Chapter 195 Recognition
"Has Comrade General Leonid Alexandrovich arrived?" Yuri returned the colonel's salute without stopping, but asked.
In terms of age, Yuri is much younger than Govorov, and in terms of military rank, the two are also one level apart. Therefore, no matter from which perspective, Yuri must show respect to Govorov.
"He's here, Comrade Representative," the colonel replied loudly, standing straight, "He's waiting for you at the temporary headquarters."
"Well, lead the way," Yuri said, walking straight up to the colonel and nodding.
"Yes, comrade on behalf of the colonel," the colonel saluted again, then turned around, took half a step ahead and led Yuri.
After the prior preparations in the afternoon, the snow on the roads in the village had been cleared, but unfortunately, the snow did not stop this afternoon, so now there is a half-inch thick layer of residual snow on the road that should have been very clean.
Following the colonel into the village, Yuri discovered that this small village had become a large military camp with strict security. On the side of the road that had obviously been cleared of snow, there were two soldiers in coats and carrying guns on guard almost every six or seven meters.
The temperature today is not just low, it is so low that it can freeze people to death. Although these soldiers on guard stand straight, one look at their red faces and you will know that even if they wear thick military coats, they will inevitably be frozen if they stand here for a long time.
"Comrade Colonel, are there many small German troops active around here?" Yuri didn't say anything at first. He followed the colonel into the village. When he saw the colonel turn the intersection and start climbing a mound, he stopped, turned around, and asked while looking at the soldiers guarding the roadside.
"Oh, report to the representative comrade, a few days ago, there were some German deserters active nearby," the colonel hurriedly stopped and replied respectfully, "but after our cleanup in the past two days, there are basically no more."
"Then what are they doing?" Yuri asked with a stern face, pointing at the soldiers standing on both sides of the road.
"This... this is just..." The colonel said awkwardly, "It's just that today's situation is a bit special. After all, the safety of our comrades is..."
"What is it?" Yuri raised his coat collar and folded his hands together, saying with obvious dissatisfaction, "Are you afraid that I will feel insecure? Comrade Colonel, I have participated in as many battles and campaigns as you have. During the Battle of Kiev, I even fought ."
This is showing off seniority. To be honest, it is a bit too much for a general to show off his seniority in front of a colonel, and in front of a colonel who is older than himself. But there is no other way. This method is most effective in front of some people, especially those who have real front-line combat experience.
In fact, Yuri had no need to show off his seniority in front of the colonel. After all, in the current Soviet Red Army, this young and overly famous general was too famous. Many people might not know what he looked like, but few people did not know his name. His achievements and the battles he had commanded had appeared in Soviet newspapers and broadcasts time and again, especially the battles he commanded before the Battle of Moscow, which were basically used as deeds to boost the morale of the entire army.
Faced with Yuri's dissatisfied criticism, the colonel seemed very nervous. He saluted hurriedly and said, "Yes, comrade, I know what to do."
"Arrange it right away," Yuri nodded, removing his serious expression and said.
"But..." The colonel seemed to want to say something, but just as he opened his mouth, a slightly hoarse voice came from the mound.
"Comrade Yuri Arkhipovich," On the mound was the surviving mill in the village. At this moment, at the entrance of the mill with a wooden door, several people were walking quickly to greet them. The first one was Govorov, who was known for his seriousness. However, his face was full of smiles at this moment.
"Comrade General Leonid Alexandrovich," Yuri hurriedly left the colonel behind when he saw Govorov coming down the hill, and walked towards him quickly, extending his hand from a distance and saying with a smile on his face, "Hello, I'm glad to see you here."
Govorov's pace quickened. He came to Yuri's side in just a few steps. At the same time, he shook his hand and said with a smile, "I am glad to meet you too. I wanted to visit you several times when I went to Moscow before, but unfortunately, I never found a suitable opportunity."
After saying this, he continued without pausing, "How was it, was the journey smooth when you came here?"
