Burning Moscow

I learned that my application for promotion was rejected, and General Zhukov, who had been taking special care of me, personally rejected it. After hearing what Cui Kefu said, I couldn't help being stunned.

"Comrade Commander, this is impossible!" Biyukov, who was standing next to us, was surprised when he heard what Cuikov said, and couldn't help but interject.

"Yes, General Bilyukov." Cuikov looked at Bilyukov and said affirmatively: "General Shumilov, the commander of the group army, personally verified this with the Chief of Staff of the Front Army Nikishev. It can't be wrong. ."

Biliukov looked at the commanders around who were so excited and forgetting about everything. He tilted his head and said, "Comrade Commander, let's go outside and talk." He and Cui Kefu walked a few steps, turned their heads and found that I was still standing. I was in a daze, and quickly came over to take my shoulders, and said with a smile: "Let's go, Lieutenant Colonel Oshanina, don't stand here in a daze. Let's go outside together. I have something to say to you."

After exiting the headquarters, Biliukov did not stop, but directly pulled me and Cuikov into the car. After he was in the front passenger position, he politely said to the driver: "Comrade driver, you are outside. Are you tired after waiting so long?"

The driver glanced at his rank, and quickly straightened his body and replied: "Report Comrade General, I am not tired."

Seeing that the driver’s reaction was slow, Biliukov didn’t understand the important meaning of his words in time, so he waved at the driver helplessly, and said grumpily, “Comrade driver, I suggest you go find a place to smoke a cigarette first. , When I call you, you will come back."

The driver did not dare to answer him immediately, but turned to look at Cui Kefu in the back row. Cui Koff nodded to the driver and said, "Comrade Driver. Since General Biliukov asked you to leave temporarily, you should go to another place and stay for a while."

The driver just agreed. Push the door to jump out of the car, trot away.

Seeing the driver disappear from our sight, Biliukov returned to business and began to analyze with us why Zhukov rejected my promotion application. He slowly said: "Comrade Commander, this is how I considered this matter. In fact, it is not a bad thing that Lieutenant Colonel Oshanina's application for promotion was rejected, on the contrary it is a good thing."

"What? What did you say? General Biliukov, did you make a mistake. Oshanina's application for promotion was rejected, but you still said it was a good thing?" Cui Koff may have been holding his stomach from just now, listen. When Biliukov said so, he couldn't help but attacked him.

Biliukov still had a calm expression on his face. After raising his hand to stop the excited Cui Koff, he began to analyze the cause and effect to us. He only listened to him slowly saying: "Comrade Commander, don't worry. Don't get angry, listen to me slowly explain to you."

"Go ahead, I'll just sit here and listen to you." Cui Kefu replied angrily.

"If I remember correctly. After the establishment of the 64th Army, the first chief of staff was Colonel Novikov?"

"Yes. When the group army was first established, it was indeed Colonel Novikov who served as the chief of staff of the group army. Later, because of an incorrect combat order, he was dismissed and sent to a military court...." At this point, Cui Koff suddenly Frozen, after a while, he continued: "What do you mean, General Zhukov disagrees with being promoted to Lieutenant Colonel Oshanina because he is afraid that he will repeat the mistakes of the former Chief of Staff?"

Biliukov did not speak, but nodded, expressing his approval of Cuikov's statement.

Cui Kefu patted the back of the front chair, and said excitedly: "No wonder, no wonder. Let me just say, Zhukov and Lieutenant Colonel Oshanina are closely related, and Zhukov is supporting her most of the time, so she can come to the present. At the point, Zhukov was happy to see her being promoted. How could she oppose it with such a big fanfare? It turned out to be to organize Lieutenant Colonel Oshanina to encounter similar troubles. General Biliukov, you have a good analysis. , The top ten thing is the kind of situation you just mentioned."

After speaking, he raised his arm and patted my shoulder a few times, comforting me and said: "Lieutenant Colonel Oshanina, don’t be gloomy anymore. You didn’t listen to General Bilyukov’s words. General Zhukov dismissed it. Your application for promotion is out of love for you. As I said just now, this battle with the enemy near Stalingrad will not be over in a month or two. Our troops may still Passively and continuously retreat to the rear, if the command is held accountable, as the leader of the group army, it will inevitably be blamed and will be severely punished."

After listening to Bilyukov’s analysis and Trikov’s heartfelt words, my psychology was immediately balanced. Although the deputy chief of staff of the group army sounds good, he does not have much real power. It is simply an echo of the commander and the chief of staff. Continue to be my chief of staff.

Cui Koff raised his hand and looked at his watch. Biliukov said, "Comrade Commander, you go back and tell those commanders to take the troops back to their defense zones immediately, occupy the positions to repair the fortifications, and rush to the headquarters of the group army at 7pm. Participate in today’s battle summary.” Seeing that Biliukov opened the door and wanted to get out of the car, he added: “As long as the chief military officers of the divisions and brigades come to the meeting, the political workers will forget it.”

