Steel Soviet Union

As the most powerful among the three German Army Groups, he is also the commander-in-chief of the Central Army Group with the heaviest combat mission. Bock, who was not in his position and did not seek political advice, would not consider Hitler's political factors and personal wishes. The things he cared about were, without exception, closely related to the future and destiny of the entire Army Group Center.

As one of the oldest German marshals in the Third Reich, Bock did not want to see the tragedy repeat itself after experiencing the disastrous failure of two-front division operations during World War I.

Whenever possible, Bock will find ways to save the frontline German troops from life-and-death danger, even if such an approach may go against the will of the Führer.

"The battle in the Yelnya salient has already decided a winner. Even if we are no longer willing to admit this failure, with the main force moving south and north, our Army Group Center is no longer able to add more troops to the salient to launch a counterattack. , otherwise we will only sink deeper and be unable to reverse the situation of the war, not to mention those at the Army Headquarters ordered us to stop advancing. "

"Inform all division-level units on the front line of the Yelniya Theater that the retreat order has been issued by the Central Army Group Headquarters, ordering them to choose the weak point of the Soviet encirclement to break out at night when the Soviet defenses are lax."

"When necessary, heavy technical equipment that is inconvenient to carry is allowed to be discarded, and priority is given to ensuring the maximum possible withdrawal of troops, but remember to destroy things that cannot be taken away in time, and do not end up taking advantage of those Russians!"

The chief of staff, who had already roughly understood the meaning of this statement from the words, was not surprised at all by Bock's order. On the contrary, the chief of staff, who had worked with Marshal Bock for a long time, already maintained the same opinion as his commander.

After recording the order on a small notepad, he put away the pen and capped it. After much thought, the chief of staff felt something was wrong and finally blurted out the words.

"Although doing this can ensure the maximum withdrawal of the frontline troops, it is undoubtedly an act that goes against the will of the head of state, Marshal."

"Once the head of state knows about this and starts to hold him accountable, I don't think those people in Berlin will help you take on these responsibilities. The telegram from Chief of General Staff Halder is already very illustrative of the problem. He wants the frontline troops to avoid I don’t want to bear the responsibility that the head of state blames, so I am so vague and ambiguous. In this way, the head of state will definitely regard you as the main target of venting, Marshal. "

The concerns expressed by his chief of staff were unknown to Bock, a veteran German marshal.

It's just that the frontline troops are now at the final moment of life and death, but there is no room for this old marshal, who was born in the Junkers aristocratic officer corps and has a strong sense of responsibility and military honor, to hesitate any longer.

Saving the lives of frontline soldiers from meaningless sacrifices is more important than anything else in the eyes of this heavy-duty old marshal.

"If the head of state is blamed, I will stand up and take the initiative to assume the command responsibility for all war defeats. This has nothing to do with you and those in Berlin. The medals on my body and the blood flowing in my body make me have to do this. This is A time to fulfill my military oath.”

With the help of Marshal Bock, commander-in-chief of Army Group Center, who stepped forward and turned the tide, the German garrison in the Yelnya salient, which was on the verge of collapse, finally received the long-awaited withdrawal order.

Although the upcoming large-scale breakout retreat will not have any peripheral support and assistance from friendly forces, it at least gives the German troops who have been surrounded by the Soviet army in the main city hope of survival, rather than asking them to hold on to the ruthless order to death.

The morale of the German army, which had been so low that it reached the edge of the cliff, was actually revived by such a retreat order. The German troops who gritted their teeth and desperately held on to the last front even launched several counterattacks, driving the Soviet siege vanguard several streets away. , and re-established defense lines in the newly recaptured neighborhoods.

Confused by the sudden German counterattack, the Soviet field commanders of several major siege columns in the city even mistakenly believed that the German troops in the city had received sufficient support from the rear and had sufficient troops. Only then could he be confident of squandering his troops to launch a counterattack to repel his own side. The telegram with such words soon appeared in front of Zhukov in the form of a telegraph newspaper.

"Humph, with the supply of troops from the support troops, the imagination and nonsense ability of our frontline grassroots commanders are simply at the level of a writer. How did the Germans send their reinforcements into the encirclement? Let Reich Marshal Hermann Meyer use Airdrop? Ridiculous!”

Zhukov, who had already commanded the two main armies of the front army, divided the main city of Yelniya into two parts from the rear of the German defenders, and completely cut off its land connection with the German Army Group Center. For such nonsense, Zhukov His remarks were naturally scornful.

Zhukov crumpled up the telegraph newspaper in his hand and threw it directly into the trash can. Although Zhukov, who was accustomed to seeing small things, did not overestimate the possibility of the German army sending reinforcements to the Yelnya salient, the German army was still defending the city. The troops' uncharacteristically high morale and counterattack still attracted the attention of the Red Army god of war with keen battlefield intuition.

"If nothing else, these Germans are probably preparing for a breakout. Counterattacks to recapture some blocks can confuse and interfere with our judgment of their behavioral intentions, making us mistakenly think that they will continue to hold on to the Yelniya salient for a long time. Even with the additional troop support, these Germans are still as skilled in the art of war as they were in World War I.”

He leaned lightly on the table, and before he finished speaking, he used the drawing pencil in his hand to outline a half-arc on the schematic map of the war zone. Zhukov, who was determined and resolute, quickly moved towards the people standing around him. The staff issued the order.

"Telegraphed the 24th Army and the 43rd Army to tighten the encirclement and strengthen their alert. A large-scale breakout operation by the besieged German troops in the city may soon begin! Judging from the current situation, the breakout operation is likely to be carried out at night. We must be wary of any suspicious actions by the Germans at night, strengthen the number of night duty posts and be vigilant, we are already within easy reach of victory!”

The Soviet and German armies, which were strangled in the city of Yelnya and received orders from their respective headquarters, immediately began to make preparations. A fighting contest between foxes and hounds was about to begin again.