Chapter VIII Reorganization of the 284th Infantry Division in Minsk
Sometimes movies restore history, and the soldiers who traveled halfway around the world to Europe were packed into iron carriages, like they were trafficking livestock.
Some people say that Soviet soldiers are not afraid of death, while others say that they are just a bunch of gray animals. The soldiers can endure the stuffy carriages, and they all know that the next few days will be a torment.
However, everyone's morale is still high, and many people are eager to fight. Just like what the political commissar said on weekdays, sooner or later, the entire Europe will be liberated.
The Far Eastern Front will dispatch ten regiments to Europe. These infantry regiments are all experienced veterans, and some of them have even participated in the Battle of Nomonkan. The Moscow authorities decided to use this method to quickly expand the military establishment by allowing veterans to lead new recruits.
Pugachev and Yang Mingzhi had lunch on the train and talked about the future.
Pugachev drank a drink and looked out the window. This is the vast land of Russia, and the military column will pass through the Ural Mountains in a few days' journey.
"After passing this mountain range, we will enter Europe. Everything that is happening now conforms to what you said last year. Is the war really necessary?"
Yang Mingzhi said with a determined expression. "Yes, Comrade Division Commander. Britain and France received Germany's so-called peace promise, but as a result the French Republic no longer exists. If the Germans had peace sincerity towards the Soviet Union, then they would not deploy on the border.
Millions of people.”
Pugachev nodded. During the meeting at the original station, the army commander also expressed similar concerns.
Yang Mingzhi continued: "For the Germans, only by defeating us can Britain give up resistance, so that the Nazis have the possibility to occupy the world. But this is not a good thing, just like they are massacring the Jews now, they will kill the Slavs
, the Chinese, and even their allies the Japanese, treat them as inferior monkeys. Because this war is no small matter."
The young man's statement was very explicit, and he revealed the cruelty of the future war.
"The enemy's goal is not to occupy the Soviet Union, but to completely eliminate everyone on this land, including you and me. Therefore, Comrade Division Commander, I hope you will not have any illusions about the Germans. We will end the war victoriously,
But the road to victory will be very difficult, I hope you can be mentally prepared, Commander."
Pugachev lowered his head and said nothing. He didn't know the cruelty of war. Since war is unavoidable, let's let the artillery fire come more fiercely!
The military train stopped in Yekaterinburg, and Yang Mingzhi took his wife for a walk around the city. It was better to be optimistic before the war started. He bought himself some new clothes and even a pair of boots. His wife grew up in white mountains and black waters, so he bought her some things that women should do.
Some, such as underwear, are in line with the taste of an old guy like me.
In the city, Yang Mingzhi also got some information. The army was gathering in Eastern Europe, including several strategic cavalry divisions. Lao Maozi insisted on the glorious tradition of Cossack cavalry. The old guys at the top of the Moscow army clung to the old tradition. Ye Liao
Menko even emphasized the glorious historical significance of the Soviet cavalry in the establishment of Soviet Russia.
Therefore, the military column continued westward, and he saw a large number of cavalry moving through the car window. He knew that in the future, these cavalry units would serve more as an auxiliary to armored units, and later there would even be fast mobile units such as mechanized cavalry brigades.
The military column did not stop in Moscow, but passed through Ryazan, Tula, Smolensk, and finally arrived at its destination Minsk.
Now, the area around Minsk has become a huge military camp, with millions of troops gathering in this direction.
After getting off the train, Pugachev felt refreshed. He had been promoted to division commander and had greater authority. The next step was to report non-stop to the headquarters of the group army to which he belonged.
Division Commander Pugachev had already left, and Yang Mingzhi followed the team into the designated temporary camp to set up camp.
"We will have to sleep in tents for a while, you have to bear it," Yang Mingzhi told his wife.
"Okay, at least it's much better here than during the Anti-Japanese War."
