Shulka spoke very straightforwardly and practically.
Because he learned a lesson from Beria: Never play tricks with them.
Shulka may be an expert on the battlefield, or it can be said that he can predict many dangers with his historical knowledge and become an expert on the battlefield.
However, Shulka is a rookie among rookies when it comes to power.
If he wants to survive this kind of undercurrent and extremely dangerous power struggle, Shulka believes that there is only one way, and that is to be "straightforward".
Because Shulka's colorful guts couldn't be hidden from anyone, so he simply didn't have any "guts" at all and just said what he had, whatever the facts were.
These words may have been harsh to Stalin.
Because this model is what Stalin meant, using political commissars to supervise the troops fighting on the battlefield so that they can fight forward.
This model may still be useful in the early stages of the war... In fact, it was useless in the early stages of the war, because since the outbreak of the war, the Soviet army has been defeated like a mountain. Those who should escape escaped and those who should surrender surrendered. Among them, political commissars surrendered to the enemy and even became enemies.
Some of them, including political commissars and instructors, were killed by soldiers and then surrendered despite not agreeing to surrender.
If it really worked, it would have been during the defense of Moscow. The presence and supervision of the political commissar allowed many troops to fight on the front line without retreating.
This is the saving grace.
The problem is that the defense of Moscow does not require much tactical literacy from the troops. All troops only need to know one thing: persist, persist, and persist in the cold weather, and then the Germans will collapse.
Such a victory cannot be replicated in other battles.
Especially as the war progressed, the quality of the Soviet army became higher and higher, and more and more people believed that the Soviet Union could win...
The latter is more important.
In the early days of the war, almost no one believed that the Soviet army could win. At this time, objectively speaking, the role of political commissars was very meaningful, because they could stabilize people's hearts. Even if they did not stabilize people's hearts, they would force soldiers to stick to their posts and form a line of defense.
However, after the victory in the defense of Moscow and subsequent counterattacks, the confidence and morale of the Soviet military and civilians in defeating the enemy skyrocketed. At this time, the role of the political commissar was smaller. Its disadvantage was that it did not understand military affairs and did not understand war but mastered it.
Chaosing command while relying on command authority gradually became apparent.
After a while, Beria interjected: "Although what Comrade Shulka said is a bit absolute, Comrade Stalin, I have heard this issue more than once. The army chiefs know how to fight, but they do it because they want to
We obey the orders of the political commissar and have to deploy according to the wishes of the political commissar. However, when the battle fails, the responsible officer is the one responsible instead of the political commissar. This is a big blow to the morale of the army!"
Stalin did not answer. After thinking for a while, he said: "That's it for today's conversation!"
"Yes, Comrade Stalin!"
With that said, Beria and Shulka withdrew from the office.
Shulka clearly felt that the moment Beria turned around, he nodded towards Shulka with satisfaction.
It can be said that Shulka did exactly what Beria wanted, and it can even be said that it was even more perfect than he imagined, because Beria, who knew Stalin well, knew that Shulka's words had already moved Stalin.
Stalin had a suspicious temperament. If people like Shulka had not spoken out on this issue so boldly and straightforwardly, what others, including Beria, might have said might have been regarded as "slander" and "smear".
It goes without saying what the consequences are.
Therefore, what was said by officers from the front line like Shulka was credible. Once Stalin believed it, Stalin would have no choice.
Because there were two paths before Stalin:
One: Ignore the shortcomings of the political commissar system and continue to use it.
There is no problem with this, and the Soviet army can continue to fight and even win.
The problem is that, just as Stalin himself considered it, the Soviet army fought the enemy with such huge casualties, and dozens or millions of them were surrounded and annihilated by the German army before. At this time, the Soviet Union had reached the point where children and women were allowed to carry guns.
To the point of entering the battlefield.
How long can the Soviet Union last like this?
No one knows, not even Stalin!
Stalin could not guarantee whether the Soviet army would suffer from a shortage of supplies as a result, that is, experienced veterans would all die on the front lines, while the reserve forces at the rear had not yet had time to grow.
It is conceivable that if this happens, all the good situations and victories achieved by the Soviet Union will be in vain.
Did Stalin dare to take this risk?
Obviously, no one would be stupid enough to risk the country's destruction just to use political commissars to control the army.
The reason is simple, because if the political commissar relaxes temporarily, he can tighten it later, and if the country is destroyed, everything will be gone.
Therefore, Stalin actually had no choice but to choose the second path: reform the political commissar system.
Before that, Stalin may send someone to conduct an investigation on the front line.
But Beria is not worried about this at all, because what Shulka said is true.
When Stalin investigated clearly, the matter was settled.
Beria did not praise sulka along the way, and even talked very little, just a few innocuous words.
After arriving at the National Security Bureau, Beria shook hands with Shulka and said: "Thank you very much for your work during this time, Comrade Shulka! But I just received a telegram from the front line. It seems that the Germans have something on the defense line.
So I think it’s time for you to return to the army!”
"Of course, Comrade Beria!" Shulka couldn't help but breathed a sigh of relief after hearing this.
Shulka knew that he had gained Beria's trust, otherwise, he would not have put himself back into the army, or put him back alive.
"The door of the National Security Bureau is open to you at any time!" Beria said: "If there is anything needed, I will let Comrade Akadiyevich contact you!"
"Yes, Comrade Beria!"
Later Shulka realized that Beria actually had a deep meaning in doing this. He was trying to avoid suspicion... to avoid Stalin misunderstanding that what Shulka just said was his instruction.
In fact, if you really want to talk about it, Beria really didn't say anything. He just reminded Shulka about the "combat effectiveness" of the troops.
Everything else was Shulka's own "random imagination".
And this is the great thing about Beria. If anything happens, that is, if Stalin pursues it, he can get rid of it without leaving any trace. (To be continued)