Kremlin, office No. 1 of the Privy Council Building. Pen "Fun" Pavilion www.biquge.info

Joseph. Stalin was at this time holding a telegram from the command of the Western Front and reading it again and again, and at last a smile of relief appeared on his face, which had become very serious since the beginning of the world revolution.

Warsaw was really liberated, Warsaw really returned to the hands of the Polish people!

Although the battle of Warsaw was won very reluctantly, it was won anyway, and according to the traditional rules of Russia, everything was easy to win if it was won.

Stalin put down the copy of the telegram in his hand and looked up at the four people in front of him: Molotov, People's Commissar for Foreign Affairs, Kulik, Deputy People's Commissar of Defense (because the People's Commissar of Defense was Stalin, Kulik actually presided over the People's Commissariat of Defense), General Staff Shalashnikov, and Navy Commander Kuznetsov. After Zhukov and Voroshilov left Moscow, these four people, plus Stalin, were the core of the Supreme High Command.

"Although the Western Front fought hard, it won the victory after all." Stalin said with a smile, "This victory turned the unfavorable situation we were facing, and from now on the situation became favorable to us." ”

Both Kulik and Shalashnikov were stunned when they heard this, as if they did not understand the words of Comrade Stalin - the current situation is favorable? Why doesn't it look like this?

Stalin seemed to understand the thoughts of the two old generals, he smiled and said: "Whether the situation is favorable or unfavorable is to be judged from the height of the world revolution, and if we only talk about the situation on the Soviet-German battlefield, of course, it is very serious, because Leningrad is surrounded by the enemy. But you should also see by now that Germany is already facing a war on two fronts, and we have taken Warsaw...... This proves the correctness and necessity of the world revolution! ”

Stalin has the height of Stalin, if you look at the problem purely from a tactical point of view, the Soviet-German war lasted for more than 2 months, and the Soviet Union suffered more than 1 million casualties and prisoners, and Leningrad was surrounded by Germany, and the only thing that was gained was Warsaw, which seems to be a big loss (in fact, it looks much better than in history).

But the question is, don't you start playing?

If Stalin had not ventured a world revolution in June, Germany would have taken Ireland by now. As soon as Germany defeated Ireland, Britain was in a state of total blockade. At that time, Britain itself may well surrender to Germany - and the British are actually ready to do so!

As soon as Britain landed, there was no springboard for the United States to send troops to Europe. It was really possible for Roosevelt to make peace with Germany and divide the earth equally between the Atlantic Ocean. What will happen to the USSR then? There is only one dead end!

So Stalin could only bite the bullet, and if he could fight, he had to fight, and if he couldn't, he had to fight. Judging from the current situation, it still has a small advantage in terms of face, and it can be explained both domestically and internationally.

"War must be fought," Stalin said with a smile, "and now it is good that he has not lost the war, and Comrade Pavlov has indeed lived up to the trust of the party and the people." ”

The four men standing in front of Stalin knew that Pavlov would soon be appointed commander and perhaps promoted to deputy People's Commissar of Defense.

Stalin went on to say: "Comrade Pavlov proposes to switch to strategic defense, to appropriately reduce forces, to build strong fortifications near Warsaw, and to begin to stock up on supplies for a long time. What do you guys think? ”

Warsaw cannot be lost, and whether there is a Warsaw or not is the difference between winning a battle and losing a war! The urine of the Russian people is like this - the victor is not condemned.

"Warsaw must be defended!" Sharashnipov immediately stated, "Hold on at all costs!" ”

Kulik, the deputy People's Commissar of Defense with a Hitlerian mustache, frowned uncharacteristically: "Comrade General Secretary, now that the offensive momentum of the Western Front has been exhausted, the initiative in the war has fallen into the hands of the Germans. I'm afraid that they are preparing a larger offensive. And if we are going to hold on to Warsaw, our forces will be stretched......"

"Warsaw must be defended!" Stalin glanced at Kulik with a mustache. "You have to hold on, otherwise you will fall into greater passivity."

In fact, in Stalin's deepest calculations, Warsaw was still a bargaining chip, a bargaining chip to make peace with Germany when necessary!

As long as Warsaw is in hand, Leningrad, Belarus and right-bank Ukraine will not lose their territory. The Soviet Union would be able to negotiate peace with Germany as a victor...... Even if Warsaw was finally spit out, as long as the Soviet Union could liberate 100 million human beings in India, Stalin's world revolution would be considered a small success.

Therefore, in Stalin's view, by taking Warsaw, the Soviet Union could move to strategic defense - as long as it could hold it, attract most of the Germans' forces, allow Britain to maintain itself, and combine the forces of Britain, the United States, and the Soviet Union to slowly consume Germany, and in the end it would always achieve good results.

