Chapter 665 Delay

"Comrade Zhukov!" A few hours later, Stalin, who was impatiently waiting for news, called the headquarters: "How is the counterattack going?"

Zhukov, who was in a state of panic, thought for a while and replied: "Comrade Stalin, we have been fighting hard, but the effect is not very obvious; our army has advanced five kilometers at most, but was counterattacked by the Germans. Most of our troops have only advanced 2 to 4 kilometers now!"

"That's very good!" Stalin was very satisfied with the result, because he knew that the depth of the German defense in Kotluban was only seven kilometers.

Then, if the offensive progress is based on today, it will take a few days to surround the Germans east of Kotluban.

But what Stalin didn't expect was that fighting does not mean that you can advance two kilometers today and tomorrow.

Only Zhukov knew that today's battle consumed most of the Soviet army's energy. If the battle was fought like this today, it almost meant that there would be no progress in the future, and it might even be repelled by the Germans.

After a pause, Stalin asked again: "What is the reason for the obstruction of the offensive?"

"Because of insufficient time!" Zhukov replied: "The troops did not have time to fully prepare for the offensive, and did not conduct artillery reconnaissance and find out the enemy's firepower configuration. In addition, the enemy's aviation force has mastered the air, which makes our army very passive!"

Zhukov said this very artistically.

What he said was indeed the truth, because of time, air supremacy and other reasons, the reconnaissance and preparation were insufficient... But if it is said more concisely, it was because he was fooled by the Germans in command and let the 16th Tank Army jump into the German trap and suffered heavy losses.

Of course, Zhukov would not tell Stalin this.

Stalin did not hesitate and ordered: "Continue to attack, I will send you more troops!"

This more, that is, there are three more army groups in the future, that is, in addition to the 1st Guards Army, Stalin successively organized three army groups with a total force of 200,000 people to participate in this attack on Kotluban.

And this force of 280,000, including the First Guards Army, will launch a tide-like attack on the German defense line in the next seven days.

However, Zhukov was not happy when he heard the news, because as he said, he needed planes, tanks and ammunition supplies. More troops could not change the outcome of this battle, only the Soviet army suffered more and more casualties.

On the other hand, the German army was indeed affected by the Soviet offensive.

The first is supply.

Paulus had planned to launch a general attack on Stalingrad immediately, but Zhukov's fierce attack on the northern front forced the German army to consume the ammunition that had been stored with great effort, and this consumption was expected to increase in the future... So the plan to attack Stalingrad was stranded.

The second is the strength.

The 14th Panzer Army was originally the main force to attack Stalingrad, but now it had to be transferred to the northern front because of the Soviet army's fierce attack in the north.

Wittesheim, commander of the 14th Panzer Army, even felt guilty in the face of the Soviets' continuous and at-all-cost attacks.

"General!" Wittesheim reported to Paulus: "The northern front is in danger. We need more infantry and stronger air support, even if it means indefinitely postponing the attack on Stalingrad!"

It should be said that Major General Wittesheim's suggestion is still reasonable, because if the northern defense line is broken by the Soviet army, it means that the troops attacking Stalingrad will be attacked from all sides or even surrounded in Stalingrad, which is obviously very dangerous for the German army.

But this is actually Major General Wittesheim exaggerating the danger of the northern defense line... He just saw that the Soviet army continued to rush to the German defense line and it seemed that there would never be an end, and the casualties of German soldiers were also rising sharply, so he subjectively believed that the northern defense line was "very dangerous."

In fact, the Soviet army's first breakthrough, that is, the breakthrough towards the state farm, was the most likely to succeed, but it was thwarted by the 21st Armored Division. The subsequent Soviet offensive was actually more about delaying the German army to buy time for Stalingrad.

This especially delayed the German Air Force... The main force of the Air Force was transferred to the northern front, and the blockade of the Volga River east of Stalingrad was reduced exponentially, so the Soviet Southeast Front could urgently send a large number of reinforcements and supplies to Stalingrad through the Volga River.

After the battle of the state farm ended, General Strike convened a meeting of the officers of the 21st Army.

"Gentlemen!" General Strike raised his glass and said, "From the North African battlefield to the Eastern Front, we are invincible, and we seem to have gotten used to it!"

The officers smiled knowingly.

Colonel Slain added, "At the same time, we seem to have gotten used to one thing, that is, the major has once again guessed the enemy's intentions!"

"Yes!" General Strike said, "Cheers to the major! Our hero!"

"Cheers to the major!" The officers raised their glasses to Qin Chuan, and Qin Chuan could only nod and express his gratitude with his eyes.

"General!" Colonel Olbrich then asked, "I want to know, when will we march into Stalingrad?"

"The answer will disappoint you, Colonel!" General Strike replied: "You know, in order to deal with the Soviet attack on the northern defense line, we have to invest resources in the north, so..."

"The plan to attack Stalingrad has been postponed, right?" Colonel Slain asked.

"Yes!" General Strike nodded and replied: "They decided to wait until the Soviet attack on the northern defense line stopped!"

The German officers nodded in understanding, but Qin Chuan frowned...

At this time, the German officers did not realize the importance of Stalingrad. They thought that the battle situation had been fought like this, and it would not be too late to turn back and deal with Stalingrad after the northern defense line stabilized, because Stalingrad was there, and there was no way to escape, and it was surrounded by the German army on three sides. It seemed to be only a matter of time to take it down.

Only Qin Chuan knew that the street fighting in Stalingrad would be much more difficult than the northern defense line and the casualties would be much greater, especially the Soviet army's attack on the northern defense line regardless of casualties, which delayed the German army for a few days and may play a key role.

Because in these few days, Stalingrad has been replenished with fresh blood to improve its defense loopholes.

So Qin Chuan said: "General, I think this is a wrong decision!"