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Zhukov could no longer remain indifferent to this situation, he knew very well that the Germans were very powerful, and the original Bolshevik propaganda was that the Germans were going to plunder the Soviet land and enslave the Russian nation, but if the Germans really divided the land, this propaganda would be self-defeating - if the local people actually received the land during the German occupation and completed the harvest for 2-3 years, the rule of the Germans and their proxy regimes there would be unbreakable. Even if one day the Red Army fought back, it would face the threat of nationalists, and would it be possible to take back the land that had been allocated to the Germans and re-farm it? That means another struggle with the 60 million people in the west, and if the regained territories are recognized as a fait accompli, shouldn't the land in other Russian regions also be redistributed to the people?

Vasilevsky continued: "The propaganda offensive of the Germans is very strong, and recently hundreds of thousands of leaflets have been airdropped in an attempt to break our morale by using this deception to gain a piece of land in the west if we can break away from the army, and to get a little more if we can escape with armaments. At the same time, under the pretext of slogans such as 'independence,' 'autonomy,' and 'liberation,' they stirred up contradictions between ethnic minorities and ethnic Russians......

This is no longer a secret, after Stalin re-instructed the Ministry of Internal Affairs to launch a political purge. The fact that a small number of ethnic cadres and military officers were all sidelined and shot when they were found in a private possession of leaflets seemed to confirm to some extent the Germans' assertion that Russia and the Bolshevik Party were the main culprits in the oppression of the nationalities. The Germans were more like liberators!

"In the face of such an aggressive situation, Comrade Zhukov, do you still have to hold on to waiting? Believe it or not, if I were to propose a three-year armistice with Hitler now, he would be more eager than I am......"

There was silence in the High Command - Comrade Stalin had finally spoken about the peace talks, Zhukov's mouth moved, and in the end, wisely, he did not speak. Just listen to the Supreme Leader.

"Peace talks are not things that cannot be said or thought, as long as they are beneficial to the party and the country, peace talks and compromises are okay. Didn't Comrade Lenin also accept the harsh Brest Treaty in order to consolidate Soviet power? On the one hand, they want to sow discord and sabotage our ties with Britain and the United States, and on the other hand, they are trying to make the occupied areas independent and puppet, and they are stepping up efforts to consolidate the enemy-occupied areas. Comrades. I'd rather let the Germans occupy these lands than allow them to let the puppets rule......"

Everyone thought to themselves: This is the truth. Otherwise, Comrade Stalin would not have hated the nationalist regime and the Russian Liberation Army and was eager to get rid of them, and once they had formed a climate, it would be difficult to say what would happen in the future.

"Although we have our own problems, I believe that the heroic commanders and fighters of the Red Army were able to overcome these difficulties, and that they survived the difficult situation in the summer, and that it is worse now than then. It is necessary to have a fearless spirit and the determination to persevere to the end...... "Stalin was just about to make a long speech on the importance of the revolutionary spirit, but after receiving the telegram, Vasilevsky suddenly interrupted him excitedly," just received a military briefing from Comrade Danilov, commander of the 21st Army. His 27th Infantry Corps had successfully crossed the bend of the Don without fighting. At present, the follow-up troops are stepping up their efforts to cross the river......"

"No fighting?" Several high-ranking officials in the Supreme Command were all stunned, "This ......"

"What was Manstein thinking? Not only did you give us the east coast, but now you don't even want the west coast? Voroshilov snorted, "This guy isn't a spy arranged by the party to be with Hitler, right?" ”

"Hahaha." Everyone was amused by his joke, and even Stalin couldn't help laughing, not at all annoyed that what he had just said was interrupted.

"You see......" Stalin turned to Zhukov with a telegram, "the Germans are not as strong as you think, tell Comrade Danilov to cross the river as soon as possible, and not to be delayed." Now that the Germans are in a daze, we have to seize the opportunity to deploy our forces and prepare for a full-scale attack. ”

Zhukov wanted to say not to be in a hurry, but when he found Vasilevsky shaking his head lightly, he immediately reacted, thought about it and felt that it could not dampen the enthusiasm of the front-line soldiers and Comrade Stalin, so he said: "It is still necessary to send the air force to reconnoiter and see where the main force of the Germans is." ”

"This is the specific work of the General Staff, and I will not interfere." Stalin stared at Vasilevsky with blazing eyes, "Tell the British and American allies that we are vigorously counterattacking, let them send supplies as soon as possible, otherwise it will affect our follow-up operations, and ...... Send a telegram to the commander of the front, which army group commander will rush to Rostov first, and after the war priority will be given to the expansion of the front army and the promotion to the commander of the front. ”

Zhukov smiled bitterly and did not say anything against it.

