Soon after Paulus' surrender, news reached Berlin.
General Zeitzler, the German Chief of Staff, felt that this might be a Soviet conspiracy, a conspiracy to get the German base camp to abandon the besieged force.
But when he told Hitler his conjecture, the short man with a mustache said without hesitation: "Zeitzler, this is not a conspiracy. Paulus must have surrendered. This is absolutely the case, otherwise our Soldiers would never let the Russians come near their positions as long as they had one bullet left."
"My Führer." Zeitzler could never believe Paulus's statement of surrender. After all, from the outbreak of the war to the present, there had never been a precedent of a marshal being captured or surrendering. He tried to convince Hitler that Prove to him that this is a conspiracy. "Perhaps Marshal Paulus is seriously injured and lying in his headquarters at the moment..."
"No, they really surrendered." Hitler said with unprecedented stubbornness: "According to my judgment, after Paulus, a coward, surrendered to the Russians, he would definitely issue orders to the troops trapped in the northern factory area to let them go. They also surrendered to the Russians."
Just as Zeitzler was racking his brains and considering how to persuade Hitler, a telegram he had just received was placed in front of him. The telegram was sent by General Strekel, commander of the 11th Army who was stationed in the factory area north of the city. He confirmed the news that Paulus had been captured, and at the same time stated that he was unable to hold on and hoped to be approved to lead the attack. The remaining troops surrendered.
"You see, Zeitzler." Hitler said angrily after reading the telegram: "Paulus is a coward. I promoted him to marshal just because I hope he can use a pistol to shoot at the headquarters when the Russians occupy it. He shot himself in the head. If he did this, he could set an example for other officers and soldiers to bravely fight the Russians until the last moment. But he actually surrendered. The bad example he set gave us The military has had a huge negative impact.
Look at General Strekel's telegram. This brave German soldier actually sent me a telegram, asking me to approve their surrender. This is a bad example set by Paulus, a coward and idiot, and led him to The consequences will be bad..."
Hearing Hitler yelling at Paulus, Zeitzler was worried that the other party would anger him, so he did not dare to speak and could only stand aside with an embarrassed look on his face.
After getting tired of scolding, Hitler finally stopped. After resting for a while, he looked up at Zeitzler and said: "Chief of Staff, immediately in the name of the base camp, send a telegram to General Strecker, promote him to the rank of general, and order him to lead the remaining troops to continue fighting. .”
"However, the Air Force's supplies to Stalingrad have been basically interrupted." Zeitzler carefully reminded Hitler: "Without ammunition and food, it is basically impossible for our soldiers to continue to hold on. "
"I will call Goering immediately." Hitler said hysterically: "Order him to immediately dispatch at least 500 transport planes to airdrop enough ammunition and food to the German soldiers who are besieged in the factory area north of the city so that they can Keep fighting while surrounded by the Russians."
Zeitzler originally wanted to remind Hitler that Goering's air force today simply could not dispatch so many aircraft to carry out airdrops for the besieged army. But seeing Hitler's look on his face, he swallowed the words that were on his lips again.
At the regular meeting at noon the next day, Goering triumphantly reported to Hitler: "My Führer, I have given orders to the forward field airports to airdrop ammunition and food for the besieged troops north of Stalingrad. . There should be thirty transport planes currently airdropping our officers and soldiers."
For Hitler, the situation reported by Goering was undoubtedly the best news he had heard recently. He tried his best to put a smile on his face and said: "Goering, well done. Although we have lost the garrison south of the city, as long as the troops north of the city are still fighting, we have not lost this battle... …”
Unexpectedly, before he finished speaking, he saw Goebbels rushing in from outside. As soon as he saw Hitler, he couldn't wait to say: "My head of state, the Russian Intelligence Agency is broadcasting news about Stalingrad. I think you need to listen to it." As he said, he came to the floor-standing radio next to the wall. , twisted the knob and turned on the radio.
