citizens and soldiers, but they are all running for their lives. This is a wave of trouble."
Nomarenko’s dereliction of duty! His dereliction of duty caused our army to lose five thousand elites! Berekov, maybe you should serve as the supreme commander in the Gomel battle instead of just commanding a nominal army group."
"Thank you for your praise, Comrade Stalin." Yang Mingzhi was a little confused, so he had no choice but to thank him first.
Stalin continued to shake his head: "It seems that the core of your 63rd Army is only one 284th Division. Of course, strictly speaking, you did not implement my order, and you finally gave up on the city of Lechica."
"Yes, Comrade Stalin. We have to give up. If we continue to fight, our army will be completely wiped out. That is meaningless."
"I understand. You are an expert in guerrilla warfare, and your fighting method is very interesting."
Yang Mingzhi quickly added: "I ordered the troops to withdraw from Lechicha, which was bombed into scorched earth. The troops including the troops that besieged Gomel also withdrew. We did not simply withdraw. While retreating, we blew up
The total length of all the railway sections discovered was more than 60 kilometers. All important bridges on the Sozh River and the Dnieper River were also blown up.
I was also very worried that the German 100th Army intended to go south and continue to encircle and suppress us, so after we received support from friendly forces in the southeast, I re-armed these 6,000 reinforcements.
Our arsenal produces a large number of RPGs, recoilless guns and rocket launchers as well as a large amount of ammunition.
So I ordered them to attack Mozyr and basically destroy the railway lines in that area. During the retreat, we also swept through some villages and towns under German control, saved many people, and restored some strength."
Suddenly, the silent Beria suddenly spoke: "Comrade Stalin, we learned that Berekov commanded the attack on Mozyr, wounding the commander of the German 100th Army, forcing the unit to change its commander."
"Oh? And there's this thing?! Haha, things are getting so interesting."
In this explanation, Yang Mingzhi revealed many meanings that Stalin really liked to hear.
At the beginning of the Battle of Gomel, the 63rd Army led by Belekov, with the 284th Division and an airborne brigade as the core, resisted the attacks of multiple German divisions. The result of the battle was that the 63rd Army counterattacked to Lech
At this point, the war became uncontrollable.
Two strong guerrilla groups active in the Bryansk Forest participated in the war. Their strength was equivalent to three "frontline divisions." Their strength was huge, but it turned out that they were no match for the elite German army. The Soviet army's rout at the beginning of the year was tragic.
The scene happened again.
The main force of the 284th Division, which was very determined to fight, withstood the most ferocious German attack. Another guerrilla group that changed its equipment suddenly saw a huge increase in combat effectiveness.
Stalin suddenly asked: "Comrade Berekov, your troops killed tens of thousands of German troops in the Battle of Gomel. This was an unimaginable victory. What do you think is the key to accomplishing this? My advanced weapons? Or determination."
The willpower to fight?”
"This... is probably both. The soldiers I recruited all had their families killed at the hands of the enemy, and their simplest purpose in joining the army was revenge! Including... including Comrade Speroskina, her simple
The idea is also to take revenge. In the entire collective farm, only the Sperosky siblings survived. This kind of hatred is unimaginable. Therefore, many people do not care about dying in battle, but just hope to hit the enemy as much as possible before dying in order to vent their inner anger.
And the weapons design bureau I established in the swamp invented many suitable new equipment during the crisis.
They may not be suitable for regular combat, but guerrilla combat is definitely suitable! Especially the heavy rockets that can be operated by a single soldier, which is equivalent to the power of two 155mm howitzers. We use launch tubes and launchers to directly target German tanks. Now, there is no
No tank can withstand a direct bombardment from a heavy howitzer, let alone a bombardment with the force of two shells.
This is the catfish rocket. It is the equipment of the company-level unit I established. There is a squad in charge. We also have a large number of recoilless rifles, each platoon has one or two. As for the RPG weapon, it is at the squad level.
Equipment. There are ten people in a squad, including two shooters and two machine gunners, and two machine gunners. The remaining six people each carry an RPG warhead and carry ammunition for the machine gunner.
