"Let Xiaomisha be the commander of the combat cluster?!" Khrushchev was surprised after hearing this. He picked up the cigarette box on the table, took out one and held it in his mouth, and did not ignite the match. He frowned and said, "Yes, he is indeed very capable, but he is too young. If he is allowed to serve as the commander of the combat cluster, those old guys who serve as division commanders or brigade commanders will probably be dissatisfied with him."
"You don't have to worry about this." Yeliaomenko said with a smile: "Comrade Cui Koff told me that as long as Xiaomi Sha leads his troops to win a few victories, these old guys who are above the top will be convinced by him."
"I really didn't expect that Cui Kefu was so confident in Xiaomisha." After Khrushchev fired a match and lit a cigarette, he continued to ask: "Did you agree with Cui Kefu's plan?"
"No." Yelemenko shook his head and said, "Although the base camp sent a large number of reinforcements to Stalingrad, these troops are still on the road. As far as I know, the carriages transporting troops and supplies travel at a speed of 30 to 40 kilometers per hour during the day and 20 to 30 kilometers per hour at night; the speed of carriages is 35 to 45 kilometers per day and night. Those troops who cannot take trains, cars, or even carriages and can only walk on foot can only walk 30 to 35 kilometers per day and night. You can calculate how long it takes for a unit to arrive at Stalingrad from the beginning of departure? Moreover, after they arrive here, they have to queue up and wait for enough transport ships to transport them to the city on the other side."
After hearing the data Yelyemko said, Khrushchev calculated for a while and found that it would be impossible to send two divisions or even more troops to the city without half a month. It is still unknown whether the Barrier Factory and the Derrensky Factory can last for half a month under the enemy's fierce attack. If the troops forming a new cluster entered the city, the enemy occupied two factories and went down the Volga River, and there would be a danger of being surrounded. Not only would it not save the crisis in Stalingrad, but it would instead bring more troops in.
To be cautious, he said to Yeliumenko after careful consideration: "Comrade Commander, this matter is of great importance and we cannot make decisions casually. I think it is better to report this plan to the base camp and let Comrade Stalin make the decision."
"Comrade Khrushchev, you have understood the situation. I see the telegram sent to the base camp, so you will draft it." Yelemenko said: "Believe your report, it will be easier for Comrade Stalin to pay attention."
"No problem, leave this to me." Khrushchev extinguished the cigarette in his hand and asked again, "How are you going to answer where Cuikov?"
"I told him that if there is a final decision, call him to notify him."
After understanding Yelemenko's attitude, Khrushchev picked up the paper and pen on the table and began to draft a telegram to the base camp.
Half an hour later, the telegram from the Front Command was placed on the table of Antonov, the Operations Minister of the General Staff. After reading the contents of the telegram, he picked up the phone on the table and dialed a number. When a sound came out from inside, he asked politely: "Comrade Poskrebeshev, Hello! I am Antonov. Is Comrade Stalin still working?"
"Yes, Comrade Minister of Operations." Stalin's close secretary Poskrebeshev replied: "He and General Zhukov and Chief of Staff Comrade Vasilevsky, stayed in the office all night. Is there anything you have?"
"That's right, Comrade Poskrebeshev." Antonov replied, "I just received a telegram from the Stalingrad Front and need to be reported to Comrade Stalin immediately."
When he learned that it was a telegram from Stalingrad, Poskrebeshev did not dare to neglect and quickly said to the microphone: "Comrade Minister of Operations, please wait a moment. I will go and ask Comrade Stalin for instructions."
Poskrebeshev put the microphone on the table, got up and walked to the door of the office, raised his hand and knocked it lightly twice, then pushed open the door and walked in. Stalin, who had been busy all night, heard someone open the door and looked up and found that it was Poskrebeshev, so he asked unhappily: "What's the matter?"
"Comrade Stalin!" Poskrebeshev replied straight and: "I just received a call from the Minister of Operations Antonov. He said he had received an emergency telegram from the Stalingrad Front, which needs to be sent immediately for your review."
When he learned that there was a telegram from Stalingrad, the anger on Stalin's face disappeared, and he changed to more worries: "Let Antonov bring the telegram to me!"
Poskrebeshev, who turned around and walked out of the office and closed the door casually, did not hear any conversation inside. Zhukov frowned and asked Vasilevsky: "Comrade Chief of Staff, has the situation in Stalingrad worsened recently?"
When Vasilevsky heard Zhukov's question, he looked helpless. He shrugged his shoulders, spread his hands and said, "Comrade General, we have been discussing here all night how to launch a counterattack in Stalingrad. If there is any change in the situation in Stalingrad, if I can know, I'm afraid you will know too."
When Zhukov heard this, he and Vasilevsky stayed in Stalin's office all night. If something happened, everyone present should know it. Therefore, he urgently hoped that Antonov could appear in the office soon so that he could figure out what was going on.
Fortunately, the door was opened again before waiting for a long time, and Antonov appeared at the door. Before he could speak, Stalin stretched out his hand to him and asked directly: "Where is the telegram? Show me quickly."
Antonov took out the folder under his armpit, opened it and took out the telegram and handed it to Stalin. When Stalin saw the telegram, Zhukov stared at his face tightly, trying to judge whether the telegram was written from the changes in his facial expression.
However, Stalin had no expression on his face from beginning to end, which made Zhukov unable to continue to guess. Fortunately, after reading the telegram, Stalin handed the telegram to Zhukov and said, "This is a joint telegram sent by Yelemenko and Khrushchev. You can take a look, it's quite interesting."
Chapter completed!