Steel Soviet Union

"Stalingrad must be defended no matter what! The advance of the Fascist minions must be stopped at all costs!"

Some things are easy to say but difficult to do. The frowning Chief of Staff Vasilevsky spoke to Stalin again without much thought.

"But the Southwest Front commanded by Comrade Stalin and Comrade Timoshenko has now suffered heavy losses! All the troops are being routed, or have been surrounded by the Germans! We do not have enough troops to defend Stalingrad. It’s impossible to do it with the disabled Southwest Front Army alone!”

Although the words were very unpleasant to listen to, the situation explained by Vasilevsky was undoubtedly an indisputable fact. Comrade Stalin, a kind father with a sound mind, naturally could not refute, so he had to grit his teeth and start talking. He closed his eyes slightly and thought of a way.

But when Stalin spoke again, Vasilevsky was instantly surprised by the solution he gave.

"Order the formation of the Stalingrad Front! Move all the defense forces that can be mobilized in the direction of Moscow, and all the reserve forces. I only want Stalingrad to be able to hold it!"

Vasilevsky was shocked when he first heard Stalin's order. If he followed Stalin's order, Moscow's frontal defense would be completely open.

"Comrade Stalin, do you want to think about it again? If you do so, the defense in the direction of Moscow will"

"I know what order I gave, Comrade Vasilevsky!"

Stalin, the loving father with a stern look on his face, turned around and forcibly interrupted Vasilevsky's speech, looking very ferocious.

"The top priority is that Stalingrad must be defended! If Stalingrad is lost, you know better than me what kind of difficulties Moscow will face. Do you think the few troops in Moscow can defend it after Stalingrad is lost? Moscow? What’s the use of these troops if I can’t hold it?”

After being sternly scolded by his loving father Stalin, Vasilevsky, who had fallen into a routine and tactical thinking, suddenly woke up and understood the truth.

Although he misjudged the direction and intention of the German army's main attack during the counteroffensive in 1942, as a qualified leader, Stalin undoubtedly had all the necessary judgment and overall judgment.

Under the strict orders of Supreme Leader Stalin, the elite Soviet army groups that stayed on the Moscow defense line after the Winter War began to move south one after another, rushing to support the already endangered Stalingrad front line.

The 64th Group Army commanded by Lieutenant General Chuikov rushed south from Tula City to the Stalingrad front line. The 62nd Army Group commanded by Major General Korpakovich was the closest, and they would be the first to arrive outside Stalingrad to deploy defenses. Integrated Army units.

Orders and telegrams from high-level officials flew to the front line one after another like snowflakes. Malashenko, who knew nothing about the situation and could not care about it, was still fighting to death with the troops who suffered heavy casualties in a pool of blood. According to Timoshenko contacted him from time to time and sent orders to withdraw all the way to the Don River grassland.

Malashenko, who retreated all the way from the forefront of the Kharkov front to the Don River grassland, abandoned nearly half of his tanks along the way and was also destroyed by German air strikes, had never felt so embarrassed. With hundreds of German divisions hanging behind him, Malashenko felt that his life might be in danger at any time, so he had to command the troops to retreat to the safest place possible.

It's like winter is over and it turns into summer in the blink of an eye.

Malashenko, who felt that the snow had completely melted away in less than two days, encountered the first heavy rain in early summer. Raindrops the size of soybeans poured down like a pour, making the retreat of the entire unit even more difficult. In the mud, Malashenko, who was wrestling in the field, couldn't stop complaining, cursing the damn Germans and the bad weather.

"You bastard Kraut! Damn the weather!"

The soldiers of the 1st Guards Heavy Tank Breakthrough Regiment were exhausted after many consecutive days of retreat. The army supplies that had been exhausted and difficult to replenish were no longer available, not to mention cigarettes, and even the extremely unpalatable black bread. Eat sparingly with your fingers.

After being overworked, unable to keep up with nutrition, and being exposed to the pouring rain for almost a day and night, problems soon began to arise.

The tank soldiers who stayed in the tanks were okay, but the regiment's own logistics and baggage troops who were gathered up by Malashenko along the way to carry the retreating infantry were not so lucky.

A large number of Red Army soldiers suffered from colds and fevers, and a few of them were so severe that they even began to suffer from vomiting and diarrhea and became paralyzed and collapsed.

Taking care of a patient and taking him with him requires the help of at least two Red Army soldiers. Over time, the original patient's condition did not improve, and many new patients were added. Ma was overwhelmed by the bad situations that followed one after another. When Rashenko was most hesitant, he once again received a telegram from the front army headquarters.

"Stop retreating, defend the Womano village closest to your headquarters in a straight line, and wait for follow-up orders and additional support."

Supplementary support, this is the most exciting and surprising word Malashenko has seen in nearly a month.

During this crazy retreat, Malashenko racked his brains and tried every means to obtain supplies.

Like a beggar, he met friendly troops who were also retreating and reached out for begging. If the commanders and fighters of the friendly troops were lower than his own rank or of the same rank, Malashenko would have to shamelessly beg for help. When he met someone with a higher rank than his own, he would beg for help. The commanders and fighters were even more shameless.

As long as he could get some limited supplies, Malashenko was even willing to clean people's shoes, although this didn't really happen.

Along the way, we encountered many scattered troops who were separated from the larger army and were at a loss. These troops included infantry, engineers, artillery and even a dozen cavalry on horseback. The largest commander was just a group of equally panicked soldiers. Red Army lieutenant.

Malashenko, who had insufficient supplies for his own troops, could not just watch these soldiers who had lost their command be caught up by the Germans and sent to prisoner of war camps or directly beaten to death.

Malashenko, who lamented that he was really ruthless, kept gathering as many as one battalion of broken troops along the way. The extra rations for hundreds of people made Malashenko himself hungry and full.

After sending a "crying" telegram to Timoshenko, the answer he received was still to try his best to overcome the difficulties and find a solution. Malashenko, who cries and has no milk to feed, really wants to sit on the ground and apply a few drops at this moment. Tears, "waiting for follow-up orders and additional support" are definitely the words of redemption that can bring Malashenko's soul back from the endless abyss.