Age of Rebirth

The Soviet Army in the Far East began to retreat westward. The Outer Xing'an Mountains Front Army and the Lake Baikal Front Army were in front, and the Far East Front Army was behind. Millions of Soviet soldiers were divided into several groups and spread all over the muddy land of the Far East. Afterwards, it was like a flood. Like a stream of water, it crossed the line from Chita to Irkutsk, all the way to the west, and for the large towns along the westward retreat, the Soviet army did not dare to set foot in half a step, and bypassed it far away.

The Soviet Outer Mongolia Front Army, which has been wandering in the Outer Mongolia area, has been marching at a sudden speed up without the six brigades directly under the Independent Division and the relentless pursuit. However, it was destroyed by Chutian's special warfare detachment. The messy roads and bridges were still blocked in front of the Soviet army, and it was impossible to overcome the practical difficulties. Compared with the other three front army troops withdrawing westward from the Far East, the speed of the Outer Mongolia Front Army still seemed slow.

This made the commander of the front army, General Vasilevsky, extremely annoyed, and scolded people every day. The commander of the front army's engineering unit was even scolded so badly that he had the urge to draw a gun to commit suicide, but what good could he do? Method?

The original roads and bridges were completely destroyed by the Chinese, and the amount of work involved in repairing them was astonishing. Now, God has followed suit. As the weather gets warmer, the snow everywhere has turned into mud and swamps. , if it is infantry, it’s okay to say, but tanks, artillery, and trucks, facing such road conditions, it is simply a nightmare. The entire Soviet Outer Mongolia Front Army has more than one million soldiers, fighting against the mud and stagnant water everywhere. die.

According to the order of the commander of the front army, most of the troops of the Outer Mongolia front army were temporarily diverted to serve as engineers, repairing bridges and paving roads, which was for the three front army troops behind.It provides great convenience, and can retreat westward along the road built by the Outer Mongolia Front Army without having to worry about the road condition.

Regarding this, General Vasilevsky, the commander of the Outer Mongolia Front Army, felt extremely uncomfortable. Originally, his troops were the first to retreat westward, and they were the closest to the Ural Mountains and the Tannu Mountains. The other three front army troops who came from afar caught up.How embarrassing is this for General Vasilevsky, who thinks highly of himself?

A telegram complaining quietly flew to Moscow, the Kremlin, the General Secretary of the CPSU Central Committee, and the Chairman of the Council of Ministers.The desk of Comrade Stalin, the Supreme Commander of the Soviet Wartime Command and the great leader of the Soviet people.

but.Stalin's current mood.It was obviously much better than before. Tang Qiu was ceded several million square kilometers of land in exchange for the four front armies trapped in the east. The millions of elite troops retreated smoothly. Facing the ferocious German attack, the pressure became increasingly intense. increase.For Moscow's western defense line, which may collapse at any time, it is undoubtedly extremely good news. The nerves that are tense and about to be broken can finally be eased a little.Comrade Stalin can spare part of his energy to consider other major national affairs.

In Stalin's view, telegrams with grievances, small complaints, and small excuses to his confidants and loved generals are really too small. Therefore, Comrade Stalin smiled slightly, took up the pen himself, and sent a telegram to Vasilevs. General Ji replied with a consoling telegram, which seemed to appease the somewhat embarrassed subordinate. [

Being forced to cede the Eastern Asian part of the Soviet Union, several million kilometers of land to Tang Qiuli, made Stalin's heart ache until now. The fierce German attack was another kind of severe pain. Compared with the two, One is permanent pain, and the other is immediate pain. However, the choice between long-term pain and short-term pain finally gave the Soviet Union a chance to breathe, and for the four elite front troops of the Soviet Union, trapped in the Eastern battlefield, Stalin was full of pain. uneasy.

Stalin knew well that if he hadn't been blinded by greed and self-inflated confidence at the Politburo meeting, he had decided to use troops against the Japanese and Tang Qiuli in the East at the same time. The current situation in the Soviet Union would never be so bad. More than 600 million elite troops are blocking the direction of Europe. Will the German army still be able to drive straight into the territory of the people and fight all the way to the city of Moscow?

Can you cede millions of square kilometers of land to that Chinese Tang Qiuli without any conditions?Stalin knew what a serious mistake he had made. If he were to be pursued, he might be executed. Just putting the Soviet Union into a crisis of national annihilation would be enough. Of course, the great leader of the Soviet people is Those who will not admit that they have made mistakes, and the people below dare not mention half a word, even dare not have a complaining expression.

