Whether the 3rd and 10th armies could only be abandoned became the focus of the next discussion between the Politburo and the Central Military Commission, and two completely different opinions were formed at the meeting, one was the theory of abandonment represented by Li Xiaofeng, which was to prepare to abandon these two group armies, and then greatly retreat and shrink the defensive line, and then build a new defensive front on the Minsk and Kiev lines.

This view was unacceptable to Trotsky, Tukhachevsky, and Sverdlov, because the 3rd and 10th armies in the encirclement numbered hundreds of thousands of men, and such a huge living force could not be given up at the same time. Otherwise, the influence is too bad!

Another opinion, led by Tukhachevsky, was that the 3rd and 10th armies must be pulled out of the encirclement, and that the retreat should be temporarily suspended, and the head should be turned around and the rifle should be shot back to tear the Suleyyuvik apart.

However, this opinion faces practical difficulties, first of all, the lack of troops, even if the 6th and 12th armies of the Ukrainian Front and the 13th Army of the Belarusian Front are all involved in the rescue operation, it will not be enough to repel the enemy who has already occupied the advantage on the opposite side.

Secondly, after a long period of fighting, the 6th and 12th armies had consumed a lot of money, and it was a question of whether they had the ability to counterattack, at least fuel alone would discourage these two armies.

In the end, Kyiv is in danger, once it fails to pull out the 3rd and 10th armies, and Kyiv loses it again, then the fun will be great, and then both ends will be unreliable, and the Red Army will face an even worse situation.

For these three issues, the two sides quarreled fiercely, and neither of them was convinced. In the end, Trotsky and Sverdlov could only pass through the Guò Politburo and order: "The comrades of the 3rd and 10th armies cannot be abandoned. The Red Army did not have a tradition of abandoning its comrades-in-arms. One should concentrate on rescuing our comrades! ”

An executive order can resolve a sharp dispute. But unable to change the unfavorable situation of the Red Army on the battlefield, the most difficult problem facing Tukhachevsky was how to rescue the 3rd and 10th armies, and he had to find a way.

Tukhachevsky's approach is simple, aren't we running out of troops? Then replenish the troops, let the Baltic Front on the East Prussian side temporarily counterattack, and transfer troops to reinforce the Belarusian Front, and if it is not possible, then draw troops from the Central Front of the General Reserve of the Military Commission, and concentrate all efforts on counterattacking. I don't believe that I can't break through the German defenses!

First of all, the Baltic Front was originally the weakest of the three main forces on the Western Front, and the transfer of troops from it undoubtedly further weakened the strength of the Baltic Front. Previously, the Baltic Army had been putting pressure on the German Army Group North in front of it, forcing Army Group North to not be able to draw too many troops to support Army Group Center.

And now this seems to supplement the strength of the Belorussian Front, but at the same time, the pressure on the German Army Group North is also reduced, and Germany can draw troops from Army Group North to replenish Army Group Center according to the gourd drawing. This is tantamount to doing useless work.

Even Germany, if it was awesome enough, directly let Army Group North also switch to the offensive. If the weakened Baltic Front is defeated in one fell swoop, and East Prussia will also become a mess at that time, will Tukhachevsky be able to transfer troops to plug this hole?

It is clear that Tukhachevsky has now entered a vicious circle of tearing down the eastern wall and replacing the western wall, and objectively speaking, with the encirclement of the 3rd and 10th armies, the Red Army can no longer maintain the East Prussia-East Poland-Ukraine front. It is necessary to shrink back and shorten the front in order to maintain the balance of power.

At this time, Tukhachevsky, Trotsky and Sverdlov were stubbornly unwilling to abandon this long, untenable front, and there was only one result - total collapse. It can be said that the more reluctant it is, the more severe the consequences will be. The correct way is to take the initiative to retreat as Li Xiaofeng said, whether it is to exchange space for time or to shorten the front line and regain a stable position.

