Chapter 831: Defense or offense

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In Smolensk in March, there were still snowflakes this year. Although winter is about to pass, the cold is still reminding people that it is not willing to go so clean and neat. But this year was not the same as usual, because Smolensk became the battlefield and became the front line.
I ca n’t remember how long it has been since I have n’t experienced war here. The Russian people here seem to have forgotten that there is still war in this world. They have their own unique pride, because their motherland seems to be very proud of the word war.
The last time I passed this place to challenge this country, I heard that he was also a great leader. He was a great leader in Europe, and he had a myth that was invincible. Until more than a hundred years later, some people talked about his name: Napoleon! Look, what a loud name!
But the name fell, because he attacked Moscow, trying to challenge the bravery of the Russians, so he was defeated in Moscow, lost his honor, lost his own country. Therefore, the civilians of Smolensk watched the war very calmly. They had reason to believe that the other party would be defeated, and they themselves would win the final victory.
But when these civilians saw the face of the war, they knew that this time there might be some twists and turns, because the enemies they saw seemed to be a little stronger than they thought, or that they were not a little stronger. .
"Boom!" A large-caliber shell fell into the city of Smolensk. A huge shock wave destroyed the building that was blocking the road. A building collapsed as the explosion began, and the dust that rose when it collapsed began to spread. To the entire street. After more than a hundred years of evolution, the destructive power of war is no longer the kind of slapstick in the Napoleonic era. How terrifying it has become, only people who have experienced it will know.
A teacher who had just been recruited into the army looked at the collapsed house in the distance, carrying his rifle and exclaimed: "My God, the enemy's artillery is so powerful, a building collapsed like this!"
A few veterans walking in front of him looked dismissively. They knew that their artillery was more powerful, but they were unwilling to explain to a recruit. After all, the follow-up of this matter will develop a sentence: "Why is our cannon more powerful, but it was hit by the door?"
Such explanations are more complicated. After all, the German aircraft are too powerful, the tanks are too powerful, and even the infantry are even more powerful. But these words are embarrassing to say, aren't they? So everyone kept silent, just step by step to the edge of the city.
It has become a ruin. The Germans just surrounded Smolensk, but did not send their own troops to attack here. They bombarded and harassed the edge of the city every day, but never tried to capture the interior of the city that was tightly defended by the Soviet army. Avoid street fighting carefully and avoid getting into a battle with the Soviet Union that consumes human resources.
In order to defend Smolensk, Zhukov left 100,000 Soviet infantry and arranged a Kharkov-like street battle position in Smolensk, trying to drag the A group army into the street battle and let Smolensk consume the Germans. However, Lunderstedt did not get fooled, or Germany did not get fooled capital, so the two sides just fought some small-scale battles outside the city.
The lack of oil allowed the Germans to stop the offensive, but Zhukov and Stalin could not understand the details of the Germans. They did not know why the Germans stopped the attack again this time, whether they were tired or for the Soviet Union. Another trap dug.
"You can let the troops fight back at an appropriate time to see what the Germans are planning!" Stalin said on the phone with a disgruntled tone. He ordered Zhukov to stay in Smolensk, but Zhukov abandoned it to the Germans, which made Stalin very unhappy. However, he also knew the current situation of the Soviet Red Army, knowing that this was not Zhukov's challenge to his order, but that he could not hold Smolensk at all.
However, he was still worried that Moscow was strategically bombed by the Germans, so he was almost paranoid to strengthen the Soviet air defense capabilities in the direction of Moscow. He mobilized the best fighters and the best pilots near Moscow and deployed them here. A large number of anti-aircraft positions.
This consumes a lot of the Soviet Union ’s precious air defense resources and also increases the burden of the lack of air defense firepower on the front. But Moscow is of great significance to Stalin, and he is absolutely right to do so.
Zhukov was also happy with this kind of thing. Since Stalin personally questioned the air defense in the direction of Moscow, there was no time and energy to interfere with his combat command. So he has a more flexible command and can more easily arrange his defense.
