November 14, 1939, Moscow, Kremlin. Pen | fun | pavilion www. ｂｉｑｕｇｅ。 ｉｎｆｏ

"Comrade Manturov, how are you doing?" Stalin first greeted Manturov, who had just come in.

Manturov, dressed in the dress of the political commissar of the 2nd Army, stood straight at Stalin's desk and replied: "Report to Comrade Stalin, everything is fine with me!" ”

Stalin smoked his pipe and smiled kindly: "The last time I saw you, you were a polite gentleman, and I didn't expect you to become a soldier after you returned from the battlefield." ”

In addition to Stalin, there were also members of the Politburo such as Voroshilov, Kalinin, and Molotov in the room, and all of them sat on the sidelines, looking at Manturov and putting a lot of pressure on him.

"Last time, I came to see you in my capacity as the first secretary of the Novosibirsk Region Party Committee, and as a local civilian cadre, of course, I have to show my polite side. But this time, I came to see you as the political commissar of the second-class army, and I am a soldier, so I must show the disciplined side of the soldiers! Manturov said in a loud voice, with all seriousness.

Manturov's serious words actually caused the laughter of Stalin and other members of the Politburo, which made him feel even more nervous and embarrassed.

Stalin took a puff of his cigarette, looked at Voroshilov, who was sitting on the side, and said with a smile: "Kerim, your son-in-law is very measured." ”

"yes, hehe." Voroshilov laughed rudely and like a Donbass miner.

"Alright, let's get started. Please be serious. As soon as Stalin said this, several members of the Politburo immediately reverted to their original solemn expressions. Comrade Manturov, what do you think of the Japanese army? ”

As in Zhukov's memoirs, Stalin first asked Manturov's views on the Japanese army. The only difference was that the person who was received was replaced by Manturov.

Manturov truthfully explained to Stalin his opinion of the RB invading army: "The soldiers of the Japanese army behaved well during the Battle of the Harakha River. They have undergone rigorous training, and their combat performance is very professional and full of combat experience.

They are disciplined, can resolutely carry out the orders issued from above, and have a very tenacious will to fight. In defensive warfare, they can all play these characteristics.

In addition to the ordinary soldiers, the junior commanders of the Japanese army were also well trained and fought extremely tenacious. At the last moment, none of them surrendered, but did not hesitate to choose to commit suicide by 'caesarean section'.

However, their officers, especially those in the middle and senior ranks, are relatively poorly trained, have poor initiative, and have rigid operational theories, are outdated, and stick to the rules. ”

Stalin and the "big guys" in the room listened attentively to what Manturov had to say. By the time he finished answering the first question, there was hardly any sound in the scene, only the sound of people breathing and the wind outside.

Stalin took another puff of his cigarette and continued: "How are our troops fighting?" ”

As a time-traveler from modern times, Manturov knew that there were many shortcomings in the Soviet army, and he also predicted the tragedy of the Soviet-German war, and of course did not want to miss any opportunity to fill the loopholes and point out to Stalin the problems of the Soviet Red Army. "Our regular troops are playing well.

The 36th Motorized Rifle Division under the command of Comrade Petrov and the 57th Infantry Division under the command of Kalanin from Transbaikal fought well.

However, the performance of the 82nd Infantry Division was not satisfactory, probably because the division's soldiers and commanders were not adequately trained, and it was replenished with many inexperienced and untrained recruits before leaving for Mongolia.

As for our tank units, they all fought brilliantly, especially the 11th Brigade, led by Comrade Yakovlev, which performed very well. However, the Бt-5 and Бt-7 tanks they used were too prone to fire, and their weapons left much to be desired.

But in any case, these 2 tank brigades and 3 motorized armored brigades played a crucial role in this campaign. Without them, our army would certainly not have been able to encircle and annihilate the Japanese 6th Army so quickly. If we can greatly expand the armored tank forces and mechanized units in the future, the strength of our Soviet Red Army will be greatly enhanced.

And our artillery, in all respects, was superior to the Japanese, especially in shooting. On the whole, our troops were stronger than the Japanese army, this is undeniable, otherwise we would not have won this victory. But in terms of combat will and pre-war training, the Japanese army was stronger than us.

