In the afternoon of the same day, Stalin made a phone call to Zhukov: "The death of our armies in all respects lacks sufficient experience in operational command, and it seems that they are a little panicked. The Politburo decided to appoint the Southwestern Front as a representative of the high command to stabilize the morale of the front. In addition, Shaposhnikov and Kulik will go with you to the South-Western Front. You must fly to Kiev at once, Admiral Pavlov will arrange for Khrushchev to join you, and then you will go together to the headquarters of the Front in Kirponos. ”

After listening to this, Zhukov was obviously stunned for a moment.

Where is this to send him to stabilize morale, it is clear that it is to drive him out of the General Staff.

It seems that Stalin was really angry because he had repeatedly resisted his orders.

However, even if he had already guessed Stalin's dissatisfaction with him, Zhukov still did not forget his responsibility, and then asked: "In the current complex situation, who will replace me at the head of the General Staff?" ”

Zhukov's intentions were good, after all, he knew the current situation best, and it was suitable to stay in the General Staff and take charge of the overall situation. For others, just getting familiar with the situation and taking over the work was enough for the Germans to annihilate a large number of Soviet troops on the front line.

But who would have thought, Stalin, who obviously knew Zhukov's intentions, said on the phone: "I will let Vadudin stay." ”

Immediately, Stalin even added with a little anger: "Please hurry! Without you, we can handle it here! ”

Stalin's attitude chilled Zhukov. Under pressure, he was loyal, but instead of asking for his own bitter medicine, Stalin spoke coldly to him and suppressed him.

If this continues, who will dare to tell the truth, and who will dare to correct the mistakes of the Supreme Commander-in-Chief!

Although Zhukov wanted to say something, Stalin had already hung up.

"Hey......" Zhukov let out a long sigh on the other end of the phone that no one answered.

He's done everything he's supposed to do, and the rest is no longer out of his control.

If this situation continues, Zhukov dares to admit that no one in the Soviet top will be able to turn the situation around. At that time, the initiative was completely left in the hands of the Allied forces.

And that's not all!

Immediately after Zhukov's departure, the General Staff, which had previously been in charge of his position, drew up Order No. 3 under the direct leadership of Stalin.

As Zhukov had expected, the order was still a blind decision based on a misjudgment of the Jazz.

After Zhukov arrived at the airfield, Vadutin, who remained in the General Staff, specifically informed Zhukov of this order by phone.

"Comrade Chief of the General Staff, the new order requires our army to immediately organize a larger-scale offensive, which must penetrate into the enemy's territory and constantly advance to the west." Vadudin panicked on the phone and conveyed the latest situation to Zhukov.

Although Zhukov was expelled from the General Staff, Stalin did not declare to the public that he intended to suppress Zhukov, and still reserved the post of chief of the General Staff for Zhukov, and only declared that Zhukov was sent to stabilize the morale of the front.

On the other side, hearing such an order, Zhukov could not believe his ears: "But our troops at the front have completely lost the ability to attack on a large scale. Even if the Supreme Commander does not agree to the plan of moving to the defensive, wouldn't it be better to wait for our army to rest for a while and then reorganize the offensive? ”

Vadudin reluctantly said on the other end of the phone: "I actually completely agree with you, but the command has already made a decision that cannot be changed. ”

Is it such an arbitrary method of doing things?

Zhukov couldn't help but feel a little chilled: "Okay, sign my name for me." ”

......

Command of the Southwestern Front.

Kilbonos, who had been waiting for news, had not received the long-awaited reply approving him to go on the defensive, but instead he had been waiting for a new Offensive Order No. 3.

"This is nonsense!" Kirponos angrily tore the telegram in his hand to shreds, then crumpled it and threw it to the ground.

"What? Not only did the Supreme Commander-in-Chief not only not follow the advice of General Zhukov, but also put him back into our front? ”

"That's not all!" Kirponos was full of anger when he said this: "Khrushchev and his political personnel came with him, and it is estimated that they will have to dictate our operations again." Moreover, I always had the feeling that the Supreme Commander would deal with the traitors of seven divisions of our army at the same time at this time. ”

The defection of 7 Ukrainian divisions is no longer a matter of a small team, a few individuals, and this has become a major political influence. To say that Stalin would not have dealt with Kirponos who had led to such a scandal due to poor regulation, I guess no one would believe it.

Now, Stalin transferred Zhukov back to the Southwestern Front, and also transferred Khrushchev and others, this position is simply too suitable for a trial of Kirponos.

After the trial, those who should be shot are shot, and those who should be sent to Siberia are sent to Siberia. Zhukov and the others took advantage of the situation to fill the vacant position, and there was basically no difficulty.

Thinking of this, Chief of Staff Pu'er Kaev also had heart palpitations. When the time comes, he will definitely not be able to escape.

"Otherwise, we will immediately find out some heroic deeds of officers and men of the Southwestern Front who bravely killed the enemy and report them to Moscow." Pu'er Kaev was an old fritter after all, and soon thought of a way to make up for it.

"Since there is a scandal in our front, let's cover it up with heroic events. Heroes are needed above, and we give them heroes. Even if there are no heroes, we have to create a group of heroes. ”

"You mean, fabricate some fake heroes?" Kirponos quickly reacted to what the other party meant, and it was a simple effort, and there was nothing difficult to understand.

"Yes, if you want me to say, just choose a team from under the division commander Panfilov, probably...... 28 people about the same. Give them a loud name, like 'Panfilov 28 Warriors.'" Something like that. Pu'er Kaev made up a complete framework in a few words.

Just find someone from the Propaganda Department of the Front Army and make up a specific story, let's say that the 28 warriors stubbornly attacked the German position, successfully eliminated a tank unit of the German army, and created a feat of infantry fighting tanks.

Such a heroic event, as long as it is slightly polished, can become a good story in the eyes of those idiots who have never been on the battlefield in China.

Even if these heroes are fakes, it's better than no heroes at all!

Sometimes, if something fake is exciting enough, it will work better than the real thing!