On the way back, I saw groups of German soldiers holding their heads on the side of the road, and under the **** of the soldiers, they headed east. He couldn't help but curiously asked Cui Kefu: "Comrade Commander, where will these prisoners be taken?"

Trikov glanced out the window and said disdainfully: "Where else can I go? Of course it was Stalingrad."

I asked with some surprise: "It's still more than two hundred kilometers away from the city, so I won't let them just walk like this."

Cui Koff shook his head and said, "I walked east for about ten kilometers from here, and there is a waypoint. Usually, after the prisoners are escorted there, they will be sent to Stalingrad by military train."

Although the troops I led had captured a lot of prisoners, every time the prisoners came back, I sent someone to send them to my superiors, and never cared about the whereabouts of these prisoners.

When returning to the group army headquarters, Shumilov, military commissar Serdjuk, and Chief of Staff Raskin were studying something around the map on the table. Seeing us entering the door, Shumilov stood up straight and nodded at Trikov. Said politely: "Comrade Cui Kefu. You are back."

"Back. Comrade Commander. What are you studying?"

"Comrade Cui Kefu, come and take a look. Although we have won the battle today, with the enemy’s character, we are absolutely unwilling to fail and will definitely retaliate. They will definitely concentrate their superior forces on our position within a short period of time. Crazy counterattack."

"You are right, Comrade Commander. What you worry about. Lieutenant Colonel Oshanina just mentioned it to the commanders. I believe everyone knows it now."

"Comrade commanders, do you need to call those commanders immediately?" Chief of Staff Raskin asked for instructions.

Cui Kefu waved his hand to deny his proposal and explained: "Before I returned to the headquarters, I had notified all the chief military officers of the participating troops to come to the headquarters to hold a battle summary meeting at night." He said that he looked around. Around, he asked curiously: "Comrade Commander, where has Comrade Abramov, Commissar of Military Affairs, gone?"

"The front army has just shipped a batch of materials to our group army, and Abramov is responsible for the logistics of the group army. So he took people to receive the materials."

"Since Comrade Abramov is not here, I will tell Comrade Serdyuk about this matter. Anyway, he is also a military commissar of the group army and is responsible for the political propaganda work of the army."

"General Cuikov, do you have any instructions?" Serdjuk heard Cuikov mention his name, and quickly got up from his seat and asked politely.

"That's it, Comrade Military Commissioner, I want to talk to you about political propaganda." Cui Kefu walked around the table and walked to his side. He gave a detailed account of the story of the group card we just heard. A military commissioner said it again.

After listening to Serdjuk, he clenched his fists and slammed his fists. He said loudly, "It's great. I will immediately ask the political department of the group army to sort out their heroic deeds, and then publish a propaganda tabloid so that every member of the group army can Understand them and boost the morale of the troops through propaganda."

After Serjuk left, Cuikov told Raskin: "Comrade Chief of Staff, there will be a meeting here later, and all those who are not involved will go out."

The irrelevant personnel in Cui Kefu's mouth refer to the communications staff who came to the command headquarters to answer the phone today. As his subordinate, Ruskin was naturally able to comprehend what he said and quickly cleared the field.

The summary meeting of the battle is scheduled to be held at six o'clock in the evening. When it was half an hour before six o'clock, the commanders and brigade commanders of the participating troops arrived one after another. As Cuikov and Shumilov went back to rest, I was in charge of the reception work for the time being.

Perhaps it was a great victory that was fought so happily today, so every commander who came was beaming with joy. When shaking hands with me, in addition to saying hello, I have to say a few more words.

Lyudnikov and Kuropatenko came together. When Lyudnikov shook hands with me, he repeatedly thanked me, saying that I was grateful to me for winning such a great honor for their teachers, which can wash away the shame of their early defeats.

When shaking hands with Kuropardenko, he deliberately said to me with a straight face: "Lieutenant Colonel Oshanina, you are really not interesting."

"Why do you say that? Comrade commander." His words left me confused.

"Our division and Lyudnikov's division have been fighting side by side. It can be said that the battles fought and the results obtained are comparable to them. Why are they only promoted to the guards division, and our division has no honor at all? Didn't get it?"

When I heard him mention the guards, I realized that he was joking, and quickly replied: "Comrade Colonel, this battle is still going to be fought. If your teacher performs well next time, I will definitely fight for my superiors and let you guys. Also promoted to guard division."

"That's great, Lieutenant Colonel Oshanina." Kuropardenko might just say so casually. I didn't expect that I actually gave him a solemn promise, and his excited voice suddenly changed. "I really don't know how to thank you, so I will salute you first." After speaking, he straightened his body together with his legs together and paid a solemn military salute to me.

Hearing that I promised Kuropardenko that I would fight for the position of guards for their division in the future, the rest of the division commanders and brigade commanders quit, they also came in one after another, surrounded me, and strongly urged me to do it at the right time. To win this honorable place for them.

