Seeing Zhang Zongchang standing there dancing, talking endlessly, and looking smug, Kolchak couldn't help but feel a sense of disgust in his heart. In his opinion, this Chinese man was, to put it bluntly, a scoundrel. With the backing of the Chinese government, he had transformed from a miner leader to the high position of Minister of the Interior of the Imperial Government in just a few years.
Although he is tall and tall, he is wearing a neat and gorgeous general uniform, and he can speak fluent Russian. He looks very stylish from the back, but in his bones, he still can't escape the smell of mud and ruffianism all over his body. As a nobleman Kolchak, who was born in China, hated such people so much that he didn't even bother to associate with him.
However, although he hated Zhang Zongchang in his heart, in private Kolchak did not deny that what he said was indeed a good idea. Now, instead of bringing any benefits to the empire, hundreds of thousands of former Red Army troops from the Eastward Marching Front have become a huge destabilizing factor after accepting so many soldiers. Both in terms of logistics and security, the government has already There are not many human and material resources, which is seriously insufficient. This is also the main reason why the front line is currently facing a shortage of troops and cannot provide a large amount of support.
"It is indeed a good idea!" Kolchak clapped his hands with a smile, and immediately suggested: "Since the idea was proposed by Mr. Victor, I suggest that he be responsible for this matter. After all, there are some aspects It is difficult for the government forces to intervene, so it is natural for the Ministry of Internal Affairs to intervene."
"What your Excellency the General said makes sense. It is more appropriate for the Ministry of Internal Affairs to take charge of matters like war supervision. Lord Denikin, you are the Minister of War. Do you have any other opinions on this?" Kerensky and Gall Chak, who has always been in the same group, immediately agreed knowingly, and turned his head to Denikin hypocritically to ask.
Denikin¡¯s expression was calm, nothing strange at all. Logically speaking, as Secretary of the Army, he should be the person with the most say. But from beginning to end, except for answering Catherine III's initial questions about the front line, he almost said nothing about other aspects. Even during Zhang Zongchang's statement, Denikin just sat calmly in his chair. He closed his eyes and rested in his position, like an outsider.
"I have no objection" After saying this calmly, Denikin closed his mouth and continued his wandering.
The two giants of the military nodded. Coupled with Kerensky's opinion, the others also agreed. Then Catherine III let nature take its course and officially announced that the matter would be handed over to the Ministry of Internal Affairs, with the Ministry of War assisting in the work, and at the same time notifying the frontline command of the decision.
Within two days after the meeting, the Ministry of War first stopped the reorganization work for the eastward advance of the surrender. At the same time, troops from the Ministry of Internal Affairs gradually moved into the barracks to supervise the deployment of troops to the Siberian front.
"Timoshenko, why are you still sitting here?" At the headquarters of the military camp, Tukhachevsky opened the door of the office in a hurry. I saw Timoshenko sitting in front of his desk, holding a long-extinguished pipe in his hand, lost in thought as to what he was thinking.
"Ohit's Tukhachevsky, do you have a problem with me?" Hearing the voice, he raised his head and saw that it was Tukhachevsky. Timoshenko forced a smile and asked.
"Is something wrong? How could it be okay!" Tukhachevsky hurriedly walked to the other party, stretched out his hand and pointed out the window: "They want to drag all our soldiers to the front line to be used as cannon fodder! Isn't this a big deal? Tiemu Brother Xing, as the supreme commander of this force, are you so indifferent?"
"People always die in war. Dying as a soldier on the battlefield is the most glorious thing." Timoshenko replied calmly.
"Don't tell me these boring words, this is clearly the Far East government trying to use a knife to kill people!" Tukhachevsky blushed. He slapped his hand on the table: "We made a big mistake by bringing these soldiers here, and now we have to send them to die in person. Isn't this bloodshed a naked conspiracy? Tiemu Brother Xing, where did your previous courage go? Where did your courage go? Can you just watch our comrades meaninglessly fight with their former comrades and die on the battlefield like this?"
"Tukhachevsky! Are you questioning Comrade Trotsky's original decision?" Timoshenko asked coldly.
Tukhachevsky was stunned, and quickly slowed down and said: "Of course not. I just meant"
"Nothing but!" Timoshenko waved his right hand violently, interrupting the other party's words forcefully, and said in a stern tone: "Since we have embarked on this road, there is no chance of turning back. The entire Eastward Front Army has been formed. At that time, there were a total of 450,000 troops, which had been reduced after several battles. There were more than 300,000 people who followed us to the Far East. With such a huge force here, no government would be reassured, let alone The two sides were still fighting to the death before.opponent. Tukhachevsky, if you were in your original position, what would you do if you faced such a force that surrendered to you? "
"I¡¡."
