When the first ray of dawn arrived, Xu Rui led his assault force to finally stop the attack, and everything became quiet. In this night's battle, Xu Rui's assault force, with the cooperation of Vlasov, was completely wiped out.
They defeated two German mechanized infantry regiments, a heavy tank battalion and an anti-tank battalion, and also annihilated an anti-aircraft gun company and an artillery company, annihilating a total of more than 7,000 people from the German 1st Armored Division.
The 1st Armored Division was the main force of the German army, with only more than 13,000 men in total. Most of it was wiped out in one night, and it suffered a major blow.
This was a commendable night. On this night, Xu Rui only used 4,000 troops to kill 7,000 Germans. This was a great victory that the Soviet army had never had since the war between the Soviet and German armies. The news reached
Everyone in the Kremlin, including Zhukov, celebrated.
Zhukov sat on the chair very pleased. That night, he stayed up all night because he was worried about the success or failure of the counterattack. Now that he heard that the counterattack was successful, 7,000 German troops were eliminated and part of the city of Moscow was recaptured. Zhukov suddenly
His hanging heart finally let go, and a strong sense of tiredness came over him.
Unknowingly, Zhukov fell asleep. Outside the door, an officer came to report to Zhukov, but he was blocked by Zhukov's guards.
"Comrade Zhukov just fell asleep, let him have a good rest."
At this time, Zhukov fell into a sweet sleep. In his dream, he saw his three beautiful daughters, who were surrounding him, laughing and dancing happily.
"Boom!" There was an explosion, the three daughters disappeared, and the world fell into darkness.
"daughter!"
Zhukov screamed in panic and woke up immediately.
Seeing that he was just having a nightmare, Zhukov breathed a sigh of relief.
After checking the time, he saw that he had slept for two hours. Zhukov had never slept for such a long time since arriving in Moscow.
Zhukov felt that his energy was much better, and he stood up slowly and asked, "Where is Comrade Xu Rui now?"
An officer said: "Xu Rui has led his troops into the location of the 1st Assault Army on the Western Front. He said he would attack the German 3rd Army on the Western Front."
"Xu Rui wants to attack the Western Front?"
Zhukov quickly came to the battle map and looked at the Western Front. The German army on the Western Front was commanded by the famous German general Hermann Huth. Although the 3rd Armored Group was not the most powerful armored group in the German army, it also had powerful
The combat effectiveness of the group, and since the war began, this group army has not experienced any major setbacks. Xu Rui actually wants to attack the 3rd Armored Group Army, which is bold enough.
"What did Comrade Xu Rui say?" Zhukov asked.
The officer said: "Comrade Xu Rui said that nothing is needed now. He will choose the opportunity to launch an attack on the 3rd Army to stabilize the front."
"Okay, let Lieutenant General Kuznetsov on the Western Front lead the 1st Assault Group to fully cooperate with Comrade Xu Rui."
"yes!"
Zhukov said: "Immediately report the situation in Moscow to Comrade Stalin, especially the battle situation last night. Comrade Stalin must be informed."
"yes!"
In Kazan, the temporary capital of the Soviet Socialist Republic, Stalin was sitting in his office with a pipe in his mouth.
Stalin was a little haggard. As the leader of a big country, Stalin was always nervous after Germany attacked the Soviet Union. At this time, Stalin looked unkempt, which was very different from him who usually paid attention to his appearance, but his eyes were shining with excitement.
"The assault of the tank troops was really beautiful!" Stalin said to himself excitedly. Since the outbreak of the Soviet-German war, Stalin heard bad news every day about the loss of cities and territory. It was rare that the front line actually achieved a great victory.
, which changed Stalin's mood a lot.
Later, Stalin said: "I am a little hungry, so I called several members of the Politburo to have breakfast with me."
Vlasik was very happy. Stalin had not wanted to eat for a long time. It was rare that he was in a good mood today. He immediately went to notify several leaders of the Politburo.
After a while, Molotov, Malenkov, Shcherbakov, Kosygin and several other leaders arrived, and Stalin walked in with a proud look on his face.
Stalin said happily: "The battle in Moscow last night was a good one."
Malenkov said: "Comrade Stalin, facts have proved that as long as it is commanded properly, the heroic Red Army can defeat the German army."
Malenkov and others also knew about the counterattack in the direction of Moscow last night, so they were in a good mood.
Stalin said: "Facts have proved that Comrade Zhukov is a very capable general, and Comrade Xu Rui is also a rare good general. With them working together, we will definitely win the Battle of Moscow."
