Perhaps seeing what the old commander was worried about, Yang Zhen shook his head and said with a smile: "Old chief, he alone cannot represent the collective. This guy's current performance does not mean that all Soviet generals are like this bear. There are still many outstanding people among the Soviet generals."
"Actually, old chief, judging from the current situation on the battlefield in the Soviet Union, this guy can be said to have done a pretty good job overall, at least fairly well. It's just that on the battlefield, not just him, but all the generals in the Soviet Union have suffered too many constraints. This guy has been acting a bit coward these days, but he still has some strength."
"Otherwise, he would not have been selected as the commander of the Southwest Front, the largest strategic group of the Soviet army, and one of the two most well-equipped mechanized armies before the war. Moreover, he had served as a brigade commander as early as during the civil war. This His qualifications are rare among current Soviet generals."
"The great purges of the Soviet Union indeed broke the backbone of the Soviet command system. Most Soviet generals were too rigid in commanding operations because they were afraid of being purged. They followed the orders of their superiors dogmatically and did not dare to do anything. To qualify, I don’t even dare to make any independent decisions.”
"For many people, orders from their superiors are everything. Even if the order from their superiors is obviously wrong, they dare not raise any objections. This guy spent several years in the Ministry of Internal Affairs' prison during the Great Purge. It’s not surprising that he’s like this after having had unpleasant experiences.”
"In the ever-changing situation on the battlefield, it would be strange not to lose the battle with such rigid command. In addition, some senior commanders who survived the suppression of counter-revolutionaries had too rigid ideas and could not adapt to the German army's new combat model. If you just stick to the top, failure is inevitable."
"In the face of a sudden attack by the German army, with the communication system already disrupted, this situation directly caused chaos. The front-line combat aircraft did not dare to disperse to the field airport before receiving orders. They were attacked by the German army. The planes were shot down in rows like targets."
"Frontline troops need fuel and ammunition to fight, but these supplies are under the jurisdiction of the Ministry of Internal Affairs. The enemy has already been attacked before their eyes. But without Moscow's order, no one dares to open the warehouse and distribute them. Watching the troops go to meet the enemy without guns and ammunition, tanks were abandoned in large numbers because they did not have enough fuel."
"Some unreasonable regulations are implemented too rigidly and dogmatically. Officers at all levels dare not cross the line for fear of being purged. On the one hand, the troops entering the battle lack everything, and on the other hand, a large number of supplies are stored in storage areas. Captured by the Germans, a large number of new recruits were captured at the assembly area."
"There was not even an order. When the German army was already under their noses, the Soviet commanders did not even dare to blow up these supplies. Old chief, you two are both discerning. Who can guarantee communication during the war? Communication is always open, and orders from superiors can be accurately obtained in all aspects.”
"It can be said that in the battle of Vyazma-Bryansk, the fuel used by the German armored forces basically relied on the fuel seized from the Soviet army. As far as the Bryansk line, the German army has extended its supply line to the extreme. It simply cannot meet the huge daily consumption of all armored groups."
"Without the captured Soviet fuel supplies, the German armored clusters would not have been able to fight this battle at all, because the fuel supply they received from the mainland could not satisfy such a large-scale armored cluster mobilization. Without the captured Soviet fuel supplies, the German armored clusters would not have been able to fight this battle. It’s already amazing if the German armored group can activate even half of it.”
"Furthermore, the great purge brought harm to the Soviet army, not only to the psychology of senior commanders, but also to the Soviet army's daily training, because they were afraid of being found an excuse to be purged. , this had a particularly serious impact on the Soviet army’s combat effectiveness.”
"When I visited the Soviet Union last year, I visited the exercises of some of their troops. At that time, I felt that if the war really broke out, according to their training methods at that time, if they did not make adjustments as soon as possible, once they arrived on the battlefield, sooner or later something big would happen. Problem."
"After receiving the order, an artillery regiment could not complete the assembly and reorganization within 24 hours. Even if it rushed to the designated location, it could not complete the deployment in less than six hours. The organization of the offensive at all levels was almost a mess. , the artillery fire preparations over there have been launched for half an hour, but the infantry and tanks here have not yet completed their attack preparations."
"If this were in the Anti-Japanese Alliance, I would have beaten them to the end. Such ability is not qualified to be an artillery regiment commander, let alone an artillery company commander. However, such a person has exactly occupied them. A large proportion of mid-level officers and even senior officers."
"When attacking, there are quite a lot of problems with infantry-artillery coordination, infantry-tank coordination, and ground-air coordination. When tanks attack, they can hardly get any infantry cover. Similarly, when infantry attacks, they can't get any cover either. With the cover of tanks, an army that advocates offense is too single-minded in the use of offensive tactics and will only launch attacks from the front."
"In addition to fighting head-on, they seem to have never studied the tactics of frontal attack and roundabout flanks. When defending, they do not pay attention to flank cover, or even have no flank cover at all. If they break through their defense line, Choose their flanks or the joint between the two armies as the main direction of the attack, almost hitting the target accurately."
