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.
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's overall performance can be said to be pretty good, at least quite satisfactory. It's just that on the battlefield, not only him, but all the generals of 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 Purge 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.”
"With 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. However,
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. However, these supplies are under the jurisdiction of the Ministry of Internal Affairs. The enemy has been attacked before their eyes, but without orders from Moscow, no one dares to open the warehouse and distribute them. They are helpless
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 combat 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?
Is the communication always open? Can we accurately get orders from our superiors in all aspects?"
"It can be said that in the Vyazma-Bryansk battle, 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 be 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 be 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. It also caused the Soviet army to practice the phenomenon of meritorious deeds in daily training because they were afraid of being found an excuse to be purged.
.The impact this had on the Soviet army’s combat effectiveness was particularly serious.”
"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 was unable to complete its assembly and reorganization within 24 hours. Even if it rushed to the designated location, it could not complete its 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 an ability is not qualified to be an artillery regiment commander, let alone an artillery company commander. But 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. Likewise, when infantry attacks, they can't get any cover.
Tank cover. An army that advocates offense is too single-minded in its 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 flanking. 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. In combat, we rely too much on wired communication, and the number of radio equipment is seriously insufficient. There are even a considerable number of officers who cannot read and listen to flag messages.
Understand the sound of the trumpet. The low quality of grassroots commanders is also an important part of the defeat on the battlefield."
"And when I studied the Soviet army's entire battle from the outbreak of the Soviet-German war to now, I found that they have a serious problem. That is, most of their generals cannot organize defensive operations or retreat. When encountering
When the Germans attacked, they only knew how to use chaotic counterattacks to slow down the Germans' offensive speed."
"During the defense, facing the attack of the German armored group, the entire defensive position had no depth and no solid defensive support points. This resulted in that even if the defense was organized, all its defensive positions were broken by the German army in one attack.
Then they were quickly surrounded. However, they continued to launch tactical counterattacks, but due to the chaotic organization, there were few successful examples."
"The Soviet army's current defeat 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. Their own tactics are extremely poor. The talents of quite a few commanders are simply not good enough.
Unable to bear the responsibility that one has paid.”
"In addition, the top leaders give blind orders regardless of reality. Some senior commanders are too rigid in their thinking, and their combat concepts are still stuck in the military theory of World War I or even the Soviet-Russian Civil War. Under this situation, 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 fact that the Soviet Union's purge of counter-revolutionaries 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 will of the Russians to fight, 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 great results in the past, its troops have 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, and its assault capability has dropped to a dangerous level. It is a taboo for military strategists to be tired of veterans. 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 have seniority, they are far inferior to those veteran generals who were purged. But they 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. When 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 war, the experience of growth is often accompanied by huge costs. I believe that in this war, the Soviets will win the final victory, but this growth will also be 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. It made the Soviet army more interested in new strategies and
The study of 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.
They were killed by one of our own. Human heads are not grass. If 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. The tragedy that happened to the Red Army will not happen again.
We cannot re-create tragedies ourselves if we never forget the past."