The fighting continued until mid-July, and the fighting became increasingly unfavorable for the Soviet army. Pen ~ fun ~ pavilion www.biquge.info

The commander of the 38th Army, Chibisov, was like a marionette, and without receiving a clear order from his superiors, he only knew how to carry out passive defense and did not know how to actively look for fighters, and missed many good opportunities to turn the tide of the war in vain.

The German 2nd Army, having successfully broken through the 38th Army's defensive line, captured the city of Voronezh, the capital of the Voronezh Oblast, allowing Paulus's 6th Army to advance to Stalingrad in the south without worry. Paulus, with the 8th Infantry Corps and the 14th Panzer Corps as the northern assault group, and the 51st Infantry Corps and the 24th Panzer Corps as the southern assault group, launched an attack on the Soviet 62nd Army, which was defending near Karachi. An attempt was made to wipe out this newly formed army group in the Karachi area in one fell swoop.

Faced with the grim situation in the south, Rokossovsky received orders to constantly launch attacks from the flanks and rear of the German army in order to contain the enemy's forces and, if conditions permitted, to recapture the city of Voronezh, which was occupied by the Germans.

The Germans deployed 70 divisions on the central front, and assumed a posture of being ready to attack Moscow again at any time, so that Stalin did not dare to easily throw the hundreds of thousands of troops gathered near the city into the southern battlefield.

The serious shortage of troops made Rokossovsky's offensive appear weak to follow-up, and often after several days of fierce fighting, it was difficult to seize a stronghold of the enemy, but under the strong counterattack of the German army, it had to be abandoned because of the lack of troops.

Rokossovsky summoned several of his commanders to the headquarters to discuss how to solve the problem of insufficient troops. Seeing that the participants were silent, General Batov, deputy commander of the Front, was the first to speak: "Comrade commander, the number of soldiers that the higher authorities have given us is very small, and they are coming very slowly, and we mainly rely on those soldiers who have recovered from their injuries and have been discharged from the hospital to make up for the lack of soldiers in each unit. ”

"That's right, Comrade Commander." As Batov made a move, the commander of the 13th Army, General Pukhov, continued: "Although many of the wounded have returned to their units before they have fully recovered from their injuries, our shortage of soldiers is still very large. If a wounded commander or fighter wants to be discharged from the hospital, he must be in the hospital for at least half a month. But on the battlefield, maybe a few hours, or even a few minutes, a bullet or a piece of shrapnel can turn many people into wounded again. All in all, the number of wounded returned to the army was far less than the number of people lost on the battlefield. ”

When Chibisov saw Pukhov speak, he also complained, because his troops had been fighting the Germans every day recently, and the casualties were very heavy, and they were in urgent need of reinforcements. In conclusion, he emphasized: "Comrade Commander, almost all of my divisions have been crippled in recent battles. The division with the least number of soldiers is only 3,000 men, and the casualties are as high as 60 percent, and if we don't replenish it as soon as possible, I am afraid that the troops will lose their combat effectiveness! ”

After listening to Chibisov's words, the commander of the 3rd Army, Korzun, pursed his lips and said unconvinced: "General Kibisov, your army group is resisting the German offensive; Have you ever wondered why General Pukhov's troops are also fighting the Germans every day, but the casualties of others are much smaller than yours? ”

Korzun's words choked Chibisov, and it took him a long time before he muttered: "The German attack on our defense zone is too fierce, and our commanders and fighters are very heroic in the battle, and they do not retreat a single step in the face of the enemy's attack." ”

In response to Chibisov's nonsense, Korzun sneered and said in a sarcastic tone: "Judging from the recent battle reports, the performance of your army group is really wonderful. The defense area of the 167th Infantry Division was under heavy attack by the Germans, and the 237th Infantry Division on the right flank actually stood still and watched the Germans break through the friendly lines.

