Chapter 212
Mariupol is an important port town in Ukraine, the largest steel industry center and machinery manufacturing center. In later generations, it has another name - Zhdanov.
The cruiser was docked outside the port. When the German army withdrew, they blew up the entire port dock, and the destruction was very thorough. The cruiser could not enter the port dock and could only use shallow-draft rowing boats to cross the shore.
The German army voluntarily evacuated Mariupol two days ago, and when they evacuated, they destroyed the entire city. Looking from the port to the city, the sky and the earth were filled with billowing smoke, as if a sky full of dark clouds were rolling over from the land.
There is a coal transportation railway directly from Mariupol to Donbass. Thousands of tons of coal looted from the Donbass coal mines could not be transported away in time and were burned by the German army before evacuation. Standing on the ruined dock, fine dust fell from the sky like drizzle, making people feel like they had difficulty breathing.
Surrounded by a large group of naval commanders, Yuri got into a military jeep waiting at the dock, blocked out the dust from the car windows, and then took off the handkerchief covering his nose - a dark mark had appeared on the handkerchief, which was the filtered coal dust.
The jeep started moving, heading north along the streets full of rubble and tiles. Along the way, citizens with ragged clothes, dusty faces and dazed eyes could be seen everywhere. They were wandering in the ruins, waiting for the army trucks to take them away for evacuation.
When the jeep passed the October Square in the city center, you could see thousands of citizens gathered here. Like crazy people, they used noose to hang naked men and women on makeshift gallows. From a distance, the square seemed to have become a slaughterhouse, with naked bodies, some dead and some still struggling, hanging in the air, and countless people around throwing stones and garbage at them.
These guys who were hanged were all traitors and spies caught by the Internal Affairs Force. When the Germans occupied the city, they chose to cooperate with the Germans. Now, the Germans left without taking them with them, so what they have to face is cruel revenge from the other side of the war.
If you think about it, when the Germans occupied Ukraine, most people in this land regarded the German army as their savior and liberator of Ukraine. They felt that the day had come for Ukrainians to become masters of their own destiny. They were so excited that they wanted to lead the German army into the city with food and drink. But the cruel reality told them how unreliable it was for a nation to rely on another nation to liberate itself.
At present, the Soviet troops assembled in Mariupol are the 248th Infantry Division of the 28th Army and part of the 159th Infantry Brigade. They have obviously given up the task of fighting the fire and most of them have retreated to the northern suburbs of the city.
The jeep passed through the ruined city and arrived at the village of Perkovka in the northern suburbs nearly an hour later. Now, the front command was moving here, but Vasilevsky, as the representative of the base camp, had arrived here in advance.
Perkovka was a small village with only about a dozen households. Of course, there was no intact house left, and even the fields outside the village had been burned by the Germans. The oxen and horses that had been shot were piled up in the vineyards south of the village, one by one, all burned to charcoal.
The air still seemed to be filled with a disgusting burnt smell mixed with a strong smell of gasoline. If I breathed a little faster, I could feel discomfort in my throat.
The Soviet army set up a large number of tents outside the village entrance, and some soldiers were busy cutting logs and repairing the burned houses in the village.
The jeep stopped in front of a tent where several officers gathered. Yuri pushed the door and got out of the car. As soon as he stood firm, he saw the officers coming towards him.
"Hello, Comrade Yuri Arkhipovich," the officer leader was a military commissar. He was tall and strong, with half-white hair and a slightly thin face full of wrinkles. He looked like he was in his fifties or sixties.
Yuri knew this man. He was Klesnikov, a member of the Military Committee of the 28th Army. Although he looked old, he was actually only in his early forties.
Speaking of Klesnikov, it is necessary to mention the former commander of the 28th Army, Kachalov. Yes, that unfortunate and wronged Vladimir Yakovlevich Kachalov.
During the Battle of Smolensk in 1941, the 28th Army was surrounded by the German army. Lieutenant General Kachalov, the army commander, organized a breakout. Although the breakout was ultimately successful, he was killed in Yelnia.
The German army collected his body and buried him outside a small village called Starenka. Admiring his bravery in battle, the German army even erected a wooden tombstone for him, but the tomb was placed in the woods and was very hidden, so no one found it.
