Chapter 226
"It is recommended that the 23rd and 256th Guards Tank Brigades and the 1434th Self-Propelled Artillery Regiment be temporarily assigned to the front's reserve. Their location will help them quickly support the front's defense on the right wing."
Putting down the pointer in his hand, Yuri shook his sore arm and said, "Comrade Stalin, this is all my opinion on the redeployment of the troops."
Stalin smiled, put his pipe in his mouth and applauded Yuri's performance.
Nearly 50 minutes had passed since the beginning. Yuri had reported on the 166 divisions, 12 tank armies, 21 brigades, and nearly 30 directly affiliated regiments involved in the entire Belarusian campaign, as well as various artillery, engineering, pontoon troops, construction troops, and air force, their current locations, locations that needed to be redeployed, the fuel and supplies that might be consumed during deployment, the troops' existing strength, weapons and ammunition, and so on. He didn't even look at the corresponding records. He just relied on his mouth and the memory in his mind to speak out all this complicated information without stuttering.
Vasilevsky was also applauding. He had served as Stalin's Minister of War and had recommended several Ministers of War. Therefore, he knew very well how difficult this job was, and he knew even more clearly how picky Stalin was about the people who held this position.
In the past, when Vasilevsky himself held this position, he would usually carry a small booklet with him, briefly recording some specific information, so that he could take it out and look at it when he needed it.
In fact, Stalin was very disgusted with others looking through materials while giving reports. Vasilevsky also knew that his behavior was inappropriate, but the Soviet army had too many troops and he was not sure he could remember all the data. Therefore, it was inevitable to simply look through the materials when necessary.
After that, Vasilevsky recommended Antonov as the Chief of Operations, followed by Shtemenko. Neither of them stayed in this position for long because they always brought a thick stack of records when reporting their work, which made Stalin extremely disgusted. Both of them only worked for a few months in the position of Chief of Operations of the General Staff.
It was not until Yuri took over the job that this position was stabilized. To a certain extent, the core command of the Soviet Army is actually composed of five people: Stalin, Zhukov , Vasilevsky, Antonov who still retains the position of Deputy Chief of the General Staff, and Yuri, Chief of the Operations Department of the General Staff.
Why can Yuri, who is less than 30 years old, stay in this position firmly? Vasilevsky believes that just based on his performance just now, as long as this young man does not make any mistakes, he will be able to stay in this position firmly.
No, Vasilevsky suddenly thought of something. Before, because he had been coordinating the actions of the two major parties outside for a long time and rarely returned to Moscow, he repeatedly asked Stalin to relieve him of his post as Chief of the General Staff. Not long ago, Stalin had approved his request and accepted his recommendation to appoint Alexei Innokentyevich Antonov as Chief of the General Staff. Once this appointment was issued, the position of Deputy Chief of the General Staff would be vacant, which seemed to mean...
His eyes flashed, and Vasilevsky looked at the expressionless Yuri, and sighed inwardly. Perhaps, the youngest general in the history of the Soviet Army is about to appear. If Yuri is really nominated as Deputy Chief of the General Staff and concurrently serves as Minister of Operations, his rank of lieutenant general will be too far from the position. Given Stalin's trust in Yuri, it would not be a problem to give him the rank of general.
If you think about it more carefully, there seems to be nothing to be jealous of. First, Yuri is indeed very capable, there is no doubt about that. Second, his command ability is also worthy of recognition. From the outbreak of the war to now, he has not made any mistakes in command. This can be seen from the importance the Germans attach to him. The last point... Comrade Zhukov's growing prestige may have made him successful. Look at the recent period of time. Whether it is Rokossovsky or Konev, all commanders who have had conflicts with Zhukov have been valued by Comrade Stalin without exception, and Yuri is one of them.
Unfortunately, Comrade Zhukov himself did not realize this.
During the time when Vasilevsky was distracted, Stalin had already taken the minutes from the clerk. He returned to his desk, put on his glasses, and carefully read the minutes from beginning to end.
Poskrebyshev came in from outside and brought two cups of coffee. He actually walked to Yuri first and handed him one cup, then turned back and handed the remaining cup to Vasilevsky.
