Chapter 225
Mehlis finally got on the plane. He was not stupid and could naturally feel that Yuri hated him. However, he really had no way to deal with Yuri.
He could accuse Rokossovsky of corruption, or Chernychekhovsky of corruption, because there were indeed problems with the backgrounds of these two people, and Stalin himself did not like them. He could also accuse Zakharov of corruption, or Petrov of corruption, because their roots were shallow and they had no status in Stalin's mind.
But Yuri is different. He is a real Russian with a good family background. His father was from the First Cavalry Army. Even if the military officials in Moscow who also came from the First Army did not look up to him, they would at least have some affection for him.
In addition, Comrade Nikita Sergeyevich, who regained the post of First Secretary of the Ukrainian Soviet Socialist Republic, seems to have a close relationship with Yuri. Nikita is not someone who is easy to mess with.
Although both of them liked to flatter Comrade Stalin, Mehlis was somewhat self-aware. He knew that he was far inferior to Nikita Sergeevich in terms of both work ability and flattery. Moreover, that guy had also worked in the Military Commission and the General Political Department, where he had close relations with many people, and Mehlis did not want to offend such a person.
Mehlis was naturally upset because he didn't like facing Yuri but didn't want to provoke him. However, he didn't dare not board the plane. If no one else boarded the plane, he wouldn't have to worry about anything. But if he was the only one left, he would have to worry about whether Yuri would report him to Moscow.
Mekhlis didn't have to think carefully about how to file this accusation: Comrade Stalin asked why Comrade Lev Zakharovich didn't come with you? Yuri only had to say that Comrade Lev Zakharovich was worried about the safety of our plane.
It's perfect. Just one sentence is enough for Comrade Stalin to understand his opinion.
A villain is a villain. It is normal for him to judge others by his own standards.
The flight from Smolensk to Moscow took no more than 40 minutes. Along the way, the cyclone that everyone was worried about did not appear, and the journey went very smoothly. Before ten o'clock in the morning, the group had already entered the Kremlin.
The meeting was scheduled for one o'clock in the afternoon in the Catherine Hall of the Grand Kremlin Palace. In order to accommodate these generals who rushed to Moscow, Stalin arranged lunch for them, and the meeting was officially held after lunch.
Yuri had a bumpy flight here and was not hungry or interested in eating, so he chose to go directly to the venue.
The huge milky white circular conference table of later generations has not yet been arranged in the Catherine Hall. Now the layout inside the hall is more like a church, with rows of maroon chairs inside.
When Yuri walked into the hall, there were quite a few people sitting on the rows of chairs. Bright light shone in from the windows on the white pillars, illuminating the entire hall with twinkling stars.
"salute!"
Yuri walked into the main entrance of the hall and the Internal Affairs Force soldier guarding the door shouted loudly.
There was a loud clatter in the hall, and most people stood up, some saluted, and some stood at attention.
Yuri's current military rank is Lieutenant General, the youngest Lieutenant General in the Soviet command system, a front-level commander, the Chief of the Operations Department of the General Staff, and the representative of the headquarters in the Belarus campaign. Most of the people in the hall now are army-level and group-army-level commanders. There are definitely some with higher ranks than him, and there are probably more with the same rank as him. However, when it comes to job level, there are really few who are higher than him.
Even without mentioning his rank, just talking about his experience in commanding operations, there are not many who are better than him in terms of actually fighting tough battles.
In fact, the moment Yuri walked into the door, he felt a little regretful that he shouldn't have come here.
He had risen too quickly in the past two years, and there were not many people in the command system who were really familiar with him. The people he interacted with more often were all of similar rank to him. And for anyone of similar rank to him, the Kremlin’s internal affairs department would arrange a special place for them to temporarily rest.
And those guys who arrived at the venue a few hours in advance and just sat there were all of too low a level. Not only did they not have the luxury of owning a lounge, but they were also the first time entering the Kremlin. If he appeared here now, not only would others be embarrassed, but he would be embarrassed as well.
Just as he was wondering whether he should turn around and leave, Yuri heard someone calling his name from behind.
I quickly turned around and saw Vasilevsky standing at the stairs leading upstairs in the spacious corridor behind me, waving at me.
Taking advantage of this opportunity, Yuri turned around and walked out of the hall again, walking quickly towards Vasilevsky.
