Chapter 176 Division of Power
It was the first time that Vitim met the living Stalin and received verbal praise from Stalin. He was so happy that he didn't even know his last name. On the way to the lounge led by Yuri, he asked several times how he performed and whether he had done anything wrong .
After finally calming down this hot-blooded guy, Yuri hurried upstairs and rushed to Stalin's office. He knew that Stalin had not called him over to have a midnight snack. As a result, when he entered Stalin's office, he actually saw a midnight snack on the table...
"You must be hungry for coming here so late at night, right?" Stalin was standing at his desk talking to Voznesensky and Mikoyan. When he saw Yuri coming in, he pointed to the several midnight snacks on the table and said with a smile, "Eat something first, and then we can talk about work."
After hearing what he said, Voznesensky and Mikoyan each took a midnight snack and sat down on the sofa opposite. Yuri was the last to go over and also took a midnight snack, then looked back and finally chose the seat next to Mikoyan and sat down.
The midnight snack was very rich, including a serving of "Oladiyi" - a Russian muffin that looked like a hamburger, a portion of caviar, a portion of aspic, a portion of mixed beet salad, and a bowl of Akloshka cold soup to relieve the heat - unfortunately, Yuri didn't like any of these things, they were either sweet or fishy, which was not to his taste at all.
Stalin didn't like talking about work while eating, so everyone was very quiet and ate their own food. Although he didn't like this midnight snack, Yuri forced himself to eat as much as possible, and at the same time, he had to look at Stalin out of the corner of his eye so that he could finish the meal "just in time" when Stalin put down his knife and fork.
Stalin was a fan of cold food, so for his midnight snack, he ate two bites of the waffle and basically didn't touch anything else. He did drink up the cold Akloshka soup, and then he called someone to order another portion.
The midnight snack took less than twenty minutes. When Stalin put down his knife and fork and picked up his napkin, the remaining three people looked up at the same time and took the napkins from the plates to wipe the corners of their lips.
Stalin wiped his lips, looked at the three people, and finally said to Yuri: "Are you full? If not, you can order another one."
"It's very good, Comrade Stalin," Yuri quickly stood up and replied with a smile.
"I heard that you often stay up late and work until very late. This is not good for your health. You must keep up with your nutrition," Stalin nodded and reminded seriously.
"Thank you, Comrade Stalin, I will pay attention to it." Yuri said.
"I called you here tonight because I have a new mission for you," Stalin signaled the guards to take the dinner tray away, and said to Yuri, "In addition, I have to convey to you a notice from the Foreign Affairs Committee."
Yuri's face straightened, and he swiftly took out a palm-sized notebook from his military uniform pocket, prepared a pen, and pretended to take notes.
"No need to take notes, there's not much content," Stalin smiled and waved his hand.
Yuri nodded, but did not take back the pen and notebook.
"In recent times, the General Staff and the Supreme Command have focused their attention on the Kursk direction, but have not paid enough attention to the war in other directions," Stalin said without saying anything else this time. "However, a few hours ago, Comrade Ivan Yefimovich called and asked for permission for his troops to launch an attack on Novorossiysk, and believed that the corresponding combat conditions were ripe. I would like to hear your opinion on this."
The Ivan Yefimovich mentioned by Stalin is the current commander of the North Caucasus Front, General Ivan Yefimovich Petrov... Oh, no, he was promoted to general a month ago because of his outstanding performance in the Caucasus Campaign and a series of subsequent campaigns.
Although Yuri has been paying close attention to the Battle of Kursk recently, he has also been keeping an eye on the battles in other directions. Therefore, after hearing Stalin's request, he said without hesitation: "Comrade Stalin, in my personal opinion, I think the latest combat plan of the North Caucasus Front can be approved."
As he said this, Yuri walked to the bookshelf where the war zone maps were placed, found the situation map of the southern war zone, took it to Stalin's desk, and unfolded the map with the help of Mikoyan.
"At present, our North Caucasus Front has a total of five combined arms armies under its command. In addition, it also has the 44th, 47th and 51st armies, with a total strength of nearly 200,000." Yuri said, looking at the map, "In the previous battle to liberate Krasnodar, although the front suffered some losses, they were not serious. In comparison, the German 17th Army has been basically defeated in this direction. In addition, and most importantly, our 4th and 5th Air Force Armies have cooperated with the Black Sea Fleet Air Force in the battle in the Kuban direction to seize air supremacy in the southern theater."
