In Moscow's Kremlin, in a hall that had been put away with great difficulty, the walls hung maps of the changing fronts of the entire Soviet and German armies. Stalin was standing in front of the map with Vatutin and a few other generals, analyzing and summarizing the entire battle situation.

This analysis is carried out once a day, as they are already only a short 15 kilometers away from the line. Little by little, the German infantry was approaching the outskirts of Moscow, and some howitzers with a decent range were a daily reminder to everyone in Moscow that the German army was already not far ahead of them.

A huge conference table was in the center of the hall, strewn with documents from a few days ago and unimportant and outdated telegrams. During the last bombardment, some of the bombs dropped by the Germans hit the Kremlin, destroying half of the building, which had been built since the days of Tsarist Russia.

The broken glass windows had just been repaired, and there were still a few leaky windows here yesterday. Of course, this is a room used by a group of men, so after only a day, it is already a mess with users.

"Comrade Stalin. Pointing to the undulating hundreds of kilometers of defense lines in the south, Vatutin said to Stalin: "I have to remind you once again that even if we stabilize the situation in the Moscow theater of operations, the Germans can make an immediate breakthrough here." ”

"Yes, the great leader, Comrade Stalin. Another general also nodded in agreement, and then gestured twice with his hand on the Volga defense line and said: "From the Volga defense line to the newly occupied Voronezh, in fact, our defense force is very weak, if the German army solves Moscow and shortens its defense area, it will definitely draw up forces and threaten the ...... of our industrial area Chelyabinsk."

"So we are not giving an inch here, we are contributing to the war in the whole country!" Before Stalin could speak, a general who was anxious to express his loyalty jumped out, slapped the table and said to Vatutin and other generals: "Every day we insist here is to buy more time for the war against Germany on a national scale!"

Glancing at the subordinate in front of him who dared to stand up and build momentum for himself at such a time, Stalin was obviously very satisfied with this feeling of being sought after and obeyed, and he signaled the general to take the lead and not speak, as if from this action he had recovered the time when he dared not obey every call: "Let's not mention this, Comrade Vatutin, I heard a few days ago that Comrade Marshal Zhukov's troops are heading north, where are they now?"

"The great leader, Comrade Stalin, the rearguard troops of the Zhukov cluster have crossed the Sosna and reached Livny. They were ordered to lay out a defensive line along the Sosna River in Livne to prevent the German forward units biting in their rear from continuing the pursuit. Vatutin knew better than Stalin what kind of impact Zhukov's army would have on the defense of Moscow as a whole, so he devoted all his energy except for the deployment of defenses to keep an eye on the progress of Zhukov's cluster northward.

"The Germans have completely encircled Kursk, and the second Battle of Kursk looks like a German victory. Another Soviet general was somewhat reluctant to explain the situation in Kursk: "Yesterday the Germans broke through the Higray Line and occupied the city. ”

He did not dare to give a detailed account of the entire battle of Kursk, let alone tell Stalin that a few hours earlier, the Germans had occupied the entire territory of Kursk, except for the encircled Soviet troops. Moreover, part of the German army has already entered the southern part of the Lipetsk region, captured many towns and is continuing to advance north. They were only a few days away from encircling Moscow, a time that was conservatively estimated in the presence of Soviet resistance.

At the same time that the German army increased the length of its own front, the Soviet Union was also forced to increase the length of its own defense line, and the German army now still has surplus troops to fill this long defense line, and the Soviet army has almost run out of oil and lamps, and there is really no capital to resist the German encirclement on all sides.

"If Guderian's forces continue north, then we will be forced to add another southern Moscow defense zone. One of Vatutin's generals pointed to a large blank area under the map of Moscow and said to Stalin: "Great leader, Comrade Stalin, in this way, it is difficult to conclude how many of the troops brought back by Comrade Zhukov can be withdrawn for the defense of Moscow." ”

"However, there is no doubt that the soldiers brought back by Marshal Zhukov were elite who had been tested in battle. "Vatutin had to stand up and say a few kind words for Zhukov. If a year ago, if he had the opportunity to kill an opponent in front of Stalin, and then gain Stalin's trust himself, Vatutin would have been more than happy to do so. But now, those chairs that used to seem to be high and powerful are no different from the guillotine. At this time, it would be a complete fool to frame each other and then fight for those illusory powers.

