Chapter 133 Roles
Following the two Kazakovs were six or seven other people, including the Front Chief of Staff Malinin, members of the Front Military Committee Telekin and Kirichenko. There was also someone Yuri knew, Sergei Ignatievich Rudenko, commander of the 16th Air Force, who was temporarily transferred to the Don Front Command.
Just a quick look at the people entering the conference room at this moment, anyone who has a rough knowledge of Soviet history should know that although there are not many people, the conference room at this moment is definitely full of generals.
As the commander of the front, Rokossovsky is a Soviet marshal, and he was promoted to wartime marshal in 1944; Fedorenko was promoted to marshal of armored tank troops in 1944, that is, marshal of arms; the two Kazakovs were both later artillery marshals, one in 1955 and the other in 1962; Rudenko was promoted to air force marshal in 1955. Malinin was unlucky, he was promoted to general in 1953, but died of illness a few years later.
Of course, if the Don Front can be regarded as a military group, then within the military group, there will be more senior generals who will be prominent in the future than those in front of us, for example: Kirill Semyonovich Moskalenko, who is commanding the 9th Guards Army, was a marshal in 1955, Khrushchev's number one thug, and the executioner of Beria; for example, Chuikov and his assistant Krylov, both of whom are future Soviet marshals; for example, Ivan Ignatievich Yakubovsky, who is still a brigade commander, will be promoted to Soviet marshal in 1967; and Marshal Sergei Fedorovich Akhromeev, who was loyal and unyielding and eventually died for his country, is still a sergeant now. He has just withdrawn from the city of Stalingrad and is eagerly waiting for his promotion comrades. At this moment, his rank is much lower than that of Yuri's guards.
Sometimes when Yuri thought about it, he couldn't help but feel a little proud. No matter what the prerequisites were, he was now standing with these famous generals who had once shone brightly. Strictly speaking, except for Rokossovsky, his record was not worse than anyone else present, at least not much worse, so he didn't need to salute anyone except Rokossovsky, whether it was Chief of Staff Malinin or the two representatives of the headquarters.
Rokossovsky obviously had not slept, his eyes were bloodshot, but he seemed very excited - he was an energetic commander and a commander with a will of steel.
"Have you understood the general situation?" After entering the room, Rokossovsky obviously saw the documents piled on the conference table. He looked at Yuri with a smile and asked.
"I have some general impressions," Yuri replied, taking two steps forward to shake hands with the generals who came in. "But it needs to be refined. I have been in Stalingrad for too long, and I am not used to these written work."
"Comrade Yuri Arkhipovich, the whole world has seen the will of Stalingrad and our courage in you," Fedorenko shook Yuri's hand and said with a serious expression, "Before coming here, Comrade Stalin specifically asked me to bring his greetings. In addition, the Presidium of the Supreme Soviet has decided to award the 62nd Army the Order of Lenin and the title of Guards. The troops will also be reorganized after the battle of Stalingrad is over. Well, the specific orders will be issued by the Military Committee of the Front later."
Fedorenko was a big mouth. As a representative of the headquarters, he announced all the decisions made by Moscow. In fact, this job should have been issued by the Military Committee of the Front and then announced by the Military Committee of the Front. Fortunately, at the end of the speech, he also realized that he had taken someone else's work and made some special additions.
Faced with the news revealed by Fedorenko in advance, Yuri could not say much, he could only stand up straight and salute the representative of the headquarters. This salute was not for Fedorenko himself, but for the Supreme Command and the Presidium of the Supreme Soviet.
"Okay, everyone is here," Rokossovsky quickly shifted his attention away from Yuri. He signaled the orderly to open the battle map on the wall, and then said, "Let's have a meeting."
Seeing these people coming, Yuri understood that today's meeting actually had little to do with the various army groups in the battle deployment, but was a meeting related to firepower deployment, that is, how to provide air force support and cannon fodder support. Since the outbreak of World War II, the status of artillery and aviation in the Soviet Red Army has been increasing. Needless to say, the Soviet Army is now pursuing a large artillery policy, and the air force has now begun to embark on the path of becoming an independent army. This is the most direct proof.
There were no commanders of the infantry armies under the front attending the meeting. The reason why Yuri was notified to attend the meeting was because one of his positions was assistant to the front commander.
