Needless to say, the Soviet tanks were crowded on the main road one after another and were blown up by the Germans, and soon the main road was blocked by the wreckage of the tanks.

The wreckage of these tanks could not even be pushed away, because there was a steep slope from the bottom up, and the "Matilda" tank lacked horsepower after heavy armor, and more importantly, the road surface was icy and the tracks had nowhere to focus, so soon the tank had nowhere to go.

The infantry could have climbed up the steep wall of the river, but that was supposed to be of no avail, and they were quickly knocked down by rows of bullets from German machine guns, leaving only pools of blood and corpses in the snow.

Katukov was silent for a moment, and then gave the order to the staff officers beside him: "Retreat!" ”

"Yes!"

Katukov raised his binoculars and looked at the battlefield and asked: "What do you think, Comrade Shulka?" Perhaps Comrade Zakhakavich is right, we should bypass this place and not attack! ”

Shulka did not answer.

If they encountered something that could not be or was difficult to overcome, the Germans usually bypassed or surrounded it rather than stumbling on it.

But Rzhev is different.

The reason is that Rzhev is an important support point of the German defensive line, as mentioned before, a radius of ten kilometers is within the blockade of its artillery, coupled with the rapid maneuvering operation of the German horse-drawn sleigh, the result of bypassing it is that it is easy for the German army to fill the gap in the defensive line again, and then it is surrounded like the main force of the 9 divisions of the 29th and 39th armies.

"I think we need to get a better grasp of the terrain of Rzhev!" Shulka said.

Katukov replied very dryly: "No problem! ”

That's fine, because this is the Soviet Union, including Rzhev, and there are always a few soldiers in the Soviet army who grew up in Rzhev or have been there.

In fact, Katukov had already sent his men to look for him when the Soviets attacked, so when Shulka followed him back to the headquarters, there were already two soldiers there to describe it to the staff officer.

"Comrade Colonel!" Seeing that Katukov was back, the staff officer reported: "This is Sergeant Dorofevich and Sergeant Yevdokim, they grew up in Rzhev!" ”

Katukov walked to the side and picked up a glass of hot water, then raised his head at Shurkayan and said, "I'll leave it to you!" ”

"Comrade Shulka!" When Shulka stepped forward, the two of them saluted Shulka excitedly:

"Nice to meet you!"

"Is there anything you need from us?"

"Yes!" "I wonder what roads are there in Rzhev other than the main road? ”

"There is indeed such a way!" Sergeant Dorofevich replied: "The altitude of Rzhev is not high, usually there are people in all directions, so there are many paths, the problem is that these paths are blocked by snow in winter and are impassable!" ”

Katukov heard the voice from this side, and couldn't help but walk up to Shulka with a puzzled face: "Are you planning a sneak attack?" ”

"Why not?" Shulka replied: "If our tanks can't attack!" ”

Katukov thought for a moment, then nodded and said, "You're right, this may indeed be a solution...... All the defenses of the Germans at Rzhev seemed to be directed against tanks, and if we attacked from mountain roads it would mean that these arrangements were in vain! ”

"But the Colonel!" Sergeant Dorofevich had a look of horror in his eyes: "The mountain road is not only blocked by snow and difficult to pass, but it is also very narrow, and it only takes a few machine guns to seal it!" ”

"So the Germans don't think we're going to attack from the mountains either!" "Even because the snow and ice cover these mountain roads, they don't even know there are roads!" ”

"That's right, Shulka!" Katukov shouted: "Most likely, they don't know about the mountain roads, so of course they won't block them with machine guns!" How I didn't think of this! ”

Actually, Katukov is not to blame for this.

First of all, Katukov was a commander of a tank unit, and all he commanded and considered in peacetime was how to use tanks or tanks to fight in coordination with artillery and aircraft, and it was unimaginable for him to abandon these and fight with pure infantry.

Second, the Soviets usually do not take these details into account in their operations, and they charge more on a large scale and in large quantities, such as sneak attacks along small roads are often considered to be tactics used only in guerrilla warfare when their strength is insufficient, and regular troops disdain to use them, and even have a relationship with greed for life and fear of death.

Shulka is different, in the war he understands, a large number of regular troops use guerrilla warfare tactics, such as the War to Resist US Aggression and Aid Korea, such as the self-defense counterattack against Vietnam, and so on.

Katukov did not hesitate any longer, he put the map in front of Sergeant Dorofevich and said: "Point out all the mountain roads you know!" ”

"Yes, Colonel!"

"I know there's one here, and to the south, it's more than a meter wide enough for horse-drawn sleds!"

"No, this one won't work!" Katukov vetoed it without thinking about it: "Although it is convenient for us to pass, it is likely to attract the attention of the Germans!" ”

Katukov's thinking was correct, so the mountain road should be considered in the direction of danger, and the more impossible and dangerous the mountain road is, the safer it will be when fighting.

"So......" Sergeant Yevdokim hesitated, then pointed to the cliff and said, "I know that there is a mountain road here, in fact, it is not a road, and some people have found a way to climb up and down here in order to take a shortcut......"

Katukov glanced at Shulka, and then replied: "Very well, Sergeant Yevdokim, now you have to draw or describe the places and directions of this road, is it okay?" ”

"Of course!" Sergeant Yevdokim replied.

While Sergeant Yevdokim was reminiscing and drawing the mountain road, Katukov walked to the side with Shulka and asked, "Is this it?" ”

Shulka nodded: "Although this road is dangerous and very difficult to climb, the Germans know it and have a low chance of guarding against it, and it is not easy to be exposed during the climb, because the whole process will be blocked by cliffs!" ”

"That's what I thought too!" Katukov said: "We need to find a few soldiers with experience in mountaineering!" ”

It was not difficult to find such soldiers, and the USSR had 19 mountain divisions before the outbreak of the war.

Although these mountain divisions are either in Kyiv or in the Caucasus, it is not difficult to find a few soldiers from the army who have served in the mountain division or have experience in mountaineering.

Then, Katukov and Shulka discussed the details of the operation, and the battle plan was decided.