The telegram sent from Moscow made Yegorov, commander of the Southern Front, and political commissar Stalin feel somewhat unwilling.
Yes, the southern White Army led by Denikin has been suppressed by them to the Crimean Peninsula and the Caucasus. With just one more force, they can be divided into two parts.
Because the 1st Cavalry Army had already reported to them that it was less than a hundred kilometers away from Rostov, and it would only take one day to capture this strategic point.
But this telegram from Moscow makes all this unrealistic. Because the Southern Front will be transferred to the western region of Ukraine, and they will be renamed the Western Front, and the vacancy left by them will be taken over by the Southeast Front. So even if
Being so close to Rostov, they could only ask the 1st Cavalry Army to withdraw.
Because the Southeastern Front will switch to strategic defense next, even if Rostov is captured, it will not be able to hold it.
"It's really frustrating."
As the commander of the Southern Front, Yegorov slapped the table hard. Yegorov, who graduated from the Kazan Infantry Official School, was very unwilling. As a military general, how important is Rostov?
He knows it too well.
This strategically important city is located only 45 kilometers from the mouth of the Don River. As long as they capture the city of Azov, which is located at its mouth, it will become theirs and can be captured easily. As long as they capture these two cities, Denikin
The White Army troops will inevitably divide the city into two parts. But there is no chance now.
"Okay, Yegorov. Save some energy and think about it. Let's face the enemy Romania next."
Seeing Yegorov vent his inner dissatisfaction, Stalin, as the political commissar, must stop his behavior. After all, this is the decision of the central government, and they, as members of the Soviet, must abide by it unconditionally.
But deep down, Stalin was actually dissatisfied with the central government's decision.
In his view, the first priority at the moment should be to eliminate the White Army. After the internal enemies are eliminated, we can concentrate our efforts on making these neighboring countries that take advantage of the Soviets feel the anger of the communists. Now we must disperse our forces.
, it is really unwise. It is simply giving the White Army time to reply. The person who made such a decision is simply committing a crime against the Soviet Union and should be sent to Siberia for labor reform.
He also knew the inside story of the Central Committee's order this time. However, because they had won too many battles, some members of the Central Committee did not understand the situation clearly. But now they can only execute the order first.
Although Stalin was also dissatisfied in his heart, he was a well-known person in later generations and his power was quite deep. He would not show his dissatisfaction like Yegorov.
After Stalin said something, Yegorov also calmed down. Since he could not change, he could only follow the orders of the central government and do the things at hand first. So he immediately considered how to arrange his troops and turned to the west of Ukraine.
Yegorov looked at the map and said to Stalin: "Now we can let the 1st Cavalry Group withdraw and wait for the Southeast Front to take over."
"Totally doable."
Yegorov's suggestions were also approved by Stalin.
Yegorov continued: "Then the 14th Army can go to Kiev first to strengthen the defense force in the area. This is to prevent Romania from having undue thoughts about the city."
"No problem, just do as you say."
After getting Stalin's consent, Yegorov called the messenger and issued the order. The reason for this scene is mainly related to the unique military system of early Soviet Russia, which is the decision-making power system of political commissars. The reason for this is
This situation is also closely related to the relatively small number of Soviet military cadres.
At the very beginning of the war, Soviet Russia found that the soldier committees it established could not replace the role of commanders at all, and then implemented a political commissar system, that is, political commissars. However, during the battle, it was discovered that political commissars had political abilities, but most of their military abilities were worrying.
It was too late for Soviet Russia to train military cadres now, so they could only use former Tsarist Russian officers who were captured by them. However, in order to prevent these officers who may be dissatisfied with the Soviet Union from causing rebellion, the combat orders must include military chiefs and political commissars.
Sign. In order to prevent the two from disagreeing with each other and causing unnecessary losses, the final decision will be carried out by the political commissar.
Yegorov, who had served as a colonel in the Russian army, was definitely not on an equal footing with Stalin, who was at the top of the Soviet hierarchy. So he usually expressed his opinions, and then Stalin made the final decision. Fortunately, the two did not get along for long.
But very harmonious.
After Yegorov finished making his suggestions, Stalin told him good news.
"Because we have to face the Romanians, all our front armies will be strengthened next. At present, the Soviet Military Commission has decided to integrate the 6th, 8th, 9th Army, and the 2nd Cavalry Army into our front army. In addition, because Romania
We are well-equipped, so the Military Commission will also support us with a lot of machine guns, artillery, armored vehicles and other technical equipment."
"This news is really good. This way we can at least have a strength advantage. This war can be fought if there is not a big gap in technology and arms."
When he learned that the troops and weapons and equipment would be replenished, Yegorov jumped up happily like a child getting a favorite toy, completely seeing his previous dissatisfaction. After all, not everyone commands an army of 500,000 people. This kind of opportunity
I don’t know when it will be available next time.
Looking at Yegorov who was as happy as a child, Stalin walked outside.
Seeing Stalin about to go out, Yegorov asked curiously: "Where are you going?"
"I need to prepare food and other materials, which cannot be transported from the rear alone. We need to raise some to relieve the pressure on the central government."
Comrade Stalin had a high level of consciousness and considered everything from the perspective of the central government.
"However, the supplies nearby have already been collected. It will be very difficult to collect them again."
Stalin's words made Yegorov think that he was going to recruit people nearby.
"I know that. I have no plans to collect supplies nearby this time."
Not collecting supplies nearby?
Yegorov asked with some confusion: "Then where are you going to collect?"
"I want Kiev to collect supplies for us."
"Kyiv?"
Yegorov was greatly surprised by Stalin's words. Ukraine is not only a neighboring country in name, but is it really good to collect supplies like this?
Seeing Yegorov's surprised look, Stalin knew what he was worried about. "Don't worry, I won't let our army collect it. Ukraine is our granary, let the people in Kiev do it for us. Don't worry, we will tell you
