The situation in the USSR was really not good.

The Germans advanced quickly in the middle of winter, all the way to Stalingrad, and completed the encirclement of this southern granary in a short time, which was basically unexpected by everyone. Because it doesn't make sense.

"But if the Germans had been given a more effective way to protect themselves from the cold, their actions would not have been unexpected." Because of the urgency of the situation, Marshall rushed to Shangri-La directly in a small plane: "The Soviets took pictures and images, but those materials are still in Europe, and they can't be seen by everyone for the time being." However, the Soviets were sure that the Germans had indeed found a way to protect themselves from the cold. It is said that there are now white snow huts almost everywhere outside Stalingrad. ”

"Ice huts? Could it be that the Germans are performing 'Snow White'? Churchill was puzzled.

The Soviets explained that this was a method used by the Eskimos in the Arctic to protect themselves from the cold, because ice is a bad conductor of heat, so living in a hut made of ice can effectively protect against the cold outside. The minimum temperature in the house was only minus a dozen degrees Celsius, maybe even minus one or two degrees, and this kind of temperature was not a problem for Germans. "And the Soviets tell us that the Germans, as soon as they entered Stalingrad, built a large number of fortifications out of ice on the Volga......

"Ice Fortifications?"

"Very sturdy. If you add to this the climatic factors of the USSR, these ice cubes are even as strong as steel! ”

Marshall's words silenced the room, Roosevelt shut up, and Churchill began to smoke his cigar vigorously...... Ice fortifications as hard as steel? Although they can't imagine it yet, they have realized the seriousness of the matter. Although the Soviet Union has always been their imaginary enemy, it can be said that if it were not for the existence of the Soviet Union. Had it not been for the constant illusion of diverting the attention of the Germans to the Soviets, Britain and France would never have been able to engage in any policy of appeasement towards Germany. And this also represents the psychology of Britain, France and other countries that always hope for the demise of the Soviet Union. Not now. The Germans had already taken almost the entire continent of Western Europe, and if they defeated the Soviets on the Eastern Front, they would be able to concentrate all their forces on the Western Front. By that time, the situation facing Britain and the United States will be ten times worse than it is now.

"Why don't the Soviets use fire?" Churchill's gaze caught his bright cigar for no reason, and he asked hurriedly. But then he shook his head repeatedly: "This can't be done...... I'm sorry, I'm in too much of a hurry. ”

"Understandable." "Actually, if the Soviets had enough fuel, they might actually use what you call this method." But the truth is. As the Germans advanced towards Stalingrad, they drove a large number of civilians along the way into the city. So, Stalingrad lacked not only food, but also enough fuel for heating. ”

"It's pathetic." Roosevelt let out a long sigh, "Did they say how long they could hold out?" ”

"At most, spring comes." Marshall replied.

"That's not much time?" Churchill's brow furrowed again. "Was the German offensive so fierce?"

"The Germans did not attack." Marshall said, "They just surrounded Stalingrad. And he's still throwing people inside. ”

“…… Vile! ”

Roosevelt and Churchill instantly understood what the Germans were intending. He also scolded almost at the same time. They knew that the Germans simply wanted to win without a fight. Just imagine, Stalingrad is an important city in the south of the Soviet Union, and the population is already quite large, but they are still trying to drive people inside. So, how serious will the problems of accommodation, heating, and food in Stalingrad, which were already strained by the German encirclement, become? By then, the Germans might have taken the town with just one charge. And if the Germans are lucky. Maybe you won't have to attack at all...... As long as they can go to the city of Stalingrad in the spring to cram enough people.

"Didn't the Soviets do anything?" Churchill was in a hurry. Now the United States is not fully prepared, Britain is simply not able to attack alone, and France has surrendered...... No one could help the Soviets. But the strength of the Soviets is not weak, and they should be able to save themselves.

"The Soviets have not yet completed the arrangement of the new line of defense. They tried to send reinforcements to support the defenders of Stalingrad. But it takes time. And the Germans still have air superiority at the moment. "Marshall said," Stalin's telegram said, "if we do not put the rescue plan into action before spring comes, then Stalingrad will most likely not be saved." And this means that the next target of the German army will be Moscow! ”

"The United States must send more troops to Britain as soon as possible. Gentlemen, we are running out of time. We had to complete the build-up of troops before the Germans defeated the USSR. Churchill exclaimed.

