1017 Withdrawal to the North

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The shells fell on the ground, and flames and steel flowers bloomed in the soft soil, shaking everything around and tearing the nearby air. ?One?Reading · 1?k?a?n?shu· Then on the originally flat ground, there will be a huge crater, and the bottom of the crater is still slightly steaming.

Immediately afterwards, soldiers of the Soviet army would jump into the crater and use this still warm place as a natural bunker. The German artillery fire destroyed the village, damaged the fortifications, and took a lot of lives, some of the Soviet soldiers, and some of the civilians in the village.

Strictly speaking, the German army still has a long way to go before completely encircling Moscow. At least in the direction due east of Moscow, as well as in the southern area of ​​Moscow, they are still firmly in the hands of the regular Soviet army. And near Kursk, south of Moscow, there is even a huge armored corps of the Soviet army with more than a thousand tanks.

It is a pity that this armored corps was caught in the middle by the three German armies, and could not move for a while. On the far right of Zhukov is the flank of Model's d-group army, directly in front of it is the mixed Italian, Romanian and Ukrainian clusters, and on the far left is Guderian's g-group army, which is preparing for revenge.

These three combat clusters have surpassed the Soviet Union's southward armored cluster in Zhukov's hands in terms of the number of troops, equipment, and even supplies, and they can barely maintain the line of defense unshakable. Zhukov has been devastated, let alone He said that he broke away from the defense line and went north to rescue the precarious Moscow.

From the outbreak of the war to the present, this is the first time that the German army has an absolute advantage in its own strength against a large-scale armored group of the enemy in a certain direction, so this also proves from one aspect that the German armored forces have indeed become It is truly number one in the world. ??One reading ww?w·1?k?anshu·

In Zhukov's combat headquarters, the sound of rumbling artillery shells falling from the defensive zone ahead could still be heard. Some officers were busy with their respective tasks. The 100,000-strong army had too many affairs to manage, so the entire headquarters seemed extremely busy.

"Comrade Marshal! The 6th Armored Front is calling, saying that their fuel and ammunition are almost exhausted, and they are asking for supplies." An officer in charge of logistics stood behind Zhukov with a document, and asked the Marshal loudly. road.

Before Zhukov could raise his head to answer the officer's question, another officer entered the room. As soon as he entered the room, he stood at attention and asked a troublesome question: "Comrade Marshal! Comrade Konev, the commander of the 1st Guards Armored Front, called to inquire about the time to replenish the new tanks."

Zhukov waved his hand to signal them to shut up, and then he continued to listen to the voice on the other side of the phone, ignoring the two officers who came in with already high ranks. Then he spoke, and said to the phone a little dryly: "Comrade Stalin,

My troops were caught in the middle of the three German armies, if I retreated rashly...it may lead to the collapse of the entire southern Moscow theater..."

"Yes, Comrade Stalin. I firmly support any decision you make, even if it is a crisis, you will not hesitate to abandon Kursk." Zhukov, who seemed to be much older, said to the phone as calmly as possible: " But I have to state a fact to you first, as a result of doing so, the troops in the entire southern Moscow theater did not end up much better than the Leningrad cluster.”

"Okay, I'm waiting for your final order. If we are destined to endure everything that fate imposes on us, then at the last moment, I will lead as many troops as possible and rush back to Moscow. ?? Read?? Book w?wwLook, 1?k?a?n?s?h?u? Yes! May you be in good health." After finishing the last sentence, Zhukov hung up the phone when he heard the busy tone on the phone , Then he turned around and looked at the two officers standing in front of him.

Giving the two of them a look to continue talking, Zhukov sat back on his chair tiredly. There was a mountain of documents on the desk in front of him, and the lines of several telephones were messily intertwined, running along the desk. One corner of it hangs down to the dirt floor.

"Comrade Marshal! The 6th Armored Front has sent a message saying that their fuel and ammunition are almost exhausted, and they request to replenish food, fuel, ammunition and other supplies as soon as possible." The officer in charge of logistics had no choice but to repeat what he had just said. He said it again, and continued to stand there respectfully, waiting for Zhukov's reply.

