Imperial Overlord

On June 7, Zhukov, as the highest commander-in-chief of the Soviet Army's southern front, received two intelligences from different directions.

One is about Comrade Stalin's direction of action. The other is about to arrive in Stalingrad, which is good or bad news for him.

After all, it is much more comfortable to have someone pointing fingers behind him than not having such a person, at least that's what Zhukov thought.

But on the other hand, the arrival of Stalin can more or less bring more effective supplies to the Soviet army in Ukraine, which is good news.

Therefore, the arrival of Stalin was a mixed news for Zhukov.

Another piece of news is worth pondering: Italian and Romanian troops are advancing to Moldova, much faster than before.

This is not good news for Zhukov. If Stalin had lost Odessa before he came, the joke would have been played.

"The movement of the main German troops was not found, maybe it was just behind the Italians." A Soviet general told Zhukov about the latest situation.

"Italian troops are advancing towards Transnistria, which is not good news for us!" Another Soviet commander added worriedly.

In fact, the Italian troops are not as bad as they say, and they still perform well in many cases.

As for the performance of the Italian troops described by German generals such as Rommel, they are somewhat shirking their responsibilities and putting money on their faces.

Although the combat effectiveness of the Italian army is not as strong as that of the German and Japanese troops, it is worth boasting about compared to some second-line Soviet troops.

After their careful preparation, the attack they launched was still very threatening. Especially when they get enough oil.

"It's really not good news. Whether the Germans want to give up Moscow and come to trouble us first, or just pretend to scare us, this deserves a good analysis." Zhukov is not a fool, he said with a frown. .

He guessed the strategic intention of the German army, which was nothing more than two situations: the first is to scare the Soviet army on the southern front and take some advantage; the second situation is that the German army wants to abandon Moscow and go south.

In Zhukov's mind, it is obviously not a wise choice to keep the fat Moscow on his lips and not swallow it.

So he guessed the strategic intention of the German army, probably to scare the Soviet army, so as to take some advantage of the white pick.

Zhukov planned to throw some benefits out, so as to satisfy the appetite of the German army and prevent the German army from going south.

But he also does not intend to give up strategically important places, he wants to maintain the status quo of the Black Sea and Ukraine as much as possible, and then keep the entire southern hinterland of the Soviet Union.

"They won't give up Moscow! Attacking our side is just a temptation for them to pretend." After analyzing this, he definitely expressed his thoughts.

And these ideas were supported by many senior Soviet commanders who attended the meeting. They also believed that the Germans would not rush south and threaten their rear.

Since the Germans will not rush south, there is no need to worry about the troops of the German Army Group Center in their north.

The rest became simpler: they could maintain the status quo as long as they defended the frontal German attack.

"Odessa's defense must be strengthened, and Transnistria cannot be easily given up! Sticking to that is our bottom line!" Zhukov pointed to the map and gave his strategic plan.

As the supreme commander of the Soviet Army on the southern front, he is not an iron rooster. In his opinion, it is an acceptable compromise to give up some places if necessary.

Now, in Zhukov's view, some small cities and towns west of the Transnistria River can be abandoned.

"We can even give up Shepetovka! Give it to the Germans! As long as the Germans want it, Olevsk can't give it!" Zhukov also drew a bottom line on the map, this line It is also a line of defense that he has been carefully laying out.

The Soviet army established a line of defense in Korosten, Zhitomir, Berkichev, Vinnitsa, and the middle and lower reaches of the Transnistria, and built a number of lines of defense, forming a very wide defense depth.

This is also what Zhukov has been busy with. In his opinion, as long as the German Army Group in the north does not go south to take his back path, he can hold on to this line of defense for one to three months.

If he can get 1,000 or more tanks in the future, he can think about counterattacking in the direction of Moscow to the north.

It's a pity that all this is just his wishful thinking. He has not received enough supplies yet, and the tanks are even more pitiful.

Originally, he had some Soviet main tank troops in his hand, but these troops, about 200,000 people, have been transferred to the direction of Moscow.

"Anyway, there must be a reason why the Germans suddenly accelerated their offensive in the south at this time." Zhukov looked at the map with a heavy heart and said to his men.

His eyes fell on the port of Odessa, which is the closest to Romania, and then he said: "The purpose of the enemy's attack this time, I speculate that it is probably Odessa!"

"If there is a problem in Odessa~www.wuxiaspot.com~, the pressure on the Turkish side will be great." Hearing Zhukov's analysis, an officer immediately saw the problem.

The other people also nodded their heads. The Black Sea Fleet is not an opponent of the Axis navy at all. If the opponent's navy really arrives in the Black Sea via Turkey, the problem will be serious.

"Although we have a navy in Sevastopol, everyone knows how old that navy is. After the war, the Black Sea Fleet will be wiped out in less than a day." Commander of the Black Sea Fleet Looking at the map, he said to Zhukov.

In an instant, he finally understood why an army combat meeting brought him as a naval commander.

Now he understands that this battle will soon be related to him, not only he has to defend the naval port of Sevastopol, but also find a way to save his fleet.

This is not an easy task to complete, at least with the broken ships of the Navy's Black Sea Fleet, there is no guarantee to stop the Axis fleet.

After all, it was a powerful fleet with several battleships and several aircraft carriers!