At 5 o'clock in the evening, there was still silence in the German positions on the southern outskirts of Moscow, and Stalin had stipulated that the time had come for Zhukov to launch a final counterattack, but it was clear that Zhukov's group did not carry out this order, and did not even think of opening fire to deal with it.

At dinner, the fighting did not break out, both sides were preparing their own evening meals, the Germans were much better than the Soviets, and some troops were even given dehydrated peas and dried vegetable leaves. Everyone talked and laughed in their trenches, rejoicing in the increasingly comfortable life on the front line.

There was no decent food on the Soviet side, at least in places like the Zhukov cluster, which were far away from Moscow. Most of the soldiers had only a few poor "columns" for food, and a few troops had only some moldy expired food to feed on.

In the afternoon, the Germans concentrated all kinds of artillery, and used a full 60 Fiterriy rocket launchers to carry out a fire raid on the positions of the Soviet defenders, and the artillery fire in the sky lasted like a torrential rain for half an hour before stopping, and some of the Soviet positions were completely destroyed by this round of heavy artillery fire, so that finally Zhukov had to give the order to abandon these places that had changed beyond recognition.

"But, Comrade Marshal Zhukov...... In this way, instead of carrying out the order to attack, we abandoned part of the defensive positions, if Comrade Stalin had known...... We're in a dangerous situation. "The chief of staff pinched his teacup and said to his superiors, the last hope of the Soviet Red Army," Marshal Zhukov said.

Zhukov looked at the map of the theater of operations that he had studied countless times, and watched one after another the place names he had memorized in his heart become occupied by the Germans, and his heart was even more sad. He pointed to the stout arrows on the map that represented the German troops, and sighed helplessly: "I said a long time ago, counterattacking will only lead us to a faster demise." Using our limited forces to hold back the enemy in urban street battles is what we should be doing now. ”

"But, Comrade Marshal, Stalin's last envoy has left us an ultimatum, telling us that if we do not attack tonight, Stalin will send someone to replace us and arrest us and hang us. The chief of staff leaned back in his chair and spoke.

Zhukov laughed out loud, and after laughing twice, he turned to his chief of staff and said in a very witty tone: "Who will replace me? If Comrade Stalin could find a replacement for me in his group of rubbish, he would have had us arrested two days ago." Who's going to be in my position at this time? I'm afraid no one wills, right?"

Sure enough, in the underground bunker in Moscow, far away, Stalin was angry at Zhukov's refusal to carry out his orders, and in front of a group of generals and officials, Stalin threw his beloved pipe, and then lashed out at Zhukov, like Chuikov, a wolf without conscience.

"Bastard, this is a betrayal of me, a betrayal of the great Motherland and his oath! Why didn't he attack? Does he want to watch me killed in Moscow?" Stalin slapped the table and shouted to a group of military advisers and officials after confirming the news that Zhukov had not led the remaining remnants of his army to attack the Germans.

"Comrade Stalin, this is Zhukov's personal betrayal of the entire Soviet Union! I suggest that he should be immediately stripped of his rank of Marshal of the Soviet Union, and then find someone to take over the troops under his command and take these troops to attack the German army and relieve the pressure on Moscow on the front!" A military adviser looked at Stalin, who was already in a trance in front of him, and finally opened his mouth to suggest.

Not all people in high positions are really capable people, and sometimes the only thing they know about these small people who have taken advantage of special times to reach the top is how to frame others. As soon as the situation becomes out of their control and prediction, they are thrown into disarray, forgetting even the most basic principles in panic.

"So, you're going to take Zhukov's place?" Vatutin, who had been standing on Stalin's left-hand side, was obviously really capable of it, and when he heard this suggestion, he raised his eyebrows, and stared at the fool who was talking nonsense, and wanted to kick him over and shut his mouth forever.

"I ...... Of course not, but there are still many high-level generals......" The general also knew that he had said the wrong thing, and his voice became smaller and smaller, but he still did not want to lose face in front of Stalin, and finally quietly bumped against Vatutin, and then closed his mouth in amusement.

