Zhukov did not get angry at Rokossovsky's sudden request for retreat, but calmly asked: "Where do you want to retreat?" How many troops can be withdrawn? ”

"Cross the Don and retreat to Stalingrad, and the three armies can withdraw at least one. Pen ~ Fun ~ Pavilion www.biquge.info" Rokossovsky thought for a moment, "If I can, I plan to withdraw the 63rd Army, which is relatively more effective in combat and more valuable to keep." ”

Zhukov did not directly say whether it was good or bad, but asked other topics: "Do you think the Germans will take the opportunity to cross the Don meanders and attack Stalingrad?" ”

If it had been before, Rokossovsky would have said yes without hesitation, but after experiencing the scene in September and October last year, when the German army suddenly retreated in stride, he replied hesitantly: "Not necessarily, it depends on what Hitler and Manstein think." You see, the Germans crossed the Don half a year ago, and in the end they went back again? ”

"Will they go back this time?"

"There is a possibility, depending on how much pressure we put on the Germans. If we put enough pressure on Army Group South on all fronts, Manstein might not be able to go straight to Stalingrad alone, but if we couldn't put that pressure on the enemy, they might have the upper hand. Rokossovsky added, "It is not particularly difficult to contain the enemy's attack on Stalingrad, the key is that the two flanks must hold down the enemy, if the Germans can't move the Hult cluster on the left and the Kleist cluster on the right, and only the Manstein cluster in the center can cross the Don River, then it will actually become a lone attack, and a large salient will be formed, and we can mobilize forces and calmly deal with the enemy." But if you look at the present, the Bryansk and South-Western Fronts, which are obviously more numerous than Khot, complain vigorously about the fierce attack of the enemy, and the combined strength of Comrades Yeremenko and Tyulenev is more than that of Kleist, and they say that they cannot pull away - it means that I am the only one to deal with Manstein, how can I have such strength and ability? ”

Rokossovsky babbled a lot, and Zhukov understood the complaint—he was suggesting that the other four fronts had not done their best to help him out of the siege and had put him under too much enemy force, and the latter's brow was furrowed at first, but then slowly relaxed, and even nodded his head twice in agreement.

Rokossovsky breathed a sigh of relief: Comrade Zhukov just listened to it, he did not want to shirk responsibility, he only felt that it was clearly agreed at the beginning that the three front armies would jointly suppress Manstein, but now he let one front army bear the entire offensive of the Germans, this pressure is too great, and it is even more unfair to hold him accountable and punish himself for this.

But Zhukov's next sentence made him dumbfounded: "You say, if I create a situation where the Germans have no worries on both wings and no resistance in the middle, will Manstein really attack Stalingrad?" ”

"This ......" Rokossovsky was dumbfounded: he was talking about retreat and blockade, why did the topic jump to this all at once? But looking at Zhukov's inquiring gaze, he couldn't help but make a statement, and finally had to reply in a hesitant manner: "Not necessarily, if it were me, I would think that this is a good opportunity, after all, our defense in Stalingrad is not strong, but since the Germans retreated to the Don last year with a great advantage, the thinking has become very strange and elusive, and I can't keep up with them and I can't understand their routine." ”

"You're very honest, not only do you not understand, but I also don't understand." Zhukov sighed, "but now it is somewhat clear - the Germans are not trying to occupy this or there, they are not even interested in occupying Baku." ”

"It can't be!" Rokossovsky blurted out questioning words, "The devil believes this, the Germans want our oil in their dreams, otherwise what did they do with the 'Blue Operation' last summer, and what were they aiming at the Caucasus?" Without oil, the planes and tanks of the Germans were all a pile of scrap metal! ”

"Really! If they want Baku, it will not be a slow attack like the other day, but they should seize it as quickly as possible, even if it costs a little more. ”

"Didn't we say that before the defenders of Baku surrendered, we blew it up?"

"If the Germans are fast enough, they can actually stay a little bit."

Rokossovsky's mouth opened wide in surprise, and suddenly he felt that his brain was not enough: what was Comrade Zhukov thinking? Think the Germans weren't fast enough? Could it be that he was a lurking German spy like Marshal Tukhachevsky? Wait, what the hell am I thinking? How could Comrade Zhukov be a spy! And, as one of the lucky ones who survived death three times during the Great Purge, Rokossovsky did not believe Tukhachevsky's accusations at all. Is he wondering if Comrade Zhukov has something else in mind? …… Could it be?

