Chapter 105 New Opportunities
The weather in Kaluga Oblast has begun to warm up in late February. The ice that has been frozen on the Oka River for a winter has begun to loosen, and the snow on the ground is rapidly thinning.
However, such weather is often very difficult for troops, especially those on the march.
The snow on the ground starts to melt from the bottom, and the melting process is very slow. During the day, as the temperature rises, the lower part of the snow begins to melt, and at night, as the temperature drops, the snow that melted during the day freezes back into ice. This rapid conversion between ice and water makes the roads muddy and difficult to walk on, and the wilderness turns into a swamp. Often, if you step in, your entire calf will sink into the mud.
Yuri led his troops into the city of Sukhnich at noon. After a month of harassing attacks, only one and a half regiments were left in his division. The fatigue of the soldiers was written on their faces. In addition, their uniforms were covered with mud and water. They looked like a guerrilla force that had just broken out from behind enemy lines. Oh, maybe they were not even as good as guerrillas, but more like a group of beggars.
After a month of continuous fighting, the 328th Division did not suffer many casualties. Most of the casualties were caused by the epidemic. Even Yuri, the division commander, lost more than ten pounds in a month and now looked like a big monkey.
The night before, Yuri was still commanding his troops to attack a village occupied by German troops in the direction of Oryol. When he received a notice from the army headquarters asking him to retreat to Sukhinich for rest, he gave up the plan to let the troops rest for a night and rushed back directly.
Yuri didn't want to think about anything now. He just wanted to take a quick shower, then find a soft and comfortable big bed and sleep well for three days and three nights. He would not get up until he had enough sleep.
After being recaptured for a month, Suhinichi has restored order. However, the entire city is still under military management. No matter whether it is outsiders or local residents who intend to return to their homeland, they are not allowed to enter the city. It can be said that this is still a large military camp.
After finding the city leader of the Internal Guards and settling his troops, Yuri planned to go to the headquarters first to hand over the previous tasks, and then find a place to take a shower and sleep. But when he arrived at the army headquarters, he found out that his plan was ruined again. He had to start working immediately, and as for rest, he could only forget about it.
In fact, it was not until he entered the army headquarters and met Comrade Kazakov, who was temporarily acting as the army commander, that Yuri learned that just a few days ago, Rokossovsky had been hit in the back by German artillery fragments and was seriously injured. He had been transferred to Moscow for treatment.
At present, most of the affairs of the army headquarters are temporarily handled by Comrade Kazakov, and there will be no personnel changes in the front.
Kazakov told Yuri that what the army was currently doing was to form a new infantry army based on the strength of the 322nd, 323rd, 324th and 328th divisions, with Comrade Orlov as the commander.
As the army group's combat staff, Yuri will also participate in the formation of the infantry army, which has been specifically instructed by the front command.
After receiving this news, Yuri felt that all his previous fatigue was swept away. There was no doubt that this was a hint given to him by the front command. It could also be said that this was a procedure before promotion and appointment.
Joining the formation of a new infantry army is undoubtedly the best opportunity for a military commander to learn experience. The entire process of unit reorganization is actually a process of familiarizing oneself with the operation procedures of the subordinate units in the army. Yuri feels that if nothing unexpected happens, when the next large-scale battle breaks out, he will most likely have the opportunity to command an army. In other words, he may be appointed as the army commander.
In the Soviet Army's operational sequence, there are not many armies, because there are army groups in the Soviet Army, and an army group is actually equivalent to an army. However, since the outbreak of the war, the establishment of armies has gradually increased. Generally speaking, the attached strength of an army is between 3 and 5 divisions, which is a large military group.
According to Comrade Kazakov, this arrangement was first proposed by Comrade Rokossovsky, who recommended Yuri to the front command. This recommendation was approved by Comrade Zhukov and was quickly passed.
Kazakov's introduction also reduced Yuri's disgust for Rokossovsky: although this guy always assigned him some inhumane jobs, he never forgot about him once there was an opportunity for promotion.
