The way and method of thinking about problems by a madman like the Führer is by no means within the reach of normal people like us. So when the Führer found that he could not save Paulus from the encirclement by any means, he changed his way of thinking.

Since Paulus is doomed, it is time to let Paulus play his best role. In Hitler's eyes, Paulus's greatest role was to contain the main forces of the Red Army. If Paulus can hold out longer, then the main forces of the Red Army will be firmly nailed to the northeastern regions of Ukraine, and long-term combat and attrition will exhaust the combat effectiveness of these main forces of the Red Army.

And he, Germany's wisest and greatest Führer, would use this precious time to regroup, arm more armoured troops, and throw them into a deadly attack in the crucial weak direction of the Red Army, like Barbarossa, to once again crush the Bolsheviks. At that time, even if Paulus is finished, it doesn't matter.

Hitler soon began to analyze the strength of the Red Army on all fronts, Ukraine he did not dare to touch for the time being, there were too many Red Army units gathered here, and it was not a good choice to continue to launch a new offensive here.

Looking at Belarus, at first glance, the Führer also seems to be inadequate, for the simple reason that the Red Army here is also relatively strong. Then look at the Baltic direction? Is it possible to open a breakthrough from the Jews?

After some contemplation, Hitler also gave up, even if he hated the Jews very much, he had to admit that these inferior races in East Prussia were very tenacious, and it was definitely not a good choice to break through in that ghost place where the bunkers were full of trenches denser than roads.

After careful weighing, Hitler set his sights on Rokossovsky's defensive zone. On a long front, only Rokossovsky was the weakest. There were only two armies on the long front from Mogilev to Bryansk, and if they could decisively commit heavy troops, they could completely defeat Rokossovsky's Bryansk Front in one fell swoop. Occupy Bryansk and go north along the railway line. The front of the army is directed at Moscow, this road is clear!

Hitler quickly made up his mind, he was going to make a fuss in Bryansk for the second time, he quickly drew up an idea, and then gathered a group of royal staff officers Halder, Jodel, and Keitel in front of him.

"I need you to quickly draw up a complete course of action for the crushing of the enemy's Bryansk Front and the capture of Moscow through Bryansk. Be quick! Hitler commanded with some impatience, "Well, by the way, tell Paulus, I hope he will drag the main force of the Russian army as much as possible and buy time for our army to gather troops!" ”

Halder and Yodel looked at each other a little, for the simple reason that this so-called plan of action of the mustache was too whimsical to say anything else. Gather troops, and from where?

"Transfer the troops from Hungary and Romania over, and then recruit troops from the country, well, the Western Front can also be transferred, and the situation on the North African side is also very good, let the Italians support a little more!"

Halder and Yodel were speechless about this method of dismantling the east wall and making up for the west wall, and they could not say anything more. After all, the will of the Führer is irresistible. The only thing they could mention was one point: "The armored forces of the Eastern Front have suffered heavy losses and are going to make another large-scale breakthrough operation." Armored forces are indispensable, and now the number of tanks is seriously insufficient......"

Hitler "solved" this problem with a wave of his hand: "You go to Speer and Guderian, they are responsible for this problem!" ”

Well, are Speer and Guderian responsible? Not beat around the bush. Not really. As I said before, the German armored forces had a bunch of problems from design to production. In terms of technology, the output is not able to go up, and then when I arrive at the army, I find that the performance on paper is far from the actual ability, and in the end the reliability is still scum. All in all. Both Speer and Guderian felt that the armored corps was an invincible pit, and they really pitted the dead brothers.

"The production of tank No. 4 should be increased! Raise its priority! ”

This was the best solution that Guderian and Speer could come up with for the time being, but it did not satisfy the Führer. In the Führer's opinion, the No. 4 tank was no match for the Russians at all, so how could it be expected that a weapon with serious inadequacy in performance would turn the tide?

Guderian was tempted to tell the Führer: "Quantity is also a quality!" ”

For the higher-quality German armored forces, even the backward No. 4 tank, if used well, could make the Red Army suffer a big loss. And those black panthers and tigers, which have low production and extremely low reliability, really just look good!

Speer also said: "The only way to make up for the shortage of tanks on the Eastern Front in a short period of time is to produce more tanks No. 4, and only tank No. 4 can meet this demand." As for the Black Panther and the Tiger, both have a series of problems that need to be solved, and mass production cannot be achieved in a short period of time! ”

And what about Hitler's attitude? He was still not satisfied with this approach, but at the moment Speer and Guderian were both conclusive, and he could only give in, but at the same time he also made a request: "According to the reaction of the front, the No. 4 F2 tank equipped with a 43 times caliber 75 mm tank gun cannot effectively destroy the Russian improved T-35, and it is necessary to replace it with a more powerful tank gun!" ”

Speer subconsciously wanted to refuse, but Hitler immediately added: "If this is not possible, then I cannot agree to produce more tanks four!" ”

Speer and Guderian sighed inwardly at the same time, it was clear that it was their turn to compromise. There was no other way than to accept the Führer's proposal.

