Lieutenant General Ludwig Kubler was hiding in a house full of farm tools and houses, stamping his feet and looking at the map.
After von Bock was dismissed and replaced by Marshal Ruge, commander of the Fourth Army, Kubiler took over as commander of the German Fourth Army.
However, Kubile was not happy at all that he got this coveted position.
At any other time, Kubile might have celebrated for this, but at this time, he stared at the map in front of him with a heavy expression and said nothing.
Kubiler knew very well that being promoted to commander of the Fourth Army at this time was not a good thing... because the German army was about to face a defeat, this was obvious.
If the head of state agreed to let the troops retreat at this time, then maybe the situation would not be so bad, because the German army could retreat while laying mines in a large area and build a fortification organization defense line in the rear like the Soviets did.
The problem is that the Führer does not allow this. The German army is still attacking at this time. Yes...it is still attacking when it seems that the enemy is about to counterattack!
This will inevitably lead to failure, and as the commander, he is undoubtedly responsible for this failure. The irony is that he has no right to command his own troops.
A gust of cold wind blew by, and the adjutant pushed the door open and came in with snowflakes on his head and shoulders. After entering the door, he rubbed his almost frozen hands a few times before he was able to stretch them out and salute Lieutenant General Kubil.
"The situation is very bad, General!" the adjutant reported: "The tanks can hardly move. We spend a lot of time starting them every day. Once they are started, we dare not turn them off because they will freeze again soon... This
It's a waste of gasoline, and countless soldiers have died from frostbite!"
"I know this, Frank!" Kubiler interrupted the adjutant and asked, "What's going on with the Russians?"
"They suddenly lost their voice!" the adjutant replied: "It seems that they were frozen by this damn weather, 38 degrees below zero... No one would be willing to fight in this situation, right?"
Kubiler thought for a moment, then shook his head and said: "No, Frank, we may not, but they will!"
"You mean..."
"They are the people living on this land, Frank!" Kubiler raised his head and said: "They experience cold like this every year, not to mention many of them come from even colder Siberia!"
"Will they counterattack?" The adjutant's eyes widened when he heard this.
"I think so!" Kubiler replied: "It's time to counterattack!"
"But what else can we do?" the adjutant said anxiously: "The head of state does not allow us to retreat!"
Kubiler was silent for a while and then ordered: "Withdraw the armored troops, Frank!"
"But the head of state..."
"We must do this!" Kubile said: "Otherwise, the enemy will rush in front of our tanks before they start!"
"Yes, General!" the adjutant responded, turned around and went to make arrangements.
Kubiler's approach is indeed very advanced, and it is not considered a retreat, because he only transferred the armored troops to the second line to rest.
On the other side, before it gets dark, the Soviet army has already begun its final mobilization:
"Comrades, the day of counterattack has finally arrived!" Political Commissar Fuming stood on a tank and shouted to the soldiers below with a loudspeaker: "Load your rifles and sharpen your bayonets. We have endured this for a long time.
Anger will explode in this cold winter!"
The soldiers responded sparsely:
"Kill them!"
"Get these damn fascists out!"
…
"From the beginning of the war to now!" Political Commissar Fomin continued: "The Germans have always taken the initiative, but how can the sacred Soviet land tolerate the trampling of these fascist invaders? After all, they are no match for this snowstorm.
!Although we suffered heavy losses, it also made our anger even more intense. We wanted to avenge our comrades and avenge the thousands of Soviet people who died under the butcher knife of fascism!"
"Ula!" the soldiers responded loudly, raising their weapons.
The troops then entered their respective assembly areas.
Although it was just a staging area, trench fortifications were still built... There was never a shortage of trenches in the Soviet defense line. When the Soviet army withstood the German army on the second line of defense for a period of time, the Soviet people almost dug trenches one after another.
to Moscow.
Shulka led his men into the trenches, and beside them were tanks... These tanks were painted white as before, and a gap was dug in front of the trench to build a slope so that the tanks could quickly drive out of the trench.
Colonel Katukov watched nervously as the pointer on his pocket watch jumped up and down, then turned around and ordered: "Start the tank!"
"Tanks activated!"
"Tanks activated!"
…
With a "boom" sound, the tanks started to fire one after another.
But of course, since the 1st Guards Tank Brigade used British and American gasoline engine tanks, these tanks also had problems that were not adapted to the extremely cold climate, so some of the tanks failed to start.
This is why Colonel Katukov gave the order fifteen minutes in advance.
Then, the infantrymen hurriedly lit a fire at the tank engine to bake it.
Shulka ignored all this. He held up his binoculars and looked in the direction of the German positions in the distance. There was no movement.
This is not normal.
Because Shulka knew very well that it would take time for the German tanks to launch, and at this time... when the tank engines in the Soviet camp were "rumbling", even a fool knew that the Soviet army was about to launch an attack.
Therefore, the German army should be busy like the Soviet army, that is, using fire to start the tanks.
But they didn't do this.
There are two possibilities: either the German army responded too slowly, or their tanks were not on the front line.
Shulka believed it was the latter, that is, the Germans sensed that the Soviets were about to attack first, so they pulled the tanks back to the second line to give them time to react.
"Colonel!" Shulka shouted to Katukov who was more than ten meters away: "Germany may be prepared, their tanks are not on the front line!"
Katukov raised his telescope and looked into the distance, then replied: "You are right!"
But that's it, and then there's nothing more to it.
The correct approach should be...when you realize that the German army has withdrawn the tanks from the front line, you should immediately report it to your superiors, namely Rokossovsky.
Then Rokossovsky will contact the 2nd Guards Tank Brigade to tell them to be careful, as well as the artillery and air force, so that they can save ammunition and leave room for bombing, so that they can play a role in subsequent battles.