Chapter 413: withdrawal

Chapter 413 Retreat

Needless to say what the result is.

The defense of the Soviet army's frontline collapsed rapidly, and the speed of the collapse could even be described as "vulnerable". The German army's advancing troops could not even keep up with the speed of the Soviet army's escape.

In just one day, the German army occupied Lake Kayash, an important place in central Kerch.

Therefore, there is no need to talk about landing reinforcements at all. The Kerch port is crowded with officers and soldiers who have retreated from the front line. It is only 4.5 kilometers, and the fishing boats can do this. The difficulty is that the wind and waves are strong and the climate is cold. What they need to worry about is that they will freeze to death.

Mechlis immediately reported this situation to Stalin... This is his specialty, making small reports.

"Yes, Comrade Stalin!" Mehlis said, "Those cowards, they are retreating to the Caucasus! No, it should be said to be fleeing, shamelessly fleeing to the Caucasus without orders, which caused the whole campaign to suffer. With such dire consequences, we didn't even have time to land and rescue them from the Germans! In fact, the port was blocked and we couldn't land at all!"

Another purpose of Mehlis saying these words is to let Stalin know that all this is not his fault if this battle cannot be fought.

On the other hand, if he saves this battle again, it can fully explain how wise and powerful he is, so it can be said to kill two birds with one stone.

So, compared to the outcome of the battle and the casualties of frontline officers and soldiers, or even the fate of the entire Soviet Union... Mechlis is more concerned about this.

After receiving this information, Stalin immediately sent a telegram to Kulik: "In any case, at all costs, Kerch must be defended, and no step back!"

"Yes, Comrade Stalin!" Kulik called back: "Resolutely do not take a step back!"

But Marshal Kulik did not have any actual actions or plans. He simply conveyed this order: "Order everyone, don't take a step back, otherwise they will be punished!"

If Marshal Kulik did something, it was to form a supervisory team, point the black muzzles at the front-line soldiers behind the front-line troops, and shoot them to death as long as anyone retreated.

But this method obviously has no effect.

It is more to get two results:

One is that the frontline officers and soldiers found that they had no way out, so they simply chose to surrender.

The other is that the front-line officers and soldiers were mercilessly shot by the supervising team when they were retreating, and they attacked the supervising team in a rage... How could the supervising team be the opponent of the front-line combat troops, so no one dared to do the work of the supervising team up.

Kulik saw that the situation was not good, and then flew back to the Caucasus without Stalin's consent, leaving the mess on the Kerch Peninsula and abandoning it.

If Stalin's order No. 270 is followed, Kulik's behavior will undoubtedly be sent to a military court and then shot. But his punishment was only reduced from marshal to major general, and he was still in second-line command until after the war.

Mechelis doesn't look nervous, even though the Crimean Front is stuck in the port.

He just called Shulka to the headquarters, then raised his glass and said to Shulka leisurely: "I'm surprised, Comrade Shulka! Everything is exactly what you said, exactly...I mean , if I hadn't heard it with my own ears, I couldn't believe that someone could have accurately predicted the development of this battle a day ago!"

"Please accept my respect, Comrade Shulka!" Alexei's eyes were full of admiration: "I didn't realize how ignorant I was until now, you are right, I should have asked you for advice to reinforce the Crimea problem!"

"It's not too late, is it?" Mehlis asked Shulka.

"I think it's too late now, Comrade Mekhlis!" Shulka replied: "The Crimea is like an iron plate now, and we can hardly rush to reinforcements!"

"No, you will definitely figure out a way!" Mechelis laughed: "I believe that!"

"We..." Alexei said hesitantly, "We seem to have only one choice, and that is to land from Sevastopol!"

"That can only be a small-scale landing!" Shulka replied: "And it will not solve the problem, unless we can break through the German defense line, which is very difficult to do!"

"Can't the 1st Guards Tank Brigade do it too?" Mechlis raised his eyebrows at Shulka. He seemed to believe in the combat effectiveness of the 1st Guards Tank Brigade, just as he believed in Shurka.

"If it's just the German defense line, I believe it can!" Shulka replied: "But what we have to face is the German aircraft... As far as I know, Sevastopol wanted to expose the enemy's attack. Under the bombardment of the fort's artillery, they cut down all the obstacles and trees around the fort, and the area was left empty."

Mechelis turned his gaze to Alexei, who nodded: "Yes, Comrade Mechelis, what Comrade Shulka said is the truth!"

"That's right for the defense of Sevastopol!" continued Shulka, "but it's also good for the German defense, because as soon as our tanks move out of the fortress, they are immediately exposed to their sight. So, a few kilometers away, before our tanks approached the enemy's line of defense, and before the artillery saw the enemy, the German planes would fly over our heads and destroy us one after another!"

"Then make it impossible for their planes to do that!" Mehlis said: "We have an air force too!"

Shulka cast helpless eyes on Alexei, who explained to Mahlis: "Comrade Mahlis, although we do have an air force, we are temporarily unable to compete with the Germans for air supremacy. This is mainly It is because all our preparations are in the direction of Moscow, including hangar facilities, maintenance parts, etc., and it will take time to transfer them all to the Caucasus region. In addition, the performance of our fighters is not as good as that of the Germans, so we are usually at a disadvantage!"

Mechlis looked at Alexei, then at Shulka, spread his hands and said, "Then think of a way, you are staff officers, your job is to come up with ways to defeat the enemy, we can't Let the Germans take the Crimea, where our territory belongs to the Soviet Union!"

Mehlis certainly didn’t know how important the Crimea’s strategic position was, so that’s all he could say.

"There may be a way!" After thinking for a while, Shulka said, "But it's dangerous!"

(end of this chapter)