Chapter 763 decision
Manstein guessed right, at this time the main force of the 51st Army was on its way to attack Karachi.
This is a dramatic change. Manstein pulled his armored division to Milove, while the 51st Army of the Soviet Army went straight to Karachi... The strength of the enemy and us seemed to be reversed.
"Why don't we attack Karachi?" Shulka said to Trufanov and Zolotarev. "Our goal is to crush the enemy's rescue of Stalingrad! If, I mean if ... the Germans will An infantry division and an armored division are transferred from Karachi to Miloway to deal with us, so their strength in Karachi is only one armored division and four infantry divisions!"
(The intelligence of the Soviet army is actually five infantry divisions, but there is not much difference between four and five infantry divisions, because two of them are Romanian divisions).
"Yes!" Trufanov exclaimed excitedly: "And there are two railway lines leading to Karachi... We can advance from two directions at the same time, which will allow us to invest more troops in a short time !"
Most of the railway lines of the Soviet Union in this area are south and north. Because the oil from the Caucasus direction is continuously transported to Stalingrad, there are more railway lines, and the same is true for roads. East and West are better.
"But the order of the Supreme Command..." Zolotarev hesitated.
It’s no wonder that Zolotarev would have such a reaction. Let’s not say that soldiers take obedience to orders as their bounden duty, not to mention that this is an order from the Supreme Command or even Stalin. Disobeying his orders is no joke.
"We need to report to the Supreme Command!" Zolotarev said.
"What if the Supreme Command disagrees with this plan?" Shulka asked back.
Zolotarev couldn't help being stunned when he heard this.
"Will the Supreme Command disagree?" Trufanov couldn't believe it: "This is a good plan, and it can be said to be the best choice under this situation!"
Shulka turned his gaze to Zolotarev.
Zolotarev was silent for a while, and then replied: "Yes, they will probably not agree to this plan!"
Trufanov was at a loss for words for a while, because Zolotarev had more say in this matter, and he understood the thoughts of those in the Supreme Command better.
In fact, this is not difficult to guess, the generals of the Supreme Command will never be "intimidated" by difficulties, and at the same time they will pursue greater results... So, if they get this plan, they are more likely to answer :
"We should not be intimidated by the difficulties in front of us. We should overcome all difficulties and resolutely carry on the battle to the end! The Southwest Front Army is tens of kilometers in front of you. As long as you speed up and advance bravely, victory will surely belong to us..."
There is also a subtle face problem.
Originally, Shurka insisted on a large encirclement, and the Supreme Command wanted to make a small encirclement eager for quick success. Facts have proved that the small encirclement is not as easy as they imagined. Then, under the leadership of Shulka, the flooded Seventh Army brought the plan of the large encirclement back to life. So the Supreme Command saw the wind and turned to the big encirclement.
Now, Shulka has shifted his strategic direction to a small encirclement, which is to attack Karachi... If the Supreme Commander follows up like this, it will inevitably be suspected of being led by the nose by Shulka.
"You can fight wherever you say, I am ashamed", which made Shulka believe that it is very difficult for this plan to get the support of the Supreme Command.
After a moment of silence, Trufanov asked: "So, what should we do?"
This question is mainly for Zolotarev, because Trufanov is undoubtedly on the side of Shulka... This does not mean that he is biased towards Shulka, but he knows that this plan is correct and can be used. A plan that achieves the greatest results at the smallest cost is a plan that can reduce the casualties of subordinates and even affect one's own life and future.
Trufanov sees this very clearly.
He knows that the most important thing on this battlefield is to win the battle... Trufanov has seen a lot about this, and he will only obey orders to no avail. order, but once the battle is defeated, all the blame will fall on the shoulders of the commander.
Therefore, when Trufanov faced this problem, he stood on the side of victory without hesitation, even if he disobeyed the military order.
Zolotarev has not yet seen this clearly.
Or it’s not that he doesn’t see this clearly, but that he doesn’t need to take this risk... His identity is different, he is a political commissar, and he is here to supervise the operations of the 51st Army, although the command is actually in his hands.
From this perspective, as long as he firmly implements the orders of the Supreme Command, he will not be wrong, even if the 51st Army is defeated in the end...it has almost nothing to do with him.
However, if he did not carry out the orders of the Supreme Command and "deceived" the Supreme Command with Trufanov and others, then he was in trouble, and he could be in big trouble.
Therefore, Trufanov turned his attention to Zolotarev, and even looked a little unfriendly... In the Soviet military system, the interests of political commissars and commanders were often opposed, which was a quasi-hostile state.
Zolotarev smiled and said: "If I disagree, are you going to pull out the pistol again and put it against my head?"
Shulka smiled and replied: "No, Comrade Zolotarev! I believe in you!"
"Trust me in what?"
"I believe you will consider the fate of the officers and soldiers of the 51st Army!" Shulka said: "Consider the fate of Karachi and Stalingrad! So, there is no need for me to draw a gun to your head!"
Zolotarev nodded.
What Shulka said is correct. The current battle situation is indeed as Shulka said. The situation in other places seems to have reached a certain balance... The Southwest Front Army was blocked by the German Army in the north and could not move. The Don River Front Army Deep in the quagmire of Stalingrad and the German 6th Army, both sides were exhausted, and the 57th Army's mutual offensive and defensive in Karachi was also in jeopardy.
That is to say, the battle situation in these directions has reached a stalemate.
So, all hopes of victory fell on the 51st Army.
Further down the story, it was actually a decision made by Zolotarev.
If Zolotarev made a wrong decision, it would have the potential to lead to the defeat of the 51st Army which would lead to the defeat of Karachi and lead to the defeat of the Battle of Stalingrad like dominoes.
(end of this chapter)
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