Chapter 116 Wishful Thinking
"…The German fascists once took a country, Denmark, in four hours, but in Nozyaelsky, on the line of defense organized by Comrade Yuri Arkhipovich Kulyokov, the German fascists advanced less than 800 meters in nearly five hours. On this 800-meter offensive route, they lost more than 800 soldiers and 47 tanks…"
"…The Supreme Command has decided to award the title of 'Hero of the Soviet Union' to all officers and soldiers of the 127th Infantry Brigade who bravely defended the Kosomovo Heights, and to award the unit the honorary title of Guards…In recognition of Comrade Yuri Arkhipovich Kulyokov's outstanding command performance in the battle for the Kosomovo Heights, he is awarded the 'Battle for the Defense of Novosili' medal…"
On the small cabinet at the head of the bed, a huge "Red Five-Star" radio was broadcasting the news. Next to the radio, there were two open brocade boxes. In the box on the right was a gold star medal, and in the other box was a large silver lace medal. This medal used the composition of a sword and a rifle, and below the pattern was a line of golden Russian letters: "Battle for the Defense of Novosili". In front of the two medals, near the edge of the table, there was a long box with a gold border. In the open box lid was a knight's saber with a golden pattern on the scabbard. In the middle of the scabbard, there was a line of engraved Russian words: "Awarded to Comrade Colonel Yuri Arshepovich Kulyokov, an outstanding commander of the Soviet Red Army, in June 1942." And on the golden handle of this knight's saber, there was also a pattern of the Red Banner Medal. Needless to say, this was an honorary weapon awarded to Yuri.
This is Yuri's bed, and on it are placed medals and honorary weapons, which were naturally just awarded to him by the Supreme Command. Almost everyone who walks into this ward will stare at these things for a long time with envious eyes.
The Supreme Command obviously attached great importance to the victory of the Noziarsky town blocking battle, so it was very generous this time.
This was the second time that Yuri was awarded the Gold Star Medal. In other words, he was also a person who was awarded the title of "Hero of the Soviet Union" twice. What was even more remarkable was that this time it was not him who was awarded the title of "Hero of the Soviet Union", but the entire infantry brigade. In the past years, it was very rare for a group to be awarded the title of "Hero of the Soviet Union".
In addition to the Gold Star Medal, there is also the Medal of Honor for the "Battle for the Defense of Novosili". This medal named after a region also has special significance. Similarly, Yuri has won two medals of this type.
Finally, and most importantly, he also received the honorary weapon awarded by Comrade Stalin himself, the Golden Knight Saber engraved with the Red Banner Medal. In the not-so-long history of the Soviet Union, many people have won various medals and awards, but not many have won honorary weapons. It is precisely because of its rarity that it is precious, special, and of great significance.
Of course, at least in the General Staff, especially in the Bryansk Front Command, most of the senior officials thought that such a reward was not excessive, for no other reason than that the defense of Noziarsky was so important. Its significance was not in how many German troops were annihilated, but in that it reversed the possible defeat of the Bryansk Front. Considering the more profound, this blocking battle, which lasted less than 5 hours, could even be said to have disintegrated the second assault launched by the German army on the Moscow area.
In the dozen hours when Yuri was still in danger, Comrade Stalin called seven times in a row to inquire about the rescue situation, almost once an hour. This attention put a lot of pressure on the Moscow State Hospital. In the Izvestia newspaper published the next day, the entire front page was used to introduce Yuri's victory in Noziarsky Town, and the words used were already to the point of boasting.
In some unofficial channels, there are even rumors claiming that Yuri may be promoted twice and directly promoted to lieutenant general. These rumors also say that the Supreme Command plans to reorganize the 5th Tank Army, and Yuri, who has been promoted to lieutenant general, will replace Comrade Lizyukov who was killed in battle before and serve as the commander of the unit.
In the days that followed, these rumors seemed to become more and more true, because less than a week after the battle of Nozyarovsky, the Supreme Command decided to reorganize the 5th Tank Army, but did not announce who would serve as the commander of the unit.
By the time the Supreme Command decided to reorganize the 5th Tank Army, Yuri had already woken up and was in the process of rapid recovery. As the person involved, he knew very well that these rumors were nonsense. Not to mention that the position of commander of the 5th Tank Army would not be his, even a promotion in rank was unlikely.