Zhukov did not speak, but motioned to another officer to continue explaining his purpose. So the second officer could only repeat what he had just said: "Comrade Marshal! Konev's armored front army called to ask when the new tanks for supply will be delivered to them."

"Tell Konev that there won't be any new tanks for him. I can only support him with one recruit, but he must hold the main defensive position! Can't take a step back!" Zhukov didn't answer the first officer's question, but He directly rejected Konev's request.

Then he rubbed the bridge of his nose with his fingers, and looked at the first officer: "Reply the ammunition to the 6th Front Army as soon as possible, and then arrange for the transport troops to send it to them. As for other supplies, let's press it first. This will be tomorrow." It's time for you to remind me again."

"Yes!" The two officers got the answers they wanted, and retreated after paying a military salute. In the office, several officers from the logistics department were checking the forms, sorting out the weapons and ammunition they had just obtained, and adding them. of recruits.

Even the huge reserve system has been exhausted so far. Most of the shadow troops that the Soviet Union was proud of, the so-called "reserve divisions", had also been annihilated or captured by the German army.

The troops that the Soviet Army can mobilize now include, in addition to the young and strong with no combat experience, there are also old retired grandfathers, as well as a large number of women and children. The quality of these recruits may not be as good as Hitler's national division in comparison. This also made some servants of the German army, for the first time, more fierce than their Soviet opponents in terms of combat effectiveness and fighting will.

It has been almost a month since Guderian's G Group Army failed to go north. Germany supplemented G Group Army with King Tiger tanks, Assault Leopards and various other armored vehicles; The weapons and equipment are Sherman tanks aided by the United States, as well as many pitiful T-34 and Stalin tanks.

Regardless of quality or quantity, Zhukov's troops are no longer comparable to the frontal German armored troops. The only thing he still has a certain advantage now is the time it takes for the Germans to heal the wounds. It was only this period of time for the German army to restore its front-line strength that supported the Soviet Kursk line of defense.

What no one knows is that in the distant territory of Germany, the p group army ordered by General Bock has quietly completed the basic establishment, is undergoing training, and is waiting for their heavy weapons and equipment. And counting this group army, the German army is not counted as garrison troops, and the field group army alone has reached 16, with a total strength of more than 10,000. Coupled with the scattered garrison troops in various places, the total strength of the German army exceeded 10,000, reaching the limit of complete saturation.

This is the limit reached by Akado's vigorous mobilization of female soldiers. In Germany, on average, one person serves in the army. This ratio can no longer be described as horror, but "limit". Germany had even begun to abolish its conscription department, as Yuan privately confessed to his advisers: "If a country can annihilate the present German army, then it will win the war."

The Soviet-German war not only exhausted the flesh and blood of the Soviet Union, but also consumed the vital strength of the German army. In fact, the total number of German casualties in the Soviet Union is close to 10,000. In other words, one out of every German has been killed or injured in the Soviet Union.

Of course, Zhukov didn’t know all this, and the information he knew was basically—he lost again here, lost there again, how many people were lost today, and how many people will be lost tomorrow. So he reluctantly dialed the phone number of his already incomplete reserve team: "Pick up General Vasilev... This is Zhukov... Yes, let your two armored divisions move north first... Yes, we Sooner or later, the whole line will collapse. This is something you and I both know. Comrade Stalin hopes that we can lean towards Moscow to buy him more time. I think in a few days, or tomorrow at the earliest, order me to deploy troops to go north The order will be issued...so I asked you to leave early, so as not to panic at that time."

"However, Comrade Marshal, if the 3rd Front Army as a reserve force leaves its support position, as long as the Germans attack, wouldn't your line of defense..." General Vassilev's eager voice came over the phone. After all, it was about the safety of hundreds of thousands of troops, so he had to carefully consider the consequences of his troops' early retreat.

"I will soon transfer the 1st Front Army to join the sequence of retreating north." Zhukov said helplessly: "Our bridgehead going south is now dispensable. After all, Stalingrad has fallen, and Baku It will be a matter of time before the oil field is occupied by the German army. Since the entire southern theater has collapsed, we should try to find a way to rush back to Moscow now that we are defending here. After all, Comrade Stalin is still there, or our entire Soviet It is!"

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