Star Tao also had to help when setting up the tent. This would be their "home". Including the division commander himself, everyone slept in tents and simple living facilities were being built. Some soldiers even cut down wood to build more
A sturdy temporary wooden house.
It was already evening when the division commander came back, and the temporary division headquarters had been set up. He couldn't wait to order all junior officers to hold a meeting, and Yang Mingzhi was also present.
A round table was placed in the division headquarters tent, and a huge map was spread out.
Pugachev scanned the crowd attentively and said: "Everyone should have guessed that the Army Group and even the entire Baltic Special Military Region are not optimistic about the future situation. We should not think that we are still far from the border and a war is likely to break out.
Even right next to us.”
"In other words, we are about to move to a new position?" Battalion Commander Yevlov asked.
"Yes, but as we said before we set off, we will first expand our troops. Then we will rush to the planned positions. Look at the map. The red circle is where our 284th Division will be deployed."
The officers lowered their heads. The position they were sitting in was more than fifty kilometers away from the city of Minsk. The defense line of the entire military region was in a fan shape, which was no different from the defense model in other parts of the Soviet Union. The 284th Division was just a node in the entire defense line.
The Soviet Union was very large. In order to deal with potential war threats, the Soviet army had to establish a defense line of thousands of kilometers from the Baltic Sea to the Black Sea. Yang Mingzhi was very fortunate that he was not on the front line. The infantry division he was currently in was still in the rear, and even more
It exists as a strategic reserve force.
According to the strategic deployment, every regiment from the Far East was expanded into an infantry division, and Pugachev received the official designation, the 284th Infantry Division, affiliated with the 11th Army.
Yang Mingzhi thought that he was just a spectator, telling Pugachev about the future when necessary. He knew that this old guy believed in him, but he did not expect that this man would issue a new appointment.
"Comrades, I plan to let our Belekov also lead a team, let him be the commander of the special anti-tank battalion."
Yang Minzhi was very puzzled. Didn't he agree to be a staff officer? The same officers were also puzzled. After all, this man's military registration stated that he was of Mongolian origin and was born in Buryatia. In fact, everyone knew that this man was Amur.
The Chinese from across the river.
"Teacher, maybe you should think about it again." Yang Mingzhi declined.
Pugachev waved his hand, "I have decided. The weapon you made has very good anti-tank capabilities, but we have only conducted very few experiments on this weapon. Only you and the soldiers who helped you produce the weapon understand this.
The correct and efficient operating mode of the weapon. Therefore, I give you the authority to lead a force of 500 people to form a special battalion to focus on attacking the enemy's armored forces when necessary in war."
So Pugachev elaborated what he meant, all because of the unique nature of the infantry division.
According to the spirit of the 1939 Soviet infantry division establishment regulations, the 284th Division had three infantry regiments, two artillery regiments, and an independent anti-tank artillery battalion, with a total number of more than 1,500 people. However, Pugachev’s previous
The full infantry regiment only has 2,400 men.
Since Yang Mingzhi has manufactured 500 rocket-propelled grenades, it is better to organize this secret weapon into teams and use it intensively. The division commander makes his own decision. After the army is fully reorganized, the division will have two anti-tank battalions.
After resting for two days in the temporary camp, the troops set off towards the designated assembly point, targeting the village of Badijinskaya.
Yang Mingzhi has been promoted to the commander of the special anti-tank battalion. He believes that he is moving towards his goal. Commanding hundreds of people is just the beginning. For this reason, he asked five girls, including his wife Yang Tao, to serve as health workers for his unit. He decided
He would not abandon his wife to the division's field hospital. After the war broke out, the Soviet army would inevitably retreat. No matter what, his family must stay by his side to protect her.
The army did not delay. At the end of April, the 284th Division took the lead in arriving at Badijinskaya, which quickly turned into a huge military camp.
Many villagers followed the army's advice and evacuated their families and valuables to the inland areas in military vehicles. Private houses were requisitioned one after another, and Yang Mingzhi also had his own small room. After all, he had certain privileges as an officer.
