There is only one watch for something today, and three watches will be made up tomorrow! I'm sorry for the recent start of school!

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December 25 was Christmas in 1941.

Guderian's headquarters was located nine miles south of Tula, which could almost be described as the front line.

Guderian sat down in his chair in despair, and after a moment of silence, he took out a pen and paper and wrote a letter to his wife: "The cold and poor dwellings, the lack of winter clothing, the serious loss of men and materiel, and the meager supply of fuel, all this has turned our military operations into a torture, and the heavy responsibility has made me more and more depressed, and no one has been able to take up the burden on my shoulders, despite all the words of encouragement!" ”

After writing the letter, sealing it and sealing it, Guderian handed it to the adjutant and asked him to hand it over to the wounded who were sent back to take it back.

Then he took off his hat from the wall and put it on his head, and ordered: "Retreat!" ”

"What?" The adjutant couldn't help but be stunned when he heard this: "But the Führer ordered ......"

"I said it!" Guderian interrupted the adjutant: "Retreat!" ”

"Yes, General!" The adjutant stepped forward, and then the order was relayed.

Guderian looked at Moscow and said to himself: "The attack on Moscow has failed, we have suffered defeat!" ”

Then, without looking back, he jumped into the barrel cart and retreated with the guards to the rear.

As a responsible commander, Guderian did not care about the Führer's orders, he cared about the lives of his soldiers...... If there was a chance of victory, he would fight with his soldiers at the forefront and hold out until the last moment, but he knew that victory was no longer possible.

That is, the Führer's decision was wrong, and Guderian was not going to make the soldiers pay with their lives in order to obey the Führer.

However, Hitler got the news that night, and Guderian was immediately dismissed.

Also relieved of his duties for the same reason was the commander of the 4th Panzer Group, Hopner. There was even a General Sponak, who was awarded the Knight's Cross, who was sentenced to death.

If Hitler had a glimmer of hope for the capture of Moscow, then at this time he should have clearly realized that this battle could not be fought...... The fact that the troops, even the commanders who had been directing operations on the front line, were retreating, was enough to show that the Germans had no intention of fighting.

But Hitler's order remained the same: "Don't take a step back!" ”

Although the Germans could not take a step forward at this time, even if they waited on the defensive line, Hitler had to keep his soldiers waiting there...... Perhaps, the enemy will collapse first under such pressure, who knows?

But the truth is certainly not what Hitler thought.

While Hitler was trying to stabilize the morale of the army by dismissing the front-line generals in large numbers, the Soviet army was actively preparing for a counteroffensive.

Zhukov made a phone call to the command of the 1st Guards Tank Brigade.

"How are you ready?" Zhukov asked.

"We'll have a few more days!" Katukov replied: "There are not enough bazookas, and there is not enough ammunition!" ”

"If you don't have enough, you can make up for it later!" Zhukov said: "Unless you plan to miss the time for the counteroffensive!" ”

"Of course not, Comrade Zhukov!" Katukov replied.

The counter-offensive is exciting, and Katukov certainly doesn't want to miss it.

In fact, even if Katukov was willing to give up, Zhukov would not let him get his wish.

Because the significance of the counteroffensive is not trivial, although the German army does not have the strength to attack, it does not mean that they have lost their combat effectiveness.

Therefore, if the counteroffensive that the Soviet army had painstakingly organized was blocked or even repelled by the Germans, it would have been a heavy blow to the morale of the Soviet military and civilians...... The Soviet army could not even defeat the enemy who was still alive with careful preparation, does that mean that when the enemy recovers, it will be time for the Soviet army to be defeated?

Therefore, the counteroffensive must only be victorious and not defeated, at least to push the enemy back some distance so that Moscow has room to defend.

On this premise, the 1st Guards Tank Brigade is, of course, indispensable.

So, the 1st Guards Tank Brigade immediately packed up and rushed to Moscow by train.

The fighters have experience with this...... They were the only troops that were twice brought to Stalingrad for training during the Battle of Moscow and then immediately sent to the battlefield.

This time it took longer, and it took more than thirty hours on the road.

This is due to the fact that the train to Moscow is full of people, supplies and equipment, one after the other.

During this time, Shulka and others even saw a train derailed due to an accident and overturned on the side of the road.

The scene of the accident was a mess, with many wounded and supplies scattered all over the place.

In normal times, the first option should be to evacuate these injured people from the scene of the accident to the hospital for treatment.

This cannot be done in wartime, however, because it would delay the delivery of supplies and troops.

So, the wounded set up tents on the spot and camped in the ice and snow, and the sappers who arrived only repaired the railway and reopened it to traffic, and then the trains passed the accident site one after another.

For the wounded who camped in the wilderness at minus 30 degrees Celsius...... Shulka didn't know what their end would be.

Sometimes Shulka wonders, what would have happened if such an accident had happened to the train of the 1st Guards Tank Brigade?

After thinking about it, Shulka thought that the outcome might still be the same: the soldiers who could still fight might be taken away, and the wounded would be left behind.

It's cruel, but it's a choice.

What's more, the soldiers who were taken away were not necessarily a good thing, and they rushed to the destination of the battlefield where the bullets were raining.

In the afternoon of the next day, the train arrived in Moscow.

However, the soldiers were not allowed to get off the train, and certainly did not unload their equipment, and the train waited quietly in a makeshift parking tent.

The so-called temporary parking tent is a section of railway branch that allows trains to stop here without disturbing the passage of other trains, and a large canvas is propped up on the top...... This was apparently to avoid being detected by enemy aircraft and then carrying out bombing.

Since the snow will be accumulating, such a canopy must be "cleaned" every once in a while.

The method of "sweeping" is as simple as a few teenagers poking a bamboo pole around the top so that the snow can slide down from it.

Although their faces were red from the cold, they were surprisingly armed with a pistol pinned to their waists...... This is war, and even a child cannot escape its clutches.

"Are we getting enough bazookas?" The instructor asked worriedly, "We only have 300 of them!" ”

"If they do add to us later!" Shulka retracted his gaze: "Then it shouldn't be a problem, because ...... We can concentrate these three hundred on the front line! ”