After listening to the report from his subordinates, Zhukov realized that the Soviet army on the southern front was in danger of collapse, and he had to stabilize the situation in Moscow. The longer the delay, the more disadvantageous it would be for him, and the more likely it would be for the German Army Group South to collapse.
Deploy troops to deal with the Soviet army in the direction of Moscow.
Thinking of this, Zhukov finally decided to adopt Xu Rui's advice and use the air force to launch a large-scale attack on the German airport near Moscow, trying to eliminate the German aircraft heading toward Moscow in one fell swoop...
Zhukov said: "Comrade Xu Rui, I approve your plan, but this plan needs a strong person to implement it. Do you have any candidates?"
"Yes." Xu Rui said.
"Oh? Who?"
"Myself." Xu Rui said.
"Yourself? Comrade Xu Rui, are you saying that you want to command the air force in combat?"
Xu Rui said: "I not only want to command the air force in combat, but also personally lead the air force in combat."
Zhukov said: "Okay, Comrade Xu Rui, I approve your plan!"
Zhukov asked again how many Soviet aircraft were on the Moscow front, and the answer he received was one thousand, including seven hundred, and three hundred bombers, while the Germans had one thousand one hundred. There was not much difference in strength between the two sides.
Zhukov said: "Comrade Xu Rui, I will give you command of all these thousand aircraft. You can command them to act at any time."
Xu Rui said: "Don't worry. On the one hand, I need to reconnoiter the airport where the German planes are located. On the other hand, I need to gather all the main forces of the 6th Army. Only when all the forces of the 6th Army are mobilized can we
So as to annihilate them in one fell swoop.”
Zhukov nodded. He knew that if the German 6th Army was killed, the battle to defend Moscow would be a final victory. Now, more aircraft must be assembled. I will mobilize all the aircraft around Moscow to attack
The German army launched one of its largest air strikes.
However, Zhukov knew that whether Xu Rui's plan can be realized depends on whether the Soviet army on the western front can block the German attack. If the German attack can be blocked and the main force of the German 6th Group Army can be attracted as much as possible, then this battle will
There is a possibility of success. If the German attack cannot be stopped and the Western Front is lost, then the entire plan will fall short. What Zhukov is worried about now is, can the soldiers on the front line stop the thunderous attack of the German 6th Group Army?
Pavlov kept breathing. In the past eight hours, the troops he led had relied on the building's fortifications to repel fifteen German attacks. More than three hundred German troops fell under the building.
However, Pavlov's platoon also suffered heavy losses. There were originally more than 30 people, but now, including himself, there were only 13 people left. Among these 13 people, there were three seriously injured people, and they were actually only able to fight.
Next ten people.
Pavlov knew that if he continued to fight like this, his troops would be wiped out before long. However, Pavlov would never leave his position until he received an order to retreat.
"Alexei, how many people did you kill?" Pavlov asked.
"Sixty-eight." Alexei said expressionlessly.
"Yes, Alexei, you are an excellent sniper." Pavlov said.
Alexei said: "When Vasily was setting up the special forces, I was supposed to be recruited, but Vasily said that I was arrogant and could not get along with my teammates. His special forces did not need me like this."
Therefore, I was sent back, but I can be sure that no one in the entire special forces can surpass me in marksmanship and tactical literacy. If I can enter the special forces, I will also be a king of soldiers."
Pavlov said: "Alexey, you are really different now. In the past, you only paid attention to your own performance and did not care about the life and death of your teammates. But now you cherish it as much as your own life."
The lives of teammates, I think if Vasily chooses another soldier, you will definitely join the special forces."
"Vasily will not recruit me again. He was killed in Smolensk and the special forces have been wiped out." Alexei said sadly.
"Alexei, you are the best. Gold will shine sooner or later, and you will definitely have a good future." Pavlov said.
Alexey smiled and said: "Maybe you are right."
"boom!"
There was a sudden explosion downstairs. Pavlov was shocked and said: "No, Germany must have sneaked into the building. Alexei must stop them!"
"yes!"
Alexei put the helmet on his head, holding the Mosin-Nagant rifle in his hand, and quickly came to the stairs on the second floor. As soon as he reached the stairs, he saw a German soldier climbing up from the stairs.
.
Alexei quickly raised his gun and shot the German soldier in the head. Then, he saw a grenade thrown up from downstairs and exploded with a "bang".
