"Comrade Marshal! In two days, we strengthened some of the defensive lines along the streets, dug a lot of anti-tank trenches...... However, the troops are short of ammunition, and the Moscow Self-Defense Army, which was originally numerous, is now on the verge of disbanding, and the number of troops has dropped even more than expected. "Inside the command, a Soviet staff officer stood in front of Marshal Zhukov and reported on some recent events.

After Zhukov took over all the defense of Moscow, he ordered the complete elimination of the old, weak, sick and disabled in the Moscow Self-Defense Army. His order was approved by almost everyone, because the self-defense forces not only wasted a lot of valuable ammunition and weapons, but also in most cases failed to complete the assigned tasks.

It's not so much that they can't complete the task, but to be more precise, there are almost no tasks assigned to these so-called "troops" at all. The command of the Self-Defense Forces is not compatible with the regular command of the army at all, so most of the improvised Self-Defense Corps, or Self-Defense Army Battalions, are idle in the positions they were formed, and when the German army fights, they will fend for themselves.

The only function of these troops was to draw on the maps shown to Stalin and to use when the comrade leader showed his commanding talents. At least a month ago, Stalin was very fond of this "game", commanding "dozens" of Red Army divisions to launch a counterattack against the Germans and "closely" recapture Smolensk.

Of course, the game ended in the end, and the troops of the dozens of divisions that had been put together on a makeshift basis not only failed to recapture Smolensk and Kursk, but even the German offensive could not withstand it, and they were wiped out in a hail of bullets. The remaining more than 100 combat units of the various Moscow Self-Defense Forces were idle at that time, trapped in the streets of Moscow, unable to receive orders and provisions.

"It can only be said that the Germans still want this city, and if they really want to destroy it, they won't give us two days......" Zhukov smiled bitterly, he was very ashamed of the situation before him, because his troops relied on surrendered civilians to block the enemy's advance.

However, he had no way to change the current situation, because his troops were only 100 tanks of various types scattered in the streets and alleys of Moscow, and the troops in his hands had become a dream that he did not dare to hope for, let alone make any counterattacks.

"A German envoy urged us to lay down our arms and surrender unconditionally. He said that after 10 hours, the Germans would close the passage for most civilians to surrender, and then the war would continue as usual, and we could lose large swathes of the city at once. The staff officer looked at Zhukov, who was rapidly emaciating, and spoke.

A large number of Moscow's self-defense forces left the "garrisoned" area and surrendered, leaving the already overcrowded Moscow encirclement deserted. Hundreds of thousands of civilians have left their houses and underground bunkers and bomb shelters, and the barricades are empty, some with no one left.

In some streets, the surrenderers were a little more careful, leaving bedding and scraps of food to allow the retreating main force to get some supplies. However, most of the people were afraid that they would not be able to get food immediately on the German side, so they took almost everything with them. So all that was left for the Soviet soldiers was an empty room, as well as garbage and rags that could not be taken away.

"Several division commanders of the 1st Guards Front have just left, and they have all come to apply for food supplies and ammunition supplies...... Everyone took some ammo with them, but we really couldn't find any extra food. Seeing that Zhukov did not speak, the staff officer continued to talk about the problems at hand, each of which was capable of making the commander of the army desperate, so Zhukov's face was gloomy and terrifying.

But in the end, Zhukov still shrugged his shoulders and said to his chief of staff: "I really can't find food to replenish them now, let them figure it out on their own." Look in the ruins, or in a shop where no one is around...... Someone is fine. ”

The chief of staff looked at this Soviet marshal who didn't have a good way, and he really didn't have the heart to say what he wanted to say. He really wanted to tell his marshal that everyone had already thought of all the methods he said, and everyone had gone in and found every gap that could be drilled into. Rats have become a luxury to improve their lives, and some troops have even begun to eat war horses and drink rain from their boots to get by.

