Of course, it is much better for the political commissar to have some power weakened than to have the power not be weakened enough to command everyone without scruples and even decide the life and death of others.
Shulka didn't need to care about these, and even if he did, he couldn't care about them, so Shulka turned his attention to the combat map... The map clearly marked the German retreat situation at this time.
Manstein is indeed a famous German general. His retreat was arranged in an orderly manner. It can even be said that he had already built a defense line before retreating. Therefore, the Soviet army's "pursuit of victory" did not make much progress. The Soviet and German armies were basically in Azov.
A confrontation forms between the sea and the Donets River.
On the other hand, the German troops in the Caucasus are also retreating simultaneously... Once the Battle of Stalingrad fails, or even the Soviet army has recaptured Miloway, the German troops in the Caucasus will have to retreat, otherwise all the troops there will face being surrounded again
danger.
The German army obviously did not dare to take such a risk again, so retreat was the only option, even if there was a strategically important Baku oil field in the Caucasus.
"Comrade Shulka!" At this time, the correspondent called to Shulka: "The headquarters wants you to go there!"
"We'll be there soon!" Shulka replied, picked up his armed belt and went out.
As soon as Shulka entered the army headquarters, he felt something was wrong in the atmosphere.
Originally, they should have been filled with joy and excitement after the victory in the Battle of Stalingrad, but they were all a little trepidatious.
Then Shulka knew that the problem lay with political commissar Zolotarev.
"Comrade Shulka!" Zolotarev said gloomily: "Have you read the order issued by the Supreme Command to abolish the political commissar system?"
"Yes, Comrade Zolotarev!" Shulka replied.
"What do you think of this order?" Zolotarev asked again, with a somewhat unkind tone.
Then Shulka understood that Zolotarev was targeting him.
Why I don’t need to say more is of course because this suggestion was made by Shulka.
Of course, Shulka proposed this to Stalin, and the content of this conversation could not be leaked. At the same time, Stalin would not say that it was Shulka who made this suggestion because he had nothing to eat... Stalin's structure would not be so small.
So there is no need to say who said it, of course it was Beria.
As for the intention, Shulka had guessed it before. Beria would definitely leak the news intentionally, so as to force Shulka to stand against the Political Department.
So Shulka didn't want to hide it. He replied: "Yes, Comrade Zolotarev! This is what I suggested to Comrade Stalin when he met me in Moscow. Are there any questions?"
The people around were stunned for a while. Maybe they were just guessing before, but they didn't expect Shulka to admit it himself.
"Very good, Comrade Shulka! Very good!" Zolotarev said coldly with a straight face: "Do you know what impact your suggestion will have on our army?"
"You should be talking about the influence on the political commissar, Comrade Zolotarev?!"
"Isn't the political commissar part of the army?" Zolotarev asked back: "Although there are some cowards among the political commissars, we face the enemy and fight with the enemy on the front line like other soldiers, and we even rush to the front.
Isn’t it?”
"Indeed, Comrade Zolotarev!" Shulka replied: "But do you think this can lead the troops to fight a good war? If you lead the troops to launch a wrong charge, only one instructor or political commissar will be sacrificed, but the soldiers will be sacrificed.
one slice!"
"Without us, do you know what would have happened on the battlefield? A large number of deserters, and then we would face defeats one after another, even the victory in the defense of Moscow and the battle of Stalingrad we just won! And!
We were punished after the victory! Do you think this is fair? Does this satisfy you?!"
…
Shulka did not speak in a hurry. He waited quietly for Zolotarev to finish speaking, then stared into Zolotarev's eyes and said: "You are a good political commissar, Comrade Zolotarev! You work seriously and have a rigorous attitude.
, and are willing to listen to the opinions of your subordinates! But you know clearly that not every political commissar is like you! I said the same to Comrade Stalin. The political commissar lacks battlefield experience and command quality, which makes countless soldiers useless
If you say it is fair when soldiers died on the battlefield, why don’t you ask those soldiers who fell on the battlefield if it is fair? Why not ask their families if it is fair?”
"This is war..."
"People will die in war, right?" Shulka interrupted Zolotarev unceremoniously: "The problem is that wrong command will lead to more meaningless deaths!"
Zolotarev was speechless.
"I don't have any position!" Shulka finally emphasized: "I don't have any objection to you, Comrade Zolotarev! I just don't want similar low-level mistakes to appear again and again in future battles.
The soldier fell senselessly to the enemy's gun! That's all, if Comrade Zolotarev wants to punish me, I promise to obey!"
Trufanov stood up and advised: "Comrade Zolotarev, no matter what, this is a decision made by the Supreme Command and an order issued by them. What do you think..."
Zolotarev gritted his teeth and nodded. He knew what Trufanov meant.
If Shulka is punished, it means that he openly disobeyed the orders of the Supreme Command and even stood against Stalin. This is no joke. As a political commissar, he should ensure that his position is absolutely correct.
In fact, if Zolotarev was smart enough, he should not have confronted Shulka and started an argument with him like this.
On the contrary, Zolotarev should pat Shulka on the shoulder in a friendly manner and say: "Comrade Shulka! The question you asked is a good one. We accept it with an open mind and work hard to improve it, and promise to make up for the shortcomings and correct the problem in the near future.
!If you have any comments in the future, please feel free to mention them to us!”
Zolotarev regarded Shulka as a friend during the battle and cooperated well with Shulka during the battle, so he couldn't accept the telegram when he received it.
But at this time he also calmed down.
As Trufanov said, this is an order from the Supreme Command, and to argue on this issue is to question the Supreme Command.
"I have no intention of punishing you, Comrade Shulka!" Zolotarev said: "I have no objection to this order and will obey it unconditionally! But I think you are biased against the political commissar and have no objective evaluation...
…”
But halfway through, Zolotarev couldn't continue because he felt that almost everyone in the headquarters was on Shulka's side. (To be continued)