On the evening of the third day, Shulka and Major Gavrilov went to General Kirponos's headquarters again to report to him.
"The 89th Division's bunkers are too far apart, and it is recommended to add field fortifications in between; the 91st Division's underground fortifications are not dense enough, and they allocate unorganized and disorganized troops to the basement. This is a serious mistake..." Added
Major Frilov held a record book and reported nonstop.
The last point is of course wrong.
The Soviet army was accustomed to sending soldiers who had made mistakes, such as running away or disobeying orders, to the most dangerous places. This was not a problem, after all, it could be seen as a punishment.
The problem is that the most dangerous places on the battlefield are often the most important places. It is bound to be wrong to leave these most important places to soldiers with low organization, low discipline or even unified command... Some of them even have
They were unwilling to climb out of the basement during the exercise, and Major Gavrilov had reason to believe that they would do the same after the battle started.
Not only that, there should be more people who choose to stay in the basement during the battle, because no one can do anything to them then, and some of them may even be ready to surrender.
Admiral Kilponos nodded absently, and then said: "Leave these to Comrade Yeverev, he will take care of it!"
Yeveryev was the staff officer of General Kirponos. Hearing this, he took the record from Major Gavrilov.
Major Gavrilov and Shulka couldn't help but look at each other, both feeling that something was wrong with the general today... Usually he was always very interested in these things and had to deal with them personally, because he felt that the most important thing at the moment was Kiev.
Line of defense.
The next second, Shulka realized what was happening: Minsk.
Sure enough, General Kilponos raised his head and looked at Shulka and said: "Unfortunately, you were right, Sergeant! The Western Front has completely retreated, and our flanks have been exposed to the German Army Group Center!"
Having said this, Major Gavrilov also understood.
It's no wonder that General Kirponos reacted like this. Exposing the flanks to the enemy's main force means that the Kiev defense line and even the Dnieper River defense line have lost their meaning.
"We have no choice but to retreat, general!" said Major Gavrilov.
"I have already applied to my superiors, but..." Admiral Kilponos shook his head slightly.
Everyone understands what this means.
Not to mention that the orders from the top brass of the Soviet Army during this period were all to "hold on" and "not to take a step back." Let's talk about Kiev... It is the largest city after Moscow and Leningrad, and it is a part of the Dnieper River defense line.
Nail is also an important pillar of the granary of Ukraine. Its geographical location and strategic significance are very important. It is impossible for the Soviet top brass to give up this important place easily.
Therefore, although General Kirponos requested withdrawal from Kiev time and time again, he actually knew from the beginning that his superiors would not agree.
After a moment of silence, General Kilponos raised his head and said to the two of them: "You haven't heard this information, do you understand?"
"Yes, Comrade General!" Shulka and Major Gavrilov stepped forward to respond.
Admiral Kilponos nodded and indicated that the two of them could leave, but Shulka took a few steps and turned back.
"Comrade General!" Shulka stood up straight in front of General Kilponos.
"What?" Admiral Kilponos' eyes flashed with joy: "Do you have a solution?"
"No, Comrade General!" Shulka replied: "I have other ideas!"
"Oh!" General Kilponos nodded in disappointment, and then said: "I believe your ideas are valuable, Sergeant! I'm listening!"
"It's about the Kiev defense line!" Shulka said: "I found that tanks on the defense line were used for defense together with bunkers..."
"Is there any problem?" Admiral Kilponos asked doubtfully.
This is normal for the Soviet Union, because as we all know, the Soviet Union's use of tanks at this time was to disperse the tanks among the infantry to cooperate with the infantry... Normally, the infantry should cooperate with the tanks to fight instead of using the tank as an infantry weapon.
To cooperate with infantry in combat.
This is one of the reasons why the Soviets did not pay attention to the tank communication system, because they believed that if the tanks were dispersed among the infantry, messages or orders could be conveyed to the tanks through the infantry... After all, the Soviet Union in this era still used a large number of communications troops and signal flags.
When communicating with something like that.
Shulka knew this was wrong.
Because obviously, a tank is a kind of mechanized equipment, and mobility is one of its important properties... And if the tank is used to cooperate with infantry, it is not much different from a bunker.
In fact, it is even worse than a bunker because it cannot have the protection and firepower of a bunker.
If there is any difference, it is that it can occasionally hide behind a bunker or in a bunker to avoid bombings from artillery shells or aircraft.
Major Gavrilov winked at Shulka and reported to General Kirponos: "No, there is no problem, general!"
Major Gavrilov actually knew what Shulka wanted to say, and they had discussed this issue before.
"We cannot deploy these tanks on the defense line!" Shulka said: "This will only make them targets for German artillery and aircraft!"
"Then how do you plan to deploy it?" Major Gavrilov asked.
"We should use them together, just like the Germans!" Shulka answered without thinking.
"You're crazy!" Major Gavrilov grabbed Shulka, then looked carefully to the side, and asked a staff officer not far away: "Did you hear something?"
"No!" the staff officer replied wisely: "I didn't hear anything!"
Shulka was puzzled by this, but soon understood that it was because of internal problems.
In other words, Major Gavrilov had just taken another risk for him... If the staff officer made a report, Major Gavrilov would have become an accomplice.
Major Gavrilov took Shulka aside, and after giving Shulka a cigarette, he said angrily: "Can't you be careful with your words? You will hurt us!"
Shulka didn't know what he said wrong, but he didn't dare to ask.
Because this is probably something that every Soviet person knows, and it would be strange if you didn't know it.
but……
"But we do need to use tanks like this, Comrade Major!" Shulka said: "The Germans have proven this!"