Iron Cross

The second reason Vasilevsky raised was that the distance was not enough and the battle time was not enough.

It is obvious that the distance is not enough. Even if the Red Army agrees to abandon the area on the right bank of the Volga River, the German offensive force is only more than 600 kilometers away from its vital strategic nodes. This distance is basically close to the distance of the Red Army attacking from Moscow or Stalingrad. The Red Army was already inferior to its opponents in terms of mechanized movement capabilities. However, in actual combat, the German army could cover the distance of more than 600 kilometers as long as it withdrew its troops, while the Red Army had to fight the distance of more than 500 kilometers step by step. It was easy to see who was easier. .

At that time, it is easy for a situation to arise: the Red Army has exhausted all its efforts to rush to the strategic point, but the German troops who have returned to defend in large numbers have retreated. The Red Army will not only fall short of success, but may also suffer heavy losses due to the addition of heavy German troops.

What can reverse this unfavorable situation is that the Red Army first deploys sniper troops on the German retreat route, but must also concentrate superior forces for attack and deploy sufficient forces for sniping. Vasilevsky believes that it exceeds the current capabilities of the Red Army.

"The only available method is to advance quickly, but I insist that there is absolutely not enough time." Vasilevsky summed up.

Regarding this opinion, Stalin nodded noncommittally and did not continue to ask further. He only asked calmly: "What about the third article?"

"The third point is that such an attack cannot achieve the decisive victory we expect." Vasilevsky explained, "This is the reason why I am fundamentally opposed to this risky attack."

He was a little reserved when he said this at first, but the more he spoke, the more he relaxed and became bolder.

"Even if we achieve the purpose of the campaign, the achievements and results we have achieved are very limited. It is impossible for us to eliminate the heavy German army group. At most, we can only force the enemy to stop advancing and stabilize the rear, but we have to use a small number of troops. Excellent troops carry out offensive missions - this is basically to attack the enemy's strengths with our shortcomings. After all this mobility and equipment are exhausted, even if we survive this winter, the turn of spring and summer next year will be very difficult. Vasilevsky explained his thoughts, "There are only 2 months until winter, and if the German army wants to attack, it will only be 2 months away. Let us let them go in the center, as long as we hold on to the northern flank with Moscow as the core." And the southern flank with Stalingrad as the core, any progress they have made so far is a giant salient, and they are always facing the threat of our army attacking from the bottom line of the salient. Can the Germans still fly into the sky? "

He spoke eloquently for almost half an hour. The general observed the expression of the supreme commander and found that the other party listened very seriously. Voroshilov and Molotov beside him also nodded frequently, although he wondered why he was reporting today. Comrade Stalin asked the other two to be present, but he was encouraged and spoke without any hesitation.

"The opinions you mentioned are very good." Stalin asked, "Does Comrade Constantine know these opinions?"

"I know, I have communicated with him."

"What does he have in mind?"

"He still hasn't given up his efforts in the Central Asian battlefield..." Vasilevsky was a little confused about his old partner's thinking: It was obvious that nothing could be done in the Central Asian battlefield, so why did he persist in fighting? Not only is Zhukov now focusing his work here, he even goes to the scene to give direct command. However, he was unwilling to speak ill of the other party in front of the Supreme Leader, and only explained, "Comrade Zhukov still adheres to his consistent view and believes that the future of the Soviet Union cannot be delayed for any longer. Since he intends to engage in armistice negotiations with the Germans, then he can happily Let's fight this quickly. The longer it is delayed, the greater the damage will be to ourselves and the more detrimental it will be to the recovery of the country's vitality in the future... I am opposed to his self-defeating and blind attitude. He insists on moving forward even though he knows that there are very few chances of winning... "

To be fair, although Vasilevsky's words contained a little emotion, they still expressed Zhukov's helplessness. He believed that Stalin fully understood the intention behind it.

"I understand what you are thinking. Let me think about it carefully. I hope that the General Staff will prepare for a possible large-scale attack by the German army."

"Yes!" Vasilevsky saluted and left, leaving only the trio of Stalin, Molotov and Voroshilov.

"What do you think of what I just said?" Stalin asked his two close comrades.

Molotov sighed: "Comrade Vasilevsky interpreted the standard military line with his professional attitude. From this point of view, he is a qualified chief of general staff, and Comrade Zhukov is obviously more like one Commander-in-Chief, he truly knows what the party and the country need.”

Voroshilov shook his head: "Comrade Zhukov made everything very clear in the telegram about his personal opinions on the combat plan - after comprehensive weighing, this is the second best option at present. Comrade Vasilevsky either has no To accept this conclusion, either Comrade Zhukov did not tell him all his opinions. I guess it is the latter possibility. "

No one was stupid enough to ask why Zhukov didn't tell Vasilevsky all his opinions - this was a very immature political performance, because the factors that determined Zhukov's determination to fight were no longer purely military factors, but more mixed. political and other emotional considerations. He had hinted to Vasilevsky last time that the two could not completely agree on major decisions, not only for themselves, but also for the future and destiny of the Red Army.

Zhukov obviously understood Stalin's intention of abandoning Leningrad better than Vasilevsky: in the latter's view, this decision was mostly to improve the unfavorable situation on the front line, while in the former's eyes, it marked that Comrade Stalin had basically made up his mind to make peace with the Axis. The only disagreement between the two sides was that the specific conditions had not yet been negotiated, so they needed to be polished. Zhukov believed that the focus of the plan was to help make up his mind and speed up the peace process: either the offensive was successful, the Red Army gained a certain advantage and forced the German side to agree to the Bolshevik conditions; or the offensive failed, the Red Army lost its final offensive capability, and helped Comrade Stalin make up his mind to accept the German conditions - whether the Germans would continue to raise the price was still unknown.

Zhukov and Vasilevsky had obvious differences in their views on the problem, and in many cases they were even completely different. Regarding the issue of abandoning Leningrad, Vasilevsky interpreted it as a military necessity - shortening the front line, saving manpower, and winning a valuable opportunity for reorganization, while Zhukov interpreted it as a political necessity - Comrade Stalin needed to test the credibility of the Germans, and more importantly, to test the domestic people's acceptance of an armistice and peace with Germany, as well as how they viewed the leaders of the party and the country.