"Let him get out of Karachi. Pen "Fun" Pavilion www.biquge.info," Zhukov said after a long time of muttering.

"Do you think this will hold Borisoglebsk?"

"I can't hold it." Zhukov sighed, "Go and defend Barashov, if you withdraw early, you may be able to build a defensive line on the Hopiol River, if you go too late, I'm afraid I will have to collect his body......"

"Well, what about Kotula?" Vasilevsky was a little anxious, "The most important thing now is the Moscow front, if we can't hold it, Moscow will be finished." ”

"Let Konev take the troops of the steppe military district and the Tula defenders to hold on and launch a counterattack, and for the time being, he will not be able to draw troops to him." Zhukov said suspiciously, "How did this German unit come out?" I find it strange that there do not seem to be many troops in the analysis of the situation from the report, otherwise Konev would not have retreated so quickly last night. ”

"The Germans are crazy, they punch in the west and kick in the east, their thinking is very messy, after Halder was deposed by Hitler, the German General Staff made some incomprehensible battle plans, and felt that there was no clear goal, where to fight, could it be that the corporal himself was tossing around?"

Zhukov couldn't help but sigh.

"What do you see?" Vasilevsky grabbed his hair in distress and asked Zhukov in bewilderment.

"It's not that they don't have a plan, it's that the plan is viciously unspeakable, they don't simply want to occupy this or there, their goal is only to kill people - to destroy our living forces!"

"What kind of military logic is this?" Vasilevskid was stunned, "I know that Hitler emphasized this purpose, but it was a campaign ancillary effect. ”

"We must not take lightly, how much have we lost permanently since the beginning of the war? 14 million or 15 million? Zhukov's face was full of sadness, "If this continues, all the men in Russia will die." ”

Vasilevsky was unimpressed at first, thinking that the Soviet Union, a large country with a population more than twice that of Germany, could be killed by massacres. But after calming down and thinking about Zhukov's words, and then following Zhukov's deduction and calculating the numbers, he was scared into a cold sweat in the end:

Of course, the total population of the Soviet Union was large, but excluding the population of the lands occupied by the Germans in the west and south, the total number was less than 120 million, and about half of them were men (the actual population was even less). If we subtract the old, weak, sick and disabled and only count the number of people who can serve, I am afraid that there are only 40 million people (16-60 age groups), and after subtracting the loss of 15 million people and civilians killed in the war, only 25 million men can serve.

"If the same rate of loss is maintained for the next two years, what will be left?"

If you subtract 15 million from the 25 million, there will be only 10 million able-bodied men who can carry guns to defend the country and enter factories to undertake jobs, and the number of new men of school-age will not exceed 1 million every year, which means that in two years, there will only be 12 million men who can serve in Russia. Faced with this number, Vasilevsky said in a trembling voice: "This means the complete demise of Russian men!" ”

Zhukov nodded sadly: "If you think about it in combination with the current grain production and crude oil production, maybe a large number of people will die this year." ”

"I ......" Vasilevsky finally understood where he was inferior to Zhukov - when he was still analyzing the behavior of the German army from a military point of view, Zhukov was already looking at the problem from a political and strategic perspective.

"Comrade Stalin, I will explain that Baglamyan estimates that a dismissal punishment will not be escaped, and the order to retreat should be given as soon as possible, and as for the ...... later," Zhukov said with a sad face, "I don't even know what to do." ”

Before Zhukov could leave, Stalin's phone had already called, and he asked in a head-scratching voice: "Comrade Konstantin, the Germans are attacking Tula, do you know?" ”

"I know that I have ordered Comrade Konev to launch a counterattack on the spot and repel the enemy."

"Can he do it?"

"Transfer Tula to him along with the Ryazan garrison, I'm sure he can do it."

"What's going on on the central battlefield? Baglamiyan, this rice bucket, I'm going to shoot him! Even from a distance of three paces, Vasilevsky could still hear the angry voice on the phone.

"He really didn't fight very well, but the enemy was too strong, the Bryansk Front couldn't withstand the two German Panzer Armies, and the Central Front couldn't stand it either, and he was able to support it with his flanks and reserves so far."

"Let Vatutin go to his aid? Let him take Karachi. ”

"It's useless, Comrade General Secretary." Zhukov pondered for a long time, and finally decided to tell the truth, "If the Germans capture Borisogrebsk, it means that they have opened a gap in the central battlefield, and even if they occupy Karachi, they will not be able to change this situation." Vatutin's troops could not be moved lightly, otherwise there would be danger in the Stalingrad direction, and in the event of the loss of Stalingrad, the entire southern flank would collapse. ”

"Let Bagramyan go and hold on to Borisoglebsk?"

"It is likely to turn into a second Tambov encirclement."

