Chapter 48 Hardship
The restoration of the political commissar system undoubtedly brought some constraints to troop commanders like Yuri. The political commissars were said to be responsible for political work, but in fact, they were also monitoring commanders like Yuri. Some powerful political commissars, like Vashukin, would even interfere in combat command work.
However, in the 239th Brigade, Yuri has a great advantage over the two political commissars, Vitim and Daniel. He has a "Gold Star Medal" and is a "Hero of the Soviet Union" awarded by the headquarters. In addition, he is highly appreciated by Comrade Khrushchev. These can create a certain psychological pressure on Vitim and Daniel. Therefore, when facing Yuri, they are relatively low-key.
The first thing he did after taking office was, of course, to inspect his troops. For Yuri, there were three areas he focused on: the frontline positions, the resistance hubs, and the artillery support points.
On the second day after taking over, Yuri convened a meeting of all commanders at the battalion level and above under the brigade command at the brigade command post and made comprehensive adjustments to the previous defense plan.
Before Yuri took over, Major Herman, who served as deputy brigade commander, focused on the defense of the frontline positions, and a large number of troops were deployed to the frontline defense line. On the second day after Yuri took office, he drew a large number of troops from the frontline positions and deployed them to the resistance hub in the deep area. To this end, he even abandoned many frontline trenches and only retained a few firepower points with permanent fortifications.
According to Yuri's idea, the role of the frontline position should not be to kill large numbers of enemies or to block the enemy's attack. Its role should be to force the enemy to deploy its main force in front of the first line of defense system in the fortified area. Only when the enemy's main force is deployed can the enemy be killed on a large scale in the resistance hub in the deep area.
Yuri's plan was agreed upon by the vast majority of people, including the operations staff and the political commissar. Only Deputy Political Commissar Daniel had reservations, but he did not express any opposition.
On August 22, the day after Yuri took over, the observation post at the front line discovered the German troops crossing the river. A large number of German engineers used rubber boats to build six pontoon bridges on the Teterev River that could accommodate tanks.
Yuri immediately ordered the artillery to use 107mm cannons to attack the German bridge-building troops. In less than 20 minutes of shelling, two pontoon bridges that the German army had just begun to build were destroyed.
However, the Germans soon launched a counterattack, first with a large-scale artillery counterattack, followed by continuous and uninterrupted air bombardment. Yuri asked the army headquarters for air support, but to no avail, so he had to order the artillery to abandon the attack on the German troops crossing the river and hide in various artillery fortifications.
At 11 a.m. on August 23, the German army built six pontoon bridges on the Teterev River. Immediately afterwards, a motorized infantry unit successfully crossed the river and established a temporary beachhead on the east bank of the river.
At 2 p.m., the German troops crossing the river launched a tentative attack on the fortified area defended by the 239th Brigade, but were quickly repelled. At the same time, their left wing was also attacked by the Soviet 295th Division Motorized Brigade, and coupled with the artillery attack of the 239th Brigade, the German troops suffered serious damage. If it were not for the follow-up tank troops to catch up quickly, it is estimated that the left wing of the crossing troops would have collapsed.
After the battle on the afternoon of the 23rd, the German troops crossing the river obviously became more cautious. While consolidating the defense lines on both wings, they chose the position of the 239th Battalion as the main direction of attack, because the road to Kiev through Bucha was right at the position of the 239th Battalion.
For Yuri at this time, the German attack did not make him feel afraid. What really gave him a headache was the rainy season that came quietly. The heavy rain that lasted for three days was a disaster for the soldiers of both the Soviet and German sides.
The passage reinforced with logs was dimly lit. The lights fixed on the walls emitted a dim light, and from time to time, they flickered.
Yuri, with his trouser legs rolled up and his back bent, came out of a long and narrow passage and turned into a troop storage area of more than 100 square meters.
The heavy rain that lasted for three days brought great trouble to the underground fortifications in the entire fortified area. Although soldiers had been organized to dredge water continuously, the accumulated water in the fortifications was still above the knees. In some low-lying areas, the water was even waist-deep.
Of course, the feeling of soaking in water is not unbearable, or rather, it is not the most difficult thing for the soldiers. What is more difficult is the high temperature that is almost crazy.
Although it was raining heavily outside, the temperature remained at around 32 or 33 degrees, while in the tunnel, the temperature was as high as 36 or 37 degrees. The high temperature evaporated the accumulated rainwater, turning the entire tunnel into a huge steamer. Staying in this damn place, people couldn't even breathe, and felt like they were about to be suffocated to death at any time.