It is a pity that Li Xiaofeng's opinion was not accepted by the Politburo, which led to a series of chain reactions in the future.

On 13 July, Tukhachevsky ordered the 3rd and 10th armies in the encirclement to stop breaking through and move to local defense, demanding that the two armies build positions and defend them to the death. What does this mean? Tukhachevsky feared that the two armies would be wiped out immediately under the encirclement of the superior German forces, and that it would take time for him to draw troops from the Baltic Front and the Central Front. The 3rd and 10th armies had to hold out until the rescue forces arrived to make sense.

Obviously, it may not make sense to rely on the strength of these two armies to break through, but on the contrary, it will consume valuable strength. Therefore, Tukhachevsky ordered them to hold on and wait for reinforcements, and even tried to survive in a desperate situation, if the 3rd and 10th armies could cooperate with the rescue forces to blossom in the middle, they would inevitably be able to inflict heavy losses on the German army, so as to regain the initiative on the battlefield.

To put it bluntly, Tukhachevsky still wanted to attack, and the Red Napoleon never seemed interested in defense, always trying to crush his opponent with round after round of non-stop attacks. According to his plan of action, the next step would be a larger-scale "siege relief" operation, in which the Red Army would commit seven armies to a counteroffensive in one fell swoop, not only to rescue the 3rd and 10th armies, but also to deal with the German Army Group Center.

It's a big-bodied plan, it's magnificent, and it's taken for granted. It is full of Russian-style brute courage, which is very in line with the taste and provincial beauty of the Russians. But in Li Xiaofeng's view, this is equivalent to sending him to death. Originally, the front line was crumbling, and it was a problem to stabilize the defensive line, and there was no talk of a large-scale counteroffensive. This is tantamount to sending the precious vital forces of the Red Army into the tiger's mouth of the German army, which is death!

After the Politburo decided to support Tukhachevsky's plan, Li Xiaofeng was furious: "Comrade Trotsky, Comrade Sverdlov, I hope you will remember today's decision, because this decision you have made will bury millions of Red Army soldiers and turn a series of uncontrollable situations into reality, and you will be fully responsible for this!" ”

Dropping this sentence, Li Xiaofeng left the venue angrily. Even if Sverdlov repeatedly tried to stop him. Continuing to explain and do work is also ignored. That day. Xiao Si was very embarrassed and angry, because Li Xiaofeng didn't save him a little face in public, no matter what, he is also the leader of Li Xiaofeng and the second-in-command of the party and the country, which is really hurtful!

Even Ruzutak couldn't look at it, and found Li Xiaofeng that night. I hope that a certain immortal will apologize to Xiao Si and communicate openly and honestly.

"I'm never going to apologize, it's just playing the piano. The Military Commission has already warned the Politburo that a counteroffensive according to Tukhachevsky's method is extremely risky and the probability of success is extremely low. And once it fails, it will mean a total collapse! Crash! Do you know what a crash is? Li Xiaofeng sprayed Ruzutak in the face.

Ruzutak sighed, he also knew that the risk was high, but high risk also meant high gain, and success could end the war. Who can resist this temptation?

Li Xiaofeng sneered: "It is indeed possible to end the war, or not to say that it is possible to end the war whether it is a success or a failure." The difference is. Defeated, the Germans will have the upper hand in general, and we will be defeated! ”

"Comrade Tukhachevsky is still capable!" Ruzutak persuaded, but before he finished speaking, Li Xiaofeng sneered again: "When you ordered the Ukrainian Front to counterattack with all your strength before, you also said the same, and what was the result?" Did Comrade Tukhachevsky, who was very competent, win for you? And this time it was still the same as last time, and Tukhachevsky was confused by a few words, thinking that he could turn the tables in one fell swoop. Comrade Ruzutak, you have to be sober and sober, this time our situation is not as good as the last time, the risks are greater, the last time it did not work out, how can this time there be a good result? ”

Ruzutak was speechless, and said after a while: "Then you can't leave the 3rd and 10th armies to the enemy, what a loss!" ”

"According to Tukhachevsky's plan, you think that the losses will be small, be ready to lose at least two more army groups!" Li Xiaofeng sneered.

