Bismarck

"Tanks! Come out!" Yang Yongfu waved his hands fiercely and even shouted loudly to the back.

Along with the rumble of the tank tracks and the roar of the engine, the thick barrel of the 85mm tank gun and the T-34 tank's not-so-heavy but solid front armor re-extended from the tank bunker! On the other side of the street, Shura's tank also appeared at the gate of the supply and marketing cooperative warehouse!

The two tanks fired revengeful fire at the same time, aiming at the fascist bandits on the opposite side!

…………

After leaving behind the wreckage of three tanks, the Germans retreated once again without any armor or weapons. And because the wreckage of the three tanks basically blocked the opposite intersection, it seemed that the Germans would not launch an attack until the tanks were towed away.

The retaliatory bombardment still caused smoke and dust to rise, but in front of the heroic Soviet soldiers and civilians, it seemed somewhat timid.

Although the infantry comrades suffered heavy losses in order to repel this attack!

In Yang Yongfu's eyes, even the flying snow could not cover up the more than ten newly appeared holes on the walls on both sides of this street that were still emitting smoke, the blood that was sprinkled on the Soviet flags, and the souls of those sacrificed heroes!

Thanks to the sacrifices made by our infantry comrades, we were able to hold our position and repel the German attack!

However, the tank shelter that I chose also needs to be moved to another location - now, while the German devils are not attacking for the time being?

After taking another look at the dozens of militiamen from the Tula Workers' Regiment who had just arrived, Yang Yongfu turned off the safety of his submachine gun and got back into his tank. However, just as he put on his headphones and grabbed the radio microphone to command everyone to change positions, he unexpectedly saw that his gunner and loader in the tank had excited expressions on their faces. And in his headphones, he also heard Shura's excited voice:

"Sergey, Sergey! Did you know? Comrade Stalin is reviewing the troops on Red Square! Comrade Stalin's speech is still being played on Radio Channel 3!!"

"Huh?!" Yang Yongfu was stunned.

I just remembered that today is a special day for this Big Brother!

November 7, 1942 was the 25th birthday of the Union of Soviet Socialist Republics!

Although he was not a Soviet, as a red comrade who had fought side by side with him, he fully recognized this day...

Isn’t my real “home” in the far East also people with the same ideals working hard on the front lines of the Anti-Japanese War for the same goal?

With his thoughts racing, Yang Yongfu said, "Let's move our position now" while turning on the FM switch of the radio.

Then, in his headphones, he heard a rhythmic and resolute voice...

"... Comrades, Red Army and Red Navy men, commanders and political workers, men and women workers, collective farm men and women workers, intellectual workers, brothers and sisters behind enemy lines who are temporarily oppressed by the German bandits, our glorious men and women guerrillas who are destroying the rear of the German invaders!"

"...Comrades! The whole world is watching you and regards you as a force that can destroy the German invaders' bandit army. The enslaved peoples of all European countries under the yoke of the German invaders are watching you and regard you as their liberators. The great mission of liberation has fallen on your shoulders. You must not fail in this mission!"

"... The war you are waging is a war of liberation, a just war. Let the heroic images of our great ancestors - Alexander Nevsky, Dimitri Donskoy, Kuzma Minin, Dimitri Pozharsky, Alexander Suvorov, Mikhail Kutuzov - inspire you in this war! Let the victorious banner of the great Lenin guide you! - Completely crush the German invaders! Destroy the German occupation forces!..."

Listening to the resolute speech, thinking about the future of the motherland, Yang Yongfu, who was sitting on the tank and moving his position while still distracted, suddenly thought of a song that had just become popular in his own army a few days ago.

It was a song written by a fellow Red Army soldier, Lieutenant Mark Lisyansky, and published in a magazine:

(BGM: "My Moscow", author: Lieutenant Mark Lisyansky)

I have traveled all over the world,

Living in caves (PS: anti-cannon caves), climbing trenches, and crossing forests;

Twice I was nearly buried alive.

And also experienced separation and sorrow,

But I will always be proud of you,

Keep saying these words everywhere:

Moscow, my dear capital,

You live in my heart forever.

I love the rustling of the trees on the outskirts of the city,

I also love the big bridge over the canal;

I love to take a walk in the Red Square in the city.

Listen to the Kremlin bells ringing.

Everywhere people are singing for you,

Whether in the city or in the village:

Moscow, my dear capital,

You live in my heart forever!

I can't forget the fighting in the autumn of that year.

The tanks roared, the bayonets flashed, the guns roared;

Can't forget the twenty-eight good men,

Died on the battlefield for the motherland.

Although the Japanese soldiers are as vicious as jackals,

How can I force you to surrender!

Moscow, my dear capital,

You live in my heart forever!

On that day, the whole nation sang together.

The victory flag flies over the city walls.

