Chapter 4 Hero
Sala is a small village on the Soviet-Finnish border, located in Finland, less than 20 kilometers away from the border.
Two months ago, just when the war was about to break out, the Finns adopted a policy of clearing the countryside. The villagers of Sala were evacuated, and everything that could be transported away was transported away, while those that could not be transported were burned down by a fire.
Since most Finnish houses are made of wood, the village of Sala was almost completely burned to ashes. The only house still standing was a windmill located on a hill to the east of the village. The entire mill was built entirely of rock and was very solid, so it withstood the fire.
Since the Soviet army's large-scale advance into Finland, the Ninth Army, responsible for the main attack in the center, has set up its headquarters in the almost destitute village of Sara. Directly ahead in the direction of Kemijärvi, the 122nd Division of the army was advancing towards the Gulf of Bothnia.
As night fell, the northwest wind that had been blowing since noon not only did not weaken, but became even stronger. A basin of water placed outdoors would freeze into a large ice block in less than ten minutes. Such weather was simply a disaster for the Soviet troops who were continuing to fight.
Although there was a fire, the empty and windy windmill was still as cold as an ice cellar. Beside the stairs leading upstairs of the mill, next to the large table that was temporarily nailed together with logs, a middle-aged man, who was not tall but gave people a sense of sturdiness, was standing there motionless.
The middle-aged man was wearing a Soviet military uniform. Judging from his shoulder straps, he should be a major general. His thick brows were furrowed, his eyes were fixed on the crumpled map on the table, and his face was full of hesitation and worry.
The middle-aged man was named Vasily, whose full name was Vasily Ivanovich Chuikov. As a favorite general of Marshal Voroshilov, he was transferred from Belarus to Leningrad three months ago to serve as the commander of the Ninth Army. His purpose was to command the local battles of this war.
Unlike the optimistic views of some generals in the military district and Moscow, Chuikov did not think that the Finnish military was weak and vulnerable. At least, they would not be like chickens and dogs that would fall apart at the slightest touch. But even so, he never thought that the war would turn out like this, and he never thought that he would have to face such a passive situation.
In the combat sequence of the entire Ninth Army, the two main forces were the 122nd and 163rd Divisions. In terms of battlefield deployment, the 122nd Division was responsible for the main attack in the direction of Kemijärvi, and in front of it was the main force of the Finnish Ninth Army. The main attack direction of the 163rd Division was Oulu, and in the beginning, there was not much blocking force in front of it.
Even in such a state of war, two months later, the two divisions handed in a tragic answer sheet that made people want to kill people: the 122nd Division suffered heavy casualties, and the front line advanced less than 25 kilometers. Now it has no ability to launch an attack and can only shrink and fight a defensive war. The 163rd Division is even more miserable. The entire division was divided and surrounded by the Finns in the outer area of Suomussalmi. Since two weeks ago, the division has been continuously asking for help, but a week ago, their communication was cut off. The army headquarters now doesn’t know where they are, and it is not even sure whether they still exist.
Yes, Chuikov did have some reserve troops in his hands, but he did not dare to use them. After all, the current battle situation was very passive, and he had to ensure that he would have follow-up troops to deploy when the situation further deteriorated.
Fortunately, Marshal Voroshilov had not abandoned him. The 44th Division, which was urgently transferred from Kiev, joined the battle at a critical moment. Their mission was to advance to the Suomusamyr area and join up with the troubled 163rd Division.
The 44th Division can be considered an elite division. It carries the title of "Kiev Honor Division" and is a genuine elite motorized infantry division, but to be honest, Chuikov is not optimistic about the prospects of this division. The reasons are very complicated, and the most important point is that this division is not under his command. At the same time, the division commander Vinogradov is a domineering person, and the orders of the Ninth Army Headquarters cannot command him at all.
Everything that happened later obviously proved Chuikov's guess. Three days ago, the 44th Division was sniped by the Finnish Army in the Kuivas-Kuomas Pass, six miles from Suomussalmi, and the entire unit's advance was stalled. Yesterday, Vinogradov sent a military intelligence report, claiming that the 44th Division was blocked and harassed by a large group of Finnish troops. He believed that he was facing the main force of the Finnish Ninth Army, so he decided to withdraw the troops to the town of Haukila and switch to defense there.
