The Rise of the Third Reich

"Comrade General Secretary, we have tried our best..."

Zhukov said this in front of Comrade Stalin on May 10. At this time, he and Pavlov beside him couldn't help crying.

Because the war has been lost!

On the night of May 7, the Soviet army launched a counterattack with all its strength, but was once again crushed by the German army! The Soviet Northern Front Tank Group was first defeated miserably on the battlefield on the west bank of the Mara River. The commander of the group, General Katuzov, died heroically in the early morning of the 8th, fulfilling his responsibility as a Bolshevik Party member!

At the same time, the Soviet counterattack in the upper reaches of the Ruza River was also unsuccessful. After losing more than 300 tanks/assault artillery, the German defense line was still not shaken, and they had to switch to defense after dawn.

Starting during the day on May 8, the German troops in the Triangle moved from defense to full-scale attack. After a day of bloody battles, a group of the 48th Armored Corps opened a 10-kilometer-wide gap in the front line of the Soviet Southern Front Group in the upper reaches of the Ruza River - this gap is no joke, the upper reaches of the Ruza River The area is located on the side of the Central Front's Western Front Cluster Defense Line, and the surrounding terrain is flat and has good transportation facilities. Once broken through by the German armored cluster, the Germans may be able to rush to Ruza City (an important location on Moscow's Western Front, only 88 kilometers away from the Red Square) within a few hours. Moreover, Ruza City is also the defense core of the Moscow Western Front Cluster. Once attacked from behind by the Germans, the Moscow Western Front Cluster will collapse!

Rotmistrov, the commander of the Soviet Southern Front Assault Group, knew that something was wrong, and immediately deployed the 1st Guards Mechanized Corps as a reserve force and several tank destroyer brigades transferred from Moscow City to try to counterattack. Nearly 1,000 tanks from both sides once again launched a night battle on the plains north of Ruza City. With the powerful power of E-50 tanks and Jaguar tank destroyers, as well as the help of night vision equipment, the German armored group once again achieved an overwhelming victory. victory.

After nearly 10 hours of bloody battle, the Soviet army withdrew from the battlefield in the early morning of May 9 after leaving the wreckage of nearly 400 tanks/assault artillery and tens of thousands of corpses on the battlefield.

The commander of the Soviet Southern Front Assault Group, Rotmistrov, also fulfilled his oath and died heroically in the battle in the early morning of the 9th.

The German armored group that won the night tank battle took advantage of the victory and pursued it to the gates of Ruza. An infantry corps of the Soviet army carried out desperate resistance relying on Ruza's city fortifications. To cover the retreat of the main force of the Western Front Group.

The German armored forces were not in a hurry to attack the Soviet positions. They were exhausted from the consecutive days of battles. Although the equipment losses were not serious, ammunition and fuel continued to be replenished.

Taking advantage of this opportunity, throughout the day on May 10, hundreds of thousands of Soviet troops in the west of Moscow withdrew all the way to Moscow despite the fierce German bombing. Behind them were German armored groups pursuing across the Ruza River or along the Moskva River!

Under the double blow of bombing and pursuit, the Soviet army suffered heavy casualties. Along the roads and railways leading to Moscow, all equipment was abandoned or damaged, and the corpses of Soviet officers and soldiers were also laid out layer by layer!

Many of the retreating Soviet troops were overtaken by German armored units and then surrendered or were destroyed!

At the same time, the German 1st Armored Group, which was heading north from the Tula region, has been advancing rapidly in the past few days, as if entering no man's land. By the early morning of May 10, the leading troops of the 1st Armored Group had advanced to Voskresensk, an important town southeast of Moscow, only more than 80 kilometers away from the Red Square in the center of Moscow.

Now that the battle has reached this point, the Soviet army has become panicked. The Soviet high command was also undecided. While hurriedly collecting troops, they tried to put them into the "triangular battlefield" outside the city to repel the German troops approaching Moscow step by step and plug the fatal gap. On the other hand, they are working hard to shrink the Central Front's troops outside Moscow, seeming to want to use them to defend the city of Moscow. On the other hand, they are planning a general retreat, withdrawing all the troops gathered around Moscow and Kalinin (city) and retreating to the Volga-Ural region...

At this time, Zhukov and Pavlov could only bite the bullet and proposed to Stalin to give up the decisive battle and shrink their troops to stick to Moscow and Kalinin.

"We have failed, haven't we? We have failed everything that Lenin left us... or not?"

After hearing the suggestions put forward by Zhukov and Pavlov, Stalin, who was ashen-faced, did not get angry or blame him, but just asked questions in confusion.

Zhukov and Pavlov looked at each other, and Pavlov said: "Comrade General Secretary, comrades have tried their best, but the enemy is too powerful..."