"Comrade Marshal...... I still think we should talk to the German envoy......" The chief of staff was silent for a while, and then finally said what he had been thinking in his heart for many days: "At this time the war has been fought, someone should put an end to it." ”

"It's time for someone to put an end to it...... But this person is not me. Zhukov looked his gaze in the direction of the ruins of the Kremlin and muttered slowly: "I am the one who fought the war until now, so I can only continue to fight until I die...... You have a lot of time to wrap it up!"

"Boom!" The next morning, the Germans launched an attack very punctually, just like at an ordinary moment two days ago, one after another large-caliber shells fell in the ruins where the Soviet defenders were hiding. The silent rubble and rubble were once again churned by the huge explosion, flying into the air dozens of meters high, forming black pillars of smoke one after another.

In the middle of the empty barricades, Afdjey sat on two empty ammunition boxes with his rifle in his arms, listening to the German shells falling in the distance, the loud sound of explosions, and from time to time dust fell from the top of his head and landed on the military jacket he was wearing.

The young follower eventually chose to leave, after all, most people are not willing to accompany a declining country to the end of their lives. He looked through the narrow shooting hole, looking at the dark clouds in the distance that had been kicked up by cannonballs and obscuring most of the sky, and suddenly squeezed out a bitter smile - this was the path he had chosen for revenge, and there was no reason to complain that others had not stayed with him.

At the entrance behind the barricades, there was a sudden sound of footsteps, and a row of rifles was placed at his feet, and Afgei, who had loaded each rifle, flattened the rifle in his arms and turned around to aim in the direction of the entrance. A young Soviet Red Army soldier poked his head out, glanced at Avdjey inside, and then was stunned for a moment and asked: "We were ordered to stay here, and you are a member of the Self-Defense Army?"

"Yes!" Putting down his arms, Avdjey replied to the two Soviet soldiers who came in: "I am the commander of an infantry regiment of the Moscow Self-Defense Forces stationed here, but unfortunately I am the only one left here." ”

The young soldier smiled, pointed to himself and another soldier beside him, and made a joke: "Hello, Comrade Regiment Commander, now your reinforcements have arrived, there is a whole infantry battalion!"

The two of them were lucky to come from an infantry battalion, and in this infantry battalion, only the two of them were left alive in the battle. So the two of them are just an infantry battalion on paper, and this is the real reality of the Soviet troops in the Moscow encirclement.

"The Germans are coming!" Avdjey was not in the mood to joke at the firing hole, and after the regular troops had been defeated, he soon saw the dense German soldiers on the other side of the street, following behind the tanks. The other party was advancing cautiously, and he really didn't have a good chance to fire.

The young soldier behind him took out a small half of the chocolate candy with German printed on it from his pocket, looked at the wrapping paper for a moment, then he ripped open the package, stuffed the remaining small piece into his mouth, and lay down on the edge of the other shooting hole with his weapon in his hand. He remembered the Ukrainian soldier who gave him this piece of chocolate candy that day, and remembered the incoherent conversation that day.

"Whew!" he didn't have to be sentimental for long, he snapped the rifle in his hand, and the German soldiers on the opposite side heard the gunfire and fell down in large numbers, the machine guns on the opposing tanks roared, and the bullets crackled on the barricades. Avjey was forced to retract from the flying bullets, and after dropping his rifle, he took the rifle with good ammunition handed to him by another Soviet soldier.

"Boom!" the German tank did not have the habit of letting the other side show heroism, and a grenade from the main gun burst out, hitting the barricade with only three people. The dust kicked up by the huge explosion poured into the barricades, and the flying shrapnel made the people inside instantly unable to resist.

Buzzing in his ears, Afdjey saw that the barricade shooting hole in front of him was gone, and the cannonball opened a huge hole directly between the two shooting holes, and he touched his stomach and found that his palm was full of blood. Then, in the midst of a whirling sensation, Afdjey saw a German soldier jump into the barricade where he was with a weapon.

"Ah......h Afdjey shuddered from the impact of the bullet, then hung his arm reluctantly, and said no more.

The German soldier who fired looked away, walked over to the body of another dead Soviet soldier, saw the chocolate candy wrapper swaying in the rubble, stunned for a moment, then leaned down and closed the eyes that had lost their light on the corpse's face.