The exact number of casualties caused by the Red Army's indiscriminate bombardment of Warsaw is full of controversy in later historical circles, with some saying hundreds of thousands and some saying millions. However, in either case, the Soviet Union officially did not recognize it. Because it was very nonsense, the total population of Warsaw was only 1 million or hundreds of thousands, and the bombing of the Red Army erased a fraction of it again and again, or even directly erased more than half of it, who would believe it!

Do you think about the tragic strategic bombing of Berlin? Over and over again, the Germans didn't even open their mouths to say that the bombing had killed hundreds of thousands, if not millions, or at best, millions of people were left homeless. As for Warsaw, how many people can die if it was only turned again? Think about how many devils did the US imperialists directly kill when they dropped an atomic bomb on Hiroshima and Nagasaki? I'm afraid there are not more than 100,000, and the bombing of Warsaw is simply drizzle!

Li Xiaofeng felt that it was possible to kill a few thousand people, but as for the hundreds of thousands or hundreds of thousands, it was alarmist at all. Especially since this kind of data was first shouted out by the British, who gritted their teeth, then it should be resolutely resisted. If you want to splash dirty water, no way! Anyway, as soon as the British mentioned this stubble, Li Xiaofeng had to mention Dresden, which was destroyed by the strategic bombing of Britain and the United States, and that city was much worse than Warsaw.

About 70 per cent of Dresden's industrial districts and attached residential areas were destroyed, and urban utilities such as water, gas and electricity were completely destroyed, with 75,000 of the 222,000 residential buildings destroyed, in addition to 18,000 severely damaged and 81,000 moderately and mildly damaged. 72 schools, 22 hospitals, 19 churches, 5 theatres, 50 banks, 31 shopping malls, 31 large hotels, 62 municipal buildings, 50 per cent of shops and other small and medium-sized enterprises. In addition, many of Dresden's famous ancient buildings and historical and cultural heritage, such as the Frauenkirche and Dresden Palace, were destroyed.

In the words of the Americans: "23% of industrial facilities, 56% of urban non-industrial buildings, at least 50% of urban residential areas, 80% of residential buildings, major urban communication centers, railway facilities were destroyed." The casualty figure is estimated at about 25,000 dead and 30,000 injured. ”

The Allies dropped more than 2,000 tons of bombs on Dresden, and the incendiary bombs and one piece went for four or five thousand tons. It took 25,000 people to kill such a large scale, and your Englishman's red mouth and white teeth are hundreds of thousands of millions, who are you bluffing!

Of course, the Soviets did inflict a large number of casualties in Warsaw, and judging by the post-war population of Warsaw, their human losses were at least around half a million. So what's going on with these dead people?

Don't forget, the Germans are still suppressing the uprising! And let's not forget that in the first week, the Germans caused hundreds of thousands of casualties. What really hurt Warsaw was the German massacre.

But this account can't be counted on the head of the Soviet Union, and it tells you that you can't respond, you still have to move blindly, and you still want to help the British master share his worries, damn it!

The suffering of the footcloth did not end, not only did it have to endure the double blow of the German army and the Soviet Red Army, but more importantly, the Soviet Red Army had no intention of liberating the city at all. There is still a five-month siege ahead. During this time, the Red Army had besieged Warsaw, the entire city was completely cut off from supplies, and a cold and cruel winter beckoned to the footcloth.

At the end of August, Rokossovsky's 2nd Belorussian Front first forced its way across the Vistula River and took Prushkuv without much difficulty, and then its rolling iron rushed in the direction of Poznan.

Zhukov was only one step slower than Rokossovsky, and on 2 September, his 1st Ukrainian Front also crossed the river to Skarzysko-Kamena and made great strides in the direction of Wroclaw.

To the south, Tolbukhin's Second Ukrainian Front acted as Zhukov and Vasilevsky's "messengers" and advanced along the Polish-Czechoslovak border toward Germany. Vasilevsky inserted directly into Czechoslovakia, and after capturing Presov, the main force advanced towards Prague. Another part of the force pounced on Bratislava. As for Konev, he also had a good time, and when Hitler failed at the last stud in Romania, the German Army Group South almost collapsed, and by this time he had reached the city of Budapest.

Note that Konev was just about to deploy an attack on Budapest, when the Hungarians turned back and declared their departure from the Axis and turned to the Allies, taking Budapest with almost no shots of Konev's army, and the remnants of the German army had to flee in the direction of Lake Balaton.

And this made Konev quite unhappy, because Lake Balaton was southwest of Budapest, not in the same direction as the Austrian land he wanted to go to. Muttering dissatisfied, Konev could only draw two armies to pursue the fleeing enemy, while the remaining main force of the Front army marched towards Vienna.

From the map, we can see that the Germans are facing a total collapse, and on the battlefield of the Eastern Front, there is no place where the German army from the north to the south has not retreated again and again, and the entire front has been beaten to pieces. If it weren't for the fact that the Allies did not put enough pressure on the Germans on the Western Front in those months, the Germans would have collapsed on the Eastern Front long ago.

