Chapter 83 Stalin’s Wrath (Part 2)

In this short telegram, Zhukov used the most concise words to inquire again to the commander of the Western Front Pavlov.

"So is the report on the situation of the Western Front mentioned in the German radio broadcast true!?"

Regarding Zhukov's call to inquire again, Pavlov, who was frightened and uneasy by the name Stalin, naturally did not dare to hide anything.

"It should be true, Comrade Zhukov."

Holding in his hand this telegram from Pavlov, which was even more concise and concise than his own outbound phone call, Zhukov, who was so excited that he felt his head was spinning, naturally knew what the content of this telegram meant. What did it mean? After calming down a little, Zhukov quickly called Stalin again after sorting out his mood.

"Comrade Stalin, the current situation of the Western Front has been resolved."

Hearing the tone of Zhukov's voice on the other end of the phone that was so bland that no emotion could be heard, Stalin, who had vaguely guessed the worst outcome, also spoke calmly.

"Say it, Zhukov, I can accept the worst outcome."

When Zhukov, holding the microphone in his hand, completely narrated to Stalin the entire process of his telegram exchange with Pavlov, he was extremely annoyed and did not understand why Pavlov, who was deeply trusted by him, could do so in such a short period of time. Stalin, who had completely defeated the entire Western Front, was like a volcanic eruption, and almost shouted his order to Zhukov, who was waiting on the other end of the phone.

"Tell Pavlov, Zhukov! He is no longer the commander of the Western Front from now on! Let him and his staff leadership team return to Moscow immediately for a debriefing inspection, immediately!"

When the special plane carrying Pavlov and his command leadership and staff arrived in Moscow and landed slowly, a group of special operations teams from the Ministry of Internal Affairs who were assigned special tasks immediately stepped forward and fired at them like iron barrels. In a siege posture, Pavlov and his party were surrounded and taken away.

While he was under investigation by the Ministry of Internal Affairs and the General Staff and awaiting trial, Marshal Timoshenko, who was appointed by Stalin as the new commander of the Western Front, met with Pavlov for the last time before he took office.

Pavlov, who regarded Timoshenko as his last life-saving straw, was obviously unwilling to give up this opportunity. Pavlov, whose words were almost pleading, was the first to speak to Timoshenko.

"Do I still need to report to you, Comrade Timoshenko?"

"Forget it, everything is over."

Regarding the almost pleading in Pavlov's words, Timoshenko, who had learned everything at the General Staff Headquarters, obviously did not want to mention the disastrous defeat of the Western Front again.

Facing Timoshenko's gloomy face, Pavlov, who knew that he had committed a huge mistake, still continued to plead and speak.

"Comrade Marshal, you have to consider my situation as the commander of the Western Front. I think that in the same situation, even if I were replaced by someone else, it would be useless!"

Timoshenko, who originally wanted to expose the matter, immediately became angry after hearing Pavlov's sophistry. The furious Timoshenko immediately stood up from his chair with a roar. He asked Pavlov loudly in front of him.

"I know that many of the units under the Western Front are new recruits who lack training, and we still have many problems that need to be solved."

"But the losses of tanks, aircraft, artillery, and technical equipment are so great, and the vast territory of our great motherland has been lost in your hands. Don't you, as the commander of the front army, have no responsibility at all!?"

Facing Timoshenko's angry questioning, which was like a volcano erupting, Pavlov, who knew that he was in danger, almost cried and continued to speak.

"However, I only have 7 divisions in Brest, while those Germans have 15 divisions, 5 of which are armored divisions. With such a disparity in strength, the quality of the troops is not as good as others. How do you ask me to defend it? ?”

I was extremely disgusted by the various sophistry Pavlov said, and had nothing to say to this guy who had no sense of responsibility or responsibility as a commander. Timoshenko left angrily after leaving his last words. Open the door and walk away.

"Forget it, I don't want to do elementary school students' arithmetic problems with you here! It's better for you to figure out these problems by yourself!"

Shortly after Timoshenko left angrily, a lieutenant general who came from the Supreme Command with two guards opened the door again and appeared in front of Pavlov.

"General Pavlov, please take a look at the document and then come with us."

Before he finished speaking, an "arrest warrant" signed by Comrade Stalin was handed to Pavlov with one hand by the lieutenant general. The stunned Pavlov was arrested on the spot. I was so scared that I could no longer speak.

The arrest warrant signed by Stalin, the supreme leader of the Soviet Union, undoubtedly played a decisive role in the Pavlov case.

On July 22, the Soviet military court pronounced its final verdict:

The accused Western Front Commander Pavlov, Front Chief of Staff Klimovsky, Front Communications Director Grigoriev, and 4th Army Commander Kolobokov were participants in the anti-Soviet conspiracy , traitors to our great motherland, should be sentenced to death by firing squad and executed immediately.

After hearing the presiding judge's verdict on him, Pavlov, who had thought a lot during the days of waiting for the trial, seemed unusually calm and no longer got emotional. Pavlov, who already knew the outcome of the sentence he would face, did not dare to have any extravagant hopes for his life. He only hoped in court that the four of them could be sent to the front line in any capacity to participate in the battle and atone for the sins of the motherland by spilling blood on the battlefield. .

When Pavlov's request was sent to Stalin along with the trial letter, the Iron Man leader who personally ordered the execution of Pavlov and his party made a decision that seemed a little surprising to others.

"Delete the nonsense like "conspiracy" and "betrayal" from the trial book, and then copy it and send it to all front armies to ask all the commanders and soldiers in the army to learn and reflect. In addition, they reject their request to go to the front line to atone for their sins and agree to be shot immediately!"

On the night when Stalin issued such an order, a total of four members of the leadership team of the Western Front Command, including Pavlov, were shot together, and their bodies were buried on the spot in a landfill.

At this point, the commander of the front army, who was known as the "Father of Tanks" in the entire Soviet armored force sequence, but at the same time reversed the development of the Soviet armored force, finally met the most tragic ending.

Pavlov, who never believed in the power of tank group operations, always regarded tanks as a secondary unit that assists infantry. However, the most direct cause of Pavlov's death was the powerful blitzkrieg of German armored group operations. Due to its power, this has to be said to be a great irony.

Since then, the Soviet armored forces, which got rid of Pavlov, an important stumbling block to the development of the Soviet tank force, have finally been able to embark on a right development path.

Under the subsequent leadership of Zhukov, Rokossovsky and many other outstanding Soviet generals who believed in the power of tank troops in group operations, the Soviet Red Army, which experienced the cruel fire of the Great Patriotic War, finally transformed into a force strong enough to sweep away the German armored forces. The powerful armored elite of the army, and in the decades-long Cold War years after the end of World War II, it became the most terrifying "steel nightmare" that hung over the entire NATO, composing the song from "the British coast to Siberia" Armor Legend.