Chapter 1017 What Can I Do to Save You, Beloved Stalin?
"Marshal Reich, the telegrams sent by the Soviet High Command to the Caucasus Front and the Steppe Front have been deciphered. Zhukov has just been appointed as the commander of the Caucasus Front, and the Steppe Front will be reorganized into the North Caucasus Front. It seems that Stalin intends to use the Caucasus as his last hiding place."
Lieutenant General Geiger, director of the Military Intelligence Agency, walked quickly into Hersman's office, with a smug smile on his tired face. After saluting, he reported to Hersman a Soviet telegram that had just been intercepted and deciphered by the Military Intelligence Agency.
By the way, because there were too many traitors in the Soviet revolutionary ranks during this period, the German intelligence department obtained a large number of secrets that were originally out of reach. Among them, there were many intelligence about Soviet secret codes, so now the German Military Intelligence Agency can basically decipher most of the secret telegrams of the Soviet High Command.
Although the information displayed on the deciphered telegram of the Soviet High Command was a bit unexpected, Hersman thought about it carefully and felt that it was reasonable. Because the "Moscow Outer Battle" (the general name of the Kalinin-Tver Battle, the Triangle Zone Battle, the Moscow Western Outer Battle and the Southern Outflanking Moscow Battle) that has now come to an end has achieved fruitful results and has shaken the Soviet front line violently, which has exceeded the previous imagination of the German Wehrmacht General Staff.
Because the Soviet army took the initiative to counterattack and lure the enemy deep into the "Moscow Outer Battle" to seek a decisive battle, it also gave the German army a lot of opportunities to annihilate the enemy. As of yesterday afternoon, that is, the afternoon of May 13, 1944, in the "Triangle Zone Battlefield" that had just ended, more than 3,500 Soviet tanks, assault artillery and armored vehicles were destroyed and captured! The entire battlefield was full of twisted and burned metal debris. The number of Soviet officers and soldiers killed or captured exceeded 150,000!
After several days and nights of repeated hard fighting, the two "front-level" armored groups of the Soviet Army had been basically crushed and lost their combat capability. Among them, the remnants of the Soviet Army's northern armored group retreated to Kalinin on the night of the 12th, while the remnants of the Soviet Army's southern armored group retreated back to the city of Moscow.
At the same time, the Western Front Group of the Soviet Central Front also retreated hastily under the joint pressure of the main force of General Hoth's 4th Panzer Army and the 48th Panzer Army and returned to the city of Moscow.
The remnants of the Soviet Army's 62nd Army, which was defending along the Kalinin-Moscow Railway, also retreated eastward and fled to Vladimir Oblast to join forces with the reserve front commanded by Konev.
After the retreat of the Soviet Army's 62nd Army, part of the German Army's 48th Panzer Army also crossed the Red October Railway Line and joined forces with the vanguard of the German Army's 1st Panzer Army in Fryazino, east of Moscow at noon on May 13. Thus completing the encirclement of Moscow!
While the Soviet and German armies were engaged in a major battle around Moscow, the Kalinin-Tver Campaign also reached its climax on May 10. Model and Paulus, who had been waiting impatiently, made a big move. Paulus's 6th Panzer Army and Tippelskirch's 5th Panzer Army first joined forces on May 10 to capture the May Day Town occupied by the Soviet 8th Guards Division, and then launched a series of fierce attacks on May 11, 12 and 13, recaptured Kuvshinovo, Torzhok, and Likuslavl.
After recaptured Likuslavl, Paulus also separated an armored army to attack in the southeast, trying to bypass the city of Kalinin and advance all the way to the north bank of the Volga River. Thus, together with the Central Army Group, the Soviet Kalinin Front's retreat to Yaroslavl Oblast was cut off. Although this armored army has not yet reached the Volga River, according to the current analysis of the air force reconnaissance, it is not difficult to complete this task.
In other words, the main forces of the Soviet Central Front and the Kalinin Front have been or will be surrounded by the German army. And these two fronts were surrounded while suffering heavy losses!
According to the statistical reports of the German Army Group Center and Army Group North, from April 5th when the Soviet army launched a counterattack on the front line of Kalinin Province to now, more than 250,000 Soviet officers and soldiers have been captured or surrendered (this number is difficult to fake). If the Soviet officers and soldiers killed and wounded are included, the Soviet losses may have been successful. 1 million (this number is estimated to be a bit water).
The number of Soviet tanks, tank destroyers, assault artillery, and armored vehicles completely destroyed or captured by the German army in more than a month of combat exceeded 5,000, and more than 400 aircraft were shot down or destroyed on the ground.
