The decisive battle against the Third Reich

As a result, the armored train was actually dug out by the Germans. Most of the train was in good condition. If there was any damage, a Soviet soldier in one of the turrets threw a grenade inside before surrendering... For such people, German soldiers It can be said that they are angry and hateful, but there seems to be nothing wrong with the Soviet soldiers doing this. Before they surrendered, they were still enemies. It is natural to damage their own equipment. They can dispose of them as they wish after surrendering.

Of course, the German soldiers would not give the Soviet soldier any good treatment. They would just give him a few gun butts and a punch.

However, this "heroic behavior" of Soviet soldiers cannot change anything... The reason is that the structure of the Soviet armored train is very simple, and the turret is modified from the T34 fixed in it. Then one turret was blown up, and the German army All that needs to be done is to drive the armored train back to the factory and install it with a captured T34.

It is conceivable that such an armored train can play its role in a specific situation, such as the Karachi Railway Station.

After knowing that Karachi had been lost, Stalin was very disappointed with the battle situation in the direction of Stalingrad, because he knew that the fall of Karachi meant that the German 6th Army would fully cross the Don River and threaten Stalingrad to the east.

Although in a sense, Stalingrad is not of great strategic significance to the German army, it is of great significance to Stalin or the Soviet army...because this is a city named after Stalin. If the Soviet Union People could not even save the city named by their leader, which was undoubtedly a travesty to the entire Soviet army and a serious blow to morale.

In other words, the gains and losses of Stalingrad were more political than practical. If it were lost, it would further amplify the Soviet army's negative thinking about fighting the German army.

Perhaps, Hitler also took a fancy to this and was eager to capture Stalingrad... Now that the war has started, Hitler has become nervous. He has already left the "Wolf's Lair" and taken a special plane to fly to the German Eastern Front Combat Command. .

To be precise, it was another bunker that Hitler secretly built in Vinitsa, Ukraine, which also served as a command center, codenamed "Werewolf".

There is no need to say more why Hitler did this. Of course, it was to better direct the battle on the Eastern Front.

But in fact, Hitler's command at this time did not have much effect, because at this time he was so dazzled by a series of victories that he thought that the Soviet army had completely retreated, and ordered the troops to capture Stalin within ten days. Gullah...

This order stunned Paulus, Holt and others. They almost thought that the Führer must be crazy. The Soviet army in front of them consisted of two front armies, while the German army directly used to attack Stalingrad only had two armies. That is to say, this battle has just begun and is not even the beginning.

But in any case, the situation of the Soviet army is indeed not optimistic.

Stalin thought about it and sent a telegram to Zhukov, commander of the Western Front, ordering him to arrive in Moscow that day.

The name Zhukov can be said to be like thunder. He can be said to be one of the few generals with super commanding talents among the many incompetent generals in the Soviet Union. More importantly... he is also a victorious general.

For example, the defeat of the Japanese army in the Battle of Nomonhan prevented them from entering the Soviet Union and turned to China, thus changing the pattern of World War II. Another example is his defense of Leningrad. What is particularly worth mentioning is that he commanded the Western Front to win the defense of Moscow.

Therefore, at this critical moment, the first person Stalin thought of was undoubtedly Zhukov.

Zhukov rushed to Moscow at ten o'clock in the evening and walked into Stalin's office.

"The situation is very bad, Comrade Zhukov!" Stalin said with a melancholy face to Zhukov who was standing in front of him: "The Germans have occupied Karachi and sent troops northward overnight, but we have no troops in the north that can stop them. If this continues, Stalingrad will fall soon!"

Although Zhukov had known that the situation in Stalingrad was not optimistic before, he did not expect that the problem would be so serious.

"Stalingrad must not be lost!" Stalin continued: "We must be very clear about this. If Stalingrad falls, the German army may use the Volga River as a cover to rush north into the Soviet rear area, which means All the results we have achieved in the defense of Moscow will be in vain, and more importantly, the army may lose confidence in victory! "

"I agree, Comrade Stalin!" Zhukov replied: "We cannot lose this city!"

"Do you have any ideas?" Stalin held his pipe in his mouth and looked at the map hanging on the wall: "If you were in charge, how would you fight this battle?"

Zhukov couldn't help but be stunned. He had never thought about this problem before.

However, he is worthy of being a battle-hardened general. After looking at the map of the enemy's situation on the wall, he replied: "If I were to command it, I would try my best to organize a group army north of the Don River to launch a counterattack against the enemy. !”

"Counterattack?" Stalin was quite interested in this proposal.

"Yes!" Zhukov replied: "We can't passively defend Stalingrad. The Germans' weakness is that their supply lines are very long. The deeper they go into the Soviet hinterland, the longer the supply lines will be. At the same time, they have to face bad road conditions and countless guerrillas. Coupled with the consumption on the battlefield, I think they are already at the end of their strength!" Stalin nodded in agreement. "Then..." Zhukov continued: "In order to prevent the Germans from putting all their strength into the battle to attack Stalingrad, we must launch a counterattack from the north along the channel between the Don River and the Volga River to the south. The purpose of the counterattack is not to annihilate them or drive them away. We may even fail and suffer heavy casualties, but... we have consumed the Germans' supplies and delayed their attack on Stalingrad!" Stalin nodded again in agreement. After a pause, Stalin solemnly told Zhukov: "You have been granted full authority, Comrade Zhukov. The State Defense Committee has decided to appoint you as deputy supreme commander and send you to Stalingrad. You can mobilize the two fronts, air force and other troops in Stalingrad, and have the power to mobilize troops. You must do everything you can to counterattack the Germans and defend Stalingrad at any cost!"