In mid-April, the Soviet Union was already a warm climate and green trees and red flowers. The quietly flowing Volga River was also the most beautiful time in previous years. However, since the outbreak of the war, especially since the German offensive launched the Stalingrad attack, this long and turbulent river has completely lost its glory.

This was at least in Chu Sinan's opinion. Since returning to the Soviet Union in the United States, he had only stayed in Moscow for one day and took the train from Moscow to Saratov. The train was also accompanied by several staff officers assigned to him by the Ministry of Defense. In Saratov, Chu Si got off the train south, took the military ferry, headed south along the Volga River, and took Stalingrad, located in the lower reaches of the Volga River.

Since the German army launched its siege on Stalingrad, the Volga River has become the main channel for the transportation of materials in the rear of the Soviet Union to the Stalingrad region. Various transport ships continued to pass through the main road of this long river. At the same time, German bombers continued to hover on the river, trying to block the Soviet army's transportation supply line tightly.

In this way, the once quiet Volga River has become a blood river filled with smoke. The clear river water has now become a turbid stream, either red or black, and sometimes one or two broken bodies floated past the river.

Chu Sinan got along the way, and the battle reports he received were like snowflakes. What was particularly frustrating was that none of these battle reports were reported by good news. Chu Sinan even suspected that the communications company on the Stalingrad front had agreed to form a group to report his demise.

As of a few days ago, a large number of German vanguards had broken through the Soviet army's front defense line on Stalingrad and began to advance to the city of Stalingrad. In the northwest direction of the city, the vanguard of the German 24th Armored Army had advanced to Novi Gergievsky, less than fifteen kilometers away from the city. Although the 66th Soviet Army stationed in the area was tenacious, it was still useless. In the southwest direction

The 71st Infantry Division, which is under the Sixth Army of the German Army, has also advanced to the Zariza Railway Station. Once they take this area, they can then advance along the railway to the northeast and directly attack the city of Stalingrad. As for the front battlefield, the German offensive has not been truly shown. After all, the battle in the Karachi area has not yet ended, and Vasilevsky and the troops he led are still making heroic resistance in the area.

When Chu Silensky thought of the situation facing Huasilevsky, he felt extremely anxious. Chu Silensan absolutely did not want to see any unexpected things about this old friend. Judging from the current situation, it was already difficult for him to resist in Stalingrad for one to one and a half months, and Huasilevsky was in a siege. It was even more impossible for him to persist for so long.

At this time, in addition to the staff, there were two military reporters, one of whom was Ilia Ellenburg from the Red Star and the other. The New York Times reporter Biatrisa Barton, who had just interviewed Chu Sinan not long ago.

For Biatrisa, this was the most rare opportunity in her career as a journalist. With the approval of the newspaper's application, the government has reconciled with the Soviet Union, she will eventually have the opportunity to go to the frontline of the anti-fascist war in the Soviet Union and witness the cruel scene filled with blood and fire with her own eyes.

During the journey, Biyatrisa was always paying attention to Chu Sinan's every move. Although she had not obtained specific information about this battle before, she could still estimate something from Chu Sinan's frown brow, that the current situation in Stalingrad would definitely be unfavorable to the Soviet army. But it was also after these days of getting along and observing that Biyatrisa began to learn more and more about Chu Sinan. She was surprised to find that in many places, this Soviet general who looked younger than herself actually had many similarities with her father.

"On April 19, the weather was clear and the east wind was south," Biatrisa recorded some of the feelings of the mood on April 19 in her diary. "Amid the rumbling and deafening roar of the diesel engine, the ship we were riding sailed into the port of Quvoryansk, which is a port in the eastern suburb of Stalingrad. When Erenberg pointed the direction of Stalingrad to me, I almost had an illusion in my heart.

, I actually came to hell on a boat. The sky with my eyes was filled with thick smoke that could not be blown away by the wind. From a distance, it was like a foolish magic performed by a medieval witch. Under the thick smoke of the pillars, black planes rushed out from time to time, throwing bombs like rain into every corner of the city in front of me. In a trance, I seemed to be able to hear the city's painful moans.

In the endless groan of pain, the person I was going to interview was General Chu Sinan, known as the "Red God of War," and boarded the bow of the ship. What he was wearing today was still wearing a dark gray Soviet general uniform, but at this moment, his whole body was incredibly different from the past. Oh, I can swear to God that I have never seen such a charming man.

I remember my father, a soldier of the same professional life, once said that a real man should join the army and go to the battlefield. Only there, his bravery, his courage, and all the charm hidden in his body can be displayed to the greatest extent.

