In August, the fighting on the Eastern Front began to ease, and the atmosphere on the front became unusually calm. Pen "Fun" Pavilion www.biquge.info

Neither the German nor the Soviets, from mid-July to early August, did not attempt to launch a large-scale offensive, and the front was stalemate on the Narva-Minsk-Odessa front.

During this period of time, the Soviet Army, which was defending the "Manturov Line," continued to mobilize troops for the Western Front and the Northwestern Front on the front line, in an attempt to change the disadvantage of the Western Front in terms of troops, strengthen the military strength in the Minsk area, and ensure the security of Moscow.

At the same time, railway workers are also rushing to repair railways between battlefields and industrial areas, and various strategic materials, including food, ammunition and other military supplies, are being transported to the front from the industrial centers of Donbass, Kharkiv, Leningrad, Moscow, Tula, Novosibirsk, and Chelyabinsk.

Clusters of new tanks were transported from Novosibirsk in the rear to the western regions through the Trans-Siberian Railway, where they were handed over to the armies of all fronts.

Clusters of new aircraft, flying from aircraft production centers in Tbilisi, Novosibirsk, Omsk and other aircraft production centers to airfields on the front line, are ready to carry out new tasks.

And on the German side, preparations for the next offensive were also in full swing. Newly recruited recruits and troops transferred from the Western Front were constantly arriving at the front line to replenish the troops.

Almost all of the No. 4 tanks were sent to the nearest repair shop to replace the 75 mm Kwk40 tank guns. This 75 mm, 43 times diameter tank gun can penetrate 107 mm thick armor at a distance of 1,000 meters, which is greater than the 85 mm main gun of the Soviet T-34-85 tank.

In one encounter, the German No. 4 tank successfully destroyed a T-34 with their new main gun at a distance of 1,500 meters, shattering the myth of the invincibility of the T-34 and greatly boosting the morale of the German armored forces.

Since then, the armored superiority of the Soviet Red Army has become less pronounced, on the contrary, it has begun to be in a weak position.

In addition, the Luftwaffe also successively transferred part of its aviation units on the Western Front to the Eastern Front to increase its air force. It has also put the newly developed Focke-Wolf Fw190 fighter on the battlefield to enhance the combat capability of the Air Force.

Compared with the Soviet fighters, the German Fw190 fighter has more powerful firepower and better protection, but in terms of performance, it is not comparable to the Yak-3 and La-7.

With the advent of the Fw190, the disadvantage of German aircraft on the Eastern Front was reduced. The ace pilots who flew the Fw190 were often able to shoot down the La-7 and Yak-3 piloted by the Soviet Leybird, but due to the lack of numbers, the Luftwaffe did not achieve much air superiority because of the Fw190.

By mid-August, after the planes and tanks had been upgraded, the Germans began to gather forces in preparation for the next round of offensives. The German Army Group Center was massing forces in the area west of Minsk and preparing to launch a large-scale offensive in the Minsk area, then occupy Minsk and Smolensk, and advance towards Moscow.

In addition to Army Group Center, the German Army Group North was also ready for a big battle, gathering a large number of main forces to the front line, preparing to break through the Soviet defense line in Estonia and occupy Leningrad.

Due to the heavy damage of the 1st Tank Group and the small losses of the Soviet Southwestern Front, the German Army Group South was still short of troops that could be used in the direction of Kiev, and in order to achieve further results, they ordered the 11th Army and the Romanian army to advance to the area around Odessa.

Not long ago, the 11th Army of Army Group South, together with their Romanian allies, crossed the Soviet border, occupied Moldova, advanced to the "Manturov Line" southwest of Odessa, and confronted the Soviet troops.

However, even if the Germans replaced with better equipment and increased aviation units, they still could not change the disadvantage of Army Group South in terms of troops, so when the 11th Army advanced to the front of Odessa, it was stubbornly resisted by the Soviet army, lost a lot of troops, and could not advance any longer.

Except for the advance of the 11th Army, the rest of the German Army Group South did not make any major moves, and the Southwestern Front did not come under any pressure.

As the military commissar of the Southwestern Front, Manturov lived a fairly leisurely life during this time, he was either reading a book or playing with his hairy sister every day. I was bored, so I went to the army to take a look and beat soy sauce.

Although people are inert, Manturov also wants to live this kind of idle life for a long time, but when he sees the Germans replacing their No. 4 tank with Kwk40 main guns and Fw190 fighters appearing in the sky, he can't help but fly back to Moscow to continue to preside over the research and development of new weapons.

However, due to his position as the political commissar of the Southwestern Front, he had to stay in Ukraine to command the army, and finally dismissed the idea of flying back to Moscow.

Moreover, even if he returned to Moscow, he would not necessarily be able to meddle in the development and production of weapons, because the affairs of the heavy industry and defense industry that he managed before the war were taken over by the National Defense Committee.

The power of the deputy prime minister, who is in charge of heavy industry and the defense industry, has actually been evaded by the National Defense Committee, and even if he returns to Moscow, he can actually only do something in the position of construction minister.

"Report to Comrade Military Commissar, here is your telegram!"

On the morning of August 10, shortly after Manturov got up, a soldier entered Manturov's bedroom with a telegram.

Manturov rubbed his eyes, hugged Katia beside him, and said, "Where did you send it from?" ”

"This is a telegram from the Kremlin! Sent by Comrade Stalin! ”

Hearing Stalin's name, Manturov hurriedly took the telegram, looked at it carefully, and then said to the best Mao Mei beside him: "Katyusha, we are going back to Moscow!" ”

"What? Back to Moscow? Did I hear me right? When Katia heard the news that she could return to Moscow, she almost jumped for joy.

They are finally leaving the battlefield, leaving the place where they could be attacked at any moment, returning to the safer Moscow, where they can live a stable, carefree life again, and do not need to worry about whether they will die in Kyiv.

Manturov smiled slightly, this political commissar who had won the battle, somehow, also wanted to escape from the cruel battlefield as soon as possible. "Yes, dear, you heard you right."

"What are you doing back to Moscow? What position did Stalin give you? What do you want you to preside over? Katia asked.

"The telegram did not say that after I returned to Moscow, I will continue to be in charge of the construction of the country, and you should return to work in the Moscow Municipal Party Committee and continue to be the second secretary of the city party committee."

Katia kissed Manturov, put her hand on her husband's shoulder, and said, "No matter what kind of work, as long as I can return to Moscow, I will be at ease." At least we don't have to worry about whether we will die in Kyiv. (To be continued.) )