Chapter 181 Happy Comrade Stalin

"The evil lackeys of Nazi fascism are trampled under the feet of the heroic Red Army! Hitler's evil plot will be completely thwarted on Soviet soil!"

Zhukov almost dropped his eyes to the ground when he silently recited the impassioned headline of the second page of Pravda.

Stalin, who was beside him, took in Zhukov's surprised expression. Although the battle in Kiev was bad, he could not hide his joy for it. Then he smiled and spoke again.

"It seems that you recognized your subordinates, Zhukov. Can you tell me what happened?"

The photo published on the second page of Pravda, which Zhukov held in his hands at this moment, was nothing else. It was the scene taken by reporter William when Malashenko, wearing a black leather tank cap, took the Luger P08 pistol, which symbolized the glory of German officers, from the servile SS second-level assault squadron leader Clauseheim with a proud and arrogant attitude of a winner.

"Comrade Stalin, I didn't even know there was such a thing! It's true that the person in the photo is a tank major named Malashenko under my command, but I really have never heard any news about this matter before, and no one has ever mentioned it to me!"

"Huh? It's like this!"

Zhukov's exclamation obviously exceeded Stalin's expectations, but Stalin, who calmed down after thinking about it, spoke again.

"Since the incident has already happened, it seems a bit irrelevant to investigate the process. Tell me what you think about this matter, Zhukov."

Zhukov, who was in a state of great shock in his heart, quickly calmed down and quickly thought about the whole story.

The Waffen SS, which was Hitler's private army, was captured and surrendered, and it was one of the most powerful SS Imperial Divisions. This was indeed a very explosive news for the Patriotic War that had just broken out in 1941.

Many elite SS troops, including the Leibstandarte and Reichsband, advanced rapidly after the launch of Operation Barbarossa.

These armies composed of Hitler's fanatics, armed with the best weapons with priority supply, cleaned up all the Red Army troops that blocked their way along the way.

The Red Army troops that blocked their way were either sent to see Comrade Lenin or collectively sent to prisoner-of-war camps. This brutal army of hellish devils marched quickly and gave the commanders and fighters at all levels of the Red Army on the front a headache. There was even a period of low morale and fear of war in the grassroots troops, such as "fear of the double lightning mark" and "preferring to deal with the Wehrmacht rather than fight with these lunatics".

The elite SS divisions, including the Reichsband and Leibstandarte, could retreat in an orderly manner even if they suffered a defeat or their offensive was temporarily blocked.

It was extremely difficult to fight a draw with this bunch of crazy people who didn't care about their lives. In the past few months since the start of the war, the Red Army troops at all levels had never captured even a small unit of the Waffen SS and suffered defeats in front of them. This also made Comrade Stalin, who was very proud, angry and ashamed.

This unprecedented war between the Soviet Union and Germany was a contest between the two sides' different ideologies and living space, and a contest between the two leaders, Hitler and Stalin.

The Waffen SS, which represented the extension of Hitler's personal will in the army, defeated the most elite troops under its command and stood firm.

This very angry situation made Stalin often feel a burning pain on his face in the dead of night. Toppling the Waffen SS, which symbolized Hitler, became a lingering pain in Stalin's heart.

There is a saying in ancient China: "When you are sleepy, you can have a pillow." This is also true for Stalin, who often tossed and turned and suffered from insomnia.

The capture of the elite SS Imperial Division made Stalin excited on the spot after learning the news. The photo of the SS officer wearing a helmet with double lightning marks grovelling and offering his gun to the Red Army major with both hands was as exciting as a front army winning a great victory.

Before becoming a military commander-in-chief, he was a political leader. Stalin, who possessed all the characteristics of an outstanding politician, cared about more than just the military significance of the capture of this small SS unit.

With this photo, Stalin could use the Soviet government's own mouthpiece media to publicize and report this incident.

Firstly, the news of the SS being captured and surrendering after the report was published was equivalent to breaking the myth of the Waffen SS's invincibility. This played an important role as a booster for the Red Army, which was in urgent need of reversing the morale of the grassroots troops on the front line, and had a very positive and encouraging significance for the Soviet army and civilians to unite against the enemy.

Secondly, Stalin, who wanted to gain political capital from this, could use this news to criticize and trample on Hitler himself.

Unlike the regular national army such as the Wehrmacht, the Waffen SS, as the extension of Hitler's personal will and the Nazi Party in the army, surrendered to the Red Army.

The meaning of this, in a broader sense, can be portrayed as the evil bandit leader Hitler being defeated by the Red Soviet led by the great leader Stalin and being defeated, suggesting that the big picture can be seen from the small.

To put it mildly, the elite armed SS, the embodiment of the evil existence of the Nazi Party, was no match for the elite Red Army. The key depended on how Stalin wanted to promote it.

In this backward era when PS technology had not yet become rampant, the black and white photos washed out from the film were ironclad evidence, not to mention that such clear black and white photos were taken by the Germans themselves after they were captured, and their authenticity was even more certain.

Zhukov, who had been with Stalin for many years, was naturally not a simple-minded and low-EQ fool. Being uninterested in political matters did not mean that Zhukov could not understand the deep meaning of them. Zhukov, who understood why the supreme leader was happy, slowly put down the newspaper in his hand and then spoke solemnly.

"This matter undoubtedly has very positive significance and value for our entire Red Army and even the entire Soviet Union."

"Capturing the Waffen SS, which represents Hitler's personal existence, is equivalent to hitting the enemy's soft spot, not to mention that it is an elite force with good combat effectiveness. This is very important propaganda capital, Comrade Stalin, at least I personally think so."