"The death of one person is a tragedy, the death of a million people is just a statistic."
When we think of the Soviet Union, we always think of its oppressive and serious political atmosphere. The reason for this is that Stalin, as the great leader in the history of the Soviet Union, was known for his tough wrists and strong character. For a politician, there are many ways to achieve his goal, but under the joint influence of various factors, Stalin chose the most difficult one, and he was criticized by many people as a "tyrant". The above sentence is quite famous in history, and it is regarded as ironclad evidence of Stalin's "cruelty".
In fact, the original appearance of this sentence is exactly the opposite of what most people know.
Historians have a very famous saying that although the Polish campaign was a real "honeymoon period" between the Soviet Union and Germany, the two countries harbored ghosts of each other. In addition to the "Barbarossa" program as we know it, the Soviet Union also formulated an early combat plan for an armed invasion of Germany, the "Great Thunderstorm Plan". From the book, the Soviet army seems to be a difficult bone to gnaw, but the serious internal friction has greatly reduced the combat effectiveness of the Soviet army, not only taking the initiative to delay the invasion plan, but also falling into the dilemma of defeat in the early stage of the Soviet-German war.
As early as Lenin's time, the Soviet high command wanted to conquer Germany, which was at the geopolitical center of Europe, and to deliver a proletarian revolution throughout Europe, and the Soviet-Polish war was a product of this strategic idea. It is clear that the Soviets of the Stalin era have not given up on this effort.
In the early morning of June 22, 1941, hundreds of German aircraft bombed Soviet airfields stationed in the Białystok salient and around Minsk, destroying 26 airfields and losing the combat capability of 738 Soviet fighters. Subsequently, under the command of Marshal von Bock, the German Army Group Center launched a pincer offensive against the Western Front, and the flexible German armored forces went deep into the detour, forming a siege of the large Western Front in a very short period of time.
In our saying, dogs jump the wall when they are in a hurry, not to mention the ace of the Soviet army with hundreds of thousands of people and well-equipped equipment. However, at that time, the Soviet army was too weak, and at this point, the victory and defeat of the Battle of Minsk were basically clear. Later, when Zhukov was ordered to look for Pavlov, the commander of the front, who had been indistinguishable, hid in the headquarters of a certain army group and shivered. We don't know what Pavlov was thinking at this time, but it is not difficult to guess that his heart must be full of remorse, because what is happening in front of him is not strange.
It turned out that as early as the late 1920s, a group of outstanding Soviet military experts, led by Marshal Tukhachevsky, foresaw the important role that tanks would play in future wars. To this end, they did not hesitate to fight against the conservative elders such as Voroshilov and Budyonny, and finally approved and formed two tank regiments. After much deliberation, the two treasures were finally handed over to two promising young generals, one of whom was Zhukov, who would later become the most brilliant general in human history, and the other was Dmitry Grigorievich Pavlov.
As the saying goes, "one mountain does not allow two tigers", pavlov, who is often called "an old and good man", cannot get along with Zhukov. Zhukov was well aware of the importance of armored forces, and after returning from the Spanish Civil War gilded, Pavlov made a big fuss, saying that tanks were simply overwhelmed and at best played a supporting role. For a long time, Pavlov, who was favored by the higher echelons, apparently overpowered Zhukov, until in a sandbox deduction in 1940, Zhukov seized on the fatal mistake of insufficient reserves and huge loopholes in the deployment of troops, which made Pavlov lose badly.
This sandbox deduction completely tore the faces of both sides: Pavlov accused Zhukov of changing his established tactics without authorization, which was really "cheating" and should be severely punished; the latter coldly said that this was also a drill, to be replaced by those famous German generals who were as cunning as foxes, Pavlov probably did not even know how he died! The two men quarreled over this matter, and although the matter was suppressed by the high-level, Pavlov obviously did not learn any lesson from it. It is worth mentioning that not only Zhukov discovered Pavlov's problems, but Also Meretskov, who has always disliked getting into trouble, also pointed out this. From this point of view, Pavlov's subsequent execution by the angry Stalin for "treason" seems unjust, but in fact he is completely self-inflicted.
On 9 July 1941, the Soviets in Minsk almost gave up resistance. Within two weeks from start to finish, the mighty Western Front was crushed by the Germans. In this battle, the Germans captured 324,000 Soviet troops, captured 3,332 tanks, about 1,800 artillery, and the first battle of the Soviet Union, which was respected by the proud French as "the world's most powerful military country", was so embarrassing that the news reached Moscow, Stalin naturally felt that he could not hang on to his face. According to the data, even he, who has always been steady and composed, was a little panicked, and he said incoherently:
"What the hell is going on? Minsk was under direct threat, and he (Pavlov) had no contact with the various commands? Does it still need to find someone to constantly remind him to maintain regular combat readiness? He doesn't know this himself? Do I have to remind my heart so often that it doesn't forget to beat? ”
It is worth mentioning that Pavlov was not completely confused, nor was he completely frightened by the rout; when he discovered the strategic intentions of the German army on the map with hindsight, he was about to withdraw his forces near Minsk. Although this had little effect on the occupation, the move allowed many Soviet generals to survive. At the trial, countless generals, including Marshal Timoshenko, interceded for him, and Pavlov defended himself: even if Suvorov came, it would not help. Someone said to Stalin: The defeat of the Western Front was the result of careful planning by the German army, and I am afraid that it will be difficult for anyone to block this round of attack. Under these circumstances, if Pavlov were to be executed again, it would be a complete tragedy.
However, Stalin remained indifferent, responding as follows:
"Although the death of a man is a tragedy, are the millions of Red Army soldiers who died because of his mistake just a statistic?"
The attitude of the leader largely determined the fate of the general, and on July 1, 1941, Pavlov was shot.
A year after Pavlov's death, the Soviets still had not yet recovered from the initial rout. In order to boost morale, the Soviet army issued a military order that "no step can be retreated", which is the famous "Order No. 227" in history. Many Soviet soldiers were heroic and indomitable in the enemy's prisoner-of-war camp, but they were regarded as "traitors" by the motherland, and even their families were tragically detained, and many Soviet generals turned their guns to the motherland in anger. The Punishment of "Traitors" by the Soviet Army was harsh, but the rewards for heroes were also very generous. According to Soviet regulations, various rewards were "clearly priced"; even many prisoners sentenced to death were given the opportunity to redeem themselves, they committed crimes and meritorious deeds, and later not only saved from prison, but also became respected national heroes.
Of course, we cannot deny Stalin's harshness and one-size-fits-all sloppiness in many political decisions just because a single sentence has been reinterpreted; nor can we deny everything he did because of these shortcomings. Apparently, the Soviet military and civilians did not disintegrate because of these "tyranny"; on the contrary, they became more united.