Therefore, when his subordinates slandered Zhukov, he hurriedly stood up and explained to his nominal superiors: "Comrade Stalin, you must know that the troops in our hands lack combat experience, and the troops brought back by Comrade Marshal Zhukov can effectively make up for the shortcomings of the Moscow defenders in this regard...... This will definitely double our combat effectiveness. ”

Stalin nodded his head when he heard this, and then motioned for the others to leave the room, and all the generals were relieved, and everyone picked up some of the materials and documents they had brought with them, and walked quickly out of the huge conference room. Outside the window, you can see that a corner of the Kremlin is about to collapse, and soldiers and civilians are slowly clearing the rubble left behind by the collapsed building.

"Boom!" there was a very clear sound of artillery in the distance, which was the sound of the Germans bombarding the defensive positions arranged on the outskirts of Moscow with artillery, and shells often entered the city of Moscow, exploding on the streets or buildings, causing panic among the citizens and causing many casualties. It's become a fortified city on the front lines, and everything is no longer safe.

Looking out the window, at the smoke rising from the far distance behind the building, Stalin said nothing, and behind him Vatutin could only stand there, following the silence. The corners of the first floors of nearby buildings were already filled with sandbags, barbed wire fences were pulled on the streets, and the soldiers in the barricades were carrying guns, and the atmosphere looked so serious.

"These days, the Germans have not carried out large-scale air raids...... Stalin suddenly said, to Vatutin behind him, "we don't have the energy to repair our cities, but you have to pay attention to the reaction of the civilians." Waterworks and power plants should also be protected. ”

"Rest assured, great leader, Comrade Stalin!" replied Vatu Kinrizheng: "I have already dropped the most reliable troops in the Moscow defense zone at the waterworks, and the most loyal troops at the power plant. I am not so worried about these places, but about the German army entering the city from the front. ”

Stalin nodded, originally he didn't ask too much about these questions, but the news of Zhukov's return made his heart ignite a glimmer of hope, so he left Vatutin alone today and asked about the front-line arrangement.

The frontal defense line of the Soviet army was quite well arranged, and it was precisely because of this that it blocked the onslaught of the infantry of Army F and Army A. The Soviets mobilized a large number of civilians to build their defensive lines, allowing them to dig countless anti-tank trenches in a short time, artificially turning the plain in front of Moscow into a rugged obstacle zone.

Moreover, the Soviet Union began to equip itself with its own "new weapons" on a large scale, including anti-tank guns and self-propelled anti-tank guns. These weapons helped the Soviet troops in the Moscow direction to temporarily stabilize their own lines and stop the frantic German offensive.

Of course, the German troops were not waiting for the Soviets to strengthen themselves. Army Group F advanced 10 kilometers southwest of Moscow and advanced the front to the level of Army Group A. And Army Group A steadily advanced, advancing its forward troops to a distance of only 15 kilometers from Moscow in one fell swoop.

The western part of Moscow has been bombarded by German artillery and reduced to rubble, many buildings have collapsed, and the streets have been buried in rubble and rubble, becoming a natural defense line for soldiers. Of course, Stalin had never visited the western part of the city, so as the supreme leader of the Soviet Union, he did not yet know that nearly a fifth of his capital had become unrecognizable.

"When Zhukov returns to Moscow, help me make arrangements, I will personally go to meet him. Stalin turned his head and looked at Vatutin: "As a marshal, he has lived up to my trust in him, so I must also repay his loyalty to me with the highest treatment! If we win this battle, you, he, will be the hero of the Soviet Union!"

"I understand! Comrade Stalin! I'm going to prepare! On the outskirts of the southern district of the city, I'm preparing a guard of honor of 1,000 people, and I invite you to review it with Comrade Marshal. Hearing this, Vatutin quickly proposed a good-looking ritual process to Stalin.

"Go get ready. Stalin nodded and agreed to Vatutin's arrangement: "If every Soviet general had been as loyal and capable as you and Comrade Zhukov, maybe we would not have encountered the situation we have today." ”――

Today's two watches, thank you for your love and understanding of the dragon spirit, the dragon spirit will definitely make up for the arrears!