How much results can the cavalry achieve? Zhukov could not estimate. He only noticed one thing with keen eyes and placed a bunch of cavalry divisions in the second attack echelon. Undoubtedly, when the front-line attack is blocked, the cavalry will quickly attack and then dismount as infantry
Get into battle.
The battlefield is destined to be full of potholes, not to mention that the Soviet Union has always been short of trucks, but horses can basically adapt to such potholes.
The mobility of cavalry is their major advantage at this stage.
Of course, they are cavalry after all, and if they suddenly transform into an infantry division, we cannot expect them to really become a standard infantry division.
The second echelon in Zhukov's plan is still dominated by infantry divisions. His bottom line is that the Kalinin Front must be able to organize a second-round attack force of at least 200,000 people. This requires Commander Purkayev to organize as much as possible
Twenty reorganized divisions were waiting for the opportunity to join the attack on Smolensk.
What about the third round?
Zhukov was holding a wooden stick, pointing at the map, and kept talking. As a soldier, Purkaev must obey all orders from his superior Zhukov. For example, Zhukov asked him to divide the army into four parts.
It is said that in addition to organizing three attack echelons to attack Smolensk, an offensive group must also be formed in the direction of Veliky Luki. The Soviet army will take the initiative to attack Veliky Luki, and Purkayev is asked not to fight desperately to capture Veliky Luki. In this direction
The biggest task of the Soviet army is to contain it, so attack the important town controlled by the German army, Velikie Luki, and attract the enemy. This is the best way to contain it.
The Kalinin Front Army was like this, and the Western Front Army was also following the same routine.
Compared with the former situation, the current situation is that the Western Front Army is more optimistic due to its geographical location, and they can get reinforcements and supplies faster. The Western Front Army also needs to organize three attack echelons.
"Ah! I don't believe that the two German army groups can withstand our three rounds of attacks. In this battle, the number of troops directly engaged in combat will reach 1.1 million, and there will be at least a thousand tanks." Zhukov was confident.
"Unless the Germans are all invincible monsters, how can we lose? Next spring, I think the headquarters of the Kalinin Front can be transferred to Smolensk after the victory."
These words speak directly to Purkaev's heart. Why? Originally, Smolensk was the headquarters of the Soviet Union, but unfortunately the Soviet army retreated after the defeat.
As the saying goes, every army has its own military spirit. Although the Kalinin Front Army is a front army organization, most of the soldiers are aware of the shameful moment of their unit a year ago. The victory of retaking Smolensk is held by the Kalinin Front Army.
How can we not be cautious about the opportunity to avenge our shame?
In the previous period, Purkayev always held a deputy position in the front army. Now that he is in a full-time position, he naturally has a heavy burden on his shoulders, and he has to make military exploits.
Zhukov opened up a bright future for the front army. He felt that even if the German army was very strong, could they still withstand two rounds of fierce offensives?
"I see that once the second echelon is put into combat, the German defense line outside the city will collapse. Taking this opportunity, we will be able to successfully liberate Smolensk." Purkayev said optimistically.
"It's best like this." Zhukov continued pointing to the map, "We must break through the German defense line in Dukhovshina. This task will be handed over to Solomakin and Katukov's mechanized army. After they complete the breakthrough
, on the one hand, they attacked the urban area, and on the other hand, they also divided their forces to support the 39th and 43rd Army Groups responsible for outflanking."
"Okay, I understand." Purkayev nodded.
Stalin listened to Zhukov's detailed explanation the whole time, and now he understood all of Zhukov's tactical purposes.
The key to a smooth victory in the battle lies in whether the army can break through the German defense line in the northern town of Smolensk, Dukhovshina. The map shows very clearly that the 39th Group Army must bear the responsibility of cooperating with Solomakin.
The frontal breakthrough of the First Mechanized Army. Since then, it has been the most correct decision to invest the three special reorganized divisions led by General Berekov's three favorite generals.
This is like a hammer swinging at the German army. It is a warhammer that has been further strengthened and equipped with a rocket booster.
Let’s talk about the Soviet 39th Army. In the past 100 days, this unit has experienced the worst fighting on the Kalinin Front. Even in the past twelve months, the experience of this army has been miserable.
Why are they always so hurt?