It wasn't until the end of August that the Allies conquered Caen, and they were completely pulled out of the sand. However, the fierce fighting of more than two months also exhausted the sharp spirit of the Allied landing in Normandy, and most of the troops were dragged to the bitter end, and almost all the strength to eat milk was used to defeat Caen. Anyway, during this period, Montgomery, who was in command of the Allied ground forces when he landed in Normandy, performed quite badly, and he was too stable and careless, and he was never able to open the situation, and he lacked creativity, exposing the shortcomings of the British command style to the fullest.

As a result, the Allies had to pause and recuperate after taking Caen, and they had to think carefully about what to do next. After learning about the fighting power of the German army, especially the power of the German armored forces, the Allied generals generally suffered from tiger and leopard phobia, and they really did not know how to defeat these elite German troops. Even most of them were worried about the danger of the flanks, fearing that the Germans would concentrate their armored forces from the flanks to make them look good.

I have to say that the Allies at this time still lacked a Barton, Montgomery, Bradley and others lacked Patton's enterprising imagination, and they preferred to play steadily and steadily. However, the tactics of front-line horizontal push have quite a great requirement for logistics and absolute superiority in troops. At this time, the Allies on the Western Front could do it, but the efficiency was too low! And they had to pay attention to efficiency, because the Soviet Red Army in the east was making rapid progress!

In order to seize the sphere of influence in Western Europe after the war, Britain and the United States naturally had to find some way. What's the solution? To put it simply, two aspects. One is militarily and the other political.

Let's talk about the military issue first, there may be comrades who want to ask, didn't you just say that the military stalemate cannot be broken? Yes, but it's a frontal battleground. Montgomery didn't have any other skills, but sometimes the level of brainstorming was not ordinarily high, such as the historical Operation Market Garden, which was actually an unsuccessful attempt by the Allies to end the war as soon as possible.

Now that the situation could not be opened on the frontal battlefield, Montgomery naturally thought of a crooked move, that is, to bypass the strong front of the German army and outflank the German army from the flank. How can you outflank it? Montgomery came up with two options, the first of which was to carry out another amphibious landing in the area northwest of Amiens, send a lean armored force to the rear of the German flank, and then take the German chrysanthemum from the flank and rear.

Let's not talk about the quality of this plan, let's talk about Montgomery's second plan, the second plan is a copy of his market garden operation that year, but the difference is that in addition to airdropping paratroopers in the Netherlands and other places, another amphibious landing will be carried out, and the lowland countries will be dealt with by the air-ground flank, and then directly from the Netherlands to the German mainland to smash the Yellow Dragon.

For his part, Montgomery preferred the second option, which in his opinion was the simplest and most straightforward. When the Germans were fighting on both the Eastern and Western Fronts, the Atlantic barrier on the Dutch front was an absolute empty nest. At this time, it can be said that it is easy to attack this weakest area, and if it succeeds, it will get the opportunity to directly enter the German mainland, and where was the Soviet Red Army at that time? Still eating ashes in Poland, Austria and Czechoslovakia!

At that time, Britain and the United States could not only monopolize all of Germany, but even grab parts of Poland, Austria, and Czechoslovakia. How nice is that!

It seems to be good, but it really just looks good. It is not impossible to carry out another amphibious landing, anyway, the Allied sea forces have an absolute advantage, and some are ships. But the problem is not without problems, first of all, the troops and supplies are a little insufficient, how long have the allies been preparing for Operation Overlord?

To achieve the kind of effect Montgomery designed, you can't land in the Netherlands with less than one or two army groups, right? Plus the paratroopers, that's a small 200,000 horses. Now the Allied forces on the front line in Normandy are a bottomless pit, and the logistics are all struggling, and it is no wonder that the logistics do not collapse if they go to the Netherlands.

Not only was it logistical, but more importantly, the Netherlands was too close to Germany proximity, which was both a plus and a disadvantage. It is close to the German mainland, so it can naturally attack quickly. But in the same way, the German army in Germany itself would react very quickly, and the Nazis would have played with their lives in the face of such an imminent threat, if they had drawn troops from the mainland or even from the east and west to besiege it?

You must know that just one Caen will pee on the Allies, and once the German armored forces come quickly and in time, these small 200,000 Allied troops must not be driven into the sea?

What's more, the Dutch front line is the area of focus of the German Air Force, in order to prevent the strategic bombing of the Allies, the radar and air defense network of this generation is quite dense, and a considerable air guard force is also arranged. Although the Allies had air superiority at the moment, this did not mean that the Germans were powerless to fight back. It would be devastating if the ships and transport planes in the ferry were discovered, how much damage were you Montgomery prepared to pay to complete this amphibious landing?

All in all, to the other high-ranking generals of Britain and the United States, this place in the Netherlands only looked beautiful, but it was actually a piece of cheese smeared with poison, and it was probably fatal to eat.

Most of the generals thought that an amphibious landing on the eastern part of Normandy, off the coastline of Amiens, might be a little more practical. The distance from Low Countries such as the Netherlands made it difficult for German troops to get over quickly. And it's relatively close to Normandy, so it's convenient for the two troops to echo each other, and the security is much higher!

