The Rise of the Third Reich

Voroshilov's words were very unfounded, which made Comrade Stalin very worried, so he sent the Red Army Chief of General Staff Zhukov, Deputy People's Commissar of Defense Shaposhnikov and the Red Navy soldiers who had just returned from Molotovsk to Commander Kuznetsov was summoned to Office No. 1 in the Privy Council Building of the Kremlin.

"Comrade General Secretary, I think it is very meaningless for the Germans to attack the Kronstadt Fortress." Zhukov was the first to speak to clarify Stalin's doubts - he was still an old man, and he said one thing and another. It does not expand its explanation politically, but only talks about military issues, and it will not achieve its goals by deceiving the great leader. This attitude was exactly what Stalin liked, which is why Zhukov, who was not good at flattering, has always been deeply trusted by Stalin.

"No point?" Stalin, who was smoking a pipe, was almost amused by Zhukov. "Comrade Zhukov, do you think those outstanding German military strategists are fighting a meaningless battle?"

"Yes..." Zhukov shrugged, "Maybe their purpose is to disrupt our established deployment and make us make wrong judgments."

"No, Comrade Zhukov, you are wrong." Commander-in-Chief of the Red Navy Kuznetsov immediately interrupted Zhukov, "The Germans do want to attack Leningrad from the sea! Their purpose is to capture the Kronstadt Fortress. Just to cover the battleship's approach to Leningrad."

The Commander-in-Chief of the Red Navy looked very serious. He said: "I know very well how powerful the German and French battleships are. The 406mm main gun system equipped by our USSR comes from Germany, and we also have their 380mm Naval guns. These two types of artillery are extremely powerful and have a long range. They can deliver shells 35 kilometers to 40 kilometers away.

In other words, the German Bismarck-class battleships and Hindenburg-class battleships can bombard the center of Leningrad in the waters northwest of Kotlin Island. And any fortifications and solid buildings we can rely on in Leningrad City cannot withstand the bombardment of 380mm caliber and 406mm caliber naval guns. "

The words of the commander of the Red Navy made Stalin suddenly realize-it turns out that the Germans really want to occupy Leningrad!

Stalin looked at Zhukov and Shaposhnikov and asked: "If several Bismarck-class and Hindenburg-class ships really arrive near Kotlin Island, can we still defend Leningrad?"

There are 4 Bismarck-class and Hindenburg-class ships in total. If 1 main gun and 1 main gun fire at Leningrad all day long...it would be really scary!

"I'm afraid it will be difficult to hold on, but we still have artillery positions on both sides of the Gulf of Finland..." said the veteran Shaposhnikov with a frown. He is a military expert who graduated from the Tsar's General Staff Military Academy and is very familiar with military affairs. Engineering and fortifications are studied in depth.

"They will be destroyed or suppressed by the Germans!" Kuznetsov said, "And the Bismarck and Hindenburg classes are very strong and are not afraid of 203mm-305mm artillery bombardment from a long distance. The Germans are now capturing Kotlin. The island should not be afraid of shore artillery bombardment of the Bismarck and Hindenburg classes, but fear of the Kronstadt Fortress artillery bombardment of their cruisers and destroyers. If the battleships are not covered by cruisers and destroyers, they will be easily attacked by submarines and torpedo boats. Sneak attack."

There are currently no submarines in the Baltic Fleet. All submarines have been transferred to the Northern Fleet and Pacific Fleet, but there are still some torpedo boats.

"But the Red Navy and the Red Air Force still have many aircraft that can attack surface ships!" Zhukov still did not believe that the Germans dared to drive precious battleships into the depths of the Gulf of Finland. "Also, we can block enemy battleships with mines."

The Red Navy had already laid some mines in the middle of the Gulf of Finland, forming a mine blockade network. However, the number of mines was not large, because the Soviet Red Navy did not believe that Leningrad would be invaded at all, let alone that there would be problems with the Kronstadt Fortress.

Moreover, after the world revolution began on June 1, German ships and aircraft blocked the Gulf of Finland, and Soviet ships did not dare to sail west of the Kronstadt Fortress during the day. Naturally, the minelaying work went poorly, and the mines laid were gradually taken away by German minesweepers.

"Airplanes and mines cannot replace the role of the Kronstadt Fortress." Kuznetsov shook his head. "Once the fortress falls, the Germans may send battleships near Leningrad."

Stalin nodded. He could listen to Zhukov about the army, but he didn't understand the navy. Therefore, what Kuznetsov said is correct. Germany must want to use battleships to attack Leningrad.

And this will most likely lead to the fall of Leningrad! Once Leningrad falls, it will become Petrograd, which will have incalculable consequences...