Not to mention that the 44th Division was not under his command, even if it was, Chuikov could not reject Vinogradov's request, because the current war situation was very chaotic, the headquarters had no idea about the specific deployment of the Finns, and the contact with the 163rd Division had been cut off long ago. The headquarters was not sure whether they still existed. Therefore, for safety reasons, it was not a wrong decision for the 44th Division to switch to a defensive posture.
He became blind and deaf, and the troops suffered heavy losses. Chuikov could not think of any brilliant way to change this terrible situation.
Chuikov's eyes left the map on the table and fell on a small military newspaper that had just been printed next to it.
This so-called military newspaper was actually just a leaflet produced by those unpopular military commissars, and the maker of this leaflet was Colonel Dmitry, the division-level military commissar of the headquarters.
In Chuikov's eyes, Colonel Dmitri was a bug. Four years ago, this guy was still in the Belarusian Special Military District and was a lieutenant of the 11th Army. In August 1936, this guy reported a "dangerous group of lurking Social Revolutionary Party members" in the 11th Army, and thus embarked on the road to success. It was also because of his report that the 11th Army suffered a nearly complete purge, and 62 middle and senior commanders were cleared out.
Chuikov despised such bugs, but he did not dare to provoke them. Therefore, he absolutely agreed with the guy's proposal to "set up heroic examples to boost morale." Thus, this leaflet-like tabloid was born, and within just two days, it was distributed to several army groups under the Leningrad Military District, including the 14th, 8th, 9th, and 15th.
In fact, Chuikov was skeptical about the "hero" promoted by Colonel Dmitri. Although the guy "seized" the weapon of Finnish sniper Matti Levisto, he could not explain the specific process of killing the target. Not only that, there were also many loopholes in the rhetoric he provided.
However, Chuikov did not intend to speak out these doubts. On the one hand, he did not want to offend the villain Colonel Dmitri. On the other hand, his troops really needed to boost morale, and the appearance of a hero could obviously play a significant role.
The leaflet was accompanied by a black-and-white photo of the guy. He was wearing a white cloak of a Finnish soldier and holding a 98k rifle in his hand. He looked quite heroic. As for the text below the picture, it seemed to be telling a legendary story.
Pursing his lips, Cuikov reached out to take the leaflet, crumpled it into a ball with his hands, and threw it far into the fire.
"Bang, bang."
A train spewing black smoke broke through the morning light and sped across the steel bridge across the Neva River.
In the chartered carriage number four near the front of the train, Colonel Dmitri was whistling in front of a mirror hanging on the wall, and slowly adjusting the collar of his military uniform.
When Yuri knocked on the door and came in, the colonel was combing his hair. Although it would take another two hours to reach Leningrad, he had already started to tidy up his appearance. He wanted to face the leaders of the military district in the best mental state.
"Hey, my Paulenka, how did you sleep last night?" Seeing Yuri walk in, Dmitri stroked his hair and asked with a smile.
"Very good, Comrade Colonel Dmitri Mikhailovich," Although Dmitri called him by his nickname, which seemed very intimate, Yuri still used a respectful title to show that he knew the limits.
Unexpectedly , after hearing Yuri's answer, Dmitri's smile instantly sank. He turned his head, looked at Yuri indifferently, and said: "My comrade Captain Yuri Arkhipovich, how can you sleep well at this bad time?"
"Oh, no, Comrade Colonel Dmitri Mikhailovich," Yuri immediately realized where he was wrong, and he changed his words, "I mean, the conditions in the car are very good, but I didn't sleep well. As a Soviet soldier fighting against the Finnish Nazis, I am eager to return to the front line of the battle. You know, as soon as I close my eyes, I will see it in front of me."
"Okay, okay," Colonel Dmitri's smile reappeared on his face. He interrupted Yuri with satisfaction, pointed at him with the comb in his hand, and said with a smile, "Your idea is good. It fully reflects the revolutionary dedication and surging desire for war that a hero must have. You must always remember that you are a hero. You must use heroic standards to demand yourself, think about problems with heroic thinking, and move others with heroic words and deeds."
"I'll keep that in mind, Comrade Colonel Dmitri Mikhailovich," Yuri agreed, nodding vigorously.
"Very good," Colonel Dmitri waved his hand and nodded with satisfaction.
