Chapter 848: Preparation in Advance

Moscow, the Kremlin. Zhukov’s car slowly stopped in front of the main gate of the building. Two rows of Soviet soldiers stood at attention and saluted. Zhukov slowly got out of his car and walked up the steps of Red Square.

Passing through a long corridor, Zhukov followed his guards step by step to the door of the designated conference room. There, two guards stopped Zhukov’s guards from proceeding further, only signaling for Zhukov and his secretary to enter. The two guards, after a glance at Zhukov, stepped aside.

Zhukov straightened his military uniform, glanced at the dust on his boots, looked at his secretary, and then reached out and gently knocked on the door of the conference room.

“Come in!” Stalin’s voice came from inside. Zhukov pushed the door open and saw a dozen or so front-line generals, as well as high-ranking commanders from the air force and navy, sitting upright at the conference table. The lowest rank present was a general of the army, and it even included the suspended Marshal Timoshenko.

“Long live the great leader, Comrade Stalin!” Zhukov stood at attention at the door and shouted the slogan. His greeting echoed in the empty conference room, making the entire room seem particularly quiet.

“Marshal Zhukov, the main reason for asking you to return to Moscow from the front this time is to hear your views on the battle situation and to get a more direct understanding of our current frontline situation,” Stalin said, sitting at the head of the table. He just gently pointed to the seat next to him, signaling for Zhukov to sit down, and then said softly, “Everyone present is a general who is absolutely loyal to the motherland. You can all speak freely. I just want to hear your views on the war.”

“Yes! Great leader, Comrade Stalin!” Zhukov walked to Stalin’s side, sat down in the empty chair, then took the briefcase from his secretary’s hand, took out a number of documents from it, and spread them out on the table in front of him. He sorted them out bit by bit, and everyone waited patiently. No one spoke, only the rustling sound of paper being shuffled.

After a few minutes, Zhukov had finally organized his thoughts. He looked up at Stalin and said, “Regarding the battle situation at the front, as the frontline commander personally appointed by you, Comrade Stalin, I have a few points.”

“First is the north. Although the German army is gathering Finnish troops to put pressure on Leningrad, I personally believe that the northern war situation is, in fact, not of great importance. Whether Leningrad is in our hands, or in the hands of the German army, is not of great significance,” Zhukov said softly after handing a document to Stalin. “As for the northern theater, I personally think it is the least important.”

Stalin took the defense report on Leningrad, glanced at it, and then threw it onto the conference table. “The Germans clearly have no great interest in Leningrad either. I hear the army group attacking there is the E Army Group, which was crippled on the battlefield. It has no deterrent force.”

After saying this, he looked at Marshal Timoshenko. This marshal, who had taken the blame for the southern theater, now had a new use, which was why he was appearing at such an important strategic meeting. “Marshal Timoshenko, I order you to go to the northern theater to stabilize the situation and to defend the important city of Leningrad. Do you have any problems with that?”

“No problem! Comrade Stalin! I am willing to share the fate of Leningrad!” Timoshenko stood up and said at attention.

His display of determination seemed to please Stalin. Stalin extended his hand and pressed it down, signaling for him to sit down. “Very good! I believe you will be able to keep your promise.” After saying this, he looked at Zhukov again, waiting for his number one subordinate to continue talking about the problems at the front.

“On the central front, I have deliberately given up a large area of land between Minsk and Smolensk to buy time and space for our troops. The Germans are now suffering from supply difficulties, and their plan to attack Moscow will not see any substantial progress in the short term,” Zhukov said, handing Stalin the aerial reconnaissance reports and some of the calculation results as he spoke.

Clearly, Stalin was still very concerned about the Battle of Moscow. He took the documents and began to study them carefully. His aide behind him was also very attentive. With a gentle wave of his hand, an attendant pushed over a huge map. This map was nailed to a huge board, like a wall, with many wheels underneath, ensuring that this huge map could be moved at will.

Zhukov stood up and walked to the side of the map. He was a commander of the army. When facing a map, he was clearly much more professional than when facing a pile of reports and data tables. He extended his arm, grabbed the pointer, and pointed forward. The end of the pointer tapped on the position of Smolensk. “The railway gauge from Minsk to Smolensk is different from the one used by the German army. Even if the conversion work is accelerated, it will not be barely completed until May of this year. During this time, the German army’s logistical supply will almost entirely rely on trucks and mules.”

