Chapter 689: Encirclement - Defend While You're at It

Kremlin, Office 1, Privy Council Building.

At this time, Joseph Stalin was holding a telegram sent by the Western Front Headquarters and reading it again and again. His face, which had become very serious since the beginning of the world revolution, finally showed a somewhat relieved smile.

Warsaw is really liberated, Warsaw is really back in the hands of the Polish people!

Although the Battle of Warsaw was very reluctant to win, it was still won. According to Russia's traditional rules, everything would be easier to handle if it won.

Stalin put down the copy of the telegram in his hand and looked up at the four people in front of him. They were People's Commissar of Foreign Affairs Molotov and Deputy People's Commissar of Defense Kulik (because the People's Commissar of Defense was Stalin, Kulik actually presided over the People's Commissar of Defense. ), Chief of General Staff Shalashnikov and Navy Commander Kuznetsov. After Zhukov, Voroshilov and others left Moscow, these four people plus Stalin became the core of the Supreme Command.

"Although the Western Front fought hard, it finally won." Stalin said with a smile, "This victory reversed the unfavorable situation we faced. From now on, the situation becomes favorable to us."

Both Kulik and Shalashnikov were stunned when they heard this, as if they did not understand Comrade Stalin's words - is the current situation favorable? Why doesn't it look like this?

Stalin seemed to understand the thoughts of the two old generals. He smiled and said: "Whether the situation is favorable or unfavorable depends on the perspective of the world revolution. If we just talk about the situation on the Soviet-German battlefield, of course it is very serious, because Lenin Grad is under siege by the enemy. But you should also see now that Germany is facing a war on two fronts, and we have also captured Warsaw... This proves the correctness and necessity of world revolution!"

Stalin was as tall as Stalin. If we look at the problem purely from a tactical perspective, the Soviet-German war lasted for more than two months. The Soviet side had hundreds of thousands of casualties and prisoners. Moreover, Leningrad was surrounded by Germany and the only gain was Warsaw. It seems like a big loss (it actually looks much better than it did historically).

But the question is, will it work if we don’t start fighting?

If Stalin had not taken the risk of launching a world revolution in June, Germany would have conquered Ireland by now. As soon as Germany captured Ireland, the British mainland was in a state of complete blockade. By then the British mainland is likely to surrender to Germany - the British are actually ready to do this!

Once the British mainland surrendered, the United States had no springboard to invade Europe. It is really possible that Roosevelt could make peace with Germany and divide the earth equally with the Atlantic Ocean as the boundary. What will the Soviet Union do then? There is only a dead end!

Therefore, Stalin could only bite the bullet and fight if he could win, and if he couldn't win, he would hit. Judging from the current situation, it still has a small advantage in terms of face, which can be explained domestically and internationally.

"The war must be fought," Stalin said with a smile. "Now it's good if we don't lose. Comrade Pavlov has indeed lived up to the trust of the party and the people."

The four people standing in front of Stalin knew that Pavlov would soon be appointed commander, and he might even be promoted to Deputy People's Commissar of Defense.

Stalin went on to say: "Comrade Pavlov suggested shifting to strategic defense, appropriately reducing the number of troops, building strong fortifications near Warsaw, and starting to reserve supplies to prepare for long-term defense. What do you think?"

Warsaw cannot be lost. Having Warsaw is the difference between winning and losing the war! Such is the piss-taking nature of the Russian people - the victor is not condemned.

"Warsaw must be defended!" Shalashnipov immediately declared, "Hold at all costs!"

Deputy People's Commissar of Defense Kulik, who had a Hitler-like mustache, frowned inappropriately: "Comrade General Secretary, now that the Western Front's attack kinetic energy has been exhausted, the initiative in the war has fallen into the hands of the Germans. I We are worried that they are preparing for a larger offensive, and if we want to hold on to Warsaw, our troops will be stretched thin..."

"Warsaw must be defended!" Stalin glanced at Kulik the mustache. "We must hold on, otherwise we will fall into greater passivity."

In fact, in Stalin's deepest calculation, Warsaw was still a bargaining chip, a bargaining chip for making peace with Germany when necessary!

As long as Warsaw is in hand, the territory of Leningrad, Belarus and right-bank Ukraine will not be lost. The Soviet Union can negotiate peace with Germany as a victor... Even if it spits out Warsaw in the end, as long as the Soviet Union can liberate 100 million humans in India, Stalin's world revolution will be considered a success.

Therefore, in Stalin's view, if Warsaw is captured, the Soviet Union can shift to strategic defense - as long as it can hold on, it can attract most of the German troops, allowing the British mainland to be maintained, and then the power of the three countries of Britain, the United States and the Soviet Union will be slowly consumed. Germany always achieves good results in the end.

