Iron Cross

"I will hang them all..." Roaring voices came from the Kremlin, making everyone who heard them shudder.

Comrade Stalin's temper has been extremely bad in the past few days. According to information collected from various sources, the Soviet Supreme Command was horrified to find that the Germans on the opposite side had suddenly formed a joint force composed of prisoners of war, including a total of 11 divisions (the three Baltic countries). 4, 3 for the Russian Liberation Army, 2 for Ukraine, 1 for Cossacks, and 1 for Belarus), which included not only ethnic minorities that Comrade Stalin had always been uneasy about, but also political opponents of the Red Army - the Russian Liberation Army. It is said that the Germans are further increasing their efforts to recruit puppet troops. The Russian People's Liberation Army has a second batch of mobilization troops with 3 divisions, and Ukraine has a second batch of mobilization troops with 3 divisions. Belarus, Cossacks and even the Baltic countries are all forming a second batch of armies. By Next spring the Red Army may encounter more than 20 divisions of puppet troops composed of Red Army prisoners of war. These troops are all built according to the German master system. One division is equivalent to three divisions of the Red Army. It is also composed of veterans of the Red Army. The combat effectiveness level will definitely exceed the current 60 Red Army divisions. The thought of 60 "former Red Army divisions" rushing towards us in the future made everyone feel numb.

What is even more irritating is the secret report from the Ministry of Internal Affairs from the front: Many troops and officers below believe that the root cause of this situation is the blind command and bastard orders from above. How could this not make Comrade Stalin furious?

"Comrade Constantine, when can our counterattack be launched? I remember that I have postponed it twice for you."

"Comrade Stalin, I'm afraid we have to wait a few more days. Many troops have not yet been reorganized, and the Germans have launched diversionary attacks in many areas of the front line. They rely on the advantages of their armored forces to quickly attack to find weaknesses in our defense line. Once we mobilized our reserve forces to plug the leak, their attack turned in another direction. It was very difficult for the frontline commanders to cope with it, forcing the headquarters to continuously dispatch newly reorganized troops to support us, which also slowed us down. action.”

The "Uranus" campaign was originally scheduled to be implemented this week, but Zhukov repeatedly requested an extension because the troops were not ready. The first extension was for 4 days, and the second extension was for another 3 days. The offensive troops that were finally raised were He was pulled over to plug leaks in other lines of defense, which made him very embarrassed.

"We are in great difficulty, but the enemy's difficulties are no less than ours." Stalin tapped his fingers on the table and said seriously, "They support so many puppet troops just to supplement the shortage of field troops on the front line. There are comrades and comrades from other channels. I reflected that Italy, Romania and Hungary withdrew their troops due to heavy losses due to our attacks. The enemy's frontline troops have been greatly reduced. Now the puppet troops are also in the reorganization stage. This is a good time for us to attack—— If they are allowed to form a climate, the general's difficulties will be even greater."

"But the Germans mobilized their own troops to strengthen the front line. Coupled with the retreat of the front line, the enemy's front-line strength actually increased after the fascist servant army was reduced. Our troops could no longer choose the easier-to-win servant army units during the attack. If we take action, we can only go head-to-head with the Germans, which hinders the development of our action plan..."

Zhukov patiently explained a bunch of reasons, but Stalin obviously couldn't listen. He raised his voice: "You can't just look at the entire war from a military perspective, you must also have a political perspective. The attack is inevitable... "

After the establishment of the Russian Liberation Army and the Russian National Liberation Council, before they could go into battle for a while, Vlasov, who was quite thoughtful, first stepped up his propaganda efforts against the Soviet troops in front of him to undermine the morale of the Red Army. Zhukov also saw the relevant situation briefing. :

Three days ago, an entire regiment of the 453rd front line, led by the deputy commander, defected to the enemy's defense line on the pretext of troop deployment; two days ago, deceived by the enemy's propaganda and the accumulated conflicts broke out, a major tank battalion commander instigated After his subordinates killed the brigade commander and brigade political commissar, he led 23 tanks and defected; in the past few days, as news of the enemy advocating for national freedom, disbanding collective farms and distributing land continued to spread, the morale of the frontline troops was in turmoil, and those from poor backgrounds, especially those from ethnic minorities, The military morale of ethnic officers and soldiers is even more unstable; there are rumors (actually true) that the Germans allow deserters from Russia, Belarus, and Ukraine who live in the German-occupied areas to go home, and sporadic deserters continue to appear in the army; in addition to the army, due to the two consecutive meritorious pilots of the Air Force , Soviet heroes appeared in the puppet camp, and people in the Air Force also changed their minds. In recent days, planes have been flying and defecting to the German positions.

