Zhukov heard Voroshilov asking: "Why did you only lead the command to Gorky, and not the troops of the 16th Army?" ”

"The commander of the front informed me that the troops I should accept were in Gorky." Rokossovsky said as he took the order from his purse.

"Strange ......," Voroshilov muttered as he took the order.

Zhukov walked in, interrupted their conversation, and after a brief greeting to the comrades, briefed them on the situation and suggested that they be sent to Melinsk to organize the defense of the fortified area.

On December 21, Zhukov gave an order to Rokossovsky. The command reads:

"On December 21, 1944, General Rokossovsky: The enemy, who had gathered a large number of rapid forces in the area of Serchevka, tried to advance towards Erzhev and Klin, and the enemy's reconnaissance units had moved out to the Barartt area by December 21. Hereby commands:

1. To block the enemy's attack on Gozatsk, the troops turned to the defensive on the spot, and the 18th tank brigade was the second echelon, which was deployed near the Batyushkivo station. The task of the Imperial Force was not to allow the [***] squadron to break through in the direction of Melinsk.

2. Strengthen reconnaissance of the enemy southeast of the Ernov-Gvesk transverse road.

3. The command post of the 16th Army was located in Diteuwa.

4. The defense plan will be reported on October 12.

When the order is received, it is called.

Zhukov, Bulganin, Sokolovsky"

Rokossovsky and his command were not able to fulfill this order. The next day, Zhukov ordered the headquarters of the 16th Army to lead the 18th Infantry Militia Division to the Wolfsk area, collect all the troops there, as well as the troops newly arrived there or break out of the encirclement, organize a defense on the zone from the Gorky Sea (Gorky reservoir) in the north to the Volga River in the south, and prevent the [***] squadron from breaking through the zone.

In the early morning of December 22, Konev went to Saratov. The situation there is so serious that the troops must be reorganized and redeployed. He personally took over the command of the 22nd, 29th, 30th and 31st armies. The squadron captured Saratov, but could not move any further. A few days later, on December 27, the Volga Front was formed, with Konev as its commander.

The Melinsk Line, for the Red Army units defending it, was more advantageous. It has several rivers on its front, the banks of which are steep and pose a natural obstacle to the movement of tanks. On this line of defense, roads and railways were well connected, allowing the troops to carry out a wide range of maneuvers in all directions.

The only concern of the Soviet command was that there were not enough troops to effectively occupy the 136-mile long line. By 20 December, only four infantry divisions, three reserve infantry divisions, five machine-gun battalions, and cadets of the Moscow Artillery School, the Moscow Military and Political School, and the Academy of the Supreme Soviet of the Russian Federation Socialist Republic were deployed on this line. Although it was originally planned to deploy 150 battalions to defend the line, only 45 battalions were actually assembled, with an average density of troops being tasked with each battalion guarding a 4-kilometre-wide frontage.

The Supreme High Command continued to take urgent measures to defend Moscow. On December 19, the Merlinsk Line Command was renamed the Moscow Reserve Front, and received 5 newly reorganized machine-gun battalions, 10 anti-tank artillery regiments, and 5 tank brigades. On December 21, the troops of the Melinsk Line were merged into the 5th Army, which was commanded by Lelyushenko. With the retreat of the troops of the various armies, the retreating troops began to gather on this line of defense.

According to the instructions of the Supreme High Command, all combat units and facilities of the Moscow Reserve Front were to be handed over to Zhukov's reorganized Eastern Front by 11 a.m. on December 22. At the same time, the Supreme High Command sent Zhukov the reserves he desperately needed. These units are: 14 infantry divisions, 16 reorganized tank brigades, more than 40 artillery regiments, 10 minelaying and flamethrower companies, etc.

At the same time, Zhukov was faced with another problem: to get the armies that had been encircled in Gorky out of the encirclement. In this regard, he has achieved only partial success. In the vicinity of southern Moscow, the Soviet Red Army engaged in fierce battles with the Central [***] team, trying to break through the encirclement. However, only a small number of troops succeeded in breaking through on December 19. Two days later, the Red Army continued to fight to break through, and about 5,000 men broke out of the defense line of the [***] team. However, on December 27, the [***] squadron still annihilated most of the Soviet 50th Army.

The Military Council of the Eastern Front issued a letter to the army:

"Comrades! At this grim moment when our country is facing danger, the life of every soldier should belong to the motherland. The motherland demands that each and every one of us contribute to the greatest strength and carry forward the spirit of heroism, heroism and perseverance. The motherland calls on us to become an indestructible copper wall, blocking the way for the yellow Chinese bandits to Moscow. Now more than ever, it is necessary to strengthen vigilance, discipline, resolute and decisive action, confidence in victory and readiness for self-sacrifice! The decisive moment has come! ”

For the Soviets, this was a life-or-death moment.