Zhukov held a phone in the command post and said to his leader: "I don't have enough information to confirm now. I don't know if the Germans voluntarily stopped the attack this time or whether it was indeed due to lack of fuel or other What supply. At this time, if you attack hurriedly, you will probably lose a lot of troops again. This will definitely make us build a good defense system and collapse again. "
His remarks were by no means alarmist. Although British spies in Germany repeatedly claimed that Germany lacked sufficient strategic materials, the United States also hoped that the Soviet Union would begin to fight back for battlefield initiative, but this series of intelligence was still not enough to make Soviet generals determined Make a tentative counterattack.
After all, their wounds haven't healed. They took the lead in two offensives in Poland and Ukraine. They were hit by the German armored forces. They lost a lot of troops in these two offensive operations. These losses made them Until now, no effective defense has been organized to prevent the Germans from advancing.
Who dares to say that this time the Germans stopped attacking was not premeditated? With regard to the incomplete information on the shortage of materials in Germany, who dares to say that it is not fake information distributed by the Germans and deliberately confuses the Soviet Union to make the wrong response? Once the Soviet Union started to fight back again, the cost of the failure would not be affordable by the Soviet Union.
So Stalin gave up his arbitrariness and consulted Zhu Kefu's opinion, so Zhu Kefu changed his combat policy of attacking instead of defending, and carefully waited for the opportunity he thought was appropriate.
It is like a powerful British navy. After 100 years of dominating the world ’s oceans, anyone must think twice before challenging. After the German Army has won a series of victories, anyone must treat this behemoth cautiously, and dare not easily try to counter this more offensive challenge. Everyone is willing to use another relatively gentle way to win: first hold The position waited for the Germans to attack. Once the Germans failed to attack, it proved that the Germans were really weak, and then launched a counterattack.
Sometimes being conservative means lower risk and less responsibility. Therefore, even all Soviet senior generals, including Zhukov, are waiting for a relatively complete opportunity to come. This opportunity is related to time.
Zhukov's idea is very simple. The Soviet Union has transferred the main force of 35 divisions from the Far East and secretly transported it to its own Western Front in batches. Many of these troops are old troops commanded by Zhukov. They have actual combat experience with the Japanese Kanto Army, and their combat effectiveness is relatively higher.
As long as these troops reach Moscow, Zhukov will have the confidence to stick to his current line of defense. As long as he sticks to his current line of defense, the Soviet Union will find a chance to defeat the Germans in the new winter.
A muddy spring, a summer where the German attack was foiled, and after a muddy autumn, the most exhausted winter of the German army followed, and the Soviet Red Army entered the full counterattack in the second winter, and the German army was defeated ... This is Zhukov There are also Stalin's scripts, you don't need to take risks at all, you just need to maintain the current situation.
According to projections, Germany ’s highest mobilization force is between 7 million and 8 million. Now the Germans have almost reached the limit of military mobilization. As long as the Germans are defeated once, they will not have a second chance. Therefore, Stalin felt that he could wait for a chance to be killed without letting the Soviet troops in the direction of Moscow continue to take risks.
So on the phone, Stalin ’s instructions were very simple: "Strengthen all defenses in the direction of Moscow, let the Germans fall into the quagmire of war, and finally fight back when the Germans lose their offensive ability! Never let Moscow get involved in the war. Crimes that the great motherland cannot tolerate! "
Zhukov generally agreed with Stalin, but he was more concerned about the defense in the direction of the Caucasus: "The great leader Comrade Stalin, Rokosovsky is determined to coexist and die with Stalingrad, then I will definitely share with Moscow. Survive! But in the direction of the counterattack after the defense, I still tend to target the enemy's weaknesses rather than being determined by the region. "
His idea was to counterattack from the Caucasus, lift the German threat to oil resources, and then counterattack Ukraine from the south, threatening the German oil-producing region Romania, in order to quickly destroy Germany's war potential.
"Comrade Zhukov, I believe that we have maintained a high degree of consistency in the defense of Moscow. As for where to fight back, that will be the future." Surprisingly, Stalin agreed with Zhukov. He spoke to Zhukov on the phone. Commitment: "Defense in Moscow! Let's work together! In the future Soviet Union, you will definitely be a great hero!"