“Therefore, I conclude that the Germans will definitely not choose to overcome such difficulties and force an attack on Moscow,” Zhukov said, drawing a line on the map with the pointer, connecting the area between Smolensk and Moscow. “To break through my two main fronts and four infantry fronts, to wipe out hundreds of thousands of troops, and then to capture Moscow, for the German army, apart from forcing us to move house, it would be of no use.”

“Comrade Zhukov! Please watch your words! Moscow is the capital of our great motherland. If it were to fall, it would be an irreparable loss for the entire country,” a general said, looking at Zhukov with anger and rebuking him. “This is our capital! It cannot fall!”

Stalin frowned but did not stop the other’s questioning. He clearly had the same idea. At least for Stalin personally, Moscow was the foundation of his rule over the Soviet Union. In any case, he did not want to see the capital be occupied by an enemy country during his rule of the Soviet Union.

Zhukov drew a horizontal line between Moscow and Smolensk with his pointer and introduced, “We have a strong defense line here. Nearly one million of our main force has been deployed here, responsible for the defense of Moscow. To this day, I have not intended to detach a single soldier from these troops, in order to ensure that no accident occurs in Moscow.”

After hearing these words, Stalin nodded slightly. He could be said to agree with Zhukov’s arrangement on the Moscow front. To be honest, for him, Moscow was the general headquarters and also the base area. But these were not reasons why Moscow could not be abandoned. To be honest, its political significance was greater than its practical benefits. It was not something that could not be completely abandoned.

But when the enemy had approached Moscow, and the whole country was in a state of shock, and the foundation of the state was shaken, he knew that Moscow could not be just handed over. After all, for a person who had played politics his whole life, the evaluation of “political center” was enough to make him attach importance to it.

“It seems you have set your focus on the southern theater,” Stalin said, not revealing his thoughts and asking directly. “Then tell me about the southern theater that you value most. Let’s see if it’s worth us risking Moscow for it.”

Zhukov nodded, walked to the Stalingrad area, which was far, far below Moscow, and continued, “In fact, I have always been worried that the German army would concentrate its forces and open the prelude to the Battle of the Caucasus first. Now it seems that the German side sees things more comprehensively than we do. They have long been deploying for the Battle of the Caucasus. As early as around 1927, they were laying the groundwork for it.”

“1927? At that time, we still maintained a friendly relationship with the Germans,” a general said with a frown. “They were already considering attacking the Caucasus at that time?”

“Although not entirely, it is absolutely certain that they were preparing for something,” Zhukov said, walking back to his place and taking out a piece of intelligence. He spread it on the table and said, “I have investigated some of our records and reports and have obtained precise figures on this matter. The Germans, under the pretext of aiding in construction, have surveyed the terrain of the entire southern theater. The roads and railways were all built according to German standards. They even redesigned the railway bridges and some of the airfields, exceeding our construction needs at the time. Now these places are all high-grade airfields for taking off large bombers. It can be said that we provided the manpower, and they helped us build a large number of military facilities.”

“With this infrastructure and a large number of factory equipment, the German army was able to, with the fastest speed, choose the oil transport line from Kiev to Donetsk and all the way to Stalingrad, to cut into our most important strategic location, the Caucasus region,” Zhukov said, walking to the map again and pointing to the southern theater on it with his pointer. “Transportation is convenient, there are railways and good bridges, and there are even tank factory repair workshops every certain distance. These are all industrial projects that they helped us build.”

“My God, they have calculated every step. Even in the era when they themselves had no tanks, they had already reserved repair factories for their armored forces along the way in our country?” a general asked, looking at Zhukov with disbelief.

“If something happens with a high frequency, then it is not a coincidence. Every assault by the German army has a rhythm and a purpose. When they advance, they always ensure that they occupy these crucial places to save as much as possible on the cost of the attack,” Zhukov said with a cold laugh, looking at the also somewhat shocked Stalin. “The more precisely they calculate to reduce their own losses, the clearer these seemingly chaotic key points become. When it happens several times in a row, we will discover that it is not a coincidence, but a pre-arranged plan that they have truly made.”

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