On September 24, 1942, almost the same day that Hoffman selected stg43 and Iron Fist at the shooting range, in the Kremlin of Moscow, the Supreme Soviet Command was holding a seminar on the war situation.??.?`c?o?m?

"Comrade Stalin, there have been very strange changes in the front line in recent times. We initially thought this was an accidental event, but now it is difficult to understand the overall situation. I think it is very necessary for you to understand these situations." The newly appointed Supreme Deputy Commander, former Chief of Staff of the Red Army, Marshal Georgi Konstantin Norwich Zhukov, looked bright and was making an opening statement, but his first sentence made people nervous.

"Well, dear Comrade Constantine, what unexpected things are you going to tell me?" Joseph Stalin's expression changed slightly, but he was still ready to listen with a pleasant face.

Comrade Stalin has been in a good mood recently. He has learned about the relevant situation of the internal purge of the "Treason Group" through the Ministry of Internal Affairs. The situation from the Beria newspaper is very complete, including the list of personnel involved and all background information, especially the introduction of personnel involved in the military field is very detailed. Although the Gestapo also dug out the "Red Band" spy organization lurking in Germany during the inspection process and arrested many Soviet spies, Stalin said that it doesn't matter. He is more concerned about the purge itself. He believes that Hitler is seeking death and repeating what he did a few years ago. Although Stalin still refuses to admit that the Great Anti-Revolutionary Counterfeiting is a mistake.

But I have never had regrets in my heart, especially in such a passive situation during the war, and I feel that talents are valuable. I always feel that I have killed these generals too much and too fast, so I should have left some. If those senior Red Army generals who have been tested by the civil war and experienced senior Red Army generals are still there, the war over the past year will not be like this. Of course, this emotion will not be revealed in front of his comrades. His steel-like will will not be shaken. When he is cowardly, his position of monopolizing power will not be allowed to hesitate or retreat for a moment... He is walking on a road where he cannot turn back. Not to mention retreating, looking back, he may be crushed to pieces. He can only grit his teeth and insist on moving forward - whether right or wrong.

"Near the northern line, the Germans attacked us half a month ago and were hit by the Kalinin Front after a restrained attack. In the case of weak attack and unsuccessful advancement, the fascist army suddenly lost its momentum. They took the initiative to evacuate this protrusion. The front line has now leveled. We have recovered nearly 10 square kilometers of land and liberated the defensive forces of three divisions; in the middle of the front line, Lezev, Sechovka, and Viazima region, the second German armored army in early August in early August.

The army attacked the 61st Army and the 16th Army on the left wing of our Western Front Army. Our army resisted step by step and formed a huge outcrop in the above-mentioned areas. The enemy and us fought many times, and the battle was very fierce. However, the German team, which had a little advantage, suddenly retreated backward in the middle of this month and even gave up the outcrop. Judging from the front-line information we received the day before yesterday, this front line was also leveled, and our army collected and paid a large area of ​​land, including the above-mentioned three cities."

Following Zhukov's coaching stick, Stalin, holding the pipe, nodded slightly and interrupted, "Does this mean that the German army temporarily gave up the attempt to attack Moscow's front line?"

"Just from the current situation, this is the case." Zhukov continued, "The more critical change is in the southern section of the front line. The enemy was originally deployed to attack at the same time in both the Stalingrad and the Caucasus. In late August, the Germans had completely occupied all areas on the west bank of the Don River. They were only 6o-7o kilometers away from Stalingrad, and their advance troops were gradually crossing the river. Among them, Paulus's 6th Army attacked from Karachi in the center of the front line, and Hot's 4th Armored Army attacked from the south Aksai direction.?.?`The north wing was slightly slower but still forced us to retreat to the right bank of the Don River at the end of August..."

"Wait..." Stalin seemed to remember something, "On August 27, you told me that the situation on the front line was critical. Is it based on the above reasons that I issued the order to allocate the 24th Army, the 1st Army of the Guards and the 66th Army of the Stalingrad Army?"

"That's true. Our original idea was to replicate the practice of pursuing the Polish gang in 1920, use reinforcements and cooperate with the original troops of the Stalingrad Front to launch an attack from the Don front of the Serafimovic, rushed towards Rostov, and cut off all the German troops' retreat on the southern front. We formulated a combat plan. The armies were originally scheduled to launch a counterattack on September 6, but this order was later implemented as a slight slight attack, because the Germans finally retracted.

