Eight Hundred and Thirty First Defense or Offense

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There are still snowflakes in Smolensk in March this year. Although winter is about to pass, the cold still reminds people that it is not willing to go away so cleanly. But this year is different from usual, because Smolensk has become a battlefield, a front line.

I can't remember how long it has been since there has been no war here. The Russians here seem to have forgotten that there is such a thing as war in this world. They have their own unique pride, because their motherland seems to have something to be very proud of in terms of war.

The person who challenged this country through here last time is also said to be a great leader. He is all-powerful throughout Europe and has the myth of invincibility. Until more than a hundred years later, some people still talk about his name: Napoleon! You see, what a resounding name!

But this name fell, because he attacked Moscow, trying to challenge the valor of the Russians, so he was defeated in Moscow, lost his honor, lost his country. Therefore, the civilians in Smolensk looked at the war in front of them very calmly. They had reason to believe that the other party would be defeated, and they themselves would win the final victory.

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But when these civilians see the face of the war, they know that this time there may be some twists and turns, because the enemy they see seems to be a little bit stronger than they imagined—or, is it stronger? a little.

"Boom!" A large-caliber artillery shell fell in the city of Smolensk. The huge shock wave destroyed the buildings blocking the way. A building began to collapse with the explosion, and the dust raised when it collapsed began to spread. to the whole street. After more than a hundred years of evolution, the destructive power of war is no longer that of the Napoleon era. Only those who have experienced it will know how terrifying it has become.

A teacher who had just enlisted in the army looked at the collapsed houses in the distance, and exclaimed with his rifle on his back: "My God, the enemy's cannons are so powerful, a building collapsed just like that!"

Several veterans who walked in front of him looked dismissively. They knew that their cannons were more powerful, but they were unwilling to explain to a recruit. After all, the follow-up of this matter will develop a sentence: "Why are our cannons more powerful, but they were beaten to the door of the house?"

The explanations like this are more complicated. After all, the German planes are too powerful, the tanks are too powerful, and even the infantry is even more powerful. But it's embarrassing to say these words, isn't it? So everyone remained silent, just walking towards the edge of the city step by step.

It has become a ruin. The Germans just surrounded Smolensk, but did not send their own troops to attack here. They shelled and harassed the edge of the city every day, but never tried to capture the city, which was heavily fortified by the Soviet army. Germany* The team carefully avoided street fighting, and avoided getting into a battle with the Soviet Union that consumed human resources.

In order to defend Smolensk, Zhukov left behind 100,000 Soviet infantry and set up a street fighting position similar to Kharkov in Smolensk, trying to drag Army Group A into street fighting and let Smolensk consume the German army However, Lundstedt was not fooled, or Germany did not have the capital to be fooled, so the two sides only fought some small-scale battles on the outskirts of the city.

The lack of oil caused the Germans to stop their offensive, but Zhukov and Stalin couldn't figure out the details of the Germans. They didn't know why the Germans stopped their offensive this time. Another trap dug.

"You can let the troops counterattack at the right time, and see what the Germans are planning!" Stalin said on the phone with a somewhat displeased tone. He ordered Zhukov to defend Smolensk, only to lose it to the Germans, much to Stalin's displeasure. However, he is also aware of the current situation of the Soviet Red Army, and knows that this is not because Zhukov questioned his order, but because he cannot defend Smolensk at all.

However, he is still worried that Moscow will be strategically bombed by the German army, so he is almost paranoid to strengthen the Soviet Union's air defense capabilities in the direction of Moscow. He mobilized the best fighter jets and the best pilots near Moscow, and deployed them here. A large number of anti-aircraft artillery emplacements.

This consumed a lot of the Soviet Union's precious air defense resources, and also increased the burden of lack of anti-aircraft firepower on the front line. But Moscow meant a lot to Stalin, and he was absolutely justifiable in doing so.

Zhukov is also happy to see this kind of thing succeed. Since Stalin personally intervened in the air defense in the direction of Moscow, he has no time and energy to interfere with his combat command. So he has a more flexible command and can arrange his defense more calmly.

