Under Shulka's order, the Soviet army did not open the warehouse of Tver Railway Station until it took more than an hour to fully occupy Tver and build defenses based on the houses.
This mission is carried out by the 1st Battalion.
Although everyone in the army is said to be equal on the surface, in fact it is impossible to be equal... As the main force of the 1st Guards Tank Brigade, the 1st Battalion will always receive priority distribution of any good equipment or supplies.
No other army has anything to say about this.
Because if anyone has an opinion on this, someone will immediately say: "If you can get as many military exploits as a battalion, you can also get these benefits!"
So Shulka appeared in front of the warehouse with his men.
The warehouse door was originally open, but it was locked under Katukov's order in order to prevent the enemy from counterattacking due to looting of supplies like Shulka said.
Shulka took out the key sent by Katukov and opened the lock. The Cossacks and actors pushed open the warehouse door left and right, and then couldn't help but cheer.
In the warehouse, there are boxes of food, bread, cans, chocolate, honey, etc., piled up like hills.
"Who said the Germans were short of supplies?" the actor said. "They had so much food!"
"Forget it, Okunev!" the veteran replied: "You must know that these are the supplies that the German tank army has accumulated for several days... They seem to be a lot, but if they are divided into one army group, each
Individuals can only get a pitiful share!"
"So!" said the Cossack: "These are the things that Franz saved for us?"
The soldiers couldn't help laughing.
After a pause, the actor licked his lips and asked Shulka: "Can we start, comrade captain?"
"Of course!" Shulka replied.
As soon as he finished speaking, the soldiers cheered and flew towards the pile of food in front of them... For the Soviet soldiers who persisted in fighting despite being hungry and freezing in the severe cold, there was nothing more exciting than this.
The first thing the Cossacks grabbed was French brandy. He took out his spur and knocked on the mouth of the bottle, then poured it into his mouth as if drinking water.
The actor grabbed German cigarettes and stuffed them into his military uniform, until he looked like a fat man... The taste of German cigarettes is indeed much better than horse box cigarettes. This is not only a problem of inferior tobacco, horse box cigarettes usually
You need to use a newspaper roll, so it will naturally smell like newspaper and ink.
The instructor handed Shulka a bag of bread.
Shulka took it and opened the package and saw that it had been cut into slices.
Shulka knew why. If the bread was a whole piece, it would usually be as hard as a stone and difficult to eat at the temperature of minus 40 degrees Celsius, unless a fire was lit to bake it.
But obviously, the German army did not always have the conditions to light fires in battle.
So they cut the bread into slices before it was shipped here, so that even if it was frozen hard, the soldiers could hold it in their mouths and eat it slowly.
Shulka broke off a piece of bread and threw it into his mouth, as if holding an ice cube. It is conceivable that this would not be a good experience for the German soldiers who were short of food and clothing.
The instructor also took a piece of bread to chew on, and asked vaguely: "Captain, how long do you think it will take us to drive the Germans out of the Soviet Union?"
Shulka couldn't help but be stunned, looked at the instructor in confusion, and asked: "Drive out the Soviet Union?"
"Is there any problem?" The instructor looked at Shulka in confusion.
Shulka just smiled and didn't answer.
He didn't know how to answer, because...if it weren't for historical knowledge and just looking at the war situation in front of him, the Soviet army would indeed be able to drive the German army out of the Soviet Union all the way.
But Shulka knew that was not the case.
On the other hand, Hitler, who was taking command in the Wolf's Lair, was staring anxiously at the map, and the staff around him nervously reported to him: "Your Excellency, the Russians coming from the Ostashkov area have been keeping a close eye on them.
Our left wing was under a full-scale attack by the cut-off 23rd Army, which was forced back to the south. At the same time, the left wing of the 6th Army was also attacked quite fiercely..."
As he spoke, the staff officer pointed to a location on the map, and then said: "Here, and the Russians have torn through our defense line, and the outpost troops have reached the western suburbs of Solomilo. That is the Russian ski camp. They are in
Move very quickly in the snow..."
"Enough!" Hitler interrupted the staff officer.
The German defense line is riddled with holes, like a dam about to burst... Although it has not completely collapsed yet, it will only happen sooner or later.
Moreover, even if the reinforcements are blocked, who knows whether these reinforcements will be surrounded?
"These bastards!" Hitler punched the table and cursed: "I ordered them time and time again not to retreat, but they were disobeyed time and time again! These cowards, idiots, their retreat directly led to this helpless situation in front of them.
Clean up the situation! I swear I will send all those who disobey orders to a military court!"
Therefore, military matters are often unclear.
Whether it was a failure caused by retreat or a failure caused by Hitler's stubbornness... it all depends on how it is explained.
Of course, Hitler would not admit the latter.
The problem is that it makes no sense to say this now, and Hitler also understood this, so after walking back and forth in front of his desk for a while, he ordered: "Remove the post of Commander Strauss of the 9th Army, and of course
Chief of Staff ordered General Model to take over and stop the Russian attack at all costs!"
"Yes, Your Excellency the Führer!" the staff officer responded, and then immediately conveyed Hitler's appointment.
But despite this, the staff still had no hope in Hitler's method.
Because the staff believed that Hitler's appointment was just a matter of urgent medical treatment. On the other hand, the general was changed before the battle and the group army commander was changed again... This also had an impact on the morale of the frontline officers and soldiers.
What's more, the newly appointed General Model was just an armored division commander when the war broke out, but now he is asked to command an army group!
Will replacing him be able to turn the tide?
The staff didn't believe it, and neither did the officers and soldiers of the 9th Army.
Therefore, the 9th Army Headquarters was stunned when it received this order.
But of course, what they heard was not that the commander had been dismissed.
Instead: "General Straust had health problems, as did the chief of staff, so the Führer asked them to take sick leave!"
At least Hitler learned a lesson from the impact that Hoppner's removal had on troop morale.
However, this excuse doesn't seem to fool many people.