When Yuri took the coffee, his expression looked calm. He thanked him, glanced at Vasilevsky again, took it, and met the other's gaze. Their eyes met and they smiled at each other as if nothing had happened.
"Comrade Yuri Arisipovich," Stalin took off his glasses after nearly twenty minutes. He put his glasses on the desk, pinched his forehead with both hands, and said, "If we follow your plan, we will have five fronts on the Belarusian front, the Baltic Front, the 1st, 2nd, and 3rd Belarusian Fronts, and the Reserve Front. So, who do you think is the most suitable candidate for the commander of the five fronts?"
"Comrade Stalin, I think Comrade Georgy Konstantinovich has more say on this issue," Yuri thought for a moment and said, "He should be more familiar with commanders at the front level."
Vasilevsky frowned unconsciously. He felt that Yuri was going too far by saying such things at this time, and his methods were even a bit despicable.
It was impossible for this young man not to see Stalin's thoughts. He had obviously begun to have concerns about Zhukov. At this time, he still used such words to prevaricate. It was not a show of humility, but a stab in Zhukov's back.
"Well," Stalin did not say anything. He nodded in agreement, and then added, "But I still want to hear your opinion, Comrade Yuri Arisipovich."
"If it's my opinion, I think the reserve front should still be directly under the headquarters," Yuri did not shirk his responsibility this time. He said directly, "Comrade Ivan Khristoforovich has demonstrated his command ability in previous battles, so he should still command the Baltic Coast Front. The main deployment of the First Belorussian Front is concentrated in the field command organization of the Central Front, so Comrade Konstantin Konstantinovich is fully qualified. By the same token, the Third Belorussian Front was established on the basis of the Western Front, and Comrade Ivan Danilovich can take over the work there in a shorter time."
Yuri paused and said hesitantly: "As for the 2nd Belorussian Front, I think we can listen to the opinion of Comrade Alexander Mikhailovich."
Stalin was stunned for a moment, then smiled slightly and turned his gaze to Vasilevsky.
Vasilevsky calmed down and said directly, "I think Comrade Matvey Vasilyevich Zakharov is qualified for this position."
Stalin said nothing. He frowned and thought for a while, but did not make a final decision. Instead, he stood up from behind the desk, picked up his pipe, and walked out while saying, "Let's go eat first."
When Stalin walked past him, Vasilevsky glanced at Yuri who was following him, and the latter smiled at him.
Although Yuri seemed to have recommended three people, in fact, he did not recommend anyone. The only recommendation was given to Vasilevsky. This was a gesture: I am against Zhukov, and I am doing it openly, but I am not selfish, I am not domineering, and my behavior is not that ugly.
The meeting, attended by commanders of the army level and above in the Belarusian campaign, lasted a whole afternoon and was attended by all members of the People's Commissariat of Defense. The main content of the meeting had no direct connection with the upcoming Belarusian campaign. It was mainly about Comrade Stalin, on behalf of the People's Commissariat of Defense, criticizing the mood of some commanders who despised the enemy in the previous stage of the campaign.
The final plan for the Belarusian Campaign was determined that evening, and Stalin summoned Baghramyan, Rokossovsky, Zakharov and Chernychekhovsky separately.
The next day, the second round of meetings was held for another morning based on the redeployed front. It was confirmed that Stalin had fully accepted Yuri's troop deployment plan.
On the same day as the second round of meetings, a news item from the People's Commissariat of Defense was published in the Red Star newspaper. This news item was published on the front page headline. Its main content was that Comrade Yuri Arkhipovich Kulyokov was awarded the rank of General of the Soviet Red Army. At the same time, he was appointed Deputy Chief of the General Staff and Minister of Operations of the General Staff of the Soviet Red Army.
In addition, on the front page headlines, a large article was used to introduce his personal experience, including family background, descendants of heroes and other information. Of course, the main focus was on introducing the victories he had won on the battlefield since the Soviet-Finnish War, especially after the outbreak of the anti-German fascist war.
Most of the information published in the article is true, but there is also some artistic processing. For ordinary people, this is just a piece of news, nothing worth paying attention to, but for those who are interested, this report is actually a hype, just like the treatment Comrade Zhukov enjoyed two years ago.
