"Order them!" At this time, even a man like Mahlis, who knew little about military affairs, knew what to do. He ordered without thinking: "Let them hold on, especially the Kerch Peninsula.
Be sure to take a step back!"
"Yes, Comrade Mahlis!" the communications soldier responded and conveyed the order.
"What should we do now?" Mahlis turned his attention to Shulka: "Are we ready to land immediately?"
"Yes!" Shulka nodded: "Of course, if they can hold on!"
So the Crimean Front took action.
Troops moved to the port one after another, including the 1st Guards Tank Brigade where Shulka was located.
In fact, the 1st Guards Tank Brigade was the priority force to land, which was the order of Mahlis.
Because Mahlis believed that as long as the 1st Guards Tank Brigade could successfully land on the Kerch Peninsula, the battle would be half won.
Mahlis even plans to land with the 1st Guards Tank Brigade... I don’t know whether this is because Mahlis wants to gain a reputation as a "pioneering leader", or because he believes that only the 1st Guards Tank Brigade can guarantee
own safety.
Or perhaps, it was because Mahlis knew that he would not be able to command the battle once he left Shulka.
Shulka thinks it's the last one that's more important.
However, the 1st Guards Tank Brigade failed to make the trip.
"Comrade Mahlis!" A naval colonel responsible for coordinating with the army reported to Mahlis: "The sea is too rough today and it is difficult for tanks and other heavy equipment to land!"
This is indeed the case. The transport ship is swaying back and forth with the wind and waves in the port, which will bring great trouble and danger to the crane. If you are not careful, it will cause an accident, not to mention the occasional German aircraft.
Fighter planes swooped down from the sky and dropped several bombs.
"If possible!" said the colonel staff officer: "We can transport the personnel of the tank unit there first!"
"Are you crazy?" Mae Helis looked at the staff officer with disbelief: "You asked the tank troops to abandon their tanks and rush to the front?"
So the 1st Guards Tank Brigade stayed, and the first batch to land became an infantry division.
In fact, let alone tank units, infantry divisions have difficulty loading and unloading in such wind and waves, because infantry divisions also have cars, artillery and ammunition.
In desperation, the infantry division could only abandon its heavy equipment and rush to the Kerch Peninsula. After a while, only more than 6,000 people in the first batch successfully landed in Kerch.
By this time, the situation in Kerch had begun to deteriorate.
The person who commanded the Kerch operation was Marshal Kulik. He was originally the deputy defense committee member of the Soviet Union and was deeply trusted by Stalin because he had commanded the artillery to victory in the Battle of Tsaritsyn and was considered by Stalin to be an artillery expert... At that time, the Soviet Union was extremely lacking
Talent.
But in fact, Marshal Kulik was strong on the outside and capable on the inside (historically known as Marshal Fool), and the T34 tanks, "Katyusha" rocket launchers and "Bobosha" submachine guns were all rejected by him, the deputy defense committee member, because Marshal Kulik believed that they
They were all useless, such as rocket launchers and submachine guns, which were inaccurate and wasted ammunition. Until Stalin personally ordered their production.
After the Soviet-German war broke out, Marshal Kulik was dismissed because of his wrong command in Leningrad.
Originally, Marshal Kulik could only stay in Moscow for vacation, but after Manstein launched an offensive and threatened Crimea, Stalin transferred Kulik to Crimea to take charge of the overall situation...
From this we can see that Stalin’s employment of people was actually quite subjective, and whatever he thought could be done would be done.
For example, Kulik, if it were any other person, would have been shot or sent to a military court if he failed due to command issues, but Kulik could be sent back to the battlefield after a period of leave... This is obviously to give him another chance.
.
If in terms of military rank, Mahlis is a lieutenant general and Kulik is a marshal, of course Mahlis cannot command the marshal.
But Mahlis's other identity is the representative of the Supreme Command, which is equivalent to the order of the Supreme Command, so of course Kulik must obey.
However, Kulik secretly complained when he received this order.
He led a force that had retreated from the front line. Although it had more troops than the Germans, its morale was low.
Just a second ago, Kulik was still complaining to his staff: "Hold on? Don't they know that my troops are all defeated soldiers? Their minds just want to retreat, or even escape... I have to use a pistol
Only by holding on to their heads can they fight on the front line! In this case, they let me hold on!!"
If these words come from the mouth of a soldier, it would be normal, but if they come from the mouth of a marshal and a commander of an army of more than 100,000 people, this battle is destined to be impossible to win!
The reason is very simple. The commander's calmness and confidence are the pillars of the morale of the entire army. At this time, Kulik should try to convince all his soldiers that they have the ability to stop the Germans and ultimately win. Even if he has thoughts in his heart, he cannot say it easily.
exit.
Kulik's complaints may not seem like much on the surface, but in fact they violate a military taboo.
So, naturally, staff officers, communications troops, and guards would spread such words, and then no one would have the courage to fight the enemy.
At this time, the Soviet army actually had a great advantage:
The first is the comparison of military strength.
The German army first arrived on the Kerch Peninsula and entered the battle with only one division (the 46th Division) and some reinforced troops, with a total strength of only 20,000.
The Soviet army numbered 150,000.
The second is the geographical advantage. The Kerch Peninsula is only 16 kilometers at its narrowest point, with impassable seas on both sides, and the sea conditions are not good.
16 kilometers is nothing to the Soviet army with hundreds of thousands. They can build several lines of defense one after another, and it is not a problem to hold them back for a few days.
Thirdly, the Crimean Front of the Soviet Army has implemented reinforcements to the Kerch Peninsula, which means that time is also on Kulik's side.
Objectively speaking, this is a good opportunity, a chance to make a comeback. As long as he gives a pretentious speech in front of the soldiers, strengthens the soldiers' confidence in defeating the enemy, and then lays out defense lines layer by layer, even with landmines, the Germans can be defeated.
Stay outside the defense line.
Unfortunately, Kulik did not see this. The first thing he did was to order the headquarters to retreat, and at the same time gave an order to the frontline troops to hold on.
This can be said to be the stupidest thing to do, even stupider than complaining about the situation on the battlefield.
Because this is a clear message to all officers and soldiers, and to those officers and soldiers who are disheartened and have low morale...you block in front, I will retreat first!