A large number of soldiers who were not on duty gathered in the garrison area. A rough count showed that there were about 30 or 40 of them. These soldiers had already taken off their clothes and were hiding naked in various postures in this cramped place. However, the two bowl-sized ventilation holes were where the most people gathered.
The air was filled with a strange, disgusting smell, not fishy nor sweaty, but a very strange smell that was hard to describe.
"Our situation is very bad. Many soldiers have suffered from heatstroke," a sturdy man next to Yuri said breathlessly while wiping the sweat off his face. "And some people's calves have started to ulcerate after being soaked in water for a long time. So, the problem of accumulated water must be solved as soon as possible, otherwise, the morale of the soldiers might be..."
The sturdy man was a regiment commander under the 239th Brigade, Captain Kryukov. He was obviously a rough man and not very good at speaking. If the political commissar heard what he said, he would definitely scold him. If it happened during the pre-war purge, he might have been dragged out and shot - can you use "otherwise" when talking to your superiors? This sounded like a threat.
However, Yuri didn't care. He glanced at the other person and said, "The command center is considering solving this problem. Several pumps will be shipped from Kiev by tomorrow morning at the latest. Then it will be easy to deal with."
With a solemn tone, Yuri continued, "Remember to arrange for someone to find Comrade Daniel, the Commissioner, to get a limited amount of cigarettes for the soldiers. The command has decided to temporarily lift the smoking ban to a limited extent to help the soldiers stay alert."
Some people say that the smell of the Soviet Union is: vodka, cabbage soup, leather boots and Mahe tobacco. For the Soviets, smoking and drinking are an important part of their lives. Even if there is no food to eat, these two things are indispensable. Yuri once read a diary left by a Soviet soldier. There was a paragraph in it that read: "I saw a German tank aiming at me, and I thought I was finished, so I decided to roll a cigarette. But the next moment, the tank caught fire. I thought, it's not me who is finished, but it is finished, so I rolled five cigarettes..."
Because the underground tunnels in the fortified area were closed, the 239th Brigade had previously issued a battlefield smoking ban, which not only strictly prohibited soldiers from smoking in the tunnels, but also cut off the supply of tobacco. However, considering the low morale of the soldiers, the command could not take care of these things. In order to slightly boost the morale of the soldiers, the command discussed and decided to temporarily relax the smoking ban and resume the supply of tobacco to the grassroots soldiers.
Sure enough, when they heard that the brigade intended to cancel the smoking ban, the dozens of soldiers who were originally lifeless in the accommodation point suddenly became a commotion.
Yuri smiled and nodded at the two soldiers who were looking at him. He took out two packs of cigarettes from his pocket and handed them to them. Then he continued, "The situation we are facing is very difficult. Everyone knows this very well. However, we also need to think about it. We have difficulties, and the Germans have difficulties too. Their tanks and motorcycles are now unable to move and are stuck in the mud. What's even more tragic is that in order to avoid becoming targets of our artillery, the Germans cannot build tents. They can only huddle in the mud like quails, hoping that the rain will stop."
A burst of laughter rang out among the soldiers in the troop accommodation point. It was indeed as Yuri said, the German troops on the opposite side of the position, at the end of the Teterev River, did not even have a tent. The limited tanks and armored vehicles were their place to shelter from the rain. Of course, most of the soldiers were still wrapped in raincoats and hiding in muddy foxholes.
"So, considering the difference in our situations, I would rather the rain doesn't stop," Yuri said with a smile, "because it will cause more trouble to the Germans, won't it?"
Yuri knew very well that according to the historical trajectory of his previous life, the German army could not gain any advantage in the Soviet army's Kiev fortification zone, and the battles between the two sides in this generation were basically a confrontation. Due to the lack of reserve troops, limited manpower, and insufficient weapons and equipment, the Soviet army could not launch a large-scale counterattack, and the German army could not implement effective earth slopes in the face of the Soviet army's strictly built fortifications. Therefore, backward positional warfare similar to World War I became the main theme of the front lines of both sides.
Since it is a positional war, it is very important to boost the morale of the soldiers. Yuri must keep his soldiers in high spirits so that he can launch a breakout operation at the critical moment.
He spent most of the day inspecting the fortified positions that were completely soaked in water, and encouraged the soldiers at several key locations. In the afternoon, Yuri returned to the brigade headquarters and called several major commanders to discuss using the broadcasting system of the position to encourage the grassroots officers and soldiers by playing music and reading novels.
