At the German position, a new recruit named Bowen said with surprise.
"Those are... Soviet artillery shells!" Veteran Kugel saw the sky full of meteors and his breathing became heavy immediately.
"Run!" Kugel shouted, trying to find a bunker to protect himself, but Bowen peed his pants after hearing Kugel's words and stood there stupidly, not knowing what to do.
The next moment, countless artillery shells fell into the German army. At this time, Stepankovo gathered a large number of German soldiers. Under Xu Rui's dispatch, the small Stepankovo gathered more than twenty German soldiers.
Tens of thousands of troops, the density was staggeringly high, and at this moment, the Soviet army promptly assembled thousands of cannons and opened fire on the German troops in Stepankovo.
Due to the high density of the German army, almost every shot fired could cause dozens or even dozens of casualties. The Soviet artillery fire was extremely fierce, especially the Soviet Katyusha rocket launcher, which completely covered the Germans.
Caused huge casualties.
The Soviet artillery fire attack lasted for half an hour. The entire land of Stepankovo was almost plowed, and the land was filled with sorrow. Tens of thousands of German soldiers were killed and wounded. The German army collapsed like a tide.
Retreat to the rear.
"Ula!"
Hundreds of thousands of Soviet troops who had been prepared for a long time launched a sudden attack on the defeated German army. At this time, the 6th Army was completely defeated and completely lost its organization. It was unable to organize an effective counterattack and could only continue to move north and south.
Both sides retreated.
The Soviet army fought hard to catch up, overwhelming the German defenses one after another.
At the headquarters of the German Army Group Center, when the German Commander-in-Chief von Kluge learned that the 6th Army attacking the Western Front had suffered heavy losses, he could not help but break into a cold sweat.
Subsequently, unfavorable battle reports came one after another. The German army's positions on the northern and southern fronts were continuously captured by the Soviet army, and the German army's losses increased.
When Guderian saw that nothing could be done, he advised von Kruger: "Your Excellency, Commander, we can no longer persist in the current situation. Only by withdrawing from Moscow can the war situation be restored."
Von Kruger said: "This matter is very important. I cannot make the decision alone. I must ask the head of state for instructions."
Later, von Kluge called the German head of state. When the German head of state heard that von Kluge was about to withdraw from Moscow, he shouted angrily: "I will not allow you to retreat. You are deserting.
Ruger, I order you to hold your position and block the Soviet attack!"
The German head of state shouted at the top of his lungs on the phone.
Von Kruger was speechless. Although he had known this result for a long time, when the head of state really refused to let him retreat, he still felt helpless in his heart.
Von Kruger looked at the map and could see that the Soviet army had mobilized a large number of reserve troops to join the counterattack this time. The size of its army had exceeded that of the German army. Moreover, the Soviet army had a large number of artillery to assist the attack. On the contrary, the Soviet army had mobilized a large number of reserve troops to join the counterattack.
, the German army's logistical support was very difficult under the constant attacks of Soviet bombers. The frontline troops were short of fuel and ammunition. If this situation continues, the Soviet army will drive out all the German troops in Moscow in less than a day.
Moreover, if the Soviet offensive continues unabated, it will inevitably turn into a major rout, and the entire Army Group Center will be in danger of being annihilated.
Von Kruger did not dare to think about it anymore. If he did not retreat, the situation would be out of control. But if he retreated, he would violate the orders of the Führer. For a moment, Von Kruger was in a dilemma.
In the end, Kruger decided to proceed from reality, let the troops reduce losses, voluntarily withdraw to outside Moscow, and regroup after breaking away from the Soviet army.
After hearing Kruger's idea, senior commanders such as Guderian and Hoppner remained silent. They all knew that if they did so, it would violate the intentions of the head of state and they would inevitably be punished by the head of state in the future. Although they
They knew it was the right thing to do, but no one dared to say anything.
Kruger looked serious and said: "I am the supreme commander of Army Group Center. This decision should be made by me."
Kruger completely ignored his own future and finally gave the order for all troops to withdraw from Moscow and assemble twenty miles outside Moscow.
At the same time, Kruger deployed the 9th Army as a rearguard to cover the retreat of the 6th Army.
Just when Kruger was dispatching troops, Zhukov had already judged from various signs of the German army that the Germans were going to run away. Zhukov knew that if the German army withdrew from Moscow and broke away from his own troops, he would not be able to continue to expand the results.
So Zhukov ordered all troops to charge with all their strength and not let the Germans escape.
At this time, the Soviet forward troops and the German rearguard troops were entangled and could not be separated at all. The Germans could not get rid of the Soviet entanglement. At this moment, German artillery fire rang out, attacking the battle area between the German and Soviet troops.
An indiscriminate attack was carried out, the German artillery fire was very fierce, and German and Soviet troops fell one by one.
It must be said that Kruger's indiscriminate attack achieved good results.