Immediately afterwards, a large number of troops gathered here, and two newly formed infantry regiments arrived first. Pugachev immediately ordered his battalion commander to be the new infantry regiment commander. His most admired battalion commander Yevlov has become a subordinate
Commander of the 1st Infantry Regiment. Immediately after the artillery regiment arrived, tens of thousands of people had gathered around the small village.
It was a little difficult to command such a large-scale army, so Pugachev quickly called Yang Mingzhi to his side. After all, in addition to his own job, this man also had to help as a staff officer.
According to Pugachev's intention, the three main infantry regiments of the division formed a long snake formation, the anti-tank regiments were separated, and the anti-tank artillery was laid out on the front line. Behind the defense line was the position of the artillery regiment.
At the beginning of the war, he was responsible for artillery support.
It doesn't make sense to everyone. After all, the neighboring troops are also arranged in this way, but some people say that such a defense line is too thin. In the blitzkrieg that the Germans believe in, tank groups can attack a little bit to break through the defense line.
The staff members and many officers exchanged opinions and had no objections to this defense model.
But if this is the case, there is no need to call Yang Mingzhi over. Pugachev needs to hear what the Chinese means.
"I object." Yang Mingzhi rejected this defense plan without thinking.
"Why? Our friendly forces also deploy their defenses in this way." said a staff officer.
"That's why I object, and I really don't mean to disrespect those in the Army Group, because our defense model is nothing more than a thin egg shell, and the enemy is a sharp chisel. Look at our anti-tank guns,
They are dispersed and can easily be defeated individually. As for our artillery, because they are too far away from the front line, they are not mobile firepower, so it is difficult to provide reasonable artillery support in times of crisis."
The new troops expressed great resistance to the words of this oriental-looking officer. The officers sent by Pugachev could not control the will of the new troops. What's more, the political commissars came up with relevant regulations and required everything to be done in accordance with the regulations of their superiors.
.
"This is the defense plan formulated by the group army. We cannot make any changes. If we change the defense plan without authorization, we will have to go to military court if something goes wrong."
Yang Mingzhi hopes that anti-tank guns can be used for hits, so that more shells can shoot at a few tanks, and basically a salvo can destroy the enemy. However, Lao Maozi's stubborn senior officers have been promoted too quickly and have little war knowledge.
I had no choice but to regard the battle cases of the civil war as the Bible. I also felt that in the new war, the infantry unit still had to act according to the pattern of World War I.
Yang Mingzhi's words were only heard by a few people. Although his opinions were reasonable, Pugachev did not make any adjustments. He just pointed out: "If there is a fierce attack by enemy armored forces in that direction of the defense line, you and your troops will
You must arrive in time."
Yang Mingzhi took the order, and he also began to intensify the training of his men. A total of 490 soldiers belonged to the special anti-tank battalion, and 100 of them were RPG grenade manufacturers. They were very aware of the weapon invented by the battalion commander.
He was also the first to know the horror of this weapon.
The monkey version of the simple RPG2, Yang Mingzhi said this about his weapon. After all, it was born in tatters and could not achieve extremely high accuracy. In the later stages of production, due to the lack of a large amount of materials, this weapon can be considered "aimable"
"Level flying rocket launcher". Even this is enough, at least at a distance of 200 meters, it has a very high hit rate.
At the same time, the soldiers stepped up training and the entire Badijinskaya became a huge training ground.
The main equipment of the ordinary Soviet infantry is the Mosin Nagant equipped with three-edged spurs. The heavy weapons are the DP light machine gun and the Maxim M1910 heavy machine gun. As for Yang Mingzhi's special anti-tank battalion, they are very different from other troops. After all,
Yang Mingzhi served in the PLA before traveling through time. He strived to recreate the Soviet army that he was satisfied with based on his own memory and using the PLA as the prototype.