"What are you going to do? Exchange the fourth tank for a KWK36 tank gun? Guderian asked.

Speer smiled bitterly: "How is that possible?" KWK36 can't fit into tank No. 4, and it's not necessary! The current KWK40 tank gun is completely sufficient! ”

Guderian sneered: "But the Führer said it was not enough!" ”

"I know! I know! Speer was also very irritable, thought about him and said: "How about this, on the basis of the original KWK40 tank gun, the body tube is lengthened and the muzzle velocity is increased, which not only improves the armor-piercing power, but also does not need to be completely pushed to the basic design of the No. 4 F2 from the new!" ”

Guderian was surprised: "Is this okay?" ”

Speer nodded and said, "Extraordinary times must be used in extraordinary ways!" ”

But Guderian still had doubts: "But such an improvement is not immediately ready for production, right?" ”

"Of course." Speer suddenly smiled evilly and said: "So we can only take two steps, first propose a plan to replace a longer caliber tank gun to satisfy the Führer, and then maintain the production of the existing No. 4 F2 tank to meet the actual needs......"

Guderian was really surprised, because Speer's method was, to put it bluntly, a fool's trick, a sheep's head selling dog meat. However, for the time being, this is the only way to solve the urgent need. And there is only one way that is not a way!

Soon several major German manufacturers of tanks and tank guns received an order from Speer to immediately expand production of the No. 4 F2 tank and develop more advanced modifications, with the former being a higher priority.

It's just that the Germans have a good idea, but the reality is urgent, because there is really not much time left for them, how long can Paulus last in his current state? I'm afraid it's only a month to die, and even if I'm pessimistic, he will be finished in less than half a month.

Even if you count the rest time of the main forces of the Red Army after the annihilation of Paulus. A month or two at most, right? How many tanks can be produced in this time? You have to know that in 1942, Germany produced a total of less than 1,000 No. 4 tanks, which is more than 80 per month. Even if we double it, 160 vehicles a month will be skyrocketing. The Germans can make up a maximum of 329 vehicles in two months, and with the inventory of the previous months, it is estimated that 500 vehicles are enough! Of course. The premise is that Paulus can hold out that long.

It's just that for the Paulus cluster, Hitler's demands are nothing more than a dream. By the beginning of August, all the formations and sequences of the Paulus cluster had been shattered, and the ammunition was basically exhausted, and the food had long since run out, and even drinking water had become a major problem. In such cases, unless it is a god. Otherwise, how can you last for two months?

What's more, as the encirclement compresses step by step, Ubolevich will not give Paulus and Hitler two months. When the main force arrived on the battlefield, Ubolevich on the one hand continued to bombard the German troops in the encirclement with artillery fire, and on the other hand, he also asked the air force to send bombers and attack aircraft to repeatedly sweep the enemy in the encirclement.

In his words: "I'm going to keep the Germans without a moment of respite." Let them even pee on the ground to solve it! ”

In this unreasonable frenzied shelling and bombardment, the morale of the German army was quickly disintegrated, and German soldiers continued to surrender or simply cut themselves off. On August 9, Paulus, who could not hold on, sent a desperate telegram to Hitler, asking the merciful Führer to allow the desperate German soldiers to surrender.

Paulus's telegram infuriated Hitler, and the Führer was once again furious, calling Paulus a soft-egg who lacked courage, and once again replied emphatically: "Surrender is strictly forbidden, and any surrender and flight must be dealt with decisively, and if discipline can only be maintained by shooting these cowards, then I authorize you to do so!" ”

In the face of the unreasonable Führer, Paulus despaired, and so did the German soldiers in the encirclement, who could not see a little hope, but could only be destroyed in despair!

Marcus. Klingberg was so exhausted that he barely left the operating room during the final stages of the battle, operating one operation after another with barely respite. He couldn't remember how many surgeries he had performed, or even how he got off the operating table, and when he came back to his senses, he was already lying on the hospital bed, and according to Schiller, another military doctor who had also come to serve in the Red Army, "Man, you slept for three days and three nights, and the chief medic was terrified!" ”

Klingberg was a little incredulous, he couldn't imagine that he had slept for so long, but there was no need for Schiller to deceive him. Klingberg felt a little embarrassed, he had wasted so much precious time, how many wounded people could be saved in three days and three nights!

He struggled to get up from the hospital bed that had been converted from a marching bed, but just after exerting himself he found that his whole body was sore, and his two arms and legs were as if they were filled with lead.

