Chapter 4: Refresher Course in Prison
This is a small space similar to the courtyard of a traditional Chinese house, surrounded by tall red buildings on all sides, with a patch of greenery no more than 50 or 60 square meters in size. At this moment, on this patch of greenery, there is a group of old men wearing uniform military uniforms, each looking spirited and alert, some of whom seem to be arguing about something, their faces red with excitement. Chu Si Nan is also among these old men, and he is in the innermost position, with the military map obtained from Sushkevich spread out on the grass in front of him.
"Oh no, no, no, this is impossible," the slightly stout, bald-headed old soldier squatting beside Chu Si Nan suddenly muttered as he stood up, "such a way of fighting will absolutely not be able to effectively resist the German attack."
"Not bad, not bad," a middle-aged military officer with a thin build, deep eye sockets, and a thick beard on his chin responded, standing opposite Chu Si Nan. "Currently, our military strength is still far from comparable to that of the German army, and the Blitzkrieg tactics they often use are characterized by rapid advances of tank clusters. As Si Nan said, the German army not only has their own domestically produced III and IV-type tanks but also a large number of II-type tanks and Czech-made LT-38 tanks, which gives them an absolute advantage in terms of numbers in armored warfare. Therefore, under these circumstances, we should still adopt high-speed mobile tactics with mechanized infantry cooperating with tank clusters to counterattack..."
"Edelman, you've already discussed this last time and it's still not feasible," said Bryukher, shaking his head. "Hitler may be a madman, but he's definitely not an idiot. If I were him, I would deploy my tank groups to attack our formation in a pincer movement. With the high-mobility, strong-penetrating and well-protected Type II tanks as the main attacking force, they would directly collide with the head of our tank group. The LT-38 tanks would form the tip of the wings on both sides, making auxiliary attacks from the flanks and infiltrating, splitting and surrounding our tank group. As for the Type III and IV tanks, they would be in the rear formation, firing high-explosive shells and shrapnel that are highly lethal to individual soldiers and soft targets. In this attack mode, your rapid encirclement tactics would be basically useless, not to mention those mechanized infantry equipped with anti-tank weapons, who could only serve as cannon fodder."
"Comrade Blyukher is right," interrupted the old man who had spoken first, affirming Blyukher's statement before continuing, "but let's not forget that we also have artillery, and a large number of gun-toting tanks and anti-tank self-propelled guns, all of which are the nemesis of tank armor units."
"Feldman, don't forget the German air force," Blyukher retorted. "Although aerial bombing can't accurately destroy moving targets, the Germans are most skilled at locust tactics. When a swarm of planes flies over like a dark cloud and pours down bomb after bomb on your artillery positions, will your artillery be able to organize an effective counterattack?"
……
Chu Si Nan crouched beside them, quietly listening to the old generals who once dominated the world, debating German tactics with each other. He couldn't help but feel a sense of nostalgia. It had been over a month since he entered this damned concentration camp. The conditions here were undoubtedly harsh, with no freedom, blocked information, poor living conditions, and every day except for that one hour of exercise, he could only stay in the cell with these old men and that small window of just over ten centimeters square.
However, even so, Chu Si Nan still felt that this period of life in prison was the most wonderful experience of his entire life. This was not only because he saw some heroic figures here that he had never thought he could see before, but also because he learned a lot of things here.
Since he took out the military map in front of him, this tattered paper stained with blood has become the favorite of these old generals in prison, and it can be said that they have already regarded it as a priceless treasure. These military fanatics almost fought over who would get to keep the map, but eventually, under Tuchachevsky's suggestion that they take turns keeping it based on their rank, the issue was resolved. However, in Chusnan's opinion, this seemingly kind-hearted guy absolutely had ulterior motives, because among these people, only his military rank was the highest.
In the following days, life in prison suddenly became more colorful. Every time they were let out for exercise, these old marshals would gather together and discuss their views on a particular battle or strategy. They would often propose a strategy, and then another person would try to counter it, resolve it, and turn defeat into victory. At this time, Chu Si Nan lost his right to speak, he could only listen quietly, like a humble student. However, the benefits of this were obvious. The people in front of him were all super commanders who had once led an army or even several groups of armies. Perhaps they were not good at guerrilla warfare, but when it came to large-scale battles, they had extremely rich experience. What is meant by "listening to a master's words is better than reading ten years' worth of books"? Chu Si Nan now had the deepest understanding of this. He had never thought that there could be so many countermeasures against the German blitzkrieg. He had also never heard anyone say that the great Minsk and Leningrad battles were military defeats aimed at losing troops. Moreover, he had never thought that someone would call the famous Budenny a "stable boy who only knew how to hug a few war horses and dream of a big autumn", while the Soviet veteran Voroshilov was a "military ignoramus who could only talk nonsense". The most unthinkable thing was that even Zhukov was bluntly evaluated as a " roughneck who only used his comrades' corpses to build military achievements". Chu Si Nan sometimes really doubted whether, in the eyes of these old marshals, only Voroshilov was considered a true military master.
In just over a month, Chu Si Nan had almost become a young military expert who could command large troops in battle through his exposure to the rich experiences and heated debates of these old generals. Now, he could also interject a few words when the old generals were arguing, although most of the time he was met with their dismissive rebuttals. Occasionally, however, he would say something that left people amazed. Even Tuchachevsky, who held the highest position among them, had praised him several times, saying that while he may not be a genius, he was absolutely a talented young man.
A month of prison life did not wear down Chu Si Nan's ambition, but instead increased his confidence. He can now give himself a new conclusion: even if he goes out in the future and relies only on his military prowess without knowing history, he will still be able to make a name for himself in this era forged in blood and fire - the question is, will he have the chance to go out again?