.” Zhukov said in a helpless tone, “Since then, both the enemy 6th Army and the 2nd Armor Group have begun to shrink interestingly. Under our tentative attack, the enemy not only retreated from Karachi and Aksai, but also the Germans in the two wings of the Liandon River, including Kotelinikovo and the Lower Zirskaya are also ready to retreat. We launched another attack last week, and the Germans have completely evacuated.”

"Evacuate?" Stalin stood up, and his pipe was playing with it in his hand stopped. He showed an incredible look, "Why is this? I remember you told me that the counterattack was going well, and the enemy troops in the direction of Stalingrad were generally repelled 3-8o kilometers. I also gave Comrade Cui Kefu the commendation order."

Zhukov's face turned red. He was also the one who reported the victory. Now, on the other hand, this is not victory but the enemy evacuated voluntarily. This link is really not easy to smooth things over. However, he soon thought of the excuse: "At that time, our Voronezh Front first launched a fierce attack on the Hungarian 2nd Army, forcing the German 6th Army to mobilize troops to strengthen the Hungarian defense line, and then we counterattacked the enemy on Stalingrad. The counterattack was very successful, almost achieving various combat goals, and even the advancement distance was greater than we had imagined in advance.

There are a little more. But we were blinded by the Germans' approach, and judged the dynamics of the enemy's voluntary evacuation as our successful counterattack. Based on the intelligence of the comrades of the Ministry of Internal Affairs, we knew that the enemy's commander had changed - Paulus was removed from his position as commander of the 6th Army by Hitler, Weix replaced Kruger as commander of the Central Army Group. Now the enemy has re-established the Southern Army Group, and Marshal Manstein also served as commander of the Army Group and the 6th Army Group - this adjustment may have been made after he took office."

"Manstein?" Stalin recalled the name, "is the German marshal who occupied the Black Sea and Crim?"

"It's him!"

Stalin suddenly remembered that the Beria report wrote about this change in personnel and affairs. Now, when we think about it, many actions of the Germans are strange.

"What new moves does Manstein have?"

"No, or we can't see it for the time being."

"This situation is unexpected." Stalin looked at the map carefully and concluded, "Can we understand this way that the entire combat situation has undergone particularly significant changes in two weeks. The main forces of the enemy army, the 6th Army and the 4th Armored Army, suddenly retreated. They used one week to fight and retreat while retreating, and actively evacuated Aksai, Kotelinkovo, Kotluban and other areas, and actively escaped from contact with our army. In other words, the enemy's threat to Stalingrad has actually been lifted?"

"Your judgment is completely correct." Zhukov compliments the other party without saying a word, "At present, Germany has formed a large bow-shaped protrusion facing Stalingrad along the Don River Basin. The southern edge of this protrusion is in Rostov and the northern edge is in Voronezh. There are at least 70,000 Germans and their servants in it. Behind them is the Donets Corridor, but the Germans have no intention of competing for the two sides of the Don River - they had obtained the cross-strait zone a month ago, but now they are returned to us casually. I even have a bold idea that the German army has no intention of sticking to this area. If our attack is a little stronger, we can continue to move forward."

"You should report this situation to me earlier." Stalin looked unhappy. "If you don't say it, I would have thought we were still in a tense confrontation with the Germans along Stalingrad. Knowing that the enemy retreated step by step, we should seize the opportunity to attack in time instead of staring at them stupidly."

"The situation may not be so simple. The General Staff of the German Action in the direction of Stalingrad judged at the beginning that Manstein was preparing to reinforce the Caucasus battlefield because of shrinking his troops in person. However, from the enemy situation in the direction of the Caucasus, this judgment also had a big question mark." Zhukov did not accept Stalin's words, but cleverly changed the topic. "Liszt's Army Group A has occupied Krasnodar, and they were originally advancing towards the Caucasus Mountains and Grozny. However, according to reliable information, these German troops were also shrinking. However, according to reliable information, these German troops were also shrinking.

In particular, Kleist's 1st Armored Army will focus on stabilizing the area along the Kropotkin to Georgievsk railway, which is about 30,000 to 40,000 German troops in this area. If the two are viewed together, a protrusion with a larger arc is formed, with its main support points starting from Rostov in the north and Sochi in the south and the Caucasus Passage, including important hubs such as Stavropol, Maikop, and Krasnodar, behind which are the Kerch Peninsula and the Krim Peninsula."

...
Chapter completed!