The Military Commission held a heated discussion on how to retreat. Although Trotsky and Sverdlov both tended to Tukhachevsky's plan to stabilize the defense line first and then retreat, the plan was ruthlessly rejected by the strong opposition of Vronzhi, Ubolevich, Alxnis and Triandafilov, who had better military literacy.

Li Xiaofeng's plan was passed, and the retreat operation must be launched immediately. The most important thing is which troops are responsible for the rear-end blocking. To be honest, this is a very cruel task, almost equivalent to self-sacrifice.

And the troops on the front line confronting the German army are undoubtedly the most essential forces of the Red Army. The palms and backs of hands are flesh. Who can bear the sacrifice?

"The more elite the troops are, the more they must serve the overall interests of the Soviet Union, and the more they should be brave enough to take responsibility." Li Xiaofeng said, "The First Mechanized Army of the Guards must take the lead in staying!"

The heart of the guards' first mechanized military Tukhachevsky was also the former key team of the Ministry of Construction of the Military Commission. After Tu Shuai returned to power, he immediately snatched his own son back and used Rokosovsky to the Ninth Mechanized Army as the commander.

At that time, Tukhachevsky's actions made Li Xiaofeng quite annoyed. It was not that he was angry that Tukhachevsky snatched the First Mechanized Army of the Guards, but that Tukhachevsky had only transferred Rokosovsky to the Ninth Mechanized Army. According to Rokosovsky's qualifications, he could be promoted to deputy commander or chief of staff of the group army, and his rank had to be increased to a higher level. But Tukhachevsky was silent and even secretly suppressed Rokosovsky: "When this comrade was the commander of the First Mechanized Army, he did not fully understand the essence of large-scale combat. He still needed exercise!"

Such comments are very irresponsible. If the war was not imminent at that time, it would not be arguing with Tukhachevsky, Li Xiaofeng would definitely give him some color. Now, when deciding who was taking the lead, Li Xiaofeng fired a shot. You, Tukhachevsky, aren't you awesome, don't you give face? Then I don't need to give you face, your confidant beloved will die there!

At that time, Tukhachevsky's face turned pale and he stared at Li Xiaofeng straight at him, as if he was about to bite people. However, Li Xiaofeng said without any concession: "As the key construction force of the Red Army, don't you need to play an exemplary role?"

This sentence was very terrifying to Tukhachevsky, because he was about to say that the First Mechanized Guards Army was an elite force, and it was not worth it to use it to block sacrifices. Who would have thought that Li Xiaofeng would emphasize the role of model leading the way. His subtext was very clear: "The First Mechanized Guards Army had the best treatment in the entire army before, with the best weapons, the best equipped officers and the best soldiers, and the priority of supply has always been the first. You can't just eat meat and not eat bones, right?"

In particular, Fu Longzhi also added: "Let the First Mechanized Army of the Guards leave behind to block the enemy, which is representative and easy to do the work of other troops. I think it is reasonable!"

Tukhachevsky was really anxious this time and hurriedly suggested: "Then you should withdraw the outstanding officers of the army, right? It would be a pity to let them sacrifice this way!"

Not only does Li Xiaofeng not like to listen to this, Fu Longzhi was even more angry: "Comrade Tukhachevsky, what do you mean? What do you mean is to let other comrades die? What is this?! When you enjoy your happiness, you rush over and want to leave when you suffer. What kind of Communist Party member is this! No officer is allowed to be transferred, and whoever has the responsibility must bear it!"

Fu Longzhi's words determined the fate of the First Mechanized Army of the Guards, but Li Xiaofeng did not do things too well, but immediately suggested: "Of course, we cannot let the blocking troops that cover the main force's breakthrough be destroyed in such a way. We should leave some seeds for these troops and transfer some of the wounded officers and soldiers who have received the Red Flag Medal or above before, and plan to draw 1,000 people per division. In the future, the unit will be rebuilt first!"

This will result in smaller resistance to opposition, but unexpected situations occurred during the implementation. When the political commissar conveyed this spirit to the troops, the officers and soldiers who should be drawn as seeds were not willing to leave their brothers. Some Soviet heroes even said: "Without other comrades and comrades, I cannot get this honor (referring to the title of Soviet hero). Now I can't live alone, and I can't do this no matter what. Please let me stay with my comrades!"

The political commissars took great effort to almost use guns to collect enough "seeds". When they parted, both those who stayed and those who left were crying with their heads.

Goodbye, comrades! There will definitely be that day when you will return to this battlefield. At that time, please bring me a sunflower (Soviet flower).

On August 3, the Red Army's large-scale retreat operation began, and almost every army group left about one army to block the enemy. In other words, if nothing unexpected happens, one-third of the Red Army's troops on the Western Front disappeared in this battle.

"The training of recruits and the transfer of troops from other military regions must be carried out immediately. It can be foreseen that even if we can stabilize the front line in Minsk and Kiev, the enemy will launch a crazy offensive. In order not to collapse completely, we need to make up for the previous losses as soon as possible!" Fu Longzhi said worriedly.

"It is expected that by the end of August, we will be able to mobilize about three million reserve forces." Trotsky said.

