A cool breeze dispelled the morning haze, and the sky gradually brightened. In the city of Windlitz, the final battle was over, most of the more than 2,000 Soviet officers and soldiers who remained there were killed, and less than 300 were taken prisoner of war by the Germans. For this remarkable victory, the Germans paid a heavier price than their opponents, not to mention the staggering consumption of ammunition, more than 2,000 soldiers were killed in battle, in addition to about 3,000 wounded, and the elite forces lost 5,000 in the first battle. In terms of technical equipment, the Germans lost more than 20 wheeled vehicles equipped with rocket launchers or recoilless guns in the attack, which in the eyes of the commander were not as good as the Fi-282 helicopter that crashed due to mechanical failure.

"According to the latest war report, the glorious, great, and unruly German team completely annihilated the Soviet 22nd Guards Tank Brigade at Vanderlitz in the northern suburbs of Berlin, killed more than 3,000 people under the brigade commander Vellistov, destroyed 44 T-54 medium tanks, 27 self-propelled guns, destroyed and captured more than 200 armored vehicles and trucks, and severely damaged the Soviet 200th Guards Tank Brigade, killed and wounded more than 1,000 officers and soldiers, destroyed and captured a large number of combat vehicles, successfully thwarted the Soviet army's spirit, and defended the northern gate of the German capital!"

The concise but weighty report was officially issued by the German authorities and was rebroadcast by major media outlets in various countries within a short period of time, becoming the focus of the day's attention. In the camp war between the Allies and the Soviet Union, the Allies also annihilated the Soviet units of brigade-sized units, but in contrast to the Soviet army's frequent encirclement, annihilation, and defeat of the Allied large corps, such a victory is simply not worth mentioning. Now, instead of being defeated in a single battle, as speculated, Germany survived the first few days of the Soviet surprise attack with an orderly retreat. It also successfully staged a counterattack near the capital Berlin. In any respect, the annihilation of the 22nd Tank Brigade of the Soviet Army was a battle of extraordinary significance in this war and in this era. The whole of Germany rejoiced, and the army and the people rekindled their hope and confidence in defeating a strong enemy; The entire Western world woke up and was inspired, and people swept away the mental pressure brought about by the "theory that the Soviet army was undefeated." I vaguely saw the signs of the Red Empire turning from prosperity to decline. Even if the Germans' war reports were exaggerated in numbers, their own losses were not mentioned, and the Soviet camp was silent, such a setback was by no means the end of the Soviets, and the fact that they were able to survive the rout and heavy losses in the early stages of the Great Patriotic War fully proved the tenacity of this alliance and its army. The 22nd Guards Tank Brigade was devastated, and the 200th Guards Tank Brigade suffered a serious blow. Even the 11th Guards Tank Army temporarily lost the ability to continue fighting, and the Soviet High Command did not have the slightest remorse or pessimism about the decision to attack Germany, and combat orders were issued from Moscow one after another, passing over the front and army groups. The combat deployment of front-line units has been readjusted:

The 8th Mechanized Corps crossed the heavily damaged 11th Guards Tank Corps to attack Windlitz, the 5th Guards Red Banner Stalingrad-Kiev Tank Corps turned south from the Novobrandenburg area in northern Germany, and the reserves of the Baltic Coastal Front on standby in Stettin Bay crossed into Germany; The 1st Army of the Polish side, with the 2nd Guards Red Banner Tachinskaya Tank Army and the 4th Guards Red Banner Kantemirovka Army Tank Corps as the attack arrows, made a surprise advance towards Berlin at any cost, and the reserves of this front quickly crossed the Oder River into the German territory; The main forces of the Polish Second Front, spearheaded by the 7th Kiev-Berlin Tank Army and the 8th Guards Red Banner Tank Army, marched north from the Korbs-Dresden line......

