Stalin, General Secretary of the CPSU Central Committee and Chairman of the Council of Ministers of the USSR, faced with the unresolved war situation in the Far East, had to temporarily put it aside, not only the problem of the Far Eastern Front, but also the Outer Mongolian Front, which had high hopes and could be the first to return to the European direction, encountered new big troubles in addition to the previous troubles, and the troops of the Chinese Tang Qiuli set up a blocking line on the road that the Outer Mongolian Front must pass.

As soon as Stalin's words were finished, the Soviet high-level bigwigs present collectively lost their voices, and in peacetime, nearly 400,000 Chinese troops were not a big problem, and hundreds of thousands of troops could be drawn from any military district on the west side of the Ural Mountains to open the blockade line of the Chinese, but not now, absolutely not, the German offensive was rapid and fierce, and the Soviet troops in the European direction, in addition to the scattered troops, could be mobilized in formation, all of which were used to resist the German offensive.

In spite of this, it is still a retreat, the front is gradually moving in the direction of Moscow, and the capital can smell the smell of gunpowder, otherwise, the political bureau will not order the four fronts in the Far East to withdraw to the European battlefield at any cost, in short, the Soviet troops in the European theater of war, resist the German attack, it is still difficult to protect themselves, but also for Vasilevsky's Outer Mongolian Front, open the passage of the Ural Mountains and the Tangnu Mountains, where to mobilize the troops?

The bigwigs, including the Chief of the General Staff, Marshal Petroshilov, couldn't help but ask in their hearts, "Comrade Stalin, may I ask, where are the forces that opened the way for Vasilevsky's troops?" Of course, they only dare to mumble in their hearts.

As soon as Stalin saw the reaction of the generals, he immediately realized that he had said it in vain, and now, what the Soviet Union lacked most was troops, and he sighed secretly in his heart. I regret it very much, I shouldn't have used troops on a large scale in the east in the first place, and at the same time left the war with the Japanese and the despicable and sinister Tang Qiu, otherwise, why would I fall into such a difficult situation now?

Stalin took a sharp puff of his pipe, pale blue smoke, which enveloped his troubled face, and said: "Comrades, I know, in the face of the German attack. The Soviet Red Army was under great pressure, the front was approaching Moscow day by day, and all the troops that could be invested were on the front line, fighting bloody battles with the German army. However, the comrades have thought about it or not. If Comrade Vasilevsky's troops. We can't be the first to rush back to the European theater, and in the face of the ferocious offensive of the Germans, how long can we hold out with the current state of troops and troops? ”

How long can the Soviet army hold out on the battlefield of the Western Front, every high-ranking Soviet bigwig who participated in the meeting. They all knew that in the face of the German attack, the Soviet army could only parry, but had no power to fight back. Every day, the Soviet Red Army had to fill in more than 100,000 people in order to slow down the advance of the German army, and the entire front became a meat grinder that devoured the lives of Soviet soldiers, but was there any better way than to use the lives of soldiers to block the footsteps of the Germans?

The various military districts in the European part were shattered by the German army, and even to the point of organizing a local counterattack on the scale of an army group, which could not be done, in this case, the Soviet army needed more soldiers to make up for the huge war attrition, what to use to open the blockade line of the Chinese for Vasilevsky?

As the Chief of the General Staff, Marshal Petroshilov could not help but speak, "Comrade Stalin, the situation in the European direction, the need for elite troops from the East, return as much as possible, this is well known to the comrades, but where do we mobilize our forces? ”

Looking at Stalin's gloomy face, Marshal Petroshilov paused, since he had begun, he had to force his head and say, "The Chinese Tang Qiu is on the front line of the Ural Mountains and the Tangnu Mountains, Chen soldiers are nearly 400,000, breaking the blockade of the troops of the independent division, at least the same number of troops are needed, Comrade Stalin, the General Staff has done such considerations, but, so far, we have not even been able to gather more than two army groups, Comrade Stalin, this is the reality we must face!" ”

Marshal Petroshilov could not help but tell the truth, and seeing that Stalin was silent, he said: "Comrade Stalin, in view of the practical difficulties we are facing, it is difficult or even impossible to open a passage for the Outer Mongolian Front, in that case, why not order Comrade Vasilevsky to concentrate all his forces, focus on attacking one point, and open a gap in the blockade line of the troops of the independent division, for example, in the Minusinsk direction!" ”

Stalin suddenly became furious, and his voice raised an octave, "My comrade Chief of the General Staff, please take a moment of brain, time, before you put forward the proposal!" - Understand, what we need is time, if Vasilevsky is given a few months or more, then the troops of the hateful Chinese will not be able to resist, but will the Germans give us time? No, if the Outer Mongolian Front could not reach the vicinity of Moscow within two weeks, we would have only been besieged by the Germans! ”

Stalin's rare outburst, the supreme leader of the Soviet Union, known for his composure and cunning, even when he decided to kill a comrade in the party who threatened his position, was tepid, calm and terrifying, and now, in a rage, his cheeks twisted, and the veins in his temples throbbed like earthworms, and his face was hideous and terrible, and his words became more and more bitter.