Someone in China has commented more than once that this so-called "Red War God" looks too ordinary, but at this moment I want to say that it is because these people did not see the scene in front of them. "Red War God is like a volcano at the same time. In a quiet period, he is dull, without towering peaks, steep walls and stones, and without the beautiful scenery of clouds and clouds. But once he arrives on the battlefield, when this volcano erupts, the brilliant magma will fill his whole body in an instant, making him look dazzling and brilliant.

It is a privilege to have such an opportunity to be so close to this general, and I am also looking forward to him to win this war. I will use the camera and paper in my hand to bring a living, invincible red soldier to every American."

At noon on April 19, 1942, Chu Sinan arrived at the front line of the Battle of Stalingrad. At this point, a large-scale Soviet-German battle that took eight months and was called "Eastern Verdun" by history and the "Meat Grinder Battle" was also the largest military confrontation in the entire World War II.

According to the combat plan of the German General Staff before the war, the battle to capture Stalingrad this time was very important, not only because Stalingrad was an important industrial city in the Soviet Union, but also because it was an important stronghold for the Volga River. At the same time, if the Soviet army could not be captured, then the German army's battle to capture the Caucasus oilfields from the south would always be threatened by troops from the left flank. It can be seen that the German army was bound to win against Stalingrad.

According to the local battle arrangement of the Supreme Soviet Command, the strategic focus of this time was not only to defend Stalingrad, but also to strive to eliminate all German troops heading towards Stalingrad, that is, to the cracks of the Don River and Volga River. At the same time, as much as possible, the German army's strength on the southern front should be eliminated as much as possible. In this case, a large-scale strategic concept of encirclement and annihilation was formed: using Stalingrad and Stalingrad fronts as bait to lure the German army to gradually increase the forces to attack this area, and at the same time, the forces from the north and south routes carried out assault operations in depth of the German army, and finally encircled and annihilated the protruding parts of the Stalingrad German army.

In the battle plan of the Supreme Soviet Command, the Stalingrad Front led by Chu Sinan was undoubtedly the bait. Their tenacity in combat would directly determine the German army's investment in the area. In the north of Stalingrad, the Voroiji Front led by Zhukov launched a powerful offensive against the Kandimirov, Kupiyansk and Milerovo areas at the same time, thus forming an offensive against the German right-hand subway clamp. In the south of Stalingrad, the Volga Region Front, with the cooperation of the Volga Region fleet, would launch a breakthrough in the direction of Elista and then encircle Vorosilovgrad. The two offensives would eventually form an iron clamp, hang the German troops advancing towards Stalingrad.

From this perspective, there is no doubt that the early stage of the Battle of Stalingrad, that is, from mid-April to early June, was the most difficult period for the Stalingrad Front. At that time, a unit of the Front was surrounded by German troops in Karachi, resulting in a shortage of troops on the entire front line of Stalingrad. When Chu Sinan took over the military affairs of the Stalingrad Front, he could directly mobilize only three unsatisfied armies, with a total force of only 110,000. In contrast, what he had to face in front of his battlefield was the entire Sixth Army of the German Army and a Twenty-fourth Armored Army, with a total force of nearly 400,000. In addition, the German army had three air force assisting the battle.

This is a duel with great disparity between the enemy and us. For Chu Sinan, it is also a battle that cannot be won. However, as long as he can hold on to Stalingrad for a month and a half, it will be a huge success. The success of tactics and the victory of the battle cannot be equated, but the realization of the former is the most basic guarantee for the realization of the latter. Therefore, the role played by Chu Sinan in the entire Battle of Stalingrad will be crucial.

Chu Sinan was naturally able to fully recognize the important responsibilities he shouldered, so before coming to Stalingrad, he carefully considered all aspects of this battle. The reality was obvious. If the battle he commanded was to win the overall scope, it would be impossible. The comparison of troops between the enemy and us was too huge. In this regard, all he could do was defense, defense against the entire area of ​​Stalingrad.

But similarly, defense does not just think that being passively beaten, it is just passive defense, and another saying of waiting for destruction. Chu Sinan's favorite way of combat is offense. Even when he is forced to defend, he must seize all favorable opportunities and conduct local and limited offensive operations. According to Chu Sinan's idea, he decided to divide the Stalingrad defense battle into four stages: suburban assault combat, suburban defense combat, suburban anti-assault combat, and urban street combat stage supported by artillery fire across the river. A series of offensive and defensive operations always run through the four stages of the entire battle, with both offensive and defense, and both offensive and defensive. He strives to force the German army to increase its troops step by step to Stalingrad. He wants to turn the entire Stalingrad into a huge quagmire, deeply trapping the main force of the two major German armies in the south.