At this time, Ruzutak was a little angry and asked, "Comrade Andrei, why are you so pessimistic? Why can't we win, why can't we settle the battle with lightning like the Germans? ”

Li Xiaofeng looked into Ruzutak's eyes and sneered, "Finally said what was in your heart, right?" Speaking of which, whether it is you, Comrade Yakov or Comrade Trotsky, you always think of the so-called quick victory! You underestimate this war too much, it will be a brutal strangulation war, it will be protracted, lightning to solve the battle, go on a dream! ”

After speaking, Li Xiaofeng didn't bother to talk to Lu Zutak, and directly announced his thanks: "You don't have to do my job, we don't have to conspire with each other, and if we continue to argue, we won't speculate for more than half a sentence." A qiē speaks with facts, let's wait and see. Now, I don't have time to waste saliva with you, I still have to be busy supervising military production, laying the foundation for your comeback after your fiasco in the future! ”

Ruzutak was surprised, he really didn't expect that Li Xiaofeng directly sentenced them to death, thinking that the Red Army would inevitably be a fiasco next. Speaking from the heart, he thinks someone is too arrogant.

Ruzutak is like this, not to mention Sverdlov, when he learned the true attitude of a certain immortal, Xiao Si laughed angrily: "He thinks he represents the truth? He thinks he is wiser than the collective opinion of the entire Politburo? What hubris! I think he's getting carried away, thinking that he can be above the whole group. Let him be in charge of military production, I don't believe that without Zhang Butcher, we would have to eat hairy pigs! ”

Li Xiaofeng's fierce opposition and even resistance did not change the attitude of the Politburo, and even the more neutral Frunze and Dzerzhinsky believed: "Although Comrade Andrei's worries have some justification, the Red Army is not completely without opportunities. If we can seize the opportunity, it will change the trend of the war in one fell swoop, and this time the siege and counterattack will also become a turning point in the history of the world's anti-fascist war! ”

The so-called turning point, on which the Politburo had placed great hopes, fell entirely on the shoulders of the 3rd and 10th armies, and these Red Army fighters, who were struggling in the encirclement, had to hold out for at least a week, because after a week Tukhachevsky would be able to gather the counterattack forces he needed.

On July 14, the Military Commission said in Order No. 102: "Soldiers of the Red Army of the great 3rd and 10th armies, you will shoulder the heavy burden and must play a greater role in the next counteroffensive of our army. As the first barrier of the USSR against the fascist demons. Stop and delay the enemy's movements. It is your responsibility to contain and weaken as many spearheads as possible from the opponent's attack. Mother Motherland needs you to prove your worth with bravery and sacrifice! Fight for the Motherland. Fearless warriors of the Red Army, Ula! ”

As a veteran of the First World War and the Revolutionary War in China, the commander of the 3rd Army in the encirclement, General Kirponos, was very optimistic about the expectations of the Military Commission, and only he knew best what the situation of his troops was. A considerable number of division commanders and corps commanders have lost direct control over their troops, and to put it bluntly, they can no longer find their own troops.

Not only were the troops disorganized, but more importantly, in the panicked retreat, most of the heavy weapons were lost or discarded, and even a considerable number of soldiers ran out of Warsaw with bare hands.

Therefore, after Sulayyuvik was blocked, the first problem that Admiral Kirponos had to face was to sort out the command sequence of his troops, and to count how many weapons and personnel his army group had left.

"On average, there are only about 8,000 men left in each division, of which about two-thirds are armed. Losses of heavy weapons were particularly severe, with most of the artillery and tanks abandoned or destroyed on the spot...... Supplies are in extreme short supply. According to preliminary estimates, food is only enough to last three days, ammunition is only half a base, medicine is particularly scarce, and there are a large number of wounded soldiers who need to be treated......"

