The decisive battle against the Third Reich

"Comrade Zhukov!" A few hours later, Stalin, who was impatiently waiting for the news, called the headquarters: "How is the counterattack going?"

The anxious Zhukov thought for a moment and replied: "Comrade Stalin, we have been fighting hard, but the effect is not obvious; our army advanced as far as five kilometers, but was counterattacked by the Germans. Our army is now Most of them only go 2 to 4 kilometers!”

"This is very good!" Stalin was very satisfied with this result, because he knew that the German defense depth in Kotluban was only seven kilometers.

So, if today's attack progresses at this rate, it will take less than a few days to surround the Germans east of Kotluban.

But what Stalin did not expect was that fighting a war does not mean that if you can advance two kilometers today, you will be able to do so tomorrow.

Only Zhukov knows that today's battle can be said to have consumed most of the energy of the Soviet army. If the battle is fought like this today, it almost means that there will be no progress in the future, and it may even be defeated by the German army. beat back.

After a pause, Stalin asked again: "What is the reason for the attack being blocked?"

"Due to lack of time!" Zhukov replied: "The troops did not have time to fully prepare for the attack, and did not conduct artillery reconnaissance and find out the enemy's firepower configuration well. In addition, the enemy aviation has mastered the air, which makes our army very passive! "

Zhukov said this very artistically.

What he said was indeed the truth. Due to reasons such as time and air superiority, there was insufficient reconnaissance and insufficient preparation... But to put it more concisely, it was that he was fooled by the Germans in terms of command and allowed the 16th Tank Corps to jump. He fell into a German trap and suffered heavy losses.

Of course, Zhukov would not tell Stalin this.

Stalin did not hesitate and ordered: "Continue to attack, I will send you more troops!"

This is more, that is, there will be three more armies in the follow-up. In other words, in addition to the 1st Guards Army, Stalin successively organized three more armies with a total strength of 200,000 people to invest in the attack on Kotluban.

A total of 280,000 troops, including the First Guards Army, will launch a wave of attacks on the German defense lines in the next seven days.

However, Zhukov was not happy when he heard the news, because as he said, what he needed was aircraft, tanks and ammunition supplies. More troops could not change the outcome of this battle. Only more and more Soviet troops casualties.

On the other hand, the German army was indeed affected by this Soviet offensive.

The first is supplies.

Paulus had originally planned to launch a general attack on Stalingrad soon, but Zhukov's fierce attack on the northern front forced the German army to consume the ammunition they had painstakingly stored, and this consumption is not expected to decrease in the future. It is possible to increase...so the plan to attack Stalingrad was shelved.

The second is military strength.

The 14th Armored Group was originally the main force in the attack on Stalingrad, but now it had to be transferred to the northern front because of the fierce Soviet offensive in the north.

The commander of the 14th Armored Army, Wittelsheim, even felt guilty in the face of the Soviets' continuous attacks at all costs.

"General!" Wittelsheim reported to Paulus: "The northern front is in danger. We need more infantry and stronger air support, even if it means delaying the attack on Stalingrad indefinitely!"

It should be said that Major General Wittelsheim's suggestion still makes some sense, because if the northern defense line is broken through by the Soviet army, it means that the troops attacking Stalingrad will be attacked from both sides and even be surrounded in Stalingrad. This will be a huge blow to the German army. Obviously very dangerous.

But this was actually Major General Wittelsheim exaggerating the danger of the northern defense line... He just saw the Soviet troops pouring towards the German defense line in a steady stream and it seemed that there would be no end. The casualties of German soldiers were also rising sharply, so I subjectively believe that the northern defense line is "in danger".

In fact, the Soviet army's first breakthrough, the one towards the state farm, was the most likely to succeed, but it was thwarted by the 21st Armored Division. The subsequent Soviet attack was actually more about delaying The German troops occupied Stalingrad to buy time.

This especially hindered the German air force... The main force of the air force was transferred to the northern front, and the blockade of the Volga River east of Stalingrad was gradually reduced, so the Soviet southeastern front could rush to Stalingrad through the Volga River. Large amounts of reinforcements and supplies.

After the battle at State Farm, General Strike convened a meeting with the officers of the 21st Army.

"Gentlemen!" General Strike raised his glass and said, "From the North African battlefield to the Eastern Front, we are invincible, and we seem to have become accustomed to this!"

The officers had knowing smiles on their faces.

Colonel Slaine continued: "At the same time, we seem to have gotten used to it, that is, the major once again guessed the enemy's intention!"

"Yes!" said General Strike. "Here's to Major! Our hero!"

"Here's to Major!" The officers raised their glasses to greet Qin Chuan, but Qin Chuan could only nod frequently and express his gratitude with his eyes.

"General!" Colonel Olbridge asked next: "I want to know, when will we march to Stalingrad?"

"The answer will disappoint you, Colonel!" General Strike replied: "You know, in order to deal with the Soviet attack on the northern defense line, we have to invest resources north, so..."

"The attack on Stalingrad has been delayed, hasn't it?" Colonel Slain asked.

"Yes!" General Strike nodded and replied: "They decided to wait until the Soviet attack on the northern defense line stopped!"

The German officers nodded to express their understanding, but Qin Chuan frowned...

At this time, the German officers did not realize the importance of Stalingrad. They thought that the battle situation was like this, and it would not be too late to turn around and deal with Stalingrad after the northern defense line was stabilized, because Stalingrad was there. There was no way to escape, and it was surrounded by German troops on three sides. It seemed like it was only a matter of time before we captured it.

Only Qinchuan knew that the street fighting in Stalingrad would be much more difficult and the casualties would be much greater than the northern defense line. In particular, the Soviet army's attack on the northern defense line regardless of casualties was likely to play a key role in delaying the German army in the past few days. effect.

Because in the past few days, Stalingrad has added fresh blood and improved its defense loopholes.

So Qin Chuan continued: "General, I think this is a wrong decision!"