"Second Lieutenant!" While Shulka was smoking alone in the dormitory, Varrasha appeared at the door and called.
Shulka quickly threw away his cigarette and trotted forward to salute.
"Don't worry, Lieutenant!" Varrasha said with a serious face: "The interview is over, I know enough about you!"
"Yes, Comrade Major!"
After thinking about it, Varrasha took out his notebook and wrote something quickly on it while saying: "My father, he died in the Winter War, you know, a failed battle... so I know
what did you say!"
Varrasha tore off the finished page and handed it to Shulka, and then said: "If you want to talk about that battle, make this call!"
"Yes, Major!"
Shulka took the note and looked at Varratha who turned to leave, and suddenly realized that all this had nothing to do with Varratha or even other reporters. They also could not decide what they would interview or say.
The 333rd Regiment stayed in Moscow for three days.
The main function is just like the deputy instructor said... stabilizing people's hearts.
Because during these three days, Shulka and a group of soldiers participated in various activities, such as a commendation meeting, saying a few words, etc.
Shulka was awarded the Order of the Red Star, which is awarded to individuals and collectives who have made significant contributions to national defense and the protection of national security during war and peacetime.
Major Gavrilov and political commissar Fomin also received this medal. Shulka was the only one with a low military rank to receive this medal.
Then of course there are photography, interviews, speeches, etc.
Shulka didn't like this very much, because he thought it was a waste of time and energy. If possible, he would rather rest in the dormitory for a few days to recharge his energy for future battles.
But as mentioned before, many things are beyond his control, so he can only follow the crowd and do whatever others say... This makes Shulka feel like a puppet.
The report about Shulka came out quickly, with a striking headline on the first page: "Prevent the Enemy from Encircling Kiev."
The article used very gorgeous language to describe the process of Shulka and the 333rd Regiment's counter-encirclement in Kiev. Some parts were so exaggerated that Shulka couldn't believe it was him.
Shulka turned his attention to Major Gavrilov.
Major Gavrilov replied calmly: "Don't look at me like that. This is the need of the war, Shulka!"
Maybe Major Gavrilov is right. Is it still advertising the wounded who were dumped on the roadside in the newspaper? Or is it the cowardice of the recruits? Or the soldiers who collapsed and went crazy under the enemy's artillery fire?
No, if you write this, it will only make the people feel panic and empathize with the cruelty of war.
Newspapers should make the people mistakenly believe that the Soviet army is winning, and that the enemy's attacks are easily defeated time and time again, and then they will keep quiet.
From a war perspective, this is indeed true, because war involves using any means necessary, including against one's own people.
"So!" Shulka asked the deputy instructor... he should be called the instructor now, because his collar badge has been changed to two red squares, which is the lieutenant political instructor.
"Are we just going to stay in Moscow like this?"
"Don't you like this?" The instructor looked at his collar badge in front of a small mirror, flicked it with his hand, and sighed.
"What does sighing mean?" Shulka asked.
"You know what that means!" the instructor replied: "I have been striving for this military rank all my life. Being a lieutenant instructor is even my lifelong goal!"
"Then you've achieved it now!"
"Yes!" the instructor said: "But you suddenly find that it is not important. The goal you strive for throughout your life is not important... What will you do?"
“I would look in the mirror, flick it with my fingers, and sigh!”
The instructor turned to look at Shulka, with a rare smile on his lips.
"Do you know what we are going to do next?" The instructor adjusted his uniform and put away the mirror: "We are going out to fight and defend Moscow!"
No army can wait to die in Moscow, because at this time Moscow is already in a state of overwhelming military strength:
To the north, there were the German 4th Tank Army of Hoeppner and the 3rd Armored Group of Hoth.
To the east, there is Kruger's huge Fourth Army Group.
To the south are Guderian's 2nd Armored Group and Kleist's 1st Armored Group.
It is initially estimated that the German army has invested 1 million troops in the direction of Moscow, and most of them are the main force.
Although the Soviet army has more troops than the German army, with 1.25 million people, it is in a very passive position due to the loss of air supremacy and the overall performance of tanks, especially the backward tactics.
Therefore, it is natural that the 333rd Regiment is sent to the city to fight.
But what Shuer didn't expect was that the 333rd Regiment was not assigned to the main battlefield, but was assigned to the second line...
The 333rd Regiment took a train out of the city because all roads had been blocked.
This can be seen on the train: a tree is cut down every few meters on the road to serve as a roadblock. Engineers are laying mines everywhere on both sides. After the laying is completed, small red flags are placed on the narrow road to show that the minefield can be passed.
aisle.
The minefield extends to the far south, and the end should be the German offensive line.
The 333rd Regiment could not be arranged there. They got off the bus in Tula, which is 130 kilometers away from Moscow. The German army was still fighting the Soviet army 20 kilometers away, and the sound of artillery could be faintly heard here.
"Now, what is going on?" Shulka asked the instructor after getting out of the car and seeing the Soviet soldiers digging trenches and mines around him.
The instructor has a lot of inside information, so Shulka is used to asking for information from him.
"Remember our mission?" The instructor looked towards the battlefield in front of him.
"You mean stabilizing people's hearts?"
"Yes!" the instructor said: "To stabilize the people's hearts, this means that we have to fight, because it will make the people despise us; but at the same time, we cannot fight a hard battle, because that means that we cannot continue to promote! So..."
The instructor spread his hands around and then said: "This is good, isn't it?"
"Yes, very good!" Shulka replied: "At least it is much better than giving speeches and socializing in the city!"
Although Shulka said this, he was still a little unhappy in his heart.
Although he knew that the combat effectiveness of the 333rd Regiment was not very good. It was a mixture of soldiers from various arms and units, and they were not even trained uniformly.
But...it would be too much to treat it as a vase or a decoration.