Iron Cross

"Comrade Chief of the General Staff!" Stalin suddenly shouted angrily, shocking everyone on the scene.

Vasilevsky stood at attention reflexively and said respectfully: "Here!"

"I order you..." Stalin's tone was very tough. Everyone waited quietly for the next sentence. Zhukov frowned. He estimated that the next half sentence should be, "Immediately equip Comrade Tolbukhin with sufficient equipment and supplies, and let them reinforce Tambov..."

But this sentence was not said in the end. Instead, it became "I will transfer this new front to you, and you will be fully under your command. You must find a way to contain the German offensive and solve the problem of the salient of the central defense line!"

"Yes!" Hearing such a serious tone, Vasilevsky did not dare to neglect it and agreed to it. Comrade Stalin was obviously really angry. If he bargained again, he might be taken down directly. He dared not take this risk!

Seeing Vasilevsky accept the order readily, Stalin was obviously relieved. To be honest, if it were the era of the Great Purge, with Vasilevsky's current attitude, he would be labeled a "traitor and traitor" tomorrow, but he knew that he had to rely on these people now. Judging from the war situation over the past year, although Vasilevsky also made mistakes in command, his judgments in most cases were basically in line with the actual situation - although they were not very pleasant to hear in many cases.

This kind of unpleasantness is much more valuable than the cheap "OK, OK, OK!", "Yes, yes!", "Guarantee to complete the mission!" of Timoshenko or Voroshilov. Since the General Staff inferred that the German army in Tambov was preparing to surround and attack the reinforcements, and guessed that there was another German armored group ambushing in the direction of Orel and Voronezh, it was probably true. Because not only Vasilevsky and Zhukov said so, Meretskov also held similar opinions. What's more surprising is that even Tolbukhin, who has been serving in the Northwestern Front and had an urgent audience with the General Secretary yesterday to prepare to serve as the commander of the Moscow Front, actually thought so.

When Stalin thought of so many people who were highly consistent in their opinions, he dared not act recklessly again: sending away 300,000 to 400,000 Red Army soldiers was just a small matter. If he made another wrong decision, the prestige of the general secretary would be completely lost.

He finally discovered that although the docile and obedient generals were more capable of executing orders, most of them could not fight hard and difficult battles. The generals who had performed relatively well in recent years were either thorns or slippery, while the obedient Timoshenko, Pavlov, and Chulenev were defeated one after another - not just ordinary defeats, but miserable defeats! These three people alone almost ruined 1.5 million troops.

Sometimes when a person calms down and thinks about it, he also feels a little regretful for executing Tukhachevsky so quickly. What if this person was still alive? Would the war not be so embarrassing now? And Blucher (Gallen), if he had not been so bad-tempered at the beginning, if he was willing to show his loyalty to himself, how could he have ended up like that?

His expression eased and he asked, "So, can you tell me what you are going to do next?"

"Comrade Zhukov and I have discussed several methods together. Combined with the front you just transferred to me, we initially plan to do this." Vasilevsky walked to the map and explained one by one:

First, 400,000 troops will be drawn from the Northwestern Front and the Western Front to attack Vyazma - this is an important hub of the western railway and a strategic fulcrum that the German army must ensure. We have some advantages in this direction, and we can find ways to attract the attention of the German army, forcing the German armored forces to be exposed and transferred to the Vyazma line;

Second, the newly reorganized Moscow Front will be transferred to the Steppe Military District as a whole, and Comrade Konev will lead the existing troops of the Steppe Military District to change positions on the Ryazan line, making an offensive posture to confuse the German army;

Third, after making sure that the German armored group army in ambush has withdrawn, let Comrade Tolbukhin Aspirations to attack westwards, strive to open a gap in the Tambov encirclement, or support the retreat of the Bryansk Front;

Fourth, Baghramyan should occupy Karachi as soon as possible to attract Manstein's Southern Army Group to mobilize troops to consolidate the defense line, so as to create opportunities for Comrade Vatutin's Southwestern Front to flank;

Fifth, Rokossovsky's Don Front and Yeremenko's Stalingrad Front should not move for the time being, put pressure on the opponent, and ensure that the German troops on the southern wing will no longer be transferred to the central battlefield...

Stalin nodded while listening, and soon figured out Vasilevsky's intention: Now the center of gravity of the German army is concentrated on the central battlefield - 3 armored armies are concentrated, and 3 army groups are also concentrated. If troops are withdrawn to fight head-on in the central battlefield, there is no chance at all, because the terrain here is flat, there is no danger to defend, and it is far away from the two wings, which allows the German armored forces to give full play to their advantages. The Red Army should do the opposite, attack the two wings of the German front fiercely, and force the enemy to gather troops from the center to reinforce the two wings, so that there is a chance to maintain a stable front.