Yuri's report was not complicated, but always simple but to the point. In just a few words, he pointed out the absolute advantage that the North Caucasus Front had on the front battlefield: the advantage of ground forces and the absolute advantage of air supremacy.
In fact, the Soviets had achieved fruitful results in the first two months of the southern battle. The most important point was that the North Caucasus Front's attached air force, under the command of Lieutenant General Vershinin, defeated the German Air Force in the Kuban Air Battle. The German Army's elite 4th Air Force lost more than 1,100 aircraft in this two-month air battle, completely losing air supremacy on the southern front.
It is worth mentioning that of the thousands of fighter planes lost by the German army, more than 800 were shot down by Soviet aircraft during air combat. This shows that after more than two years of war, the Soviet air force had surpassed the German army in terms of technical tactics and equipment level, and had an absolute advantage.
"Now, the German troops on the North Caucasus Front have been compressed into a small area on the Taman Peninsula, including Novorossiysk," Yuri continued, pointing out the advantages held by the Soviet army on the southern front. "From this point of view, if we can mobilize the Black Sea Fleet for cooperation, then the time is ripe for us to launch an attack on Novorossiysk."
Stalin nodded frequently as he listened. He became more and more satisfied with Yuri's performance. In Stalin's opinion, Yuri's performance made him suitable for the position of Minister of Operations.
"Considering that the progress of the Battle of Kursk has reached a critical moment, Comrade Georgy Konstantinovich and Comrade Alexander Mikhailovich are both unable to spare the time," Stalin looked at the map for a while and said, "The Supreme Command has decided to appoint you as the representative of the headquarters to go to the North Caucasus Front Command in Krasnodar to participate in the formulation of this offensive plan. What do you think?"
Yuri was silent for a moment, then said decisively: "I can leave at any time, Comrade Stalin."
Stalin stared at Yuri for a while, then smiled and said, "That's good, Comrade Yuri Arkhipovich, you should get ready and set off at noon."
"Yes, Comrade Stalin." Yuri stepped forward and said.
"There is one more thing," Stalin motioned him to relax, "During your stay in Krasnodar, I hope you can spare some free time to make a statistical analysis of our battle results in the past year. Well, the statistical results should be as good as possible. I have already consulted Comrade Molotov, and he thinks it is appropriate for you to accompany me to the three-nation summit as a representative of the Soviet Red Army."
Yuri was stunned. He really didn't expect Stalin to make such a decision. Was this compensation for himself?
Why do we say compensation? The reason is very simple. Stalin, in the name of the Supreme Command, arranged for himself to go to the southern front, to Krasnodar, at this time. This meant that when the Battle of Kursk was over, he would not be able to return to Moscow.
At present, the Battle of Kursk is the focus of world attention. There are hundreds of foreign journalists from more than 20 countries gathered in Moscow alone. It can be predicted that once the Battle of Kursk is won, Moscow will surely hold a grand celebration, and the main commanders and planners of the battle will surely become stars. In addition, the "Victory Medal" that Yuri has long coveted will also be awarded at this time.
Just imagine, at such a critical moment, no one would be willing to miss this grand event if they were Yuri. But Stalin chose this time to send him to the southern front. This appointment itself was equivalent to telling him clearly that he would become an unknown hero, and at the same time, the Order of Victory would have nothing to do with him.
To be honest, it is impossible to say that Yuri has no emotions now. Just now, when he accepted the appointment, the reason why he hesitated for a while was because of his emotional outburst. Fortunately, he was able to hold it back and did not show it.
Merit cannot be earned by being able to fight and win battles. Most of the time, one has to "sit in a row and share the fruits." And the person who is responsible for "sharing the fruits" is the key to everything. If he says you are capable, then you are capable, and if he says you are not capable, then you are not capable. There is no logic to it.
However, for Yuri, he at least got a compensation in this matter. He was able to accompany Stalin to attend the three-nation summit, and attended such a meeting as a representative of the Soviet Red Army. It was also equivalent to Stalin proving Yuri's importance to the outside world in this way.
