Chapter 29 Talented
After returning to the Soviet Union of this era for several months, Yuri has discovered that the harm brought about by the damn Great Purge is not only the shortage of excellent commanders, but it also brings about a huge disadvantage, that is, the lack of a serious atmosphere of discipline in the army.
The grassroots commanders exposed and reported the middle commanders, and the middle commanders falsely accused the senior commanders. This atmosphere made the commanders at all levels tremble with fear and also greatly lost their personal authority. Not to mention Lieutenant Nikita, after all, he and Yuri did not belong to the same system, but what about Lieutenant Anastasia? He was Yuri's official subordinate. This guy just suffered some losses and difficulties in the battle, and he began to complain and seek support. What kind of style is this? If possible, Yuri would like to kill this guy directly.
Let's think about it in a broader sense. Why did the Soviet Union set up the so-called "anti-retreat squad" led by the People's Commissariat of Internal Affairs at the beginning of World War II, or more precisely, when the Battle of Stalingrad started? The fundamental reason is probably not just the rapid . The lack of discipline within the Soviet army and the lack of combat effectiveness are probably also a very important factor.
Yuri had seen relevant data in his previous life. During the Battle of Stalingrad alone, from August 1 to October 15, in two and a half months, four anti-retreat teams of 650 people intercepted 140,755 deserters. Among them, 3,980 were arrested, 1,189 were shot, 3,961 were sent to punishment camps, and most of the rest returned to the battlefield.
How could such an undisciplined army be expected to resist the elite German army in the first wave of the offensive? Yuri felt at a loss.
Perhaps, after this battle is over, when writing the report summary, the establishment of an "anti-retreat team" can be incorporated into it. Well, maybe it will be useful, maybe it won't, but it is much better than doing nothing.
Yuri also felt a little strange. He had been in the Soviet Union for several months and seemed to be integrating into this country and society step by step. He began to move from the initial sense of crisis based on his own safety to the level of considering more national and social issues. He just didn't know if this could be regarded as worrying too much.
It was not easy to get rid of Lieutenant Nikita's entanglement, but since he had made up his mind to ignore her, it was no big deal. The most important thing was that Yuri's guess, no, to be more precise, the inference based on the battle situation, was finally confirmed. When the gunshots rang out in the north, he knew that the rebels' main attack direction was not in the east. Their intention to feint to the east and attract the 209th Battalion's troops was undoubtedly revealed.
The rebels' attack on the north side of the radar station was fierce from the beginning. To Yuri's surprise, the rebels who came from Lviv actually used mortars when attacking the northern positions.
A machine gun firing point set up on the 1st Company's position was hit by the enemy's mortar less than 10 minutes after the battle started. A machine gunner was killed and two others were seriously injured, one of whom had half of his calf blown off.
Due to the limited time for pre-war preparations and the lack of an accurate estimate of the rebels' strength, the 1st Company did not dig trenches on their positions, but only a temporary position made of sandbags and bricks. The rebels launched a strong attack under the cover of night, and with the assistance of mortars, they posed a great threat to the 1st Company from the very beginning of the battle.
Fortunately, the commander of the 1st Company, Lieutenant Antip Borisovich, was much more reliable than Lieutenant Anastasia. After determining that the rebels had an advantage in firepower and manpower, he did not panic like Lieutenant Anastasia, but showed a relatively high level of command. Before Yuri arrived at the 1st Company's position, he even organized the soldiers to launch a counterattack on the weak right position and rebuilt the previously lost firepower point.
However, even so, the situation of the 1st Company was still not very good. By the time Yuri arrived, more than 20 people in the company had been killed or injured.
Yuri didn't like the night, especially not going to the battlefield at night. The 1st Company's position was based on the periphery of the north side of the radar station, very close to the radar base station, to be precise, less than 1,500 meters away.
The omission of intelligence caused Yuri to be extremely passive. He did not have to worry about the rebels breaking through the constructed defense line, but he had to consider the mortars in the hands of the enemy. If the rebels used mortars to blow up the base station, then no matter how well he fought the battle, it would be useless - intelligence, this is the fundamental factor that determines the direction of a war.
Because of the omission in intelligence, Yuri had to change his decision again temporarily. The "refueling tactics" that he had decided on before could no longer be used. He had to defeat the invading rebels in the shortest possible time, or at least destroy the opponent's mortars.