In mid-December, the advance of the squadron to Moscow was two-thirds completed, and the pincer assault was a great success. Army Group Center issued an announcement that a total of 825,000 Soviet troops were captured, 4,500 artillery pieces of various calibers and 1,700 tanks were captured. As early as December 9, some Chinese news media publicly announced that the Soviet Union had been defeated.

On December 24, the Chinese High Command issued a new directive, ordering the [***] team to tightly encircle Moscow. According to this order, the Chinese 2nd Panzer Army was to bypass Moscow and blockade from the south, southwest, and west, while the 4th Army and the 4th Panzer Army were to blockade to the west, northeast, and north, and prepare for a subsequent offensive by the mobile forces north of Moscow and beyond. The Chinese officers and men were full of confidence in these military operations and were full of optimism about the prospects, and they hurried to write letters home so that they could tell their relatives the news of the end of the war before it was broadcast on the radio.

One Chinese fighter wrote:

“…… I was chatting with an injured person in the heating room. He has been through many fierce battles. Everything went well, but now I have a leg injury. He was very upset, because he was so close to Moscow, and once our troops entered Moscow, he could not go. He was in pain, even more so than his leg. However, the treatment of these field troops is generally better, and the clothes they wear are leather. I'm not interested in that, to be honest, anymore. We also wore thick caps, and all of us were given caps, and a few other little things to keep warm, because it was very cold at night. But that's okay. My dear wife. Moscow is not far away, there are many good things in the city of Moscow, we can get warm there, we can sleep there enough......"

Another Chinese fighter wrote to his parents: "...... Parents, well! I should have something unpleasant for you. Our fellow countryman Li Changgui (whom I mentioned to you) is dead. On that day, Shangfeng sent him on a motorcycle to deliver a letter to the general, and the next day he and the motorbike driver were found dead on the side of the road, and the motorcycle was missing. This is the partisans of the Soviets! The partisans were annoying, and the closer we got to Moscow, the more ferocious the partisans' activities became. They attacked our transport convoys and even our rearguard units. We were so far from the front line that we could not even hear the sound of artillery, but there were so many partisans in the forest that even the troops who stayed behind to guard the roads had to build fences around the houses and block the windows at night. ”

"These Russians are barbarians, they simply don't follow the rules of war. Even women and children in Russia are at risk. Yesterday, the gendarmerie burned down two villages and shot a number of people near the discovery of Li Changgui's body. No matter how unpleasant it may be, we are forced to be ruthless in order to make an example. …… We will not suffer for long. It is said that we will soon occupy Moscow at the beginning of January, when the Russians are celebrated. One of the officers in charge of education even told us that our plans for the parade had already been worked out. Of course, we are going to participate in the parade, and the Russians will probably set fire to Moscow. In the usual style of the Russians, they are completely capable. But Moscow is a big city, and there, they won't destroy everything, they will always give us something left. For us, the main thing is to capture Moscow. At that time, this terrible winter war will be over...... If you see Li Changgui's mother, please don't tell her about her son's death, just say: He led our platoon to charge and died heroically......"

Another lieutenant [***] wrote to his wife, even more firmly convinced that victory was within reach, and he wrote:

"My dearest wife: Thanks to the wisdom of the High Command, we have come to Moscow, the capital of Russia. One or two more brilliant battles, and the clay giant will fall, and we will be on the verge of the greatest victory in history. Whether it's the cold or the wind, we have nothing to fear. We are not afraid of heavy snow. Our morale is high and our will is indestructible. The Russians are now fighting especially hard, it's true. Every road, every village, every house needs our companions to exchange their lives. The green hat Deng and the old I talked about when I wrote to you before, as well as the high-ranking soldier Cheng Fei who helped us, have all passed away. The poor superior soldier was chopped to pieces. But our platoon, who is still alive, in memory of our dead companions, is determined to move forward, and no force can stop us from rushing to the center of Moscow! Capture Stalin alive! We will avenge them! ”

As his letter put it, "the greatest victory in history" can be said to be close at hand, although it is difficult to achieve it immediately.