Congratulations, you are standing strong.

Congratulations, and may your glory last forever!

We are all forever proud of you,

I wish you long life, forever!

Moscow, my dear capital,

You will always live in my heart...

Chapter 815: Hitler's Countermeasures

When Hitler heard the speeches at the Red Square parade on the radio, he felt very sick.

Thirty thousand Red Army soldiers from three divisions, right next to his ears, marched in neat steps, sang high-spirited war songs accompanied by the "peculiar noise of inferior nations", and walked directly from the Red Square to the battlefield fearlessly and with great momentum. For the already furious Hitler, this was tantamount to a slap in the face by Stalin's own triumphant hand!

"Assholes! Cowards! Trash! I'm so pissed off... and these soldiers, what do they eat! Someone, get Goering's call! Tell fat guy Meyer to send me a plane to blow up Red Square, the Kremlin, and Moscow!"

There were thunderous hysterical roars coming from the door of the mustache's office. Even the solid wood door seemed to tremble. One after another, unknown objects were thrown down with all kinds of strange noises, and even smashed onto the carpet. In contrast, one after another, the military and political officials who were originally arrogant and high-ranking entered tremblingly and came out in a mess.

Even outside the thick soundproof door, the two guards standing guard, listening to the roar of the strong wind and watching the dignitaries coming in and out, looked at each other, and trembling with fear, shrank their necks, lowered their heads, looked at their noses and mouths, and dared not even make a sound, and were afraid that the head of state would do something irrational in his rage.

Although, there was one good thing about Hitler: no matter how angry he was, he would generally not vent his anger on small people like guards and secretaries.

However, after all, what is inside the office door is the legendary EX-level Führer's Roar...

Besides, even if the head of state doesn’t vent his anger on others, what if some senior official who was scolded is in a bad mood?

Serving in the Führer's Guard, one may seem to be very impressive and powerful, but in reality, I'm afraid only I know the pain and sorrow I feel...

Fortunately, after being furious for a while, Hitler, who was a little dry-mouthed, finally calmed down.

"Halder, report to me the current situation of the battle."

The man with a mustache was slumped on the sofa, staring at the huge map hanging on the wall with his lifeless eyes. In the messy office, a group of Nazi military and political officials of all sizes stood there, feeling bitter but not daring to speak out.

The Chief of the General Staff, General Halder, who was named, twitched unnaturally. He carefully walked around the scattered document boxes on the ground, walked to the map with the memo, and began to introduce the battlefield:

"…Our situation is not optimistic now, Führer…As of November 106, we only have 2100 million men and tanks left in the three army groups in the Moscow-Stalingrad direction—in the Moscow direction, von Bock's Army Group A still has men and more than tanks, Rundstedt's Army Group B still has men and tanks, but List's Army Group C only has men and tanks…In addition, we only have one infantry army each in the three Baltic countries and Leningrad, as well as in the North Caucasus and across the Crimean Peninsula, and we have no mobile forces to reinforce the Moscow direction—we even have to pray that the Russians will not go south to encircle our southern group, and that Leningrad and Crimea will not rush out to stab us in the back…"

"On the other hand, according to the statistics of the Foreign Army Department on the Eastern Front monitoring Russian radio communications and deciphering grassroots codes, it can be confirmed that Stalin is deploying the reserve forces he has accumulated for a full six months - about 1600 million people and 1800 tanks... These reserves are composed of four fronts, from northwest to southeast, they are the Kalinin Front opposite Hoth, the General Reserve Front in the direction of Moscow, the Saransk Front in the direction of Penza, and the Volga Front facing Paulus across the Volga River... The strength of each front is roughly between and million, with an average of about - tanks... And the most important thing is that Russia has entered winter now. Although our troops have distributed enough winter clothes and winter combat supplies, the original water network swamps will soon freeze hard enough for tanks to roam freely..."

Halder said as he gestured on the map with his pointer. Soon, everyone saw a suffocating situation - on a 2000-kilometer-wide front, the Third Reich Army, which had been reduced to only one million men and was still stretched to its limits, had to fight against an army of million and more than tanks! What's more, winter has already begun. As long as the swamps and ditches are all frozen in winter, the Soviet Red Army on the opposite side will be able to drive tanks directly on the mountain roads of Akina Mountain, creating a mountain-dancing silver snake and a plain-galloping wax elephant, trying to compete with the sky! - With an average of only German troops and one tank per kilometer on the front line, this battle is doomed!

The only good news is that "…according to the code decryption and relevant troop number mobilization analysis of the Eastern Front Foreign Army Department, only three-quarters of the three million Russian troops have been deployed so far…In the most critical direction of Moscow, since we have been attacking, the Russian reserve troops have been continuously added to the battlefield. So far, their total reserve army group in the Moscow direction has not yet been assembled - but according to the speed at which they are increasing their troops, it will take no more than a month at the latest…"

Speaking of which, Halder's statement that "the Soviet army's counterattack forces have not yet been fully deployed" did leave some theoretical hope - although the time for this hope seems to be no later than the end of the month.