Look at the current geographical location of this unit. It forms a similar protrusion in the German defense area. When the German army still has enough mobile offensive forces, the German army always tries to eat this Soviet army group. After all, it is the liberation of the Soviet army.
After arriving in Rzhev, the 39th Army received strategic assistance from the Western Front and the German mobile forces were exhausted, thus escaping the fate of being annihilated.
Now, Stalin personally ordered that the deputy commander of the 20th Army, Berzhalin, be transferred to the 39th Army, and this person became the full commander. Why did he do this? In the previous battle, the 20th Army fought very tenaciously, and the soldiers sacrificed their lives
It is a fact, and the clever operation of its command department is also indispensable.
Stalin believed that Berzhalin was by no means a mediocre person.
This Berzarin was once a subordinate of Zhukov. He had participated in the battles in the Far East many years ago and made military exploits. At that time, he was the division commander.
Stalin couldn't help but get excited when he thought of this.
He said to Zhukov: "What do you think of the newly formed 322nd, 323rd, and 324th Divisions being integrated into the 39th Group Army, and they will be commanded by Comrade Berzalin?"
"I fully support it." Zhukov's answer was very straightforward.
"Very good, Comrade Berzhalin once participated in the battle against the Japanese army, and you were his commander at that time. You have also drawn up the current combat plan yourself. I think Berzhalin will also be full of confidence.
.He implements the battle plan you formulated and has only the experience of victory."
Purkaev interjected at the right time: "Comrade Stalin, your decision is very wise. I think we need to pay attention to one more thing. I know the basic resume of the three division commanders. Lavrentinov, the commander of the 322nd Division, and Lavrentinov, the commander of the 323rd Division
Yevgenov, the division commander. They both joined the army in the 1930s and served in the Far East for a long time. I also know one thing. The troops to which these two men once belonged sent troops to participate in the 1938 war. In a certain sense
They fought side by side with Berzalin! Obviously, you are aware of this."
Purkayev's words were obviously flattering to Stalin, but what he said was indeed true.
When Zhukov heard this, he couldn't help but think about it, and he said: "All arms are combined into a whole, and the troops need to get along with each other. Since they and Berzhalin have a common life experience of being stationed in the Far East and carrying out new combat missions, they
The combination should be better.”
At this moment, Stalin felt happy, and the seriousness on his old face turned into a little relaxed.
"This matter has been officially decided." Stalin suddenly looked at Yang Mingzhi: "Comrade Berekov, do you have any objections?"
"Yes...yes! I completely agree."
"Very good. Next, we need to provide these three divisions with new equipment and turn them into three units like the 284th Guards Division. This requires our military industry to increase the production of new equipment. Comrade Berekov
!”
"arrive!"
"I heard something." Stalin stared at Yang Mingzhi with his bright eyes, like an elder scolding a little boy who made a mistake, "Novosibirsk is already mass-producing the new automatic rifle you developed?"
"Yes..." Yang Mingzhi hesitated for a moment. He thought that Stalin was fully aware of this matter, but he sincerely admitted it, "Yes! I'm sorry, we did not get your approval."
"Yes, this is your mistake. I will find an opportunity to publicly criticize Governor Umov's arbitrariness! This comrade started to use his power wantonly just after he became governor. This is wrong. But...his purpose is after all
It was for the victory of the Great Patriotic War. Objectively speaking, it was also a beneficial move for him to achieve small-volume mass production of new automatic rifles early."
Yang Mingzhi did not refute anything. Although Umov's behavior of beheading first and then telling the story was self-indulgent towards the fact that the emperor was far away from the sky, his original intention was still for the country. However, the essence of the behavior was wrong!
Novosibirsk is currently a very important military production base. A large amount of iron ore and coal are transported from other places by freight military trains, as well as valuable funds allocated by superiors.
Each month, the relevant departments have done basic rationing and adjustment of how much production funds and raw materials each arsenal receives.
Umov made some changes without authorization and used precious materials and funds to mass-produce a new weapon that was produced without the approval of the ordnance management department. This was a major principled error.
This matter could be big or small. Yang Mingzhi estimated that if his new weapon failed to gain Stalin's favor and Stalin knew about this matter, he would definitely punish Umov.
