USSR 1941

  Chapter 100 Closed

  It is normal for people to have such doubts.

  Because this is Ukraine, they have a dubious attitude towards Moscow.

   But that's exactly what Shulka wanted... If it can create a certain level of panic among the population, German spies will be more confident that the Soviets will withdraw their troops from Kyiv.

   What Shulka didn't know was that the first resistance to this plan came from his own people instead of the enemy...but this seems to be the norm of the Soviet army.

   First, the commander-in-chief of the Southwest Front made a phone call to the Southwest Front Army Command.

   "What's going on?" Timoshenko asked: "I heard that you have withdrawn your tank units to the east bank? You have to know one thing, Comrade Kirponos, Moscow's order is to stand firm!"

   "I know, Comrade Marshal!" Admiral Kirponos replied: "Please believe that this is just a transfer, not a retreat!"

   "Transfer?" Timoshenko said: "You mean that Kyiv does not need the garrison of tank troops?"

  Admiral Kirponos’ excuse cannot be fooled, of course. Timoshenko is a veteran from World War I. He also participated in the Soviet-Finnish War not long ago. Of course, it is not so easy to fool.

   "I will report to you in detail later, Comrade Marshal!" Admiral Kirponos replied.

   Then Admiral Kirponos began to feel embarrassed.

  From the perspective of confidentiality, he should not tell anyone about this plan, because the more people who know, the greater the risk of leakage.

   But the problem is that if you don't report to your superiors, this is an act of blatant disobedience to orders. Admiral Kirponos is worried that he will be dismissed by Moscow if the plan fails to be implemented.

   As a last resort, General Kirponos could only fly to Klinzi to meet Timoshenko himself. General Kirponos believed that this was related to the fate of the Southwest Front Army, and he dared not take any risks.

(Note: At this time, Timoshenko held several positions. He was originally the commander of the Western Theater. After Pavlov, the commander of the Western Front, was dismissed, Timoshenko also served as the commander of the Western Front. Budyonny, the commander of the Southwest Theater, was dismissed Later, Timoshenko also served as the commander of the Southwest Theater, it can be said that the entire war in Ukraine was commanded by Timoshenko)

   After Admiral Kirponos talked with Marshal Timoshenko, Timoshenko was also shocked by this bold plan.

   "Comrade Kirponos, do you know what this means?" Marshal Timoshenko asked: "If the German 1st Armored Group didn't cross the river as you guessed..."

   "I know, Comrade Marshal!" Admiral Kirponos replied: "All our efforts are in vain. But, we still have at least one chance now, don't we? Otherwise we can only die in Kyiv!"

   Timoshenko nodded. He was also one of the many generals who advocated the withdrawal of the Southwestern Front Army from Kyiv. He even flew to Moscow to interview Stalin himself for this matter, and it was after Budyonny was dismissed.

   But there is no doubt that he failed to persuade Stalin to change his mind.

   "I don't want Moscow to know about this, Comrade Marshal!" Admiral Kirponos said: "This will bring unpredictable risks to this plan, I mean, if the intelligence leaks..."

   Timoshenko hesitated, then replied: "You don't need to report anything to Moscow, Comrade Kirponos, because you are only deceiving the Germans, your troops did not actually leave Kyiv, so..."

   Needless to say the next thing, Admiral Kirponos couldn't help but breathe a sigh of relief.

  At this time, Shulka's car was passing through the downtown area, and the speed of the car slowed down a bit due to the congestion of civilian vehicles.

  Suddenly, Shulka caught a glimpse of a familiar figure on the side of the road...it was Agata, wearing a military uniform and holding an umbrella, looking anxiously and expectantly at the military vehicles passing by in front of him.

   "Agata!" Shulka leaned out and waved.

   Seeing Shulka, Agata was both surprised and happy. She ran after the car for a while, waving and shouting, "Where are you going, Shulka?"

   "I don't know!" was all Shulka could answer.

   "I will be in Kyiv!" Agata didn't know whether it was because of excitement or because of running, a little out of breath and replied: "The 92nd Medical Corps!"

   "We are now the 333rd regiment!" Shulka responded.

   "I know!" Agata replied: "I heard..."

Shulka couldn't hear the next words, because Agata was blocked by a car, and it took a while for Shulka to see her figure flashing from the other side of the car, but they were too far apart, Only a vague figure could be seen in the rain curtain, and she could be vaguely seen waving in this direction continuously.

   "She's a good girl!" said the actor, "and seems to be in love with our runaway hero!"

   Immediately there was a burst of booing from the soldiers in the carriage.

   "Comrade platoon leader!" Leon Lev shouted, "Can you tell us about this Agata story?"

   Half the platoon was recruits, and they didn't know about Agata.

   "She's a master!" The actor immediately betrayed Shulka: "Comrade platoon leader and she met in the Brest Fortress!"

   "Wow!" There was another burst of booing, and then a lively discussion started:

   "She's beautiful, and she's an officer!"

   "Shouldn't our comrade platoon leader salute her?"

   "I don't know if I need to report to her to pursue her?"

   "Idiot, she will order Comrade Platoon Leader to pursue her!"

  …

  Don’t think that all the soldiers are straight men of steel, because they seldom contact women and live in extreme danger and monotony, so they always find little things to gossip about.

   Shulka didn't say anything, he was only worried about one thing: Agata was in Kyiv, and it was foreseeable that she would not leave for some time in the future. Well, if that plan fails... Shulka can't imagine what she's going to face.

   Maybe, like when Brest broke out, leaving a bullet or a grenade for himself.

  This may be the sorrow of war. You can't know whether the meeting just now is the last time, especially in the Soviet Union at this time.

  Unknowingly, the convoy has passed the Kyiv Bridge and is on the road again.

After driving staggeringly on the road for more than an hour, I stopped at a place where no one was around, and then turned into a warehouse by the side of the road... After cars drove in, the iron gate of the warehouse was closed from the outside When I got up, the surroundings were immediately plunged into darkness.

   "What's going on?" The thief felt something was wrong.

   "Didn't you say retreat?" The actor said, "Why lock us up like prisoners?"

  The veteran seemed to have noticed something, but he didn't say much.

  The order came down quickly: "Rest in place, keep quiet!"

   Only then did Shulka know that the secret measure of General Kirponos was to lock up all the soldiers of the 9th Army and isolate them from the world.

  (end of this chapter)