Zhukov held the phone in the command post and said to his leader: "I don't have enough information to confirm it yet. I don't know if the Germans stopped the attack on their own initiative this time, or it was because of lack of fuel or other reasons. What supplies. If we launch an offensive rashly at this time, we will probably lose a large number of troops again, which will definitely make our defense system that we have built with great difficulty collapse again."

His words are by no means alarmist. Although the British spies in Germany have repeatedly claimed that Germany lacks sufficient strategic materials, and the United States also hopes that the Soviet Union will start to fight back to gain the initiative on the battlefield, but this series of intelligence is still not enough for the Soviet generals to make up their minds make a tentative counterattack

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After all, their wounds have not yet healed. They took the lead in launching two offensives in Poland and Ukraine, and they were hit head-on by the German armored forces. They lost a large number of troops in these two offensive operations. These losses made them Until now, no effective defense could be organized to stop the German advance.

Who dares to say that the stop of the German offensive this time was not premeditated? Who dares to say that the incomplete information about the shortage of materials in Germany is not false information spread by the Germans to deliberately confuse the Soviet Union to make a wrong response? Once the Soviet Union starts to fight back again, the price of failure will not be acceptable to the Soviet Union.

That's why Stalin gave up his arbitrariness and consulted Zhukov's opinion. That's why Zhukov changed his combat policy of substituting offense for defense, and cautiously waited for the opportunity he thought was appropriate.

It's like the powerful British Empire Navy. After ruling the world's oceans for a hundred years, anyone who challenges them should think twice before acting. After the German Army won a series of victories, anyone should treat this behemoth with caution, and dare not easily try to counter this offensive challenge method-everyone is happy to use another relatively moderate way to win: Hold the position first and wait for the Germans to attack. Once the Germans fail to attack, it will prove that the Germans' attack is really weak, and then launch a counterattack.

Sometimes being conservative means lower risk and less responsibility for everyone. So even all senior Soviet generals, including Zhukov, are waiting for a relatively safe opportunity to come, and this opportunity is related to time.

Zhukov's idea is very simple. The Soviet Union has dispatched the main force of 35 divisions from the Far East and secretly transported them to its own Western Front in batches. Many of these troops are old troops commanded by Zhukov. They have actual combat experience against the Japanese Kwantung Army, and their combat effectiveness is relatively higher.

As long as these troops arrive in Moscow, Zhukov is confident that he can hold on to his current line of defense. As long as he holds on to his current line of defense, the Soviet Union will find a chance to defeat the German army in the new winter.

A muddy spring, a summer when the German offensive was thwarted, and a muddy autumn, followed by the most exhausting winter for the German army. The Soviet Red Army entered the counterattack in one fell swoop when the second winter came, and the German army was defeated... This is Zhukov There is also Stalin's script, there is no need to take risks at all, as long as the current situation is maintained, it will be fine.

According to calculations, the highest mobilization value of Germany is about 7 million to 8 million. Now the German army has almost reached the limit of army mobilization. As long as the Germans are defeated once, they will not have a second chance. So Stalin felt that he could wait for a chance to kill without letting the Soviet army in the direction of Moscow continue to take risks.

So on the phone, Stalin gave very simple instructions: "Strengthen all defenses in the direction of Moscow, let the Germans fall into the quagmire of war, and finally counterattack when the Germans lose their offensive capabilities! Never let Moscow get involved in the war, this is A crime that cannot be tolerated by the great motherland!"

Zhukov generally agrees with Stalin, but he is more concerned about the defense in the direction of the Caucasus: "The great leader, Comrade Stalin, Rokossovsky is determined to live and die with Stalingrad, then I, Zhukov, will definitely share with Moscow." Survival! But in the direction of counterattack after defense, I still prefer to target the enemy's weaknesses rather than be determined by the region."

His idea is to counterattack from the Caucasus first, remove the threat of the German army to oil resources, and then counterattack from the south to recapture Ukraine in one breath, threatening Romania, the German oil-producing area, so as to quickly destroy Germany's war potential.

"Comrade Zhukov, I believe that we have maintained a high degree of agreement on the issue of defending Moscow. As for where to fight back, that is a matter for the future." Unexpectedly, Stalin agreed with Zhukov. He told Zhukov on the phone Promise: "Defend Moscow! Let's work hard together! In the future Soviet Union, you must be a great hero!"