Chapter 8 6.important changes

I feel more and more strongly how heavy the burden will be on my shoulders in the future. I lead the headquarters operations department of one of the most important frontier military districts... I'm going to study army combat training documents and commander training documents for leading personnel.In recent months, we have to prepare and carry out the exercise of the Headquarters of the Front Army, the title of which is an offensive campaign.First, there are lectures and reports, and then there are campaign tactics and exercises on the scale of divisions, corps, and group armies.During the latter part of the summer we shall turn to the problem of implementing defenses.It is not surprising to study defense later, since offense will always be considered the main type of Red Army combat operations.

In addition to these training measures, we will hold two major exercises in the spring, one of which is an experimental commander-in-chief exercise with real troops to study the march of the reinforced cavalry corps (cavalry mechanized group) operating on the flank of the attacking army and encounter combat issues.The purpose of the exercise is to determine the most favorable force formation of the army under the above circumstances, to provide commanders with practical opportunities to command the army under maneuvering conditions, and to study the coordinated actions of cavalry.There is also a lot of hope for the large-scale exercise of the headquarters of the military region to go to the field and deploy communication tools.This exercise is planned to attract the participation of various army headquarters.

In January, it is planned to hold a training camp for leaders of military region agencies, group armies, corps, and divisions.At the beginning of the training camp, a series of reports should be made on the planning, organization and implementation of the front army campaign, and finally the campaign director on the map.The commander of the military region attaches great importance to this training camp. On January 5, he called me from Moscow to inquire about the preparations for the training camp and instructed some revisions to the plan, adding several reports on the conclusion of the Moscow meeting.

A few days later we learned from the newspapers that Lieutenant General Mikhail Petrovich Kirponos had been appointed commander of the Kyiv Special Military District and that Zhukov would head the General Staff.It turned out that at the end of the Moscow Conference considerable adjustments had been made to the leading cadres.I can't help thinking of what Pulkayev said: great changes await us.Now the big changes start... This news made me both happy and sad.It is a pleasure that the General Staff will be headed by one of the most able military chiefs in our army.Sadly we can no longer work with B.C. Zhukov.Since its existence, the Kyiv Military District has been successively headed by nationally renowned military chiefs—M.B. Frunze①, A.A. Yegorov②, A.H. Yakir③, C.C. Conducted by Timoshenko and B.C. Zhukov.And now it is being led by someone we don't know very well.

On January 16, B. C. Zhukov, the Military Commission commissioned H. H. Watts Shukin and M. A. Purkayev are back.On the same day Zhukov called me to congratulate me on my new appointment.Then I was asked to report on my training preparations.After he listened to my report, he ordered all the materials we had prepared to be kept.It was returned to me in the evening, and he has slightly revised it.It seems he is satisfied.He handed me a large manuscript and said: "You send for a type. Here is my report." -------- ① Frunze (1885-1925), an important military leader in the early Soviet Union.During the civil war, he served as the commander of the front army. He commanded the Ukrainian army in 1920. In 1925, he replaced Trotsky as the chairman of the Soviet Revolutionary Military Council and the People's Commissar of the Army and Navy. ——Translator's Note.

② Yegorov (1883-1939), was one of the first five people who were awarded the rank of Marshal of the Soviet Union in 1935.Served as the commander of the front army and the military region, chief of the general staff and so on. It was suppressed in 1939. ——Translator's Note. ③ Yakir (1896-1937), was awarded the first-level army rank in 1935.He used to be the commander of the group army and the military region, and was suppressed in 1937. ——Translator's Note. The next morning, when I sent him the typed report, I saw a thin middle-aged man with three diamonds on his collar in his office.His black hair was combed back flat and smooth, two thin black eyebrows were eye-catching on his pale face, his delicate nose was covered with faintly visible protruding bones, and there were small black beards hanging down his nose .The deep-set dark brown eyes were cheerful and inquiring.I guess this is Nikolai Nikolaevich Vashukin, a member of the Military Committee of the Military District and a member of the Military Political Commissar.I introduced myself to him.He stood up, looked at me attentively, stretched out his hand, and said flatly, "Oh, hello. You should go to my place. It's good that we get to know each other better."

I apologized and said I was going to do it today. I had a long talk with him that evening.Vashukin was interested in everything—whether it was my resume, or the work in the Ministry, or the emotions of me and my subordinates. I already knew from my friend's account that Vashukin is a straightforward and principled person, but sometimes he seems too irritable.He is an experienced old political worker, enlisted in the army in 1919, and became the commander and political commissar of the infantry regiment in 1930.Later, he worked in the Political Department of the Workers' and Peasants' Red Army. In 1937, he was sent to the famous advanced infantry tactics training class. ① After graduation, he was appointed as the commander of the infantry again.Soon, as a capable commander who also had experience in party and government work, he was promoted to a member of the Military Committee of the Leningrad Military District.During the Karelian Isthmus incident, he was a member of the Military Council of the 7th Army.After the war in Finland he was once again a member of the Military Council of the Leningrad Military District, and a few months later, in the autumn of 1940, he was sent to our Military District as a member of the Military Council.

