Needless to say, what the result will be.

The defense of the Soviet front line quickly collapsed, and the speed of the collapse could even be described as "vulnerable", and the advancing German troops could not even keep up with the speed of the Soviet flight.

In just one day, the Germans captured Lake Kayash, a key point in the central part of Kerch.

So, there was no need to say anything about landing reinforcements, the port of Kerch was crowded with officers and soldiers who had retreated from the front line, all hoping to withdraw to the Caucasus, and many Soviet soldiers snatched fishing boats from the people and crossed the Kerch Strait privately...... At its narrowest point, it is only 4.5 kilometers, and the fishing boats can do it perfectly, the difficulty is only that the wind and waves are strong and the climate is cold, and they need to worry about freezing to death.

Mekhlis immediately reported the situation to Stalin...... This is his specialty, playing small reports.

"Yes, Comrade Stalin!" Mehris said: "Those cowards, they are retreating towards the Caucasus!" No, it should be said that the escape, the shameless escape to the Caucasus without an order, which had extremely serious consequences for the whole campaign, and we did not even have time to land and save them from the Germans! In fact, the port is already blocked, and we simply can't land! ”

Another purpose of Mehris in saying these things was to let Stalin know that it was not his fault in case the battle could not be fought.

On the other hand, if this battle is rescued by him again, it can fully show how wise and powerful he is, which can be said to kill two birds with one stone.

Therefore, compared to the victory or defeat of the battle and the casualties of officers and soldiers on the front, and even the fate of the entire Soviet Union...... Mehris is more concerned with this.

When Stalin received this information, he immediately sent a telegram to Kulik: "In any case, at all costs, Kerch must be held, and not a step back!" ”

"Yes, Comrade Stalin!" Kulik called back: "Resolutely not take a step back!" ”

But Marshal Kulik did not have any practical actions or plans, he simply conveyed this order: "Order everyone, do not take a step back, or they will be punished!" ”

If Marshal Kulik did anything, it was to form a team of overseers, point their guns at the front line behind them, and shoot anyone who retreats and shoot them to death.

But this approach obviously has little effect.

It's more about getting two kinds of results:

One is that the front-line officers and soldiers found that they had no way to live, so they simply chose to surrender.

On the other hand, the front-line officers and soldiers were mercilessly shot by the Overseers when they retreated, and they launched an attack on the Overseers in a fit of rage...... Where would the Overseer be the opponent of the front-line combat troops, so no one even dared to do the work of the Overseer Corps after coming and going.

Seeing that the situation was not good, Kulik flew back to the Caucasus without Stalin's consent, leaving the mess on the Kerch Peninsula and abandoning it.

If, according to Stalin's Order No. 270, Kulik's actions would undoubtedly have been brought to a military court and then shot. But the punishment for him was only the demotion from marshal to major general, and then he continued to command in the second line until the end of the war.

Mekhlis didn't look nervous, even though the Crimean Front was stuck in a dilemma in port.

He just called Shulka to the command, then raised his glass and said leisurely to Shulka: "I'm surprised, Comrade Shulka! Everything is exactly what you say, not bad at all...... I mean, if I hadn't heard it with my own ears, I wouldn't have believed that anyone could have accurately predicted the development of this battle a day ago! ”

"Please accept my respect, Comrade Shulka!" Alexei's eyes were full of admiration: "I didn't know how ignorant I was until now, you are right, I should have asked you about the reinforcement of the Crimea!" ”

"It's not too late, is it?" Mekhlis asked Shulka.

"I think it's too late, Comrade Mehris!" Shulka replied: "Now the Crimea is like an iron plate, and we can hardly rush to reinforcements!" ”

"No, you're going to figure it out!" Mehris laughed: "I believe that! ”

"We ......," Alexei said hesitantly, "it seems that we have only one option, and that is to land from Sevastopol!" ”

"That's a small landing!" Shulka replied: "And there is no way to solve the problem, unless we can break through the German defenses, and it is very difficult to do this!" ”

"Can't the 1st Guards Tank Brigade do it too?" Mehris raised his eyebrows at Shulka, who seemed to believe in the combat effectiveness of the 1st Guards Tank Brigade as much as he believed in Shulka.

"If it were just the German line, I believe it could!" Shulka replied: "But we are facing the planes of the Germans...... As far as I know, Sevastopol, in order to expose the enemy to the bombardment of the fortress artillery, cut down all the obstacles and trees around the fortress, so that the area was empty. ”

Mekhlis turned his gaze to Alexei, who nodded: "Yes, Comrade Mehris, Comrade Shulka is telling the truth!" ”

"This really suits the defense of Sevastopol!" Shulka continued: "But it was also suitable for the defense of the Germans, because as soon as our tanks drove out of the fortress, they were immediately exposed to their sight. So, a few kilometers away, before our tanks approached the enemy's line of defense, and before the artillery saw the enemy, the German planes would fly over our heads and destroy us one by one! ”

"Then make it impossible for their planes to do that!" Mehris said: "We also have the Air Force!" ”

Shulka looked helplessly at Alexei, who explained to Mechlis: "Comrade Mechlis, although we do have an air force, we cannot compete with the Germans for air supremacy for the time being. This is primarily due to the fact that all our preparations are in the Moscow direction, including hangar facilities, repair parts, etc., and it will take time to transfer them all to the Caucasus. In addition, our fighters are inferior in performance to the Germans, so they are generally at a disadvantage! ”

Mehris looked at Alexei, then at Shulka, and said: "Then think of a way, you are staff officers, your job is to come up with a way to defeat the enemy, we can't let the Germans occupy the Crimea, where our territory is the land of the Soviet Union!" ”

Mekhlis, of course, did not know how important the strategic position of the Crimea was, so that was all he could say.

"There may be a way!" After thinking about it, Shulka said, "But it's dangerous! ”