Marshal Petroshilov, whose face was pale and like a stake of wood, stood there, speechless in the face of the leader's rage and bitter words, unable to refute and justify it, unable to come up with a better solution, and his heart was filled with a deep sense of powerlessness.

Stalin's anger accumulated in his heart, after venting it, he was in a much better mood, seeing Comrade Chief of the General Staff, with a dejected look, he sighed silently, and said as gently as possible: "Comrade Petroshilov, I beg your pardon, I lost my temper just now, please sit down, let's continue the discussion!" ”

Stalin reloaded his pipe and said: "Comrade Petroshilov, can you consider it this way, from the Volga Military District, the Don Military District, the Inner Caucasus Military District and the First Ukrainian Front, the campaign reserve troops will be grouped into the Ural Front, responsible for breaking the blockade of the Chinese, the strength of the troops, not less than 400,000 people, at the same time, order Vasilevsky to concentrate forces in one direction." ”

"The place of the breakthrough, as Comrade Petroshilov built, was chosen on the Minusinsk line, and the front and rear were attacked, and the Chinese troops did not hold out for long, comrades will discuss this issue!"

Looking at the few bigwigs, with a wry smile on the corner of their mouths, Stalin knew that his words were in vain, but he didn't understand that in his memory, those military districts had battle reserves, and moreover, they were ordered to be formed by himself when the German offensive was at its most fierce, so as to prepare for putting it into the battlefield at a critical juncture.

"Comrade Petroshilov, tell me, what is the situation?" Stalin asked with bewilderment and a little displeasure.

Petroshilov stood up again, his expression seemed to be more painful than that of the leader, "Comrade Stalin, the military districts you just mentioned, according to your previous orders, did form a campaign reserve with the size of three army groups, but - it's just that a week ago, the German offensive suddenly intensified, and the troops on the front line were tightened, and these reserves were already put into the battlefield, or the order you ordered the General Staff!" ”

The muscles on Stalin's cheeks couldn't help twitching a few times, and he suddenly remembered that there was such a thing, remembering that at that time, Petroshilov also reminded himself not to put all the campaign reserves of various military districts into it, but at that time, the situation was critical, and the fronts of various military districts, under the onslaught of the Germans, were crumbling, and there was a danger of collapse at any time.

After the battle reserves were put into the battlefield, they did stabilize the situation of the war, however, it also caused the current embarrassing situation, Stalin did not know what to say, and he could not blame anyone for this, he ordered the General Staff to do it.

The atmosphere in the office was almost frozen with embarrassment, and everyone's eyes were deliberately avoiding Stalin, they knew that next, Comrade Stalin was about to be angry again, the commander of the Moscow Military District, General Badachenko, commander of the Moscow Military District, stood up and said: "Comrade Stalin, I have a Jianyì!" ”

Stalin's eyes lit up, just like a traveler in the desert, who had been short of food and water for several days, and when he was dying, he suddenly saw a bend of clear water on the oasis, he leaned forward sharply, and said eagerly: "Comrade Badachenko, you can say quickly, what is there to build?" ”

General Badachenko, taken aback by Stalin's bright eyes, did not dare to sell the guanzi, and said succinctly: "As we all know, it is the troops of other military districts and front armies that are now resisting the German attack, and the Moscow Military District, under the current situation, has no combat mission for the time being. ”

"No—absolutely not!" Stalin categorically vetoed it without hesitation, and the light in his eyes dimmed in an instant, and the fire of hope, just ignited, as if encountering a strong wind, was extinguished instantly, "Comrade Badachenko, the troops of the Moscow Military District, not a single soldier should be mobilized, you are responsible for the battle defense of the capital and the vast surrounding areas, once the German army breaks through our current defensive line, the safety of Moscow will all fall on you, the strength is insufficient, how can you be transferred?" ”

Stalin was simply a little angry, the troops of the Moscow Military District, the last hole card in his hand, were used at the most critical time, and after saying what he had just said, he still felt that it was not enough to express his anger, and he was about to reprimand General Badachenko again, but he saw that his closest comrade-in-arms, the People's Commissar for Foreign Affairs of the Soviet Union, Molotov, kept giving himself a look.

(To be continued)(To be continued......