Such a mess was unimaginable to Kirponos, and when he entered East Poland, his army group was so powerful, with more than 1,500 tanks, that it was almost invincible. But it's only been a long time, and the army of neat plastic surgery has been evaporated! At that moment, Kilponos really wanted to shoot himself in the brain.

"Send a telegram to the front headquarters," Kirponos sighed, he knew that he couldn't die now, hundreds of thousands of soldiers were staring at him, if he died, who was going to take these soldiers out of the encirclement? He pinched his temples and said slowly, "...... Our army was killed and wounded by the enemy's concentrated fire on the way to retreat, the heavy equipment was completely lost, and Yan Zòng lacked ammunition and food, and in order to complete the tasks entrusted to our army by the Military Commission, we urgently need assistance ......"

When he received this telegram, Shaposhnikov himself was in a mess, his situation there was not much better than that of Kirponos, or even worse, the advance of the German southern cluster and the Romanian army was already approaching the periphery of Kiev, and the battle for the defense of Kiev was about to start. The railways and highways leading to East Poland have been completely cut off by the enemy, and even if he has a mountain of supplies here, he can't transport them out!

Taking a step back, even if it can be transported out, it will not be able to penetrate the encirclement of the Germans, and Kirponos is looking for him for assistance, which is really looking for the wrong person.

The only thing Shaposhnikov could do was kick the ball away: "Forward the telegram to the Central Military District of Moscow and let Comrade Yakir deal with it!" ”

Yakir gladly took the ball, and he also felt that it was necessary to replenish the troops in the encirclement with ammunition and other supplies, and felt that the Red Army could do it.

"Comrade Arksnis, it's time for your air force to show its strength and drop supplies into the encirclement as much as possible to solve the urgent needs of the 3rd and 10th armies, which is related to the success or failure of the counterattack......"

When he received the call from Yaquil, Alxnis did not feel good in his heart, because the air force had not been good since the start of the war, at least not as good as he had imagined before the war. Of course, this is not to say that the Air Force is too wasteful, but it is really not.

Why? The airfields in eastern Poland were bad, and the Red Army's fighters were generally short-legged and could barely make a spin over Warsaw, which was quite detrimental to the seizure of air supremacy. Arksnis also tried his best to repair the airfield in eastern Poland, but the priority of wartime supplies was all given to the assault cluster of the Ukrainian Front, which led the air force to stare dryly.

Not only the fighters were aggrieved, but also the bomber and attack aircraft units, not to mention the attack aircraft units, which basically could not reach the land of Warsaw, and even if they went, they could only deliver food to the German fighter pilots without fighter cover. This direct tactical bombing was quite ineffective and did not give much support to the Red Army soldiers on the front line.

Although the long-range aviation does not have the problem of short legs, whether it is a B17 or a Pe-8 or a Ye-2, they can easily go to Warsaw or even Berlin to drop bombs. However, high-altitude horizontal bombing is really not effective when used to support the ground, either even the enemy and his own people are blown up together, or they are several kilometers away to hear the sound, and its accuracy is enough to make people jump on their feet.

Tukhachevsky never knew how to make good use of long-range bombers, his eyes were only fixed on the one-third of an acre of land on the front line, and he always let strategic bombers do tactical bombing or front-line support work.

In this way, the power of long-range aviation cannot be brought into play at all, and letting long-range aviation units that are good at high-altitude bombing go to medium- and low-altitude battles is quite a bit like a dragon trapped in the shallows. Anyway, the long-range aviation has few results and big losses, and what is even more infuriating is that Tukhachevsky also took advantage of this attack and said: "Long-range aviation is a mistake at all, what the Soviet Union needs is a bomber that can really support the front-line soldiers!" And not these big and useless waste! (To be continued......)

PS: Bow and thank you to Admiral Hood and Comrade Katyusha!