After all, Yang Mingzhi understands the principles of military production very well. If a weapon is finalized and mass-produced, it will not change for a long time. Especially during the war, if there is to be a change, many factories will make the change under unified requirements. How can it be done?
Can individual factories act as they please?
In fact, Stalin now knew that Umov was secretly mass-producing assault rifles in Novosibirsk and what its production capacity was. Stalin really knew nothing about it. He even found out about it after listening to Zhukov's story.
Now, it is impossible for Berekov in front of him not to know this.
Stalin still asked with a harsh attitude: "Tell me, Comrade Berekov, how many new automatic rifles do you plan to produce in Novosibirsk?!"
Yang Mingzhi, who probably couldn't contain the fire in the paper, answered honestly: "We...we plan to produce 5,000 pieces first."
"So, can you estimate how many have you produced now?"
Yang Mingzhi counted with his fingers and found that ten days had passed since he boarded the train to Moscow. He had no doubts about the production capacity of the several arsenals in Novosibirsk. Even for small-scale production, within ten days
It should be no problem to take out 500 basic assault rifles.
Yang Mingzhi simply said: "I estimate there should be five hundred. Of course there are adventurist mistakes here, and Governor Umov also has his realistic ideas."
"Oh? What's that idea?"
"He...he hopes that all the new soldiers recruited for Novosibirsk will be equipped with the new rifles I invented. Because the Siberian troops sent to Stalin's front army always suffered heavy casualties after participating in the battle. He felt that the new weapons could reduce the soldiers' fatigue
The casualty rate was high, so we made a risky decision."
"It turns out that this is the case. Even so, he was wrong. Since he is dedicated to our country, this issue should be put aside for now. Now, we must talk about the real issues."
"Yes!" Yang Mingzhi listened attentively.
Stalin did mention a very real issue, which is to reduce the casualties of soldiers by equipping them with new weapons. He saw the practical significance of this theory in the 284th Guards Division. Belekov relied on desperately improving the infantry
With such combat firepower, a mere infantry division dares to fight multiple enemy divisions.
"Those three infantry divisions need to be completely re-equipped. They are reorganized divisions, and their total strength will be as high as 35,000! As for the situation where ordinary infantry divisions are equipped with Mosin Nagants and submachine guns at the same time, it does not apply to the new divisions.
, Therefore, I think that before the launch of the campaign, these three infantry divisions must be equipped with 30,000 assault rifles. There are still up to seven weeks before the launch of the campaign, and we must complete their installation within seven weeks!
Comrade Berekov, what do you think? If I order Novosibirsk to start mass production, how long do you estimate it will take for the local area to produce these 30,000 guns?"
"This...I..."
When Yang Mingzhi was hesitant, Stalin slammed the table and said cheerfully: "Is there pressure in Novosibirsk? The pressure can be overcome. The local factories that produce submachine guns and rifle ammunition immediately stopped working to produce new assault rifles, and what you call
squad with machine guns.”
"But!" Yang Mingzhi answered with emotion: "If the products are suddenly changed, each factory will have to make necessary adjustments. This will take time. I am very worried..."
"Are you worried that you can't complete 30,000 pieces in a short time? I don't think it's a problem. The drawings have been shipped to Moscow, and then distributed to Tula, Kazan, Vladimir or Perm. The local arsenals are involved in production. Many factories
Participating in production, 30,000 pieces is not a problem."
At this point, Stalin held his chin and thought for a while, "It shouldn't be just that, we also need to equip the rocket launchers you developed on a large scale. Currently, there is only one factory in Novosibirsk that is producing that kind of rocket launcher. Well, what is the nickname?
?”
"It's called catfish." Yang Mingzhi testified.
Stalin shrugged: "It's a strange name, but the combat performance is very good. Well, the factory will be expanded from one to three. In the next month, they will exclusively supply new rocket launchers to those three infantry divisions.
Just in time! Comrade Berekov, the two factories assigned to you are about to go into production. Just like this, one of the two factories will produce your new rifles, and the other will produce your rocket launchers. That's right! That's it, this is an order,
You must do it!"
Stalin's request came at the right time, a rifle and a rocket launcher. Stalin said it himself, and did not have to wait for the other party's approval.