Red Moscow

"Let Misha serve as the commander of the combat group?!" Khrushchev was surprised when he heard this. He picked up the cigarette case on the table, took out one in his mouth, and frowned without striking a match. Said: "Yes, he is indeed very capable, but he is too young. If he is appointed as the commander of the combat group, I am afraid that those old guys who are division commanders or brigade commanders will not be convinced by him."

"You don't have to worry about that." Yeremenko said with a smile: "Comrade Chuikov told me that as long as Xiaoxiao leads the troops to win a few battles, these old fellows with high eyesight will be convinced by him. of."

"I really didn't expect Chuikov to have such confidence in Misha." Khrushchev struck a match and lit his cigarette, and then asked, "Then did you agree with Chuikov's plan?"

"No." Yeremenko shook his head and said: "Although the headquarters sent a large number of reinforcements to Stalingrad, these troops are still on the way. As far as I know: the car convoy transporting troops and supplies is marching during the day The speed is 30-40 kilometers per hour, and 20-30 kilometers per hour at night; the speed of horse-drawn carriages is 35-45 kilometers per day and night. Those troops who cannot take trains, cars, or even horse-drawn carriages can only travel on foot. You can only walk 30 to 35 kilometers per day and night. You can calculate how long it takes for a troop to arrive at Stalingrad from the time of departure? Moreover, after they arrive here, they have to queue up and wait for enough transport ships to transport them to Stalingrad. They were transported to the city on the other side."

After Khrushchev listened to Yeremenko's data, he calculated silently for a while, and found that it would be impossible to send two divisions or even more troops to the city within half a month. It is still unknown whether the Barricade Factory and the Dzerzhinsky Factory can survive for half a month under the onslaught of the enemy. If the troops that formed the new group had just entered the city, the enemy occupied two factories and went down the Volga River, and there was a danger of falling into a siege. At that time, instead of saving the crisis of Stalingrad, more troops were sent to the city. Take it in.

For the sake of caution, after careful consideration, he said to Yeremenko: "Comrade Commander, this matter is of great importance. We cannot make decisions casually. I think it is better to report this plan to the headquarters and let Comrade Stalin make a decision. "

"Comrade Khrushchev, you understand the situation. I think you should draft the telegram to the headquarters." Yeremenko said, "I believe your report will attract Comrade Stalin's attention more easily."

"No problem, leave this matter to me." Khrushchev stubbed out the cigarette in his hand, and asked again, "Chuikov, how do you plan to answer?"

"I told him to call and inform him if there is a final decision."

After learning about Yeremenko's attitude, Khrushchev picked up the pen and paper on the table and began to draft a telegram to the base camp.

Half an hour later, the telegram sent by the Front Army Command was placed on the desk of Antonov, Chief of Operations of the General Staff. After reading the contents of the telegram, he picked up the phone on the table and dialed a number. When a voice came from inside, he asked politely: "Comrade Boskrebyshev, hello! This is Ann Donov, is Comrade Stalin still working?"

"Yes, Comrade Minister of Operations." Stalin's close secretary Boskrebyshev replied: "He and General Zhukov, Comrade Vasilevsky, Chief of the General Staff, stayed in the office all night. Excuse me, what do you have? something?"

"That's right, Comrade Poskrebyshev." Antonov replied, "I just received a telegram from the Stalingrad Front, which needs to be reported to Comrade Stalin immediately."

Knowing that it was a telegram from Stalingrad, Poskrebyshev did not dare to neglect, and quickly said into the microphone: "Comrade Minister of Operations, please wait a moment, I will ask Comrade Stalin for instructions."

Poskrebyshev put the microphone on the table, got up and walked to the door of the office, raised his hand and knocked lightly twice, then pushed open the door and walked in. Stalin, who had been busy all night, heard someone opened the door and looked up. It turned out to be Poskrebyshev, so he asked a little displeased: "What's the matter?"

"Comrade Stalin!" Poskrebyshev straightened up and replied, "I just received a call from Minister of Operations Antonov, who said that he had received an urgent telegram from the Stalingrad Front and needed to send it immediately. Please take a look."

Knowing that there was a telegram from Stalingrad, the anger on Stalin's face disappeared, replaced by more worry: "Let Antonov come to me with the telegram!"

Turning around and walking out of the office, Poskrebyshev, who closed the door behind him, did not hear the conversation in the room. Zhukov frowned and asked Vasilevsky: "Comrade Chief of Staff, has the situation in Stalingrad worsened recently?"

When Vasilevsky heard Zhukov's question, he showed a helpless look on his face. He shrugged his shoulders, spread his hands, and said, "Comrade General, we have been here all night to discuss how to fight in Stalingrad." Plans for a counteroffensive, and if there is any change in the situation in Stalingrad, if I know it, I'm afraid you know it too."

When Zhukov heard it, it was indeed the case. He and Vasilevsky stayed in Stalin's office all night. If something happened, everyone present should know. Therefore, he desperately hoped that Antonov would show up in the office soon so that he could figure out what happened.

Fortunately, it didn't take long before the door was opened again, and Antonov appeared at the door. Before he could speak, Stalin held out his hand to him and asked bluntly, "Where is the telegram, show it to me quickly."

Antonov pulled out the folder under his arm, opened it, took out the telegram and handed it to Stalin. When Stalin saw the telegram, Zhukov stared closely at his face, trying to judge from the changes in his facial expressions whether the telegram contained good news or bad news.

But from the beginning to the end, Stalin had no expression on his face, which made Zhukov unable to continue guessing. Fortunately, after reading the telegram, Stalin handed it to Zhukov and said: "This is a joint telegram sent by Yeremenko and Khrushchev, please read it, it is very interesting. "

Zhukov took the telegram and scanned it quickly. After reading the telegram at a glance, he said in surprise: "What, Chuikov wants to form a new combat group in the city of Stalingrad?"