Chapter 161 The Quiet Don River (4)

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Zhukov could no longer remain indifferent to this situation. He knew very well that the Germans were very powerful. The original Bolshevik propaganda was that the Germans wanted to plunder Soviet land and enslave the Russian nation. But if the Germans really divided the land, this kind of propaganda would If the local people were actually allocated land during the German occupation and completed the harvest for 2-3 years, the rule of the Germans and their agent regime there would be unbreakable, even if the Red Army fights back one day. We will also face the threat of nationalists. Should we take back the land that the Germans have distributed and turn it into collective farms again? That means another struggle with the 60 million people in the west. If a fait accompli is recognized after the territory is recovered, should the land in other Russian regions also be redistributed to the people?

Vasilevsky continued: "The German propaganda offensive is very powerful. Recently, hundreds of thousands of leaflets have been air-dropped, claiming that as long as you leave the army, you can get a piece of land in the west. If you can escape with ordnance, you can get extra points. This is a vain attempt. This deceptive method is used to undermine our morale. At the same time, slogans such as 'independence', 'autonomy', and 'liberation' are used as excuses to sow conflicts between ethnic minorities and Russian officers and soldiers. Unfortunately, many comrades in the Red Army are politically motivated. Those who were immature and deceived, or who were vacillating in compromise, deserted from time to time, especially soldiers from ethnic minorities and low-level officers..."

This is no longer a secret. After Stalin re-instructed the Ministry of Internal Affairs to launch political purges, the already few ethnic minority cadres and military officers were all sidelined, and anyone who was found hiding leaflets would be shot. This seemed to some extent It confirms what the Germans say - Russia and the Bolshevik Party are the main culprits in oppressing all ethnic groups, while the Germans are more like liberators!

"Faced with such an aggressive situation, Comrade Zhukov, do you still insist on waiting? Believe it or not, if I propose to sign a three-year armistice agreement with Hitler now, he will agree more eagerly than me..."

There was silence in the Supreme Command - Comrade Stalin finally talked about the peace talks. Zhukov's mouth moved, but in the end he wisely did not speak and just listened to the Supreme Leader.

"Peace talks are not things that cannot be said or thought about. As long as they are beneficial to the party and the country, peace talks and compromises are acceptable. Didn't Comrade Lenin also accept the harsh "Brest-Litovsk Agreement" in order to consolidate the Soviet power? But at present, fascism The purpose of the peace talks with us is not simple. On the one hand, he wants to sow and destroy our ties with Britain and the United States. On the other hand, he is trying to make the occupied areas independent and puppet, and to consolidate the enemy-occupied areas. Comrades, I would rather give up these lands directly. The German occupation cannot allow them to be ruled by puppets..."

Everyone thought: This is the truth, otherwise Comrade Stalin would not hate the nationalist regime and the Russian Liberation Army so much that he would be eager to get rid of them. Once they are allowed to form a climate, it is hard to say what will happen in the future.

"Although we have our own problems of one kind or another, I believe that the heroic commanders and fighters of the Red Army can overcome these difficulties. We survived such a difficult situation in the summer. Is it worse now than then? We must have a fearless spirit and perseverance to the end. Determination..." Stalin was just about to give a long speech on the importance of the revolutionary spirit, when Vasilevsky unexpectedly interrupted him excitedly after receiving the telegram, "I just received the message from the commander of the 21st Army, Chistyakov. According to the military intelligence report sent by comrade, his 27th Infantry Corps has successfully crossed the bend of the Don River without any fighting, and the follow-up troops are currently stepping up their efforts to cross the river..."

"There was no fighting?" Several senior officials of the Supreme Command were stunned, "This..."

"What was Manstein thinking? Not only did he give us the east bank, but now he also doesn't want the west bank?" Voroshilov clicked his tongue repeatedly, "Isn't this guy a spy arranged by the party to be around Hitler?"

"Hahaha." Everyone was amused by his joke, and even Stalin couldn't help laughing. He was not at all annoyed that his words had been interrupted.

"Look..." Stalin turned to Zhukov with the telegram, "The Germans are not as strong as you think. Tell Comrade Chistyakov to cross the river as soon as possible without delaying. Now that the Germans are in a daze, we must seize the opportunity to deploy our troops." , prepare for a full-scale attack.”

Zhukov wanted to say not to act too hastily, but in the blink of an eye he found Vasilevsky shaking his head gently. He immediately realized it. After thinking about it, he felt that he could not dampen the enthusiasm of the frontline soldiers and Comrade Stalin, so he said: "We still need to dispatch the air force. Let’s do some reconnaissance and see where the main force of the Germans is.”