Speaking of this, I have to thank one thing. In order to deal with this war, the Soviet Union has been preparing since the early 1930s, which is much more sufficient than in history. A considerable number of young people of appropriate age have undergone primary military training. The most commendable of these is the training program of 100,000 pilots and 100,000 pilots.

Since 1933, the Soviet government has begun to establish a large number of flight and driving club schools. Through a long-term and clear training system, it took more than 7 years to train about 100,000 pilots and nearly one million pilots. It is particularly important to note that these million pilots are not just those who can drive cars. Most of them can drive tracked vehicles and have certain repair skills. This makes the Red Army basically no longer have to worry about pilots and tankers in future wars.

At least Trotsky is not worried about human issues now. He is more worried about the number of aircraft, tanks and other technical weapons.

"According to statistics, as of July 25, our army has lost more than 2,700 tanks, more than 1,800 armored vehicles, more than 1,100 artillery pieces of various types, 1,300 fighter jets, 1,000 bombers, attack aircraft, more than 20,000 cars, and 500 fronts of the car. Most of them have been completely damaged and have no repair value..."

The meaning of Trotsky's data reporting is very clear. That is, how to solve the problem of weapons in the next expansion of the army? These losses are enough for the Soviet Union's heavy industry leap forward. Of course, Trotsky raised this topic at this time, and it was not without the intention of avenging Tukhachevsky. After all, Li Xiaofeng was forced to coach Tu just now, and Trotsky had to express it in terms of feelings and reason.

However, Li Xiaofeng had long expected Trotsky to make an effort on this issue. He made sufficient preparations in advance. Anyway, he failed to get a handle on this issue. His extremely high work efficiency was highly appreciated by Fu Longzhi: "Comrade Andre's work is incredible. In a very short time, he mobilized the Soviet Union and all walks of life completely entered a wartime state. He could carry out work 24 hours a day. At this time, our enemies were still immersed in the previous victory. Berlin and Paris were all singing and dancing. It can be said that the Germans did not lose this war in 1945. In 1941, no, they lost in 1933!"

However, the Soviet industrial machines were operating at high speed, but the Red Army was temporarily unable to get rid of passivity on the front line. Soon the Germans realized the Red Army's intentions and immediately began the so-called pursuit and annihilation operation, attempting to break through the Red Army's defense line and penetrate into the deep high-speed, and then surrounded and eliminated the main force of the Red Army in one fell swoop.

Let’s talk about the situation on the battlefield at that time. Some of the main forces of the German Central Army were encircling and annihilation of the surrounded 3rd and 10th armies of the Red Army. However, the resistance of these two armies was quite fierce, and repeatedly defeated the German army’s attempt to end the encirclement and annihilation operation as soon as possible.

On the other hand, the offensive forces, mainly composed of another part of the Central Army Group, the main force of the Northern Army Group and a considerable number of German reserves, confronted each other on the front line of Upper Maurkinia-Kosov-Sokov-Mordi-Menzierz-Palchev-Lubartov-Lubary-Lubry-Lubry-Lubry-Lubry-Lubry-Lubry-Lubry-Lubry-Lubry-Lubry-Lubry-Lubry-Lubry-Lubry-Lubry-Lubry-Lubry-Lubry-Lubry-Lubry-Lubry-Lubry-Lubry-Lubry-Lubry-Lubry-Lubry-Lubry-Lubry-Lubry-Lubry-Lubry-Lubry-Lubry-Lubry-Lubry-Lubry-Lubry-Lubry-Lubry-Lubry-L

In these four directions, the German army continued to invest in the test, especially Ukinia and Myrzirez. The German army even suppressed the first and second tank clusters, attempting to achieve a breakthrough in one fell swoop and attack in the direction of Minsk.

Whether the Red Army's main forces can retreat safely. If there is a mistake, it will affect the Red Army's overall retreat plan. Among them, the First Mechanized Army of the Guards guarded the Red Army.

Major General Petrovsky (the inmate of a certain immortal), who was then the commander of the First Guards' First Tank Division of the First Guards' First Mechanized Army, recalled after the war (after the main force of the First Guards' First Mechanized Army was annihilated, a small number of troops led by Petrovsky crossed the encirclement and broke into East Prussia. In the end, about two thousand soldiers arrived in East Prussia through the difficult times): "At the afternoon combat meeting, I reported the situation on the front line to the commander, but soon the commander told me that our army must stay behind the temple to block the enemy. He asked me to select some seeds to send them away, and instructed me: 'You must stick to your position and never take a step back, even if you finish all the troops!'. His hideous eyes told me that this was definitely not a joke. It was time for the First Mechanized Army of the First Guards to sacrifice their lives for the country!"

Petrovsky thoroughly implemented this instruction and turned Ummaukinia into an iron plate in a very short time. In the next week, he withstood dozens of attacks from the German first tank cluster and destroyed more than 300 tanks and twenty aircraft.

