Ubolevich became the commander of the temporarily formed Kursk Front, where he was to command the 5th, 6th, 37th, and 38th armies to encircle and annihilate the German Guderian assault group.

The task was not easy, but Ubolevich was confident, or rather, he had been waiting for this moment for a long time. Why? To understand Ubolevich's thoughts, it is necessary to start from the beginning, let's start with Ubolevich's position in the Red Army.

After the end of the civil war, it is well known that the most powerful people in the Red Army were the five men, that is, the five generalissimos. And both historically and now, Ubolevich is a line away from the status of the five generalissimos.

Even if no one denies his military merits and military talents, but status is status, and he is indeed a little worse than Yegorov and Tukhachevsky. And this point is the trench, when it comes to Ubolevich, everyone thinks that they are a little worse than Tukhachevsky, even if the actual ability of these two people is probably high and low with each other, but the world sees it this way, they will only see that Tukhachevsky is a marshal, and Ubolevich is only a general, isn't the marshal better than the general?

Even in the thirties, Ubolevich was promoted to marshal, but there are still people who feel that the first marshals are better than the second.

This prejudice does not make Ubolevich angry, but it is conceivable that he himself will certainly not be very comfortable. That's why Ubolevich kept holding his breath in his heart, and he wanted to prove to the world that Ubolevich was no worse than Tukhachevsky! Even stronger!

But what has always made Ubolevich very depressed is that he lacks opportunities to perform, and the chief of the General Staff, who is also the head of the four general departments, is more powerful and powerful than the head of the General Armament Department. Tukhachevsky always occupies the center of the screen, and he Ubolevich always seems to be a supporting role.

Wait, wait, wait, until now. Ubolevich finally waited for the opportunity to personally handle the battle, he wanted to use the Battle of Kursk to show his own prestige, and he wanted to use the results to tell the world that Ubolevich and Tukhachevsky are a famous general!

With this momentum, Ubolevich flew directly to Kursk, and in just two days set up his headquarters, and then engaged in intense combat preparations.

So be it. Let's put down Ubolevich and Kursk first, because for the time being the battle over there is no winner, let's continue to focus on Moscow for the time being, something is not too big or small to happen.

In fact, this matter is also related to the previous struggle for command of the Kursk campaign, Ubolevich's victory naturally announced that several other candidates were useless, among which the more depressed ones belonged to Sverdlov and Fediko, Xiao Si wanted to expand the military power, in his opinion, the command of the Kursk campaign was a breakthrough, if it was taken. It will definitely be able to carry Fediko up.

Unfortunately, he failed, and Fediko was eliminated in the first round, even if the meat was rotten in the Leninist pot in the end, but Xiao Si was still a little unhappy, and at this time he found a second chance.

That is, about the selection of the head of the General Cadre Department? This question was actually a legacy issue, and it was originally intended at the meeting that Ivan . Panfilovich. Belov went to this position. In history, this benevolent brother was regarded as one of the few first-class group army-level generals, that is, the so-called generals. And during the Great Purge in history, he was the one who dared to say that the Great Purge would lead to chaos in the army (so the first batch was killed).

This benevolent brother had previously served as the commander of infantry of the Red Army. After this military reform, he strongly demanded to go to the front-line troops to command the battle, so he was asked to be the commander of the Second Ukrainian Front, but at the same time, he also held the post of director of infantry.

Belov was originally the best candidate for the head of the general cadre department, but he was more interested in commanding battles from the front. Therefore, this general cadre minister can only be replaced. But because there has been no very good candidate, this matter has been delayed.

This time, Sverdlov was deflated on the issue of the Kursk Front, and he was very unconvinced, so he waved his hand. Isn't he just a temporary commander of the Front? Lao Tzu is not rare, okay, Lao Tzu will directly attack the chief cadre minister!

To tell the truth, Fei Jike is indeed a little short of the head of the general cadre department, at this time Fei Jike is only the rank of general, the leader of the five headquarters level, the rank of general is really not available, the only one who can serve as the leader of the five headquarters level with the rank of general is Li Xiaofeng, but the situation of a certain immortal is special! Although he was only a general at that time, he was a real alternate member of the Politburo, and this status was too high, who dared to say that he was not qualified to be the director of the General Political Department?

And now, Fediko is really a little worse, he wants to come out to compete for this position, Trotsky is not convinced, just a general will come out to make a fool, then Lao Tzu should not be idle, Khalepsky is on top, Lao Tzu's people are still more or less generals!

So does Li Xiaofeng have any nominees? No, because he has already taken advantage of the Kursk Front, and it is not appropriate to meddle in and grab positions, and he will have to save some face for Trotsky and Sverdlov.

Well, this battle is between Halepsky and Fedzko, to be honest, if it weren't for Xiao Si to stiffen Fedzko, there is really no suspense in this fight, Khalepsky can kill Fedzko in seconds. This time the result was similar, Khalepsky won unexpectedly and became the new head of the General Cadre Department, while Fediko could only "succumb" to the deputy minister, for sure, Xiao Si would feel uncomfortable, so after that he was stalking again, and he insisted that Mikhail . Petrovich. Frinovsky took the vacancy of Khalepsky and became the director of the armored forces.

