Burning Moscow

Khrulev and I were in Yumashev’s office. After a sumptuous dinner, we convened an impromptu military meeting. In addition to the three of us, there were the commander of the base, the two deputy commanders of the Pacific Fleet, the military commissioner, the chief of staff, the secretary of logistics, and the commander and political commissar of the Fifth Fleet.

Everyone who came to the military meeting obviously knew Khrulev. They walked in the door, first glanced at Yumashev, and then walked to Khrulev's side and greeted him kindly. , And recount the past briefly. Although everyone saw me standing next to Khrulev with a surprised expression on their faces, no one took the initiative to greet me.

Seeing this, Khrulev greeted them quickly: "I'll show you all. This General Oshanina has just returned from the United States with me."

Except for the commander of the base and a deputy commander of the fleet who were lieutenant generals, the commanders who came to the meeting were all major generals. After listening to Khrulev’s introduction, they raised their hands to salute me in a courteous manner. Said, "Hello, Comrade General."

When Yumashev saw that people were almost there, he greeted everyone: "Sit down to your place."

Since Khrulev has the highest rank here, he was seated in the middle of the table. Yumashev, the fleet commander, sat on his left hand, and I sat on his right hand. side.

After everyone was seated, the meeting did not start immediately. Instead, they waited for the beautiful female sailors to put teacups with silver cup holders and a pitiful saucer of sugar cubes in front of everyone.

As soon as she left, Yumashev, who was sitting across from me, sat upright and said to his colleagues and subordinates: "Comrades, we are summoning everyone here today. One is to welcome Heru who has returned from the United States. General Liao Fu. Secondly, I want to talk to him about how to provide us with enough supplies."

Long before the meeting began, Khrulev and Yumashev had communicated on the supply of the Pacific Fleet, because the two had great differences in the number of supplies. So even though the two were sitting very close, they were still trying hard to avoid meeting their eyes.

After Yumashev's opening remarks are over. Khrulev reluctantly said: "Comrades, Commander Yumashev and I discussed the supply of the Pacific Fleet before the meeting. I just want to ask you, what do you want? How many supplies can you be satisfied?" At the end, he unconsciously raised his voice to express his dissatisfaction.

A silence followed.

I turned my gaze to Yumashev, who was stirring the cup of tea in front of him vigorously with his head down. The long little teaspoon clinked to the glass.

Seeing that everyone here bowed their heads and did not speak, Khrulev gave Yumashev a stern look, and then said in a calm tone: "Comrades of the Navy, you have any thoughts, please tell me the truth. Come out. If you don’t say anything, how do I know what is going on."

With his encouragement, the lieutenant general who was sitting on Yumashev's right hand stood up. I looked up at him and remembered that this tall general with a little black skin was the deputy commander of the fleet, called Frolov.

After he stood up. He said sincerely to Khrulev: "Comrade Minister of the Logistics Department, I think that the quantity of materials we need to be supplied to the superior is accurate, and there is no situation that exceeds the standard."

Khrulev heard him finish. I couldn't help but sneered twice, tapped his fingers lightly on the desktop and said: "Comrade Deputy Commander, I want to ask you whether you are the Navy or the Army. There are 100,000 Moxins in the list of materials reported this time. Nagant rifles, 30,000 sand submachine guns, 10,000 light and heavy machine guns, 2,000 anti-tank guns. And millions of grenades."

Having said that, he took a sip from his teacup. Then he said: "There are also about two thousand light infantry mortars, ranging from 37 mm to 82 mm. At the same time. At least one hundred T-34 tanks are also required. When I first saw this list, I was taken aback. I thought it was about preparing to arm an army group. Who knew it was the supply equipment that your Pacific Fleet applied to me. Let’s talk about it, General Frolov, what is going on? ?"

"Comrade Minister, please allow me to say a few words." The military commissar of the Pacific Fleet stood up from his seat, helped the round eyes on the bridge of his nose, and said kindly: "Since the outbreak of the Great Patriotic War, we The Pacific Fleet successively transferred 140,000 officers and soldiers into various naval infantry brigades to participate in the defense of Moscow, the battle of Stalingrad, the battle of Caucasus, the defense of Sevastopol, the defense of Leningrad and the Arctic. ."

Hearing this glorious deed of the Pacific Fleet, Khrulev showed a smile on his face. He nodded at the other party and said softly: "Go on."

After obtaining Khrulev’s permission, the military commissioner went on to say: “After so many troops have been transferred away, we have recruited and trained locally so that the newly formed troops can use those transferred to the west. The designation of the troops, and they are stationed in the defense zones of the original troops. But because these troops have long been removed from our establishment, they cannot get any logistical supplies, not only without weapons and ammunition, but also without food and uniforms. But everyone is still actively preparing for the war with full enthusiasm to prevent a sudden attack by the Japanese nation against us."

The military commissioner’s remarks reminded me of the 355th Battalion that rescued us. Although the soldiers were dressed in neat navy uniforms, the weapons in their hands were very old-fashioned, almost all of the rifles equipped by the Russian army during World War I. . Thinking about it this way, I feel that Yumashev's request is not excessive.

I turned my face to look at Khrulev, wanting to see how he reacted to it. He was frowning, staring at the tea cup in front of him, tapping his fingers on the table non-stop.

Khrulev did not speak, and no one dared to speak. Even the deputy commander and military commissar who had finished speaking returned to their positions, looking nervously at Khrulev, waiting to see what he had to say.

Seeing that the room fell into silence again, I coughed slightly, and then whispered to Khrulev: "Comrade Minister, I think before discussing whether the materials requested by the Pacific Fleet are reasonable. You can ask you Commander Masev told us about the fleet."

My words brightened the eyes of the meditating Khrulev. He turned to look at Yumashev and said politely: "General Yumashev. Tell us about the current situation of the Pacific Fleet."

