USSR 1941

Golikov couldn't help being shocked when he heard this: "That Mamayev Gang..."

Shulka looked at the sky outside and said, "It's getting dark already. I believe the Germans want to try a surprise attack at night. If they still can't take down the hospital and school, they may let go and carry out bombing!"

Shulka was right, because the German army launched a surprise attack on the Soviet army that night.

In terms of infantry, the German army is more suitable for night combat than the Soviet army because the German army has better quality and better coordination.

On the other hand, if you want to take buildings such as hospitals and schools as forward bases, it is difficult for fighters, tanks, and artillery to play a role even in the daytime. The result of using them will often cause danger to the entire building, and This is not what the Germans wanted.

Because blowing up the building will cause two problems. One is that the German army itself has no danger to defend... It is very beneficial for the German army to occupy the building when it has air supremacy. It not only condescends but also gives itself a comfortable environment.

On the other hand, collapsed buildings will block roads, which will cause a lot of trouble for supplies, which has been verified by attacks in other directions.

With these in mind, Major General Andreas, the commander of the 29th Motorized Infantry Division, wanted to try the night battle.

But the result can be imagined.

For the Soviet army, this night attack was not a night attack at all, but the German army was in the dark and the Soviet army was secretly... The tactics remained the same, the Soviet army only needed to replace part of the rope grenades with incendiary bombs.

Shulka told Golikov: "But this situation cannot continue indefinitely, because the Germans will not let their offensive troops' supply lines and retreat routes be cut off and the offensive troops surrounded!"

"So in the end they chose to blow up these buildings?!" Krylov said.

"Yes, they have no other choice!" Shulka replied: "And not only in hospitals and schools, but also in other places!"

"In other words, we have to prepare for the entire Stalingrad to be blown into ruins?" Golikov looked a little horrified.

You must know that Stalingrad is an important river port in the Soviet Union, a water and land economic and trade center, and more importantly, a city named after Stalin... It is hard to imagine that such a city will be blown into ruins soon.

"No!" Shulka said, "What we should do is prepare to fight the enemy in the ruins!"

Krylov was silent for a while,

Then nodded: "Even so, it's better than letting Stalingrad fall into the hands of the enemy!"

Golikov thought for a while, then said: "We need some time to rest, we are short of supplies, and it is not possible to concentrate our forces and conduct unified command at the same time!"

"We can buy time!"

"What do you mean by buying time?"

"Stalingrad Front Army!" Shulka pointed to the north of the map, and said: "The Stalingrad Front has many generals, extensive equipment, and sufficient supplies, just because the funnel-shaped zone formed by the Don River and the Volga River blocked the troops from being able to Expand. At this time, they should not just block the German attack, they should launch a counterattack... Only in this way can the German army be dispersed as much as possible to reduce the pressure on Stalingrad!"

Golikov nodded, then glanced at Shulka unexpectedly, secretly thinking that this "breakout hero" really deserved his reputation. Not only did he have a lot of achievements in tactics, but he was so big in strategy that he commanded the actions of the front army at every turn.

This may seem like overreach.

In fact, this is a proper ultra vires... In the Soviet army, soldiers and junior officers are not allowed to have their own ideas and only need to obey orders. But as a captain, Shulka even considered the direction of the front army's level of combat power.

But Golikov didn't think there was anything wrong with this at all.

Because what Shulka said is indeed reasonable, the Stalingrad Front Army is the main force of the Soviet army, and the Soviet Union did not play a role because it misjudged the direction of the German army's attack.

That is to say, the Southeastern Front was in crisis in Stalingrad, but the Stalingrad Front, as the main force, was blocked in the north like a bystander doing nothing.

What Golikov didn't know was that this arrangement was relatively small for Shulka. If he could, he could use his historical knowledge to easily command the entire battle, including the battle in the Caucasus direction.

It was not up to Golikov to decide, so he immediately contacted Moscow.

Stalin in Moscow was anxious about the battle for Stalingrad.

He knew that Stalingrad was a big deal, and the loss of this city would almost mean that the connection between the Caucasus and the Soviet Union was split in two.

This is mainly because the Germans have air supremacy. Once the German army occupies Stalingrad, a large and fully functional military airport can be built in Stalingrad.

Needless to say, the Germans can use fighter planes and bombers to block the railways and roads from the Caucasus, especially there are only a few mountain passes through the Caucasus Mountains, so this is just a "simple task" for the Luftwaffe .

The Caucasus is not only the oil tank of the Soviet Union but also the granary of the Soviet Union.

Needless to say, the oil depot, the output of the Baku oil field accounts for 70% of the Soviet Union.

The granary is because the Caucasus, which stretches for 1,200 kilometers and has an altitude of 3,000 to 4,000 meters, blocks the Siberian cold current and makes the Caucasus region like spring all year round. This makes the Caucasus a high-yielding grain area and an important food supply area for the Soviet Union.

This also shows how failed Hitler's decision to divide the Army Group South into two armies A and B to attack the Caucasus and Stalingrad respectively.

The German army only needs to concentrate its forces to take Stalingrad or Baku, which may rewrite the outcome of the Soviet-German War.

But Hitler insisted on eating two big steamed buns in one bite, and ended up choking himself.

Of course, Stalin, who was in it at this time, was still worried because of the crisis in Stalingrad: the Stalingrad Front Army was blocked from the north and could not be reinforced, and the Southeast Front Army was demoralized, and even asked several times to abandon Stalingrad and retreat to the east. shore……

At this time, the phone rang, and Stalin answered the phone, and the assistant's voice came from the microphone: "Comrade Stalin, Comrade Golikov wants to talk to you!"

Stalin frowned, and said impatiently: "Tell him, I will not agree to withdraw from Stalingrad, they must stick to the last person, and they are not allowed to retreat a step!"

He hung up the phone without waiting for the assistant to answer.

Just as Stalin was distractedly lighting his pipe, the phone rang again.

Stalin gritted his teeth, he couldn't bear this Golikov anymore, at this moment he decided to send someone to replace him.

However, to Stalin's surprise, an assistant told him on the phone: "Comrade Golikov wants to discuss the defense plan with you!"