After occupying the position, the Germans did not know how to seize the favorable opportunity of the enemy's unstable foothold to carry out a counterattack, but continued to stay where they were and wait for orders. It was not until the Germans had strengthened their defenses that two divisions were organized to launch a counteroffensive against the enemy. In the end, although the position was regained, because of your indecision, how many commanders and fighters paid the price of blood and lives in vain? ”

"Comrade Korzun," although what Korzun said was the truth, Rokossovsky did not want this temporary military meeting to turn into a meeting of endless arguments and accusations, so he stopped Korzun in time: "Our meeting today is to discuss the question of how to make up for the shortage of troops in the army, not to hold anyone responsible for the defeat in the early battle. Let's express our own opinions and talk about how we can solve the problem of insufficient troops. ”

After a short silence, the commander of the 48th Army, Khalyuzin, spoke: "Comrade commander, since the beginning of the great counteroffensive under Moscow in December last year, our army has liberated many cities and hundreds of settlements. I think we can recruit new recruits in these areas and add them to the troops. ”

"General Khalyuzhin, our suggestion has long been taken into account." Shabarin, the military commissar of the Front, retorted: "As early as the German army was approaching Moscow, a large number of residents were evacuated to the rear, and so far they have not had time to return to their homes. Among the remaining residents, those who met the requirements for enlistment were all incorporated into the army or militia, and only some old and weak women and children remained, and it was no longer possible to recruit new recruits from among them. ”

"Comrade Military Commissar," Khalyuzin's proposal, although Shabahrain opposed it, he was not discouraged in the slightest, but continued: "From the beginning of the war, we began to recruit a large number of female soldiers in our troops, and I remember that when Comrade Commander was still the commander of the 16th Army, a group of female soldiers were recruited and a Jewish regiment was formed. We can now follow his model and organize a women's corps in the army. ”

"No, Comrade Khalyuzhin, this will not work. We should decide what kind of conscription policy to adopt on a case-by-case basis. Rokossovsky heard Khalyuzin mention the short-lived Jewish regiment last year, and hurriedly waved his hand and said: "I formed the women's regiment at that time because those areas were going to be abandoned sooner or later, and the Jews would become the targets of the fascist bandits if they continued to stay there, so I organized them to resist the German invasion."

Now the lost cities, settlements and villages near Moscow are back in the hands of our army. If the inhabitants of these areas, men, women and children, are the new force for the restoration of factory and farm production, and if they are integrated into the army, who will produce the guns and ammunition for our commanders and fighters, and who will cultivate for us the food that is essential for daily life? ”

Rokossovsky's words caused the entire command to fall silent again. After a long time, Korzun said with some unconvincing: "Comrade commander, the superiors can't replenish us with enough troops, and we can't recruit troops locally, so how can we solve the problem of insufficient soldiers?" ”

"Comrade Korzun, don't worry." Rokossovsky smiled and comforted Korzun and said: "Actually, I have thought of a way to recruit soldiers, but I need to discuss it with everyone first, otherwise the recruits will come and everyone will not accept them, and I will have no choice." ”

"What, Comrade Commander, can you get us new recruits?" When Korzun heard Rokossovsky say this, his eyes suddenly lit up, and he hurriedly said: "As long as you can replenish our troops, even if these people are murderous and arson, and the crime is heinous, I will not dislike it." ”

"Yes, yes," Khalyuzhin echoed: "Comrade commander, as long as you can find enough soldiers for us, no matter what these people do, we will accept them unconditionally." ”

"Okay, that's what you said, don't regret it then." Rokossovsky specially reminded the commanders present: "If you do not object, I will ask my superiors tomorrow to send additional troops to your army groups." ”

Hearing that there would be troops to replenish the troops tomorrow, several commanders could not help but be overjoyed, and finally it was Korzun who carefully asked Rokossovsky: "Comrade commander, can you tell us where these recruits come from?" Is it a student at a military academy or a worker at a factory? ”

"General Korzun, where do you think of it?" Rokossovsky immediately refuted Korzun's conjecture, "Do you think that it is still the beginning of the war, and the main sources of soldiers in the army are still military schools and factories?" ”

"Where did that come from?" Koerzun asked, puzzled.

"Prison?" Rokossovsky replied briefly.

