Chapter 333
Comrade Stalin obviously had no intention of killing Zhukov. He was just humiliating this disobedient guy who always liked to show off and wanted to take all the credit for the victory of the Great Patriotic War in his own way.
Of course, this is also due to Comrade Zhukov’s own political immaturity. He is like a child who never knows what silence is golden and what avoiding suspicion means.
After being exiled to Odessa and becoming the commander of a second-level military region, he still refused to stop and started organizing three-service tactical exercises and summarizing some new war ideas. Please, there are so many military academies and senior military commanders in the Soviet Union, with the General Staff above and the field command organizations of major military regions below. Is it your turn to summarize this?
Yuri only had to think about it to guess why Comrade Stalin first reprimanded Abakumov and then demoted Zhukov.
When Comrade Stalin first heard Abakumov's accusation, he must have seen through this guy's false accusation at a glance, so he reprimanded Abakumov without hesitation. But then, he began to guess why Zhukov conducted this exercise. After thinking about it, Comrade Leader understood that Comrade Zhukov felt that he was the one who understood military affairs best and was the best at commanding operations in the Soviet Union. He looked down on everyone, so he thought that what he came up with was the most useful.
So, the results came out, Comrade Stalin got angry again, and Comrade Zhukov, who refused to calm down, had a new destination.
At this point, Yuri really envied Zhukov. In today's Soviet Union, he was the only one who could commit suicide in such a way and still be alive and well.
Yuri's car stopped in place, about ten steps away from Zhukov. The old man got out of the car and stared at Yuri's car. He didn't move forward or backward, just stood there, looking at this side expressionlessly.
He didn't plan to have much contact with this guy, because Yuri knew very well that it was not good to get too close to such a person. The thunder would not strike him, but he would. If Comrade Stalin got angry, he probably would not go after him, but himself.
But Yuri was obviously too wishful thinking. He didn't want to have any contact with Zhukov, but he watched the other party stand there for a while and then walk directly towards the car he was in.
Seeing that he was walking with big strides and was almost reaching his car, it would not be appropriate for Yuri to stay in the car. He couldn't let this guy open the car door for him, right?
Sighing inwardly, he reached out to open the car door, lowered his head and got out.
"Is Comrade Stalin planning to arrange for you to go to Tokyo to attend the surrender ceremony?" Zhukov happened to be walking to the side of the car. When he saw Yuri getting out of the car, he stopped and asked.
Yuri was confused by his question. Going to Tokyo to attend the surrender ceremony? Did the Japanese surrender? How come he didn't know anything about it?
"Have the Japanese accepted the unconditional surrender?" Yuri asked with confusion.
"It seems that you really don't care about military issues at all," Zhukov said with a twitch of his mouth, not without sarcasm, "Is it really better to sit in an office than to stay in the army?"
"That's not the case," Yuri glanced at him and said calmly, "I just understand a very simple truth. Now that the large-scale war is over, the generals who are good at commanding large-scale operations should settle down and contribute their strength in another way."
Zhukov frowned, as if these words hit a sore spot.
After more than ten seconds, he continued, "If you are the one attending the surrender ceremony, then please propose to Comrade Stalin that Hokkaido must be controlled by us. This is related to our future security strategy and is the lowest bottom line."
Yuri nodded and said, "Comrade Stalin hasn't talked to me yet, but if he leaves this matter to me, I will stick to this proposal."
Zhukov said nothing more. It seemed as if he had come here just to talk about this matter. Now that he had finished speaking, he turned around and walked into the front door of Sherbakov's residence.
He was unable to attend Sherbakov's funeral, and he probably came alone to comfort the bereaved family. During the war, he had a good relationship with Sherbakov, and they cooperated very well during the Battle of Moscow.
Watching the guy's somewhat hunched figure disappear before his eyes, Yuri sighed slightly, turned back to the car, and said to the driver: "Go to the General Staff Headquarters."
Since the end of the Great Patriotic War, Yuri has indeed gradually distanced himself from the army. In the past year, he has not even been to the General Staff. Although he is responsible for disarmament, strictly speaking, he has not completely left his military role and has even been wearing a military uniform.
The result of being away from the military was that he lacked understanding of the war situation in the Far East. His impression of the progress of the war there was still two weeks ago, including the fact that the Japanese attempted to surrender to Meretskov, which was information from two weeks ago.
