Chapter 156: Differences
Yuri's inspection of the Central Front's defense line was also very smooth. It should be said that it was smoother than the work carried out on the Voronezh Front. After all, he was also an old subordinate of Rokossovsky, and most of the commanders currently serving in the Central Front were acquainted with him, and some even had a very good relationship with him.
After inspecting the Central Front's defense zone for five days, Yuri began to inspect the Steppe Front before mid-March.
Unlike previous situations, Yuri's inspection of the Steppe Front was not very smooth. This was not to say that the front command headed by Konev did not cooperate, but because the front had just been formed and many tasks had not been straightened out. Even Konev himself did not fully control this large -scale reserve front.
The most important thing is that many transferred troops had not arrived at the designated location by mid-March. For this reason, Yuri got angry several times. He even suggested to remove Kozlov, commander of the 47th Army, from his post when he called the General Staff, because his troops arrived at the designated area three days later than the stipulated time.
Just as Yuri's inspection of the Steppe Front was coming to an end, he received a call from Moscow. The call was from Vasilevsky, asking him to immediately end the inspection and return to Moscow.
From the end of February until mid-March, the German army, which had the upper hand in the Kursk region, did not launch any form of attack in the area. During this nearly 20-day period, the German army only sent some fighter planes to carry out small-scale harassment on the Soviet defense line, and not even a tank appeared in the Soviet army's sight.
Faced with this almost eerie calm, different voices inevitably appeared in the Soviet high-level. Some people suggested that the German army had shown signs of lack of successor strength in the Kharkov offensive campaign. Perhaps they did not have too large a force in the outer area of Kursk. Therefore, the Soviet army should take more decisive measures at this time and launch an active attack on the German army group in the Orel area. In addition, some people suggested launching an offensive in the Belgorod-Kharkov direction. After all, the Steppe Front has already assembled in the eastern part of the region. Coupled with the Southwestern Front and the Voronezh Front, the Soviet army should have an absolute advantage in this front. Therefore, such a counterattack will definitely be effective.
However, within the General Staff, Zhukov and Vasilevsky both expressed their agreement with Yuri's combat plan. In addition, Stalin's attitude at the moment was very firm, so these voices of opposition ultimately failed to prevail.
But the situation is always changing. On March 17, the German army suddenly launched an offensive in the Leningrad area on the northern front. The German Mga combat group suddenly launched an offensive against the Soviet defense line in the direction of Lake Ladoga. The Soviet troops in Schlusselburg and Siniavino were attacked by the German army and their defense was very difficult. Once these two areas were breached by the German army, Leningrad would fall into the siege of the German army again.
Zhdanov flew to Moscow to ask Stalin for help. He believed that the German army might set the main direction of this summer's offensive on Leningrad, and the battles in Schlusselburg and Siniavino might be a test before the German army launched a large-scale offensive.
It can be said that in recent times, both Zhukov and Vasilevsky had a hard time, and another person who had a hard time was Beria .
Stalin urgently needed intelligence from within the German army to determine the main direction of the German summer offensive, but the State Security Council did not gain much in the recent period. In addition to disappointment and anxiety, Stalin was naturally dissatisfied with Beria, and this was the most direct reason for Beria's sadness.
The new German offensive in Leningrad touched Stalin's sensitive and irritable nerves. This time he hurried to summon Yuri back to Moscow, probably to listen to his analysis of the German offensive in Leningrad. Comrade Stalin was like this. Once he trusted someone, this trust would last for a long time, during which he would demonstrate this trust thoroughly. Of course, it would be best if the person he trusted did not let him down, otherwise, the consequences would be equally serious.
After receiving the notice from Vasilevsky, Yuri did not dare to delay at all and flew back to Moscow that day.
…
In Moscow, where International Women's Day passed not long ago, there are still traces of the celebration of this holiday. On Red Square and in front of state-owned department stores, there are huge posters hanging from the wall calling on female compatriots of the Soviet government to become "heroic mothers."
At the ministerial meeting that opened in early March, a policy plan proposed by Molotov was adopted to increase the birth rate and population. According to the provisions of this policy, women of childbearing age who give birth to their second child will be awarded the title of "hero mother", and women who give birth to their third child will receive up to three years of maternity leave. During the maternity leave, their work units must retain their original positions and positions, and their salaries and allowances must be paid as usual. In addition, all newborns will receive a corresponding allowance from the date of birth, and the more children they have, the higher the allowance.
