Major Gavrilov choked on the vodka and coughed violently. While coughing, he spit out something that he didn't know was wine or saliva. It took him a long time to calm down, and then he laughed and said: "Surround? You actually want to surround me?"
Germans? Well done, Shulka!"
"Yes, I just want to encircle the Germans!" Shulka replied: "The German Army Group South is advancing straight in, and the front has been advancing forward. This will make their rear extremely empty, because they think that we only have defense but no defense.
The ability to counterattack. At exactly this moment, we give them a counterattack!"
Shulka set his sights on General Kilponos, which of course required his approval, otherwise there would be no need to say anything further.
Admiral Kilponos, who had been silent, thought for a while and said: "Why not? If we can't prevent the enemy from outflanking from the rear, then we will find a way to defeat the enemy from the front, I mean if possible. In this way
Come on, Germany will not be able to complete the outflanking of us in the end!"
"Yes, that's exactly what I think, Comrade General!" Shulka said.
"But..." Major Gavrilov said: "That is our logistics supply line. I mean if the enemy encircles our rear, the railways and roads will be cut off by them, and we will not be able to get supplies. We are still in the enemy's territory.
Under siege!"
"If this plan succeeds, we don't need to worry about this, Comrade Major!" Shulka said, "Because we can get supplies from the Black Sea!"
"Black Sea?" Major Gavrilov obviously did not expect this.
"Yes, the Black Sea!" Shulka said: "Our army will go south from Kiev into the Vinnitsa District, then into the Odessa District and occupy the coastal city to join the Southern Front. Then we can get the Southern Front and the Black Sea
Fleet support and supplies!”
"If we can surround and annihilate all the German troops entering the east of the Uman District!" General Kilponos added: "We can even use the Dnieper River to transport supplies!"
The Dnieper River turns a ""-shaped bend downstream of Kiev and then enters the Black Sea.
Therefore, if an armored force penetrates and encircles from Kiev to the south, it will form a perfect encirclement with the Dnieper River where the Southern Front is stationed.
At this time, Major Gavrilov even forgot to drink. He stared at the map for a while, then raised his head and said: "Great, Shulka, great! This plan is solved.
All problems! Not only has the problem been solved, we can at least surround several German divisions east of the Uman district!"
"But..." General Kilponos found a location on the map, and then set his sights on Shulka: "We probably only have a few days, because the Germans are only 80 kilometers away from us!"
Shulka knew what General Kilponos meant. 80 kilometers meant that the Germans only needed eight days at most, and it was probably shorter because the Germans put their fighter planes into bombing after the rainfall became lighter.
The Panzer III tanks were also put into use normally, so it was rare for a line of defense to be able to stop them for a day.
After a pause, General Kilponos said: "But we have no other choice, because I just received the news that Comrade Zhukov has been dismissed from the post of Chief of General Staff!"
Major Gavrilov couldn't help but be shocked, knowing that General Zhukov had just won the Battle of Nomonhan against the Japanese a year ago, and was still very successful in the battle, but now he was dismissed from his post.
Admiral Kilponos explained: "Because he proposed to abandon Kiev and retreat!"
Then Major Gavrilo understood.
Of course, Shulka also pretended to be enlightened.
Later, many people believed that the failure of the Battle of Kiev could not be entirely attributed to the Soviet top brass, because the Soviet top brass did not give an order to defend Kiev.
Shulka believes this is not objective.
It is true that they have not issued such an order, but anyone who says to retreat will be dismissed from their posts, even Zhukov is no exception. What is the difference between this and an order to defend?
And this once again made General Kilponos understand that it was impossible to abandon Kiev and retreat.
Therefore, it seems that they have only one choice, and that is Shulka's counter-siege plan.
"Tell me the detailed plan, Shulka!" Admiral Kilponos said, "I believe you already have a plan in mind!"
"I'm just a little generous, General!" Shulka replied.
"Your generosity was enough to scare us!" Major Gavrilov said with a smile: "I thought you were crazy or joking at first!"
What Major Gavrilov said was that everyone, including General Kirponos, was thinking about how to defend and how to break out of the encirclement. Unexpectedly, Shulka was thinking about counterattack and counter-encirclement.
For Shulka, this is actually not surprising, because he knows that defense and follow-up surprises will not work, so he can only find other methods.
"I think we should take a three-step approach, general!" Shulka said: "First, of course, is to form a mechanized army and integrate as many light tanks and medium tanks into this team. The infantry must also be
Elite.”
"No need for heavy tanks?" Major Gavrilov asked doubtfully.
"We need speed, Comrade Major!" Shulka replied: "The heavy tank is slow and has many malfunctions. It will become a burden to this army!"
General Kilponos nodded in agreement: "I will form this force in the shortest possible time. What about the second question?"
"Logistics and follow-up troops, General!" Shulka said: "Tanks need fuel, soldiers need food, ammunition, and every time we occupy a garrison, we need troops to garrison..."
This is a big problem.
In comparison, the supply of defensive operations in Kiev will be much simpler and the requirements will be much smaller.
Now that we are attacking, especially outflanking behind enemy lines, ammunition, fuel and supplies will increase exponentially, and a large number of vehicles will be needed.
"No problem!" General Kilponos replied: "I will ask for more supplies before the enemy outflanks our army's rear and cuts off the railway. As for cars... they can be requisitioned from Kiev!"
Requisitioning civilian vehicles is a good option, and you can even requisition the driver as well.
"The last point!" Shulka said: "We must consciously protect the railway from Kiev to Oviedi Opoli and prepare for repairs, which means we need maintenance workers and, if possible, trains!"
This is why, needless to say, trains can be used to provide supplies and reinforcements to the attacking troops along the way.