"So what do you think you should do now?"

"Let Baghramyan withdraw his troops and hold on to Balashov and create a new line of defense in the central theater. In addition, the Tambov encirclement may not be able to be rescued, which will only reduce the strength in vain and affect the defense of Moscow. ”

There was silence on the other side of the earpiece for a long time, and Vasilevsky heard it very clearly, and there was only the sound of gasping like a convulsion.

"Can this repel an enemy attack?"

"It is very difficult, but if we can initially establish a relatively reliable line of defense, we can't solve the problem now, we can only curb the expansion of the problem."

"Tell me how to solve the problem?"

"Can I tell the truth?"

"You can tell the truth with the loyalty of a communist."

"I think we can consider negotiating an armistice with the Germans." Zhukov also let go, "Whether it succeeds or not, at least it can win a little respite for the troops." ”

"It's not something you should think about, it's my problem! Let Baghramyan immediately retreat and form a reliable defensive line......" Without waiting for Zhukov to say anything, the phone "clicked" and hung up.

"Armistice negotiations?" Vasilevsky wiped the cold sweat from his forehead and looked at Zhukov at a loss: he really dared to say it.

In the early morning of 5 June, the Red Army, which had already invaded the main defense area of Karachi, retreated like a tide, and under the attack of the three army groups at any cost, the Karachi front line became a bloody area, and the Italian defense area was finally reduced to only 30 percent of the original, and more than 30,000 Italian troops were tightly encircled in a range less than 20 kilometers wide in length and width, and in the end there were less than 13,000 living men left in the encirclement, including nearly 5,000 light and serious wounded, and the two German divisions on both flanks were also damaged by more than half.

However, the results were also brilliant, as Baglamiyan gathered 250,000 troops to attack, and by the time of the final hasty withdrawal, the remaining troops were just over 150,000. Although the exchange ratio seems to be only about 1:4, considering that the defending side has less than a quarter of the strength of the other side, and many of the Red Army casualties are experienced veterans drawn from the Far East, this result is even more precious.

Hoffmann was so moved by this that he sent Kesselring, who was still in Italy, to meet Mussolini and express his gratitude.

"Dear Leader, the Ram Division fought very well, very remarkable, in North Africa they taught the British a hard lesson, and today they have re-established their exploits on the Eastern Front, and the Führer and the whole German army are proud of them......"

"Hahaha, yes, we Italians can also fight tough battles!" Mussolini jumped to his feet two days ago and scolded the Germans for not saving them, but today Kesselring came to express his gratitude and immediately changed his expression.

"Considering that the losses of the troops were relatively large, the Führer suggested that the troops should be withdrawn and replenished first, and he would send other troops to hold on. He wanted to award the commander a knight's cross with oak leaves. "Kesselring, of course, knew the twists and turns, but he didn't say anything about it," as a sign of our respect, the Führer hoped that the ram division would be adjusted in accordance with the German Type 1943 Panzer Division. ”

"This ......," Mussolini rolled his eyes, "there is nothing wrong with the principle, but you know ......"

"I know, I know." Kesselring nodded repeatedly, "The Führer said that except for the No. 3 assault gun, all other equipment is provided by us. "Because now the three assault guns are produced in Italy.

"Good, Albert, it's great that you say that!" Mussolini's eyes lit up with excitement, "This...... There are also Tiger tanks in the formation, right? ”

"Yes, a whole battalion, including the Tiger, 330 tanks."

"Then thank Adolf for me, and I will go to Berlin on the day of the award."

After Kesselring left, Mussolini felt that his vanity was greatly satisfied, and that night he was so strong that he his mistress Clarna Bertassi three times in a row.

On the third day, the Italian media published a report entitled "Record of the Battle of the Ram Panzer Division of the Royal Italian Army, the Mainstay of the New Roman Empire and the Invincible Legion of Our Times", which portrayed the Ram Division as the ace division of the "Pingying Suppression of Russia" and boasted that one of its divisions could fight against the "three Russian armies", and not only attributed all the merits of the Italian infantry divisions on the Karachi defense line to the Ram Division, but also turned a blind eye to the German infantry divisions that provided cover on both flanks.

The cadres and others in the Voronezh command were indignant, but the Führer was smiling: "It's good to brag, I like the bragging of the Italian leader." After the reorganization of this division, it will still have to go to the Eastern Front to continue fighting, and the Italian Navy will have to continue to fight with us. ”

Zeitzler was stunned for a moment, then laughed equally knowingly.

Now the situation is very good, the Karachi defense line is not broken, the Tambov encirclement is just around the corner, Borisoglebsk is drumming down again, and Hoffman is now only staring at the battle on the Rzhev-Vyazma line. (To be continued.) )