After the German soldiers broke their arms, the German army and the Soviet army finally broke away from contact, including the 6th Army, 3rd Armored Army, 4th Armored Army, and 2nd Armored Army. They continued to retreat under the cover of the 9th Army, and finally completed outside Moscow.
Assembling and once again gaining a firm foothold, the German army formed a crescent-shaped formation and still surrounded Moscow from the outside. However, the intensity and density of this encirclement were no longer the same as the previous encirclement of Moscow.
A large gap. The Germans have been weakened in Moscow. Although they still maintain their strategic advantage, this advantage has been continuously reduced.
Victory!
When Zhukov heard the news that the German troops had been expelled from Moscow, his eyes were moist. Many Soviet soldiers had tears of joy in their eyes. After being occupied by the German troops for more than a month, Moscow finally returned to the hands of the Soviet army. This battle
The victory greatly boosted the morale of the Soviet army and dampened the arrogance of the German army. At the same time, it also shattered the German army's attempt to invade Moscow and force the Soviet Union to surrender.
At this time, the city of Moscow was filled with cheers and shouts. Many soldiers happily fired their guns into the sky to vent their emotions and celebrate this hard-won victory.
In a joyful atmosphere, Xu Rui and Leng Tiefeng took Paulus to the Kremlin to meet Zhukov.
Zhukov happily received Paulus. He promised Paulus to protect his personal safety and personal dignity. In exchange, Paulus must unconditionally tell the Soviet army all the secrets he knew.
The victory of the Soviet army in Moscow quickly spread throughout the world. This news immediately caused a sensation all over the world. Since the outbreak of the Soviet-German war, the Soviet army has often lost cities and territory and lost troops, while the Germans have been pressing forward step by step, firmly closing in on them.
Taking the initiative in the war, the victory in the defense of Moscow undoubtedly became a turning point. It marked that the Soviet army had the courage and ability to defend its country and resist the German invasion.
United States, Washington, by the stove of the White House, President Roosevelt looked at the battle report brought to him by his assistant.
Roosevelt looked at the battle report with a pleased smile on his face. His assistant Kerry said: "Mr. President, judging from the progress of the Moscow Battle, the Soviet Union is fully capable of resisting the German invasion."
Roosevelt said: "Yes, the Soviet Union has vast land, huge strategic depth, hundreds of millions of people, abundant resources, and huge war potential. As long as the Soviets activate their war machine, they can stop German fascism."
"
"Then is it necessary for us to continue to assist the Soviet Union?" Kerry asked.
Roosevelt answered affirmatively: "Of course we need assistance. I have signed the aid bill. The United States will provide uninterrupted assistance to the Soviet Union to help the Soviet people resist the invasion of German fascism."
Kerry said: "Mr. President, why should we feed the Soviet red regime with American bread? Wouldn't it be better to sit back and watch the success or failure?"
Roosevelt said: "First of all, Germany invaded the Soviet Union. The Soviet Union is a just party. We should assist the just party. Secondly, although domestic isolationism is prevalent, I believe that the United States will join this war sooner or later. By then,
, we are on the same front as the Soviet Union, so the stronger the Soviet Union is, the more powerful it will be for us. The bread of the American people will not be in vain, it will make the American people bleed less."
"I understand," Kerry said.
Roosevelt said: "If you contact the Soviet Union, say that the U.S. government will assist the Soviet Union with more tanks, aircraft, and artillery, and it will definitely help the Soviet Union tide over the difficulties..."
At the same time, on the British Isles, the fat man Churchill breathed a sigh of relief. The Soviets had achieved a very important victory, which was a very good thing for Britain.
Although at the beginning of the founding of the Soviet Union, Britain and the United States organized intervention forces to eliminate the Soviet government, and Britain and the United States had enmity with the Soviets. However, Churchill believed in the supremacy of interests. He said: We have no eternal friends and no eternal enemies.
There are only eternal benefits.
If Germany defeats the Soviet Union, it will definitely turn west and attack the British Isles. By then, the United Kingdom will be in extreme danger. But now the Soviets have blocked the momentum of the German attack, so the United Kingdom can breathe a sigh of relief.
, you can continuously draw back the troops scattered in various colonies to form a powerful army to prepare for the decisive battle with the Germans in the future.
In northern Shaanxi, China, after learning the news that the Soviet army had liberated Moscow, the entire northern Shaanxi was also filled with joy. People were celebrating this victory. Some forward-looking people even had a premonition that the turning point of the Second World War was about to come.
arrival.
However, Chairman Chiang in Chongqing was somewhat dissatisfied. For Chairman Chiang, the affairs of the Soviet Union were too far away from him, and there was no need for him to worry about that. For Chairman Chiang, the most important thing now is to receive the upcoming visit.
Kerry, President Roosevelt's assistant to China, in order to get more supplies and assistance from the Americans.