Chapter 154 Stalin's Stubbornness

Even though he was transferred from the position of chief of general staff to the front line to become the commander of the front army by a piece of paper from his loving father Comrade Stalin, the principle of not being in charge does not seem to apply to Zhukov. After coming to the front line, this outstanding Red Army war god with a long-term vision and overall concept became more worried about the war in Kiev as time passed.

The dim light, which has nothing to do with being as bright as day, shines on a small area in front of the desk and can barely be seen clearly. It is late at night, but Zhukov is still crouching in front of the desk and writing furiously.

"Dear leader Comrade Stalin, at this critical moment when the entire Southwestern Front and the Southern Front are at the last moment, I once again put forward to you the only suggestion that we have to abandon Kiev, and there is no other option to choose from."

"The 2nd Armored Group, the main leading force of the German Army Group Center, has been transferred away from the main attack direction of Moscow and began to move south towards the Ukrainian theater. The commander of the enemy's 2nd Armored Group has been identified as the father and father of the German armored force. General Guderian, the advocate and inventor of blitzkrieg, can be said to be the real soul of the current German armored forces.”

"There is no doubt that when Guderian, the number one armored hawk under Hitler, the Nazi leader of Germany, appeared in that position, his direction must be where the real offensive edge of the most elite armored forces of the German army lies."

"The intention of the German Army Group South and the support troops of Army Group Center moving south to eat up the Southwest Front and capture Kiev is now very clear."

"Our Southwest Front Army and Southern Front Army have been exhausted and suffered heavy losses since the beginning of the war. It is an established fact that Kiev and the Ukrainian theater cannot be defended. The huge offensive force gathered by the enemy in the southern fighting direction is far away. Far beyond our army. I urgently hope that you can make the most correct choice at this last and most critical moment before the German army completes the encirclement of our army and Kiev."

As he wrote this, Zhukov temporarily put down the pen in his hand and rubbed his eyes, his eyes feeling astringent due to excessive use of his eyes all day long.

Against Stalin's personal subjective wishes, he once again wrote a letter to advise Stalin to abandon Kiev even after he had been demoted and dismissed from office. This was by no means a wise choice for Zhukov's personal future. Enraged, Stalin once again lost his official position and was even arrested on charges of cowardice and undermining military morale.

But compared with the unfair treatment he may have suffered for speaking out and admonishing, Zhukov, who knew the strength of his opponent the German army, wanted to do his best to avoid this disastrous defeat that was coming step by step. .

The outcome of the entire Southwest Front Army plus the Southern Front Army being trapped in Kiev and being wiped out by the Germans was definitely adding insult to injury for the Soviet Army, which was already in an extremely difficult situation in 1941.

If possible, Zhukov personally hopes to devote these limited living military forces to the upcoming battle in the direction of Moscow, instead of wasting it meaninglessly and with no chance of winning in Kiev, a place where the symbolic significance is greater than the actual value.

But as a political leader, Stalin obviously had more things to consider than Zhukov, a military general.

Abandoning Kiev would be equivalent to Stalin completely abandoning Ukraine, an important part of the Soviet Union. This would undoubtedly worsen the already severely deteriorating attitude of the Ukrainian people towards the Soviet Union. It would also cause the Soviet Union to lose Ukraine, an important agricultural and grain production base, thereby greatly weakening the Soviet Union. future war potential.

Therefore, whether from a political or military perspective, Stalin hoped that Kiev and the entire Ukrainian theater could be defended.

However, wishful thinking and subjective will cannot control the development of the war situation. Stalin's wrong method of "directing the development of the war with political will" will eventually usher in the most tragic failure. Zhukov's letter of advice begins with the first word of the pen. Perhaps it is doomed to be futile.

At the end of the paper, Zhukov mentioned in detail his upcoming counterattack on the Yelniya theater.

After a rough summary, Zhukov believed that the entire Yelnya salient under German control was actually a long spike deeply embedded in the Red Army's hinterland in the direction of Moscow.

The best way to remove this spike is not to attack it head-on, but to start from the root.

Zhukov planned to launch an attack from the areas actually controlled by the Soviet Red Army on the left and right sides of the Yelniya salient, and simultaneously hit the long spike connecting the root of the German-occupied area in the rear in a flanking posture. The way the Red Army joined forces cut off the ground road connection between the garrison in the Yelniya salient and the German Army Group Center in the rear area.

Use this to try to completely encircle and eat all the German troops in the Yelnya protrusion, or to use continuous pressure through fierce attacks after clarifying their strategic intentions, forcing the German army to take the initiative to protrude from Yelnya before the Red Army completes the encirclement. The army withdrew its troops and finally recovered the important city of Yelniya Bulge.

After carefully considering every word he wrote, Zhukov finally confirmed that it was correct. This telegram, drafted by Zhukov himself, was sent to the rear in the direction of Moscow that night.

In the brightly lit Moscow Kremlin, the real owner of this magnificent palace was sitting in his office, holding a pipe and reading the telegram in front of him, which still smelled of ink. The tossing and turning and sleepless nights for many consecutive days have made this Soviet iron leader comrade a little unwell, and he needs to rely on something like tobacco to keep his spirits up.

To be honest, Stalin, who knew Zhukov's character well, was not surprised that Zhukov once again advised him to give up Kiev, and even felt that it was reasonable.

The reason why Zhukov was selected by Stalin and personally promoted and reused and rose to this point, in addition to Zhukov's outstanding military talent and extraordinary command ability, the more important reason is that Zhukov is a pure and essential soldier. His indifference to political affairs and his refusal to interfere are the fundamental advantages that Stalin values ​​most about Zhukov.

After tapping the pipe in his hand and putting down the telegram in his hand, he gently slid the match. Under the light of the fire and surrounded by smoke, Stalin spoke quietly to the person in front of him in a calm tone without any anger.

"No matter what, Kiev and Ukraine must be defended. This is a fundamental principle. In addition, I don't think there is much problem with Zhukov's offensive plan. After discussing and analyzing it with the General Staff, if you think there is no problem and no need to modify it, then approve it. I still trust his ability in strategic command."