However, what we want to tell for the time being is not the story of Petrovsky, but the last bloody battle of the Third Group. On August 3, while the Military Commission decided to retreat, the Third and Tenth Armies in the encirclement had reached the end of their lives. The Tenth Army had basically been wiped out, and all senior officers, including the commander of the Army and the Chief of Staff, died heroically. All remaining troops in the encirclement were commanded by General Kilbonos.

Of course, unification is unity. But there is really not much combat power left. At this time, the two armies had only more than 50,000 people left to continue fighting, and the rest were either dead, captured or missing from what they thought were.

At one point, General Kilbonos personally took the battle and commanded an anti-tank gun team to destroy five German tanks in a short time, at least one of which was personally taken... The reality is cruel. There is no danger in the suburbs of Suleiuvik. In the words of General Kilbonos himself, "In Suleiuvik, a few shovels of soil were shoveled out of the ground and a few sandbags were considered fortifications (quoted from the battlefield diary of General Kilbonos himself. This valuable information was taken away by his staff before the last moment. He was one of the 131 people who survived the surrounds of the third and tenth groups."

Although the words were a bit exaggerated, the commander's few words also highlighted the seriousness of the form. Is the situation really that bad?

To be honest, it is true! According to the instructions of the Military Commission to defend and wait for rescue on the spot, the Third and Tenth Army built a "fortress" defense circle with a radius of five to ten kilometers in the field. However, due to the lack of heavy machinery, although the emergency-excavated trenches were covered with "fortresses", most of them were not qualified. A 1.8-meter-eight Slavic man squatted into the trenches. He sometimes even had a head outside when he bent, and the trenches lacked support points made of heavy weapons.

What's worse is that the lack of ammunition has caused General Kilbonos to worry. In particular, grenades and anti-aircraft shells are almost all the same as today and tomorrow. There is no drama in the air transport. There is no airport in the field, and under the blockade of German artillery fire, no planes can land.

Kilbonos could only hope that the Air Force could be more powerful and more airdropped. However, the problem was that because the battlefield was too narrow and the German army controlled air supremacy, the Air Force's transport aircraft could only airdrop at high altitudes, and the Air Force's transport aircraft were quite limited, which led to a considerable portion of the airdropped supplies that were already very small and fell on the German army.

The tried and tested Kilbonos knew very well that the destruction of the Third and Tenth Army was only a matter of time. This time was soon clearly placed in front of Kilbonos. On August 3, when the Military Commission conveyed to him the order to understand that the siege was hopeless and that his troops would continue to stick to it, he knew that the last moment was coming.

Kilbonos did not intend to surrender. As a soldier and a Communist Party member, he had his own pride. He would rather die standing than live on his knees. On that day, he issued an instruction to the troops in the encirclement: "Those who are unwilling to continue fighting can put down their weapons and walk out of the trenches to surrender to the German fragments. As soldiers, you have done your best. I don't blame you. Those who are willing to go to the national crisis with me can stay. Next, the third and tenth groups will fight until there is no one left. Farewell, comrades!"

It cannot be said that none of the Third Army and the Tenth Army chose to surrender, but it is certain that that part is definitely a minority. At least after Kilbonos issued this order, his troops did not decrease significantly. In the next half month, he and his young men did fight until no one left. At least the last prisoners captured by the German army were all Red Army soldiers who could not move due to hunger and extreme fatigue or serious injuries. How many? No more than 1,000 people were.

For two huge army with almost 300,000 people combined, they only contributed less than 50,000 prisoners to the German army, and most of them were captured in the chaos at the beginning of being surrounded. This proportion can be said to be amazing. Except for a few Japanese in the East Asian battlefield who did similar things, there was nothing else.

Regarding the tenacity of the Soviet Red Army, to the words of Bok, the commander-in-chief of the Central Army Group,: "In the ghostly place of Suleyuvik, we met a group of Slavs with extremely high combat qualities. These damn Russians made me think..."

In the early morning of August 4, after detecting the main force of the Red Army rescue troops began to retreat, the German army suddenly strengthened its attack on the Third and Tenth Army. After a quiet dawn, the flying shells announced the beginning of the German offensive. Groups of tanks No. 2 and No. 3 launched a tide-like attack on the Red Army's positions under the cover of armored grenadiers.

Faced with many enemies, the Red Army soldiers showed great courage and fighting spirit. More than once, soldiers died with explosives and entanglements. More than once, the Red Army soldiers knocked out the last bullet, and then resolutely pulled the grenade and rushed towards the enemy that rushed up. They used their most tenacious fighting spirit and immortal spirit to tell the Germans how steel was made!

The fierce and cruel battle lasted from dawn to sunset. I really don't know what the Germans thought. On that night, they actually sent negotiators to demand that Kilbonos and his young men immediately put down their weapons and surrender in the form of a victorious person.

This self-tricking practice is not only meaningless, but will also be counterproductive in order to defend the motherland and defend the honor of the Soviet Red Army. The sense of dignity and mission drive every officer and soldier of the Third and Tenth Army to fight to the last moment of his life! (To be continued...)

ps: Bow to thank the members of the dead group, Fatty Fei, Big Bang Theory, Biao Cavalry and Comrade Hzangdd!

170 Kilbonos (Part 1:
Chapter completed!