Shaposhnikov sighed to himself and swallowed all the words of advice back into his stomach. Pen | fun | pavilion www. ｂｉｑｕｇｅ。 ｉｎｆｏ

Although Finland's national power is not worth mentioning compared to that of the Soviet Union, it is not so easy to conquer the country when it comes to specific military aspects. Finland has a long border with the Soviet Union for more than 2,000 kilometers, but most of it is rugged and inhospitable icebergs and untouched virgin jungles. The harsh natural environment in these places was in itself the greatest obstacle to the advance of the Soviet troops. The Soviet tanks and artillery could completely crush the Finns in plain operations, but in Northern Europe they were helpless, who said that the terrain in this area was not suitable for heavy weapons at all?

Even the Karelian Isthmus, which has the best geographical environment, has many constraints on the development of the Soviet offensive. This is the forefront of the Soviet-Finnish wrestling with dense lakes and towering ancient trees, and the Soviet army can only seek a breakthrough in the hilly isthmus, with half the effort. In addition, this year's winter was also colder than usual, and the Soviets not only had to fight against the terrain but also had to withstand a freezing storm of minus 20 degrees Celsius. The so-called Winter General is the greatest help to the Russian soldiers, but only relative to the armies of Western European countries located in the temperate zone; Finland has a colder winter than Russia, so why expect the Soviet army to gain the upper hand on Finland's home turf in winter?

It is with these disadvantages in mind that Shaposhnikov is ready to fight this battle with the attitude of a fierce lion and a rabbit. According to his conception, the Soviet Union should stand still and accumulate strength throughout the winter; After the beginning of spring of the following year, with the strength of 40 divisions, it will push directly from Karelia and destroy all Finnish resistance in one fell swoop.

In addition to the army, the Baltic Fleet, which has a large lineup, can also show its skills, providing strong support and cover for the Red Army to launch an offensive on land. Finland has a vast territory of more than 300,000 square kilometers, but its core is almost entirely concentrated on the coast of the Gulf of Finland by the sea: its capital, Helsinki, is a seaport city, which can be reached by the Soviet fleet from Kronstadt in six or seven hours!

Since the Soviet Union has endured the current northwestern border for 20 years, can't it endure it for another 3 or 4 months? Launching an offensive at this time would not only be a thin force, but the Red Navy, which was heavily fortified, would not be able to mobilize because the Gulf of Finland was in the middle of an ice age, and would not be able to do anything to help the battle on land. However, seeing Stalin's determined expression, Shaposhnikov did not dare to say these words under any circumstances; Because he had seen the horror of so many of his colleagues being arrested and disappearing with their families, all that was left in his mind was the fear of the dictator.

In June 1937, when the Great Purge was in full swing, an unprecedented reshuffle of the Soviet army was also unveiled at the behest of Stalin. Among the five people who had just been awarded the rank of Marshal of the Soviet Union two years earlier, the truly talented and prestigious Tukhachevsky, Blyukher, and Yegorov were all shot, leaving only Budyonny, whose thinking was still stuck in the cavalry era of the Civil War, and Voroshilov, Stalin's loyal lackey.

In addition, 3 of the 4 generals of the 1st Army, all of the 12 generals of the 2nd Army, 60 of the 67 army commanders, 136 of the 199 division commanders, and 221 of the 397 brigade commanders were also shot, and a total of 40,000 commanders of the entire Soviet Army were suppressed or killed. You must know that even the Russian army, which experienced the devastation of World War I and the Civil War in those years, the losses of its senior command cadres were far less than this number! The Red Army, which Trotsky had created, had now been bloodied by Stalin, and it was no longer possible to see what had happened in the past.

Seeing so many life-and-death comrades and loyal subordinates slaughtered in just 20 months, Shaposhnikov's heart was filled with bitter pain, and then quickly turned to fear and numbness. Shaposhnikov knew very well that the fundamental reason why Stalin's butcher's knife avoided him was that he was politically docile and obedient, and that he never engaged in factionalism in the army, which did not pose a challenge to the absolute authority of the leader.

If he dares to confront Stalin head-on, as Tukhachevsky, Blyukhel and others did, and let the latter's authority be undermined, then he and his family will not be far from death. Stalin even cut down more than a dozen of so many highly successful marshals and generals, where would he care about one more chief of the General Staff of Tashaposhnikov?