"When did you arrive in Moscow?" Vasilevsky asked, smiling and stretching out his hand when he walked in.
"Just arrived," Yuri said, shaking his hand.
"Let's go. Comrade Stalin just asked you about this," Vasilevsky nodded and said, "He may want to ask about the redeployment of troops. You should be mentally prepared."
Yuri nodded, and felt a little fond of this good old man. After all, it was very good that he could give him a reminder at this time.
The two went upstairs side by side and went to an office on the second floor.
This is not where Stalin worked. The old man did not like the old Russian splendor here. The reason he came here today was probably for the afternoon meeting.
The office here was much more spacious and luxurious than Stalin's office in the Senate, and even the roof was much higher. When Yuri and Vasilevsky walked into the office, Stalin was sitting behind a purple desk, looking through documents, and next to him stood Poskrebyshev, who was pouring tea.
Hearing the knock at the door, Stalin raised his head slightly and looked over his glasses. When he saw Yuri standing at the door, he reached out and pushed his glasses up, put down the pen in his hand, and said, "Come in."
Yuri followed Vasilevsky into the office, and seeing that Stalin was wearing casual clothes, he did not salute.
"When did you arrive in Moscow?" Stalin stood up from his desk and asked the same question as Vasilevsky.
"Just arrived, got off the plane half an hour ago," Yuri replied.
"Well," Stalin nodded, walked around from behind his desk, and continued to ask, "How are the troop deployment issues in the Belarus campaign considered?"
Yuri glanced at the huge map on the right wall and said, "I already have a specific idea, but I haven't formed a report yet."
"Can you tell me now?" Stalin's request was very demanding. He looked at Yuri and asked.
"Okay," Yuri gestured in the direction of the map, then walked to the map, took the retractable pointer from the map stand, and said, "Let's start with Comrade Bagramyan's Baltic Front."
"Wait a minute," Stalin stopped him and said to Poskrebyshev, "go and call the recorder."
"Yes," Poskrebyshev responded, walked quickly out of the office, and soon brought in three female soldiers with clipboards.
Seeing the recorder in place, Yuri pointed to the Western Dvina River area with his pointer and said, "In the previous battle along the Baltic Sea, the 9th Assault Army has been deployed on the line from Romanyugi to Vitebsk on the Western Dvina River. To the east of Romanyugi is the 8th Infantry Army under the Assault Army, which has three infantry divisions: the 119th, 332nd, and 360th. However, in the previous battles, the three infantry divisions have suffered heavy losses. At present, the 119th Infantry Division has 5,239 troops, the 332nd Infantry Division has 6,345 troops, and the 360th Infantry Division is in a relatively better situation, with 7,189 troops. Providing artillery support for the 9th Assault Army is the 138th Artillery Brigade and the 556th Mortar Regiment. In addition, the 60th Independent Armored Train, which is under the command of the Army Command, is also assigned in this direction."
Yuri paused for a few seconds, waiting for Stalin to digest what he had just said, before continuing: "In the area north of Vitebsk, the 101st Infantry Brigade and the 171st Independent Tank Battalion are deployed on the left wing of the 360th Infantry Division. In front of Vitebsk, the 16th Latvian Infantry Division and the 587th Anti-Tank Artillery Regiment are deployed. In addition, the 2nd Engineer Brigade and the 1624th Anti-Aircraft Artillery Regiment of the Army Group are deployed in the No. 32 fortification area that is under repair."
"In view of the fact that the forces of the 9th Assault Army have already been deployed in advantageous positions, I suggest not to redeploy the army," Yuri said, putting down the stick pointing at the Vitebsk position. "It will still be under the command of the Baltic Front. At the same time, the Leningrad Soldier Transit Station will replenish the 8th Infantry Army. In view of the criticality of the subsequent battles, I believe that the strength of the three divisions of the infantry army should be maintained at around 8,000. The army's artillery and assault forces should be strengthened to a limited extent." This explanation fully stated the troop configuration and advance deployment of the 9th Assault Army, and even the locations of each unit were introduced in detail.
Stalin was obviously very satisfied with the report. He nodded and asked, "What is the current situation in the area south of Vitebsk?"
"Currently, the 9th Guards Army commanded by Comrade Ivan Mikhailovich Chistyakov is deployed in the area south of Vitebsk and north of Orsha," Yuri began to introduce the situation of the 9th Guards Army without thinking.