It is now certain that the Soviet Central Front, Kalinin Front and Reserve Front have suffered heavy losses in the battles over the past month. It is hard to say whether the Central Front still has the strength to defend Moscow. It is conceivable that Stalin would consider leaving Moscow under such circumstances.
…
"What? What? Stalin might leave Moscow?"
When Adolf Hitler heard this good news in an office of the German Ministry of Defense (the German High Command meeting is now held in the Ministry of Defense building, so Hitler and Hessmann both have offices in the Ministry of Defense building), his pale face did not have a smile.
"It's possible." Hersmann was sitting in Hitler's office, holding a cup of coffee in his hand and looking like he had a triumphant smile on his face.
The Soviet Union looks like it's really going to end now! Once the Soviet Union is over, Germany will be invincible. Even if it cannot completely defeat the arrogance of US imperialism, Germany will still be able to maintain its position as the world's number one power.
Hitler, however, seemed very anxious. He looked at Hersmann and asked, "Will there be a stronghold of Caucasianism?"
The so-called "Caucasian GC Socialist Fortress" was promoted by TASS in the past two days. It said that the people of all ethnic groups in the Caucasus were firmly opposed to the Tsarist Russian and German invaders and were ready to follow the Bolshevik Party and the great leader Stalin, relying on the dangerous mountainous terrain. Fight the invading enemy to the end.
However, this set of propaganda was just to fool a half-empty Hitler. Hessmann, who had studied military affairs for half his life, would not believe it.
"Currently, the Caucasus is not a key region that can determine the outcome of the war." Hersman said, "Because our troops are only six to seven hundred kilometers away from Ulyanovsk and Kuibyshev, and less than 100 kilometers away from Ufa. 1,100 kilometers. As soon as the siege of Moscow and Kalinin is completed, the Central Front will advance towards Ulyanovsk, Kuibyshev and Ufa. The Russian tricolor flag will definitely fly in the city of Ufa before autumn. over the sky!”
"Can we capture the Volga-Urals Industrial Area before autumn?" Hitler's face became even uglier.
Of course he knows that the Volga-Urals Industrial Zone is now the lifeline of the Soviet Union! Once it is occupied by White Russia, the Soviet Union is likely to completely collapse in a short period of time.
Considering the national cohesion of the Russians, the collapse of the Soviet Union is likely to mean the complete revival of the Russian Empire. All Soviet territory east of the Ural Mountains would become part of Russia.
That means becoming part of the European Community!
There are tens of millions of Slavs living there!
Hersmann did not pay attention to Hitler's expression. He smiled and nodded and said: "It is estimated that the siege of Moscow and Kalinin will be completed by the end of May. In June, let Army Group Center rest and replenish ammunition and fuel. In July, we will send troops to Uri." If Yanovsk, Kuibyshev and Ufa advance, we will definitely capture Ufa before the end of September.”
It must have gone well! Hitler thought to himself: How could it not go well? Army Group Center is so capable, and it also has the legal flag of the Russian Empress Olga. Leningrad has become Petrograd, and Moscow is also surrounded. In this case, how many Russians will die for the Soviet Union and Stalin?
The 1,000 kilometers from Moscow to Ufa was probably just walking and taking over...
"No, it can't be like this!" Hitler shook his head repeatedly and finally couldn't help but intervene in military affairs. "Marshal Reich, the General Staff cannot only consider military affairs without considering politics and economy!"
Hitler stood up from his chair and walked around the office anxiously.
"Military problems are never isolated," Hitler said as he walked. "Military, political and economic issues have always been closely linked. Reichsmarschall, I know you are an expert in politics and economics, and I think you understand now The problem in Europe is not the Soviet Union, but Russia!”
At this point, Hitler became a little excited and waved his arms: "Half Europe is in ruins, and there are still 100 million lazy Slavs who have no jobs, can't farm well, and don't have much to eat. Some of them have become These inferior human beings are now a problem and a burden to Europe and Germany..."
What? Hessmann was shocked when he heard this, thinking that Hitler wouldn't want to put all the Slavs in concentration camps, would he?
"We..." Hitler glanced at Hessmann, the leader of the "Junkers Knights", and took a breath, as if he had swallowed back something. "We cannot let 100 million Slavs turn into 200 million or 150 million, not even 110 million! This is the strongest position of the National Socialist Workers Party, and the economies of Europe and Germany cannot bear it. We cannot feed such people. Do you understand, Russians?”
Hersman understood that Hitler was still troubled by the Russian masters. Although he had great power now, he was not the head of state in history after all. Many things could not be decided by his own temper...