Paulus knew very well that Schmid's words were not alarmist. If Laize had really boarded the plane to Moscow, would he have sent a rescue team to sneak into Moscow? Even if his subordinates crept into Moscow, can they rescue Laize from the heavily guarded Ministry of Internal Affairs?
Thinking of this, Paulus seemed to have all his strength drained. He collapsed in his position, looked at Schmid with a dull eyes, and said weakly: "Chief of Staff, we need to report to Berlin immediately that the news of Laize's capture is that we ask them to send a new division commander to replace the commander."
"Hisser Commander," Schmid was startled when he heard that Paulus was going to report the capture of Leser to Berlin. He quickly reminded the other party: "The Russians burned down the supplies we stockpiled at the Kotluban Station and the 564th Mile Station two days ago. This has already made Berlin very angry. If you report the capture of General Leser at this time, I am worried that you may be blamed by the Head of State."
Schmid's words made Paulus hesitate. He understood Hitler's moody character. When it was going well in the past few months, he was generous in praise of himself. However, with the Russians' tenacious resistance, the progress of the troops became slow and even unable to move forward for a long time, he would be blamed from time to time. If he reported the destruction of the station's materials and the capture of Laize, he might have been dismissed from office directly.
It was precisely for this reason that Paulus changed his mind and decided not to report the capture of Laize for the time being. Even if Berlin heard any rumors, he could still perfunctorily say that Laize was just missing and that the capture was a rumor made by the Russians for propaganda.
After Paulus made the decision to temporarily conceal the truth, he sat upright and asked Schmid: "Chief of Staff, all the supplies we stored at the two stations were destroyed by the Russians. It may take three or four days for the new materials to be transported. Can our troops continue to attack during this period?"
"It's very difficult, Commander," Schmid shook his head and replied, "Due to insufficient supplies, we were forced to stop our attack on the north side of the city today. I think we should not easily launch a new offensive before obtaining new supplies and ammunition."
"If our offense is completely stopped, wouldn't it give the Russians a breather?" Paulus said with displeasure after Schmid finished speaking: "They can use this period of time to repair the fortifications destroyed by shells and bombs to consolidate their defense. I am worried that when the materials are transported to the ground before launching an attack, our army's casualties will be much greater than now."
"Mr. Commander, we are short of supplies now, and the Russians' situation is not much better." Schmid looked at Paulus and said, "We have been using long-range artillery fire and bombing to block the surface of the Volga River. Although the Russians' Volga fleet suffered heavy losses, they are still transporting supplies for a moment..."
"You are right." Paulus nodded and said helplessly: "We have used all the means we can use, but we still cannot cut off the connection between the Russians in the city and the outside world."
"Mr. Commander, don't worry too much. According to my estimate, at most, the contact between the Russians and the outside world in the city will be completely interrupted in one week." Schmid said proudly: "Once the Russians' supply is interrupted, they will face the dilemma of exhausting ammunition and food, and our new supplies should also be shipped to the time. We can take advantage of the favorable opportunity that the Russians cannot obtain supplies and launch a new offensive to the factory area north of the city again. It only takes two to three days at most, and we can occupy the entire city."
Paulus was somewhat skeptical about Schmid's statement: "Chief of staff, our shelling and bombing cannot cut off the connection between the Russians in the city and the outside world. Is there any good way for you to make the Russians in the city not replenish?"
"You may not know, Your Excellency Commander, that with the arrival of heavy cooling and heavy snowfall, ice has appeared on the Volga River." Schmid explained to Paulus: "The emergence of these floes will make the ships moving in the river impassable. Even if the river surface is frozen, the thickness of the ice layer is not enough to support the passage of transport vehicles."
For Paulus, this is the only good news I heard today, and he stood up and said to Schmid: "Chief of Staff, I don't know how long the Russians' transportation line will be interrupted."
"It's hard to say, Commander," Schmid said thoughtfully: "If the heavy cooling and heavy snowfall continue, I guess in another three or four days, the transportation on the Volga River will be forced to be interrupted due to the emergence of a large amount of ice floes."
"Great, that's great." Paulus slapped the table excitedly and said to Schmid, "Chief of Staff, immediately send reconnaissance personnel to the Volga River and closely monitor the movements of the river. Once the river is found to be frozen, report to me immediately. As long as the Russian supply line is cut off, relying on the pitiful force in their city, it is a fantasy to defend the city. Our soldiers will crush them like bed bugs."
…………
As the weather gets colder, more and more floating ice floats on the river surface, and the volume of ice becomes larger and larger.
Sokov took Ivanov to the top of the Mamayev hill to observe the movements on the river surface. Without using a telescope, they could clearly see the river surface filled with ice cubes of different sizes, making the ships traveling in the river slow down.
Seeing this situation, Ivanov couldn't help but sigh and said, "Comrade Commander, the situation is not good. The existence of a large number of floating ice makes it difficult for the ship to travel. Not to mention ordinary wooden ships, even the small warships used by the fleet may be damaged under the impact of floating ice. I think the day of transportation interruption will be coming soon."
Sokov looked at the flying snowflakes and said with emotion: "Fortunately, the weather is not suitable for aircraft to be dispatched, otherwise these ships in the river that are like snails will become targets for enemy aircraft bombing. But don't worry, the materials we stockpiled are enough to support the reopening of the route."
"Comrade Commander," Sokov's words woke up to Ivanov. He looked at Sokov and asked tentatively: "Do you really think that our army will launch a full-scale counterattack at the end of this month?"
"Yes, according to my judgment, it should be at the end of this month."
"But now it's No. 9, and the headquarters has not notified us to go to the meeting. This is a bit unreasonable." Ivanov frowned and said, "Is there something wrong with your judgment?"
Sokov just smiled faintly in response to Ivanov's doubts: "Comrade Deputy Division Commander, the situation is quite special now. For the sake of confidentiality, even Commander Cui Kov may not know the specific counterattack time. Maybe when the commander of the brigade level in the city is convened for a meeting, there will be only one or two days left before the start of the counterattack."
"What, only one or two days left to inform us to go to the meeting?" Ivanov obviously could not accept Sokov's statement: "How can we be prepared for a counterattack in such a short time?"
"Comrade Deputy Division Commander, there are no outsiders here, I might as well tell you the truth." Sokov stared at Ivanov and asked, "Do you think they can still participate in the counterattack based on the current situation of the troops in the city?"
"No." Ivanov blurted out. After saying this, he showed a shocked expression on his face: "Comrade Commander, I don't understand what you mean. Since the big counterattack has begun, how could we, as defenders of the city, not participate in the battle?"
"It is not that we do not participate in the battle, but in another way." Sokov said lightly: "Our mission should be to stick to the existing defense line to cooperate with the troops attacking from other directions to encircle the Germans."
Although Ivanov felt that Sokov's words were reasonable, he still said unwillingly: "Is this really going to happen? We fought with the Germans in the city for several months, and after the large counterattack began, we actually stood aside and watched the fun. This was simply too unkind."
"There is no way, comrade of the deputy division commander." Sokov also said helplessly: "The troops in the city have been severely weakened in the battle. They are used for defense and have barely enough troops; but they are used for counterattacks because they are unable to do so. Well, it's too cold outside, so let's go back to the division command."
Chapter completed!