"Yes, Comrade Zhukov showed extraordinary commanding talent during the defense of Leningrad, turning Leningrad out of danger, and now he has stabilized the situation in Moscow. It is really rare." Molotov said.
Stalin shook his head and said: "The situation in Moscow is still very serious. It is too early to say that the situation is stable. The German army still controls three-quarters of the streets. At this time, we should give Comrade Zhukov full trust and believe in him."
He will definitely be able to lead the heroic Red Army and turn the tide."
"What we have to do now is to provide Comrade Zhukov with aircraft, tanks, and artillery as much as possible, and to arm our comrades. What I want to ask now is, when will our tanks and artillery enter Moscow?"
Kosygin said: "Comrade Stalin, our two hundred tanks and one thousand gates have arrived near Moscow. We will be able to enter Moscow in one or two days."
"It will take another one or two days?" Stalin frowned.
Kosygin said: "This is because the German airport in Moscow was damaged and the bombing was greatly reduced. Otherwise, we would have needed longer."
"Okay, we must transport the tanks and artillery to Moscow as soon as possible. The heroic Red Army is fighting the German tanks and armored vehicles with their flesh and blood. We cannot let them fight the German army with their bare hands."
"Comrade Stalin, there is another matter. How should we deal with Pavlov's mistakes?" Malenkov asked.
"Koshygin, how is the investigation going?" Stalin asked.
Since Stalin had already made a conclusion about Pavlov's matter, Kosygin naturally followed Stalin's wishes and said: "Pavlov lacked command ability, was cowardly, did nothing, disrupted the command of the troops, and actually attacked the enemy.
He handed over his weapons and evacuated the fighting position without authorization. The military court found these charges to be well founded and sentenced him to death."
"Then execute it immediately." Stalin said expressionlessly.
"Yes, Comrade Stalin."
Stalin's words directly declared that Pavlov's death sentence was inevitable.
"Comrade Malenkov, I am going to deliver a speech to the people of the country in a moment to inspire all the Soviet people to rise up against the enemy and mobilize all the country's forces for victory. You come with me."
"Okay, Comrade Stalin." Malenkov nodded.
At eight o'clock in the morning, Stalin gave a speech in which he called on all the Soviet people to unite, take action to resist the German army, and fight the German army to the end.
Many years later, Zhukov had this evaluation of Stalin's speech: "In the initial stage of the war, the German army was superior to our army. Its preparations, skills, weapons and equipment were more superior, and it had more opportunities to start and participate in the war.
Psychological preparation caused us to suffer great losses, but under the leadership of Stalin, we finally cheered up and fought the Germans to the end..."
On the front line in Moscow, Xu Rui was leisurely eating caviar and canned beef, pouring a mouthful of pure vodka into his mouth.
After a detailed inventory, Xu Rui's assault troops killed a total of 80 German tanks during last night's offensive operation, including more than 20 No. 3 heavy tanks.
After last night's victory, Xu Rui was not as excited as most of the Soviet troops. In his opinion, this was just a matter of course. He had 200 tanks and launched another surprise attack. Even if
The Germans were able to react. Facing such a powerful armored force, they were powerless in a short period of time.
"Comrade Xu Rui, why don't we attack during the day?"
Zyuganov and Kirilenko found Xu Rui who was eating and asked.
Xu Rui said: "During the day is not a good time to attack. Don't be anxious. There is still a good show to watch tonight."
Zyuganov said: "I can't wait."
Xu Rui said: "Comrade Zyuganov, you can psychologically despise the enemy, but you must pay attention to it tactically. The reason why we achieved such a great success last night was because the German army was unprepared. After last night's battle,
The German army will definitely strengthen its defenses, and it will be much more difficult for our army to achieve great results, so you must be prepared for a tough battle."
Zyuganov said: "Comrade Xu Rui, I find it is really a happy thing to fight with you. As long as we do what you say, we can achieve the final victory."
Xu Rui said: "Tell comrades to have a good rest and watch them at night."
"Comrade Xu Rui, my men have captured a German prisoner. Do you want to see him?" Kirilenko said.
Since the outbreak of the Soviet-German war, due to the Soviet army's consecutive defeats, it has been difficult to capture German prisoners. Now when Xu Rui heard that he had captured a German prisoner, his eyes couldn't help but light up, and he said: "Of course I have to see him.
.”
Later, Kirilenko asked someone to bring the prisoner of war over. This prisoner of war was none other than Jonas.
Xu Rui looked at Jonas and said, "Tell me your name..."
