Paulus suddenly understood why Hitler was so "friendly" to him.
Before this, Paulus could be said to be a general under Hitler's control. If Paulus dared to contradict or disobey, Hitler could punish him or even directly remove Paulus and replace him with a new general.
But now, when the 6th Army was about to be surrounded by the Soviet army, Hitler's control over Paulus had been weakened by the encirclement.
More importantly, Hitler could only place his hope on Paulus at this time, because the morale and combat effectiveness of the entire 6th Army depended on Paulus's attitude.
Of course, Hitler would not dare to just send someone to replace Paulus.
As a result, Paulus' status and importance suddenly increased exponentially.
But Paulus understood that this could also be said to be a higher value for him.
It should be said that Hitler's plan was partly correct.
For example, Stalingrad is located between the Don River and the Volga River, which is very beneficial to the German defense... One side relies on the Volga River and the other side relies on the Don River, and then a defense line is established at both ends, forming a defense zone of more than 100 kilometers long and wide.
.
As long as the German army opens several airports within these more than 100 kilometers, transport planes can land here one after another and continuously bring supplies to the 6th Army.
The problem is that Stalingrad is still in the hands of the Russian army. At the same time, the Russian army still has amphibious landing ships that can attack rivers. In addition, the Russian army also has an air force. Of course, their air force will try every means to prevent German transportation. In addition, there are also weather factors that may cause
Transportation is not in place, or the airport is bombed...
Paulus thought about it and felt that there were countless possibilities. As long as any one of these possibilities was established, the 6th Army would be in trouble.
"One thing that is certain is..." Hitler continued: "You will not be besieged for long. I have ordered Manstein to mobilize troops to reinforce you. By then they will repel these Russians and lift your siege!"
Paulus wanted to say something else, but he knew that what he said was superfluous.
No one can change what the head of state decides.
So, Paulus could only answer: "Yes, Your Excellency the Führer!"
After putting down the phone, Paulus paced back and forth in front of his desk, then walked to the map and looked at it for a while.
If Hitler's orders were followed, Paulus should abandon Karachi now and cross the Don River to build a line of defense on the other side.
But Paulus was unwilling to tie his hands like this. After thinking about it, he ordered the adjutant: "The 9th Panzergrenadier Division, order them to launch a counterattack against the enemy immediately, and at the same time, try their best to transport supplies and ammunition.
Food, everything!”
"Yes, General!"
Judging from Paulus's order, he never placed his hope on air transport being able to supply the 6th Army.
The 9th Panzergrenadier Division was Paulus's only reserve force in the rear. Even when Prodovitoye was in critical condition, Paulus was not willing to use it... To be precise, it was not reluctant, but that he was reluctant to fight.
It should be like this. Reserves should not be used prematurely unless absolutely necessary, because there may be more emergencies after the emergency. At that time, if there is no available troops, it means that the army will be defeated.
Now is the time to use the emergency reserve team.
The 9th Panzergrenadier Division received the order and immediately headed to the combat zone, which was the direction in which the Soviet army was likely to advance, to prepare.
The Soviet army spent the night resting.
In fact, one night is not enough. The reason is that the tanks move very slowly in the mud. Sometimes it is good to be able to move more than ten kilometers a day... They always get stuck in the mud and cannot move, even if they use self-rescue trees.
There are also engineers who are constantly filling holes for them.
The problem was that the tanks were too heavy, and the gravel used to fill the pits was rolled into the mud and completely disappeared within a few moments, so every few tanks had to be filled in, and every few tanks had to be filled in again.
This is especially true at corners... Tanks in this era turned very violently, with one track braking and the other moving forward, thus completing the turn.
This turning movement coupled with the weight of the tank will dig a big hole in the road.
Therefore, the tank troops almost stopped and went, and in the end only two tank regiments were able to reach Prodovitoje.
At this time, the Army Group Headquarters also arrived at Prodovitoje, and Major General Trufanov reluctantly "received" Shulka.
Khrushchev ordered Trufanov to fully consider Comrade Shulka's suggestions.
Although Trufanov knew very well in his heart that his previous judgment was wrong, he was still unwilling to admit it on the surface... Sometimes it was indeed difficult to pull off this face. After all, he was the commander of the group army.
Therefore, this war is actually not only fighting against the enemy, but also overt and covert fighting among one's own people.
"This is one of the reasons why I do not support the use of tank troops as the main offensive force, Comrade Shulka!" Trufanov said: "Our marching speed is too slow, which will give the enemy sufficient reaction time!"
"Maybe!" Shulka replied: "We are worried about the Germans breaking through, but the Germans have no intention of breaking out at all!"
"How is that possible!" Trufanov laughed: "Will they let us cut off their supply routes and surround them?"
"Maybe they can't bear to leave Stalingrad!" Shulka said: "It's actually very simple to know the answer. We just need to ask whether the German offensive against Stalingrad has weakened!"
Trufanov couldn't help but be startled, and then raised his head to the staff officer.
The staff officer immediately used the radio to contact the 6th Army... The 51st Army and the 6th Army both belonged to the Stalingrad Front and had a communication mechanism with each other.
After a while, the staff officer came back. He said nothing but handed Trufanov a telegram.
Trufanov looked at the telegram with confusion on his face.
Before the Soviet army captured Prodovitoye, it made sense for the German army not to retreat, because the German army could still block the Soviet attack on the flanks, so the attack on Stalingrad could continue.
But now, after the Soviet army captured Prodovitoje, the Soviet army's encirclement situation of Stalingrad has become clear. Even if a large-scale deep encirclement cannot be achieved, Karachi will be flanked on both sides and the German 6th Army will be surrounded east of the Don River.
It can still be done.
But even so, the German army did not retreat and still maintained its offensive against Stalingrad... This made Trufanov a little confused.
"If..." Shulka said: "The Germans have no intention of retreating, then why should we rush to close the encirclement?" (To be continued)