Chapter 667: The Empire Strikes Back VI

"Comrade Commander, good news! Good news!"

Pavlov, who had not slept all night, was sitting at his desk with a sad face, personally drafting a request report to the Supreme Command on the relocation of the Western Front Command, when the Chief of Staff of the Front, Rimoskik, suddenly opened the door of the office excitedly.

"Report from the 3rd Army, the 7th Tank Army defeated a German armored division on the plain east of the town of Zakrochim and destroyed hundreds of Type 3 tanks (actually more than 50 Hungarian Turan 1 tanks)! Now this German armored division has retreated to the town of Zakrochim."

Finally a game was won back!

General Pavlov breathed a sigh of relief. Although the situation on the front line was still very bad, there were still wins and losses, and it was not a one-sided advantage for Germany.

"Comrade Zhimachenko asked if we should give up the westward detour and return to the east bank of the Renav River?"

Zhimachenko, commander of the 3rd Army of the Red Army, now knew that his retreat was unstable. Once the German armored group that defeated the 10th Army on the Radzymin line moved northward, it was possible to form a pincer attack on the 3rd Army with the German armored division in Zakrochim. On the contrary, if the 3rd Army crossed the Renav River in time, it was possible to join forces with the 9th Army (one of the three armies in the northern group) to defeat the German heavy armored group of the 10th Army.

"What about the German armored division in Zakrochim?" Pavlov asked, "They only lost hundreds of Type 3 tanks, so they should not have completely lost their combat effectiveness, right?"

In fact, Pavlov did not completely believe the results reported by the 3rd Army. Over the past month, he had been a little scared by the Germans and had doubts about the combat effectiveness of the invincible Soviet Red Army.

"Comrade Zhimachenko plans to let the 11th Mechanized Army cover the rear, and the 7th Tank Army will lead the way across the Renav River."

The Western Front Chief of Staff Rimoskik said: "Comrade Zhimachenko believes that once the German heavy armored group finds the 7th Tank Army crossing the river, it will most likely go north to seek a decisive battle. At that time, the 7th Tank Army will be able to use T-34/57 to deal with the German heavy tanks."

The plan proposed by Zhimachenko did not seem to have any major loopholes. Pavlov repeatedly pondered it several times, and finally nodded to approve the plan. Rimoskik turned around and was about to leave Pavlov's office to convey the order, but was stopped by Pavlov.

"Comrade Rimoskik," Pavlov's voice was a little hoarse and sounded very depressed, "The situation on the Warsaw front is not optimistic. It seems that more troops need to be mobilized. Moreover... it is probably unrealistic to capture Warsaw in the short term. The Thunderstorm Plan needs to be significantly revised."

Rimoskik was stunned, "Comrade Commander, we have 14 army groups. Can't we take down Warsaw?"

He knew what Pavlov was thinking. The creator of the "Thunderstorm Plan" had realized that the "Plan" was facing failure! But the consequences of the failure of the "Thunderstorm Plan" were somewhat serious! Not only would General Pavlov, the leader, be in trouble, but Major General Rimoskik, who was Pavlov's main staff, would also suffer. A demotion and a demerit were necessary. Whether it would be increased to labor reform depended on the mood of the great leader.

"No, no, no..." Pavlov shook his head repeatedly, "Warsaw must be liberated, this goal cannot be abandoned. Moreover, our attack on Warsaw was very successful, and 60% of the city is already in our hands. But the enemy is stronger and more stubborn than we originally expected, so the remaining 40% of Warsaw is unlikely to be captured in the short term. We must prepare to fight the German army around Warsaw for a few more months, maybe until 1943!"

"Until 1943?" Rimoskik was surprised. The Battle of Warsaw started in June 1942, and it would be a long battle of more than 6 months to 1943! Now it is not a siege, but a fierce urban attack and defense! Although the Soviet army is the main attacker, the German counterattack is also very sharp. Two major counterattacks severely damaged two Soviet army groups!

Such a battle will last for half a year. I really don’t know how many GCist fighters will be lost!

"Yes, there is such a possibility!" Pavlov said with certainty, "and the decisive battle in Warsaw is likely to evolve into the ultimate decisive battle between the GCist Soviet Union and National Socialist Germany!"

"The ultimate decisive battle in Warsaw?"

"Yes," Pavlov shrugged, "where else can it be? Berlin? There is a large plain between Berlin and Warsaw. Not only is there no strategic location to defend, but there are also very good transportation facilities. The roads and railways are world-class. If Warsaw is liberated, we can use these roads and railways to quickly advance westward... Unless the Germans wantonly destroy the facilities they have built with great difficulty to delay our army. And why should they bear such losses? Why not fight us in Warsaw? Their strength is not weak."