"This is the specific work of the staff, and I will not interfere." Stalin stared at Vasilevsky with bright eyes, "Tell the British and American allies that we are vigorously counterattacking and ask them to send supplies as soon as possible, otherwise it will affect us Follow-up operations, in addition... send a telegram to the frontline commander, which army commander's troops will rush into Rostov first, and after the war, they will be expanded into front armies and promoted to front army commanders. "

Zhukov smiled bitterly and did not object.

Just as the steady stream of Red Army soldiers were crossing the river, Manstein was also staring at the latest adjustments in the situation between the enemy and ourselves on the sand table at the headquarters. He asked: "Where have the Russians advanced?"

"The Russians are very cautious. After one army crossed the river, they did not rush to expand the occupied area. Instead, they built a bridgehead on the spot. The follow-up troops are currently advancing continuously. According to the Air Force reconnaissance, their crossing speed is not very fast, only about 4-4 per day. The 5 divisions usually cross the river at night. The Russians downstream are also trying to build a second pontoon bridge, but they are blocked by us. As of 16:00 this afternoon, the number of enemy troops that have crossed the river has reached approximately 10. The division has a small number of tanks, only about 40, and now they have occupied the sector at the bend of the Don River. " Lieutenant General Weller added while instructing the combat staff to adjust the small flags marking the Red Army. On the east bank of the Don River, the Red Army still has at least 30 divisions and more than 400 tanks waiting to cross the river. Judging from the results of radio monitoring, they are the troops of the enemy's Don River Front. He has at least 4 group armies and 1 tank group army. "

The information obtained by Lieutenant General Weller was basically in line with reality. It was the Don Front Army commanded by Lieutenant General Rokossovsky that was currently crossing the river. However, the number of troops under his command was slightly larger than the Army Group South's staff had estimated. Including the 1st Guards Army, the 21st, 24th, 63rd, 66th Army and the 4th Tank Army, the total strength is approximately 350,000.

"Is this the fastest they can get across the river?"

"No, it's far lower than our estimate and their capabilities. If the Russians go all out, the speed will be at least twice as fast. With this small force, they can cross the river in 7-8 days.

"They are too timid and their steps are too slow. Don't panic, just keep letting them come." Manstein laughed. "Where did their courage to launch the Battle of Rostov last year go?"

"Who knows, I guess I don't understand your move of abandoning both sides of the Don River. I'm afraid it's a trap."

"Let the Air Force increase its attack on the pontoon bridge. Don't be afraid that the bridge will be blown up - the Russians will be able to repair it quickly if it is blown up." Manstein said, "I overestimated them. I didn't expect that they would be so courageous now." It’s so small, whose troops are downstream?”

"The one we were fighting with was Chuikov's 62nd Army. We can't judge the others at the moment."

"Let the troops upstream continue to withdraw 30 kilometers, and at the same time continue to block the downstream for two days, and then withdraw the troops. The Russians will definitely find a way to relax their vigilance and let them cross the river."

"Shrink further?" Weller said a little worriedly, "Now the leading troops of the Red Army have advanced more than 70 kilometers and are almost crossing the line of Surovino and Bokovskaya. If we shrink another 30 kilometers, it means Our defense depth has been further compressed.”

"The defense depth is sufficient. There are millions of square kilometers of land on the west bank of the Don River. I can't defend it with less than 600,000 troops. If we compress it a little, we can increase the defense density and let the Russians continue to come."

"At present, they have exchanged fire with our advance troops. Will a hasty retreat cause unnecessary chaos?"

"No, the Russians are suspicious. If we retreat quickly, they will think that we are a bait to lure them into being fooled. How can they dare to pounce on us boldly? The most important thing now is to determine the direction of the enemy's attack, especially the target of the troops that have crossed the river. direction, if they want to move to the right to attack the Huote Cluster, they must resolutely block and fight back. If they are coming towards us, they can be let go quickly," Manstein pointed at the offensive situation map on the sand table with his pointer. "Stalin's strategy is based on ours, hoping to compress us into an encirclement centered on Rostov through a two-way pincer offensive upstream and downstream. However, he regards armored warfare as too simple and too mechanical. He will try To the bitter end.”

While Manstein was trying his best to protect the flanks and rear of the Hoth cluster, General Hoth's offensive posture did not stop. After the road conditions improved, the power of his armored spearheads was finally fully improved, starting from Voronezh. It thrust forward 200 kilometers and inserted into the junction of the two groups of the Bryansk Front Army and the Voronezh Front Army. It was like a red-hot knife inserted into a piece of butter. It had a strong posture of cutting and surrounding the Red Army. Just as the opponent hurriedly mobilized its troops While closing the gap, he suddenly led the 4th Armored Group to turn to the right and gave the Voronezh Front on the right a sharp uppercut, instantly stunning the enemy.