Things can only be said to be a matter of taking one step at a time.
The first thing Shulka did was to recruit troops and food.
This pairing didn't work at all before, but after having Shulka, it became a trivial matter.
Shulka seized on the people's misunderstanding of his purpose and went to the city in person to give a speech and publicize it.
The content of his propaganda was completely in line with the requirements of the army, and it was all about defending the country and driving the invaders out of the Soviet Union. Shulka did not even mention the word "rectification".
However, due to preconceived notions, the people spontaneously believed that this was definitely to reorganize the 82nd Infantry Regiment. They even speculated that the 82nd Infantry Regiment was going to be built into a heroic unit to set an example for other units. So young people signed up one after another, and the people also enthusiastically signed up.
Donate money and food.
In less than a week, the 82nd Infantry Regiment quickly expanded to 2,000 men, and the rate is still growing.
But as the number of troops increases, new problems continue to emerge.
The most serious issue is the issue of guns and ammunition.
Among them, ammunition is relatively easy to deal with. Major Mikhailovich announced lightly at the meeting: "As you know, our entire defense line is fighting the Germans now. The front line needs bullets very much, so we can give us ammunition for training."
Very few! Don’t complain about this, they always hope that you can put every bullet into the enemy’s body instead of the target!”
The soldiers laughed and then understood.
But if there aren't even enough rifles, that's a bit unreasonable.
"Without rifles, they can't even get basic tactical training!" Andrianka said: "What will they use to fight the enemy?"
"This is just a trivial matter!" Major Mikhailovich said in a low voice: "If they don't have all the rifles, they will start to doubt the 'rectification'!"
Shulka understood what Mikhailovich meant.
If the superiors start to pay attention to the 82nd Infantry Regiment and start to reorganize it, it is impossible that they will not even have the rifles.
If you delay for a few days, you can use excuses such as poor transportation conditions and urgent needs on the battlefield. If it takes more than ten days or even dozens of days, it only means that the superiors still don't take the 82nd Infantry Regiment seriously.
As a result, the good situation created by Shulka, or it can be said to be a lie, was exposed, and in the end all efforts were in vain.
"We can withdraw some soldiers to the second line!" After saying that, Shulka placed a list of some veterans and disabled soldiers in front of Major Mikhailovich: "For example, training them to drive cars, training
They become engineers, cooks, etc.!"
Mikhailovich nodded: "Good idea, they can play a much greater role on the second line than on the first line!"
The fact is not only that, as the saying goes, soldiers are more valuable than men. The old, weak, sick and disabled not only cannot play a big role, but they will drag down or even kill others.
"The rifles they retired were used by combat troops?" Andrianka said: "But it's still not enough!"
"Let's apply for another batch of rifles from our superiors!" Mikhailovich said: "With the expansion of the establishment, it is reasonable to apply for rifles!"
Andrianka nodded and then stopped talking.
"Any questions?" Mikhailovich asked.
"No, there is no problem, Major!" Andrianka replied: "But this cannot solve the fundamental problem. What I mean is...the superiors still gave them some old rifles, and the ammunition supply was still pitiful, especially the lack of heavy equipment.
One day when we go to the battlefield..."
There is no need to say anything more next.
Nothing you do now can change the fact that the 82nd Infantry Regiment is a cannon fodder unit.
At the same time, if no heavy equipment enters, such as cars, jeeps, artillery, etc., the same problem as before will occur: over time, soldiers will become suspicious of the "rectification".
"Although you are right, Comrade Andrianka!" Major Mikhailovich said: "But we have to do it step by step, we need time!"
"The problem is that we may not have time!" Andrianka said.
"What do you mean?" asked Major Mikhailovich.
"I got the news!" Andrianka replied: "A large number of our troops are gathering towards the south, and a large-scale battle is likely to be launched soon!"
Shulka said nothing. Andrianka was right to worry. The Soviet army was gathering in the south to launch the Battle of Kharkov.
Almost all Soviet generals were opposed to this battle, including Zhukov, Rokossovsky and other famous generals. They all believed that the time for a large-scale counterattack had not yet come, and the Germans were not yet on the verge of collapse.
But Stalin insisted on going his own way and insisted on launching an attack, and the time was set in May when the ice and snow melted.
Stalin had no idea that while he believed that the Germans were dying and was actively preparing to launch a counterattack, Hitler was unwilling to fail and was gathering strength to prepare for an attack.
It was a very coincidence that Stalin chose the direction of his counterattack in Kharkov, that is, on the southern front. Hitler also secretly transferred the main force to Army Group South, preparing to launch an attack after the ice and snow melted.
This made sense to the German army.
This is partly because of Manstein's series of victories on the southern front... Although the 11th Army failed to capture Crimea, it blocked the isthmus that was easy to defend and difficult to attack and stabilized the front. This is also a guarantee
This ensured the safety of the German right wing. At the same time, once the ice and snow melted, the Pripyat Swamp would cover the German left wing, allowing the German army to attack with confidence.
On the other hand, Hitler never gave up on Moscow.
Attack from the south, and if you can successfully capture Stalingrad, continue north to outflank Moscow from the rear.
At that time, Moscow will be captured effortlessly.
Then, the two fists collided hard together again.
Objectively speaking, no one expected that the other side would concentrate its main force in the south for this battle, so no one was prepared.
The problem was that Stalin seriously misjudged the strength of the German army to an outrageous degree, so the Soviet army kept charging and fighting in the direction of Kharkov, basically ignoring its own safety... The result was that it was once again surrounded and annihilated by the German army on a large scale.
(Note: The Soviet army lost 75,000 lives in the Battle of Kharkov, captured 239,000 prisoners, and lost a lot of equipment, while the German army only suffered 20,000 casualties)
In particular, these troops that were encircled and annihilated were well-trained veterans who had experienced hundreds of battles, which directly led to the crisis in Stalingrad for the Soviet army.
"If there is any big battle!" Andrianka said worriedly: "We will most likely be transferred to the battlefield as a feint attack force, which means there may not be much time left for us!"