Originally, Shurka wanted to use Liao Yaoxiang's roller tactics to buy time for Stalingrad, that is, to block and retreat to Stalingrad. This would consume the enemy's offensive capabilities to the maximum extent and preserve his own strength.
Even under these circumstances, Shulka believed that it would be much better to withdraw the Southeastern Front directly to Stalingrad.
The reason is that instead of blocking the German army on the battlefield, they consumed the supplies in Stalingrad and gave them to the German army.
But as soon as Lieutenant General Goldov said such words, Shulka knew that his idea could no longer be realized.
No matter what happens when "courage" and "defending to the death" are involved, it is difficult to explain clearly, especially if this is a city named after Stalin.
Sure enough, other officers echoed one after another: "I agree, we cannot retreat, we will block the enemy on the way to Stalingrad just like the defense of Moscow!"
"We should defend Stalingrad to the death!"
…
The Soviet army, they don't know the saying "don't care about the gains and losses of one city or one pool".
So Shulka had no choice but to withdraw from the discussion.
It was still Colonel Kaplanov who escorted Shulka back to the city. He was silent for a long time before saying: "I think you are right, Captain!"
"What's wrong?"
"The Southeastern Front should retreat!" Colonel Kaplanov handed Shulka a cigarette, lit it with each other, and continued: "Actually, they also know, you understand."
Colonel Kaplanov didn't say much, but Shulka understood what he meant.
In other words, everyone, including Gordorf, probably knew that Shulka was right, but they did not dare to use this tactic.
The reason is simple, it is retreating, and retreating is considered a cowardly, negative behavior.
This will subject them to disciplinary action, which may include dismissal from their posts or even worse.
"But does it make any difference?" Shulka asked: "I mean, if they don't choose the right tactics, the Southeast Front will be defeated, and they will be responsible for this failure!"
"Of course there is a difference!" Kaplanov replied: "First of all, the Southeastern Front may not be defeated. At least they still have a glimmer of hope, or a miracle may come! Secondly, even if it fails, it can be said that it is a failure.
The Southeastern Front is not fighting well!"
Then Shulka finally understood.
On the contrary, if they choose Shulka's battle plan, although it is correct and beneficial to the overall situation and the entire campaign, Gordorf and others will have to take greater risks.
Shulka didn't expect that just a choice of battle plan would involve so many interests.
"As for the lives of frontline soldiers..." Kaplanov smiled bitterly and shook his head.
"And the safety of Stalingrad!" Shulka added.
This is an irony. Everyone was vowing to defend Stalingrad, but they chose a plan that was detrimental to the defense of Stalingrad.
However, Shulka soon discovered that these seemingly selfish officers were not to blame at all.
Two days later, the German army launched an attack on the Southeast Front from the south.
Paulus adopted a tactic similar to "Tianji Horse Racing"... He ordered the Hungarian 2nd Army and the Italian 8th Army, which were affiliated with Army Group B, to launch defenses along the Don River.
As mentioned before, the Don River was an insurmountable barrier for the German army, and the same was true for the Soviet army.
Therefore, the German army's defense on the west bank of the Don River with the weak Italian and Hungarian armies was enough to protect its flanks, even though the Stalingrad Front, a more elite force of the Soviet army, was to the north.
Then, Paulus personally led the main force of Army Group B, the 6th Army, to conduct a river-crossing operation against the Southeast Front from the lower reaches of Karachi.
This river-crossing battle took place at night.
The German army, which had been silent for a long time, suddenly launched a large-scale artillery bombardment against the Soviet army and sent troops to begin crossing the river.
The Soviet army did not think much and immediately organized an artillery counterattack.
The Soviet army had some advantages in this regard, because the Soviet artillery had adjusted its muzzles to the Don River before this.
As soon as the artillery was fired at this time, the artillery shells exploded the river surface that was about to melt and filled it with ice floes. It is not difficult to imagine that the German offensive was blocked and unable to advance.
However, just when Goldov was secretly proud of having repelled the German army, a few minutes later he received urgent information from the Southeastern Front: "The German army has crossed the Don River!"
"What's going on?" Lieutenant General Goldov asked, "We just fought them off!"
"That's the enemy's conspiracy, Comrade General!" Major General Filipovich replied: "Their actual crossing point is two kilometers away. They used infantry to crawl across the ice in darkness and light equipment!"
Lieutenant General Goldov was so shocked that he could not speak.
It turned out that Paulus asked the scouts to test the ice on the Don River and believed that the ice could barely bear the weight of the soldiers.
Of course, it is obviously not possible if the soldiers are fully armed and carrying dozens of kilograms of equipment.
Therefore, Paulus ordered the troops to leave everything else behind and only carry necessary combat equipment, such as grenades, rifles, bullets, etc.
On the other hand, he ordered the soldiers to crawl across the ice... This was to increase the contact area between the human body and the ice, making the ice less likely to crack.
As a result, a German battalion crawled across the Don River in the dark under the cover of artillery fire, and then suddenly launched an attack on the Soviet troops on the east bank of the Don River.
The Soviet army, which was caught off guard and more importantly because of its panic, was unable to resist at all. It only lasted for more than ten minutes before abandoning its position and fleeing.
This allowed the German army to successfully open a breakthrough on the east bank of the Don River.
Then the engineers built pontoons to cross the tanks one by one across the Don River... At this point, the Soviet army could no longer resist the German army's march towards Stalingrad.
In fact, not only were they unable to resist, the Soviet army almost collapsed under the German attack. In just one night, they lost two lines of defense and were driven back thirty kilometers. At the same time, a large number of Soviet troops surrendered to the German army.
Shulka and others in Stalingrad did not know this.
This is to avoid panic within Stalingrad, so when the front line is defeated, there is usually no publicity in the city.
But Shulka and others knew this from another aspect... The Supreme Command issued Order No. 227 at this time: "We must tenaciously hold on to every position and every inch of the Soviet Union's territory until it is exhausted."
The last drop of blood. We must hold on to every piece of our land and fight for it to the greatest extent! No step back!"