Of course, the formulation of the main concept of combat does not mean that it will be realized in the end. It also requires careful operation and a good grasp of the timing. Of course, the most important thing is the fighting spirit and morale of the soldiers. This battle will be a battle with slim vitality for the three armies that Chu Sinan will lead. How to inspire their morale and make them persist in fighting in an absolute dilemma will be the first and must-solve problem Chu Sinan must solve.

How to inspire soldiers to fight?

On this issue, Chu Sinan made a special consideration. He believed that if a soldier wants to be full of fighting spirit, the first thing to do is to let every commander maintain his belief in winning the battle first, which is crucial. Secondly, it is to set an example. Napoleon once had a famous saying of justice: "If I give me enough medals, I can conquer the whole world." For soldiers, survival is for battle, death is for battle, and life is for battle. Life plays a role in this. Since life is insignificant, what else is worth pursuing for a soldier? There is no doubt that it is honor, which is placed on medals and awards every time.

Rei, even the honors in battles. Since the soldiers need these, try to satisfy them and let them know that what they have paid on the field is worth it, at least worth it to them. In order to achieve this, before Chu Sinan came to Stalingrad this time, he had to have a right in the Supreme Command and the Central Political Bureau, that is, the power to grant medals and titles. With this power, he would have the right to directly award medals and titles to individuals or troops who performed outstandingly in this battle. Of course, in combination with this, he had the right to directly punish those generals who were ineffective in command or inconsistent with his opinion, without the approval of the Supreme Command or the Politburo.

With these preparations, Chu Sinan believed that the battle he was about to command would definitely be successful to the greatest extent.

On the afternoon of April 19, that is, the afternoon of the day when Chu Sinan had just arrived at the Stalingrad Front Command, the combat commander, chief of staff and military commissioners of the Stalingrad Front Army's three armies ￣￣, 62nd, 64th, and 66th Army, the chief of staff and military committee members gathered together in the Front Command. They wanted to accept the hearing of Chu Sinan, the new front commander, and at the same time, they also had to take on the specific combat plan for the next step.

Among these people, most of Chu Sinan knew them, and even if they had never seen anyone, they had heard of their names. Lieutenant General Tolbuhin, Commander of the Sixty-Fourth Army, Lieutenant General Watukkin, Chief of Staff; Commander of the Sixty-Second Army, Commander of the Sixty-Second Army, Malining, Chief of Staff. These people were undoubtedly generals of the original Chu Sinan, but for him now, these people were undoubtedly the younger generation of generals. The general vacancy caused by the Great Purge has caused a large number of young generals like Petrov and Batov to be promoted quickly, but the disadvantage caused by this is that the combat experience of command personnel at all levels is that they lack more combat experience and need more training. Now, the cruel Battle of Stalingrad is undoubtedly the most harsh test for these generals.

At this meeting, Chu Sinan listened to the rewards of the leaders of the three armies, and thus gained a more detailed and accurate grasp of the entire war situation. From all aspects, Chu Sinan learned that the current strategic intention of the German army is quite obvious, that is, to avoid the solid fortifications on the front of Stalingrad and turn to the city of Stalingrad from the northwest and southwest directions.

It was under the control of this strategic intention that part of the German Sixth Army had already broken through the Zariza Railway Line, and its purpose was probably to rely on this railway as an auxiliary to attack the city. On the other side, an armored unit also advanced into the suburbs of Stalingrad in the northwest direction. These two German troops formed the prominent part of the attack on the city.

After listening to the report of the head of the Third Army, Chu Sinan had a preliminary idea. According to his four-step combat plan, the first stage should be a counter-assault operation against the German offensive. Now, the two attacking protrusions of the German army are the most suitable targets for attack. Chu Sinan was determined to remove two or one of them in one fell swoop to attack the German army's offensive arrogance and also boost the morale of the Soviet army.

To this end, Chu Sinan made a suggestion at this meeting, that is, a joint combat plan for the three armies in the next three weeks. If this joint combat plan is followed, the three armies must cooperate closely and find opportunities to annihilate the enemy with relatively superior forces in a rapid large-scale movement. This is almost to mobilize all the mobile forces that can be mobilized in Chu Sinan's hands, and the danger is naturally self-evident.

Several commanders and chiefs of staff were hesitant about Chu Sinan's plan. Their suggestion was to consider this issue carefully. However, Chu Sinan's attitude was very firm. In his words, from now on, all commanders of the front army must be consistent with him in their thoughts and resolutely implement the combat tasks assigned by him. From now on, commanders who can obey orders are excellent and competent, and on the contrary, they are incompetent and must be dismissed.
Chapter completed!