"Worse still......," Alexander said, "in the defense zones of the Romanian 3rd and 4th armies, a large number of Soviet troops were found!" ”

"Does the Führer know about these circumstances?" Qin Chuan asked.

In fact, this sentence is just to confirm that Hitler could not have known such important information.

Sure enough, Alexander replied: "Of course he does, but he doesn't pay much attention to it!" ”

"We sometimes don't understand why!" Another staff officer interjected: "Our flanks are already in such a dangerous situation, why should the Führer flank troops be transferred to France!" ”

"Maybe it's because France needs troops!" Alexander replied.

"Yes, I know that!" The staff officer objected: "But can the Eastern Front be ignored because France is in danger?" Stalingrad was located in the salient of the two-river defense line, and if the flanks were broken through, the 6th Army was in danger of being surrounded by the Soviets! ”

The staff officer's words silenced everyone, because everyone thought he was right.

Qin Chuan knew why, Hitler was overconfident in the Eastern Front, thinking that Army Group South could block a possible Soviet attack with its current strength, or it could be said that Hitler was deceived and believed in Canaris's intelligence that the Soviets were incapable of organizing a counteroffensive.

Qin Chuan knew very well that this was wrong, and that the war potential of the Soviet Union far exceeded the imagination of the German leadership...... This is related to the Soviet army's requirements for the quality of soldiers, and if the quality requirements are not high, a huge force can be organized in a short time, even if hundreds of thousands or even millions of these troops are surrounded and annihilated by the German army, but the Soviet army can immediately organize another army.

"We have a few options now!" Alexander said: "The first plan is to persuade the Führer to pay attention to the weak flanks of our army, and if he can recognize the danger in this, then he will take corresponding measures!" ”

As for what measures, Alexander did not elaborate, but everyone understood...... Either send reinforcements to fill these weak points, or shrink the defensive line or retreat.

"Another plan!" Alexander continued: "It is to draw troops from the 6th Army to defend the two flanks. ”

Qin Chuan shook his head and said: "This plan is not realistic, the northern defense line centered on Kotluban has always been the focus of the Soviets' attack, and the defense of the two flanks needs at least two mechanized corps!" ”

The 6th Army had only five corps in total, and all of them were seriously undermanned and equipped after the tragic Battle of Stalingrad.

"Then there's only the first option!" "In fact this is what General Paulus is doing, and he is trying to convince the Führer to make him realize the fragility of this line of defense!" Alexander said. ”

As he spoke, a jeep stopped outside the door, and Paulus, wrapped in a trench coat, and his guards jumped out of the car and walked quickly into the headquarters, their faces very ugly.

Alexander and Qin Chuan glanced at each other, and they both knew that Paulus's trip was not going well.

Qin Chuan was not surprised by this, Hitler was notoriously conceited and stubborn, for example, in the Battle of Sicily, he was deceived by the "meat plan" of the Allies, and until the last moment he thought that the Allied attack on Sicily was a bluff.

If Hitler could have recognized his mistake, he pretended that nothing had happened, and the generals and staff around him also pretended that none of this was Hitler's fault, and so mistakes like this happened again and again, during the Normandy landings, and now on the Eastern Front.

"Oh, Major!" Paulus seemed to have just seen Qin Chuan, he nodded at Qin Chuan, and said, "Seeing you may be the only thing that can make people feel relaxed today!" ”

Alexander hoped that Paulus would talk to them about the progress, but Paulus was clearly reluctant to do so, so he greeted the officers and walked into the break room.

Paulus's aide-de-camp, Major General Webb, came up and explained, "Sorry, the general has been busy for two days and he needs to rest!" ”

"It's a bad situation, isn't it, General?" Alexander asked.

Major General Webb nodded: "The Führer thinks that we have enough troops to defend, and at the same time thinks that the Soviets will not launch a counteroffensive so quickly and without so many troops!" ”

The staff officers couldn't help but be silent.

It's a very powerless feeling, and most of them know that the Führer is wrong, but there is nothing they can do to change that. Qin Chuan is also one of them.

After being silent for a while, Alexander turned his gaze to Qin Chuan: "Major, the Führer trusts you very much, if it is up to you to convince the Führer, do you think it is possible to ......?"

"Colonel!" Qin Chuan interrupted Alexander's words: "If General Paulus can't convince the Führer, do you think I can?" ”

Alexander was speechless.

This is indeed a stupid method, because even if Hitler trusted Qin Chuan, Qin Chuan was a low-level officer after all, and he had no more say in strategic matters than Paulus.

"Perhaps......," Alexander added, "We can prepare for the Soviets!" ”

"Like what?" Qin Chuan asked.

"For example......" Alexander said, pointing to the map, "we can build fortifications or lay mines on the weak flanks, so that when the Soviets attack, they will not be too fast, and then the Führer will realize that he has misjudged, and we will be able to withdraw before the Soviets complete the encirclement!" ”

Qin Chuan shook his head.

This sounds like a real thing, because once the Soviet counteroffensive is launched, the Germans will soon know how many troops the Soviets have put into the attack, and then Hitler will realize his mistake, and then the 6th Army will be able to withdraw before it suffers more losses, or arguably before the Soviets form an encirclement.

But......

"Even then, will the Führer agree to retreat?" Qin Chuan asked rhetorically.

Qin Chuan: This is in one sentence, just like in the North African battlefield, when the situation is obviously unfavorable to the Afrika Korps, Hitler still ordered not to retreat...... This has almost become Hitler's mantra.

Indeed, it is not surprising in history that Hitler recognized his mistake, and even though Paulus's 6th Army was surrounded by Soviet troops, Hitler still ordered Paulus to stay where it was rather than break out.

Hitler seems to have forgotten a famous quote of Frederick the Great: "He who wants to keep everything will end up holding nothing!" ”

After thinking about it, Qin Chuan said, "We seem to have a third plan!" ”

"What?" Alexander looked at Qin Chuan in surprise.