It's finally here! John put down the phone with relief. Just now, he was told that four hours earlier Germany had torn up the Soviet-German Non-Aggression Pact and launched an attack on the Soviet Union. Before the Soviets could take any effective measures of resistance, millions of German troops had already broken through the border defense line and entered the territory of the Soviet Union.

Calculating the time, the time for the Germans to attack should be no different from the previous life, which gave John a sigh of relief. Thankfully, he, as a traverser, is "limited in his abilities" and is not strong enough to influence the situation in Europe, thousands of miles away. Memories and experiences from past lives can still be useful.

"John, what's the matter?" Seeing John's strange expression, Bradley couldn't help but ask.

"A call from the combat readiness duty room of the army group, the Germans have just invaded Russia."

John's answer made Bradley gasp, he couldn't bother with the question of the number of people in the exercise observation group anymore, and hurriedly asked, "Small-scale sneak attack or large-scale invasion?" ”

"Massive, amazingly big! According to information received by the military attache in Berlin from Wilhelmstraße (German Foreign Office), the Germans mobilized at least 150 divisions. Hitler himself called it the largest military operation in the history of the world in a radio address. ”

"My God, what's the reaction from the Russians?" Bradley exclaimed in surprise and continued to ask.

"They were beaten and blinded, and no effective resistance was organized. Moscow has so far remained silent about this, without any reaction. ”

"No organized resistance? And also no declaration of war and mobilization? Bradley felt a little incredulous, could it be that Stalin was still sleeping after such a big thing had happened.

"Seeming so. Stalin was probably frightened. John said with some schadenfreude. Historically, there have been rumors about what really happened in the Kremlin during the first week of the Soviet invasion.

There is even speculation that Stalin in the first week suffered a nervous breakdown from the German attack and the crushing defeat of the Soviet Red Army, to the point where he could not be a normal director. John didn't believe that Uncle Joseph (Roosevelt's nickname for Stalin), who claimed to have an iron will, could be so nervous. But historically, it was not until June 27 that Stalin made his first appearance, as chairman of the National Defense Committee, and began to direct the Soviet Red Army to counterattack.

"What's the instruction from Washington?" Bradley wasn't a rookie, and he got to the point of the matter right away. The command of the army group called overnight, apparently not simply to inform them that Germany had invaded the Soviet Union.

Otherwise, tomorrow morning they will just read the newspaper themselves. Such a big thing can't hide from those pervasive media reporters. Tomorrow morning, the news will surely be overwhelming. By doing so, it is clear that Washington has already taken an attitude towards this, and has instructions to send out the troops.

"The president has spoken on the phone with British Prime Minister Winston Churchill, and I'm afraid we'll have to side with the Russians this time." John said: "The above asked us to raise the alert level, pay attention to maintaining the stability of the troops, and dilute the anti-Soviet sentiment of the officers and soldiers as soon as possible." ”

"Make a phone call, and ask Matthew, Joseph, and the regimental commanders and chiefs of staff to come over immediately." Bradley nodded, and immediately gave the order.

Although anyone with a discerning eye knows that the German Nazis and the Soviet Union are not all the way, and sooner or later a conflict will break out. But before the outbreak of the Soviet-German war, the vast majority of Americans regarded the Soviet Union as one of Germany's accomplices and an enemy of the free world.

Since the German invasion of Poland in 1939, Hitler and Stalin have been playing the role of a pair of "good friends". The Molotov-Ribbentrop Treaty signed by the two countries was ostensibly a non-aggression treaty, but in fact it was a "spoils sharing agreement." Two countries with completely opposite ideologies, because interests came together. Not only did the two sides join forces to partition Poland, but Finland, the three Baltic states, Romania, and Hungary were also included in their respective spheres of influence.

In addition, there was a great deal of diplomatic and trade activity between Germany and the Soviet Union. The Soviet Union supplied oil and industrial raw materials to Germany, and Germany supplied high technology to the Soviet Union. When Germany formally invited the Soviet Union to join the Axis powers in December last year, the United States and Britain were even ready to face the Axis of Germany, Italy, and the Soviet Union in Europe.

So, even if no one would believe Nazi Germany's claim that the Germans were acting in response to the Soviets' imminent "border violations," Stalin's long-standing bad reputation somewhat justified the German invasion.

For now, at least, the vast majority of Americans will see the conflict between Germany and the Soviet Union as a war between bandits and robbers, and will not sympathize with the Soviet Union. In later generations, there were even many people who believed that both the Soviet Union and Germany had plans to start a war with each other before the war, but this time Germany was one step ahead.

Especially after the end of the Cold War, this argument has been further promoted. Many declassified Soviet archives show that the Red Army undertook a series of build-up and preparation efforts long before the "Barbarossa" plan, most likely with the goal of "liberating Europe" after Hitler and the rest of Europe were exhausted.

The most famous evidence of this is a blueprint for a preemptive attack plan proposed by Zhukov. The blueprint included the covert mobilization of Red Army units, the use of training as a pretext for the deployment of large numbers of troops on the border, and the cutting off of German oil supplies from its allies such as Romania after the attack began. And this blueprint was also approved by Alexander Vasilevsky (then Deputy Minister of Operations) and Nikolai Fedorovich Vatutin (then Deputy Chief of the General Staff).

Now that war has suddenly broken out between the Soviet Union and Germany, it will be very difficult for Washington to quickly adjust its policy toward the Soviet Union in accordance with the situation. Those politicians' attitudes toward the Soviet Union can make a 180-degree turn at any time, but it is not so easy to reverse the impression of ordinary Americans towards the Soviet Union. In particular, it is not easy for the officers and men at the grassroots level, who have been subjected to anti-Soviet propaganda for so many years, to make them accept the fact that the Soviet Union has changed from an "evil enemy" to an ally of their own.

If we are not careful, it is very easy to cause confusion in the minds of the troops. However, it is impossible for a unit with confused thinking and a clear understanding of the enemy and ourselves to unite and form a cohesive force and combat effectiveness.

As the sleepy-eyed Li Qiwei and others rushed to the combat readiness duty room one after another, John and Bradley and others immediately threw themselves into intense work. This sultry summer night is destined to be another sleepless night.