While the endless stream of Red Army officers and soldiers crossed the river, Manstein also stared at the latest adjustment of the enemy's posture on the sand table of the headquarters, and he asked: "Where have the Russians advanced?" ”

"The Russians were very cautious, and did not rush to expand the occupied area after the crossing of the river, but instead built a bridgehead on the spot, and at present the follow-up troops were advancing continuously, and according to the air force reconnaissance, they did not cross the river very quickly, about 4-5 divisions a day, usually in the evening. The Russians downstream were also trying to build a second pontoon bridge, but we stopped it, and by 16 o'clock this afternoon the enemy had crossed the river with about 10 divisions and a small number of tanks, about 40 or so, and now they had occupied the fan-shaped face of the bend of the Don. "On the east bank of the Don River, the Red Army still has at least 30 divisions and more than 400 tanks waiting to cross the river, and judging from the results of radio interception, it is the troops of the enemy Don Front, and he has at least 4 army groups and 1 tank army under his command." ”

Lieutenant General Weller's information was basically realistic, and it was the Don Front under the command of Lieutenant General Rokossovsky who was currently crossing the river, but the number of troops under his command was a little more than estimated by the staff of Army Group South, including the 1st Guards Army, the 21st, 24th, 63rd, and 66th Armies, and the 4th Tank Army, with a total strength of about 350,000.

"Is this the fastest they can cross?"

"No, it's far below our estimates and their capabilities, and if the Russians go all out, they'll be at least twice as fast, and this amount of troops can cross the river in 7-8 days.

"They are too timid and too slow, don't panic, continue to let them come." Manstein laughed, "Where did their courage to launch the Battle of Rostov last year go?" ”

"Who knows, I guess I don't understand your move to abandon the banks of the Don River, I'm afraid it's a trap."

"Let the Air Force intensify its attacks on the pontoon bridge, and don't be afraid that the bridge will be blown up - if it is blown up, the Russians will be able to repair it soon." "I overestimated them, but I didn't expect them to be so small now, whose troops are downstream?" ”

"It was Chuikov's 62nd Army that exchanged fire with us, and the rest cannot be judged for the time being."

"Let the troops upstream continue to retreat 30 kilometers, while the downstream will fight for two more days, and then also take back the troops, and the Russians must find a way to relax their vigilance and let them cross the river."

"Shrink again?" Weller said with some concern, "Now the vanguard of the Red Army has advanced more than 70 kilometers, almost beyond the line of Surovikino and Bokovskaya, and if we shrink by another 30 kilometers, it means that the depth of our defense will be further compressed." ”

"The depth of defense is enough, there are millions of square kilometers of land on the west bank of the Don River, and I can't defend it with less than 600,000 troops.

"At present, they have exchanged fire with the avant-garde units of our army, and a hasty retreat will not cause unnecessary chaos."

"No, the Russians are suspicious, and if we retreat quickly, they think it is a bait to seduce them, how dare they pounce on them boldly. Now it is of the utmost importance to ascertain the direction of the enemy's attack, especially the direction of the troops that have crossed the river, and if they want to move to the right flank to attack the Hoult cluster, they must resolutely block and return fire, and if they are coming at us, they can be allowed to do so. "Stalin's strategy is to learn from us, hoping to try to compress us in the encirclement centered on Rostov through a pincer offensive on both the upper and lower sides, but he sees armored combat as too simple and too mechanical, and he will taste the bitterness." ”

Just when Manstein was trying his best to protect the flanks and rear of the Hult cluster, General Hoth's offensive posture did not stop, and after the road conditions improved, the power of his armored spearhead was finally fully improved, starting from Voronezh and advancing 200 kilometers in one breath, inserting into the joint of the two groups of the Bryansk Front and the Voronezh Front. He suddenly led the 4th Panzer Army to turn to the right and gave the Voronezh Front on the right flank a sharp hook, which stunned the enemy at once. (To be continued.) )