"Comrade General Secretary, the key to the defense of Warsaw lies not in Warsaw, but on the Brest-Minsk-Smolensk line." Seeing that Stalin was about to get angry, Shalashnikov hurriedly changed the subject, "Therefore we should reduce the strength of the Western Front to about 1 million, so that it can hold the city of Warsaw, and it is enough to maintain the line of communication on the line of communication between the Warsaw-Brest fortress." And the Western Front no longer needs huge mechanized clusters, they should be pulled out and used on the Belorussian Front (formerly the Reserve Front) and the Kalinin Front. At the same time, Warsaw, Brest, Minsk and Smolensk were to be prepared to be surrounded by German troops. ”

"Ready to be surrounded?" Stalin looked at Shaposhnikov, "Is it so serious?" ”

"The possibility is there," Shaposhnikov said, frowning slightly, "that before the muddy season comes, we will have a tank Armageddon with the Germans in Belarus." If they can't win, they will face the fate of a large number of troops being divided and surrounded by German forces...... And our mechanized troops, most likely, will not be able to defeat the Germans. ”

"So they're just going to be besieged?" Stalin asked.

"Yes, you should be prepared." Shalashnikov said, "The Battle of Warsaw taught us that mechanized units play little role in the offensive and defensive battles of the city. To capture a city defended by a large army would require hundreds of thousands, if not millions, of lives. ”

Shalashnikov's calculations were also good, he knew that most of the Soviet tank corps and tank brigades could not defeat the German armored divisions. Therefore, there is a high probability that the Belarusian Front will be defeated in a tank battle!

Then as the chief of the General Staff, he had to arrange a solution for a possible defeat. The retreat will certainly not be allowed, and Stalin will not promise to hand over Belarus in any case. So I had no choice but to defend the fortified city...... Let the Germans besiege it, Warsaw, Brest, Minsk and Smolensk, plus a Leningrad, if each city is besieged with 600,000 men, then 3 million German troops will be pinned.

"Okay, let's do this!" Stalin also agreed with Shaposhnikov's suggestion, "At least 18 months of siege must be prepared, food, weapons, ammunition, as soon as possible, and the useless population in the city can be relocated." ”

None of what Stalin said was a problem, because the war broke out a year later than in history, and there was a huge amount of American aid before it. So the Red Army was very well prepared, and in Minsk and Brest there were already enough reserves. Now it's enough to disperse a few to Warsaw and Smolensk. As for the evacuation of the population, it was not difficult, Warsaw and Brest did not have any inhabitants in the first place, only Minsk and Smolensk needed to be evacuated, but this was not a problem for the Bolshevik Party at all.

"Comrade General Secretary, I have one more suggestion."

The Chief of the General Staff and the Deputy People's Commissar of Defense had nothing to say, and the Commander-in-Chief of the Navy, Kuznetsov, spoke again: "We should ask the United States to send an army to Ireland." ”

"Comrade People's Commissar of the Navy," Molotov interjected with a smile, "do you think we didn't bring it up?" I think the British must have raised it too. But now the sea power in the Atlantic was in the hands of the Germans, and the transportation of supplies was very difficult. So it was simply impossible for the Americans to send a large number of troops to Ireland. ”

"No, that could be the case." Kuznetsov said, "Because the sea power of the Germans is, in the final analysis, based on air supremacy." What really scared the Anglo-American fleet was not the German battleships, but the Fritz X remote-controlled gliding bombs carried by the JU288 bombers. ”

In fact, Kuznetsov's words are only half right, and the JU288 and Fritz X bombs alone are not afraid of the Americans. The problem is that Germany still has aircraft carriers, and Fokker Zeros, and a lot of cutting-edge battleships, and 4 terrible missile cruisers!

Taken together, these factors turned the British and American navies in the Atlantic into a presence fleet, which did not dare to go to war with the German navy in the North Atlantic.

"But as soon as the autumnal equinox passes, the situation may change!" "Because of the Earth's angle, the North Pole is always at night after the autumnal equinox until the spring equinox of the following year, and the North Atlantic near the Arctic Circle is short and long at night," Kuznetsov said. And the climate will also become very harsh, even during the day there will be a lot of snow, snow and fog, and it will be difficult for the German planes to make sorties. In this case, it will be up to the battleships of both sides to decide the winner. ”

"Battleship?" Stalin seemed to think of something, "We have the Soviet class and the Kronstadt class!" ”

"There are 6 of them!" Kuznetsov said with some pride, "All of them will be able to be dispatched in October." In addition, the United States will have 2 powerful South Dakota-class, and Britain should have 2-3 King George V class. In total, there will be 10-11 super battleships! Enough to escort U.S. troops to Ireland. ”

Stalin looked at Molotov, who immediately said: "Comrade General Secretary, I will go to London and Washington at once. ”

Stalin nodded, adding: "Tell the Americans that we have completed the agreement and that now it is time for them to go." (To be continued.) )