Stalin, as if sensing Shaposhnikov's hesitation, said with some dissatisfaction: "Comrade Shaposhnikov, you should have full confidence in the Red Army today. The brilliant victory won by the Red Army at Nomenkan in the Far East two months ago is enough to prove that our army has a formidable combat strength that is no less than that of the German fascists! There is no doubt that the anti-rebellion campaign eliminated the spies lurking in the Red Army, made the whole army unite as one, and made a qualitative leap in combat effectiveness compared with a few years ago. Now what is the problem with a small Finland? ”

Brilliant victory? Shaposhnikov's heart twitched slightly, and he suddenly had a strong feeling of frustration about lifting a stone and hitting his own foot. As the chief of the General Staff of the Army, Shaposhnikov learned about the real situation of this conflict with the Japanese Kwantung Army through various channels as early as the end of September this year. The Soviets invested more than 100,000 troops on the battlefield of Nomenkan, which had a 3-to-1 advantage over the Japanese army in front of them, and at least a 6-to-1 advantage over artillery and tanks; However, the end result was that as many as 26,000 Soviet officers and soldiers were killed or wounded, and 55% of the tanks and 40% of the aircraft were lost. If it weren't for the fact that the Japanese army only had 1 formed 23rd Division, which was difficult to support on the battlefield, the Soviet army would not have been able to push the Japanese army back beyond the national border!

After carefully analyzing the telegrams sent back from the Far Eastern front, Shaposhnikov came to a painful but reasonable conclusion: the mass killing of army commanders by the anti-insurgency campaign had seriously affected the combat effectiveness of the Red Army. The grass-roots units were unable to carry out the orders issued by the command, and the chaotic situation of the Tsarist Russian army in World War I reappeared on the Red Army. Although the exact casualties of the Japanese in this battle are unknown, Shaposhnikov estimated that they would not be more than his own: after all, they numbered only more than 30,000 people, and they were able to re-establish a stable line of defense with the support of friendly forces after the battle.

However, by the time this battle report was presented to Stalin, Voroshilov, who was good at smuggling horses, had already fully developed his Spring and Autumn penmanship skills of reporting good news and not bad news, praising the strategic victory of the Soviet army in recovering lost territory and forcing the Japanese army to retreat, while at the same time trying to downplay the tactical exchange of personnel and equipment between the two sides. Shaposhnikov was initially quite uneasy about this, but for the sake of self-preservation, he still acquiesced to Voroshilov's statement. Fortunately, Stalin came to the conclusion that the combat effectiveness of the Red Army had increased as a result of the Great Purge, which suddenly made Shaposhnikov suffer and could only choose to go with the flow in an atmosphere of blind optimism!

"Moreover, the Red Army entered Finland in the role of liberators of the oppressed classes and exploited peoples. The workers, peasants, and Communist revolutionaries of Finland will surely rise up in response and warmly welcome the arrival of our army, and the white bandit regime, representing the big bourgeoisie, will collapse in an instant. Foreign Minister Molotov said with the same confidence. In those years, the theory of the Red Revolution had a great temptation for the Western workers and peasants who had been oppressed by the capitalists, and if the Soviet Union raised this royal banner, it could play a role in the military to a great extent.

"And on what grounds should we go to war against Finland?" Shaposhnikov finally compromised. Molotov's and previous Meretskov's words are actually not unreasonable, and it is not clear that they were too cautious about Finland. A sinister smile appeared on the corner of Stalin's mouth, but he asked rhetorically: "How did the German fascists invade Poland?" Voroshilov next to him was stunned for a moment, and then a cold light flashed in his eyes, and he said respectfully: "I understand, respected Comrade Stalin." You won't be disappointed. ”

The stars twinkle and the moon rises, and a small 2,000-ton merchant ship slowly approaches the docks of the port of Kiel. The heavy anchor was thrown to the bottom of the water more than ten meters deep, firmly fixing the position of the merchant ship. As soon as several German customs officers approached the gangway, they spotted a well-dressed man walking slowly down the deck.

"Sir, this is a merchant ship bound for Stockholm, Sweden, which has come to the port of Kiel to replenish it because it has encountered a high wave in the Norwegian Sea and consumed too much coal. We just want to buy 150 tonnes of anthracite and wait until tomorrow morning, and we will leave immediately. Raphael took out the paperwork from his bosom and said with a smile.

The head of the customs department carefully observed the document handed over by Raphael and found that it was indeed an official document issued by the German government. Due to the current strength of the German Navy in the North Sea, more and more ships have begun to venture the Norwegian waterway; As for the ship to Sweden, it is even more like a carp crossing the river, because the Baltic Sea is a safe paradise for Germany. The head of the customs nodded, and then beckoned the juniors to retreat. Since this is a passing ship that does not unload, it has no authority to inspect the materials on board.

In an office building a few hundred meters away from the wharf, Fang Yan, who was standing in front of the window, put down the telescope in his hand. He turned his head and said in Italian to the bald middle-aged man in front of him, "Mr. Franz, it's up to you next." If you can successfully complete this task, then you will have food and clothing for the rest of your life. (To be continued.) )