Of course, this is not to say that landing in Amiens is on the agenda, because it is only a hypothesis and a proposal. There is still a considerable distance from implementation, first of all, we have to garrison troops, right? Secondly, you have to stock up on some supplies, right? Nothing how to fight?

Anyway, there are many, many problems in this pile, and they definitely can't be solved in a month or two. And now Britain and the United States really don't have so much time, according to the Soviet Red Army's advance efficiency, one or two months is enough to touch the edge of Germany, and even if it fights one or two more annihilation wars in the near future, then the German army on the Eastern Front is in danger of collapse. Who could stop the polar bears back then?

Therefore, in the eyes of the British and American high-level leaders, it seems that military means cannot save near fire from far water. Or maybe they're a little desperate for their generals. It took a month or two to break through Caen, and Nima is still so far from the German border, it will take the year of the monkey to get to Germany!

So the politicians came up with a new way, could they talk to the Germans? As soon as this idea came to mind, both Churchill and Roosevelt couldn't hold back a little. If a deal could be made with the Germans, let them release water on the Western Front, and go to the Eastern Front to block the Russians, then everything would be perfect.

For example, Liervan strongly advised Churchill to do this, and the female spy insidiously suggested: "We can shake hands with Germany like Lenin did in 1918, and let the Russians taste betrayal!" ”

Of course, Churchill did not object to this, but he also had certain doubts, because he knew very well that Hitler's madman probably would not act so obediently according to the British and American scripts. He knew very well that the guy was a complete mental patient, and he was proud that he would not grovel to Britain and the United States.

What's more, even if Hitler's madman was willing to comply, they would not be able to explain it to the people at home. Oh, you described the Nazis so evil that they shook hands in the blink of an eye? Nima, we paid such a heavy price before, and let the Germans go so easily?

Churchill knew very well that this matter was not easy to fool, and if he did not do it well, he would not only step down, but even take his political life. So you have to be cautious and you have to think twice. What's more, it's still unclear what the attitude of the Americans is, and it's necessary to probe the tone of the Americans, isn't it?

Roosevelt was also very troubled by this, in essence, he was willing to curb the expansion of the Soviet Union in Western Europe, but Roosevelt did not want to make too much of a stalemate with the Soviet Union. Especially in the case of such intrigues, once exposed, the consequences are difficult to predict. So his reply to Churchill is ambiguous:

"It is not advisable to make peace with Germany alone without the Soviet Union. This will detonate the contradictions between the East and the West and undermine the anti-fascist alliance that has just been formed, and there will be no way to explain it to either foreign or domestic countries...... But if we can strive for peace as soon as possible, such an effort is worth trying, and if we can get Germany to surrender as soon as possible, and at the same time maintain peace and stability between the East and the West, this is the best way I can hope for. ”

Obviously, Roosevelt meant that it was okay to negotiate peace with the Germans, but not to do it in a big way, and not to make it like Lenin and them in World War I, which would be difficult to explain. It is better to negotiate in secret, secretly, and by the time the USSR reacts, everything will be a foregone conclusion.

And Roosevelt also made it clear that Germany must surrender, as for whether it is a conditional surrender or an unconditional surrender, you can talk about it after you get in touch slowly, of course, Roosevelt also said, it is okay to do this, but it is also necessary to leave a little leftover cold burn for the Soviet Union as comfort, if there is no benefit left to the Soviet Union, then the Russians will definitely blow up the thorns.

Churchill was also satisfied with this reply, and he had the same view as Roosevelt, believing that in order to protect the interests of Western Europe, it was necessary to win the surrender of Germany as soon as possible, build Germany into a fortress, and firmly block the Slavic polar bears in Eastern Europe.

Churchill was soon instructed by MI6 to engage with the Germans, and Liervan soon took action, first flying to Switzerland to make secret contacts with the Nazi German ambassador to Switzerland. However, the results of this contact were mixed for Learvin.

The good news is that the Germans, especially the German top brassers, are becoming more and more aware of the seriousness of the situation and that another comprehensive and complete fiasco is about to befall them. For these German elites, there was no interest in ending with the Third Reich, and they would definitely ask for help if the ship sank. Therefore, Learwin was able to perceive that these elites did mean to surrender or negotiate peace.

But it was only a little gratifying thing, because Lierwin also deeply felt the helplessness in the hearts of these German elites, and the shadow of Hitler always hung over them, which made it impossible for these elites to get rid of Hitler's control and negotiate according to the ideas of Churchill and Roosevelt.

The German elite told Leerwin that the Führer wanted a decent peace, and that Germany could help the West resist the flood of red steel in the East, but that meant that the West would also tolerate the continued existence of the Third Reich.

For Roosevelt and Churchill, the Nazis had to step down and be liquidated, and failure to do so meant that there was no way to account to the British and American people. Even the Germans had to take responsibility for the war and had to pay full compensation for the damages...... (To be continued.) )