I Became Stalin?!

Chapter 84

If this were the actual history, the Soviet army would have been in a miserable situation by early 1942. 

They would have been barely holding on, trying to inflict as much damage as possible on the German army, while launching reckless offensives due to the optimism of the command.

But the Soviet army now was different. 

They were using their remaining capacity to gradually improve their quality.

In the actual history, there were units that had established their reputation and showed high combat efficiency, but they received the rare title of ‘Guards’ and were thrown into the offensive, where they were endlessly exhausted. 

The veterans who died were replaced by recruits who had just picked up a gun for the first time, and they were slaughtered by the German army.

But now things had changed.

“We must save the lives of our soldiers for the future! They are the precious sons and daughters of our people, and the workers who will create the new proletarian state’s tomorrow!”

I did not want to leave 20 million Soviets to die in a toxic war.

Minimize casualties as much as possible. Under this principle, the mechanization and elite training of the troops were carried out.

The elite Guards divisions that had suffered heavy losses and needed reorganization were split into regimental and brigade-level units and assigned as regular troops for newly formed units. 

They were promoted by one or two ranks and given the task of leading and training new recruits. 

To prevent them from being brutally massacred.

There were enough reserve units deployed on the front line, and there was still a shortage of new rifles and artillery to arm the frontline units. 

Therefore, new recruits had to undergo rigorous combat training under the supervision of veteran soldiers from the Guards divisions until enough supplies were delivered.

“One drop of sweat today will reduce one drop of blood in battle! One! Two! One! Two!”

“Fuck… I think I’ve sweated more today than I have blood…”

The instructor, who was similar in any country, pointed out the soldiers who were distracted with a loud voice. 

The soldiers who were exhausted from endless training had to endure harsh punishment after grumbling with their last strength.

“Do you still have energy to chat over there? Push-ups 100 times more! One for the people, two for hooray! One!”

“People!”

“Two!”

“Hooray!”

There were those who complained, but they were much better off than those who were dragged into battle without any preparation and died. 

The dead could not even complain.

Also, the Soviet army introduced a new concept for this era.

“First platoon! First platoon!”

Tatang, tatatatang, bang!

The subordinate platoons started to lose radio contact one by one. 

The soldiers hid behind armored vehicles as if they were taking cover, while looking around nervously. 

And an officer who was writing something on a clipboard with a white armband on his arm shouted in a clear voice.

“Command armored car, destroyed!”

“Hmm… That’s too bad.”

An officer who was riding in the battalion commander’s command armored car smiled slightly and said in awkward Russian. 

The battalion commander shook his head vigorously.

They used to be enemies, but their experience and skills were worth learning from.

“Indeed, the experience of German officers is remarkable. Our soldiers are no match for them. If we had equal weapons…”

“Haha… You flatter me.”

His unit was one of the first opponents of the newly created ‘Mock Combat Training Unit’.

“To fight against fascist armies, we need to study their tactics and doctrines, and also experiment with our own tactics! While shedding as little blood as possible from our soldiers!”

The chief of staff gave such an order. 

So the rear command borrowed some German prisoners who were willing to cooperate and formed a mock combat training unit with Soviet elite troops.

The so-called ‘Professional Counter-Army’ was created.

This professional counter-army was commanded strictly by German style by German officers who had been captured, and showed high combat power by combining with the basic capabilities of Soviet elite troops. 

They fought against training units that were also armed with considerable combat experience, but eventually defeated them.

“It’s okay. It’s good to win, but even if not, we have obtained valuable data from this training.”

“But it’s still regrettable.”

“Hahaha! Would you believe me if I told you that not a single unit has ever won against the professional counter-army? Anyway, you did well enough.”

The combat results of the counter-army and Soviet units were thoroughly recorded and sent to the headquarters for analysis.

Twelve units in total. 

Two brigade-level, four regimental-level, six battalion-level or lower units formed the counter-army units and repeated realistic training every day. 

The units that suffered losses after combat and needed to replenish and reorganize their formations were sent to the rear and participated as opponents of the counter-army.

“Damn it, I think I finally understand how they fight! Next time I’ll show them who’s the boss.”

“Hahaha! That’s a very good determination.”

The Soviet officers, who were proud of themselves as the future of the army, were beaten up by the German elite officers and learned their tactics and how to counter them.