Speaking of this Frinovsky big guy, it may be very unfamiliar, this was also a first-class army group when he was purged, and he was also the deputy People's Commissar of Defense. Let's put it this way, this class of Fejko, who was picked up before being purged, both brothers only gave their lives after only a year or two.

Frinovsky also belonged to the Stalin clique before, and like Fediko, after the fall of Steel, Frinovsky quickly changed his court and joined Xiaosi. Of course, it's not that he is particularly optimistic about Xiao Si, but that there are too many people on the side of a certain immortal who have taken refuge in the past, and it won't be his turn. In order to keep his military career, he could only take refuge in Xiao Si, who was relatively weak in the military.

Let's get back to the point, through this round of competition, the cake of the reform of the General Staff is basically divided, and it basically belongs to each taking what he needs, and a certain immortal still accounts for the majority. Trotsky and Sverdlov can also gain something, the only loser is Tukhachevsky, who is very hurt and depressed anyway.

Returning to Kursk, after arriving in Kursk, Ubolevich quickly got into a working state, he personally went to the front line to conduct thorough research, obtained a lot of first-hand information, he later recalled: "I have been out of the front line command for too long, although the head of the General Armament has a high position. But it's really interesting not to go to the front-line troops to direct the battle. If it could be exchanged, I would rather use the head of the General Armament to change the commander of the military district to do it, like Triandafilov, constantly enriching and improving himself on the front line. ”

"So after arriving in Kursk, I did not directly interfere with Konev's military deployment, and temporarily entrusted the task of resisting the German offensive to this newly emerging lieutenant general, while myself and my staff all went to the front line to investigate. I was anxious to know what the real Great Patriotic War was like and what thoughts and opinions the commanders and fighters had in the ranks. These are essential for me to command the next campaign! ”

"Over the course of five days, I visited more than a dozen companies. During this period, he was almost surrounded by German troops, and although the process was thrilling and hard, it was still very worthwhile. Through research and investigation, I found that the morale of the grassroots is very good, and the commanders and fighters are not afraid of bloodshed and sacrifice and vow to defend the great motherland. The only thing lacking is the art of commanding, and a considerable number of commanders at the most basic level have just graduated from military academies not long after. I don't have a deep understanding of war, and my skills are limited to what I learned in books, so I can't help but be a little rigid and rigid. Of course, there is no particularly effective way to improve their skills, which depends on the accumulation of experience. ”

"As for the soldiers at the grassroots level. The morale of the lads was high, the hard training in the previous stage helped a lot, most of the fighters were qualified, and the problem remained the lack of combat experience. For weapons, there is nothing to find fault with, as a key construction unit before, the 38th Army is very well equipped, basically has an SKS30 per man, a small number of reconnaissance and assault troops can also be equipped with AS-30, machine guns are basically not visible Makqin and Depp, all are PK machine guns, compared with the German infantry squad, our firepower has an advantage. The armored forces are also satisfactory, the T-35A of Yishui is rare even the T-34, and the heavy tank battalion is equipped with Lenin II, but it is enough. As for the artillery, it is also satisfactory, the only pity is that the mechanized corps is also equipped with towed artillery, the number of SU-76 and SU-122 is still too small, and the mechanized troops in the shock lack of accompanying fire support......"

On the whole, it can be seen that Ubolevich was quite satisfied with his troops, of course, thanks to Trotsky, and without his persistence, the Red Army would not have been able to put the best equipped units into this vital battle. Objectively speaking, this has to be credited to Lao Tuo's selfishness.

Ubolevich was not only very satisfied with the troops, but also spoke highly of Konev's military deployment: "Before, Comrade Andrei suddenly promoted Comrade Konev to me as a little inexplicable. Because I don't know this comrade very well, I heard that he is a political work cadre, and to be honest, based on the experience of the late civil war, I do not have a high opinion of the political work cadre. Our political cadres may not be afraid of death, but military quality is a problem. At first, I was worried that this was a reckless man who only knew how to rush and fight and use human lives to win the victory......"

"But after witnessing Comrade Konev's military deployment and meeting him face-to-face, I have to admit that I made a mistake. Comrade Konev had sufficient military qualities, had a profound study of infantry tactics, and had amazing intuition and talent in arranging defenses and distributing firepower. Obviously, Comrade Mikhail's previous evaluation of him was not objective and unfair, and this comrade can grow into a commander at the level of the front army or military district! ”

Ubolevich was very satisfied with Konev's previous deployment, and while defending to the death, he was also ready to counterattack at any time, and the 38th Army was like a compressed spring, which could break out at any time! This is also completely in line with Ubolevich's campaign plan - to strike back and encircle and annihilate Guderian's assault group.

Of course, knowing oneself and knowing one's opponent is the only way to survive a hundred battles. Ubolevich not only had an in-depth understanding of the situation in the Red Army, but also tried to find out the situation of the enemy. He personally went to the front line to watch several offensive operations of the German army, and gained a more intuitive understanding of the characteristics of the German army.