"Except for the snow on the road, there is no bigger trouble," Yuri held Govorov's hand tightly, and at the same time used his free left arm to give a firm hug to the artillery master who was less than 50 years old but had gray hair on his temples. This hug did not mean that the two had a deep friendship, but was completely out of respect, or in other words, this hug was also a gesture of goodwill from Yuri.
Govorov was stunned for a moment at Yuri's sudden hug, but he quickly concealed the surprise that was inadvertently revealed on his face. Compared with his calmness, Fezuninsky, who was slightly behind him, seemed a little excited. The feeling of being relieved and as if a burden had been lifted was almost written on his face.
That's right, it was just a hug, it was that simple. Through this courtesy gesture, Yuri released a message that many people were paying attention to: he respected General Govorov very much, and therefore, he also recognized the achievements made by the Leningrad Front before. This time he came to Leningrad, he did not come to stab the front in the back, nor did he come to find fault.
As the representative of the base camp, Yuri's attitude will make many people who had trouble sleeping at night before have good dreams in the future. At least, they don't have to worry anymore.
Of course, for Yuri, this was also a way to win people's hearts and avoid giving Zhdanov an advantage.
"Yes, this heavy snow is terrible." Faced with Yuri's initiative to show goodwill, Govorov also felt a lot more relaxed. He held Yuri's hand tightly and said as he turned around, "The worst thing is that the weather around Leningrad has been like this for the past half month. The accumulated snow has made our attack more difficult."
Yuri nodded, with a smile on his face, and said, "Fortunately, the Leningrad Front overcame the weather difficulties and achieved the expected victory in the main combat direction. This is the most important thing and what Comrade Stalin wanted to see most."
Govorov's eyes fixed, and then he tightened the hand holding Yuri's, and then gently let go.
There is a lot of information hidden in Yuri's words: First, he admitted that the Leningrad Front did encounter weather problems during the offensive, and the problems were huge. At least, their aviation force could not be deployed in time. Second, he also pointed out indirectly that objective factors were not the main reason for the passive offensive of the Front in the early stage of the battle. At least when facing Stalin's criticism, they could not use weather reasons as an excuse.
In addition to these two points, Yuri also emphasized the "victory in the main combat direction" in his speech, which seemed to affirm the results of the Leningrad Front, but also meant that he was not satisfied with the offensive in some secondary directions. At the end of his speech, he also mentioned that such results were what Stalin wanted to see most, which meant that as a representative of the headquarters, Yuri would not report the Leningrad Front's bad deeds, and the report he submitted to Moscow would focus on the Leningrad Front's realization of the main combat objectives at the beginning of the campaign, and would not elaborate too much on the failure.
In fact, to sum up, the meaning of Yuri's words is: "I am not satisfied with the performance of the Leningrad Front at the beginning of the battle. Don't fool me with objective reasons. We all know what happened. But you don't have to worry that I will go to Stalin and say bad things about you. My report only reports good news, not bad news." As for the deeper implication, it is "You have to fight better in future battles, otherwise, I won't be so easy to talk to."
The attitude was not very tough, but it also clearly pointed out his position. The key is that such words will not make people feel uncomfortable, and at the same time, it can also give people a certain amount of pressure. This is what Yuri thought of on the way here.
Govorov heard the deep meaning in Yuri's words. Of course, Fezuninsky could hear it too. In fact, in the Soviet army today, among the senior commanders who were around 40 or 50 years old, there were basically no completely upright and straightforward characters, let alone guys with stupid brains. Such stupid and straightforward characters could not survive the stranglehold of the Great Purge.
"In fact, our work is far from good enough," Govorov let go of Yuri's hand, made a gesture of invitation, and led Yuri to the direction of the mill, and continued, "According to the operational summary of the front staff, at the beginning of the campaign, the biggest mistake the front made in the offensive arrangement was that the offensive was not resolute enough, especially in the two directions of Strelna and Krasnogvardeisko. Our commanders had too many concerns, missed the best time to attack, and made mistakes. And these mistakes should have been avoided."
Yuri listened and nodded repeatedly. Now, as a representative of the headquarters, he had reached a certain degree of tacit understanding with the Leningrad command system headed by Govorov. For him, this was a good start.