The position of the 1st Company was very messy. Lieutenant Antip arranged the position not in a linear pattern but in a scattered pattern, a bit like an anti-tank foxhole. One of the two Maxim heavy machine guns that the machine gun company supported had been blown up by the rebels' mortar, and the remaining one was left on the right side of the position. In order to indicate the direction of shooting to his own soldiers, Lieutenant Antip had ordered the soldiers to throw a lot of Molotov cocktails in the direction of the enemy's attack. By the light of the fire, dozens of rebel bodies in different uniforms were seen lying in disorder on the open ground outside the position.
"We have repelled one of the enemy's attacks," Lieutenant Antip handed the telescope to Yuri behind a wall inside the position and said, "However, one of Gavriel's heavy machine guns was blown up, which is our biggest loss. The enemy is much more difficult than we thought. They have received military training. I estimate that their next attack should choose our left line of defense, which has no heavy firepower support and is relatively weak in defense."
Yuri used a telescope to look at the opposite position. Due to the light, the situation viewed through the telescope was quite blurry, and it could even be said that nothing could be seen.
Putting down the telescope in his hand, Yuri turned his head to look at Antip, and after a moment's hesitation, he said, "I'll ask Gleb to come and support you. Next time the enemy launches an attack on the left , are you sure you can launch a counterattack in the same direction?"
Lieutenant Antip was a young man with a slightly dark complexion. Judging from his facial features, he looked a bit like a Transcaucasian. I had read about this guy before. He had indeed fought in the Transcaucasus region, mainly in several battles to suppress the rebellion of the Armenian Apostolic Church.
"Comrade Captain, considering the current reality, I don't think it's a good idea to launch a counterattack rashly," Lieutenant Antip said honestly after thinking for a while, "The main reason is that the enemy situation is unclear at the moment, and we don't know the strength of the rebels. And now it's too dark, and it's difficult for us to adjust to any unexpected events that may occur in the battle."
"Comrade Lieutenant Antip, I understand everything you said." Yuri admired Antip's pragmatic attitude. He nodded and said, "But you also have to consider how passive the conditions we are facing now are."
Pointing to the radar base station not far away, Yuri continued: "Our duty is to guard this radar station and prevent it from being destroyed by the enemy. But now, the enemy has mortars. It is difficult for us to determine where the enemy's shells will fall when the next battle starts."
"If that's the case, Comrade Captain, I suggest adjusting the battle deployment," said Antip. "I think this counterattack should be launched from our more solidly defended right line. Only in this way can we surprise the enemy and ensure a rapid counterattack."
This is a choice of using the strong against the weak, and the advantages are naturally self-evident, but the problem is whether the already weak left line can withstand the enemy's offensive.
"Do you think the left line can stop the enemy's attack? At least before the counterattack on the right line succeeds?" Yuri asked.
"I will personally command the battle on the left front," Lieutenant Antip said without hesitation. "As for the counterattack on the right front, I think Lieutenant Comrade Gleb Vitalievich is fully capable of commanding it."
Yuri was a little hesitant. You know, Lieutenant Antip's proposal was very risky. If the left line under his command could not stop the rebels' attack and was eventually attacked by the rebels, the whole game would be ruined. However, on the contrary, the temptation was also great. If Lieutenant Antip could really stop the rebels' offensive, then after the counterattack on the right line was successful, Gleb's company could threaten the rebels from the entire left wing. If this battle was fought well, the rebels might be defeated.
"I accept your suggestion, Comrade Lieutenant Antip, go and carry it out." After a moment of silence, Yuri finally decided to take a risk. The key point was that he felt that Lieutenant Antip was more reliable.
"Yes, Comrade Captain Yuri," Antip saluted, turned around and walked around the wall towards his position.
Watching Antip disappear into the night, Yuri took a deep breath. As a commander who was really commanding a battle for the first time, Yuri realized one thing: there is no such thing as a famous general in this world. No matter how capable a commander is, or how smart his strategy and tactics are, he still needs a large number of reliable middle and low-level commanders to implement them. Otherwise, even if Zhukov commanded a group of weaklings, he would not be able to defeat even a regiment of Germans.
Fortunately, the 209th Battalion he took over still had some talented people, not just a bunch of good-for-nothings.
