On the way back to the Crimea from the mission in the Caucasus at Shulka, a message reached the command of the Crimean Front.

"Comrade Mehris!" Gregory walked into the command and whispered a few words in Meehrlith's ear.

Gregory was one of Mehris's staff officers.

If Alexei was the brainchild of Mehris's marching army, then this Gregory was the eyes and ears of Mehris.

Some people describe Gregory as Meekhlis's hound, meaning that nothing can escape his keen sense of smell, which is one of the reasons why Mehris can become the "king of small reports".

After listening for a while, Mehris jerked his head up and asked in a deep voice, "Don't let this news get out!" ”

"Of course, Comrade Mehris!" Gregory replied, "I have already done so." But...... We can't stop the Germans! ”

Mehris was silent for a moment, then nodded and waved Gregory down.

There is no need to say more about what made Mehris so flustered.

Of course, it was Manstein who let the truth out.

There are some things that are not allowed to be said by Soviet soldiers or even officers, because it is a curse that comes from the mouth, but if it is said by the mouths of the Germans, that is, the enemies of the Soviet army...... But it was so convenient that even Mehris was helpless.

Because, as Gregory said, they could command the Soviets, but they could not stop the Germans.

Manstein used the propaganda machine, such as the front-line loudspeakers, and the cannons and airplanes that dropped leaflets.

"We salute the 'Breakout Heroes'! We know that he is the one who will truly overcome us. Mehris? Can you believe this? Do you think he can really command a battle? ”

"Russian friends, we don't understand what is going on! Your newspaper says Mehris...... No, that idiot, that 'king of small reports' stole the fruits of someone else's victory! ”

"Is that how you treat heroes?" Breakout Heroes' are fighting on the front line, and he has made great contributions to your army, your country, and your people at the risk of his life! Such heroes will be respected in our country, but what about you? He was not worth mentioning, and the newspapers did not say a word about his achievements...... Can you live with this? Is it worth fighting for? Is it worth putting a medal on the chest of the 'King of Small Reports' at the cost of your lives? ”

"They know only one thing: they command you to fight, they command you to charge, and they take the credit for themselves! It's a shame, and we'll never admit to losing at the hands of Mehris, never! ”

……

Not to Gregory's surprise, Moscow was quick to get the news of this.

Stalin immediately called the command of the Crimean Front.

"Is the news true?" Stalin asked solemnly.

"No, of course not really, Comrade Stalin!" Mehris replied: "This is clearly a means by which the enemy divides us internally, and they want to provoke contradictions within us!" ”

"You also know about internal contradictions? Mehris! Stalin said and hung up the phone.

In fact, Stalin knew that this news was true from the moment he heard it, because he knew Mehris and knew that he was by no means the kind of person who could draw up such a clever battle plan.

Not so long ago, he wondered how Mehris seemed to be a different person.

Now, everything is falling into place.

However, out of trust in Mehris...... Or should it be said that it was subjective prejudice in the employment of people, Stalin called Zhukov to inquire about it.

"Do you know anything about this 'breakout hero'?" Stalin asked.

"Yes, of course, Comrade Stalin!" Zhukov replied: "He was an outstanding Soviet soldier, brave, determined, optimistic, and even more rare and valuable was his unusual wisdom!" ”

Stalin was silent for a while, and the conceited Zhukov had never had such a high opinion of anyone.

"So, do you think what the enemy says is true?"

"No, Comrade Stalin!" Zhukov cleared his throat and replied: "I, I'm not very clear about this, you know, I'm directing the battle against the enemy's Army Group Center!" ”

Although this answer sounded negative on the surface, everyone knew that it was actually yes, and Zhukov just didn't want to offend Mehris.

Shulka on the other side, he received a telegram from Katukov while he was on the ship.

Shulka carried a radio with him, which was originally not necessarily equipped with a radio for battalion-level combat units for the Soviet Army, but because Shulka was tasked with escorting the "Tiger", it was necessary to have a radio station to contact the command.

"Shulka, they know!" Katukov said: "The Germans everywhere said that you defeated them and not Mekhlis!" ”

Shulka couldn't help but be stunned when he saw this telegram.

I have to say that Manstein's trick is very clever, because it not only provokes the relationship between Mehris and Shulka, but also the relationship between the grassroots officers and soldiers of the Soviet army and the high-level.

Until then, because of Mehris's methods of blocking the news, as well as the denials and blockade of the news by the informed forces, especially Shulka himself, these things have not been reported.

If anyone knew, it was the soldiers of the 1st Guards Tank Brigade and the Naval Infantry Brigade who could guess, but even so, on the one hand, they guessed, and on the other hand, they did not dare to say or discuss at all.

So the rest of the troops didn't know anything.

But now, in a short period of time, the Germans have spread the truth on a large scale...... Although the Germans have no evidence, it can even be said that the Germans have ulterior motives to frame and discord.

The problem is that almost everyone knows how good "Breakout Hero is" and Mehris is a straw bale.

So as long as you're not stupid, it's easy to know it's true.

That is, Mehris has been stealing the credit of the "breakout hero".

This might not be a big deal in normal times, because Mehris has always done it.

But this was in times of war.

And what Mehris did was just as the Germans said, on the one hand, he used the gun to threaten the soldiers to make a senseless charge, demanding that every soldier be brave enough to kill the enemy, and on the other hand, he hid behind and shamelessly plagiarized the hero's merit in exchange for his life.

This will make all officers and soldiers consider whether it is worth continuing to fight like this.

That is, it will deal a heavy blow to the morale of the Soviet army at this critical moment.

This also makes it difficult for Schulka...... This seems to have ended the "collaboration" between him and Mehris.