***

“The German sub-unit infantry doctrine can be thought of as being centered around the machine gun.”

A German officer with his arm bandaged was writing on the blackboard in front of the Soviet officers about the German infantry tactics. 

Dozens of Soviet officers listened to his lecture and took notes on their notebooks.

“The nine-man squad by full strength is numbered as squad leader, 1, 2… The rifle squad has one MG34 light machine gun and one semi-automatic rifle and one submachine gun each. The rest of the squad members are armed with Kar…”

As he lectured, a Soviet soldier next to him showed each weapon to the Soviet officers who were listening.

The German rifle squad combat method and doctrine were detailed, and the basic manual for how to deal with each situation was also listed one by one. 

The Soviet officers sometimes raised their hands to ask questions, and sometimes whispered to each other.

“How do you use mortars? What size and how?”

“Good question. The mortar company…”

The German officer finished the Q&A and returned to his seat in the corner of the classroom. 

He had promised to cooperate with the Soviet army in exchange for his subordinates receiving the best treatment possible.

Rather than thinking that he was teaching how to kill more and more efficiently his compatriots who had become enemies, he seemed to have more hatred for the regime and superiors who had thrown him and his subordinates away.

Next, a Soviet colonel with thick glasses came out and started handing out thick booklets to each row.

“This booklet contains data on the causes of death of our allies for each month of last year. Please look at the major battles and death statistics for each of the northern, central, and southern fronts.”

The statistics and analysis of the causes of death continued. 

Machine guns, mortars, and other weapons were listed as the main causes, and in urban warfare, there were many deaths caused by grenades. 

Reading the numbers one by one, the Soviet officers discussed how to organize and arm their troops.

“Then it seems that we should equip the troops deployed in urban warfare with grenade launchers…”

“Of course. But in this case, the weight that each soldier has to carry may be too high. In my experience, it was quite difficult to equip other weapons when carrying a grenade launcher.”

These officers who were listening to the lecture and debating were those who had been selected for their bravery and leadership skills on the front lines.

There were elite colonels from the Frunze Military Academy, and young lieutenants who had been promoted from soldiers in a short time. But they were listening to each other’s opinions as equals at this moment.

“Who would know better than you how to deal with the German machine gun teams? Hahaha!”

The colonel, who had been a distant superior, agreed with the lieutenant’s opinion and laughed heartily. 

He admitted that experience was better than rank. Sometimes, they also asked questions to the German officers who were sitting in the corner of the classroom.

“What was the most troublesome situation for you? For example, in infantry combat.”

The officers from the prisoners of war answered their questions in awkward but calm Russian.

“Machine guns can certainly project high firepower. According to our statistics, they have the power equivalent to 30 Kar98 rifles. But if the machine gunner is constantly under fire, the machine gun cannot perform its function of projecting concentrated firepower.”

“What is your evaluation of the Soviet automatic rifles…?”

“Automatic rifles were a very headache-inducing opponent. The Soviet troops we encountered in autumn and winter had much higher infantry firepower due to their high proportion of automatic weapons. This was even after we eliminated their primary target in infantry combat, machine guns…”

The lectures and debates often lasted until dawn.

From senior officers with more than platoon leader experience to colonels. 

They had different backgrounds and experiences depending on their rank, branch, and unit. 

They had been selected from various places to collect and share their experiences through these debates.

They also invited German officers from prisoners of war to ask questions and listen to lectures, and sometimes senior generals from the army headquarters came to observe the lectures. 

They also had assignments to submit reports summarizing the contents of the debates every two weeks.

About a dozen groups alternated between free debate and assigned debate, and sometimes several groups gathered together to share and discuss what they had discussed.

“Inside the classroom, think carefully about even the most trivial opinions. Also, while in a real situation, someone who opposes for the sake of opposition may be a reactionary, in a debate situation, there must be someone who can find and point out problems by any means.”

The chief of staff who ordered this program seemed to have a deep interest in what kind of results would come out.

He personally visited the classroom and whispered about what kind of debate was a good debate. 

The officers nodded their heads.

Elite officers and officers from soldiers had different perspectives, and listening to each other’s opinions helped broaden their horizons and expand their thinking. 

There were quite a few cases where a casual remark contained deep insights.

The lights in the lecture hall did not go out until dawn. 

They had different backgrounds and experiences, but they all agreed on one thing.

“I have to do better so that one less person of the people dies.”