From commanding division-level troops to commanding army-level troops, it is a big leap. Under normal circumstances, if Yuri wants to make this leap, he must at least undergo training and work as the chief of staff of an army-level unit for several years before he can have such an opportunity. But in the current Soviet Union, the scarcity of commanders at all levels makes this leap possible.
Of course, such a leap also involves huge risks. If Yuri does not have such talent, or his talent is only enough to command a division and not to the level of commanding an army, then his future fate may be the same as Pavlov's - in Yuri's view, Comrade Pavlov is not lacking in command ability, but his command ability is limited to commanding an army group, not a front.
The process of integrating several independent divisions into an infantry army is by no means a simple matter of calling the commanders of several divisions together and telling them that they are all colleagues and that they will all be under my leadership and that we will form an infantry army. The combined forces organized in this way are still actually an army group, but a small army group under the command of the 16th Army Group.
Generally speaking, the composition of an army is simpler than that of an army group. After all, the former is a tactical unit, while the latter is a battle group. Generally speaking, an army group is capable of supporting a battle, while an army, due to the singleness of its arms, needs to obtain combat cooperation from other arms under different battlefield conditions. For example, if Yuri is going to participate in the integration of an infantry army, then the subordinate infantry divisions, the original artillery attached units, and the tank attached units in the army will all be concentrated and under the unified dispatch of the army headquarters. Therefore, from the command point of view, the army-level commander must not only have the ability to command large-scale infantry group operations, but also have keen insight, be able to sensitively discover key positions on the battlefield, and adjust the main attack direction of tanks, artillery and other units in a timely manner.
Throughout March and the first half of April, Yuri was busy participating in the organization of the infantry army. He ran back and forth between Kaluga, Moscow, and Kozelsk. He followed the army commander Comrade Orlov to contact and run around to ask for the indispensable things such as soldiers, equipment, and even grassroots commanders from the equipment department and several military academies. In addition, he had to go to the front headquarters to argue with those leaders, and to the Military Commission to report the personal situation of the commanders under the army, etc. In short, after running around for a month and a half, regardless of whether he was tired or not, at least he was almost familiar with the heads of these key departments. Now, no matter where he went, he could catch two or three acquaintances to chat with. By the time the work of organizing the infantry army was finished, he was already known to everyone in the front headquarters, not to mention other departments. Chief of Staff Sokolovsky even gave him a nickname: "Diligent Borenka". Every time he went to the front headquarters, Comrade Sokolovsky would greet him from afar as soon as he saw him, "Diligent Comrade Borenka is here again, what do you want this time?"
Do not underestimate the process of contacting and getting familiar with people, as it is very important for a commander's promotion. For example, if an unfamiliar commander wins a battle on the front line, his superiors who are not familiar with him may exclaim, "So-and-so fought well." On the contrary, if his superiors are familiar with him, they will be surprised and say, "Oh, that guy is so capable? That's great." One is familiar, the other is unfamiliar, two attitudes, two completely different outcomes. An unfamiliar leader may forget your victory in the corner, while a familiar leader will put you on the shortlist the next time he is needed. They will say, "So-and-so performed very well somewhere last time, maybe he can try this opportunity."
What is the difference between a soldier who knows how to play politics and a soldier who doesn't? In Yuri's opinion, the difference between the two lies in whether they can show themselves. A soldier who doesn't know how to play politics will always be unknown in peacetime. He will not look for opportunities to show his presence, but will only make himself shine through combat. A soldier who knows how to play politics will not only make himself shine in wartime, but also let more people know his existence in peacetime.
After all, isn’t the first step in politics to demonstrate one’s own presence?
Throughout March and April, the Soviet and German fronts entered a defensive state. The German army suffered a disastrous defeat at the gates of Moscow. Guderian, commander of the 2nd Panzer Group, was relieved of his post and assigned to the reserve because of his unauthorized retreat in the Tula area. After receiving this news, Zhukov invited everyone to drink vodka at the front headquarters. This was definitely good news for the southern group of the Western Front.
