"Retreat! Let all our troops near Kyiv be transferred immediately! The troops on the periphery moved to the defense on the spot! Maintain the existing line of defense! Zhukov stood in front of the map with an ugly face and commanded loudly.

Sitting next to him, Vatutin, who was supposed to go to Sevastopol, also had a hard to see the extreme, and he did not expect that the German army's strategy would give up when he said he would give up.

Frequently changing one's strategic plan is obviously a taboo in the use of troops. However, the German army's hasty revision this time obviously played a positive role.

Originally, both sides abided by the rule that "the German army should encircle all Soviet troops in Ukraine and gather and annihilate them" and were drawing up their own plans.

But who knows, because of Guderian's impromptu intentions, the Germans destroyed this tacit understanding, and began to shrink their appetite instead, only making a fuss about the Soviet troops near Kiev.

The front of the two army groups B and D, the 700,000 Soviet troops near Kiev really can't cope with it!

After all, a few days ago, when Sumy had not fallen, Kiev was behind the hinterland controlled by the Soviet army, and there was no need to station troops.

Now, Sumy, Konotop, Romny and Lubne have all become German-occupied areas, and Kyiv seems to have fallen on the back of the enemy.

The 700,000 Soviet Red Army, which was originally in front of the German army, now has to divide 200,000 or more troops to deal with the German army behind them, how can this battle be fought?

At this moment, the Soviet troops stationed in Kyiv were already thinking about how to get out, escape the encirclement of the German army, and retreat to a safe place.

"How to retreat? Bitten by the German army, 700,000 troops, it is not bad to be able to withdraw 300,000 people...... But what's the use of asking for these 300,000 people? Vatutin replied with some depression.

He is also angry, no matter how you look at it, 300,000 people are a trustworthy force, and it is already a good result to withdraw 300,000 people.

As for the remaining Soviet troops in the encirclement, they can hold out for at least a month or so, and then the time will enter late September!

If the situation is better, directly in October, then the plan to borrow Ukraine to fight the German army is almost half the success!

You know, in October, the temperature is about to drop. At that time, the entire northern part of the Soviet Union would no longer be suitable for combat, and the defensive line would be shortened to a state extremely favorable to the Soviet army.

"Break through...... That's the only way to go, how much can come out...... Anyway, Kyiv has already been emptied, and there is nothing to regret. Zhukov replied coldly.

As early as two months ago, they were trying their best to transport Kiev's materials and production equipment to Chelyabinsk and Stalingrad.

So now Kiev, apart from being a city, basically has no industrial production capacity anymore.

There is nothing to be sorry for losing such a city to the Germans, except for being more politically passive......

"Dnepropetrovsk may not be able to hold on to that time...... So it seems that we can't retreat to Donetsk! Vatutin shook his head and said, "What's the difference between this and total defeat?" ”

Surrendering Ukraine, giving the Germans control of the Black Sea lines of communication, and the complete rout of the Soviet Union on the frontal battlefield, ceding more than half of the elite areas, is indeed no different from defeat.

Even with the support of the Americans at that time, the Soviets still did not see any hope of turning the tide of the war.

"If Dnepropetrovsk can't hold on...... Then Sevastopol, it can only be ceded to the Germans. Zhukov was a little disheartened.

"No, select the most loyal warriors, we hold our ground in those fortresses, maybe for three months! Next year, things may really turn around! Vatutin thought for a moment and spoke.

Sevastopol, in addition to being a port, was a huge fortress. At that time, the British and French forces fought fiercely with the Russian army here, but they did not achieve victory.

The entire city is bordered to the north by the southern shore of the slender Sevinaya Bay, which is the focus of defense between the northern shore of the Sevinaia Bay and the Bebek Gorge. In this rectangular area, which stretches for 360 kilometers, 12 permanent fortress groups are configured.

At the northernmost and most easily breached pass of the quadruple defensive line, it was the strongest combined turret fortress of its time, with a twin 305 mm cannon built in 1934 and a battleship-class turret design.

The turret is encased in a single piece of armor plate 200 to 300 mm thick, and there are three layers of permanent fortifications underneath the turret, each of which is 3 to 4 meters thick.

In addition, on the east side of this powerful turret, named Gorky 1, Bastion 1 was set up as a forward defense.

All forts were covered with permanent concrete armor plates, connected by underground passages and small railways, and in the mountainous parts there were countless bunkers and firing points.

In addition, all of the fort turrets are sunken and have an absolute advantageous firing range, and if there is a ground attack on this defensive area, the damage is bound to be huge.

Moreover, the designers stored the basic ammunition of the fortress in the main ammunition depot at a depth of 30 meters on the southern shore of the Bay of Sevinaya, which was foolproof in terms of technical conditions at that time.

Because of this, Vatutin felt that it was a pity to waste such a huge fortress group, and it was better to put some troops and use it to delay the German attack.

His proposal also made Zhukov a little moved, and if it was done properly, the impregnable fortress might become a grave for the German army.

You know, in 1854, the Anglo-French army stormed here for more than 340 days, and they were not able to take Sevastopol!

"If you can stay there for a year...... Maybe it will really turn out to be a turning point in this war! Zhukov looked at the fortified area on the map and muttered softly.

"Yes! Maybe it will really be a turning point in this war......" Vatutin looked at Zhukov and said: "Comrade Zhukov! You command the retreat, I'll go to Sevastopol! ”

"Comrade Vatutin...... "Zhukov really didn't know what to say, he felt that the Vatutin in front of him was really a very brave Soviet fighter.

However, if he loses Vatutin's support, will Stalin continue to maintain this trust in front of him?

Considering this, Zhukov had to open his mouth and say to Vatutin: "It's better for me to go, you stay, take responsibility to the great leader Comrade Stalin, and command the rest of the troops!" ”

Although the remaining men could command an army of about 1.5 million, it was not as glamorous as it seemed. As for Sevastopol, it looks small, but it is the strongest fortress in the world!