A Russian translator who followed Goebbels in immediately stood next to the radio and translated what was said on the radio for those present: "Today, February 2, the troops of the Red Army's Don Front have completely cleared the surrounding areas. The enemy's resistance in the factory area north of Stalingrad forced them to lay down their weapons and surrender to our army. The enemy's last point of resistance was crushed, and the historic Battle of Stalingrad was fought with the complete victory of our army. It ends with victory.
In this great battle, the German army lost a total of 1.5 million troops, 3,500 tanks, 12,000 artillery pieces, and 3,000 aircraft. The remaining 100,000 people of the Sixth Army, including the army commander Marshal Paulus and his 23 generals, have all become our prisoners..."
"Turn off, turn off the radio quickly." Hitler heard this and immediately roared, asking Goebbels, who was standing next to the radio, to turn off the radio. Goebbels did not dare to neglect, quickly turned off the radio, and gestured to the interpreter to leave the room.
"My Führer," before Hitler could speak, Zeitzler stood up and said to him respectfully: "The Russians have destroyed our Sixth Army, and their next target is Marshal Manstein's Troops. I think we need to remind Manstein to prepare for defense in advance."
"Chief of the General Staff, you are right." Hitler, who was furious, finally calmed down. He stared at the map on the wall, nodded and said: "The next target of the Russian attack will definitely be Manstein's troops, and they must be prepared for defense as soon as possible to deal with possible attacks by the Russians. "
"My Führer," Zeitzler continued: "Marshal Manstein's troops fought a fierce battle with the Russians to rescue Paulus' troops some time ago, and suffered relatively heavy losses in terms of strength and technical equipment. You see, we Should we draw troops and equipment from Army Group Center and replenish them?"
"No, absolutely not." Hitler picked up the explanation stick leaning against the wall, knocked on the location of Moscow, and said loudly: "Our Army Group Center is stationed at its current location and has successfully contained no less than seventy The Russian troops of three divisions forced them to stay near Moscow and did not dare to move to other directions at will.
If we really transfer troops and technical equipment from Army Group Center, the Russians will soon notice it, so that they can transfer troops from Moscow and rush to join the troops around Manstein. As a result, Manstein's situation will become even more difficult. "
"But, my Führer, we cannot ignore the situation of Field Marshal Manstein." Zeitzler reminded Hitler: "Once his troops are severely damaged or defeated by the Russians, then the flanks of our Army Group Center will be exposed. In front of the Russians.”
"Send a group of tanks to Manstein." After Hitler stared at the map for a while, he turned to Zeitzler and said: "Send him the newly manufactured Tiger tanks and the improved Panzer IV tanks. Let’s see if these improved tanks can restrain the Russian T-34 tanks.”
"Understood, my head of state." Zeitzler calculated the transportation time of these tanks in his mind, and felt that they could be installed into the troops within a week, so he nodded and said, "I will arrange the transportation immediately."
…………
In the headquarters of Mamayev Heights, Sokov was chatting with Rokossovsky who was staying here.
Rokossovsky smiled and asked Sokov: "Misha, I want to tell you an interesting thing."
"Interesting thing?" Sokov asked curiously: "Comrade Commander of the Front Army, I wonder what interesting thing it is?"
"I met General Kurtzbach, the commander of the German 51st Army yesterday." Rokossovsky said with a smile: "He actually suggested that I recruit a group of people from German prisoners to form a team to cooperate with our army. anti-Japanese troops."
Hearing what Rokossovsky said, Sokov immediately remembered that in real history, Kurtzbach did propose this plan to the top brass of the Soviet army after being captured. Unfortunately, his proposal was rejected.
Sokov considered this time and space, because of his arrival, many things have changed. For example, the 13th Guards Division, which shone brightly in real history, has become unknown due to its own appearance. Even the division commander Rodimtsev is rarely mentioned. As for Kurtzbach's proposal to form an anti-Japanese army, I wonder if there will be changes.
"Comrade Commander of the Front Army," Sokov asked cautiously, "What do you think?"