In this campaign, the units of the Mongolian People's Army gained experience from the side of the Red Army, were tempered, supported, and fought well, especially their armored battalion distinguished itself at the Bayingchagang Mountain. But we have to admit that the Mongol cavalry was vulnerable to aircraft attacks and artillery fire, and therefore suffered quite a few losses. ”

Manturov looked intently at Stalin and, as could be seen, listened with great interest. So he continued: "For all our troops, the corps commanders, the unit commanders and myself, the battle on the Haraha River is a good opportunity to learn from the combat experience.

I believe that the RB side has now come to a more correct conclusion about the strength and combat capability of the Red Army, and we have discovered the advantages of the Red Army and discovered our own faults. ”

"Volodya, you talk about it, what is wrong with our Soviet Red Army itself?" Sitting on the sidelines, Voroshilov, with Erlang's legs crossed, participated in the conversation.

Manturov looked at his father-in-law and truthfully stated his opinion: "The main thing is the lack of training of our Red Army fighters, commanders, of course, this does not refer to all.

As I said earlier, both the 36th Motorized Rifle Division under the command of Comrade Petrov and the 57th Infantry Division from Transbaikal under the command of Comrade Galanin fought brilliantly, and the fighters and commanders performed excellently.

But other units, such as the 82nd Infantry Division, which was transferred from the Urals, did not do very well, because the training time of the division's fighters and commanders was very short. Before the division left for the front, it was also replenished with a number of newly recruited recruits.

These recruits, almost all of whom have zero combat experience and are fairly basic in training, are no better than the NKVD border guards in combat capability. ”

"How can we improve?" Voroshilov then asked.

Manturov put forward his own suggestions for improvement: "We should strengthen the training of Red Army soldiers, commanders, and political workers to enhance their combat capability. In addition, we need to establish a sound reserve registration system, and at the same time, we must ensure that reservists receive adequate training, which cannot be ignored.

Otherwise, there will not be much difference between these additional recruits and ordinary workers in military uniforms, and the chances of casualties, disappearances, and even defection to the enemy will be great. We must face this point squarely. ”

Voroshilov gave a satisfied smile, a positive reply: "Your opinion, we, the People's Commissariat of Defense, will carefully study it." ”

Kalinin, who was sitting on the sidelines, also joined the questioners: "In your opinion, the RB government organized an invasion, and what are the main goals it pursues?"

"In my opinion, their short-term goal is to occupy the entire territory of the Mongolian People's Republic and use Mongolia's rich mineral resources to support them in the next step of the imperialist war." Manturov did not say anything about the intentions of the Japanese army to invade the Soviet Union, because this was only a "conjecture", and in front of the Politburo members, he did not dare to make these statements that lacked substantial evidence.

Stalin smiled with satisfaction and said: "Now you already have combat experience." If necessary, we may arrange for you to work in the field of defense and military affairs. But now, the work of industrialization in our country is more important, and your achievements in the industrialization of the Novosibirsk region are obvious to all, and you have become a model in this regard.

Now that the industrialization process has entered a critical stage, I hope you can continue to build on these achievements and build a highly productive and highly socialized Novosibirsk Oblast. ”

"Guaranteed to complete the mission!" Manturov said like a soldier.

Manturov's military-like actions again drew laughter from the commissioners. After laughing for a while, Stalin suddenly took out a shining gold medal - the Hero of the Soviet Union Gold Star Medal.

In Manturov's memory, 70 of the servicemen who participated in the Battle of Nomenkhan were awarded the highest honor, the title of Hero of the Soviet Union, the Golden Star Medal.

And as one of the people who made the greatest contribution in the early stages of the campaign, Manturov was also awarded.

Stalin walked up to Manturov, patted him on the shoulder and said: "Comrade Manturov, you are a Hero of the Soviet Union, and you deserve this Gold Star medal." ”

"Thank you, Comrade Stalin! Thank you, Comrade Voroshilov! ”

Stalin, as last time, personally awarded the young man a second medal. The last time he presented Manturov was the Order of Lenin, the title of Hero of Socialist Labor, the highest honor for civilian personnel. This time, he was awarded the Order of the Golden Star, the title of "Hero of the Soviet Union", the highest honor of a military man.

It is not an exaggeration to describe Manturov, a man who has won the highest honors in both civilian work and military affairs, and he was young and promising, and he soon received a new nickname - the Siberian Tiger.