"Radio communication is lagging behind, and we don't pay attention to the use of code words. We often use plain code communication directly. We rely too much on wired communication during combat. The number of radio equipment is seriously insufficient. There are even a considerable number of officers who cannot read and listen to flag messages. The low quality of grassroots commanders in terms of understanding trumpet sounds also played an important role in their defeat on the battlefield."
"Furthermore, when I studied the Soviet Army's entire operations from the outbreak of the Soviet-German War to the present, I found that they had a serious problem, that is, most of their generals could not organize defensive operations or retreat. When the Germans attacked, they only knew how to use chaotic counterattacks to slow down the Germans' offensive speed."
"When defending, facing the attack of the German armored group, the entire defensive position has no depth and no solid defensive support points. This results in that even if the defense is organized, all the defensive positions are broken by the German army in one attack. Then they were quickly surrounded, and they continued to launch tactical counterattacks, but because of the chaotic organization, there were almost no successful examples."
"The current defeat of the Soviet Army is not only a strategic failure, but also a tactical failure. They don't know how to defend, they only know how to attack blindly, and their own tactics are extremely poor. The talents of a considerable number of commanders are simply not good enough. Unable to bear the responsibility that one has paid.”
"Coupled with the fact that the top leader has given blind orders regardless of reality, some senior commanders are too rigid in their thinking, and their operational concepts are still based on the military theory of World War I, or even the Soviet-Russian Civil War. Under such circumstances, facing Against an opponent who has rich experience and advanced tactics and strategic theory, it is not surprising that he was defeated, but it is strange that he won."
"The emergence of this situation is undoubtedly closely related to the Soviet Union's purge of counter-revolutionaries, which almost wiped out all experienced commanders at all levels. Except for a few outstanding ones, most of the new commanders who came up on rockets have low abilities. I don’t say anything, I don’t dare to study new tactics, I only know how to passively and rigidly follow the orders of my superiors, I have a weapon but I don’t know how to use it.”
"However, as the war progressed, a group of experienced Soviet commanders who were arrested during the purge of counter-revolutionaries were released and sent to the front line to lead troops again. At the same time, a group of rookies gradually matured as the war progressed. Although There will be a heavy price to pay, but relying on the Soviet Union's geographical advantages, there is no problem in winning the final victory."
"And judging from the tenacity and tenacious fighting will of the Russians, there is no big problem for the Soviet Union to defend Moscow. Moreover, although the German army has encircled eight Soviet armies in Vyazma and Bryansk, it seems that the results have been achieved Prominent, but they lost the most critical time."
"In one month at most, Moscow will enter a cold winter, and now it has entered late autumn. The Soviet Union's muddy roads have also restricted the use of German mechanized troops. At the same time, although the German army has achieved huge results in the past, its troops also suffered heavy casualties. , the loss of tanks as the main means of assault is also quite heavy."
"And the long supply line has restricted the German army's ability to replenish battle losses. Its assault capability has dropped to a dangerous level. The veterans of the division are tired, which is a taboo for military strategists. As long as they no longer defend Moscow, they will appear in Vyazma With such a low-level mistake, I think there is basically no big problem for the Soviet army to defend Moscow."
"Although the Soviet army has continued to fail in the most critical months, a group of young generals have stood out and grown up rapidly. Although these generals are far less qualified than the veteran generals who were purged, they are willing to accept new things. , as well as the ability to accept and adapt to new tactics, is far superior to those veteran generals who still cling to the views of the civil war period."
"However, in this war as a whole, it will take a long time for the Soviet army to truly reverse the current unfavorable situation and regain the initiative in the war. It will take a long time until these Soviet generals truly mature and can take the lead. Only then will the situation on the Soviet-German battlefield be fundamentally reversed."
"But in a war, the experience of growth is often accompanied by a huge price. I believe that in this war, the Soviets will win the final victory, but this growth is also a long and painful one. After this war, , the Soviets were destined to pay an astronomical price in casualties for their immaturity."
After a preliminary analysis of the situation on the Soviet-German battlefield for the two veterans, Yang Zhen looked at the two veterans in front of him with a wry smile and said: "The great purge of counterrevolutionaries shattered the brains and spine of the Soviet army, making the Soviet army more interested in new strategies and strategies." The research on tactics was delayed for several years. At the same time, the great purge also caused the Soviet army to lose its overall enterprising spirit. Everyone in the Soviet army held the concept that no fault should be regarded as merit, and good news should not be reported. "
"The military doctrine that once led the world has suddenly regressed by more than ten years. In the history of its development, our army has also experienced the price of blood. How many outstanding cadres did not fall on the battlefield, but fell on the battlefield. We have fallen under the sword of our own people, and their heads are not grass. Once they are cut off, they will not grow back.”
"Two old leaders, I hope that after we establish our own political power, what happened to the Soviet army will not happen to us again, and the tragedy that happened to the Red Army will not happen again. We cannot re-create tragedies ourselves if we never forget the past."