-------- ① Its predecessor was Advanced Infantry School. ——Translator's Note. In the home of the Red Army in the military region, leaders of the military region participating in the training camp, commanders of the group army, members of the military committee and chiefs of staff, army and division commanders, heads and chiefs of staff of political organs of the army and divisions, chiefs of security and chiefs of staff in each fortification area, and all military personnel All the principals of the school came together. B.C. Zhukov stood on the podium.Participants in the training camp listen attentively to the lecture given by the new Chief of General Staff.He talked about the tension in the international situation.The flames of a new world war are raging on the earth, and as usual, the capitalists have made a fortune from the war, and the peoples of all countries have suffered greatly.The peaceful population is now being subjected to disasters and sacrifices never suffered in any previous war, for even the far rear of the belligerent countries are now included in the scope of combat operations.

The threat of war draws closer and closer to our country. B. C. Zhukov made no secret that we should regard fascist Germany as our main potential enemy.He therefore focused on the actions of Hitler's troops in the West.The German victories shocked the world, but it must not be forgotten that these victories came at a small cost, with little resistance to the Hitlerites.Still, we should draw conclusions from these battles.The closely coordinated aviation, armored tank and motorized corps played a major role in the victory of the fascist army.Their fierce assault ensured the rapid attack of the German army.

The German army is well-equipped and has gained rich combat experience.Fighting against such an enemy will not be easy.We used to think that if we want to break through the enemy's defense, it is enough to maintain an advantage of one and a half times, at most two times, the enemy in the main assault area.At the Moscow Conference another view prevailed, namely, that this superiority of forces should be maintained not only in the main areas of assault, but throughout the entire offensive zone of the Front. This formulation of B. C. Zhukov surprised everyone.The general further stated that the idea of ​​establishing an overall superiority of twice the number of troops and weapons in the offensive had already been approved at the Moscow Conference.

