Iron Cross

"Let him withdraw from Karachi." Zhukov said after pondering for a long time.

"Do you think we can defend Borisoglebsk like this?"

"We can't defend it." Zhukov sighed, "Go and defend Balashov. If you retreat early, you might be able to build a line of defense based on the Hopiol River. If you leave too late, I'm afraid I'll have to collect his body... …”

"Okay, what about Kotula?" Vasilevsky was a little anxious. "The most important thing now is the front line in Moscow. If we can't hold it, Moscow will be finished."

"Ask Konev to lead the troops of the Steppe Military District and the Tula garrison to defend and launch a counterattack. We can't allocate troops to him for the time being." Zhukov said doubtfully, "How did this German army appear? I feel Strangely, judging from the reported situation, the number of troops does not seem to be large, otherwise Konev would not have retreated so quickly last night."

"The Germans are crazy. They punch in the west and kick in the east. Their thinking is very messy. After Halder was dismissed by Hitler, the German General Staff made some incomprehensible battle plans. It felt that there was no clear goal. It doesn't matter where it comes from. Is it because the corporal is messing around?"

Zhukov couldn't help but sigh.

"What did you see?" Vasilevsky scratched his hair in distress and asked Zhukov in confusion.

"It's not that they don't have a plan, it's that the plan is so vicious that it can't be explained. They don't simply want to occupy here or there. Their goal is just to kill people - to eliminate our living forces!"

"What kind of military logic is this?" Vasilevskiy was stunned. "I know Hitler emphasized this purpose, but it is just a subsidiary effect of the campaign."

"We must not take it lightly. How many permanent losses have we had since the beginning of the war? 14 million or 15 million?" Zhukov said with a sad face. "If this continues, all men in Russia will die."

Vasilevsky was disapproving at first, thinking that the Soviet Union was such a big country with a population more than twice that of Germany. How could it be killed by massacre? But I calmed down and thought about Zhukov's words, and then followed Zhukov's inference to calculate the numbers. At the end of the calculation, I was so frightened that I broke out in a cold sweat:

It is true that the total population of the Soviet Union is large, but excluding the population in the western and southern lands that have been occupied by the German army, the total number is less than 120 million, of which about half are men (the actual population is even less). If we only calculate the number of people who can serve after deducting the old, weak, sick and disabled, I am afraid that there are only a little over 40 million (16-60 years old). After deducting the 15 million people lost and the civilians killed in the war, there are only 2,500 men left who can serve. Ten thousand.

"If the same loss ratio is maintained for the next two years, do you think about what will be left?"

If another 15 million is subtracted from 25 million, there will be only 10 million strong men who can carry guns to defend the country and work in factories, and the number of newly added men of working age every year will not exceed 1 million, which means that in 2 years There are only 12 million men available for military service in Russia. Faced with this number, Vasilevsky said with a trembling voice: "This means the complete destruction of Russian men!"

Zhukov nodded sadly: "If you think about it based on the current grain production and crude oil production, a large number of people may die this year."

"I..." Vasilevsky finally understood where he was inferior to Zhukov - when he was still analyzing the behavior of the German army from a military perspective, Zhukov was already looking at the problem from a political and strategic perspective.

"I'll go to Comrade Stalin to explain. Bagramyan probably won't be able to escape the punishment of dismissal. The retreat order should be issued as soon as possible. As for the future..." Zhukov said with a sad look on his face, "I don't even know what to do."

Before Zhukov could leave, Stalin called and asked, "Comrade Constantine, the Germans are attacking Tula, do you know?"

"I know that I have ordered Comrade Konev to launch a counterattack on the spot and repel the enemy."

"Can he do it?"

"Transfer Tula and the Ryazan garrison to him, I believe he can do it."

"What's going on in the central battlefield? Bagramyan is a loser, I'm going to shoot him!" Even from three steps away, Vasilevsky could still hear the angry voice on the phone.

"He did not fight very well, but the enemy was too strong. The Bryansk Front could not withstand the two German armored armies, and the Central Front could not withstand it either. He relied on the flanks and reserves to support him until now. It is good. ”

"Ask Vatutin to support him? Tell him to capture Karachi."

"It's useless, Comrade General Secretary." Zhukov thought for a long time, and finally decided to tell the truth, "If the German army captures Borisoglebsk, it means that they have opened a gap in the central battlefield, and even if they capture Karachi, they will be unable to do so. Change this situation. Vatutin's troops cannot move lightly, otherwise the direction of Stalingrad will be in danger. Once Stalingrad is lost, the entire southern flank will collapse. "

"Let Bagramyan defend Borisoglebsk?"

