Text Chapter 35: Disarmament in the Far East

(The second update will be released later)

When the political situation in the Soviet Union stabilized slightly, Yanayev finally had the opportunity to start surgical dismantling the equally bloated Soviet army. For him, the huge military expenditure was nothing more than another heavy burden on the Soviet Union. So there had to be massive cuts. The first one to bear the brunt is the Far East Military Region, which Yanayev believes is least necessary to maintain a large armed force.

To this end, he must hold a necessary meeting with the stubborn elements in the military department, including the commander-in-chief of the Army General Varennikov, the Minister of Defense Yazov, and the Chief of General Staff of the Soviet Armed Forces Akhromeev. , the commander-in-chief of the Far East Military Region, Victor Chechevatov, are all the targets he wants to persuade. Of course, the difficulty of convincing these old stubborns is no different from the successful launch of the Soviet N1 moon landing rocket in Baiko **.

Victor Chechevatov, who was in a complicated mood, rushed to Moscow from Khabarovsk. During the August 19 coup, the commander-in-chief of the Far East Military Region was a loyal defender on Yanayev's side, but he did not Thinking of the fact that the Far East Army was about to be disbanded shortly after the storm. How is this different from crossing a river and burning a bridge? There are not a few people who feel the same as him. Akhromeev and Yazov are both his sympathizers.

So when Yanayev stepped into the conference room, he was greeted by a group of red generals with blazing eyes and formidable awe. However, for the future development of the Soviet Union, he had to bite the bullet and become this evil person. .

"Everyone, I want to discuss one thing with you when we are here today, the issue of disarmament in the Far East." Yanayev did not say anything tactful and went straight to the point, "The years of confrontation between China and the Soviet Union have led to our hoarding of weapons in the Far East. With a large-scale military strength and no war, we have to spend a lot of manpower, material and financial resources to maintain the daily maintenance of this army, which is fatal to the Soviet economy. "

Akhromeev was about to speak when he was stopped by Yanayev. He continued, "In the eastern part of the Sino-Soviet border, the Far East Military District has 3 armies and 1 infantry corps, a total of 18 motorized infantry divisions and 1 tank. divisions and 2 airborne assault brigades, the total strength of the Soviet army in Asia is 1.27 million. , 14,300 tanks, and 4,200 aircraft. The Soviet Army has a total of 59 divisions in Asia, 45 of which are close to the Sino-Soviet border, with a total of 675,000 troops. I am curious that we need so many troops to guard against an impossible situation. Is the war really necessary?”

"It is very necessary, President Yanayev." Akhromeyev was the first to stand up and refute Yanayev's words, "The reason why the Soviet Union has a powerful force that makes Americans afraid is because we have a powerful, The invincible armed force can also warn the restless neighbors in the south that the Far East is a backyard that no one can touch.”

Yanayev raised his eyebrows and said softly, "Oh? But I read your previous report. If the Soviet army wants to launch an offensive in the eastern part of the Sino-Soviet border, it will need at least 1.2 to 1.5 million army troops, with three fronts to attack the south. The northernmost military district of the neighbor is heading towards A central assault was carried out with one front army to carry out a diversionary attack on their capital's Capital Military District. This required the mobilization of two front armies, 14 group army command systems and their directly affiliated units, and 67 army divisions from the Back Baikal and Far East Military Districts to reach four front armies of 20 indivual The size of the group army is 100 divisions. With the transportation capacity of the Soviet Siberian Railway, it will take at least 80 days for all the troops to be in place. If this is too slow, the sudden loss will be discovered, and it will be easy to be preemptively attacked by others. The Soviet inventory and transportation capacity in the Far East will be prolonged. insufficient To support it. The actual purpose of the Soviet army's heavy accumulation of troops is to "let its southern neighbors sit at the negotiating table." The Soviet Union's focus is still on Europe. These words were summarized by Akhromeev himself. Could it be that the old general is older. Okay, your memory is a little bad?"

Yanayev still had a certain respect for Akhromeev, the final Red Army general. After all, he had dedicated his whole life for the Red Empire, a true Communist and a great patriot.