On the map, according to Halder's explanation, a "current situation map" emerged in everyone's mind - the Saransk Front and the Volga Front in the Southwestern Theater of the Soviet Union had a total of 1.5 million troops and more than 3,500 tanks, sandwiching Marshal List's C Army Group, which had only 300,000 men and 500 tanks left even though the German army had driven out of the Saratov salient; northwest of Moscow, Hoth's 130,000 men and Marshal Leb's 200,000 Northern Army Group huddled together and trembled at the million-strong Soviet Kalinin Front opposite; and to the west and south of Moscow, although the main forces of Marshal Bock's Army Group A and Marshal Rundstedt's Army Group B still had 300,000 men and more than 700 tanks each, they were divided into two sections by the unyielding city of Tula, and they felt a chill in their hearts when they saw the Soviet General Reserve Front, which was relying on the strong defense of Moscow to assemble and didn't know when it would launch a counterattack.

The conference room was completely silent. All the high-ranking Nazi officials, including Hitler, felt as if a huge mountain was pressing down on their heads - even though it had not yet fallen down, it already made them feel as if they could not breathe!

Even the mustache that was cursing at first had already gone quiet. He was now sitting on the sofa, his eyes dull and lifeless, drooling from the corners of his mouth without him noticing, and even because he felt cold inside, there was snot hanging from his nose.

After so many years of fighting, even people like Huang Sir, who was born as a civilian, have a general idea of ​​military affairs. Not to mention that among the people staring at the map in the head of state's office, except for a certain corporal, the ones flashing on their shoulders are all shining stars or even marshals!

With so many big men in the army, even if their strategic vision is not as good as that of a corporal, everyone can see that once the three million Soviet Red Army troops are assembled, the German army with only one million troops left will inevitably face an overwhelming and crazy counterattack!

In fact, a picture of a military offensive situation that is powerful and invincible has already appeared in front of many people's eyes. In the minds of these generals, it has become instinctive. Every arrow represents a team of hundreds of thousands of elite Soviet troops!

only……

In the corner of the silent meeting room, there were still a few soldiers. Although they didn't whisper to each other, they exchanged glances with each other...

After a long silence, Hitler, as the head of state, finally stood up from the sofa with gritted teeth, although he was a little trembling: "Everyone, what do you think we should do now?"

However, to the disappointment of the man with a mustache, the officers below looked at each other in bewilderment as he looked at them with a probing look on his face, but no one dared to speak.

"Huh? Why aren't you talking?!"

After waiting for a long time but no one answered his question, the man with a mustache spoke again with a somewhat unfriendly tone.

"Well... Führer, how about we switch to defense, or... let Lister, who is in the most danger, withdraw first...?" Seeing that the mustache man was showing signs of having another attack, Halder adjusted his monocle - as if to hide something, while raising the front half of his face and putting on a very skilled business smile.

As soon as he said this, he was interrupted by the man with the mustache shaking his head. And when the man with the mustache opened his mouth, he gave a cold and deadly order that made all the generals in the conference room change their faces:

"Liszt cannot retreat—no one is allowed to retreat without my permission!"

"this?!"

In the originally silent meeting room, everyone looked at each other in bewilderment. Many people even looked at each other with a look of resentment that clearly conveyed the meaning of "this inhuman private..."

Seeing the looks of his generals, the mustache man became even more angry. He looked at the whole audience fiercely, even with a hint of disdain for trash. He slammed the table and started the Führer's roar again:

"What? You want to retreat? Tell me, how can you retreat now that they are heavily armed and the situation is about to change?! The consequence of abandoning the position is that you want to be chased to death by tanks or even cavalry in a blizzard like Napoleon?!"

The officers stopped talking to each other, but many of them, including General Halder, had already begun to avoid the mustache - and in their hearts, they were probably full of dissatisfaction. Some even began to mutter in a low voice: "...This is sending us to die, sending our noble soldiers to die!!"

The muttering was so quiet that Hitler did not hear it. However, in order to prevent the mustache from hearing these treasonous words, someone stepped forward and took the initiative to divert attention: "... But, Führer, if we let our troops switch to defense on the spot, it may not be in time, right? Although it is at least a last-minute effort..."

"You also know that we won't have enough time to hastily switch to defense? You think I don't know?!" Listening to his subordinates' advice, the mustache man laughed angrily: "I went to Russia in 40 years. It's winter there now. The ground is frozen like iron. Even digging a trench requires blasting tubes!"