After this adjustment, the three main forces of the Soviet army, which had invaded Germany from Poland, were simultaneously directed at Berlin. By the time the reserve troops of the two fronts crossed the border, the total strength of the Soviet troops entering the German battle would reach more than 1.2 million, and the Soviet army would have hundreds of thousands of soldiers eyeing the Czech and Austrian border areas. Judging from the comparison of strength and the strategic situation, the German team's hope of winning this war is still very slim. …,

When the first rays of the morning sun shine on the earth. The Soviet army could not wait to launch a revenge offensive. In accordance with the instructions of the high command, the aviation units of the three major front armies made an all-out attack. The first air offensive of the day alone involved two-fifths of the combat aircraft, which meant that more than 3,000 fighters from more than 20 groups appeared in the airspace east of Germany. Their majesty is enough to show the majesty of the strategic bomber groups of the Western Allies during World War II. In the eyes of most people, Soviet warplanes of this scale will inevitably scorch the eastern part of Germany, and Berlin, the capital of Germany, which was difficult to rebuild after the war, will definitely not escape this time!

On the long-range radar of the German army, dense points of light did rush towards the political center of Germany, at this time Berlin had already evacuated more than half of the more than two million civilians after three secret mobilizations, and a large number of air defense facilities seemed to make people return to the nightmare of 1945. Before the arrival of a large group of Soviet bombers, Soviet fighters and attack planes deployed at various field airfields in eastern Germany had already swooped down on the German-controlled areas in an air rush position. They soared high in the sky, waiting for the German warhawks to strike; They advanced in depth, finding and attacking the German warhawks that had not had time to take off; They were ready to engage in a fierce battle with the enemy, and the pilots had even written suicide notes, but the German jet swarm that pierced the sky did not appear, and there were only white clouds over Berlin except for Soviet fighters......

Moscow, Kremolim. Hurried footsteps sounded in the deep corridors, and Andrei, a member of the Presidium of the Supreme Soviet in charge of foreign affairs. Gromyko walked with an uneasy look on his face as Field Marshal Alexander. Evgenyevich. Beside Golovanov, the two went straight to the door of the office of Khrushchev, the current first secretary of the Central Committee of the CPSU and chairman of the Council of Ministers of the USSR.

"He just lost his temper." Before opening the door, the secretary with shiny hair reminded.

Hearing this, Gromyko's expression became even more unnatural. From the end of the 30s to the second half of the 40s, the foreign affairs of the Soviet Union was in charge of Molotov, a loyal follower of Stalin, and due to the conflict of political positions, Khrushchev gradually squeezed out and suppressed Molotov after taking power, and in 1948 he was ousted from the post of foreign minister, and Gromyko, who was then the first deputy minister of foreign affairs, sat in the position of his predecessor with trepidation. On seniority, Molotov became the People's Commissar for Foreign Affairs (Minister of Foreign Affairs). Gromyko was just entering the diplomatic world; In terms of influence, Molotov was the number two man for a long time during the Stalin period, while Gromyko could only be regarded as Molotov's assistant in the Foreign Ministry, except for the use of veto power on disarmament issues before the Soviet Union's withdrawal from the United Nations. He had no experience leading important foreign affairs. Against the irreversible political background, Gromyko became the foreign minister on thin ice, worked hard with his excellent eloquence and gentle character, and was even praised by Khrushchev many times, but against the backdrop of the ups and downs of many military and political bowls in the Soviet Union, only Gromyko knew how difficult he had to go.

When he walked into the office, Gromyko did not hear Khrushchev's roar, but the atmosphere inside already gave him a feeling of suffocation. He unconsciously slowed down his pace by half a beat. So that the highly decorated and prestigious Air Marshal was in front.

"Our bomber group has already dropped bombs in Berlin, right?" Khrushchev asked coldly and loudly.

"In fact, the first bombing echelon will arrive in Berlin in half an hour, when more than five hundred tons of bombs will be dropped on the German capital." Marshal Golovanov replied in a smooth tone.

"Half an hour?" Khrushchev's gaze turned from the window back to the visitor, and he looked at Golovanov. Then he stared at Gromyco.