Yumashev, who had been frowned upon hearing Khrulev's words, immediately raised his head. After giving me a glimpse of gratitude, he stood up and introduced Khrulev to the situation of the fleet: "The Pacific Fleet consists of two surface fleets, four submarine detachments, one torpedo boat detachment, several independent fleets, and some aviation troops. Troops and regiments, coastal defense forces and weapons, communications service department, rear service department, etc. After the outbreak of the Great Patriotic War, the fleet has always maintained its standing and unremitting. In order to deal with the imperialist Japanese invasion, the fleet coordinated the army to strengthen the coast. Landing defense of the zone."

"I know all this." Khrulev waited for him to finish, and said slowly: "But what does all this have to do with your request for so many supplies? By the way, what your military commissar just said is very important. After I go back and study with comrades in relevant departments, I will supplement your new troops with necessary weapons and equipment as appropriate."

"Great, this is really great. Thank you. Thank you, Comrade Minister!" Yumashev was so excited when he heard Khrulev agree to his request. after awhile. He asked tentatively: "In addition to the Marine Corps supplies, what about the ships, I don't know when the ships aided by the American allies can be added to our fleet?"

"What, do you still want ships aided by the United States?" Khrulev's original smiling face immediately became serious again. He said grimly: "You don't know our shipbuilding base. Almost all The territory of Ukraine is now occupied by the Germans. Therefore, our ships can only be repaired and repaired. The ships aided by the United States should be replenished to the Baltic Fleet with the greatest loss. And you. It is estimated that you will have to wait for next year to get some Minesweeper or landing craft."

"Minesweepers and landing craft?!" Yumashev heard Khrulev say. He couldn't help feeling a little anxious. He said emotionally: "What do we want these ships to do? You know that the Germans are still far away from us. We can't bypass the Arctic Ocean and land in Germany, right?"

"Comrade Commander, please don't get excited." I saw Khrulev being irritated and rushed ahead of him, and said to Yumashev: "Don't underestimate the minesweeper and the landing ship. These are all new-style ships of the US military. The reason why they are equipped with your Pacific Fleet is not for you to land in Germany, but to land on certain islands of the imperialist Japanese kingdom someday in the future."

Khrulev heard me say this, although he looked surprised, but he did not speak, but looked at me quietly. Although Yumashev also wanted to know the specific situation, he might not be able to ask, so he winked at the deputy commander of the fleet, Frolov.

Frolov, who knows his mind, smiled and asked me: "General Oshanina, I want to ask you, where did you hear about the military operations that will land in the country in the future. Is the source of the information reliable?"

"Of course it is reliable, General Frolov." To his question, I politely answered: "The Japanese, Germany, and Italy belong to the axis of evil. After we defeat Germany and Italy, we have to deal with it next. This is the Japanese country. In addition to destroying the enemy’s maritime transport, the mission of your Pacific Fleet is to assist our army in landing on the territory of the Japanese country."

Although my words were brief and not detailed enough, these naval commanders could understand everything I was saying, and there was a joyful expression on everyone's face.

The atmosphere in the room became relatively relaxed with my speech. Khrulev turned his head and asked Yumashev: "Do you have any difficulties?"

"Yes, Comrade Minister." Although Yumashev and Khrulev are old friends, they did not call each other’s real name and father’s name in their dialogue at the moment. "The vast majority of ships in our fleet, so The stored fuel is only enough for half a month, and the base number of artillery shells is only one-third of the regulations. Once the Japanese country launches a surprise attack on us, with our existing strategic reserves, it will not last a few days."

After listening to Yumashev's words, I couldn't help being frightened into a cold sweat. I just saw the densely packed warships in the harbor, and I was still thinking to myself that if the Japanese fleet invaded northward, Yumashev would surely be beaten up by Yumashev. But at this moment, I knew I took it for granted. The Soviet Pacific Fleet was just a seemingly powerful giant, but in fact it was very weak. As long as the little dwarf of Waguo stabbed it lightly, it would crash down. The entire battle process is estimated to be easier than the Japanese attack on Pearl Harbor in the United States.

"Could it be so long that you haven't received supplies from the arsenal in the Far East?" Khrulev was also frightened by the status quo of the Pacific Fleet. He asked incomprehensibly: "Know that it is two hundred kilometers to the west of you. There are many arsenals that produce naval gun ammunition?"

"You are right~www.NovelMTL.com~ Comrade Minister." Yumashev said with a weeping face: "Although the arsenal produces guns, artillery, mortars, mines, shells, bullets, etc., the whole The Western Front is constantly being consumed, and these produced munitions must be given priority to supply them. And our Pacific Fleet, like the Far Eastern Front, is a strategic reserve. As long as the war between us and the Japanese does not break out, then yes. Our supplies are always very limited."

"I understand, General Yumashev." Khrulev listened to Yumashev's words and said without raising his voice: "I really don't understand the situation you reacted to. After all, our current attention They are all concentrated on the Western Front. Hitler’s lunatic is the first target we have to deal with, so the attention to the Far East is not so high. For this, I apologize to you and the comrades of the Pacific Fleet for the mistakes in my work. "Speaking, he stood up and bowed deeply at the commanders present. The commanders present did not dare to continue sitting in their positions, and stood up one after another, straightening their bodies and paying attention to Khrulev.

After Khrulev bowed, he held the edge of the table with his hand, and said to everyone with a serious expression: "Comrades in command of the Pacific Fleet, please forgive me for my negligence in my previous work. After I go back this time, I will definitely take this In this case, explain to the Supreme Command and ask them to adjust the distribution plan of U.S. aid materials. While giving priority to meeting the frontline needs, it will also provide you with sufficient military supplies." (To be continued.)