The conditions at Moscow State Hospital were very good, and of course, the care for the wounded was even better. Here, Yuri lived in a separate ward with a living room and bedroom. The ward was fully equipped with facilities such as phonographs and radios, and the hospital also arranged three nurses to take care of Yuri's daily life. However, for Yuri, such a life was not a pleasure, but a torment, because he lost the freedom to smoke. At the same time, among the nurses who took care of him, there was someone he didn't want to see - Suya.
…
The weather in Moscow in late July is very good. The temperature is not too high and there is not much rain. It can be regarded as the best time of the year.
In the Special Care Ward No. 3 of the Moscow State Hospital, Yuri, wearing a hospital gown, sat quietly on the bed, reading the latest battle report that had just been delivered by the General Staff half an hour ago. Battle reports like this were top secret documents, and if Comrade Rokossovsky had not specifically asked about it, Yuri would not have been qualified to see it with his level.
With the arrival of July, the Bryansk Front consolidated its defense in the existing area. The three major armies under the front have been integrated and have formed a local force advantage over the German army.
During this stage, the German army also gave up the large-scale offensive against the Korobka River defense line, and the confrontation line between the two sides was basically stable. According to the prediction of the General Staff, in the short term, the German army was unlikely to launch a large-scale assault in this area.
Although the Kolobka River defense line was stabilized, the German army made major breakthroughs in the Don-Volga River direction. Although the Supreme Command reorganized the Southwestern Front, which had suffered a disastrous defeat not long ago, and formed the Stalingrad Front after adding some new forces, intending to strengthen the defense in this direction, the results were minimal.
In the case of insufficient troops, the Supreme Command split the left wing of the Bryansk Front and formed the Voronezh Front after adding some forces to strengthen the cover of the right wing of the Stalingrad Front. At the same time, the Southeast Front was formed on the left wing of the Stalingrad Front from the reorganization of the Southern Front.
However, such measures still failed to reverse the decline of the Stalingrad Front. By mid-July, the German army broke through the Don River defense line formed by the Stalingrad Front and posed a direct threat to the Volga River defense line.
Out of desperation, the Supreme Command once again withdrew two tank armies from the Bryansk Front and allocated them to the Stalingrad Front. These two tank armies could be said to be the elite of the Bryansk Front. Their commanders were Katukov and Rotmistrov respectively. So far, the Bryansk Front commanded by Roskovsky was actually in name only. The army that the command could mobilize could not even put together an army group.
Yuri knew very well that Rokossovsky would not stay in the Bryansk Front for long. If nothing unexpected happened, he would probably replace Timoshenko as the commander of the Stalingrad Front.
At this time, Rokossovsky specially asked someone to send the battle report from the Stalingrad direction. The meaning here was very clear. Needless to say, this commander, whose weight in Comrade Stalin's heart was gradually surpassing that of Timoshenko, hoped that Yuri would return to his leadership after his injuries were healed.
What made Yuri feel proud was that during this period, Rokossovsky was not the only one who had his eyes on him. Comrade Zhukov had come to the hospital to visit him before, and from his hints, Yuri could hear that Zhukov hoped that he would return to the Western Front after he recovered from his injury. There was also Timoshenko, who had also appointed a general at the General Staff, hoping that after Yuri recovered from his injury, he would join the ranks of the Stalingrad Front and be mainly responsible for the defense of the Tormokhin direction.
Of course, no matter how proud he was, Yuri would not choose Zhukov and Timoshenko, because these two people set traps for him. Timoshenko's side is needless to say, Tormokhin will be lost before he recovers from his injury, and Zhukov... He is planning an offensive in the direction of Vyazma, and the German army defending there is commanded by the famous defense master Model. This trap is too big, and Yuri dare not jump into it (is he afraid of TJ?).
In fact, Yuri had already made a plan. He planned to stay in the hospital for two or three months. When the Battle of Stalingrad was almost over and the passive Soviet army was preparing to launch a counterattack, he would recover from his injuries and be discharged from the hospital in time to go directly to Comrade Rokossovsky, who was looked after by the god of luck.
It's a wonderful idea to think about it. I can make some money in Stalingrad with Comrade Rokossovsky, and then my military rank should be able to be promoted. Then, I can go to the Caspian Sea to take the unfinished vacation, and maybe I can take the opportunity to let Geryosha get pregnant with a child.