"Prison?!" When they heard the word, everyone froze. Korzun thought to himself that it might be that his superiors could not draw more troops, so even the prison guards who were guarding the prisoners were ready to be sent to the army, so he continued to ask: "Comrade Commander, are the prison guards sent to us?" ”

"Not prison guards," Rokossovsky said to everyone, waving his hand, "are prisoners in prisons, most of whom are criminals." ”

"Criminal criminal?!" As soon as Rokossovsky's words came out, several army commanders were speechless. They did not expect that the soldiers that their superiors wanted to replenish themselves were actually criminal prisoners held in prison, and they could not help but regret in their hearts, feeling that they should not have hastily agreed to Rokossovsky's request before finding out the origin of the soldiers.

Seeing that everyone was silent, Shabalin stood up and said with some displeasure: "Why, don't you all want these recruits?" ”

"Yes, Comrade Military Commissar." Although Chibisov continued to replenish the troops, it was still psychologically unacceptable for him to accept a group of prisoners from the prison, so he said euphemistically: "The army is a disciplined organization, is it appropriate to let a group of criminals join?" ”

"Comrade Chibisov, do not forget that it is the time of the war, and we must do everything to strengthen our strength." Rokossovsky said with a serious expression: "Not to mention some criminal criminals, even if it is a soldier who has been rescued from the prisoner of war camp, we should not hesitate to join the team." Because for them, it is worth it to be free, even at the cost of their lives. ”

"Comrade Commander, many things are unpredictable." Chibisov said uneasily: "I am afraid that these people, on the battlefield, will voluntarily surrender to the Germans." ”

"Comrade Chibisov, you are too worried." Shabalin once again stood up for Chibisov: "The integration of prisoners into the troops was proposed by Comrade Beria and with the permission of the Supreme Commander himself. Since the superiors decided to say so, they must have already thought of all the countermeasures, so we only need to obey the orders of the superiors and accept this batch of recruits from the prison. ”

Hearing that this was arranged by Stalin himself, everyone obediently kept their mouths shut. Rokossovsky continued: "The higher authorities have formed this group of 3,000 prisoners into a special brigade, which will be able to reach our defense zone tomorrow. I don't know if any of you want this force? ”

Although there was a great shortage of soldiers in the various army groups, and it was Stalin's intention to let prisoners into the army, everyone remained silent after hearing Rokossovsky's question.

Rokossovsky waited patiently for a while, and when he saw that no one made a statement, he couldn't help but feel a little disappointed. He had the intention of asking Pukhov to receive the troops, but when he saw them sitting in his seat, staring down at the table in front of him, as if there was something on it that he never got tired of seeing, he knew in his heart that he did not want this troops.

Considering Chibisov's poor command skills, Rokossovsky immediately abandoned this plan, and he did not want this unit to be wiped out by the Germans in a daze before it had played any role.

He finally set his sights on Korzun and Khalyuzin, hoping that one of them would offer to ask for the troops. But it is a pity that these two commanders are absent-minded, and it seems that no one wants this disreputable force.

Rokossovsky looked at the deputy commander next to him, Batov, with a regretful face, hoping that he would stand up and resolve the current embarrassing situation.

Batov guessed Rokossovsky's intentions from Rokossovsky's eyes, then stood up and said: "Commanders, comrades, I know that the integration of prisoners into the army is psychologically unacceptable. However, since this is the will of the Supreme Commander himself, we should obey it unconditionally. If no one says why they want this unit, then when the unit arrives, it will be assigned by the front command.

I would like to remind you that perhaps the integration of prisoners into the army will become more and more common in the future. If you don't want this army today, don't bother us with such a small thing as a shortage of soldiers in the future. ”

Seeing that Batov said cruel words, Korzun could no longer remain indifferent, he could only stand up and say with a bitter face: "Comrade commander, since no one wants this unit, then integrate them into our 3rd Army." ”

"General Corzun, you are good." Seeing that someone finally came out to claim this unattended unit, Rokossovsky's face showed a smile, he nodded at Korzun, and said: "The commanders of this unit at all levels should be appointed by your competent cadres." ”