"Let Xiao Misha be the commander of the combat group?!" Khrushchev was surprised after hearing this. He picked up the cigarette case on the table, took out one and held it in his mouth. He frowned without striking a match to light it. Said: "Yes, he is indeed very capable, but he is too young. If he is allowed to serve as the commander of a combat group, I am afraid that the old guys who serve as division commanders or brigade commanders will not be convinced by him."
"You don't have to worry about this." Yeremenko said with a smile: "Comrade Chuikov told me that as long as Xiao Misha leads the troops to win a few battles, these old guys who have their eyes higher than their heads will be convinced by him. of."
"I really didn't expect Chuikov to have such confidence in Xiao Misha." After hitting a match and lighting the cigarette, Khrushchev asked: "Then do you agree to Chuikov's plan?"
"No." Yereomenko shook his head and said: "Although the base camp sent a large number of reinforcements to Stalingrad, these troops are still on the way. As far as I know: the car convoys transporting troops and supplies travel during the day. The speed is 30 to 40 kilometers per hour, and 20 to 30 kilometers per hour at night; the speed of carriages is 35 to 45 kilometers per day and night. And those troops who cannot take trains, cars, or even carriages and can only travel on foot, You can only walk 30 to 35 kilometers every day and night. You can calculate how long it takes for a troop to arrive at Stalingrad from the time of departure? Moreover, after they get here, they have to queue up and wait for enough transport ships to arrive. They were transported to the city on the other side.”
After listening to the data given by Yereomenko, Khrushchev calculated in his mind for a while and found that it would be impossible to dispatch two divisions or more troops to the city in less than half a month. It is still unknown whether the barricade factory and the Dzerzhinsky factory can hold out for half a month under the enemy's fierce attack. If the troops forming a new group enter the city and the enemy captures two factories and moves down the Volga River, there is a danger of being encircled. Not only will the crisis in Stalingrad be not saved, but more troops will be lost. Got in.
To be cautious, after careful consideration, he said to Yeremenko: "Comrade Commander, this matter is of great importance and we cannot make the decision casually. I think it is better to submit this plan to the base camp and let Comrade Stalin make the decision. "
"Comrade Khrushchev, you understand the situation. I think it is up to you to draft the telegram sent to the base camp." Yeremenko said: "I believe your report will be more likely to attract Comrade Stalin's attention."
"No problem, leave this matter to me." Khrushchev put out the cigarette in his hand and asked again, "How are you going to respond to Chuikov?"
"I told him that if I made a final decision, I would call him to inform him."
After understanding Yeremenko's attitude, Khrushchev picked up the pen and paper on the table and began to draft a telegram to the base camp.
Half an hour later, the telegram sent by the front army headquarters was placed on the desk of Antonov, the chief of operations of the General Staff Headquarters. After reading the contents of the telegram, he picked up the phone on the table and dialed a number. When a voice came out, he politely asked: "Hello, Comrade Poskrebyshev! This is An Donov, is Comrade Stalin still working?"
"Yes, Comrade Minister of War." Stalin's close secretary Poskrebyshev replied: "He and General Zhukov, Chief of General Staff Comrade Vasilevsky, stayed in the office all night. Excuse me, what do you have? Something?"
"That's right, Comrade Poskrebyshev." Antonov replied: "I just received a telegram from the Stalingrad Front and need to report it to Comrade Stalin immediately."
After learning that it was a telegram from Stalingrad, Poskrebyshev did not dare to neglect, and quickly said into the microphone: "Comrade Minister of War, please wait a moment, I will ask Comrade Stalin for instructions."
Poskrebyshev put the microphone on the table, stood up and walked to the office door. He raised his hand and knocked gently twice, then opened the door and walked in. Stalin, who had been busy all night, heard someone opening the door. He looked up and saw that it was Boskrebyshev, and asked with some displeasure: "What's the matter?"
"Comrade Stalin!" Poskrebyshev straightened up and replied: "I just received a call from the Minister of War Antonov. He said that he had received an urgent telegram from the Stalingrad Front and needed to be sent immediately. Please take a look."
When he learned that there was a telegram from Stalingrad, the anger on Stalin's face disappeared and was replaced by more worry: "Let Antonov come to me with the telegram!"
Poskrebyshev turned around and walked out of the office, closing the door behind him without hearing the conversation in the room. Zhukov frowned and asked Vasilevsky: "Comrade Chief of General Staff, has the situation in Stalingrad worsened recently?"
When Vasilevsky heard Zhukov's question, he had a look of helplessness on his face. He shrugged his shoulders, spread his hands, and said: "Comrade General, we have been here all night discussing how to defeat Stalingrad." If there are any changes in the situation in Stalingrad about the plan to launch a counterattack, if I know about it, I’m afraid you will know about it too.”
When Zhukov heard this, he realized that this was indeed the case. He and Vasilevsky had stayed in Stalin's office all night. If something happened, everyone present should know about it. Therefore, he eagerly hoped that Antonov would show up in the office quickly so that he could figure out what was going on.
Fortunately, he didn't wait long, the door was opened again, and Antonov appeared at the door. Before he could speak, Stalin stretched out his hand to him and asked bluntly: "Where is the telegram? Show it to me quickly."
Antonov took out the folder tucked under his arm, opened it, took out the telegram and handed it to Stalin. When Stalin saw the telegram, Zhukov stared at his face closely, trying to judge from the changes in his facial expression whether the telegram contained good news or bad news.
However, Stalin had no expression on his face from beginning to end, making it impossible for Zhukov to continue guessing. Fortunately, after Stalin read the telegram, he handed it to Zhukov and said: "This is a joint telegram sent by Yeremenko and Khrushchev. You should all read it. It is very interesting. "
Zhukov took the telegram and read it quickly. After reading the telegram at a glance, he said in surprise: "What, Chuikov wants to set up a new combat group in Stalingrad?"
