Chapter six hundred and fortieth underestimate the enemy
Shulka and Khrushchev were right. The Germans were indeed aware of the danger on the flanks... After all, the Germans did not believe or even despise their allies. German soldiers usually talked and laughed contemptuously. A few Romanian soldiers could be used.
After exchanging them, we came to the conclusion that they wouldn't do it even if we exchanged ten of them.
Therefore, the Germans did not actually believe that the Romanians and Italians could protect their flanks... not even the soldiers, let alone the generals.
This time it was Hitler, who was always overconfident, who felt uneasy. He sent a telegram to Paulus expressing his concerns about his flank.
It should be said that it was normal for Hitler to do this. On the one hand, it was because there had been a disastrous defeat in Moscow before, and he did not want the Battle of Stalingrad that was about to end to end in the same way, so he thought that he should be more cautious.
On the other hand, it was because Hitler himself was a racist. Although he was respectful and courteous to Italy and Romania on the surface, it was only a necessary political means to maintain allies in fighting together. In his heart, Hitler actually looked down on these allies.
On this basis, Hitler certainly did not dare to pin the success or failure of the Battle of Stalingrad on these allies.
"My general!" Hitler said in the telegram: "I hope you can pay attention to the movements of the two wings. You know, their (referring to the allies) defense is always not reassuring!"
Paulus was not worried about this, but he was speechless when he saw the telegram.
"Attention? What does attention mean?" Paulus complained: "They are not even under my command. Even if I can find something, I can't inform them!"
Paulus was telling the truth. His military rank was only a general, and there were a lot of marshals in the Romanian and Italian armies... How could a general command a marshal? Besides, they were nominally allies of the German army.
Under the command of the German Army.
Even to a certain extent, these allies often deliberately disobey the orders and suggestions of German commanders in order to show the dignity of their "allies"... Wouldn't it be too shameful to listen to the Germans for everything? So it should be
Have your own opinion!
It's a pity that the German army has powerful air force reconnaissance, complete combat system and intelligence system, coupled with combat experience, so the judgments made by the German army are often correct.
This also means that the "opinions" of Luo, Yi and other armies are actually wrong.
Of course, Paulus's complaint was not actually directed at the Romanian and Italian troops, but alluded to Hitler.
Because Paulus believed that "reminders" like Hitler's were meaningless... If Hitler knew about the dangers on both wings of the Sixth Army, he should have sent reinforcements to eliminate these dangers in time.
But now Hitler did nothing, just reminded.
So what could Paulus do?
One: Abandon the Stalingrad retreat, and then disperse the 6th Army to the Don River defense line.
This was impossible because Hitler would not abandon Stalingrad under such conditions.
Two: Capture Stalingrad quickly, and then move German troops to reinforce the flanks.
This is also impossible. The Battle of Stalingrad has fallen into a quagmire, and the speed of advance can only be calculated in meters and steps.
Therefore, Paulus seemed to have a choice but had no choice, because all roads were blocked, and he could only ignore the dangers on both sides.
However, Paulus's disregard included at least some elements of underestimating the enemy.
This is determined by the fact that every Soviet attack was easily defeated by the German army... In the past few months, the Soviet army organized at least 8 large-scale counterattacks, such as the Battle of Kharkov. In addition, the three armies in the direction of Bryansk repeatedly attacked Voronezh.
The counterattack, on a larger scale, was the counterattack launched by the Stalingrad Front against the Germans in the direction of Kotluban.
Without exception, these offensive operations were large-scale and fierce, but they were all easily defeated by the German army and its allies.
Therefore, Paulus habitually came to the conclusion: Even if the Soviet army launched an attack on both sides of Stalingrad and broke through the Don River defense line, the German army could still defeat them by relying on air superiority and mobile troops as before.
Paulus even believed that the Soviet army's large-scale attacks had been defeated time and time again and suffered heavy casualties, so the Soviet army's subsequent counterattacks were very limited (obviously, Paulus underestimated the Soviet Union's mobilization capabilities).
Therefore, Paulus decided to focus his attention on Stalingrad in front of him. As long as Stalingrad was completely captured, all problems would be solved.
Shulka didn't know this. At this time, he and Khrushchev and others were on their way to the Stalingrad Front Army Headquarters.
Since Stalingrad has been semi-surrounded by the German army and blocked by German air power, it is very difficult to rush to the Stalingrad Front headquarters in the north.
They first need to cross the Volga River to reach the east bank, and then take a car to go north in the night... Under the enemy's air blockade, it is actually the safest to take a car on the road, especially for veterans.
This is mainly because train targets are easily attacked, and the lines are fixed, and the carriage doors are usually not opened. Once attacked by enemy fighters and bombers, you will almost have to wait for death.
As for cars, the key point is that there are fewer people in the back compartment, which means more cars.
This was not a problem at all for Khrushchev. He, his staff, and security guards totaled more than fifty people, and two cars were originally enough.
But 10 cars were used, which means each car only transported five to six people.
This was for safety reasons. First of all, more cars meant more targets. When enemy planes swooped down from the sky and strafed, the probability of hitting the car that Khrushchev was riding in was small.
Secondly, if the number of people on board is small, you can jump out of the car at any time... In fact, this is enough time, because you can hear the roar of the plane diving down, and a slightly experienced soldier can easily judge whether the enemy plane's dive is aimed at yourself or others.
nearby.
Another is that having more cars can ensure that after being attacked in the wilderness, there will still be surviving cars that can take everyone to evacuate quickly.
Shulka and Khrushchev were riding in the same car, in the back compartment.
This is wise, because the rear compartment has better visibility and faster response. As soon as you sense danger, you can jump out and roll to the side of the road to hide.
"I thought I would never get out of Stalingrad!" Shulka said with emotion as he looked at Stalingrad on the other side of the Volga River!"
"You didn't go out!" Khrushchev said: "You, and I, we are all there, no matter what time!" (To be continued)