Although most of the supplies provided by Britain and the United States to the Soviet Union at this time were supplies and the like, such as canned food, military uniforms, locomotives, automobiles, rails, etc., there were not many equipment directly aided for combat, and even the performance and quality of these equipment were worrisome, and the "Matilda" and "M3 medium" tanks were one of them.

But aid such as canned goods, military uniforms, railroad tracks, etc., could save a lot of labor for the Soviet Union, allowing the Soviet Union to concentrate on the production of equipment. As for the "Matilda", although there is even a learning process for the Soviet army, the absence of these means that several Soviet troops will have to charge the Germans without the cover of tanks...... So it's not a question of which is better or worse than the T34, but which is better or worse than the pure infantry units.

To some extent, the Soviet Union relied on this aid to withstand the German attack when the war broke out.

As soon as the Caucasus, the largest aid line, was cut off, and the Germans were recovering from the bitter cold of winter, the balance of victory would soon tip in favor of the Germans.

In such a state of affairs, even Mehris, the "representative of the Supreme High Command" who knew nothing about the war, knew that it was no longer suitable to continue the offensive.

"Kyiv is in danger!" Shulka said, looking at the map.

"What do you mean?" Mekhlis asked, confused.

"I don't think we've been able to get in touch with Kyiv!" Shulka asked.

"Yes!" Mehris replied: "Our army is blocked at Kaluga and cannot continue to advance!" ”

With the strength of 4 armies and 1 cavalry corps, the Soviets attacked in the direction of Kyiv with the Black Sea Fleet and the shallow water fleet, trying to connect with the Kiev theater of operations that would be divided and Moscow, but they did not even reach Bryansk...... It is located in the middle of Moscow with Kiev.

"We are transferred from Kyiv, so we know the defense of Kyiv, Comrade Mehelis!" "Although we held Kyiv and threatened the German flank with it, we were able to hold it solely because of the concentration of German forces on Moscow and the bad weather," Shulka said, pointing to the map. Now that the enemy has been repulsed by us, it is likely that the eyes will turn to Kyiv. On the other hand, our supplies in the Caucasus have been reduced in progression......"

Mekhlis nodded and replied: "That's right, Comrade Shulka, a considerable part of Kyiv's supplies come from aid!" ”

"Kyiv's supply is roughly divided into two routes!" Shulka said: "One is the railway line from Odessa to Kyiv, and the other is the road to Kyiv from Odessa, Ochakiv and other places! ”

Originally, there was a third way of transporting along the Dnieper waterway, but in winter the Dnieper had a freeze period of several months.

"The railway is easily blocked by enemy fighters!" "Unless we can gain air supremacy, the road traffic is very limited during this winter, which makes the connection between Kyiv and the Black Sea very fragile," Shulka said. ”

As mentioned earlier, Kyiv relied on the Dnieper River and the Odessa railway line to build a narrow defensive line and supply line.

This line of defense, which had been barely able to hold before the Germans attacked Moscow with all their might, was now dangerous.

"Do you think they will attack Kyiv?"

"I'm not sure, Comrade Mehris!" Shulka replied: "But I think they will shift the focus of their offensive to the south, and after the setback of the attack on Moscow in the center, they may consider attacking Odessa...... The Germans probably will not attack Kyiv directly, because Kyiv is heavily defended and will pay a heavy price for a direct attack, and it does not make much sense. They usually bypass Kyiv and attack in depth, crossing the Dnieper River along the Black Coast to attack the Crimean Peninsula. As soon as they take the Crimea, there is a direct threat to the Caucasus Mountains, and further east is Baku! ”

Mehris couldn't help but widen his eyes and said, "That's our oil field!" ”

"This is just my speculation, Comrade Mehelis!" "The British and Americans cut off our aid to the south, which will directly cause our supply difficulties in the Caucasus...... Because there was a constant flow of supplies to Moscow to Kyiv, but now they need to send supplies to the Caucasus from other places, and at this time the entire Soviet Union is in a state of shortage, if the Germans see this, they may take advantage of this! ”

"You have a point, Comrade Shulka!" Mehris replied: "I think I should go to Moscow at once to warn the others!" ”

With that, Mehris immediately removed the belt from the wall, fastening it for himself, and calling for the guards.

When he opened the door, Mehris turned back as if he remembered something: "Comrade Shulka, this is a military secret, understand?" Can't tell anyone, anyone! ”

"Yes, Comrade Mehris!" Shulka replied: "I didn't say those words!" ”

Mehris nodded in satisfaction and went out.

Shulka actually knew Mekhlis's true intentions, and of course there was an element of military secrecy, but more importantly, Mehlis would tell others that it was his idea...... This is also the purpose of Mehris, to impress others.

It was a misappropriation, but Shulka didn't mind.

Because he just wanted to warn the Soviet top brass through Mehelis.

These changes on the battlefield made Shulka feel a little helpless, although he saved Kyiv and even played a role in the Battle of Moscow to reduce the losses of the Soviet army, there were always some accidents that brought the tide of the war back to the original track.

For example, when the overall situation was very favorable for the Soviet army, suddenly the British cut off supplies to the Caucasus.

This seems normal, though.

Because Britain has always hoped that the Soviet-German war could be fought for as long as possible, and finally both sides would lose, which is also the main reason why Britain will spare no effort to support the Soviet Union.

Historically, Britain even dragged its feet on the demands of the Soviet Union......

In fact, the solution to the Soviet Union's dilemma was very simple, Britain and the Soviet Union were on the east and west sides of Germany, plus Africa to the south, in fact, they surrounded Germany in the middle.

The main German army attacked the Soviet Union, so Britain only needed to attack Germany to make it suffer from two or even three sides.

But Britain has been making excuses to delay, even when the American president is willing to send troops into the war, and the African theater is also advancing at a slow pace, until the Soviet Union is about to achieve a full-scale victory, Britain and the United States launched the Normandy landings to compete for the fruits of victory.

In the same vein, Shulka realized that Germany might not be the only enemy of the Soviet Union.