"Well, our career diplomat, tell us, with your impartial knowledge of diplomacy, what kind of trouble will we bring to the USSR if we insist on bombing Berlin in this situation?" …,

Gromyko swallowed subconsciously. And when he spoke, his voice was so calm that outsiders could barely hear the apprehension and nervousness in his heart: "The bombing of military targets in the enemy's capital is a very reasonable means of warfare, and our decision to carry out the bombing was made before Germany declared Berlin an undefended city. The pilots did not know that Berlin had become an undefended city before takeoff, and we can cite sufficient and valid evidence to prove this. But. Western countries have always been adept at manipulating international public opinion to attack us, and predictably. If we bomb Berlin this time, they will inevitably use this excuse to make a big splash, and then give aid to our enemies in a big way, and even secretly use aircraft and ships to assist them in the war. ”

"Well, the United States wants wars in other countries so that they can make a fortune from it. After three world wars, more than half of the world's wealth has been concentrated in the United States, these greedy merchants, capitalists, warmongers! Businessmen, capitalists, warmongers! Finally, Khrushchev viciously repeated his assessment of his former allies, and the development of the situation proved again and again the reluctance of such alliances.

"If you feel the need, we can always change the target, Potsdam, Oranienburg or Windlitz." Air Marshal Golovanov said with his head held high.

Khrushchev did not make an immediate decision, he sat back in his chair, looked up at the ceiling, his thumbs quickly circled each other, and muttered faintly: "Destroy, forgive, destroy, forgive......"

After a while, the door was pushed open, and the previous secretary reported: "Marshal Zhukov has arrived." ”

"I've said many times that Marshal Zhukov can enter my office at any time, and there is no need to ask for instructions!" Khrushchev reprimanded with a pretentious gesture.

"Yes, please forgive me for my dereliction of duty."

The shiny secretary hurriedly asked Marshal Zhukov, who was waiting outside the door, to come in, and Khrushchev also got up to greet him, and his hands were clasped together in a decent manner.

"The invincible Georgi. Konstantinovich. Comrade Zhukov, you are so timely! What do you think about this? Khrushchev said with reverence and even some flattery. In 1948, when the struggle for supreme power in the Soviet Union was over, Khrushchev, who served as the first party secretary of Ukraine, was not strong enough to compete with Beria, Malenkov and others, and enlisting the support of the army's main generals was a key to his surprising victory. After gradually gaining power in the country, Khrushchev rewarded his collaborators handsomely, and Zhukov became the Minister of Defense of the Soviet Union as he wished, and commanded the Soviet army's combat operations that swept Central Europe in 1948, consolidating his image as the god of war in the eyes of the Soviet people, and his personal prestige reached its peak.

"What do you think? Could it be that the righteous Soviet Red Army was going to make concessions to the evil fascists? Zhukov lukewarmly glanced at Gromyko, who was standing aside, and the contempt in his eyes was clearly directed at others.

Air Marshal Golovanov silently maintained a dignified military posture, and Gromyko's face was red and white. On the contrary, Khrushchev broke the awkward atmosphere with laughter: "My opinion is completely in agreement with Comrade Zhukov, how ridiculous is the paradoxical behavior of the Germans, who had previously put on a posture of stubbornly defending Berlin, and now suddenly declared that Berlin is undefended. This shows that they were viscerally afraid of the Soviet Red Army and hoped that such a crooked idea would save them from defeat! Ridiculous, ridiculous! ”

"yes, how ridiculous!" Gromy said in response, and then felt embarrassed again.