At that time, Klesnikoff was already the military commissar of the 28th Army. He and Trishkin, then director of the Army's Political Department, submitted a report on Kachalov's death to the General Political Department, but it was rejected by Mekhlis, then director of the General Political Department. Mekhlis believed that Kachalov had surrendered to the Germans, and reported this conclusion to the Supreme Command as a fact without investigation. It was this report that prompted the infamous Order No. 270, in which the sentence "some generals set a bad example for our troops" refers to Kachalov.
Subsequently, Kachalov was identified as a traitor and the news was widely publicized. His family was arrested and thrown into a concentration camp. It was not until 12 years later in 1953 that Kachalov's grave was accidentally discovered and he was rehabilitated.
As for Klesnikoff, he has never been promoted because of this incident. He is a man with a stain on his body and there are many problems that he cannot explain clearly. His white hair and wrinkles on his face are all caused by worry.
Yuri knew about Kachalov's affairs in his previous life, because at that time a Russian science fiction movie was shot with this as the background. However, despite knowing the information, he did not intend to speak up for Comrade Kachalov, otherwise, he would not be able to explain the problem clearly.
"Hello," Yuri asked, shaking hands with Klesnikoff, "where is Comrade Alexander Mikhailovich?"
"At the temporary command post, I'll take you there," said Klesnikoff.
Following him, the group walked to a large tent. Through the opened tent curtain, they could see a man wearing a brand new military coat, standing in front of a hanging map and smoking.
"Salute!" The guard at the door saw Yuri coming and straightened his body and saluted, which was also a message to Vasilevsky in the tent.
Sure enough, hearing the noise at the door, Vasilevsky, who was looking at the map, turned around. When he saw Yuri, he smiled and walked towards the door of the tent.
"Hey, Yuri," Vasilevsky said with a smile, extending his hand, "Did you have a smooth journey?"
"It went smoothly," Yuri shook his hand and said, "It's just that this is my first time on a ship, and a cruiser at that, so I'm a little uncomfortable with it."
Vasilevsky smiled, turned around and walked into the tent with him. He handed him a cigarette first, and waited for him to light it before continuing, "The situation is not optimistic. Before coming here, I talked with Comrade Andrei Andreevich. It will take at least two months to completely clear the railway from Voroshilovgrad to here."
Andrei Andreevich Andreev, member of the Defense Committee, People's Commissar of Transport, was mainly responsible for wartime railway transportation.
At present, the railway from Voroshilovgrad to Stalino - Stalino was later called Donetsk, and then from Stalino to Mariupol has been completely paralyzed. Without the support of railways, the logistics supply of the Fourth Ukrainian Front will be under tremendous pressure for a distance of hundreds of kilometers.
"Obviously, we don't have two months to prepare, Alexander," Yuri frowned, "We don't even have a month. Since rail transportation can't be restored in a short time, what about roads? What does Comrade Vasily Ivanovich say?"
Vasily Ivanovich Vinogradov, Deputy Minister of Logistics of the Armed Forces, is an energetic and intelligent man, and Khrulev's most capable assistant. At present, the General Automobile Administration is under his full management.
Yuri's meaning was very clear. Since the railway was not accessible, he would use trucks for transportation. As for how many trucks were needed and how to transport them, he didn't care. That was not something he needed to consider. All he had to consider was getting all the military supplies, weapons and equipment needed for the operation before the war.
Vasilevsky was silent for a while, and finally said: "I will be responsible for contacting Comrade Vasily Ivanovich and ask him to try his best to find a solution."
Yuri nodded, walked straight to the front of the map, stared at the content on it for a while, and said without turning his head: "This battle is not easy to fight. The German army has built strong fortifications along the Molochnaya River and formed interconnected fortified areas . If we want to cut off the retreat route of the German Crimean combat group, we can't just pull out this fortified area bit by bit like pulling out a tooth."
Turning around, Yuri pointed at Melitopol and said, "So, I plan to make Melitopol the main target, open a gap here, and then use the tank army and mechanized army to launch an assault on the German army's deep defense area and advance to the Dnieper River line as soon as possible."