However, in just a few seconds, countless scenes flashed in his mind like a river and a sea, and in the end, he didn't say a clever word, only took a deep breath, and simply asked Zhukov's words: "Why is this?" ”

"Because they have taken the Middle East, where there are large oil fields with very large reserves and very shallow burials, and the Germans are mobilizing the forces of the oil industry all over Europe to prepare for development, and all the oil companies and exploration teams that are ranked in it, including the Germans, Italians, the French, the Belgians, the Dutch, and so on, and the oil wells in that place can produce oil continuously by drilling a few hundred meters, which is much better or even faster than painstakingly repairing the Baku oil fields, and it is also safe. At present, we are about 1,200 kilometers away from the Prostina oil field in Romania, and it is more difficult for bombers to destroy it, and it is more than 2,000 kilometers away from the Middle East oil field, and it is almost impossible to threaten it. And how far is Baku, less than 300 km, I will be able to send planes to bomb tomorrow! ”

Rokossovsky, who had been commanding troops on the front line, did not know much about the international situation, especially the international situation that had nothing to do with the Soviet Union, and was far inferior to Zhukov, who was in the center, and asked: "Have the Germans found big oil fields in the Middle East?" ”

"Actually, it wasn't the Germans, it was the British who found the blocks where a few shallow oil fields were located, but because there was little demand for oil before the war, and the capitalists were afraid of hitting the market price and did not exploit it, and now all the Germans are cheaper. The Kuwaitis prostrate at the feet of the Germans willingly became a protectorate; Saudi Arabia was dismantled by Germany by force into the kingdom of Najd and a bunch of emirates, and even Iraq was divided into a piece of territory, and now the iron heart follows the Germans......" Zhukov said, "The Germans are resuming production in several large oil fields in Iran and Iraq, increasing the scale of oil production, and building oil pipelines at the same time, preparing to transport millions or even tens of millions of crude oil back home." Do you know who is doing the hard work? ”

"Who?"

"Poles, Jews, and our comrades." Zhukov said bitterly, "The Iranians and Iraqis are accomplices of the Germans, they served as overseers and guards, oh, and now add the Turks." ”

"And our comrades in there?"

"Prisoners of war - those who belong to ethnic Russians and refuse to join the puppet army."

Although Rokossovsky was a Pole, he did not express much indignation at the Poles' hard labor - this was a matter of course, and the same would have been true if Russia had occupied enemy soil, and as for the prisoners of war, how could they have been prisoners if they had not been willing to do their best on the battlefield? Now this fate is not worthy of sympathy at all! So he was only slightly stunned and asked, "When did this happen?" ”

"It started more than a month ago. We have sympathizers among the French working class, and one engineer expects the Middle East to continue to produce more crude oil – about 10 million to 15 million tonnes of oil from the region to Germany this year, 20 million to 25 million tonnes next year, more than 30 million tonnes in the third year, and maybe 40 million tonnes in the fourth. ”

"What about in 4 years?"

"Four years from now?" Zhukov showed a bitter smile, "Do you think there will still be a war in 4 years?" ”

Rokossovsky was choked speechless.

"Let's talk about Baku - the Germans will basically have enough oil in the future, and the occupation of Baku is not to seize oil, the only purpose is to cut off our oil supply. Originally, we had more than 30 million tons of oil a year, and Germany only had more than 10 million tons, but now the status is reversed, and we only have more than 10 million tons, and Germany will reach or even exceed 30 million tons. Over time, the gap will widen. Zhukov sighed, "Many of our comrades have not yet realized this, and they simply do not understand the truth that the lack of fuel will be worse than the shortage of tanks." ”

"If you think about it this way, I judge that there is a high probability that the Germans will rush to Stalingrad, which is not only the core hub of the Don-Volga basin, but also the center of a series of defense industries, and the gateway to the Volga-Ural oil field area (Second Baku)." Rokossovsky wept sadly, "If the Germans beat Stalingrad and storm the second Baku, then we will really run out of gas." ”

"That's not enough. The Germans were largely content with maintaining the current front. Zhukov shook his head, "The intelligence officer just got the relevant information not long ago, do you want to hear it?" ”

"Of course."

"In 1943 the Germans' guiding ideology for the war underwent a major change: they basically stuck to the existing line of defense and played a high exchange ratio! The order was not top secret, it had been issued to the army group and even to the division level, and Hitler made it clear that he would rather not fight a battle with a 1:4 ratio of more than 1:4. ”

"What?" Rokossovsky was taken aback, "What does this mean?" Isn't tactics at the service of strategy? What kind of tactic is this? What about the enemy's strategic goals? Even if there is a milestone, it would be fine. (To be continued.) )