Seeing Tukhachevsky's tongue-tied expression, Timoshenko sneered and said for him: "Isolation, purge, imprisonment in a concentration camp, or facing endless labor until death Such a result should be familiar to you and me. , now it¡¯s lucky that we didn¡¯t end up like this, are you so naive that the Far East government uses us as its confidants without any reason?¡±
"Butbut" Tukhachevsky blushed and didn't know what to say for a while.
Sighing, Timoshenko shook his head: "You also know the way the Red Army fights. Now the Far East government is just making things up. Only you and I lead the soldiers to the front line, and our hands are stained with the blood of our former comrades. Only then can they completely trust us, and the same goes for the soldiers below. Emotionally, I feel as sad as you do, but from a rational point of view, this is not a path to complete relief."
Tukhachevsky stood blankly, and after a long time he sat down decadently, holding his head in his hands with a face full of pain.
Walking up to him and patting his old comrade on the shoulder, Timoshenko said softly: "Tell you something, a few hours ago I promised the Queen to serve as the commander-in-chief of the People's Liberation Army."
"The People's Liberation Army?!" Tukhachevsky looked up with doubts on his face.
"Yes, the People's Liberation Army!" Timoshenko said with a helpless smile: "This is the name given by Her Majesty the Queen herself. From now on, there will be no more Soviet Eastward March Army. We, the People's Liberation Army, were liberated from the abyss. And also shoulder the important task of liberating all Russian people from the clutches of Stalin."
"The People's Liberation Army I don't know who is liberating whom" Tukhachevsky shook his head in confusion after hearing this explanation.
"Let's make preparations. All we can do now is restrain our men and minimize casualties. As long as we get through this difficulty, everything will be fine in the future."
Tukhachevsky thought quietly for a while, and finally understood Timoshenko. As Timoshenko said, now that they have surrendered to the Far East government, they must make a choice. Compared with Stalin, Catherine III was quite benevolent. Their daily supplies of more than 300,000 people were astronomical figures, but the Far East government never deducted them in this regard, and except for necessary investigation and reorganization work , nor did they directly deprive them of the rights of senior officers.
Now, the Red Army¡¯s combat training method forces the Far East government to make a choice, so it is not an exaggeration to use their troops in this way. If we really wanted to be resentful, we could only resent Stalin and Frunze. If it weren't for them, the Far East government would not have made such a decision.
After thinking about it, Tukhachevsky felt much better and silently accepted Timoshenko's suggestion.
After sending Tukhachevsky away, Timoshenko also walked out of the office and went straight to the temporary command post set up by Zhang Zongchang in the military camp.
Over there, Timoshenko talked with Zhang Zongchang in detail for two hours. After returning to the office, he convened a meeting of military officers at all levels to make a series of arrangements for the next tasks. Thanks to Timoshenko's cooperation, the Ministry of Internal Affairs implemented the plan very smoothly. Except for some stubborn people hidden in the army who were arrested and shot during the operation, it took less than a week to complete the plan. Reinforcements with operational strength at the division and regiment levels were gradually sent to the Siberian front line. Arrangements were made by the front line headquarters and the Ministry of Internal Affairs personnel who had arrived in advance. They were then deployed in batches at the battalion and company levels to fight on the battlefield.
Since the Far East government solved the problem of the original Eastern March Army as quickly as possible, the defense line with insufficient strength was greatly alleviated. With the arrival of a large number of troops, the gap in strength between the two sides has become smaller and smaller.
By November, the casualties of the original Siberian defenders had dropped to extremely low numbers, while the PLA's casualties remained at about 30%. However, at the same time, nearly 100,000 new PLA troops who had experienced the baptism of war were reorganized behind the front lines, thus further strengthening the The military strength of the Far Eastern governments.
As for the Soviet side, Frunze¡¯s attempt to train troops through battle was also in trouble, although he achieved a lot with this tactic before the opponent could react. But by the time the Far East government brought the former Eastern March Army to confront it, the gap between the two sides had become smaller and smaller. It was no longer possible for Frunze to proactively and repeatedly launch attacks with the support of its strong troops as before. . In addition, after the first heavy snowfall in winter, the battle between the two sides gradually shifted from offensive and defensive battles to positional battles, and the entire battle situation also entered a stalemate. (To be continued)