Before Vatutin could speak further, his words were interrupted by Stalin. Now the nominal leader of the entire Soviet Union is in a trance, and speaks with an accent from his homeland, and if he is not clear, he must listen carefully to be able to distinguish it: "General Vatutin, do you mean that Zhukov cannot be replaced in his troops? This is the act of standing a mountain! This is treating the troops of our motherland as if they were his own private army!"

At such a time, if he still deprives his hat, can it really be said that he can really change the situation of the war by hanging Zhukov, who can fight well, and then replacing him with a fool? Vatutin glanced at Stalin, who was angry, and for a moment questioned whether his choice was correct. He didn't know how long he would be able to hold out, or what reason he could find in this group of people who had already been defeated.

"Attack! Attack! Zhukov's troops have launched a counterattack in the southwest!" An officer glanced at General Vatutin, whose face was already gray, like Li Kui, and felt that the atmosphere in the room was very wrong, and quickly said: "Zhukov's troops have just begun to attack!"

Everyone looked at this inconspicuous little character in the room, as if waiting for him to continue speaking: "Before the start of this meeting, General Zhukov finally tried his best to mobilize the strength of four regiments and decided to launch an attack in the southwest corner of Moscow!

His haste gave Vatutin a glimmer of hope, and he quickly stood up and said: "Comrade Stalin, Comrade Marshal Zhukov did not refuse your order at all, but because the troops were too scarce to launch a counterattack on time. We'll wait a few more hours and we'll hear the good news of his counterattack. ”

"Then let's wait for him to attack! at least he's always on the front line, and he's a little more familiar with the environment than we are. The general, who was trembling with fear from Vatutin's eyes, quickly echoed and said, "Let's wait another hour...... No, wait two more hours! If he doesn't attack, then discuss the removal and trial of him!"

If you really dare to remove Zhukov, it is possible that the army will mutini immediately! When the German army enters the city, you and I will die without a place to be buried! Vatutin swallowed this sentence, because Stalin on the other side had already opened his mouth: "Very good! Let's follow this plan!"

With a few hours of delay, Vatutin naturally had a way to deceive Stalin. When he returned to his headquarters, he immediately ordered all artillery fire to be fired again, and to engage the Germans in another artillery duel on a limited scale. He wanted to use an offensive operation that did not exist at all, and the results that did not exist, to cover up the fact of disobedience for Zhukov.

An hour later, Stalin and his men heard artillery fire from a distant land, and the sound of the fire and explosions in the night made Stalin feel refreshed. He seemed to have forgotten his order to hang Zhukov, and telegraphed Zhukov, who had not launched any attack, for a reason that was laughable, and he praised Zhukov for launching the attack on time, repelling the German offensive and turning the tide of the whole of Moscow.

In this attack, a whole battalion of Moscow officers fell in the path of the charge, all poor people who were crushed by despair and reality, and voluntarily chose to sacrifice their bodies for their homeland. These officers led the charge and fought so stubbornly that they forced part of the German army back to the vicinity of the Vegach cinema.

"I think Stalin is crazy, why should he reward me, a sinner who did not obey orders?" Zhukov smiled bitterly and threw the telegram of praise on his desk, complaining to the chief of staff beside him: "He is judging the current situation in the bunker only by his voice and a bunch of fools, this is simply a joke with his own life!"

"I think this is his last resort to comfort himself. The chief of staff looked at the telegram from the Kremlin office, and then put it on Zhukov's desk: "He is now more willing to believe lies, to believe in those combat scenarios that are simply impossible...... I don't want to believe the truth we say, and I don't want to believe that we are still fighting for this country until the last minute. ”

"Konev has just called and said that he has been forced to retreat another four kilometers in the southern zone, and we need not worry any more about it, and in two days at most you will be able to move your headquarters to Moscow. The chief of staff, with a hint of sarcasm, said to Zhukov.

Vasilevsky's troops were also pushed back by Guderian's forces in the flanks and rear, and the defensive operations in the rear of Moscow were also not going well - Moscow was now almost encircled, and the Moscow defense zone and Zhukov's group totaled more than 900,000 troops.