The battle was much smoother for the Chinese [***] team, and at the arrival of autumn, the rainy weather and the deepening mud had hindered the movement of the Chinese [***] team. It was rainy and rainy, and the troops of the large-scale operation were unable to advance because they were stuck in soft ground; When heavy rains fall, rivers burst and large areas become sticky marshes. Most of the Russians' roads (with the exception of the one leading to Moscow) quickly became illegible due to their weak foundations, hidden in the surrounding farmland, and even barely recognizable, they quickly became wide, muddy roads that creaked up and creaked upwards, and the mud stuck like glue to the vehicles trying to pass. The infantry struggled to advance, and the mud often reached the knees. It often exhausts people. And the mechanized troops are not in a good situation. The wheels of their vehicles are often sunk into the axles. The only ones that could move were the wide tracks, which slowly and laboriously dragged other vehicles or artillery along the way until they ran out of fuel. The road from Minsk to Moscow was crowded with a large number of vehicles, and soon became a long strip of mud and puddles. Transportation almost came to a standstill. The divisions of the Squadron were scattered over a strip of land hundreds of kilometers long, while thousands of motorcycles were stuck in mud puddles. By this time, the front-line commanders of the squadron unanimously agreed that the general offensive could only be continued when winter was coming and movement was possible inside and outside the road. In any case, the widely dispersed Squadron [***] divisions had to be concentrated and the artillery, mostly trapped in the rear, transferred to the front.

Faced with this situation, the Chinese High Command decisively ordered all troops to stop advancing, defend in place, and wait for winter to come, because only winter can free them from the quagmire.

Faced with difficult obstacles, the squadron made every effort to overcome the obstacles created by nature. Light-duty vehicles and trucks made in China are taller off the ground, and the situation is much improved when snow chains are installed. More "Gray Wolf" main battle tanks were added to the front-line units, and the original "Walker" tanks were all replaced. The squadron increased the number of "White Tiger" heavy tanks, and the logistics department sent a large number of cold and warm equipment and more supplies to the soldiers. This enabled the soldiers to get used to and adapt to the cold climate of Russia.

Despite the fact that the large-scale offensive stopped, however, the fighting on both sides did not completely stop. The Soviets were given precious respite because of the climate, but they were repeatedly asked by Stalin to launch a counterattack. In the exhausting battle against the weather and the tenacious squadron of the [***], the Soviet advance was very slow. Because progress was still being made, the commanders of the Soviet army did not despair, and the soldiers were not completely discouraged, but compared with before, their will to fight has been greatly shaken.

From the two captured letters from the Russian soldiers, it can be seen that their mood is much less than before.

The first letter reads:

"My dear brother, I haven't written to you for a long time, because I'm too busy to have time to write a letter. The enemy is already very close to Moscow. It is said that the inhabitants of Moscow have already seen their armored forces, however, our counteroffensive has been repeatedly thwarted. We've been standing still for a week or so...... The people in the command said to me: everything is going well, everything is going according to the plan of our great leader, Comrade Stalin. However, for several days a car full of wounded people was driving west beside us. This is not pleasing to me. In short, difficult times await us. However, I still did not lose hope and hoped to bring back a Chinese black fox to my lovely Sonia. Please tell her why she hasn't written to me in a long time. However, the current email exchange is very abnormal......"

The second letter reflects the tenacious fighting of the [***] team:

“…… These Chinese want to launch an onslaught against us. Charge after charge. Our regiment fought valiantly. My companions fought like lions, but we suffered obvious losses. We attack them much more than they do...... How ridiculous they are vainly trying to seize our capital! They have caused us irreparable losses, and for this we must take revenge on them......"

“…… My dear brother, please think about it: three of our platoon surrendered yesterday. What a shame! We all saw with our own eyes that these guys raised their hands, walked out of the woods, and surrendered to the Chinese. Our commissar was mad with rage. He told us that only if we fought valiantly in the future battles could we be ashamed of our company. He also said that Chinese shot the captives, tortured them before shooting, carved crosses on their chests and backs......"

The 2nd Panzer Army of the [***] squadron patronized and controlled the road. It concentrated most of its armored forces, along with the "Great China" infantry regiment, under the command of the 24th Panzer Corps. These units were well refueled. On December 24, they advanced from Melinsk and reached Tvala on October 30. In the face of Soviet defenses, the attacking forces launched a fierce assault and soon captured the city of Twara, while the 43rd Army, which had arrived from the east, was halted near Kachin. The army group ordered the 53rd Army to advance to the rear of the armored vanguard assault force to protect the eastern flank. At the same time, the 2nd Army was gradually advancing in depth, so the danger from the southeast was eliminated.

The 4th Army, which planned to march on Moscow from the west, came under increasing pressure from the 49th, 43rd, and 33rd armies of the Soviet Red Army, but they were supported by fresh forces and gained a foothold. On the northern flank, the Chinese 4th Panzer Group faced the resistance of the Soviet 5th and 16th armies, and advanced while fighting, and the Eastern Front of the Soviet Red Army had to retreat under the pressure of the increasing pressure of the [***] squadron.

(To be continued)