Chapter 461 The Truth
On the way back to the Crimea after Shulka finished his mission in the Caucasus, a message reached the Crimean Front Command.
"Comrade Mechelis!" Gregory walked into the headquarters and whispered a few words in Mechelis' ear.
Gregory was one of Mehlis's staff.
If Alexei is the think tank of Mechelis’ march and battle, then this Gregory is Mechelis’ eyes and ears.
Some people describe Gregory as Mehlis’ hound, which means that nothing can escape his keen sense of smell, which is one of the reasons why Mehlis can become the “King of Small Reports”.
After listening for a while, Mechlis suddenly raised his head and asked in a deep voice, "Don't let this news spread!"
"Of course, Comrade Mechlis!" Gregory replied: "I already did that. But...we couldn't stop the Germans!"
Mechelis was silent for a while, then nodded and waved Gregory down.
Needless to say what made Mechelis so flustered.
Of course it was Manstein who let the truth out.
There are some things that are not allowed to be spoken by Soviet soldiers or even officers, because it comes from the mouth, but if it is said by the Germans, the enemies of the Soviet army... it is very convenient. Even Mehli Si also took helpless.
Because like Gregory said, they could order the Soviets, but they couldn't stop the Germans.
Manstein started the propaganda machine, such as shouting loudspeakers on the front line, and spreading leaflets with cannons and planes.
"We salute the 'Breakout Hero'! We know he's the one who really beat us. Mehlis? Can you believe this? Do you think he can actually command a fight?"
"Russian friends, we don't understand what's going on! Your papers say Mehlis... No, that idiot, that 'King of Small Reports' stole the fruits of other people's victories!"
"Is this how you treat heroes? The 'breakout hero' fought on the front line. He risked his life and made great contributions to your army, your country, and your people! Such a hero, in our The country will be respected, but what about you? He is not worth mentioning, the newspapers don't say a word about his record...Can you bear this? Is it worth fighting for? Worth your life' Put a medal on the chest of the King of Small Reports?"
"All they know is this: order you to fight, order you to charge, and take the credit for yourself! It's a disgrace, we will never admit defeat at the hands of Mechlis, never !"
…
As Gregory hadn't expected, Moscow soon got news of this.
Stalin immediately called the Crimean Front Army Command.
"Is the news true?" Stalin asked seriously.
"No, of course not true, Comrade Stalin!" Mechelis replied: "This is obviously a means for the enemy to divide us. They hope to provoke our internal contradictions!"
"You also know about internal conflicts? Mehlis!" Stalin said before hanging up the phone.
In fact, Stalin knew the news was true from the moment he heard the news, because he knew Mehlis and knew that he was by no means the kind of person who could draw up such a clever battle plan.
Not long ago, he was surprised how Mechlis seemed to be a different person.
Now, everything is clear.
However, out of trust in Mehlis...or it should be said that it was a subjective employment bias, Stalin called Zhukov to inquire about this matter.
"Do you know anything about this 'breakout hero'?" Stalin asked.
"Yes, of course, Comrade Stalin!" Zhukov replied: "He is an outstanding Soviet soldier, brave, determined, optimistic, and what is even more rare is his extraordinary wisdom!"
Stalin was silent for a while, the pompous Zhukov had never had such a high opinion of anyone.
"So, you think the enemy is telling the truth?"
"No, Comrade Stalin!" Zhukov cleared his throat and replied: "I, I am not very clear about this matter. You know, I am directing the battle against the enemy's Central Army!"
Although this answer sounds negative on the surface, everyone knows that it is actually affirmative. Zhukov just didn’t want to offend Mehlis.
Shulka on the other side, he got the telegram from Katukov while he was on board.
Shulka carried a radio with him. Originally, for the Soviet Army, battalion-level combat units might not be equipped with a radio, but because Shulka's mission was to **** the "Tiger", it was necessary to have a radio to communicate with the headquarters. of.
"Shulka, they know!" Katukov said: "The Germans are everywhere saying that you defeated them and not Mekhlis!"
Seeing this telegram, Shulka couldn't help being taken aback.
I have to say that Manstein's move is very clever, because it not only picks up the relationship between Mechlis and Shulka, but also picks up the relationship between the grassroots officers and soldiers of the Soviet army and the high-level.
Before this, because of Mehlis’ method of blocking news, as well as the denial and blocking of news by the informed forces, especially Shulka himself, these things have never been spread.
If anyone knows, it is the soldiers of the 1st Guards Tank Brigade and the Naval Infantry Brigade who can guess, but even so, on the one hand, they guess after all, on the other hand they dare not say or discuss at all.
So the other troops don't know anything.
But now, the Germans have spread the truth to a large area in a short period of time... Although the Germans have no evidence, it can even be said that the Germans have ulterior motives to frame and alienate.
The problem is, almost everyone knows how good "Breakout Hero" is, and Mehlis is an idiot.
So as long as you are not stupid, it is easy to know that this is true.
That is, Mehlis has been stealing the credit for "Breakout Heroes."
This might not be a big deal in normal times, because Mehlis does it all the time.
But it was a time of war.
What Mechlis did was just like what the Germans said. On the one hand, he used shooting to force the soldiers to make unnecessary charges and asked every soldier to kill the enemy bravely, but on the other hand, he hid behind and shamelessly plagiarized what the heroes exchanged for their lives. meritorious service.
This will make all officers and soldiers consider whether it is worth continuing to fight like this.
That is, it will deal a heavy blow to the morale of the Soviet army at this critical moment.
This also makes Shulka difficult... The "cooperation" between him and Mechlis seems to be over here.
(end of this chapter)
