"It's a turning point." Stalin said: "The defense of Smolensk shattered the myth of the German encirclement, and we can also break out of the German encirclement systematically, and in the future, we will not be afraid of the German encirclement tactics." ”

Stalin was delighted.

Until now, the situation in the Soviets was still quite unoptimistic, the Germans had finished fighting Smolensk and could continue to advance eastward, threatening Moscow, the corps in the north was also moving towards Moscow, and in the south, in the Battle of Uman, the Soviet Union also lost more than 100,000 troops, and in the Caucasus, Turkey had crossed the border and officially intervened in the war.

Despite the crises everywhere, Stalin was optimistic, he even believed that now was a turning point, and the Great Patriotic War saw a glimmer of light!

"As the Germans continue to attack, the Germans' logistical supply lines will become longer and longer, and the Germans' tank forces, completely dependent on fuel, are now not only fighting on the front line, but behind enemy lines, we will also mobilize." Stalin said: "Let the Germans know that our Soviets are not so easy to occupy as Britain or France, and we will set the Germans' backs on fire!" ”

The territory of the Soviets is vast, and it is definitely not comparable to the small countries of France and Britain, and the occupation of several union republics by the Germans will not affect the overall situation of the Soviets at all, on the contrary, in those occupied areas, there are still a large number of people loyal to the Soviets, including some who have not had time to retreat, they will be organized together to wage guerrilla warfare behind enemy lines, destroy the Germans' railways and highways, block their transportation of supplies to the front, and support the frontal battlefield battles on the flank.

Stalin also valued this.

The Russians have a long history of guerrilla warfare, and as early as 1812, the Russian partisans exhausted Napoleon's army. Although Napoleon fought in Moscow, he finally went back in disgrace, and the partisans definitely contributed to it.

It is a pity that in the thirties, the Soviet Union had completely abandoned guerrilla warfare, and the commanders of various units had not learned the operational essentials of guerrilla warfare.

Even in history, it was only around 43 years that the guerrillas played their role.

On the contrary, Germany has long been prepared, with the establishment of the Belarusian Liberation Army, etc., and after the occupation, Germany has made corresponding preparations for stabilizing the order.

But it was time for Stalin to feel a little more relaxed, and he seemed to have seen a gradual turn in the tide of the war, when a telegram from the front again made him feel bad.

"Marshal Budyonny calls."

After receiving the telegram, Stalin immediately frowned, read the telegram hastily, and Stalin slammed the telegram on the table: "Budyonny, cowardly as a mouse, regardless of the overall situation, actually has such an idea, it really disappoints the soviets for many years of training!" ”

Comrade Stalin was outraged.

The subordinates on the side carefully took the telegram, and their faces changed.

Comrade Stalin, the Battle of Smolensk has confirmed the strength of the German armored forces, and we, fearing that the end of Smolensk will appear on Kiev, ask to abandon Kiev and retreat to the rear to avoid being surrounded again by German troops.

Budyonny's words were not much, but they stung Stalin deeply.

The Battle of Smolensk was a failure, but it was only after the bloody battles of the Soviet soldiers that delayed the course of the Germans and dealt a heavy blow to the arrogance of the Germans, and then they had no choice but to retreat.

In this battle, talents such as Lukin and Rokossovsky also emerged.

And what about Kyiv? Kyiv is the capital of Ukraine, and now, Budyonny actually wants to retreat without a fight! Coward, absolute coward, how could he come up with such a scheme?

In fact, Stalin knew in his heart that when Zhukov suggested abandoning Kiev, he also accepted Budyonny's request. Although it was a time of war, Stalin's control of the army was also quite strong, and the liaison between Budyonny and Zhukov had long been reported by Beria.

Because Zhukov proposed that the Kiev defenders retreat, Stalin even removed Zhukov from his post and asked him to organize the reserve forces, Stalin's attitude was already obvious, and at such a time, Budyonny actually dared to put forward his opinion in person!

This is simply a slap in the face of Stalin!

Stalin was quite satisfied with Budyonny, the old marshal, and the two had a deep personal relationship, and the two formed a deep friendship as early as the Civil War, which is why Budyonny was not affected in any way during the vigorous purge.

But now, Budyonny actually dares to make this request, this is the reverse scale that touches Stalin, and Stalin will never allow it!

"Pass my order and remove Budyonny from his post as commander-in-chief southwest of the direction." Stalin said, and as soon as these words came out, the temperature of the entire conference room suddenly dropped by several degrees.

Budyonny, Stalin's most trusted subordinate and one of the few remaining marshals, was thus dismissed by Stalin.

No one dared to object.

"Order Timoshenko to go to Kiev at once and take over from Budyonny." Stalin continued.

Timoshenko, who was supposed to be the commander-in-chief of the Western Front, retreated to Smolensk after cleaning up Pavlov's mess, where he organized a defense, although in the end it failed, at least to Stalin's satisfaction.

Now that Germany has occupied Smolensk, Timoshenko is moving back, and Stalin simply threw Timoshenko directly to Kiev and let this unenterprising Budyonny come back!

Stalin was furious, he didn't know, and it didn't take long for him to regret it, because this decision of his completely cut off the retreat of the 660,000 defenders of Kiev, and Germany learned the lesson of Smolensk, the Kiev encirclement, no defenders could break through.

Zhukov, the only one who dared to give advice to Stalin, has been kicked out, and now everyone is obedient to Stalin.

At this time, no one in the Kremlin knew that the entire armored army group of the German Central Army Corps had quietly moved south after the end of the Battle of Smolensk, preparing to go directly to the east side of Kiev to make dumplings.

This time, Germany used the tactics of attacking from two sides, it was simply a surprise from the sky.