Chapter 82: Flag Bearer
The weather in Moscow this year was very strange. Just after the rainy October, a cold wave swept across the entire East European plain. Almost overnight, the rainy weather turned into snowy weather, and the temperature suddenly dropped from above zero to around minus 7 or 8 degrees Celsius. According to statistics from relevant departments, such extremely cold weather in the same month is rare in a century.
Yuri and his fellow academy trainees arrived in Moscow on the night of November 6th, braving the heavy snow. Except for Yuri himself, the rest of the trainees only learned that they would be taking part in the celebration parade the next day when they checked into the Internal Guards' guesthouse after arriving in Moscow.
That night, Yuri entered the Kremlin for the second time, but this time it was not Comrade Stalin who summoned him, but Budyonny who had just returned from the front, and Pavel Artemyev, the commander of the Moscow Military District and the head of the Internal Security Forces Operations Command. Budyonny was the commander-in-chief of this parade, and Artemyev was the executive commander-in-chief. To put it bluntly, Budyonny was the person who reviewed the troops in the car during the parade, while Artemyev was the chief planner and director.
Budyonny and Artemyev not only summoned Yuri this time, but also the commanders of all participating troops tomorrow, including the commanders and staff of the 12 Siberian divisions. At this small meeting, Yuri received a new task. Comrade Beria recommended him to be the flag bearer of this parade. At the same time, he would no longer be the leader of the cadet square. This position would be handed over to an officer of the Lenin Military Academy.
The role of the flag bearer is an honorary position for general military parades, but it is very important for this military parade. Before the review, the participating troops had not received any training at all, and it was impossible to achieve coordination and consistency in both formation and slogan shouting. At this time, the role of the flag bearer is actually equivalent to that of a signalman, who needs to command the soldiers to respond accordingly through a series of actions.
Although he was called the flag bearer, he actually held a saber instead of a flag. The specific command process was also very simple. At the beginning, Yuri needed to hold the saber in his right hand, with the tip of the saber pointing downwards, and the troops marched forward in a normal manner. When he held his arm horizontally, raised the saber, and the tip of the saber pointed upwards, the soldiers of the troops began to march in step. When he curled up his arms and held the saber horizontally in front of him, the soldiers began to shout slogans.
Of course, Yuri cannot follow his own will in this process. He needs to follow the pace of the parade commander-in-chief Budyonny.
As the flag bearer, Yuri's position at the parade was right in front of Lenin's Mausoleum, that is, on the altar of the eternal lamp at Lenin's Mausoleum. That position was quite conspicuous, and all the participating troops had to pass through there.
In addition to the command process, there is also a set of procedures for the flag officer to appear, which is similar to the sacrifice before the Cossack cavalry goes to war. Yuri will take a specially arranged review car to a place 150 meters in front of Lenin's Mausoleum. After getting off the car, he needs to stand still and draw his sword, and do the "hidden sword style", that is, hold the sword in the backhand, let the tip of the saber face up, and then clamp the sword under the right armpit. When the first salute sounded, Yuri needed to kneel on one knee and salute the Tomb of the Ever-Bright Lantern Martyrs, a distance of 150 meters, saluting every 50 meters until he reached the martyrs' tomb, stood at attention, and turned around. Just as he turned around, the music sounded, and the military parade ceremony officially began.
It was just such a process, which sounded simple, but in fact, whether it was Yuri, Budyonny, or Artemyev, everyone involved in the planning of the military parade was very nervous, because the scale of the military parade was huge, and there were hundreds of thousands of soldiers participating in the parade alone. On the viewing platform of Lenin's Mausoleum, there were not only all the members of the Politburo headed by Stalin, but also the leaders of almost all key departments such as the Supreme Command, the Military Committee, and the General Staff. In addition, there were representatives and reporters from the United States and the United Kingdom. In addition, the live broadcast of the military parade would be sent to the whole world via radio waves. All the allies fighting against the German, Italian, Japanese and fascists were paying attention to this massive military parade, because everyone knew that the battle that was about to be launched in Moscow would determine the future direction of this unprecedented war.
According to Budyonny, Comrade Stalin had not slept for nearly 40 hours for this parade. It was not because he did not have time, but because he could not sleep, because this parade was no longer a simple parade. It was related to the war morale of the Soviet people and the dignity of the entire Soviet Union. The order issued by the Supreme Command to the air defense forces and air force forces in the Moscow area was that during the parade, no German fighter planes must be allowed to fly over Moscow, even if the last shell was used up and the last plane was lost, this task must be completed.