This scene made Stalin so angry that he wanted to implement the magic weapon imported from China - the "Revolutionary Soldiers' Standing Law", but he did not take action only after the persuasion of Zhukov, Timoshenko, Molotov and others. But even though In this way, the murderous internal affairs forces carried out a round of moderate purges in the army. Those officers who had complained or complained about their superiors were preventively suspended from their posts. If this person was from a minority group, he would be suspected. Even greater; as for dissenting opinions in discussions on combat policies, any approach that seems slightly more conservative may be labeled as capitulationism or wavering. Fortunately, it was war time, and Stalin's brain was not completely broken. He only asked the Ministry of Internal Affairs to strengthen the screening and arrest of troops. Officers were not allowed to be shot on the spot except ordinary soldiers. Any order to shoot officers above a major must be signed by Stalin himself. issued. Even so, many incidents occurred. During the arrest process, two colonels, seven lieutenant colonels, and more than a dozen lieutenants either resisted arrest with force, committed suicide on the spot, or simply absconded, causing an uproar in morale and public opinion.

This is also the reason why Zhukov repeatedly postponed the launch of the offensive. He originally thought that Stalin did not know the specific situation. After thinking about it, he realized that he was too naive. The Ministry of Internal Affairs kept a close eye on these situations and would report the slightest sign of trouble. How could Comrade Stalin possibly Not sure?

"This enemy's arrogance must be defeated!" Stalin shouted, slapping the table, "Comrade Constantine, I don't care what difficulties you have or how well prepared you are, two days from now, that is, October 22 On the 1st, a large-scale frontline offensive must be launched, and the primary goal is to seize the rebel base of Rostov.”

Zhukov remained silent.

"In addition, the Americans have recently reduced their supply of supplies and materials to us. At first, I thought they were diverting their supply power, but after digging deeper, I realized: Because we have not engaged in large-scale combat with the Germans in the past month and a half, the British and American The two countries, especially President Roosevelt, expressed deep doubts about us. They thought there was a problem with our will to continue fighting and suspended supplies, and..." Stalin was silent for a while before continuing, "The peace talks conveyed by Boris III were conveyed by the Japanese ambassador. Somehow the news of hope for peace between Soviet Union and Germany got to the Americans. The American ambassador was very nervous and came to press for the exact situation three times in a row. Comrade Molotov was very passive, and his diplomatic work was very passive. Our voice asked for US aid. It doesn’t ring either.”

Zhukov thought to himself: You agree with the idea of ​​conditional peace. You not only want to get the benefits of Britain and the United States, but also want to negotiate peace with the Germans decently, and you also want to avoid being known by the people below. Where can so many good things come from?

Of course, the political experience of the past ten years has taught Zhukov to understand a truth: the orders of the Iron Leader cannot be imposed. After thinking for a while, he replied: "Dear Comrade Stalin, can you give me three more days? Because the weather forecast says that the southern front will experience a large-scale cold wave during this period, and the ground will be firmer, which will be conducive to tank mobility. We are fighting in winter." The advantage can also start to be exerted. A large-scale attack is guaranteed on October 25th. If you delay any longer, you can take my head."

As soon as Zhukov said this, Stalin's expression softened. He waved his hands to comfort this capable subordinate and said: "Dear Comrade Constantine, the situation is not as serious as you thought. If you say 25th, let it be 25th. There are so many days." We've been waiting for a few more days. Don't worry about the Americans. As long as we start fighting, they won't stand idly by and will not give us less supplies and supplies. I really made them anxious. There is no bargain…”

"There is one more thing I want to hear your thoughts on." Stalin suddenly changed the topic and talked about another matter, "The ambassador to the United States told me that Denikin, the former Tsarist general who was in exile in the United States, communicated with us through secret channels. After being contacted by diplomats, he expressed his willingness to serve the Soviet Union and encourage all the people to fight the Germans to the end. Would the Red Army commanders and fighters have any objections if he was willing to come out and work for us? "

"Denikin?" Zhukov was surprised as he recalled this name that had been forgotten for a long time. "He wants to join the party?"

"The specific idea is still unknown. It is impossible to join the party, and it may be a little difficult to join the Soviet government, but there is no problem in giving him the title of a patriotic general. You know, I don't expect him to really come here to command the troops. The main purpose of fighting the war is to use his influence among Belarusian and American expatriates. On the one hand, he requires them to refuse to pay attention to the traitor Vlasov, and on the other hand, it is also good to find ways to get us some assistance abroad. "

"It's not impossible to say that." Zhukov slowly replied, "At least the civil war has passed so long. The veterans who experienced that war have long since retired. The officers who are still serving are at least mid-level officers. They should be able to Enough political consciousness to understand this matter.”

"As long as you agree, I will arrange the follow-up matters. You only need to be responsible for fighting the 'Uranus' battle successfully - the party and the people are watching you!"