“…… Mr. Prime Minister, I intend to appoint Douglas. What do you think of General MacArthur as the commander-in-chief of our forces in Europe and temporarily as the commander-in-chief of the Allied forces in Europe? Roosevelt said in a deep voice.

"General MacArthur? Well, it's a great player. But...... It was as if he had just broken out of the encirclement of the Japanese. I'm not mistaken, right? Churchill shrugged his shoulders and was noncommittal to Roosevelt's proposal.

"He has ten times as many enemies as him." Both Roosevelt and Marshall were a little on fire...... This damn fat man did it on purpose! The aim was to change the position of commander-in-chief of the Allied forces to that of the British. But why didn't he want to think about who was begging for whom now? He M we Americans help you British, you are not grateful, and you dare to fight for power and profit? Do we owe you anything? Believe it or not, Lao Tzu ignores you? We don't believe it, we are willing to negotiate peace, and the Germans will be bold enough to cross the Atlantic. …… It's a pity that Roosevelt and Marshall, unlike Churchill, who liked to make a big noise, were temperamental breeds and didn't show it on the surface.

"Rushed out surrounded by a man ten times his size, and before that he had led his troops to stubbornly resist the enemy's ferocious onslaught for months...... He is fully qualified to be our Allied Commander-in-Chief. Roosevelt said again.

"Is that so? If this is the case, then he is indeed an extremely good general. Churchill's face remained the same, except that he smoked his cigar a little faster, and looked at Roosevelt and Marshall with a little unkindness. Britain was even more powerful in Southeast Asia than the United States, and he was well aware of the Japanese attack on the Philippines. In that battle, MacArthur and his troops were almost defenseless, and were easily defeated and surrounded by the Japanese. Of course, it is true that the Japanese were stronger, but did MacArthur stubbornly defend against the Japanese onslaught in the encirclement for several months? That's a kind of "open confinement" at all, okay? In order to lure more enemies over, the Japanese did nothing to MacArthur and the others, but just surrounded them. In fact, the people who really do well in the Philippines, except for the Japanese, are the Chinese. Knowing that the Japanese had been prepared, the Chinese still skillfully sabotaged the Japanese plan and finally rescued MacArthur and his gang. Therefore, if you really want to evaluate the generals who participated in the war in the Philippines, the Chinese generals who commanded the rescue operation were the best performers, of course, the Japanese Seishiro Sakagaki was not bad, as for MacArthur......

"MacArthur and his troops are currently resting in China and northern Vietnam. We planned for him to lead this force to Egypt, where he would join the British Eighth Army at El Alamein, and then attack Libya. Fight to seize various oil fields in Libya. Churchill only "praised" MacArthur, but still did not indicate whether he was willing to be the commander of the Allied forces in Europe. Both Marshall and Roosevelt could hear this. But Marshall didn't really care about that...... MacArthur had the same temper as the Humpty Dumpty man in front of him, and the more people got stronger, the same arrogance and blind pride. Such people are not the first choice for commanding multinational forces. That's why he asked Roosevelt to point out that MacArthur was only "temporarily" the commander-in-chief of the Allied forces. The purpose was also simple, to establish the leadership of the Americans on the European battlefield. Otherwise, the Supreme Commander was not established, but the battle was later won, which would be tantamount to giving the British a reason to postpone the selection of the Allied commander-in-chief. And judging by Churchill's performance, the British were happy to do that. Although they were forced to put down their subordinates and ask the United States for help, they were actually very unhappy and unwilling to accept the command of the Americans in this big war. Even if they knew that the absence of a unified command would not be suitable for cooperation between the two armies. Of course, if the battle is lost, it is no small problem, but the reason why MacArthur was chosen to attack is to achieve victory...... Marshall had been a colleague of MacArthur for so many years, and he understood each other's temperament very well. At the end of the day, MacArthur was the kind of person who didn't get beaten. The harder you are beaten, the higher the level will be when you play again. MacArthur had a good chance of getting back the Italian army in Libya, and the 30,000 American GIs who had been fighting in the Philippines were certainly more effective than the troops at home after recuperation. Strong generals with strong soldiers, at least for now, this is the most powerful combination in the entire American army, and he Marshall is not just pulling people on the horse.

"Well, I agree to have the Eighth Army cooperate with the Americans, but in order to increase the strength of the Eighth Army, I have decided to send General Montgomery as the commander of the Army, so that I can cooperate more effectively with General MacArthur." Churchill said.

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