The second reason put forward by Vasilevsky was that there was not enough distance, and there was not enough time for the battle. Pen ~ fun ~ pavilion www.biquge.info

Even if the Red Army agreed to abandon the right bank of the Volga, the German attacking forces would be just over 600 kilometers away from their vital strategic nodes, which would be close to the Red Army attacking from Moscow or Stalingrad. The Red Army was already inferior to its opponents in terms of mechanized movement capabilities, and in the course of actual combat, the German army only needed to withdraw its troops to cover the more than 600 kilometers of the distance, while the Red Army's more than 500 kilometers of distance needed to be fought one section after another, and it was easier to see who was easier to see.

At that time, it is easy to find a situation in which the Red Army rushes to the strategic point with great effort, and as a result, the German army, which has retreated in a big way, will not only fall short, but may also suffer heavy losses due to the addition of heavy German troops.

What could reverse this unfavorable situation was that the Red Army had deployed sniper units along the German retreat route in advance, but it had to concentrate superior forces to attack and deploy sufficient forces to snipe, which Vasilevsky believed surpassed the existing capabilities of the Red Army.

"The only way to do this is to move quickly, but I insist that there is no time at all." Vasilevsky summed it up.

Stalin nodded noncommittally to this opinion, did not continue to ask questions, but asked quietly: "What about the third?" ”

"The third is that such an attack is unlikely to achieve the decisive victory that we were expecting." Vasilevsky explained, "This is why I am fundamentally opposed to this adventurous offensive. ”

He was a little reserved when he said it at first, but the more he said it, the more open he became, and the more he said it, the more bold he became.

"Even if we achieve the objectives of the campaign, the achievements and results achieved are very limited, and we cannot use this to destroy the German heavy group, at most we can only force the enemy to stop the pace of advance and stabilize the rear, while we have to use a small number of excellent troops to carry out the offensive mission -- this is simply the strength of our short attack on the enemy, and after this little mobile force and equipment are exhausted, even if we survive this winter, the days will be very difficult at the turn of spring and summer next year." Vasilevsky elaborated on his thoughts, "At present, there are only 2 months before winter, and if the German army wants to attack, it will only be 2 months, we will let go of the middle and let them fight, as long as we hold the northern flank with Moscow as the core and the southern flank with Stalingrad as the core, any progress they have made so far is a giant salient, and they are always facing the threat of our army attacking from the bottom line of the salient, can the Germans still fly into the sky?" ”

He spoke freely for more than half an hour, and the border general also observed the expression of the supreme commander, and found that the other party listened very carefully, and Voroshilov and Molotov, who were next to him, also nodded frequently, although he wondered why Comrade Stalin had the other two present during today's report, but he was encouraged to say without hesitation.

"Your opinion is very good." Stalin asked, "Do you know these opinions?" ”

"Yes, I've talked to him."

"What does he think?"

"He still hasn't given up his efforts in the Central Asian battlefield......" Vasilevsky couldn't understand the old partner's train of thought: The Central Asian battlefield is obviously impossible, why is it stubborn? Zhukov is now not only focusing on his work, but even he himself went to the scene to directly command. However, he was reluctant to speak ill of the other party in front of the supreme leader, and only explained, "Comrade Zhukov still adheres to the consistent viewpoint that the future of the Soviets cannot be delayed for a long time, and since he intends to negotiate an armistice with the Germans, he should fight a war as soon as possible, and the longer it drags on, the greater the damage will be to ourselves, and the more detrimental it will be to the restoration of the country's vitality in the future...... I objected to his self-defeating blind dynamics, knowing that there were few chances of winning, and I insisted on moving forward......"

In all fairness, Vasilevsky's words, although with a little emotion, nevertheless conveyed Zhukov's helplessness, and he believed that Stalin fully understood the intentions behind it.

"I understand what you think, let me think about it a little more, and hope that the General Staff will be prepared to deal with a possible large-scale offensive by the Germans."

"Yes!" Vasilevsky took his leave after saluting, leaving only the trio of Stalin, Molotov and Voroshilov.

"What do you think of what you just said?" Stalin asked his two close comrades-in-arms.

Molotov sighed: "Comrade Vasilevsky interpreted the standard military line with his professional attitude, and from this point of view, he was a qualified chief of the General Staff, while Comrade Zhukov was obviously more like a commander-in-chief, he really knew what the party and the country needed." ”

Voroshilov shook his head: "Comrade Zhukov made everything very clear in his telegram on personal opinions in the battle plan - after comprehensive consideration, this is the next best option at the moment, and Comrade Vasilevsky either did not accept this conclusion, or Comrade Zhukov did not tell him all his opinions, I guess the latter possibility." ”

No one is stupid enough to ask why Zhukov did not give his opinion to Vasilevsky in its entirety -- this is a very politically immature expression, because it is no longer purely military factors that determine Zhukov's decision to fight, but more political and other emotional considerations. He had hinted to Vasilevsky on the previous occasion that the two could not be completely consistent in major policy decisions, not only for their own sake, but also for the sake of the future and destiny of the Red Army.

Zhukov clearly understood Stalin's decision to abandon Leningrad better than Vasilevsky: in the latter's view, this decision was mostly aimed at improving the unfavorable situation on the front, while in the former's eyes, it marked that Comrade Stalin had basically made up his mind to make peace with the Axis, and the only difference between the two sides was that the specific conditions could not be agreed upon, so it needed to be sharpened again. Zhukov believed that the main point of the plan was to help make up the mind and speed up the process of peace negotiations: either the offensive would be successful and the Red Army would gain some superiority and force the Germans to agree to the Bolshevik terms; Either the offensive will fail and the Red Army will lose its last offensive capability, which will help Comrade Stalin to make up his mind to accept German terms - whether the Germans will continue to raise the asking price is still a matter of two questions.

Zhukov and Vasilevsky have obvious differences in their views on the issue, and in many cases even completely different. As for the abandonment of Leningrad, Vasilevsky's interpretation was based on military necessity -- shortening the front, saving troops, and winning a valuable opportunity for rearmament, while Zhukov's interpretation was motivated by political necessity -- Comrade Stalin needed to test the credibility of the Germans and, more importantly, the acceptance of the armistice with Germany by the domestic population, and how to view the question of the party and state leaders. (To be continued.) )