The meeting was chaired by Rokossovsky himself, and Chief of Staff Malinin was responsible for introducing the main tasks of the auxiliary aviation and artillery in the next stage of the battle, mainly introducing the assembly locations and times of individual artillery and armored units, the reconnaissance tasks of the Air Force before the attack, the artillery fire preparation time, etc.
This was the first time that Yuri had participated in a front-level artillery and air force auxiliary attack mission preparation meeting since his rebirth into the Soviet Red Army system. For him, this was a very important experience. If he wanted to command a large-scale garrison force, this ability was indispensable.
The mobilization of artillery, armored forces and air force is not an easy task, and there are many problems involved. Take artillery for example. The movement of an artillery unit requires many prerequisites, such as transport vehicles, terrain, fuel supply, logistics supply, etc. As the commander of the front, Rokossovsky needs the artillery unit under his command to arrive at the scheduled assembly point on the scheduled date, so he needs to solve these problems for the corresponding artillery unit, and these problems need to be communicated with the corresponding logistics and engineering units in another meeting.
In addition, when the artillery units go to the battlefield, their own safety needs to be guaranteed by the corresponding combat units. This issue also needs to be communicated with the corresponding infantry combat units, and this work also requires Rokossovsky to come forward to coordinate.
In short, war is a very complicated matter. The larger the military group, the more it tests the commander's comprehensive abilities, and technical and tactical abilities are just one of them.
The meeting started at 2:40 in the morning and ended at nearly 5:00. During the entire meeting, Yuri was just listening and had no chance to speak. Of course, this was not to say that his status was not high enough, but because what he needed now was to study.
At the end of the meeting at five o'clock, Rokossovsky began to assign tasks to Yuri. As the assistant commander, Yuri received a lot of tasks, which generally included three main tasks: the first task was to reorganize the 57th Army as soon as possible, so as to restore the combat effectiveness of the army in early December; secondly, as the assistant commander of the front, he inspected the combat readiness of the various armies and independent combat units under the Don Front; finally, he checked for omissions, mainly focusing on the upcoming "Operation Uranus" combat plan, checking for omissions, drafting detailed combat plans, etc.
No matter from which aspect, Rokossovsky treated Yuri very well. Maybe it was because of admiration, or maybe it was just his personality. In short, from the tasks he assigned to Yuri, it can be seen that he was training Yuri to be an independent front-level commander.
First of all, the reorganization of the 57th Army not only tests the comprehensive ability of an army-level commander, but also inevitably requires Yuri to deal with various logistics support departments during the reorganization process. This is a very important experience training for him to serve as an army-level commander in the future.
Secondly, inspections of various army groups and independent combat units can help him cultivate personal connections within the troops. Most importantly, dealing with army-level commanders is also a quality that front-level commanders must possess.
Finally, drafting the copy. Needless to say, this skill is indispensable whether you are in the military or in politics.
Yuri himself knew that his performance during this period would directly affect his future. To be frank, the transition from an army-level commander to a front-level commander was a qualitative change, or even a process from a campaign level to a strategic level. If he could not adjust his status and get into the role in a short period of time, his future would be greatly limited, and perhaps his promotion to a general would be the end of his life.
On the contrary, if he could perform outstandingly and excel in the position of army-level commander as soon as possible, then before the end of this war, he might have the opportunity to command a front in combat, and this qualification would be the most direct guarantee for his promotion to Soviet marshal within 20 years after the war.
Ambition seems to be a derogatory word, but everyone should have ambition. After all, ambition can be transformed into confidence, perseverance, and determination under certain circumstances...
Starting from the Yelzhovka Conference, Yuri entered the command system of the Don Front. He was carried by two armored vehicles and traveled throughout the defense zone of the Don Front in half a month. From Pizhenga to Kazanskaya, from Mikhailovka to Renok, from Serafimovich to Kachalinskaya, it can be said that he appeared in every place.
What the commanders of the various armies particularly appreciated was that Yuri's inspections were not limited to oral reports and written materials, but he often went to the frontline of the combat troops in person to understand the situation on the spot. When he inspected the 23rd Army, he even took great risks and went to the outskirts of the German-controlled city of Kletskaya to personally observe the minefields and bunkers built by the Germans in this area.
After being busy for half a month, just before the battle aimed at encircling and annihilating the German Ninth Army was about to begin, Yuri, who was inspecting the preparations for the air force at Ferolovo, received a commendation from the Supreme Command. This was the fifth telegram of commendation he had received during his time in Stalingrad.