The war lasted less than three years. Although the Soviet Union was about to reverse the passive situation in the war, the losses in all aspects of the country were also astonishing in the process, especially the loss of young and strong men. The Soviet government had to pay more attention to it. According to the joint statistics of the State Labor and Social Issues Committee of the Council of Ministers, the Central Statistics Bureau, and the State Planning Commission, by the beginning of 1943, the ratio of male and female populations between 20 and 40 years old in the unoccupied areas of the Soviet Union had already differed by 30%, and the proportion of female employees in large industrial and mining enterprises had exceeded 67%. Such figures are very dangerous for a country. Most importantly, the war... is not over yet.
As the current Chief of Operations of the General Staff, Yuri is also aware of these worrying data. However, restoring the population is not his concern, and he does not have the time and energy to pay attention to these things now.
The black Seagull sedan turned into the Kutafija Tower. The Internal Guard soldier on guard stopped the car, looked inside through the window, and saw Yuri sitting in the back seat. He raised his hand and saluted, signaling to let the car pass.
The moment the car started again, a "dangdang" sound came from the direction of the clock tower. Twelve consecutive rings announced that noon had arrived again.
After returning from the frontline inspection in Kursk, Yuri flew to Moscow and then rushed to the Kremlin. He didn't even have time to drink a sip of water. He felt exhausted and couldn't muster up any energy. He felt that he might not only be tired, but also caught a cold last night.
The car drove through the quiet Kremlin and arrived outside Office Building No. 1 after a few minutes.
After wiping his face and refreshing himself, Yuri got out of the car. Under the watchful eyes of an Internal Guard soldier, he quickly walked up the stairs and went straight to Office No. 1 on the second floor.
The office building was as quiet as ever, and the people coming and going tried to keep their footsteps as light as possible, trying not to make any noise. Yuri was in a hurry and didn't care about that, so his high leather boots made a thumping sound on the wooden floor, which was very harsh.
Instead of going directly to Stalin's office, Yuri went to Stalin's secretary's office first. Today, the secretary on duty was not Poskrebyshev, but Zaylenko. When Yuri walked into the secretary's office, as soon as Zaylenko saw him, he said first: "Comrade Yuri Arkhipovich, Comrade Stalin has been waiting for you."
Yuri nodded but said nothing.
Zaylenko was also a young man, and was not valued by Stalin. The work he was responsible for was also miscellaneous and fragmentary, so he was more cautious.
Without wasting a second, Zaylenko took Yuri directly to Stalin's Office No. 1.
"Comrade Zhdanov and Comrade Zhukov are here too." Zaylenko asked Yuri to wait outside the door. He went in to report. When he came out again, he whispered to Yuri, "Comrade Stalin, please come in."
When he came back this time, Yuri also considered the reason why Moscow urgently summoned him back. The German army was slow to launch an offensive in the direction of Kursk, which made people feel uneasy. War is like this. Many times, the victory or defeat of a war does not make people feel scared, and huge casualties are not necessarily scary. What really makes people tremble is that you know the existence of the enemy and that they will attack you, but you don’t know where the target of the attack is. For some failed commanders, some wrong decisions are made hastily under this pressure.
Yuri would not give in on the issue of the Battle of Kursk. He firmly believed in his own views and that the German summer offensive would inevitably be launched here. Therefore, this time he returned to Moscow to strengthen Stalin's confidence.
Pushing open the door, Yuri walked into Stalin's office with a solemn expression. The moment he entered the room, he knew that the first person he had to convince was Zhdanov, who regarded Leningrad as his own backyard.
"Comrade Yuri Arkhipovich, what is the situation in Kursk?" When Stalin, who was standing by the window in deep thought, saw Yuri walk in, he turned around immediately and asked in a serious tone.
"The defense lines on the north and south wings of Kursk are being built," said Yuri, holding his cap on his right forearm and walking over with big strides. "The local party organizations have made perfect arrangements for the cooperation work. It is estimated that in another half a month, the three defense lines will be initially formed. However, the assembly of the Steppe Front is somewhat slow and delayed. Before I returned to Moscow, 30% of the troops had not arrived at the designated location."