"I have to admit that General Kurtzbach's starting point is good." Rokossovsky said thoughtfully: "But if such an army is really formed, will they obey our commands in battle? , it’s hard to say. What’s even more dangerous is that once our troops with whom they are fighting are at a disadvantage, do you think they will fight tooth and nail for our troops and their compatriots, or will they turn their guns and attack us?”
Sokov shared Rokossovsky's concerns. After all, the families of these soldiers are still in Germany. Once their identities are leaked, their relatives at home will definitely be affected. With just one point, it is destined that even if this army is formed, most of the officers and soldiers will be in Cao's camp and their hearts will be in Han. During the Three Kingdoms period, why the generals of the Wei army surrendered but could not take the army with them was because the families of the officers and soldiers in the army lived in the heart of Wei, which was equivalent to the existence of hostages.
Thinking of this, Sokov nodded and said to Rokossovsky: "Comrade Commander of the Front Army, you are right. Even if the prisoners reluctantly join us, they are also an unstable factor on the battlefield and can be destroyed at any time. The danger of defection. Therefore, I think it is absolutely right not to form such an army."
Hearing Sokov's answer, Rokossovsky showed a surprised expression on his face. He said to Sokov: "Misha, I really didn't expect that your idea is very similar to mine. You may not know that many people in the front army headquarters agree to adopt Kurtzbach's plan, from the prisoners Recruit a group of people to form such an army."
In the headquarters of Mamayev Heights, Sokov was chatting with Rokossovsky who was staying here.
Rokossovsky smiled and asked Sokov: "Misha, I want to tell you an interesting thing."
"Interesting thing?" Sokov asked curiously: "Comrade Commander of the Front Army, I wonder what interesting thing it is?"
"I met General Kurtzbach, the commander of the German 51st Army yesterday." Rokossovsky said with a smile: "He actually suggested that I recruit a group of people from German prisoners to form a team to cooperate with our army. anti-Japanese troops."
Hearing what Rokossovsky said, Sokov immediately remembered that in real history, Kurtzbach did propose this plan to the top brass of the Soviet army after being captured. Unfortunately, his proposal was rejected.
Sokov considered this time and space, because of his arrival, many things have changed. For example, the 13th Guards Division, which shone brightly in real history, has become unknown due to its own appearance. Even the division commander Rodimtsev is rarely mentioned. As for Kurtzbach's proposal to form an anti-Japanese army, I wonder if there will be changes.
"Comrade Commander of the Front Army," Sokov asked cautiously, "What do you think?"
"I have to admit that General Kurtzbach's starting point is good." Rokossovsky said thoughtfully: "But if such an army is really formed, will they obey our commands in battle? , it’s hard to say. What’s even more dangerous is that once our troops with whom they are fighting are at a disadvantage, do you think they will fight tooth and nail for our troops and their compatriots, or will they turn their guns and attack us?”
Sokov shared Rokossovsky's concerns. After all, the families of these soldiers are still in Germany. Once their identities are leaked, their relatives at home will definitely be affected. With just one point, it is destined that even if this army is formed, most of the officers and soldiers will be in Cao's camp and their hearts will be in Han. During the Three Kingdoms period, why the generals of the Wei army surrendered but could not take the army with them was because the families of the officers and soldiers in the army lived in the heart of Wei, which was equivalent to the existence of hostages.
Thinking of this, Sokov nodded and said to Rokossovsky: "Comrade Commander of the Front Army, you are right. Even if the prisoners reluctantly join us, they are also an unstable factor on the battlefield and can be destroyed at any time. The danger of defection. Therefore, I think it is absolutely right not to form such an army."
Hearing Sokov's answer, Rokossovsky showed a surprised expression on his face. He said to Sokov: "Misha, I really didn't expect that your idea is very similar to mine. You may not know that many people in the front army headquarters agree with Kurtzbach's plan, from the prisoners Recruit a group of people from there to form such an army. Recruit a group of people from prisoners to form such an army."