"Of course..." Vasilevsky also saw clearly that it was impossible for the front to maintain the original situation, because the Red Army was at a disadvantage in terms of overall combat effectiveness, and the Tambov salient could only be allowed to exist. The central battlefield will no longer be confronted on the Voronezh-Kalach line, but on the Tambov-Borisoglebsk line, where a giant salient with a width of more than 200 kilometers and a length of 280 kilometers will be formed, and the small salient in the direction of Karach will eventually be abandoned.

"By further raising and extending the enemy's supply line, we can prepare a good base for the winter counterattack." Vasilevsky also used Zhukov's inspection of the front to comfort Stalin, "We found that after the density of the German tank troops increased, Its reliance on logistics supply fleets will further increase, which will be a good breakthrough.”

"Very good." Stalin nodded with satisfaction, "Do what you want as soon as possible. The situation cannot get worse."

On June 2, 1943, the same day that the huge Japanese combined fleet sailed out of the Gulf of Aden and turned south to meet the Marines boarding in the direction of Tanganyika and prepared to complete the Seychelles offensive, the Red Army began to attack the Via garrison. The 9th Army of Army Group Center on the Zima front line launched a fierce attack.

"Moving! Moving!" Keitelhui reported, "My head of state, Moscow is not only massing troops to attack the Vyazma front line, but also seems to be preparing to send reinforcements south."

"Stalin finally couldn't hold it in any longer?" Hoffman laughed. "Do you have accurate information?"

"It is estimated that the total force going south is between 300,000 and 350,000. The core is the 7th Army in the direction of Leningrad. The other should be the reserve force secretly prepared by Stalin. As for the troops besieging Vyazma, judging from the designation, it seems that they belong to The Red Army's northwest and west front armies.

"General Model has ordered General Scherner to hold the line of defense and not to take a step back." Zeitzler frowned and said, "However, there are more Red Army tanks in that direction. Preliminary estimates are that there are no less than 700 tanks. Do we need to send some armor?" Division passed? There is no armored division in the 9th Army now."

"What's your suggestion?" Hoffman turned to Model.

"I originally wanted to mobilize 1-2 armored divisions to go north, but General Routh gave an extremely bold suggestion. He hoped that the hidden 3rd Armored Group Army, currently located in Voronezh, would be mobilized eastward and cross the Tambov encirclement. To attack Ryazan, southeast of Moscow, and to intimidate Moscow."

This suggestion shocked Zeitzler. Ryazan is more than 250 kilometers away from Tambov and more than 350 kilometers away from Voronezh. It is obviously too deep for the Armored Group Army. More importantly, Tula is still among the Red Army. Hands, a rash attack on Ryazan is likely to encounter a flank attack by the Red Army. Hoffman does not agree with such a risky strategy. In the past two days, maintaining the supplies of the two armored armies has made him restless. If he really goes to attack a place 350 kilometers away , Rolls, don't do anything. Just one maneuver will consume most of the fuel reserves. But he did not object outright, but turned his attention to Zeitzler for advice.

The latter smiled and said: "Since we are already preparing to attack Ryazan, which is 350 kilometers away, why not be bolder and cross Tambov to attack Nizhny Novgorod, which is 450 kilometers away? Occupy Nizhny Novgorod east of Moscow. Rhodes, if we capture Tambov again, we will have completed the encirclement of Moscow."

Everyone laughed, but Model did not laugh along and said expressionlessly: "Admiral Routh made a second suggestion. If the main force of the 3rd Armored Group Army does not move, he thinks that the 6th Armored Division and the 3rd Armored Group can The Grenadier Division moved north to support the 9th Army."

Zeitzler thought for a while and agreed, but Model himself had a different opinion: "I think the 9th Army does not need reinforcements for the time being. Those are the troops and defense areas I have led before. At most, I can add an aviation wing. I have full confidence that I can hold on.”

"I want to borrow the 1st Armored Division assigned to Army Group Eastern, and then use General Rouse's 6th Armored Division and 3rd Armored Grenadier Division, and then transfer an infantry division from the direction of Orel, with 4 We will send more than 70,000 troops to attack Tula and explore the flank strength of the Western Front." He explained, "On the one hand, the Russians have to attack Vyazma, and on the other hand, they have to rescue Tambov. If they maintain the frontline defenses of Tula and Ryazan, I don’t believe they can afford so many elite troops.”

"If, and I mean if, Tula's first-line defense is only superficial, I suggest that Marshal Weikes's troops turn to Tula after defeating Tambov, and that General Raus's main force and the rest of Orel's troops also attack Tula. The 2nd and 4th Armored Groups currently moving south are blocking the southern Red Army from moving north for reinforcements - I don’t care if Stalin wants to attack Vyazma, I just want Moscow!”

Hoffman thought to himself: Well, now the army group commanders are becoming more and more heroic. Manstein wants to sweep across the heart of the Soviet Union, and Model wants to take Moscow directly. He has become the most conservative among the decision-makers.