"We must defend Leningrad!" Stalin took a deep breath from his cigarette and then exhaled a large cloud of white smoke. "And the key to defending Leningrad is the Kronstadt Fortress!"

He paused, looked at Zhukov, and said: "Now it seems that the Battle of Leningrad is likely to be a decisive decisive battle! The main force of the German Nazi army will be concentrated around Leningrad."

"Comrade Stalin, are we going to end the Battle of Warsaw and move our troops to the vicinity of Leningrad?" Zhukov asked.

"Isn't the Battle of Warsaw going very smoothly now?" Stalin frowned. He was still unwilling to give up the iconic city of Warsaw.

Moreover, starting in August, the German resistance in Warsaw weakened significantly. Now all the city of Warsaw north of the Vistula River has been liberated, and most of the city south of the Vistula River has also been liberated. The North Route Cluster, which suffered consecutive defeats in previous battles, has made considerable progress after being strengthened, and has pushed the front into the city of Legionovo.

"No, there is no need to give up Warsaw." Stalin thought for a long time, "The Germans attacked Leningrad probably to end the siege of Warsaw. If we give up Warsaw, they will have achieved their goal."

"Then give up the Battle of Lviv." Zhukov said again.

Zhukov knew very well that the reserves could not be weakened, otherwise the Western Front's retreat would be unstable, and then the only option would be to mobilize troops from the Southwest Front. Moreover, the battle in Lviv did not go smoothly, and the stubbornness of the West Ukrainian reactionaries was completely different from that of the Polish reactionaries. Not only the property owners and aristocrats extremely hated the Red Army, but the proletariat of Western Ukraine also fanatically followed Nazi Germany (that’s right, the property owners who originally owned houses and land were now deprived of their property, how could they not hate the Soviet Union?). Therefore, the Southwest Front fought hard for two months and did not even touch the edge of Lviv city. Moreover, the losses were not as much as those of the Western Front that invaded Warsaw!

"Okay," Stalin nodded. "The Southwestern Front temporarily gave up its attack on Lviv and retreated to its original defense. At the same time, three armies were transferred from the Southwestern Front, and one army group each from the Caucasus Front and the Central Asian Front was transferred to form the Kalinin Front. , Comrade Konev serves as the commander, and Comrade Leonov serves as the military commissar. The task of this army is to support the defense of Leningrad.”

Stalin paused, looked at Zhukov again, and said: "The Northwestern Front and the Northern Front merged to form the Leningrad Front. The commander is Comrade Zhukov, and the military commissar is Comrade Krementiev."

Stalin originally believed in Voroshilov, but the news from the Leningrad front line (Zhdanov's small report) made him uneasy, and he decided that it would be more reliable to let Zhukov take action.

"As for Comrade Zhukov's current position as Chief of General Staff, let Comrade Shaposhnikov serve as the Chief of General Staff." Stalin then assigned Shaposhnikov the post of Chief of General Staff, but did not let Voroshilo The husband immediately came back to take charge of the work of the People's Commissar of National Defense, but he concurrently served as the People's Commissar of National Defense.

…

"The key to the siege of Leningrad should be Kirovsk and the areas along Lake Ladoga!"

On the evening of August 13, the German Imperial Marshal and Defense Minister Hersmann came to the general staff of Zossen in a rare event to instruct Kesselring and Halder on how to fight. This rarely happened after Hersman resigned as Chief of General Staff, because now it is a critical moment when Hersman's "historical experience" can play a role.

Historically, Germany's attacks and sieges of Leningrad failed. The attacks were frustrated, but the siege was not fatal. During the 17-month siege, a lifeline was left for the people of Leningrad, which was Lake Ladoga in the northeast of Leningrad.

In the winter of 1941, the "useless population" in Leningrad was able to retreat from the frozen Lake Ladoga, and external reinforcements and food were also able to enter Leningrad from Lake Ladoga.

Although Hessmann does not want to capture Leningrad now, he does not intend to starve the people of Leningrad to death. But those who deserve to be circled to death must still be circled to death! Because in the "Blue Plan" led by Hessmann, Leningrad was a magnet that attracted the Soviet Red Army to die!

"According to the current situation, the Soviet troops near Leningrad are not large in number, not well-equipped, and lack field capabilities. Therefore, we should take the opportunity to establish a Leningrad encirclement, surround Leningrad, and cut it off from the outside world. All land connections.”

Hersman slowly spoke of his plan: "Because Leningrad is Stalin's must-rescue, and it is close to the Baltic and Finland, which is conducive to our transportation of supplies and reinforcements. If we can form a formation under the city of Leningrad, The trend of encirclement and reinforcements is conducive to the elimination of a large number of Soviet effective forces and at the same time reducing the pressure on other battlefields. "