Akhromeyev was at a loss for words. He did not expect that Yanayev would use the previous report to refute him, but he resolutely said, "But if you want to abolish all the Far East armed forces, it will cause chaos in the Far East." Defense emptiness will also cause Americans There is a feeling that the Soviet Union is exhausted, and then they will press the Soviet Union even more relentlessly. Also, how do you plan to dispose of the millions of disarmed people? You can't just exile those dismantled tanks and armored vehicles to the country, right? What about the fighter?"

"Calm down, Chief of General Staff Akhromeev, I have thought of ways to deal with the measures you mentioned. Now I will tell you one by one." Yanayev refrained from saying one by one. To slap you in the face, "I believe everyone knows that after the end of World War II, our army was seriously generalizing Based on the experience and lessons learned during the war, the German blitzkrieg idea was further carried forward, with large depth and high speed as the basic operational concepts, coupled with large ground troops and advanced weapons and equipment, forming the most powerful ground force during the confrontation period. Power, a torrent of red steel.”

"So if a large-scale ground war breaks out, our army's idea that simplicity is good may be right. Although the overall technical level of main battle tanks is slightly behind its opponents, it can ensure that the country can mass-produce and the army can Quick to adapt, factories capable of rapid repairs, and with absolute numerical superiority, the Soviet armored forces still have the ability to overwhelm their opponents. But you forgot one thing. Since the end of World War II, it has been impossible for large-scale war conflicts to break out in the confrontation between nuclear-weapon countries. Haven't local conflicts in the past 70 years given everyone a new awareness that modern wars are more local? In small and medium-sized military conflicts, when the quality of combatants is the same and the quantity of equipment is not very different, the side with tactical and technical advantages will have more chances to win. "

Yazov was the first to understand Yanayev's words, "Has our army begun to change its thinking and develop in the direction of electronic technology warfare?"

Yanayev took a deep breath, "Thank God, you finally understand what I'm talking about. Yes, electronic technology war, so when will you be kicked out of the General Staff and start attacking the Soviet army's electronic technology?" Should Marshal Ogarkov, who has far-reaching insights into development, be invited back to the General Staff instead of letting him regret his life as the director of the General Inspection Team of the Ministry of Defense? "

In 1984, Marshal Ogarkov left the General Staff and was dismissed for his remarks "against the reduction of military R\u0026D expenses for the development of civilian products." From September 1984 to June 1988, he was transferred to the post of Commander-in-Chief of the Western Direction. From 1988 to In 1992, he was appointed director of the General Inspection Group of the Ministry of National Defense. In the end, the military science and technology reform he advocated came to nothing.

Although Yanayev did not say it explicitly, Yazov could already hear his dissatisfaction with him and quickly apologized, "I'm sorry, Your Excellency, President, we will transfer him back to the General Staff and resume his important position."

"Well, very good. You are all veteran marshals. Maybe your thinking is still stuck in the memory of the victory of the Great Patriotic War in the past, but I want to say something ugly. I am a staunch supporter of technological warfare. An army Only by being equipped with powerful high-tech can we be invincible in modern warfare. Of course, who wants to stop me from dismantling the armored forces and establishing a digital and information-based army? I certainly don’t care about him and Hilichenko of the Ural Military District. The general will die."

Yanayev first saluted and then fought, out of respect for the Soviet army, and then it was a serious warning to those who blocked the reform of the army. Of course, no one expected Yanayev's tone to be so strong, and everyone was silent for a moment.

"Apart from this, are there any other problems?" Yanayev looked around at these old guys who were several times his age, and then glanced at the other people who were expecting other high-ranking people to replace him. Chechevatov, who came forward but is now silent, Mance said logically, "What I will tell you next is the resettlement plan for the dismantled armored forces and personnel. Of course, everything will be done step by step, and I will not mess around. The disarmament in the Far East will be divided into several steps, but before explaining, I want to first Let me introduce you to someone. Come in, Comrade Chemezov."

Everyone's eyes were focused on the door. Under Yanayev's instructions, Chemezov, who was still a little green in front of Moscow's top brass, stepped onto his political stage for the first time.