Fortunately, Alexei was standing in the blind corner of the stairs and immediately hid behind a nearby wall. The explosion of the grenade was not enough to blow up the wall, so Alexei was fine. He saw a German soldier.
Holding Mauser rifles, they rushed up through the smoke of exploding grenades.
Of course Alexei would not be polite and shot him in the head again.
Then, Alexei threw an F1 lemon grenade down the stairs.
"boom!"
Several screams were heard, and Alexei and Pavlov, who came for reinforcements, rushed down the stairs. The Bobosha in Pavlov's hand kept ringing, knocking out several German soldiers who were jumping around in the smoke.
Knock down.
At the same time, Alexei kept firing, knocking down two German soldiers in succession. The next moment, the downstairs finally became quiet.
"Valery!"
Pavlov shouted, there was originally a soldier named Valery guarding the entrance to the first floor with a submachine gun, but the submachine gun did not fire, and the Germans came up. This means that Valery must have suddenly encountered something.
Otherwise, he would not even shoot.
Pavlov searched on the ground and finally found Valery's body at the door. Valery's neck had been cut with a dagger. Obviously, he had been attacked by the Germans. Pavlov was in a very sad mood.
At this time, a gunshot sounded from behind.
Pavlov looked back and saw Alexey standing there, smoke still coming from the muzzle of the gun.
A German soldier fell to the ground and had been shot in the head by Alexey.
Pavlov said: "Thank you, Alexei."
Alexey said: "Be careful. This German soldier was pretending to be dead just now and wanted to sneak up on you from behind. Fortunately, I found him."
Pavlov nodded and began to refill the corpses of the German soldiers with Alexei. After a while, after confirming that several German soldiers were dead, Pavlov took a deep breath and sat down.
On the ground, gasping for breath...
At the headquarters of the German 6th Army at this time, the thin Paulus sat there looking at the battle map with a gloomy look on his face. Although it was the most tense moment of the war, Paulus's body was still spotless and he looked special.
of clean.
"General, our troops' attack is not going well. We still have not occupied all the positions in Stepankovo. Some Soviet troops are still relying on fortifications to engage in repeated battles and entanglements with our troops.
"What? It's been ten hours, and we haven't captured the Soviet position in Stepankovo yet?" Paulus was furious and lost his original elegance. All along, the 6th Army relied on its excellent
With excellent equipment and personnel quality, the use of thunderous tactics is always beneficial. However, what has happened in recent times?
First, the 205th Division was annihilated, and then the attack was frustrated. Paulus did not understand whether the combat effectiveness of his own troops had declined, or whether the combat effectiveness of the Soviet army had improved.
"General, judging from the current situation, we must mobilize more troops to join the offensive before we can fully occupy Stepankovo. Otherwise, with the current strength of our army, we can only fall into a state of incompetence with the Soviet army.
There is a ceaseless back-and-forth struggle," the chief of staff said.
Paulus said: "Then throw in all our troops, including all tanks and artillery, and we must occupy Stepankovo in the shortest possible time!"
"General, if this is the case, our army's rear forces will be insufficient. If the Soviet soldiers take the opportunity to attack our rear supplies, it will be difficult for us to mount an effective defense."
"Immediately send a telegram to General von Kluge and ask him to deploy troops to cover our rear."
"I'm afraid General Kruger doesn't have enough troops to provide us with cover," the chief of staff said.
"That's Von Kruger's business. We just need to fight this battle on the front line. You go and generate electricity for Von Kruger immediately!"
"Yes!" the chief of staff responded.
After receiving a call from Paulus, von Kruger said: "What did Paulus do? He couldn't even handle a small Stepankovo."
Guderian said: "The Soviet army defending Stepankovo was the 1st Assault Army with the strongest combat effectiveness. Although this army did not have many heavy weapons, its personnel were of high quality and morale was high, so Paulus was
It is understandable that it is difficult to obtain.”
Von Kruger said: "Paulus asked me for troops to cover his rear. Our troops are confronting the Soviet army. Where can I get troops for him?"
Guderian said: "We can mobilize the Finnish and Romanian troops in the rear, and let them defend Paulus's rear. The Finnish army's combat effectiveness is still very strong. Back then, the 30,000 Finnish army defeated 300,000.
The Soviet army abandoned its armor."
Von Kruger said: "If this is the case, then send Vlasov's Russian Liberation Army out and let them defend the rear of the 6th Army."
Guderian said: "Vlasov turns out to be a senior general of the Soviet Union. Can he be trusted..."