Beiyang 1917

"Hold a meeting of the Military Committee of the Front Front of the Southern Front and inform Comrade Voroshilov and Comrade Chernavin to come over and listen to the opinions of the military commanders. Tsaritsyn is not someone's Tsaritsyn. The Eighth Army , More than half of the Tenth Army are soldiers from the Tsaritsyn area, because the Eastern Front Army failed in the Battle of Ufa, it is not that simple to hand over Tsaritsyn like this!"

Joseph, a member of the Central Committee of the Soviet Union, the military commissar of the North Caucasus Military Region, and the military commissar (political commissar) of the Southern Front, slammed his fist on the conference table and shouted!Bubnov obviously followed Trotsky too closely, and his opinions and propositions were completely in tune with Moscow. This made Joseph, who almost started from scratch in Tsaritsyn, pull up the Southern Front Army, suddenly broke out.

Everyone in the conference room looked at each other. Apparently, Comrade Joseph seemed to have loosened his tone just now and agreed to give up Tsaritsyn. Why did Bubnov also suggest to abandon Tsaritsyn, and Comrade Joseph suddenly lost his temper with blue veins on his forehead?

However, this is a big matter, and I need to listen to the opinions of the commanders of the group army below. If the leaders of the front army decide to abandon Tsaritsyn without authorization and the soldiers below can't figure it out, the southern front army is in danger of internal collapse. After all, Tsaritsyn has been defended three times in a row The blood of tens of thousands of Red Army soldiers was sprinkled on this fertile land.

More than half an hour later, Commander Voroshilov and Political Commissar Kliuyev of the Tenth Army, Commander Cherna and Political Commissar Lyubimov of the Eighth Army, who received a call from the Front Army Command, all rushed to the Southern Front. headquarters.

"Comrade Sekin, Comrade Joseph, should our Tenth Army go to Samara for reinforcements? Moscow's order can't be fought, and the southern group of the Eastern Front, which is doing well, suddenly retreated on the Ufa Great Plain. Yes, let me say, I will lead the Tenth Army to cross the river from Saratov, take the Urals, and let Yegorov's main force go all the way to the south. We can't go to Samara and jump into the enemy's trap! "

Kliment Yefremovich Voroshilov rushed into the conference room of the Southern Front Army. While wiping his sweat, he grabbed a teacup from the table and filled it with water. His political commissar, Kliuyev, came in and saluted the front army commander and political commissar first, then shook hands with Chief of Staff Gidis, turned around and saw that Bubnov was there, and saluted again in a hurry.

"Look at the sweat on you, Comrade Voroshilov, you came here on a horse? Didn't you get an armored car? Why not?" Joseph forced a smile and said while holding the pipe in his hand. .

"Hey, Comrade Joseph, wasn't my horse sent by Budyonny? If I don't pull it out and look back, Budyonny should say that I can't get the cavalry. I said, Comrade Commander, Comrade Political Commissar, we can It’s agreed, after bringing Yegorov’s main force back this time, Budyonny’s special cavalry division must be returned to me. It was agreed that the cavalry division will be organized in my Tenth Army, but Yegorov was stunned before he set off. It was borrowed!"

Voroshilov wiped his mouth, sat down on a chair brought by Gidis, wiped his sweat, and yelled at his commander and political commissar.

At this time, the Commander of the Eighth Army Cherna and Political Commissar Lyubimov also stepped into the door of the conference room. They saluted Sergin, Joseph and Gidis, and shook hands with Bubnov. He also greeted Voroshilov and Kliuyev.

Here Chernavin saw Sekin and Joseph frowning, his heart sank, and he couldn't help asking, "What happened? Comrade Commander, Comrade Commissar, is Yegorov surrounded by the enemy or What's wrong?"

"Egorov is fine for the time being, but Tsaritsin is about to be busy. Everyone is here, let's have a meeting! Comrade Sergin, please introduce the situation to the political commissars of the army commanders." Sitting in a chair, he said while lighting his pipe.

"The situation is this, comrades, just an hour ago we received an urgent telegram from Moscow. The telegram was addressed to the Central Committee and was sent to Joseph, but it said something related to everyone in Tsaritsyn. The telegram's The content is to solicit the opinions of our Southern Front Army, in the current situation where the Southern Group of the Eastern Front Army and the main force of the Yegorovdi Army have suffered heavy losses in the Battle of Ufa, can our Southern Front Army hold the banks of the Volga River and prevent the enemy from crossing the river!"