All Yuri needs to do is to ensure that he does not make any mistakes during the parade, but the commanders of the air defense and air force units have their heads tied to their belts, because if Yuri makes a mistake, he may lose his future, and if those commanders make mistakes, they will lose more than just their future.
When he came out of the Kremlin, it was already early in the morning. There were only a few hours left before the parade began. During this time, Yuri could not sleep. He had to go to Red Square to go through the procedures, and then go back to take a shower and change into the parade uniform he had just received.
The driver for Yuri today was Arseni, who had just arrived in Moscow a few days ago. This guard who had been following Yuri for more than half a year was now a captain, and his personnel relationship had also been transferred from the army to the internal security system, which was responsible for security work. Compared with Yuri's nervousness, this young man was very excited, and his chattering problem seemed to have become more serious. He also loved Yuri's "Chasik" saber very much, and even when driving, he had to put the saber on his leg.
Although it was late at night, the Red Square was still heavily guarded. Soldiers of the Internal Guard braved the heavy snow that began to fall at night and stood guard every three steps. Six high-powered searchlights were scattered around the square, and thick beams of light pierced through the thick snowy night and projected into the boundless sky. The snowflakes flying in the beams of light were like fluttering moths, and they were extremely bright in the night.
These soldiers of the Internal Guard are very energetic. Their motionless figures standing in the wind and snow look like snow sculptures.
In the farther corners of the square, you can vaguely see crowds of people. They are citizens of Moscow. They heard about the military parade and waited there all night to watch this grand parade.
Looking at these soldiers and then at the crowds huddled in the wind and snow, Yuri always felt somewhat emotional: Today's Soviet Union may have problems of one kind or another, and there may be quite a few problems, but in general, this country is still in its rising period, it has abundant vitality, and is still developing further. The government led by the Bolshevik Party is generally positive and ambitious.
This huge country has a land area of more than 22 million square kilometers, which is equivalent to the size of two and a half Chinas in later generations; it also has a population of nearly 200 million, and although the people here are scattered, they are resolute and tough; although the third five-year plan was interrupted by the German invasion, the first two five-year plans laid a solid foundation for the country's industrialization; of course, as we all know, this country has extremely rich natural resources on its vast land.
Having vast land means having vast strategic depth. The depth of thousands of kilometers is enough to make any enemy's logistical supply force collapse; a large population means a steady supply of troops; a solid industrial base and abundant resources mean that this country can fully fight a large-scale, protracted war of attrition. It can be said that as long as this country does not collapse from within, it is destined to be difficult to defeat.
The Germans, or to be more precise, Hitler and his combat staff, made a huge mistake from the very beginning of war planning, just like the mistake the Japanese made in East Asia. They did not understand that a snake cannot swallow an elephant. At best, it can only bite the sleeping elephant to hurt it and wake it up.
The night slowly faded away in the continuous heavy snow. When the gloomy sky turned pale, the whole of Moscow was awakened by the roar of salutes. Then, the majestic Internationale, which is also the current national anthem of the Soviet Union, sounded from the loudspeakers in the streets and alleys. In the sound of this music, countless troops who had just received the notice gathered in the central area of Moscow from all directions, crossed the streets, and marched towards the Red Square.
At 6:30, Yuri set off from the Spasskaya Tower in an open car and took his position in front of Lenin's Mausoleum. Then, according to the previously arranged procedure, after saluting three times, he arrived at the altar of the eternal lamp, stood still, saluted, turned around, and stood there like a pillar .
At 7 o'clock, the troops gathered on time in the Red Square area. Although the formation of these troops was not neat at all, the solemnity was real. Some troops rushed here overnight for dozens of kilometers , and the soldiers were covered with snow, like snowmen.
At 7:15, Stalin and his entourage went up to the viewing platform of Lenin's Mausoleum, where Stalin excitedly delivered a speech in which he demanded that all Red Army soldiers annihilate every invader on Soviet territory.
And right in front of Stalin, on the flower bed under the viewing stand, Yuri, who had been standing for nearly an hour, had already turned into a snowman and was almost frozen to death.