Schiller pushed Klingberg back into bed, shook his head, and said, "My friend, you must be on bed rest now, you almost died suddenly three days ago!" ”

Klingberg couldn't believe it, he had only heard of or read about death by hard work before. But I don't really believe that people can really be tired to death. So he looked at Schiller with wide eyes, his face full of disbelief.

"Don't believe it. I'm telling the truth, you were the last one we rescued three days ago! You fool doesn't know how to take care of your body! ”

Klingberg was a little convinced, but he still didn't want to just sit in bed, and after the intense work, he felt uncomfortable when he relaxed.

"I can't help it," Schiller smiled. "The Chief Medic ordered you to stay in bed, well, by the way, I have to inform the Chief Medic that you're awake."

"Why?" Klingberg was a little puzzled, he thought he was just an out-and-out little man, an ordinary doctor, but a little tired, as for alarming the chief of the military?

"Why?" Schiller laughed, patted Klingberg on the shoulder and said, "Dude." You're famous! Now the whole Soviet Union is singing the praises of your great deeds! ”

Klingberg pointed to his nose and asked incredulously, "Me?" Famous? Or great deeds? What am I great? ”

Schiller smiled even more cheerfully, he put his hands on Klingberg's shoulders, and said happily: "Do you know how many surgeries you have performed this week, how many people have been saved?" ”

To tell the truth, Klingberg really lost his impression, and later he was in a state of mechanical work, where do you remember to count.

"I guess you don't remember either!" Schiller sighed: "So to speak." That week, on average, you had to do seventeen surgeries a day. You've saved a hundred and nine lives! ”

This number is a bit staggering, because surgery is not as easy as you think, and an operation can take about an hour, or 17 operations a day, which almost means that you have to stand in front of the operating table for 20 hours, and it is seven days in a row. It's really robots can't stand it. The most important thing is that Klingberg performed a total of 119 surgeries and succeeded in 109, which is simply amazing.

Schiller said "The Russians are stunned by you, they have discussed and studied. Think your exceptional work deserves to be written about. For this purpose, they have applied for a medal for you, and it is said that the specifications are very high! ”

Klingberg didn't feel much about this, because he didn't come for the medal in the first place, he just wanted to do a little bit for this war, for those warriors who faced the Nazis' butcher's knives. As for the medal, he felt that he was not entitled to a medal as a military doctor hiding in the rear, and that the medal should be awarded to those soldiers who faced Nazi fire.

Yes, Klingberg did not feel at all great and noble, he always thought that he was just doing his duty. Do I need to be rewarded for doing my duty? Not needed!

However, what Klingberg did not expect was that the Soviet side did not think that his outstanding contribution was just doing his duty. A military doctor almost died of sudden exhaustion, which is already of representative significance, not to mention that this doctor also saved a lot of lives, and he was also a foreigner who volunteered to serve in the Red Army.

In fact, Klingberg's outstanding contributions attracted the attention of the Soviet Politburo, and after hearing about his deeds, Trotsky first instructed: "Dr. Klinginberg is a witness and witness of the great friendship between the Soviet Union and the Republic of East Prussia, and he has interpreted with practical actions what is the spirit of internationalism, and how great is the tireless and selfless work of a foreigner to defend the Soviet Union!" ”

Trotsky immediately instructed the Kursk Front to rescue Klingberg, to use the best medical equipment and doctors for consultation, and to send a special plane to transport whatever was lacking!

Klingsberg's condition is actually not so complicated, sudden death is really dangerous, but Klingberg is undoubtedly lucky, he happened to be in the operating room when he became ill, and he was surrounded by experienced medical staff, after an emergency rescue, he was out of danger, in fact, as long as he didn't play with his life again, it was not a big problem.

In fact, after two days of observation, Klingberg was fine, otherwise he would have had to be airlifted to Moscow for the best treatment, given the importance of the Soviet Politburo.

Trotsky was overjoyed to learn that Klingberg was out of danger, and once again instructed that the glorious deeds of Dr. Klinginberg should be studied and that the whole Soviet Union should be called upon to learn from him.

This instruction was soon implemented, and while Klingberg was lying in his hospital bed, his glorious deeds filled the newspapers of the entire Soviet Union, and most of the front pages were about him, and for a time he became a household name "star".

Of course, this was only a small matter, and the Central Committee of the CPSU soon adopted a proposal to commend Klingberg, and the congress unanimously agreed that Klingberg should be awarded the title of Honorary Citizen of the USSR and Hero of the Soviet Union, the Order of the Gold Star and the Order of Lenin, and they would be awarded as soon as he came to his senses!

Klingberg was stunned, he did not expect to receive such a high commendation, at first he thought that he would only receive a Lenin medal at most. Who would have thought that what was waiting for him turned out to be the top medal of honor of the USSR, this surprise was too big! (To be continued.) )

PS: Bow and thank you to Chuan Liu Hua Gui, Zhi Angel, LKSOS, GB831027 and Comrade Juventus!