However, the staff of the Kremlin found that Comrade Stalin seemed to be very taboo and sensitive about everything in the East. Therefore, the staff would never dare to include words such as the Far East and Outer Mongolia in their words and documents. , Comrade Molotov, People's Commissar for Foreign Affairs, handles all matters involving the above two regions.

Right now, in Stalin's office, Marshal Petroshilov, Chief of the Soviet Army's General Staff, and Molotov, Soviet People's Commissar for Foreign Affairs, are working with Stalin on two major issues.

One is about how to counterattack the German army across the board after the four front troops withdraw to the European battlefield in the eastern region, and move the front far away from Moscow. This matter is entrusted to Marshal Petroshilov, the chief of the general staff, to be specific. Stalin did not intervene in the deployment of the campaign. Of course, the final determination of the campaign plan still had to be decided by himself!

Stalin was talking about another matter. Regarding the selection of commanders to fight against the German army, his own chief of staff said: "Comrade Petroshilov, all our hopes are placed on the four soldiers who have returned from the East. On a front army!"

"Among them, Zhukov's Far East Front Army suffered relatively large losses in this battle against the Japanese army. Your General Staff may consider replenishing Zhukov's troops as soon as possible. In addition, I personally suggest that Zhukov serve as the commander and concurrently commander of the newly formed Moscow Front Army." Political commissars, with the former Far Eastern Front as the backbone, supplement other troops, and take on the main combat tasks against the German army. The total strength of the Moscow Front should reach more than 300 million people. The specific organization plan should be considered by the General Staff!"

As soon as the hammer was finalized, when Mrs. Zhu Ke was still desperately rushing back to the European battlefield, a new identity and appointment were already waiting for him. Stalin still trusted Zhukov's military command ability very much.

Similarly, Zhukov is also Marshal Petroshilov, the chief of the general staff, a general whom he admires very much. At least, he is much better than that Vasilevsky. Therefore, he will not have any objections. On the contrary, he will Do your best to make up for the Moscow Front Army.

Stalin talked about another matter with Molotov, "Comrade Molotov, regarding the issue of the new border division, Tang Qiuli's independent division has sent hundreds of teams to take charge of this matter, I would like to remind you that the Chinese personnel who participated in the work of dividing the border line are all from the independent division, and none of them are inside the government system of the Republic of China. This point has been indicated in the documents submitted by each other. On this point, we don't have any objections to this point!"

Molotov understood what Comrade Stalin meant. The land ceded from the Soviet Union was the private property of Tang Qiuli, and it was related to the Nationalist Government. The usual diplomatic methods are useless. Don't play tricks. In addition, Comrade Stalin I hope that this matter will be resolved as soon as possible, so as not to cause complications. The implication is to try my best to appease Tang Qiuli, so as not to make any mistakes.

"Yes, Comrade Stalin, I have dispatched a large number of personnel from relevant government departments to form a border division team that is equivalent to the independent division. Starting tomorrow, we will arrive in Siberia one after another and start working! I will personally lead the team!" Mo Lotov said with a haggard face.

With a heavy blow, after returning from Kulun, Molotov's whole body seemed to collapse. He felt a deep sense of guilt. After getting off the plane, Molotov did not go directly to the Kremlin to meet Stalin. The comrade reported, but ran back to his home, adjusted his mentality for several hours, and then rushed to Stalin's office as if recovering from a serious illness. This is also the reason why the commanders of the two Soviet fronts received the Moscow telegram that night.

Originally, Molotov asked Comrade Stalin for leave, but Stalin couldn't do without this resourceful assistant. Naturally, his wish to ask for sick leave came to nothing. In this way, he still dragged his sick body, full of pain, and dealt with the Chinese again. Comrade Stalin did not trust this matter to anyone. Only Molotov, who was seriously ill, reluctantly went into battle. [

At the end of the three-person meeting, Stalin suddenly said to Marshal Petroshilov, the chief of staff: "Comrade Petroshilov, wait a minute, there is one thing that needs to be done immediately, and you must, in the name of the command, Order the commanders of the four front armies to detour all the main towns and cities in the Far East and Outer Mongolia along the way when they retreat to the European battlefield, and they must restrain their troops!"

"This is very important. The main thing is to avoid any form of conflict and friction with the independent division. We must let our commanders at all levels know this clearly!" Stalin's expression was extremely serious.

Stalin was really afraid. At this time, it is not appropriate to have any unpleasant things happen with the independent division. The four front army units have not yet left the actual control area of ​​the independent division. Even a small incident may cause Tang Qiuli An excuse to turn his face, if he makes unreasonable demands again, what will the Soviet Union do?What should I do?

Based on Stalin's own thoughts, he speculated on Tang Qiuli. He believed that that greedy Chinese would really do this!