Imperial Overlord

Khrushchev and Zhukov, who had lost 400,000 troops, were not even enough to build a new defense line, let alone defend Smolensk.

Stalin's plan to use Minsk as a defensive line was ultimately bankrupt in the face of Germany's rapid advance.

It is a pity that Stalin was not reconciled to defeat, he was determined to order Zhukov to counterattack the German army, lift the encirclement of Minsk, and regain the initiative of the war.

"Yes! Comrade Zhukov! I order you to start the counterattack immediately! Take Minsk back! This is a great victory for the Soviets! It is also a great victory for the Soviet people!" Stalin frowned and shouted at Zhukov, clutching the phone.

Zhukov also had a look of helplessness. The troops in his hands were not even enough to shove the Germans between their teeth. How could he have the ability to fight back?

"The great leader, Comrade Stalin! I really don't have any troops to fight back. Now, the troops in my hands don't even have 100,000 troops. How can I fight back?" Zhukov answered helplessly, clutching the phone.

In fact, in his current mood, he really wanted to smash the phone on the ground and shouted loudly, "I'm not doing it!"

It's just that he doesn't have the guts, and he can't do anything about abandoning his motherland now.

After Stalin heard Zhukov's statement, he was silent for two seconds, and then continued to say: "The counterattack on the southern front will begin immediately, and the German flank will be devastated. You should seize the opportunity to counterattack."

Zhukov thought for a while, then promised Stalin: "I am trying to find a way to gather the defeated troops. If the reserve arrives, I can gather 300,000 troops and start the counterattack immediately!"

It is very easy to gather 100,000 defeated troops near the central Soviet defense line today.

Therefore, Zhukov's words directly mean that if the 100,000 reserve team arrives, he will only consider counterattacks if he has enough troops in his hand.

"I have personally urged the second-line troops to gather near Smolensk! Minsk must be cleared! Block the way the Germans continue to attack!" Stalin emphasized again, he was very unwilling to give up Minsk.

Because once Minsk is abandoned, it means that there will be many voices against the Soviet Union in Belarus.

Belarusians will stand up and reject Soviet rule! By that time, problems will arise throughout Belarus.

Lose the entire Belarus, then Smolensk can become the front line, and the Germans are really too close to Moscow.

What's more terrible is that if Belarus is lost, it is almost like Ukraine, which is surrounded on both sides, but it is completely dangerous!

Ukraine is, in a sense, a less stable region than Belarus. Once Ukraine is also lost, what about the Caucasus?

Therefore, Stalin did not allow problems in Minsk, Belarus, not even the slightest!

"You must not lose Belarus!" He said while holding the phone: "I will immediately order Budyonny to fight back! Just wait for the news!"

After saying this, Stalin hung up the phone, and then he looked at the secretary beside him and said, "Send a telegram to Budyonny! Order him to strike back immediately! Immediately!"

At this time, Budyonny is sticking to his border direction! On the three fronts, only his troops can still stick to the border.

This can be said to be the credit of Budyonni, and it can also be said that the situation is caused by the misunderstanding of the two sides' strategies.

Originally, the Soviet Union's strategic deployment was to have the strongest Soviet troops in Romania, as the main attack, to carry out the task of occupying Romania.

However, the Soviet army in charge of the attack found that the direction of the other party was very strong, and in the end they were not able to invade Romania.

So they have been lingering in the border area until now, really trying to break into Romania, but failed.

Why didn't the Germans fight back? Because the vast majority of the German troops deployed on the southern front were slow-moving infantry.

And until now, the counterattack of the German Army Group South has not yet begun, so the German army has no idea of ​​entering Ukraine.

As a result, the troops of both sides lived in peace in the border area. But now, the German army seems to be attacking, and they have to break the status quo.

Budyonny was dispatching troops to try to stop the German attack, but Stalin gave an order for him to deploy his troops and counterattack north.

This is definitely not good news for him. Budyonny put down the telegram, looked at the battle map in front of him, and felt a chill well up in his heart.

Once he began to counterattack the Germans on the flanks, the troops were exposed to the pincers of the German Army Group South.

The situation is not favorable for him. If Zhukov cannot launch a counterattack at the same time and hold off the German Army Group Center, the Soviet Southern Front in his hands will be doomed...

As long as the opponent's follow-up troops entangled Budyonny's counterattack, and Army Group South stormed Lviv, his troops' retreat would be a problem.

At that time, all he can do is to retreat to Kyiv and lose half of Ukraine in a few days. If Stalin is in a good mood, it is estimated that he can leave a whole body...

The crux of the question for Budyonny is how could Stalin be in a better mood after hearing the news of losing half of Ukraine?

"Draft 10 divisions and find a way to launch an attack in the north!" After weighing the pros and cons, Budyonny planned to play a game of yang and yin to overcome this crisis.

He randomly selected some troops~www.wuxiaspot.com~ to launch a symbolic counterattack to the north. The main force of their own remained in place, keeping the original line of defense intact.

As for whether his counterattack is effective or not, whether Zhukov will cooperate in launching a counterattack is not a problem for him to consider.

"Send a telegram to the great leader, Comrade Stalin, telling him that our counterattack will be launched on time, on April 4!" Budyonny made up his mind and sent a telegram to Moscow.

At the same time, Zhukov was in his front-line headquarters, looking at Khrushchev, who was a little embarrassed, and didn't know what to say.

If Khrushchev had been tougher, he would have accompany Timoshenko to his death in Brest! But he didn't, and he retreated all the way back to Smolensk.

"The instructions given to you by Comrade Stalin is for you to return to Moscow immediately and explain to him! Comrade Khrushchev!" Zhukov handed Khrushchev a glass of water and said to him.

"I know! I know! It's not my fault! The Germans' attack was too terrifying, and no one could stop their attack!" After drinking the water, Khrushchev recovered somewhat, holding the water glass in both hands and said.