Seeing that I was so surrounded, Biliukov walked over to relieve me. He stepped aside the commanders crowded in front of me and yelled at them: "Comrade commanders. What are you doing? Didn't you see that this is the group army headquarters. Noisy and noisy. What does it look like?"

When he said this, everyone shut their mouths and started walking to their seats. I saw the commanders surrounding me disperse, and I just wanted to catch my breath and thank Biliukov by the way. Unexpectedly, he actually said: "I said Lieutenant Colonel Oshanina, you have been a regimental commander under my hands anyway, and there will be any good things to be promoted to the Guards Division in the future. Don't forget my 214th Division! "

When the people around heard Biliukov's words, they burst into laughter. Someone also said loudly: "General Bilyukov. You must rely on your own strength to fight for the promotion to the Guards Division. You can't say that favors go through the back door."

Just as everyone was laughing forward and rejoicing, a stern voice suddenly came from the door of the command: "Comrades, please be quiet. Comrades, commanders and deputy commanders are here." Hearing this voice, inside the command center. Suddenly, there was no sound, and everyone stood upright, waiting for the arrival of the meeting host.

After Cuikov, Shumilov, and Raskin came to their seats and took their seats, Cuikov raised his hand and pressed down and greeted everyone: "Comrades, commanders. Stop standing, just sit down. Let's sit down. This is a meeting."

This summary meeting did not talk too much about the process of winning, but discussed some problems that existed in the battle.

After listening to the speeches of several teachers, Cui Kefu stood up again, and began to talk about some of his views on the current situation. I quickly took out a pen and paper from my briefcase and started recording to accumulate my experience. He only heard him say loudly: "Comrades, everyone knows that since the beginning of the July battle, our troops were forced to retreat under the strong offensive of the enemy. However, the defeat in the battle did not make us lose our fighting spirit. Here, I boldly predict: one day, these incredible German marshals and generals will become the defeated generals of our army...."

As soon as Cui Kefu said this, he was interrupted by enthusiastic applause. I quickly put the notebook and pen on my lap and clapped with everyone. The applause stopped abruptly when Cui Kefu raised his hand and pressed it down.

Cui Kefu went on to say: "The enemy can gain an advantage, to a large extent, because when they launched an offensive, the units of our army have not had time to form a combat formation. If we reach the designated position, there are even two. , Three days to organize defenses. According to regiments and battalions to launch battle formations, repair trench bunkers, organize firepower coordination and communication, replenish ammunition, and organize logistics supplies, then the enemy will never be able to easily break through our group army. defense.

When the Germans were preparing for artillery fire on the defensive area of ​​our army, I stayed in the observation post close to the front and noticed their tactical weakness: their artillery and mortars were scattered, and they only fired at the front instead of deep. ; Also lacks extensive firepower maneuvers in combat.

During the years I studied at the Frunze Military Academy, I studied many battles of the Germans on the Western Front during the First World War. I understand the German generals' views on the role of artillery in future wars (such as Bernhard's thinking). Therefore, in the first few days of fighting in the Don area, I thought that the enemy artillery would perform orthodox coordinated actions: precise shots at the barrage, lightning-fast fire maneuvers and artillery maneuvers. But this is not the case. I was disappointed to see that the enemy artillery still used the old method, slowly gnawing at the trenches with artillery fire.

If we have a deeper defensive depth configuration and no longer add an anti-tank reserve team, we can not only deter the enemy’s offensive, but also kill and injure the enemy in large numbers.

German tanks would not dare to charge without the cooperation of infantry and the support of the air force. I have seen foreign newspapers that often advertise how the German tank soldiers are brave, courageous, and swift, but this time on the battlefield, I did not see these characteristics of the enemy.

The advantage of the German infantry is that their submachine guns have good performance and firepower~www.wuxiaspot.com~ However, I have not seen them show rapid movement and bold attack on the battlefield. Because the German infantry had sufficient ammunition, they did not hesitate to use bullets when attacking, but they often shot blindly in order to achieve the goal of emboldening themselves.

The front of the German position is easy to observe, especially at night, because there are many tracer bombs and various color flare flying above it. The enemy seems to be afraid of the darkness, and they may feel lonely without shooting them. The enemy's maneuvers are also easy to monitor, because their convoys always turn on their headlights when driving on the grassland.

In the battle, the enemy's air force's combat capabilities are best displayed, and the contact and coordination of the enemy's air force and ground forces are organized very rigorously. It can be felt that the German pilots are familiar with the tactics of the German army and our ground forces. As long as the enemy infantry is suppressed by our artillery or machine gun fire, German aircraft will soon arrive. Dive bombers lined up in circular formations, taking turns bombing our army's combat formations and artillery positions.

The above is my preliminary conclusion of studying enemy tactics. I hope that all commanders here will also learn to observe the enemy and study their strengths and weaknesses. Familiar with their habits, so that you can know yourself and the enemy, and you will never end up in battle. My words are over. "

As soon as Cui Kefu finished his speech, the audience burst into thunderous applause. With his applause, everyone agreed with his brilliant summary. (To be continued...)