"Comrade General Secretary, we have done our best......"

Zhukov said this in front of Comrade Stalin on May 10, when he and Pavlov beside him could not help but cry. Pen | fun | pavilion www. ｂｉｑｕｇｅ。 ｉｎｆｏ

Because the war has been lost!

On the night of May 7, the Soviet army launched a counterattack with all its might, and was once again crushed by the German army! The tank cluster of the Soviet army on the northern front was first defeated on the battlefield on the west bank of the Mara River, and the commander of the cluster, General Katuzov, died heroically in the early morning of the 8th, fulfilling his responsibilities as a member of the Bolshevik Party!

At the same time, the counterattack of the Soviet troops in the upper strip of the Ruzha River was also unsuccessful. After losing more than 300 tanks/assault guns, the German line was still not shaken and had to go on the defensive after dawn.

From daylight on 8 May, the Germans in the triangle switched from defense to a full-scale offensive. After a day of bloody fighting, a cluster of the 48th Panzer Army made a 10-kilometer-wide gap in the front of the Soviet Southern Front cluster in the upper reaches of the Ruzha River - this gap was no joke, the upper part of the Ruzha River was located on the flank of the Western Front cluster defense line of the Central Front, and the surrounding terrain was flat and the transportation facilities were good. Once broken through by the German armored cluster, the Germans may be able to rush to the city of Ruzha (a key point on the western front of Moscow, only 88 kilometers from Red Square) in a few hours, and the city of Ruzha is also the defensive core of the Moscow Western Front cluster, once attacked by the Germans from behind, the Moscow Western Front cluster will collapse!

The commander of the Soviet assault group on the southern front, Rotmistrov, knew that something was wrong, and immediately threw in the 1st Guards Mechanized Corps as a reserve and several tank destroyer brigades transferred from Moscow to try to counterattack. Nearly 1,000 tanks from both sides fought a night battle on the plain north of Ruza, and with the help of E-50 tanks and Cheetah tank destroyers, as well as night vision equipment, the German armored group once again won an overwhelming victory.

After nearly 10 hours of bloody fighting, the Soviets left the battlefield in the early morning of May 9 after leaving the wreckage of nearly 400 tanks/assault guns and tens of thousands of corpses on the battlefield.

The commander of the Soviet assault group on the southern front, Rotmistrov, also fulfilled his oath and died heroically in the battle in the early morning of the 9th.

The German panzer group, which had won the tank night battle, took advantage of the victory and pursued it to the city of Ruza. An infantry corps of the Soviet army, relying on the fortifications of Ruza, put up a desperate resistance. to cover the retreat of the main forces of the cluster on the Western Front.

And the German armored forces did not rush to attack the Soviet positions, they were exhausted by the continuous days of fighting, although the losses of equipment were not serious, but ammunition and fuel continued to be replenished.

Taking advantage of this opportunity, during the whole day on May 10, hundreds of thousands of Soviet troops west of Moscow retreated all the way to Moscow under the heavy bombardment of the German army, and there were German armored clusters that crossed the Ruzha River or pursued along the Moscow River behind them!

Under the double blow of bombing and pursuing soldiers, the Soviet army suffered heavy casualties, and the roads and railways leading to Moscow were all abandoned or damaged equipment, and the corpses of Soviet officers and soldiers were also paved all the way!

There were also many retreating Soviet troops who were caught up by the German armored forces, and then surrendered or destroyed in formations!

At the same time, the German 1st Panzer Army, which had made a detour north from Tula Oblast, had also advanced wildly in the past few days, as if it had entered no man's land. By the early morning of May 10, the vanguard of the 1st Panzer Army had advanced to Vosk Lesensk, an important town southeast of Moscow, just over 80 kilometers from Red Square in the center of Moscow.

At this point in the battle, the Soviet army was already in a panic. The Soviet high command was also undecided. While scrambling to gather troops, they tried to plunge into the "triangle battlefield" outside the city to repel the German army that was approaching Moscow step by step, and plug the fatal gap. On the one hand, they tried to shrink the forces of the Central Front on the outskirts of Moscow, and seemed to want to use them to defend the city of Moscow. On the other hand, a general retreat was being planned, and all the troops gathered around Moscow and Kalinin (city) were withdrawn to the Volga-Ural region......

At this time, Zhukov and Pavlov could only stubbornly propose to Stalin to abandon the decisive battle and shrink their forces to hold on to Moscow and Kalinin.

"We've failed, haven't we? We have lost everything that Lenin left us...... Is it? ”

Hearing the suggestions made by Zhukov and Pavlov, Stalin, who was pale, did not get angry and blame, but only asked a somewhat blank rhetorical question.