What Pavlov said was not only a judgment, but also a reason to massively increase troops in Warsaw. It sounds reasonable, but it still lacks some basis. Just when Rimoskik wanted to find some content from the various reports sent from the front to support Pavlov's judgment. A strong basis came from the front!

At 10 a.m. on July 21, the 11th Mechanized Army of the Soviet Army, which was confronting the "Manteuffel Group" near the town of Zakrochim, reported that at least one German armored group of one division had arrived on the south bank of the Vistula River near the town of Zakrochim and was preparing to cross the river from two highway bridges controlled by the Germans.

…

"At least one armored division? That means three armored divisions..."

In the Kremlin, Stalin, the great leader of the world revolution, was holding the report he had just received from the Western Front, looking a little anxious.

"Comrade General Secretary, there are probably more than three armored divisions in Warsaw!" Zhukov, the Chief of Staff of the Red Army, seemed even more anxious than Stalin, with a square face full of worry on his heroic and high-spirited face.

"More than three?"

"Yes," Zhukov nodded, "According to the intelligence we have, the Germans have a total of 21 armored divisions, one of which is confirmed to be on the island of Ireland, three are confirmed to be in Warsaw, and two are confirmed to be in the Middle East. There are still 15 armored divisions missing! Where are these armored divisions? I don't think they can be sleeping, right? They must be somewhere, preparing to catch us off guard!"

Stalin smoked his pipe and asked casually: "Comrade Zhukov, where do you think they will be?"

"There are four possibilities," Zhukov replied, "in the Baltic, near Warsaw, near Lviv! Or... deployed in the above three places respectively."

"Their purpose is..."

"Wait until we are exhausted in Warsaw and Lviv and launch a counterattack to severely damage the Southwestern Front and the Western Front." Zhukov's brows were twisted into a ball.

Now the main forces of the Workers' and Peasants' Red Army are in the west, and there are four fronts in the west, the Western Front, the Southwestern Front, the Northwestern Front and the Reserve Front. Among them, the Western Front and the Southwestern Front had the largest number of troops, because one of these two fronts was responsible for liberating Poland, and the other was responsible for liberating Western Ukraine. Moreover, according to the judgment of the Red Army Supreme Command, if the German army wanted to invade the Soviet Union, it would either take the "classic route" of Warsaw-Minsk-Smolensk-Moscow, which Napoleon had taken, or attack the resource-rich Ukraine. It is unlikely to attack Leningrad, which has strong city defenses and is the cradle of the GCist revolution.

Because attacking Moscow can force the Soviet Bolshevik Party to seek peace, and taking Ukraine can not only get rich black soil, but also make more than 10 million and nearly 20 million Ukrainians follow the German boss to the end.

But what is the benefit of attacking Leningrad? Really restore the Romanov dynasty and let Olga, the outdated queen, make another appearance? If the Germans really do this, then 180 million Soviets will fight to the death.

This possibility is very small, although this woman has been deliberate and has spent a lot of effort to combine the Romanov dynasty and the Hohenzollern dynasty through marriage. But now it is not the Hohenzollern dynasty that is in power in Germany, but the Junker military leader Hersmann and the Nazi Party Chancellor Hitler. Hitler was born in the proletariat and had no connection with the Russian empress. It is impossible for him to sacrifice the lives of the middle and lower classes of German people to help Olga restore the monarchy.

Hersmann seemed to be very close to Empress Olga. There are also rumors that the empress once wanted to marry Hersmann, but Hersmann fell in love with Countess Chloe, and the empress remained single for life.

But Stalin knew that it was pure nonsense. Hersmann might have slept with Olga (actually not), but he would never really fall in love with Olga, let alone help her restore the monarchy. Because the Soviet Bolshevik Party actually came to power with the help of Hersmann... and the Bolshevik Party killed Olga's family. Hersmann was actually the indirect murderer of Olga's family. How could he help Olga restore the monarchy?

And according to the accurate intelligence held by the Soviet Bolshevik Party and Government Z Bureau, the Germans had no intention of destroying the Soviet Union at all... What they wanted to do was to contain and weaken the Soviet Union.

After figuring this out, Stalin tapped the table with his pipe and whispered to Zhukov: "Do you think the opinions proposed by Comrade Pavlov are feasible? Do we still have a chance to occupy Warsaw?"

"No... at least not yet." Zhukov told the truth.

"So... should we evacuate Warsaw and switch to defense?" Stalin's tone was very slow, and it was obvious that he was not willing to give up the opportunity to liberate Warsaw.

"At least we should be prepared," Zhukov understood Stalin's thoughts, "we should strengthen the strength of the reserve front while sending more troops to Poland, and give all the defense tasks of Minsk and northern Belarus to the reserve front."