Sergin, the commander of the Southern Front, spoke in a low tone and continued to be dignified, looking at Voroshilov and the others.

"Have been hit hard? The battle report issued by the Ufa coalition may not be credible. It may be the enemy's propaganda that deliberately hit us and made us lose our fighting spirit. Didn't Yegorov also say that, except for the Northern Route Army of the Fifth Army? In addition to being eaten by the enemy, and the Rzhevsky group may have indeed put down their weapons, other battle situations cannot be confirmed from the battlefield because of the scattered breakout of the various armies and the radio silence!"

Voroshilov shook his head, expressing his doubts about the credibility of the two Ufa campaign briefings released by the Ufa coalition forces to the media all over the world before evening.

"Comrade Voroshilov, the reliability of the opponent's battle report has been confirmed. Moscow said that it has made radio contact with the opponent using the radio call signs of the second, fourth, and fifth armies, and confirmed that it should have followed these three armies. The group army radio station, call sign, and password for the headquarters’ operations have fallen into the hands of the Ufa coalition forces, and there will be no doubts about this matter!” Jidis, Chief of Staff of the Southern Front, interjected.

"The opponent's battle report is actually true? This is really unexpected... What do the translators and dispatchers trained by the Eastern Front do? Even if they are defeated, they will be captured, and they must first destroy the radio station and destroy it. Codebooks! What are the Chekas and political commissars doing? How could the translators and telegraphers fall into the hands of the enemy!"

Voroshilov thumped the table angrily, almost knocking several teacups to the ground.

"Kliment Efremovich, Comrades Segin and Bubnov felt that our Southern Front alone could not defend the line from Saratov to Tsaritsyn. I want to hear your opinion. , Do you think we can keep Tsaritsyn? This question is very important and crucial, please answer after thinking carefully!" Joseph said to Voroshilov unhurriedly.

"Why can't we hold it? Of course we can hold it. We must hold it. There is nothing to bargain for. Our southern front army is the soldiers of Tsaritsyn. If we can't hold Tsaritsyn, what will comrades in Moscow eat? If we can't hold Tsaritsyn, then Where are the 20 soldiers of our southern front going?" Voroshilov shouted, pounding the table hard without even thinking about it.

As soon as this guy said this, everyone in the conference room was a little surprised. They didn't expect Voroshilov, the commander of the Tenth Army, to answer so simply and without delay!

Sergin and Gidis looked at each other without saying a word, but Bubnov obviously disapproved. The commander of the Eighth Army, Chernawen and political commissar Lyubimov looked serious, obviously thinking seriously about this possibility. The problem of not being able to hold on.

"But other comrades said that Ufa's coalition forces are very powerful. There are a lot of planes, cannons and machine guns, and the number of troops is no less than ours. No matter how hard we fight, we can't win this battle. That's why Moscow plans to negotiate with the enemy for peace. But the enemy of Ufa wants us to withdraw from Saratov to the land south of Kursk and hand over Tsaritsyn to the enemy! Do you think we can hold it? How do you plan to hold it?"

Joseph took a puff of a cigarette, and the unique aroma of Ural Tatar Mohe cigarettes permeated the entire meeting room. The political commissar of the Southern Front obviously appreciated Voroshilov's fearless courage and spirit, but he could speak big words No, I have to come up with something convincing right now.

"How to defend? How did we defend Tsaritsyn in the first three times? If we simply compare the number of troops with machine guns and cannons, which time Krasnov and Denikin's White Guards attacked less than us? Didn't we still defeat each other! If you want me to say, do it with the Ufa coalition forces!"

Voroshilov waved his fists, his face exuding a kind of holy brilliance. The general of the Red Army Group Army who was born as a political cadre is 37 years old this year, and he is in the prime of life.

In fact, in Wang Geng's previous life, Voroshilov was Comrade Joseph's most reliable and reliable military general. The Petrograd Film Studio even filmed a black and white war in 1942 when the Great Patriotic War was in full swing. In the movie "Defense of Tsaritsyn", the pig's feet in it are Comrade Joseph and his close comrade-in-arms Comrade Voroshilov!