Georgi Konstantinovich went on to point out that some of our commanders are trying to study modern warfare through civil war.In this way, they try to cling to the old standards of campaign tactics, and do not understand the significance of using the new arms of aviation and tanks in large numbers. Yes, some of us are too hotheaded.While they drew correct conclusions from the engagements in Western Europe, they rashly proposed radical military reform.These comrades forget that any plan, even the most daring, should be based on real possibilities.In planning the measures to be taken in time of war, we cannot start from the conditions that our army will have in the future.What if war broke out now?We should be realists, and we should plan according to the forces and weapons we have today. The general talked about the training of military personnel.Many of our comrades learned something in Spain.The battle for the Karelian Isthmus was a serious test and a great school.Now it is time to improve the quality of the army more actively and in a targeted manner based on this experience.Preparations for war should be taken very seriously. Zhukov emphasized that the so-called deep campaign theory formulated by the Red Army has been proved to be completely correct under modern conditions.But the military is not static, and the theory should also develop, which should be further enriched according to the achievements of military science, the improvement of weapons, and the improvement of our army's combat power.The speaker paid special attention to the current significance of tactics and the suddenness of battles, and called on everyone to be more vigilant and prepare for battle. Other presentations actually supplemented the content of the main report.General A. B. Sovetnikov, who commanded the 5th Army at that time, put forward many concrete and practical ideas.General Pulkayev's statements on defense issues aroused interest.I remember sayings like this: "Defense cannot lead to victory, it is empty and useless. Defense must also create an advantage over the enemy, but the establishment of this advantage is completely different from offense. It seems that defense should be better at mobile weapons. " The speech of General M. A. Potapov, commander of the 4th Mechanized Army, is a research Study the organization and implementation of the mechanized large corps entering the breakthrough.He put forward a very correct opinion: we should not copy the actions of the fascist mechanized army in Western Europe under any circumstances.First, the conditions there were extremely favorable to the Germans.Second, the Fascists did not invent anything new.The idea they used was put forward by our army as early as the mid-1930s, when we formed the first mechanized army.It should be said that they are very good at using these ideas.But a penchant for rigid formulas and a blind adherence to dogma can sometimes get them into trouble. Potapov paid special attention to the need for close coordination between mechanized corps and aviation.It is believed that aviation commanders should not only be familiar with the organization of our army's mechanized corps, but also be familiar with the essence of their combat use during the campaign.Potapov went too far in advocating close coordination between aviation and tanks, and put forward a completely unrealistic suggestion to organize an aviation division in the mechanized army and establish a mixed corps such as the aviation mechanized corps. I immediately found that B. C. Zhukov completely overthrew this impossible plan, although he generally spoke highly of Potapov's speech and enthusiastically supported many of his proposals. The general supported Potapov's view that motorized infantry and tank units must achieve the same high level of rapidity and, more broadly, have infantry act as tank armies in exercises.Potapov pointed out in time that there was a huge disparity in maximum travel between motorized infantry vehicles and tanks, and he suggested trying to overcome this shortcoming. Potapov's proposal to increase the rapidity of the mechanized army was soon widely adopted. The speeches of the members of the military committee of the military region were excellent and enthusiastic. H. H. Vashukin spoke about discipline.Organization and rules and regulations are the main conditions for the army to have a high combat effectiveness.Vashukin spoke highly of those commanders who taught their subordinates to observe iron discipline.And some were harshly criticized.Our War Councilors have a knack for shaking the most stoic mind with words. The next morning, the group work on the map began.The work of the commanders of the armies, the heads of the various arms of the military districts and their chiefs of staff is personally organized by Zhukov; the work of the commanders of the corps and their chiefs of staff is organized by General Pulkayev; The assignment was organized by Lieutenant General B.C. Marankin and myself. The training camp lasted for five days and nights.A detailed account of how to proceed with the assignment and what issues we have studied may not be of interest to the reader now.I just want to say that the training is well organized and raises a lot of questions to think about. After B.C. Zhukov concluded the training camp, he officially announced the adjustment of the cadres: General Sovetnikov was appointed as the assistant commander of the military region in charge of the fortification area, and General Potapov took over from him to command the 5th Army .The general wished the newly appointed comrades great success, bid farewell to the training participants cordially, and ordered all personnel to return to their work places immediately.The next day he himself set off for Moscow.Those who saw him off at the station were his colleagues in the leadership of the military region, representatives of the Kyiv City Party and Soviet organizations.It can be seen that Zhukov commanded deep admiration in Kyiv.He was very touched.There was always a smile on his normally serious face. A few days later, Purkayev called me: "Let's go to the station to meet the new commander." The train is late.We waited for him and walked around the platform.We talked about Kirponos.General Pulkayev, it seems, is the only one among us who knows his main job history. Mikhail Petrovich Kirponos has been in the Red Army since its creation.During the civil war years, he served as the deputy commander of the famous Ukrainian 1st Division.Commanded a regiment in the same division. In 1927 graduated from Frunze Military Academy.Take command of an infantry division in Scenario Finland. In the winter of 1930-1940, the division walked on ice under enemy fire to the rear of the enemy's Vyborg defensive position.Kirponos was awarded the title Hero of the Soviet Union for his determination and bravery. "All in all, our new commander is an outstanding person." Purkayev summed it up. The train has arrived.We hurried to the last car.A tall and straight general appeared in the car door.He jumped down lightly from the step of the carriage, smiled silently, and began to shake hands with those who greeted him one by one. The new commander toured the headquarters shortly after his arrival.It seemed that he wanted to get acquainted with the situation and the people quickly.He also came to our war department.The carefully ironed uniform hugged his lean, muscular body tightly.The heroic "Gold Star" medal shines on the chest.His pale, clean-shaven face was barely wrinkled, his thick black hair was parted carefully, with black eyebrows above his large blue eyes.Only a few strands of white hair on the temples and deep folds at the corners of the lips can tell that this young man is nearly fifty years old. The commander asked me in detail about the jobs I had done before.When he learned that I had served as the chief instructor at the General Staff Military Academy, he was very happy: "I have finally met you here, Colonel! Well, old acquaintance, now let us work together." After getting acquainted with my assistants, Kirponos asked us what problems we are currently studying and what difficulties we have. I replied that we had a new plan for border protection.The chiefs of staff of the frontier armies and the heads of various arms and services of the military regions participated in the drafting, and General Pulkayev has reviewed and approved it.At that time we hoped to get it approved at the first opportunity. "The cover plan is the most important document," Kirponos said. "In the event of war, the initial combat operations of the military district will be carried out according to this plan. Because of this, we should seriously consider whether to approve it." A day or two later, Major A. H. Grenner, the commander's aide-de-camp, informed me that General Kirponos was calling for me.I picked up the map and the back-to-back report on the Border Covering Plan.The commander hastily read the document and said: "Leave these to me. I will study and study, and then I will talk about my opinion."