Any huge change starts with subtle changes. Most of the infantry squads under my command are equipped with this kind of equipment, and our arsenal can barely withstand the combat needs of the troops for a month."
Stalin was a soldier, and the others were all soldiers!
For a long time, the Tsarist Russian army was inferior to the British and French due to weapons and equipment, so they paid more attention to the spiritual cultivation of soldiers.
With the establishment of the Bolsheviks, the new Red Army naturally paid more attention to the fighting spirit of its soldiers. Or because the Bolsheviks themselves advocated science, it was inevitable that the army would be more eager for a large number of new equipment.
Yang Mingzhi finally explained the root cause of the strong combat effectiveness of the 63rd Group Army, which seemed to focus more on the importance of soldiers' equipment.
And this cannot help but surprise a senior general like Zhukov.
What should an ordinary combat infantry equip? In addition to various items for survival in the wild, they are weapons for combat.
A Mosin Nagant, a spear, a shovel, sixty rounds of ammunition, and if you are lucky, you can also equip two grenades. A pistol? No! This is not issued to grassroots soldiers. It is a standard issue for special forces.
Therefore, the most astonishing number of ordinary infantrymen, who are also the most basic combat force of every infantry division, their weapon is the Mosin Nagant with a large bolt.
The core of the infantry squad's firepower is the rotating DP machine gun, and its ammunition reserve only has two plates.
Only the squad leader and deputy squad leader may be equipped with a submachine gun, but in wilderness combat, the effective killing range of a submachine gun of 100 meters is not as useful as a rifle.
Everyone present is an expert!
Stalin's ability to directly command front-level army operations seems to be limited. If he were to serve as a division commander, Stalin would boast that it would be quite easy.
Stalin instantly realized that there must be a huge gap in firepower between the Berekov-style infantry squad and the Soviet standard infantry squad. And this gap was even more terrifying when it came to company-level units.
After all, this Berekov is famous for hitting the charging German tank regiment with RPG missiles with exaggerated charges. This is why he received a Gold Star Medal on his chest!
The Soviet arsenal is already mass-producing RPGs that can be operated by a single soldier. Unfortunately, it has not reached the point where every infantry squad is equipped with them.
Another point is that the "Katyusha" rocket launcher is an artifact of the Soviet army's firepower preparation. Unfortunately, the accuracy of this weapon is really criticized.
The Catfish rocket invented by Berekov also began to be mass-produced in Novosibirsk. It was very accurate. Stalin wanted not only Berekov to use it to directly target and destroy tanks.
Could it be that my previous thoughts were just wishful thinking?!
Regarding the issue of new rockets, what Stalin longed for most was high-precision rockets. The range of the "Catfish" and the "Katyusha" were similar, and the accuracy of the former far exceeded the latter. The range, accuracy and power of the "Flying Fish",
It has exceeded the level of battleship guns.
Today's Stalin was so new that he had to confirm carefully: "Comrade Berekov, I am very curious about one thing. Have you always used heavy rockets to directly aim at enemy tanks?"
"Yes!" Yang Mingzhi said decisively, still making gestures with his hands: "You should know about recoilless rifles. The operation mode of our Catfish rockets is very similar to recoilless rifles."
"Okay, I understand. I... I think I understand everything. The troops you train are completely different from our grassroots troops. Our army attaches great importance to heavy weapons and equipment, such as more tanks and more heavy artillery.
.It seems that you are more concerned about the firepower of grassroots soldiers."
"That's not the case.!" Yang Mingzhi flatly denied it, but also expressed his regret: "There is nothing we can do about it. We are in the swamp, which is completely blocked by the enemy. We can only develop weapons based on the existing conditions.
It is impossible for us to obtain a large number of heavy artillery and armored vehicles. We can only obtain a very small amount of field artillery through seizure, and that’s it. For this reason, I can only develop the combat effectiveness of individual soldiers. My elite troops are equipped with svt40 and machine guns on a large scale.
Almost all of them were captured from the German army. RPGs and recoilless rifles form the backbone of my troops’ offensive and defensive firepower. As for heavy rockets, as special tactical weapons, they will only be used when facing special targets.”