"Comrade Kliment Yefremovich, a mouthful of delicious food is hard to say. The main force of the Southern Group of the Eastern Front and the Yegorovdi Army of the Southern Front have a total strength of nearly 30. The artillery battery is at least There are 50, and there are more than 25 heavy machine gun battalions, but they suffered huge defeats and losses on the Ufa Plain. Now our Eighth and Twelfth Army Groups have only 12 people and 12 artillery companies left. To defeat the opponent, can you win by bragging alone?"

Member of the Central Committee, Chairman of the Tsaritsin Soviet, and member of the Military Committee of the North Caucasus Military District Bubnov coldly poured a pot of words on the head.

"I don't agree with Comrade Bubnov's views on this. The result of a war has never been determined by a simple comparison of military strength and weapon firepower. Otherwise, the German army on the Western Front in the European War has far fewer troops, machine guns, cannons, and aircraft than the Allies. , but when fighting, they often win!

When Brusilov swept the Austro-Hungarian Empire on the Eastern Front, there was only one Eighth Army in hand, and he still beat the opponent badly!You have to use your brain and mind to fight a war, and you have to consider and use the right time, place and people in combination with all aspects! "The Eighth Army Commander Chernavin couldn't help but stand up and said.

Joseph was overjoyed when he heard the words, both army commanders thought they could fight?Nima, it’s thanks to myself that I convened this front-line military committee meeting to discuss, or I was really fooled by Sergin, Bubnov and Trotsky in Moscow. Tsaritsyn was established by me, Joseph. How can you give away the model theater you have built?

"What's the use of bragging? The fighting power of the Ufa coalition is definitely not comparable to the White Guards of Kolchak, Krasnov, and Denikin. Neither Tukhachevsky nor Egorov are simple generals? On the Great Plains of Ufa, the troops who held the upper hand were beaten to death by the opponent, no matter how brave and invincible the soldiers of the Eighth and Tenth Armies are, dare to say that they are stronger than the first and second armies?"

Among the members of the Central Committee of Soviet Russia, Bubnov is also a leader with considerable experience and insights in military affairs, and he cannot be fooled by just a few rhetoric from Voroshilov and Chernavin.

"Egorov never fought against the main force of the Ufa coalition forces on the ground. The [-]st Army was defeated by the large-scale air strikes of the Ufa coalition air force because of its weak air defense. Solve the air defense problem, and Yegorov's main force may be able to withdraw by himself!"

"If the Second Army withdraws smoothly, our three armies will add up to 15 people, and they will definitely be able to defend the Volga River from the south of Saratov to Tsaritsyn! Of course, the coalition air force is a huge threat. We must get strengthened anti-aircraft weapons as soon as possible, such as anti-aircraft machine guns and anti-aircraft guns, Moscow should take urgent measures to help us in this regard, instead of cede territory and seek peace at every turn!"

Voroshilov's words obviously boosted the morale of many people present. At least the commander of the Southern Front Sergin and Chief of Staff Gidis blushed, and began to think about how to weaken and reduce the air superiority of the coalition air force. Maybe I can really keep it!

Bubnov turned his head and kept his mouth shut. Obviously, as a member of the Central Committee, he didn't bother to argue with the commander of the next army group.

To say that Bubnov's position in Tsaritsyn is very embarrassing. This guy was originally a member of the Military Committee of the Ukrainian Military District, but Ukraine has been recognized as a du li after the Russian Central Committee of Moscow and the German-Austrian Allies reached an agreement. Bubnov The husband had no choice but to withdraw from Ukraine with the Bolsheviks and the Red Army, and strengthened to Tsaritsyn to resist the threats of Krasnov and Denikin.

However, the Southern Front Army was created by Joseph himself. Therefore, Bubnov, who was a follower of Trotsky in the central Soviet Union, only held a vacant post as a member of the Revolutionary Military Committee of the North Caucasus Military Region, and also served as a member of the Tsaritsin Soviet. The chairman was engaged in logistics and civil affairs, but the army failed to really intervene.

Comrade Joseph, the de facto spokesperson of Soviet Russia in Tsaritsyn, was obviously overjoyed when he heard the words, and couldn't help but waved his pipe and asked,

"Comrade Voroshilov, if the problem of anti-aircraft weapons is solved, are you sure that we can hold Tsaritsyn only with the Southern Front?"