"Comrade General Secretary, the key to defending Warsaw is not in Warsaw, but in the Brest-Minsk-Smolensk line." Shalashnikov saw that Stalin was about to get angry and quickly changed the subject, "Therefore we should reduce the number of Western It is enough for the front army to have about 1 million troops, so that it can defend the city of Warsaw and maintain the communication line between Warsaw and Brest Fortress. Moreover, the Western Front Army no longer needs a huge mechanized cluster, and they should be mobilized. It is used for the Belorussian Front (formerly the Reserve Front) and the Kalinin Front. At the same time, Warsaw, Brest, Minsk and Smolensk must be prepared to be surrounded by German troops.”

"Prepare to be surrounded?" Stalin looked at Shaposhnikov, "Is it that serious?"

"It is possible," Shaposhnikov said with a frown, "Before the muddy season arrives, we may fight a tank battle with the Germans in Belarus. If we cannot win, we will face the fate of a large number of troops being divided and surrounded by the Germans... and our mechanized troops may not be able to defeat the Germans."

"So they are simply prepared to be surrounded?" Stalin asked.

"Yes, we should be prepared." Shaposhnikov said, "The Battle of Warsaw tells us that mechanized troops are not very useful in urban offensive and defensive battles. To capture a city garrisoned by a large army, you must pay hundreds of thousands or even millions of lives."

Shaposhnikov's calculations were not bad. He knew that the Soviet tank army and tank brigade were mostly unable to defeat the German armored divisions. Therefore, the Belarusian Front is very likely to be defeated in the tank battle!

Then as the Chief of the General Staff, he must arrange a solution for the possible defeat. Retreat is definitely not allowed. Stalin will never agree to hand over Belarus. So the only choice was to defend the fortified city... Let the Germans besiege Warsaw, Brest, Minsk and Smolensk, plus Leningrad. If 600,000 people were used to besiege each city, then 3 million German troops would be tied down.

"Okay, let's make such preparations!" Stalin also agreed with Shaposhnikov's suggestion, "At least be prepared for a siege of 18 months. Food, weapons, and ammunition must be prepared as soon as possible, and the useless population in the city can be arranged to relocate."

What Stalin said was not a problem, because the war broke out a year later than in history, and a large amount of American aid was received before. Therefore, the Red Army was very well prepared, and sufficient supplies were already stored in Minsk and Brest. Now it is enough to disperse some to Warsaw and Smolensk. As for evacuating the population, it is not difficult. Warsaw and Brest originally had few residents, and only Minsk and Smolensk needed to be evacuated, but this was not a problem for the Bolshevik Party.

"Comrade General Secretary, I have another suggestion."

The Chief of the General Staff and the Deputy People's Commissar of Defense were speechless, and the Commander-in-Chief of the Navy Kuznetsov spoke again: "We should ask the United States to send troops to Ireland."

"Comrade People's Commissar of the Navy," Molotov interrupted with a smile, "Do you think we haven't proposed it? I think the British must have proposed it too. But now the sea power in the Atlantic is in the hands of the Germans, and the transportation of materials is very difficult. So it is impossible for the Americans to transport a large number of troops to Ireland."

"No, this possibility exists." Kuznetsov said, "Because the Germans' sea power is ultimately based on air supremacy. What really scares the British and American fleets is not the German battleships, but the Fritz X remote-controlled glide bombs carried by the Ju288 bombers."

In fact, Kuznetsov's words are only half right. The Americans are not afraid of the Ju288 and Fritz X bombs alone. The problem is that Germany still has aircraft carriers, Fokker Zero, many cutting-edge battleships, and 4 terrible missile cruisers!

These factors combined turned the British and American navies in the Atlantic into fleets of existence, and they did not dare to go to war with the German navy in the North Atlantic.

"But after the autumnal equinox, the situation may change!" Kuznetsov said, "Because of the angle of the earth, the North Pole is always at night from the autumnal equinox to the spring equinox of the following year, and the North Atlantic sailing near the Arctic Circle is also short in day and long in night. Moreover, the climate will become very bad, with heavy snow and fog even during the day, making it difficult for German aircraft to take off. In this case, the battleships of both sides will decide the outcome."

"Battleships?" Stalin seemed to have thought of something, "We have the Soviet class and the Kronstadt class!"

"There are 6 in total!" Kuznetsov said with some pride, "All can be deployed in October. In addition, the United States will have 2 powerful South Dakota-class ships, and the United Kingdom should have 2-3 King George V-class ships. There will be a total of 10-11 super battleships! Enough to escort the US military to Ireland."

Stalin looked at Molotov, who immediately said, "Comrade General Secretary, I will go to London and Washington right away."

Stalin nodded and added, "Tell the Americans that we have fulfilled the agreement and now it's their turn."