"It could very well turn into a second Tambov encirclement."

"Then what do you think we should do now?"

"Let Bagramyan withdraw his troops to stick to Balashov and establish a new line of defense on the central battlefield. In addition, I am afraid that the Tambov encirclement can no longer be rescued. It will only waste strength and affect the attack on Moscow. defense."

There was silence on the other side of the receiver for a long time, and Vasilevsky heard it very clearly. There was only the sound of gasping for air.

"Can this repel the enemy's attack?"

"It's difficult, but it can initially establish a relatively reliable line of defense. We can't solve the problem now, we can only prevent it from expanding."

"Then tell me, how should we solve the problem?"

"Can I tell the truth?"

"You can tell the truth with the loyalty of a Communist Party member."

"I think we can consider contacting the German army for armistice negotiations." Zhukov also risked his life, "Whether it succeeds or not, at least it can give the troops a chance to breathe."

"This is not your problem, this is my problem! Let Bagramyan retreat immediately to form a reliable line of defense..." Without waiting for Zhukov to say anything else, the phone was hung up with a "click".

"Armistice negotiations?" Vasilevsky wiped the cold sweat from his forehead and looked at Zhukov at a loss: He really dared to say it.

In the early morning of June 5, the Red Army, which had entered the main defense zone of Karachi, retreated like a tide. Under the reckless attack of the three armies, the Karachi front line became a bloody area. The Italian defense zone was finally compressed to only 30% of the original. More than 30,000 Italian troops were tightly surrounded in an area less than 20 kilometers wide. In the end, there were less than 13,000 living people in the encirclement, including nearly 5,000 lightly and seriously wounded. The two German divisions on both wings were also damaged by more than half.

But their results were also extremely brilliant. Baghramyan gathered 250,000 troops to attack with great momentum. In the end, when they evacuated in a hurry, there were only more than 150,000 troops left. Although the exchange ratio seems to be only about 1:4, considering that the defense force is less than a quarter of the opponent, and many of the casualties of the Red Army are experienced veterans drawn from the Far East, this result is even more precious.

Hoffmann was very moved by this, and specially asked Kesselring, who was still in Italy, to meet Mussolini and express his gratitude.

"Dear leader, the Ram Division fought very well, very impressively. They taught the British a lesson in North Africa, and today they have re-established their merits on the Eastern Front. The Führer and the entire German army are proud of them..."

"Hahaha, really, we Italians can also fight tough battles!" Mussolini was jumping up and down and scolding the Germans for not helping him two days ago. Today, Kesselring came to express his gratitude, and immediately changed his expression.

"Considering the heavy losses of the troops, the Führer suggested that the troops be withdrawn and replenished first, and he would send other troops to hold the position. He hopes to award the commander a Knight's Cross with Oak Leaves." Kesselring certainly knew the twists and turns, but he didn't say it out loud. "To show our respect, the Führer hopes that the Ram Division can be adjusted according to the organization of the German 1943 Armored Division during the replenishment process."

"This..." Mussolini's eyes turned, "In principle, there is no problem, but, you know..."

"I know, I know." Kesselring nodded repeatedly, "The Führer said that except for the StuG III, all other equipment will be provided by us." Because the StuG III is now produced in Italy.

"Well, well, Albert, it's great that you said that!" Mussolini's eyes lit up with excitement, "This... Are there Tiger tanks in the organization?"

"Yes, a whole battalion, including Tigers, 330 tanks."

"Then thank Adolf for me first. I will go to Berlin to participate in the award ceremony on the day."

After Kesselring left, Mussolini felt that his vanity was greatly satisfied. That night, he was so powerful that he even fucked his mistress Clara Petacci three times.

On the third day, the Italian media published a report titled "The Mainstay of the New Roman Empire, the Invincible Legion of Our Time - A Record of the Battle of the Italian Royal Army's Ram Armored Division", which portrayed the Ram Division as the trump card division that "pacified Britain and suppressed Russia", boasting that one division could fight against "three Russian armies", and not only attributed all the achievements of the Italian infantry division on the Karachi defense line to the Ram Division, but also ignored the German infantry division that provided cover on both wings.

Everyone in the Voronezh headquarters was indignant, but the Führer was smiling: "It's good to brag, I like Italian leaders to brag. After this division is reorganized, it will continue to fight on the Eastern Front, and the Italian Navy will continue to fight with us."

Zeitzler was stunned at first, and then he smiled knowingly.

The situation is very good now. The Karachi defense line is surrounded but not broken, the Tambov encirclement is about to be conquered, and Borisoglebsk will be taken in one go. Hoffman is now only focusing on the battle on the Rzhev-Vyazma line.