USSR 1941

  Chapter 879 Reserve Team

  Things turned out as Shulka expected, and Zhukov quickly convinced Stalin.

   Actually the word "persuasion" is not accurate, because Stalin still reserved his opinion...

  Stalin's idea was to wait for the ice and snow to melt and immediately switch to a counter-offensive, first recapture Kharkov and then liberate the Donbass, and then pursue the victory to expand the victory.

  Since Zhukov firmly opposed it, Stalin had no choice but to let this plan go.

   But he didn't give up entirely.

  According to Stalin's statement: "You can launch a defense in Kursk according to your ideas, and at the same time we will also formulate an offensive plan. In the spring of next year, we will decide whether to focus on defense or offense based on intelligence!"

   To put it simply, it is to formulate two plans and prepare with both hands, and then decide whether to attack or defend next spring.

  Stalin was indeed clever in doing so. On the one hand, it was not a bad thing to let Zhukov start organizing the defense, and on the other hand, he did not give up his offensive plan and would not lose face.

  However, Zhukov took over the entire Kursk and became a representative of the Supreme Command with the right to mobilize and deploy the main force of the Soviet army.

   These things happened within a day when Zhukov flew to Moscow and then returned, and when Zhukov returned to Voronezh, Shulka was immediately called to the headquarters again.

   This is not difficult for Shulka, because at this time he has been equipped with a brand new American jeep.

  The car was assigned by Saraev... It is a kind of expression, thanks to Shulka for teaching the 11th Infantry Division.

   But Shulka knew what was going on.

   You must know that Zhukov is the supreme deputy commander, the most powerful person in the Soviet military.

Although the power of the military generals has always been unstable... this can be said to be "the crime of being pregnant", the army is indeed a good thing, it represents fists and strength, but it is precisely because of this that Stalin is not at ease with the generals of the army, so the generals of the army include The Marshal and others are the targets of censorship, and everyone has to behave with their tails between their legs, otherwise they will be shot at every turn.

  The problem is that things are a little bit different now.

  Zhukov, who has the most power in the military, calls Shurka his brother, and Beria, who has the most power in the Ministry of Internal Affairs, favors Shurka... Saraev dare not neglect even if he has the guts to do it!

   So Shulka had a jeep and a driver.

Although Shulka has a psychological shadow on American jeeps, but thinking that the war will not start until the ice and snow melt at least next year, there is basically no need to worry about enemy bombing this winter. In addition, jeeps are very suitable for driving in the snow...American jeeps are light in weight, The off-road performance is good, and if it is really not good, several people can push it even if they get off the car, so I didn't refuse it.

   As soon as he walked into the headquarters, before he could report to Zhukov in a hurry, he was hugged by a man: "Are you okay, Comrade Shulka!"

   Taking a closer look, it turned out to be Rokossovsky.

   "Why are you here, Comrade Rokossovsky?" Shulka asked in surprise, Rokossovsky should organize defenses on the Don River.

"I asked him to come!" Zhukov explained: "I am going to transfer the Don River Front Army to Kursk to be responsible for the defense of Kursk! To be precise, it is the Central Front Army... I plan to reorganize the Don River Front Army into the Central Front Army! "

   Shulka let out an "oh".

   This is not surprising. The strategy of the Soviet army is to defend first and then counterattack. That is to say, there must be a planned retreat in advance.

  Many people think that "counter-offensive" is the most difficult at the first sight of this strategy.

  But it’s actually not the case. In the early stage, “consuming the enemy’s vitality while retreating” is the most difficult, and it will be much more difficult than “counterattack”.

  Especially the Soviet army...the Soviet army with poor morale, low quality, and extremely backward communication equipment often retreated endlessly as soon as they retreated. Asking them to "deplete the enemy while retreating"...that is simply embarrassing for them.

   Therefore, a most capable commander is needed to command, and this commander is none other than Rokossovsky.

"Look at this!" Then Zhukov invited Shulka to the map, pointed to the map and introduced: "This is our preliminary plan. The Central Front Army and the Voronezh Front Army are responsible for the northern and southern half of Kursk respectively. The Bryansk Front Army and the Western Front Army are responsible for protecting the northern flank, and the Southwest Front Army is responsible for protecting the southern flank! The moment the enemy attacks and stops on the Don River line is when we launch a counterattack, what do you think?"

This is indeed a feasible plan. The Don River is a natural barrier behind Voronezh. The Soviet army only needs a small number of troops to block the German offensive momentum on the Don River defense line, no matter how fierce the German offensive is. The offensive line will change from the protruding part facing the German army to the protruding part facing the Soviet army, so the Soviet army can implement an anti-encirclement against the German army.

but…

   "We should have a reserve team!" Shulka said.

   "We have a reserve team!" Zhukov replied without thinking.

   This is common sense, and Zhukov certainly would not have made this mistake.

   "No, I don't mean this!" Shulka explained: "I mean, we need a front army, a reserve army of the front army!"

   "A front army?" Zhukov couldn't help being taken aback.

You must know that five front armies have been invested in his plan, which can be regarded as a big deal. After all, the Kursk salient is just an area 250 kilometers long and 160 kilometers deep. This area can be eaten up in a day.

   Now, Shulka actually asked to add another front army to the five fronts as a reserve.

"Yes!" Shulka replied: "And it must be prepared in secret, and no one should know! Even the front army itself should not know their mission. They should be able to quickly adjust before the battle or even shortly after the battle. To the Kursk region!"

   Once Shulka said this, Zhukov and Rokossovsky understood.

"Yes!" Rokossovsky said: "Everyone knows that there will be a fierce battle in Kursk. Since we can all guess it, the Germans of course know that we are prepared! Therefore, our deployment It will not be a secret to them. That is to say, if we have the strength of five armies, they will also have the corresponding strength, or they believe that these forces can defeat us! Therefore, we need to have a reserve army Team, unplanned reserve team!"

  (end of this chapter)