"The quality of the German devils was very high, and the officers and soldiers were well educated. And the character of the nation makes them strict and obedient. Although the Germans did not see too many bright spots in terms of weaponry, they made up for it with excellent tactical capabilities, and the morale of these fascist bandits was also very high. Admittedly, they are very difficult to deal with! ”

After several days of investigation, Ubolevich returned to his headquarters, and quickly. He came up with a battle plan. The core idea is known to everyone, it is nothing more than the 38th Group to resist, the 37th Army to reinforce as soon as possible, and then transfer the 5th and 6th armies from the other two lines to block the rear road of the German army and then encircle and annihilate it.

It seems that such a battle plan can be done well by fools, but the above set is on paper, and it is indeed a fool. But is it that simple to actually implement? Let's not talk about anything else, let's just talk about the reaction of the German army. The Germans are not fools, nor are they tendons, and when the four armies are really surrounded, they will stupidly not move, waiting to be surrounded and annihilated like idiots. Don't think of the Germans as extras who can do it with a box lunch!

They are really not group performances, they are the most important supporting roles, or the kind of drama tyrants who may steal the show at any time! Count on their honest cooperation, then take the morning to wash and sleep!

Who was Guderian? will wait for the Red Army to dispatch troops like a fool. Will you watch your troops in danger and do nothing? This one had the idea of running away before, and you can see what will happen when the 37th Army arrives on the battlefield!

What about Paulus? He, the chief of staff, commanded the battle probably worse than Guderian. But the basic qualities of the senior generals of the German army are there, and how much worse can they be? Once the Red Army's heavy army cluster is at risk of encirclement, do you see if he can run or not?

Besides, Hitler, although he was a little crazy, was not a fool, and at the moment he looked down on the Red Army. He felt that the Red Army was not worthy of carrying shoes for Germany, but he was not unable to read the most basic comparison of forces on the battlefield, nor was he the kind of fool who watched his elite troops being surrounded and annihilated.

To put it bluntly, if you want to fight a war of annihilation, you also have to see whether the German army cooperates or not?

So did the Germans cooperate?

Hey. That's pretty uncooperative. Guderian's perception of the battlefield of an old fox is quite keen, and when the Military Commission has not yet made a decision to fight a war of annihilation in Kursk, Guderian defended against it, so when attacking Kursk, he did not do his best. Except for the 46th Panzer Corps and the other two infantry divisions, the other troops, including the 47th Panzer Corps, were very restrained, and in fact, the 47th Panzer Corps remained in Ligov to rest and recuperate, and had no intention of engaging in battle at all.

From this point of view, Guderian is probably prepared to turn around and flee immediately if the situation is not good, and the 47th Panzer Corps will be the vanguard responsible for opening the way for retreat, and as long as the follow-up troops keep up, there is basically no danger of annihilation.

And an enemy like Guderian is the most difficult to deal with, because the people are ready to flee from the beginning, and if the other three armies of the Kursk Front move too slowly, before they can reach the battlefield Guderian has already fled.

So, the first thing Ubolevich had to do was how to leave the enemy behind. There may be comrades who are going to say it again, isn't it simple? It would be nice to send a surprise army to cut off Guderian's retreat directly, and judging from the map, this retreat can also be cut off. For example, Zhukov's Fifth Army can completely surprise Konotop, as long as the city is occupied, will the Germans still be able to run?

It seems to make sense, but the question is not so simple, it is true that the retreat from Kursk to Chernihiv by railway really has to pass through Konotop, and it is important to recapture the city. But this is just a railway, as mentioned earlier, Guderian's original plan to attack Kursk was to take Shostka, there is no railway between there and Kursk!

Guderian couldn't attack from Southka, could he not have escaped from Southka? In fact, after conquering Ligov, Guderian deliberately transferred a division and ordered it to "attack" to the west, and had already opened a communication line on the Seim River, and when it was time to retreat, Konotop could not go, and he could also let the 47th Panzer Army advance to the Southka attack.

There may be comrades who are still unconvinced and will say that there is not still Rokossovsky's 6th Army in the north-western direction of Southka? Aren't they rushing to the battlefield from that direction? The Sixth Army is responsible for plugging the opening of Southka, won't it be able to live?

Yes, Ubolevich's order is like this, but who can guarantee that the Sixth Army will definitely be able to block Guderian's cluster? After all, this cluster is still very strong, and after leaving one army break, it can also ensure that the remaining four armies will carry out assaults, and there may even be two armored armies, which is less stressful?

Moreover, the Germans would watch Guderian besieged without rescuing, not to mention too much, it was possible to grit their teeth and gather an army group to support. When the time comes, how long will the 6th Army be able to withstand the enemy?

Therefore, at the first operational meeting in the headquarters, Ubolevich said: "We must have not only courage but also wisdom in this battle" (to be continued............

PS: Bow and thank you to the parasite Schistosomiasis, Wind and Rain, Riding King, hzwangdd and Comrade Juventus!