Shulka and the officers and men of the 1st Guards Tank Brigade, of course, did not know what was happening at the front.

A few days in Tver were nothing short of a holiday for the 1st Guards Brigade...... As the front moved westward, the sound of gunfire and artillery grew farther and farther away, and soon Tver became the second line.

So, what the fighters did in Tver was to drink and chat, and then take turns standing guard outdoors and watching the teams of skiers pass by.

Timka's accordion worked again, and the warriors always crowded into his house to sing and dance to the beautiful melodies, sometimes all night long.

Although Shulka knew that this was not good, because it would not give them enough energy to face the coming war.

But Shulka didn't stop them.

On the one hand, this is because there really isn't much to do in this weather.

Training? minus 45 degrees Celsius, staying outside for an hour can lead to freezing to death.

Therefore, it is very difficult to fight at this time, whether it is the German army or the Soviet army.

In fact, the conditions of the German army were much worse than those of the Soviet army, because many German stragglers came to Tver in scattered ways to surrender to them...... Those were German troops from the German 4th Tank Army.

The 4th Tank Army, which was the most pitiful, fought valiantly under the command of Hopner, in the Leningrad direction, and was transferred to attack Moscow.

It was also because of this that the Fourth Tank Army was able to penetrate the Soviet lines and threaten Moscow from the north.

However, what they didn't expect was that the farther they attacked, the more difficult it would be to retreat at this time, especially when they attacked in tanks and cars, and when they came back, they were chased and killed all the way to Tibet.

Many people could not survive in this cold and hungry environment outdoors, so they had to surrender to the Soviet army in a trembling state.

When the soldiers received these German prisoners, they found that many of them were wearing self-made "sack clothes", that is, cutting a few holes in the sack and tying it tightly around their bodies to keep out the cold, some of them wrapped bandages around their coats, like zombies, and other tricks such as stuffing hay and broken newspapers into their military uniforms.

A significant number of them suffer from frostbite to various degrees.

But of course, the Soviets didn't bother with this, and the fighters just put them in schools and left them to fend for themselves.

There's a little bit of a hiccup in that.

Last night about a company of German troops retreated to Tver, and since they had penetrated Tver in the dark of night and occupied a building with weapons, the Soviets did not dare to act rashly.

"We need a little time to start the tank!" The instructor said to Shulka: "They're frozen!" ”

This is not to say that the Soviets could not capture the building occupied by the Germans, in fact they only needed a bazooka and an infantry charge.

The problem is that this is not necessary, it can be solved with tanks to minimize casualties, and no one will want to risk their lives with a gun.

"We probably don't need tanks!" Shulka said: "They probably wanted to come and surrender! ”

"We're shouting at them!" The instructor said, "But they didn't respond!" ”

"That's why they're still hesitating!"

"Yes, they are still hesitating!" The instructor replied, "But we don't have that much time to spend with them!" ”

This is the temper of the typical Soviets, they always have a tendon and either surrender or hit until you surrender.

"Give them some padded jackets!" Shulka said.

"What?" The instructor looked at Shulka suspiciously.

"Give me a little more food!" "Tell them that we have a warm stove here and they can get a good night's sleep when they are full," Shulka said. ”

The instructor was stunned for a moment, then nodded and said, "I'll try it!" ”

So the instructor stepped forward with a few captives, illuminated a clearing in front of the building with a searchlight, threw a few padded jackets and canned food, and shouted: "Come here, Germans!" We have food and clothing here, and we allow you to sleep well in front of the fire, as long as you are willing to surrender! Otherwise, tanks and our relentless onslaught await you! ”

The trick worked, and after a moment of silence, the Germans stretched out a white flag made of bandages out of the window and shouted: "We surrender, I hope you will fulfill your promise!" ”

They couldn't stand the temptation of those cotton clothes and the stove.

It may seem a little hard to imagine, but in this extreme situation, they are more seductive than anything.

It's like some captives later confessed: "As long as I can eat enough and sleep in front of the fire, they will shoot me!" ”

It also shows how hungry and tired the German army was.

The instructor then fulfilled his promise, and he even offered the German prisoners some French brandy.

This made the German prisoners a little frightened, and relaxed thinking that they would be treated as prisoners normally.

But Shulka knew it was extravagant...... The instructor did this just because he didn't want to lose his trust in front of his subordinates, and he thought that as an instructor, he should do what he said, otherwise it would damage his majesty.

By the third day, Katukov had called a meeting of the officers.

"The battle didn't go as smoothly as we thought!" Pointing to the map, Katukov said: "The pressure came mainly from the 9th Army in the south, which, under the offensive of our troops, not only did not collapse, but also launched a counteroffensive...... We had 9 divisions of troops surrounded by them in the area of Sychovka after breaking through the German lines! The higher authorities ordered us to reinforce the 29th Army and rescue the encircled 9 divisions! ”

The officers in the conference room were talking, they did not expect that the German army would still be able to counterattack or even surround the Soviet army in such a situation.

Shulka knew that meant that Moder's early plan had been successful...... His first step was to stabilize the 9th Army's defensive line, threaten the flanks of the Soviet attacking forces, and buy time for the collapsing and retreating German army.

The second step was to use a series of key support points that were held by the Germans.

For example, Holm, Staraya Russa and Demyansk are the main transport routes in the swamps.

Moder demanded that the Air Force provide reinforcements to these places anyway, and with all their might. Because this is the key to the German army's ability to withstand the Soviet attack.

The Luftwaffe did exactly that, and even sacrificed many pilots for it.

But it turns out that Moder was right, and these key support points did work...... When the temperature warms up the next year, the supply lines of the Soviet army are naturally cut off by these support points.

As a result, many Soviet regulars had to remain west of the line of defense and become partisans.