Zhukov and Pavlov looked at each other, and Pavlov said: "Comrade General Secretary, comrades have done their best, but the enemy is too strong......"

Zhukov sighed and said: "Comrade General Secretary, although the battle outside Moscow has failed, we still have a fortified city of Moscow to defend. Other than that...... We still have many troops in the Caucasus and South Russian steppes, and you may be able to withdraw to the Caucasus, where the terrain is more conducive to holding out. ”

Stalin's homeland was in Georgia in the Caucasus, and Zhukov thought that Stalin might agree to withdraw to the Caucasus.

And in Zhukov's opinion, the Caucasus, on which the Caucasus Mountains can be relied upon, is a much safer reservation than Moscow.

"No!" Stalin said resolutely, "I will not leave, if I leave Moscow, this place will soon be lost, then Tsarist Russia will be completely restored, that woman Olga will become the dictatorship of Russia, the Bolshevik Party will be finished, I can't do this!" ”

Stalin's answer was expected by Zhukov, but he still did not abandon his plans to resist in the Caucasus Mountains.

Zhukov said: "Comrade General Secretary, even if you yourself do not leave Moscow, you should promote the 'Caucasian GCIST bastion', which is very beneficial for us to hold out resistance and buy more time." ”

The idea of building a "fortress of Caucasian GCISM" has long been in Zhukov's heart, and he arranged Rokossovsky to be the commander of the steppe front for this purpose.

Stalin looked at Zhukov, who seemed to be able to come up with a way to save the cause of GCISM in the Soviet Union, and Zhukov continued: "Comrade General Secretary, the most important regions of the USSR, apart from Leningrad and Moscow, are the Caucasus and the Volga-Ural industrial region. The Caucasus accounted for 70% of the total oil production of the Soviet Union, while the Volga-Ural industrial zone accounted for 30% of the oil, and the industry accounted for more than 70% of the areas currently controlled by Soviet power.

If one compares the Caucasus with the Volga-Urals, the Volga-Ural industrial region is undoubtedly more important. Because the current oil processing center of the USSR has been transferred from the Batumi oil city to Kuibyshev and Ufa. If we lose the Volga-Urals, we will lose not only more than 70% of industry, but also the entire capacity of oil processing. Then the war will be completely lost in the short term......"

"So you came up with the idea of attracting the Germans with Caucasian GCIST fortresses?" Stalin had already understood Zhukov's idea - whether this method would work or not, it would be enough for Stalin to rely on Zhukov if he still had ideas at this point...... Although he has just lost a crucial battle!

Zhukov nodded and said: "Now there are almost 500,000 people in the Caucasian Front, and more than 600,000 in the Steppe Front. If all the troops of the steppe army can be drawn to the Caucasus, then the Caucasian Front will have an army of 1.1 million. Relying on the Caucasus Mountains and ample ammunition reserves, they will be able to hold out for a long time. At least enough time can be bought for us to evacuate the Volga-Urals industrial zone and reserve fuel. ”

If it were not for the White Russian government of Empress Olga, Stalin would have demanded peace now, even if Ukraine and Belarus were ceded and even the Caucasus could be added!

But now that there is White Russia, there is no possibility of seeking peace -- the present war is not a war between the Soviet Union and Germany, but a war between the Bolsheviks and the Romanov dynasty...... No, it should be dragged down, maybe a change can be dragged out.

And to base itself on dragging, then it is definitely more advantageous to lead Germany to fight the Caucasus than to let Germany attack the Volga-Ural industrial zone immediately.

What Zhukov is saying now, Stalin understands, he nodded lightly and asked: "Comrade Zhukov, how sure are you that your Caucasian GC bastion plan will succeed?" ”

“30%。” Zhukov spoke of a very frustrating probability.

Those in the General Staff of the Wehrmacht were not imbecile, and of course knew that the death hole of the USSR was in the Volga-Urals. As long as it is occupied, the Soviet Union will be almost an agricultural country. What Caucasian GCIST bastion, it is not a matter of time before it is brought down?

"If you can go to Tbilisi...... Zhukov continues, "the probability of success can be more than 70 percent." ”

Zhukov said this, of course, to save Stalin's life, although Stalin was considered a tyrant by many people, he was still very kind to his own comrades. In the army, Stalin's line was the first line of the First Cavalry Army with Voroshilov-Budyonny as the core. Zhukov was born in this lineage, so Zhukov's escape from the purge was not due to luck.

Stalin, of course, also knew Zhukov's loyalty, and he shook his head and said: "Georgy. Konstantinovich, I don't think about going to the Caucasus, but you have to go there and be the commander of the Caucasian Front. You must defend the Caucasus for me, for the USSR, for the Bolshevik Party! ”