Steel Soviet Union

Although he was a little surprised, he still reached out to take the note Zhukov handed him and quickly read it. After nodding lightly to Zhukov, Marshal Voroshilov then quietly handed the note to Secretary Zhdanov who was sitting next to him. The latter, who recognized Stalin's handwriting at a glance, looked normal and showed no signs of disturbance.

"Okay, the meeting continues, comrades. Regarding the Baltic Fleet's support for land operations, I would like to make a few requests here."

The meeting, which did not announce Zhukov's replacement as the new commander of Leningrad, came to an end not long after. Marshal Voroshilov's final concluding speech to the meeting was to ask all participants to defend Leningrad until She shed the last drop of blood, and at the same time received the echo and approval of Secretary Zhdanov, the highest political leader in Leningrad.

But even so, in Zhukov's eyes, the faces and expressions of the people present and in the audience could not really be called high-spirited, but rather full of the tragic and sad look of "a hero is gone and never comes back".

Regarding the transfer order personally given to him by Supreme Leader Stalin, Marshal Voroshilov, who fulfilled his duty as commander every day in Leningrad, did not pay too much to Zhukov who came to replace him. 's questioning.

"Zhukov, the Germans just launched a fierce attack on the main defensive areas of the 42nd Army today. Uritsk has changed hands repeatedly during today's offensive, but fortunately, the 42nd Army finally mobilized reserves Launched a counterattack to drive the Germans from the defense lines."

"Pulkovo Heights, Pushkin City, Korpino, the Germans who are unwilling to fail are still continuing their offensive against the 42nd Army, and the reserves of this army have basically been exhausted."

"The Germans deployed at least two armored divisions and no less than twice this number of infantry divisions on the front of the entire defensive area to launch an attack. The 42nd Army lacked decent tank troops to carry out counterattacks and could only Use anti-tank guns to barely hold the position."

"In addition to the 42nd Army, the situation in several other defense directions is not optimistic. We learned from the prisoners that a large part of these German tank units came from the northward support of Army Group Center, and the German forces that surrounded us We now have a large number of tanks that we can squander at will, which is the biggest difficulty in our defense against their offensive.”

Faced with Marshal Voroshilov's warning and explanation before leaving, Zhukov, who knew how serious the situation in Leningrad was, spoke quietly with a calm expression.

"Comrade Marshal, the best way to deal with German tanks is to use our own tanks to defeat them from the front. I think you should be as clear as I am about this."

After hearing Zhukov's answer, Marshal Voroshilov, who looked puzzled, was obviously very puzzled by this.

"But Zhukov, we have almost no tank troops in the direction of Leningrad. The tank factory production equipment in the city, along with all factory workers and related personnel, have all been evacuated to the rear. The current situation of the entire land being surrounded on three sides is no longer good. Allow us to mobilize tank troops from other directions to reinforce Leningrad. Where did you transfer the tank troops from? "

The confident Zhukov smiled at Marshal Voroshilov's question, and blurted out the truth that there was nothing to hide.

"An independent heavy tank battalion, which can be called a heroic force, is on standby in the direction of Yelnya and is under my direct command. This force attacked the city of Yelnya from the newly formed Western Front and To recapture it, even the elite Grossdeutschland Division of the German Wehrmacht was defeated by this tank battalion, and destroying the Nazi invaders was their specialty. "

After finishing his sentence, Zhukov paused for a moment, and the plan in his mind had already been formed. It didn't take long for Zhukov to speak quietly again.

"Although the German air force has blocked the airspace of the entire Leningrad, Lake Ladoga is still in our hands. The small divisional fleet dispatched from the Baltic Fleet into the lake also has enough carrying capacity to transport heavy tanks ashore. But to be on the safe side All this must be done at night, after all, the tank sinking into the lake is not the result we want.”

After hearing the fanciful plan given by Zhukov, Marshal Voroshilov sighed lightly and then reached out and patted Zhukov's right arm.

"Tank troops must be used with caution, Zhukov. The battle in the direction of Leningrad is different from the past. Every tank is extremely valuable and important to us who are cut off from land connections. Moreover, once the Germans know After we use Lake Ladoga to dispatch tank reinforcements, we will definitely increase the blockade above the lake. By then, the situation you will face will be even more difficult than it is now! "

Facing the solemn warnings and reminders from the old marshal of the Red Army, Zhukov, who was confident and more capable of holding on to the Soviet holy city of Leningrad, immediately smiled in a firm voice.

"Leningrad will not be lost, and the Germans will be unable to move even an inch under this sacred city. I swear on my honor as a soldier, Comrade Marshal."

That night, before the appointment message from Moscow had officially arrived, Zhukov, who had completed the final handover with Marshal Voroshilov, officially took office and served as the commander-in-chief of the Leningrad Front and the Baltic Fleet, responsible for overall coordination and command. All matters large and small on the defensive front of Leningrad.

Also on this night, Malashenko, who was resting on the spot in the direction of Yelniya, soon received a new dispatch order message from the headquarters of the 24th Army of the Reserve Front to which he was temporarily assigned. .

"Take all the equipment and personnel and take the railway to Lake Ladoga immediately, and then use water transportation to the Leningrad Front Army Headquarters to report without any mistakes."

When Malashenko, holding the telegram in his hand, saw word by word the signature of the commander of the Leningrad Front "Georgi Konstantinovich Zhukov" at the end of the telegram.

A complex feeling of escaping the fate of Kiev hell and then jumping into another big fire pit of Leningrad, like a seasoning box that was instantly overturned, filled Malashenko's heart with mixed feelings.

"Leningrad, Leningrad, it will be Leningrad"

"No matter what, it's hundreds of times better than being transferred to the hell on earth in Kiev. It's better than going to a German prisoner of war camp for human experiments or going to Leningrad to starve."