Yuri knew very well why Zhukov said that he would be sent to preside over the surrender ceremony. If nothing unexpected happened, the American representative for surrender would definitely be the unruly MacArthur. This guy has been touted as a god of war by the Western media, and they always mentioned how General MacArthur annihilated so many Japanese troops in such and such battles.
Especially after the Battle of Kyushu, Western media claimed that in the Battle of Nagasaki-Fukuoka, the US military under MacArthur's command wiped out a total of 1.28 million Japanese combat troops, which was an unprecedented victory. But in fact, during the Battle of Hokkaido, due to the blockade of the US Navy, Japan had withdrawn its main defense forces to Honshu. The ones who really fought in Kyushu and Shikoku were basically the so-called volunteer troops who could not even guarantee food and clothing.
However, no matter what, with the hype of the Western media, MacArthur had become the talk of the town. If he had served as the US representative to accept the surrender, then given Comrade Stalin's face-conscious nature, he would have definitely arranged for a general with outstanding military achievements from the Soviet side to participate, so that he would at least not be overshadowed by the Americans.
At this time, it is estimated that Comrade Stalin would not arrange for Zhukov to go, so the best choice left is naturally Yuri, who organized the Battle of Belarus, the Battle of Poland and the Battle of Berlin.
Of course, for Yuri, he is very happy to do this kind of thing. After all, this is destined to be a highlight moment that will go down in history. Who would refuse the opportunity to participate in it?
When the car arrived at the General Staff Headquarters, Yuri went directly to the Operations Department. He was very familiar with this place. Many of the staff officers in the Operations Department were his former subordinates. In addition, he did not completely retire from the army, so it was still very convenient for him to look up some information.
In the drawing room of the General Staff, Yuri looked through the war intelligence in the Far East over the past month.
The Americans had indeed not yet launched an attack on Japan's Honshu Island, and the Soviet troops in Hokkaido were not prepared to continue their offensive to the south, but Japan's so-called homeland defense plan could no longer be sustained, mainly due to the aerial bombings by both the United States and the Soviet Union, which had basically destroyed all the major cities on Honshu Island.
As a country with a small territory and poor national security, Japan's military dependence on foreign countries is too high. Without resources from China and Southeast Asia, they cannot even guarantee their own basic needs, let alone foreign wars.
Since the sea blockade by the Soviet Union and the United States, Japan's domestic military strength could no longer be sustained. In order to maintain the war, Japan even confiscated all copper and ironware from the people. The supply of electricity and fuel was even more unsustainable. Even the supplier of food began to adopt the method once used by the Soviet Union, that is, a limited wartime supply system.
After the Battle of Kyushu, because Fukuoka fell into the hands of the Americans, the Nippon Steel Company, which had provided most of the steel for Japan in this war, also lost almost 80% of its supply with the fall of Yawata Steel.
The worst thing was that as the war drew to a close, both the Soviet Union and the United States were eager to use up all the bombs that had been stored for several years. From Akita to Yamaguchi, from Fukui to Chiba, almost all the cities on the entire Honshu Island were under continuous bombing by both sides. Kawasaki, Ishikawajima-Harima, Mitsubishi, etc., these military-industrial enterprises that provided support for the war, became the main bombing targets. To put it bluntly, except for people, Japan had lost all its military resources for a large-scale battle.
At this point, there was obviously no other option except surrender.
In addition, according to information provided by the intelligence department, a military coup took place in Tokyo just two weeks ago because the Japanese cabinet intended to accept surrender. Therefore, the tough young military faction tried to imitate the "Showa Restoration", that is, the February 26 Incident, and launch another military coup to overthrow the superiors.
But the situation this time was not good. The mutiny was launched too hastily and had too few supporters, so it was suppressed in just three hours.
I don’t know if it was affected by this incident, but the Japanese obviously accelerated their surrender. The negotiation representatives they arranged entered Hokkaido yesterday and should arrive in Moscow tomorrow.
According to the report documents from Meretskov kept by the General Staff, the Soviet army in Hokkaido had lifted the blockade of the Tsugaru Strait and began to accept the surrendered Japanese troops from Aomori and other places.
In Shikoku and Kyushu, the US military has also begun to speed up its preparations for war. It is estimated that they will land in Honshu in the near future and then quickly advance to the north to prevent the Soviet army from moving south.
