This time, Lin was also star-studded with Marshal Loeb, who was in charge of Army Group North attacking Stalingrad.

First of all, the two great generals of the SS, Dietrich and Paul? Haussert was under his command, and the numbered main SS forces joined his battle group.

Moreover, behind him there was a temporary fleet in the Baltic, supported by the fire of naval guns from 4 battleships.

If you add a full 10 K5 train guns, and another 4 K12 train guns, his firepower is unprecedentedly strong.

In some areas, Germany has an absolute numerical superiority in the number of tanks, planes, heavy artillery, and other weapons.

Moreover, the Soviets were not very peaceful behind them, and the Finnish troops were also counterattacking southward, squeezing the space for the Soviet troops to operate.

The three Baltic states enthusiastically signed up to join the army, and even took the initiative to set up patrols to help Germany maintain security on transport and supply lines.

The right time, place, and people were on the German side, and it could be said that it would not be difficult for Marshal Loeb to win this battle.

Compared to Ukraine, which is not very well built, the transportation network around Leningrad is quite developed.

This also provided a basis for the German armored forces to spread out their forces: the better the logistical conditions, the faster the German semi-mechanized troops advanced.

"That's right! The Germans shelled the city yesterday...... Casualties are being counted, and the troops have not been affected...... Yes! Pinching the phone, Marshal Voroshilov stood in his place, respectfully answering Stalin's questions.

Leningrad was attacked, and it was shelled by enemy warships, with heavy losses. If Stalin didn't care about it personally, it would have been an accident.

"The statue in the square is still there...... Yes, still ...... "Leningrad, of course, there is a statue of Lenin, and Voroshilov really wants to know, whether it is the statue that is important, or the civilians of Leningrad who are important."

"Our Navy cannot enter the war, yes, Comrade Stalin, the situation with both battleships of the Navy is not optimistic, there is no way to fight the enemy." When it came to naval matters, Marshal Voroshilov was also helpless.

Originally, there was no need for him to meddle with the affairs of the navy, but the enemy was directly shelling the city from the sea, and he, as the commander-in-chief in this direction, could only ask the question of the navy.

The two old Russian battleships moored in the harbor could not be compared with the four battleships in the hands of Germany in terms of the caliber of their main guns and the rate of fire, the speed of their ships and the thickness of their armor.

The two submarines that went to sea yesterday did not find any chance, and the Germans had 10 destroyers in anti-submarine operations, and they did not even have the guts to go up and try them and returned home.

As for the city of Leningrad, it is now a mess. The army was stationed outside the city, civilians were not allowed to retreat, food and ammunition were scarce, and water and electricity had collapsed.

It is impossible not to collapse - as a modern city, if it is not paralyzed by almost 200 shells of more than 300 mm caliber, it can be considered a super fortress.

The power and water cuts made life in the city messy, and civilians began to rush to buy food, but the problem of not having much food in the city was exposed.

Voroshilov put down the phone anxiously and looked at his chief of staff: "How many refugees are homeless?" How many people can we accommodate? ”

"Comrade Marshal, did Comrade Stalin not ask for permission for the retreat of the civilians?" The chief of staff asked helplessly.

Originally, this call was made to Moscow to apply for innocent civilians other than soldiers to leave Leningrad.

However, Stalin's first question was whether the statue of Lenin had been damaged, and later whether the navy could prevent the enemy from shelling Leningrad again.

After that, he explained something and ordered Marshal Voroshilov to hold Leningrad without taking a step back.

Throughout, Stalin did not ask the civilians of Leningrad or how much support Voroshilov needed.

"He doesn't care about working hard at all. He ordered us to hold on to this place, but he wouldn't even give us an extra bag of food. Marshal Voroshilov shook his head depressedly and said to his chief of staff.

"Comrade Marshal...... These words must not be heard by Comrade Political Commissar. The chief of staff looked at the office door behind him and reminded in a low voice.

"I don't have to report it when I hear him, I'm doomed to die here, it's Stalin's order." With a sense of resentment, Voroshilov was reluctant to even use the word comrade to describe Stalin.

He sat back in his chair and looked at his chief of staff: "The Germans and Finns will surround us on three sides, but the city is not ready to be surrounded and hold out. ”

"The civilians must be allowed to get out of here, we don't have so much food to feed them and hundreds of thousands of soldiers...... "The chief of staff again brought up the matter of getting the civilians to retreat.

As a soldier, it is shameful enough to let the land fall and let the enemy invade your country.

If he was still tied up with civilians and martyred together at this time, the chief of staff felt that he really had no face to meet Marx.

"There's no need for it...... Their retreat can only relieve some of the pressure, but it has nothing to do with the overall situation. Voroshilov said to his men in despair.

Even if he can't control the operations of a modern army very well, he still has the vision of a strategic commander.

The German advance in the center and north was in fact completely beyond the control of Budyonny and Voroshilov.

In this case, the loss of individual strategic points is only a matter of time. The next step is to see if they can hold Moscow, or how much time they can buy Moscow.

From this point of view, Marshal Voroshilov also believed that it was more in line with the strategic intentions of the USSR to destroy Leningrad with the common people and delay it for as much time as possible.

So he waved his hand and ordered his men: "Order the surrounding troops to shrink near Leningrad......

Now all he can do is do the same thing as Budyonny: hold on to Leningrad, fight to the last soldier, and buy more time for Moscow.

"Comrade Marshal! The phone of the commander of the 4th Army at the front ...... "An officer pushed the door in and reported to Voroshilov with great intersection.

Walking out of the office door, walking to the telephone, grabbing the receiver, Marshal Voroshilov opened his mouth and asked: "I'm Voroshilov, what's going on?" ”

"German ...... The Germans broke through my defenses! On the other end of the phone, a desperate voice shouted.