"At this time, whether you retreat or switch to defense, if time is insufficient, will you give them the initiative on the battlefield? Besides, if we retreat now, how can we threaten the Ural next year? How can we force Russia to withdraw from the war?!"

Seeing his subordinate being scolded for no reason, Halder adjusted his glasses again, put away some of his inner thoughts, and continued to help his subordinate to smooth things over in a seemingly servile manner: "So... what are your instructions, Führer...?"

"My order? My order is to hold on! We still have our positions to rely on. If we retreat, we will be dead without the protection of our positions. In the cold winter and with the Russians chasing us, we will be killed! - No one is allowed to retreat before I give the order! Only by fighting to the end can we have a chance of survival! Do you understand?!"

"Yes, Führer."

The officers below responded weakly, and then listened quietly to the man with a mustache continuing to shout at the top of his lungs on the stage.

Seeing the officers like this, the mustache man who was too lazy to talk nonsense stepped forward and roughly snatched the pointer from Halder's hand. He strode to the edge of the map and grabbed the pointer and fiercely tapped the huge map hanging on the wall:

"Don't think I want you to die. There are skills to defending. Do you remember what Halder said just now? The Russian army's assembly in the direction of Moscow is not yet fully prepared! And our two army groups A and B here are now on the offensive. In addition to Hoth who is going to switch to defense, these two army groups have at least 600,000 people and at least 1,400 tanks that can be used for the offensive. Listen carefully, we are not penniless! We still have the strength to fight the Bolsheviks!... Therefore, the key this time is that we must strike first! Force the Soviet Union to deploy their general reserve in advance! Let them consume the strength of the two fronts in the center of the front! Only then can we gain a chance to breathe!"

As the mustache explained his battle plan, the faces of some officers began to improve. Hitler was indeed worthy of being the head of Germany, and he still had some strategic vision. At the very least, this method of striking first and forcing the Soviet Union to expose and disperse its forces in advance before the reserve troops were assembled was indeed feasible.

Especially on List's side, the original 300,000 people were caught in the middle by the 1.5 million troops of the two Soviet heavy troops. However, if Manstein and Guderian attacked Moscow first, the Soviet Union, whose reserve troops had not yet assembled in the direction of Moscow, would most likely have to disperse its forces! In this way, the pressure on the left wing of List's army group was directly weakened - the Volga River Front on the right wing alone could not encircle List all at once!

In this way, the time gained can at least be used to build winter defense positions and gather armored troops as reserves! After all, Dietrich's SS First Panzer Army is under List, and there are still 500 tanks left! If we really want to gather them together as an armored reserve, there is still some hope!

Seeing that many of the officers' faces had turned from gloomy to cloudy, and then from cloudy to sunny, Hitler's temper finally eased, and he began to issue his specific tactical arrangements.

"While they are not ready yet, let's strike first! Loeb's Northern Army Group, Hoth's Fourth Panzer Army on the northernmost side of Army Group A, and List's C Army Group opposite Saratov, switch to defense on the spot, and assemble armored forces as mobile reserves, ready to fight the Russians' counterattack at any time! Then, Bock and Rundstedt, take advantage of now and attack Moscow with all your strength!" Although the combat position has been clearly explained, Hitler's face is still a little ferocious as he speaks: "... Krupp and Guderian continue to attack Moscow! Rommel and Model can't take Tula, at least surround Tula first and straighten the front line! Manstein is going to break through Ryazan with all his strength; Kleist is going to contain Ryazan and cover Manstein's flank!... This time we have only one key - to force the Soviets to deploy the general reserve in advance! Only in this way can we consolidate the current situation and have the only chance of survival!"

Gnashing his teeth, but still insisting on finishing his tactical deployment ideas in one breath, the mustache man put down his pointer and took a fierce breath. In the eyes of the generals in the conference room, the mustache man at this moment was full of an indescribable momentum - in the eyes of some people, Hitler's fierce momentum was the last struggle of a trapped beast, but in the eyes of others, it could also be said that he would fight to the end and never give up...

In this atmosphere, the generals in the conference room responded to the mustache man's deployment in twos and threes.

However, in their hearts, how they really view their own leader is something only they themselves know...

Chapter 816: Comrade Iron

When Kumets returned from the Atlantic with his fleet, it was already the fourth day after Lütjens' four ships had "occupied" the Brest shipyard.

After learning what had happened from his men, he looked gloomily at the scarred bodies of the four warships leisurely cruising in the dock. He was furious, but he couldn't get angry.

Although this attack sank the Rodney and even drove away the ship girl Warspite with anti-ship missiles, although he wanted to suppress Lütjens, although he was very unhappy that all the German ship girls were concentrated under Lütjens' command, and even hated that a certain Lütjens was able to abduct the Prinz Eugen, which was still under his command in the Mediterranean...

But after searching his mind carefully, Kumets sadly discovered that he had no excuse for the attack.