As soon as Qin Chuan said this, the officers basically believed it, because if they followed this line of thought...... Gone were the problems that had arisen before, such as the terrain of Yeltsovka and the vulnerability of Reynolds to the point of cutting off the Soviets again, and the Soviets would annihilate several German divisions east of Kotluban, including the 21st Panzer Division, and gain 29 kilometers of defensive depth while making contact with Stalingrad.

"Interesting!" Colonel Slain touched his chin and said, "So, the Soviets have become smarter!" ”

"No!" As if thinking of something, General Stryk said: "It's not that the Soviets have become smarter, it's that we don't know our opponents...... I received information yesterday that Zhukov had already taken over the command of the two Stalingrad Fronts on the Soviet side! ”

The German officers could not help but raise their heads in shock, and then looked at each other with a cautious look on their faces.

Qin Chuan could understand their expressions, originally they were a little worried that Stalingrad would fight a battle like the Battle of Moscow, and now the Soviets sent Zhukov, the commander of the Battle of Moscow, to command the Battle of Stalingrad, which of course made them chill.

"General!" At this moment, a messenger a few meters away took the phone and said to General Stryk: "General Rommel's call!" ”

General Stryk gave the officers a meaningful look, and then picked up the phone.

"Yes, General!" After listening for a while, General Stryk replied, "However, we have other ideas about it!" ”

An hour later, the 21st Panzer Division began to prepare intensively, and then drove in the direction of Yeltsovka.

The news soon reached the command of Ivanov Kazhukov Jr...... Zhukov had already made contact with Stalingrad and asked them to cooperate with the Air Force in reconnoitring the movements of the German 21st Panzer Division located on the state farm.

This is easier said than done, because the Germans cut off the telephone lines from Stalingrad all the way to the outside of Stalingrad during the completion of the semi-encirclement of Stalingrad, including the telephone lines from the Volga River to the South-Eastern Front. None of the radio stations could be used because they were lost, damaged, or malfunctioned during the battle retreat, and as a result, Stalingrad temporarily lost contact with the outside world.

Under these circumstances, Stalingrad could only communicate with the outside world twice through radio stations, until the South-Eastern Front sent two radio stations to Stalingrad in the face of heavy bombing blockade by German fighters.

The lack of and backward means of communication has always been one of the reasons for the slow movement and poor command of the Soviet army, and as a result of this battle, Zhukov had very limited information and intelligence, because he could not complete the entire intelligence chain.

For example, the reconnaissance of the 21st Panzer Division should have detected that the 21st Panzer Division left the state farm and drove on the way to Yeltsovka, and then found that German tanks were participating in the battle in Yertovka and even determined that it was the 21st Panzer Division...... This will prove that the 21st Panzer Division has been fooled.

But this was not possible with Soviet communications equipment, especially in the German-occupied areas...... Wired telephones were cut off, radio stations were not at all, and even if someone detected that there were no tanks passing by on the way, there was no way to transmit information.

Originally, Zhukov also hoped to ensure the integrity of this intelligence chain with aerial reconnaissance aircraft, but this hope was quickly disappointed, because the Germans soon sent fighters to shoot down more than 30 Soviet fighters and seize air supremacy again.

As a result, Zhukov could only pacing back and forth in front of the radio, anxiously waiting for news from the front.

Finally, Yeremenko looked up with joy on his face and reported to Zhukov: "Comrade Zhukov, Yeltzov's telegram found a large number of enemy tanks thrown into battle, estimated to be the enemy's 21st Panzer Division!" ”

"Hmm!" Zhukov nodded.

Zhukov was afraid of the Germans' 21st Panzer Division, and before that, he carefully checked the information of the 21st Panzer Division, and knew that this Panzer Division had fought all the way in the North African desert, and was experienced in combat and well-equipped...... This refers not only to the fact that the division was equipped with a large number of "four" tanks, but also that its infantry was heavily armed with submachine guns and rocket launchers, which the Germans called MP43.

The former can effectively kill Soviet infantry in a large area, while the latter can penetrate all Soviet tank armor at close range.

As a result, all Soviet troops looked vulnerable in front of this force.

This is also one of the reasons why the Soviet 64th Army and the 62nd Army were defeated so badly and so quickly...... The 21st Panzer Division acted as a sharp spearhead in this battle, and after breaking through the 64th Army, it rushed left and right as if it were in a no-man's land, and even the armored trains that had just been produced off the assembly line could not stop them even for a moment.

And this 21st Panzer Division, which made Zhukov grit his teeth with hatred, happened to block the key point that Zhukov wanted to break through...... on state farms.

So, of course, Zhukov had to find a way to transfer it out, drag it in Yeltsovka, and even block its way back with artillery fire.

Was the 21st Panzer Division fooled? Zhukov was not sure, because he knew that this division was very flexible on the battlefield, and it was usually only for its sake and no one else had deceived it.

"Comrade Zhukov!" Yeremenko took another telegram and reported: "Comrade Zimuev reports that they are stubbornly blocked by the enemy and cannot continue the offensive!" ”

Zimuev was the commander of the 84th Infantry Division, which attacked in the Yeltsovka direction, and was joined by a tank regiment of the 16th Tank Army.

After a little more hesitation, Zhukov realized that his operation was "ready to be launched", because if he had ordered the troops to retreat because he was suspicious and had done nothing, Stalin, who had been in a hurry to urge his attack, would certainly ask the reason, and then he would not be able to explain it to Stalin.

Therefore, the phrase "employing people without suspicion and suspicion is not used" is correct.

Sometimes it's not even suspicion, like Stalin's previous urging, not suspicion of anything, but concern for Stalingrad's safety.

But this alone will put a lot of pressure on Zhukov, so he will make the wrong decision at a critical moment.

"Attack!" Zhukov gritted his teeth and ordered: "Target Kortluban!" ”

"Yes, Comrade Zhukov!" Yeremenko answered, and then shouted backwards: "Attack!" ”

The staff officers and the communicators were immediately busy, and each of them used the telephone to convey the order of the attack to the front line.