"Sit down! Guys, let's take it easy, in twenty minutes, Berlin will be a burning city! But it doesn't matter. The Germans are good at architecture, and it won't take long for them to rebuild a Berlin, and maybe they should thank us for giving them the opportunity to perfect the city and make it more modern. And we...... With a unique Moscow, a city where ancient culture meets modern civilization! Khrushchev sat the three of them down on the sofa and ordered the secretary to bring coffee and cigars. After sitting down, Gromyko's expression softened a lot, and Khrushchev swept away the gloom of his previous one. On the contrary, the two soldiers looked solemn. …,

"If the United States and Britain announce their assistance to Germany and the Western world is openly involved in this war, then we need not be too reserved, and we can consider conducting a nuclear explosion test at an appropriate time. Let the enemy know that we also have this devastating weapon, and let them think carefully about the consequences before threatening us with an atomic bomb. Zhukov said in an extremely serious tone. On this issue, which is related to state decision-making, there should have been communication between him and Khrushchev for a long time. Gromyko was in charge of diplomacy and Golovanov was in charge of the Air Force, and although they were not in the absolute inner circle of Soviet power, they still had an important say on the issue of the Soviet Union's open possession of nuclear weapons.

"All the conditions for a nuclear explosion test have been met, the chief engineer can guarantee 100 percent success, and the key is that once the test is carried out, it will be equivalent to announcing to the Western world that we have an atomic bomb, and there is no choice in this point." Khrushchev's eyes swept to Golovanov and Gromyko, both of whom also knew that the Soviet Union had been intensively implementing its nuclear weapons program.

"Since the Comprehensive Nuclear-Weapon-Ban Convention is still just an initiative, our atomic bomb test explosion is not a violation of any international convention, but only a contradiction...... our earlier statement," Gromyko cautioned.

"If I am not mistaken, it was Comrade Molotov who signed that statement! Even if he wants to be held responsible, he should bear it, right? Khrushchev said.

"Yes, yes, very much!" Gromyko nodded repeatedly.

"One more thing." Zhukov frowned, and said reluctantly: "I vaguely feel that the Germans have dug us a sophisticated trap, although the mud pit cannot trap the war horse, but the horse may break its leg because of it......"

The air marshal, who had not spoken since Zhukov came in, suddenly spoke: "For some reason, I have similar concerns. ”

Khrushchev took a heavy breath, instantly put away his pleasant expression, and said with a cold face: "Since the founding of our Soviet Union, every war has nothing to do with the life and death of the red regime. The civil war and armed intervention from 1917 to 1922, the Great Patriotic War, the war against the combined aggression of the Western countries, in those most difficult times, we faced danger and did not fear death, and we persevered with great tenacity. Today's Germany seems to be weak, but the innate martial spirit and aggressiveness of this nation have not changed, the state power is still controlled by militarists, and the economy cannot wait to rearm before it recovers, if we stand by and let it develop, within ten years, a strong German army will attack the Soviet Union with the support of Western countries, this is by no means alarmist! It is precisely because of the above judgment of the development of the situation that no matter how much sacrifice we need to sacrifice in front of us to win, we must move forward bravely, defeat the enemy with attack, eliminate the threat with attack, and win the final victory with attack! ”

Gromyko looked at the three people in front of him with apprehension, the attitude of the two army marshals was still somewhat influenced by Khrushchev, and the difficulty in their eyes dissipated somewhat, but they still had their own entanglements in their hearts.

Khrushchev continued: "I remember that in 1919, the United States provided the Denikin forces in the Caucasus with enough weapons to equip 100,000 men, the British sent military instructors, this reactionary force occupied Kiev and marched on Moscow, Kolchak's White army was supported by hostile countries, and in 1920, Poland sent more than 700,000 troops to invade Ukraine, and our Red Army was in great difficulty, and it is inconceivable to win the victory now. Perhaps, at times, we should adjust our posture and see ourselves as strategically weak rather than invincible men, so that we will have ample incentive to defeat the Germans and seize from them the industrial facilities and technical forces we need, for which our intelligence services have gathered a great deal of information that will surely reap this valuable fortune in the follow-up if our army wins a crucial victory. (To be continued.) If you like this work, you are welcome to vote for recommendation and monthly passes, and your support is my biggest motivation. )