On Shulka's way back to Crimea after completing his mission in the Caucasus, a piece of news reached the headquarters of the Crimean Front.
"Comrade Mahlis!" Grigory walked into the headquarters and whispered a few words in Mahlis's ear.
Grigory was one of Maihelis's advisers.
If Alexei was the think tank of Mahlis's march and operations, then this Grigory was the eyes and ears of Mahlis.
Some people describe Gregory as the hound of Myhelis, which means that nothing can escape his keen sense of smell. This is one of the reasons why Myhelis can become the "King of Small Reports".
After listening for a while, Mahlis suddenly raised his head and asked in a deep voice: "Don't let this news get out!"
"Of course, Comrade Maihelis!" replied Grigory: "I have already done so. But... we cannot stop the Germans!"
Mahlis was silent for a while, then nodded and waved for Grigory to go down.
There is no need to say more about what made Mahlis so flustered.
Of course it was Manstein who revealed the truth.
There are some things that are not allowed to be said by Soviet soldiers or even officers, because it is a disaster that comes from the mouth, but if it is said by the Germans, the enemies of the Soviet army... it is very convenient, even for Mach
Leith was helpless.
Because as Gregory said, they could order the Soviet army, but they could not stop the Germans.
Manstein launched a propaganda machine, such as shouting through loudspeakers on the front lines, and using cannons and airplanes to drop leaflets.
"We pay tribute to the 'breakout hero'! We know that he is the one who really defeated us. Mahlis? Can you believe this? Do you think he can really command the battle?"
"Russian friends, we don't understand what's going on! Your newspapers write about Mekhlis... No, that fool, that 'king of snitches' stole the fruits of other people's victory!"
"Is this how you treat heroes? The 'breakout hero' fought on the front line. He risked his life and made a huge contribution to your army, your country, and your people! Such heroes, in our
The country will be respected, but what about you? He is not worth mentioning, and the newspapers say nothing about his achievements... Can you tolerate this? Is it worth fighting for? Is it worth risking your lives for?
A medal for the 'King of Snitches'?"
"All they know is that they order you to fight and charge, but they take the credit for themselves! This is a shame. We will never admit that we were defeated at the hands of Mahlis. We will never
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Not to Grigory's surprise, Moscow quickly got the news in this regard.
Stalin immediately called the headquarters of the Crimean Front.
"Is the news true?" Stalin asked seriously.
"No, of course it's not true, Comrade Stalin!" Myhlis replied: "This is obviously a means for the enemy to divide us internally. They hope to provoke our internal conflicts!"
"You also know about the internal conflicts? Mahlis!" Stalin said and hung up the phone.
In fact, Stalin knew the news was true from the moment he heard it, because he knew Mahlis and knew that he was by no means the kind of person who could draw up such a brilliant battle plan.
Not long ago, he was surprised how Mahlis seemed to be a different person.
Now, everything has come to light.
However, out of trust in Machlis...or rather subjective hiring bias, Stalin called Zhukov to inquire about the matter.
"Do you know anything about this 'breakout hero'?" Stalin asked.
"Yes, of course, Comrade Stalin!" Zhukov replied: "He is an outstanding Soviet soldier, brave, determined, optimistic, and what is more rare and valuable is his unusual wisdom!"
Stalin was silent for a while. The conceited Zhukov had never had such a high opinion of anyone.
"So, do you think what the enemy said is true?"
"No, Comrade Stalin!" Zhukov cleared his throat and replied: "I, I am not very clear about this matter. You know, I am commanding the battle against the enemy's Central Army Group!"
Although this answer sounds negative on the surface, everyone knows that it is actually positive. Zhukov just doesn't want to offend Mahlis.
Shulka on the other side received a telegram from Katukov while on the ship.
Shulka carries a radio with him. Originally, the Soviet Army's battalion-level combat units may not be equipped with radios, but because Shulka's mission is to escort the "Tiger", it is necessary to have a radio to communicate with the headquarters.
of.
"Shulka, they know!" Katukov said: "The Germans go around saying that it was you who defeated them, not Mekhlis!"
Shulka couldn't help but be startled when he saw this telegram.
I have to say that Manstein's move was very clever, because it not only sowed the relationship between Maihelis and Shulka, but also the relationship between the lower-level officers and soldiers of the Soviet army and the higher-ups.
Prior to this, due to the methods used by Mahlis to block the news, as well as the denial and blocking of the news by the informed troops, especially Shulka himself, these things had never been revealed.
If anyone knew, it would be the soldiers of the 1st Guards Tank Brigade and the Marine Infantry Brigade who could guess it. But even so, on the one hand, they still guessed, but on the other hand, they did not dare to say or discuss it at all.
So other troops knew nothing about it.
But now, the Germans have spread the truth to a large area in a short period of time... Although the Germans have no evidence, it can even be said that the Germans have ulterior motives to frame and alienate.
The problem is, almost everyone knows how powerful the "Breakout Hero" is, but Mahlis is a loser.
So as long as you are not stupid, it is easy to know that this is true.
In other words, Mai Helis has been stealing the credit of the "breakout hero".
This might not be a big deal in normal times, because Mahlis has always done this.
But this was during the war.
What Maihelis did was just like what the Germans said: on the one hand, he threatened the soldiers with shooting to make unnecessary charges and asked every soldier to bravely kill the enemy. On the other hand, he hid behind and shamelessly plagiarized what the hero had paid for with his life.
meritorious deeds.
This will make all officers and soldiers consider whether it is worth continuing to fight like this.
In other words, it would deal a heavy blow to the morale of the Soviet army at this critical moment.
This also makes Shulka difficult... The "cooperation" between him and Mahlis seems to have ended here.