Zhukov sighed and said: "Comrade General Secretary, although the battle outside Moscow has failed, we still have Moscow Strong City to defend. In addition... we still have many troops in the Caucasus and the southern Russian grasslands. You may be able to withdraw Go to the Caucasus, where the terrain is more conducive to persistence.”

Stalin's hometown is in Georgia in the Caucasus, and Zhukov believed that Stalin might agree to withdraw to the Caucasus.

Moreover, in Zhukov's view, the Caucasus region, with the Caucasus Mountains to rely on, is a safer reservation than Moscow.

"No!" Stalin said resolutely, "I will not leave. If I leave Moscow, it will soon be lost. At that time, Tsarist Russia will be completely restored. That woman Olga will become the dictatorial monarch of Russia, and the Bolshevik Party will It’s all over, I can’t do this!”

Stalin's answer was as expected by Zhukov, but he still did not give up his plan to resist in the Caucasus Mountains.

Zhukov said: "Comrade General Secretary, even if you do not leave Moscow yourself, you should promote the 'Caucasus Communist Fortress'. This will be very beneficial for us to persist in resistance and buy more time."

The idea of ​​building a "Caucasian Communist Fortress" has long been in Zhukov's mind. He arranged for Rokossovsky to be the commander of the Steppe Front for this purpose.

Stalin looked at Zhukov who seemed to be able to think of ways to save the cause of Soviet communism. Zhukov continued: "Comrade General Secretary, apart from Leningrad and Moscow, the most important regions in the Soviet Union are the Caucasus and the Volga-Urals Industrial Zone. The Caucasus region's oil production accounts for 70% of the Soviet Union's national oil production, while the Volga-Urals Industrial Zone's oil accounts for 30%, and industry accounts for more than 70% of the areas currently controlled by the Soviet regime.

If you compare the Caucasus with the Volga-Ural region, the Volga-Ural industrial zone is undoubtedly more important. Because the current oil processing center of the Soviet Union has been transferred from the Petroleum City of Batumi to Kuibyshev and Ufa. If we lose the Volga-Ural region, not only will we lose more than 70% of our industry, but we will also lose all our oil processing capabilities. Then the war will completely fail in a short period of time..."

"So you came up with the idea of ​​using the Caucasian GC fortress to attract the firepower of the Germans?" Stalin already understood Zhukov's idea - whether this method can work or not, the fact that he still has ideas at this point is enough to make him Stalin relied heavily on Zhukov...even though he had just lost a crucial battle!

Zhukov nodded and said: "There are now nearly 500,000 people in the Caucasus Front and more than 600,000 in the Steppe Front. If all the troops of the Steppe Army can be sent to the Caucasus, then the Caucasus Front will have an army of 1.1 million. Relying on the Caucasus Mountains With sufficient ammunition reserves, they will be able to hold on for a long time, which will at least buy us enough time to evacuate the Volga-Ural industrial area and reserve fuel.”

Without Empress Olga's Belarusian government, Stalin would definitely demand peace now, even if he cedes Ukraine, Belarus, and even the Caucasus!

But now that Belarus exists, it is impossible to seek peace - the current war is not a war between the Soviet Union and Germany, but a war between the Bolsheviks and the Romanov dynasty. There is no room for peace talks at all, and we can only fight hard... No , should be dragged on, maybe it can bring about a change.

And if we want to rely on procrastination, it will definitely be more beneficial to lead Germany to attack the Caucasus than to let Germany immediately attack the Volga-Urals Industrial Zone.

Stalin understood what Zhukov was saying now. He nodded slightly and asked: "Comrade Zhukov, how sure are you that your plan for a communist fortress in the Caucasus will be successful?"

"30%." Zhukov said a very frustrating probability.

The people in the General Staff of the German Wehrmacht are not imbeciles. Of course they know that the Soviet Union’s Achilles’ heel lies in the Volga-Urals. As long as we occupy that area, the Soviet Union will almost become an agricultural country. Isn’t it a matter of time before we defeat the bastion of GC communism in the Caucasus?

"If you can go to Tbilisi..." Zhukov continued, "the probability of success can reach more than 70%."

Of course Zhukov said this to save Stalin's life. Although Stalin was considered a tyrant by many people, he was still very kind to his direct comrades. In the army, Stalin's direct line is the First Cavalry Army with Voroshilov-Budionny as the core. Zhukov was born in this department, so Zhukov's escape from the Great Purge was definitely not due to luck.

Of course Stalin also knew Zhukov's loyalty. He shook his head and said: "Georgy Konstantinovich, I have not considered going to the Caucasus, but you are going there to serve as the commander of the Caucasus Front. You must take my place. , defend the Caucasus for the Soviet Union and the Bolshevik Party!”