USSR 1941

Paulus suddenly understood why Hitler was "friendly" to him.

Before that, Paulus could be said to be a general under the control of Hitler. If Paulus dared to contradict or refuse to accept, Hitler could punish him or even directly dismiss Paulus and replace him with a new general.

But now, when the Sixth Army was about to be surrounded by the Soviets, Hitler's control over Paulus had been weakened by the encirclement.

More importantly, Hitler at this time can only pin his hopes on Paulus, because the morale and combat effectiveness of the entire Sixth Army depend on Paulus' attitude.

Of course, Hitler dared not send anyone to replace Paulus.

As a result, Paulus' status and importance suddenly rose exponentially.

But Paulus understands that this can also be said to mean that his use value is higher.

It should be said that part of the plan Hitler said was correct.

For example, Stalingrad is located between the Don River and the Volga River, which is very beneficial to the defense of the German army... One side relies on the Volga River and the other side relies on the Don River, and then a line of defense is established at both ends, forming a defensive zone of more than 100 kilometers long and wide. .

As long as the German army opens up a few airports within this more than 100 kilometers, transport planes can land here one after another to continuously bring supplies to the 6th Army.

The problem is that Stalingrad is still in the hands of the Russian army. At the same time, the Russian army also has amphibious landing ships that can attack on rivers. In addition, the Russian army also has an air force. Of course, their air force will try to prevent the German army from transporting. The transportation is not in place, or the airport is bombed...

Paulus thinks about it casually, and feels that there are countless possibilities. As long as any of these possibilities is established, the Sixth Army will be in trouble.

"One thing is certain..." Hitler continued: "You will not be besieged for long. I have ordered Manstein to mobilize troops to reinforce you. At that time, they will repel these Russians and lift your siege!"

Paulus wanted to say something more, but he knew that what he said was superfluous.

No one can change what the Führer decides.

So Paulus could only answer: "Yes, Your Excellency the Führer!"

After putting down the phone,

Paulus paced back and forth at his desk, then went over to the map and looked at it for a while.

According to Hitler's order, Paulus should now abandon Karachi and cross the Don River to build a line of defense on the opposite bank.

But Paulus was unwilling to let his hands down like this. After thinking about it, he ordered to his adjutant: "29th Panzergrenadier Division, order them to launch a counterattack against the enemy immediately, and at the same time transport supplies, ammunition, Food, everything!"

"Yes, General!"

Judging from Paulus' order, he never pinned his hopes on the air force's transportation to meet the supplies of the Sixth Army from the beginning to the end.

The 29th Panzergrenadier Division is Paulus's only reserve in the rear. Even when Prodovitoje was in danger, Paulus was not willing to use it... To be precise, it was not reluctant, but it was a battle. It should be like this, and the reserve team should not be used prematurely unless it is absolutely necessary, because there may be an even more urgent situation after the emergency, and having no troops at hand at that time means that the army will be defeated like a mountain.

Now is the time to call on the emergency reserves.

The 29th Panzergrenadier Division was ordered to immediately drive to the war zone, which is the direction where the Soviet army may advance, to prepare.

The Soviet army spent the night resting.

In fact, one night is far from enough, because the tanks move very slowly in the muddy ground, and sometimes it is not bad if they can advance more than ten kilometers a day... They are always stuck in the mud pile and cannot move, even with a self-rescue log There are also engineers who keep filling holes for them.

The problem was that the tank was too heavy, and the gravel used to fill the pit was rolled into the mud and completely disappeared in a few strokes, so every few tanks had to be filled, and every few tanks had to be filled again.

This is especially at the corners... Tanks in this era turn very violently. One side brakes the track and the other track moves forward, so the turn is completed.

This turning action, coupled with the weight of the tank, will surely dig a big hole in the road.

Therefore, the tank unit was almost stop-and-go, and there were only two tank regiments that could finally reach Prodovitoye.

At this time, the Army Command also rushed to Prodovitoye, and Major General Trufanov "received" Shulka very reluctantly.

Khrushchev ordered Trufanov to fully consider Comrade Shulka's suggestion.

Although Trufanov knew in his heart that his previous judgment was wrong, he was still unwilling to admit it on the surface... Sometimes it is really difficult to get rid of this face, after all, he is the commander of the army group.

Therefore, this war is actually not only fighting against the enemy, but also fighting openly and secretly among one's own people.

"This is one of the reasons why I do not support the use of tank troops as the main offensive force, Comrade Shulka!" Trufanov said: "Our marching speed is too slow, which will give the enemy sufficient reaction time!"

"Maybe!" Shulka replied: "We are worried that the Germans will break out, but the Germans have no intention of breaking out at all!"

"How is that possible!" Trufanov laughed: "Will they allow us to cut off their supply routes and surround them?"

"Maybe they don't want to miss Stalingrad!" Shulka said: "To know the answer is actually very simple, we just need to ask whether the German offensive against Stalingrad has weakened!"

Trufanov couldn't help being taken aback for a moment, then raised his head towards the staff officer.

The staff immediately used the radio to contact the 62nd Army... The 51st Army and the 62nd Army belonged to the Stalingrad Front, and there was a communication mechanism between them.

After a while, the staff officer came back, and without saying anything, he just passed a telegram to Trufanov.

Trufanov looked at the telegram with doubts on his face.

Before the Soviet army took Plodovitoye, it made sense for the German army not to retreat, because the German army might block the Soviet attack on the flank, so the attack on Stalingrad could continue.

But now, after the Soviet army captured Plodovitoye, the situation of the Soviet army's encirclement of Stalingrad has become clear. Even if a deep encirclement cannot be achieved, Karachi will be flanked left and right and the German 6th Army will be encircled east of the Don River. It can still be done.

But even so, the German army did not retreat and still maintained the offensive against Stalingrad... This made Trufanov a little confused.

"If..." said Shulka, "the Germans are not planning to retreat, why are we in such a hurry to close the encirclement?"