According to the order of the Supreme Command, the 1st Guards Army commanded by Moskarenko must first counterattack the 16th Armored Divisions of the German Army, the 3rd and 60th Infantry Divisions, which broke into the Volga River in the early morning of the 2nd, and meet with the 62nd Army in the direction of the city. Kozlov's 24th Army and Malinovsky's 66th Army will launch a counterattack against the German army after the friendly forces complete their meeting and drive them away from this area.
Later generations had a group of ignorant people who posted online and said that Stalingrad had no strategic intentions at all. The reason why the German army attacked this city was simply to threaten the Soviet army that was standing in the Caucasus region from the flanks. The Soviet army did not have to fight to the death with the German army here.
When Sokov saw these posts, he wanted to vomit these people with noodle bumps on them. They did not understand the military and political significance of the Stalingrad defense battle. If Stalingrad fell into the enemy, the German army would cut off the connection between the southern and central Soviet Union. At the same time, the Soviet Union would lose the most important waterway lifeline of the Volga River, which transported a large amount of supplies to the north from the Volga coast and the Caucasus region. It is precisely because of this that the Supreme Soviet Command sent all the power that could be used to the Stalingrad region.
After accepting the order to organize a counterattack, Zhukov immediately rushed to the participating troops to understand the situation. However, when he found that the troops were not ready for a counterattack, he personally called Stalin and reported his opinion to him: "... The shells required by artillery must be sent to the artillery position after No. 4. Comrade Stalin, I strongly recommend postponing the counterattack and postponing the attack date to September 6."
Unexpectedly, after hearing this, Stalin said angrily: "Comrade Zhukov, do you think the enemy will wait for you to prepare slowly before launching an attack on Stalingrad?... Yelemenko concluded that if you do not immediately launch an assault from the north, the enemy can take Stalingrad with the first fierce attack. You should conduct an assault immediately and find a way to drive the enemy away from near Stalingrad. If successful, you can eliminate the Volga Corridor established by the German army..."
"Comrade Stalin, if there are not enough shells, our troops will not be able to provide them with necessary artillery cover when they attack..."
However, before Zhukov finished his words, he was interrupted by Stalin: "Without artillery cover, our troops would not know how to attack? Comrade Zhukov, don't forget that without artillery fire support, we still defeated General Krasnov's Cossack guards attacking Tarizin. Since we could defeat the enemy back then, today we have a stronger army, can't we still defeat the enemy?"
Seeing Stalin mentioning the battle that took place here more than 20 years ago, Zhukov knew that if he continued to argue, he would achieve his goal, so he could only choose to surrender: "I understand, Comrade Stalin. The counterattacking forces will carry out counterattacks on the enemy north of Stalingrad within the prescribed time."
Since the 1st Guards Army was the main force of this attack, Zhukov called Moskarenko after finishing his call with Stalin and asked in a stern tone: "General Moskarenko, the Supreme Command stipulates the attack time for us at 5 a.m. on September 2. Can your army enter the attack position on time?"
"Don't worry, Comrade General." After hearing Zhukov's words, Moskarenko swears: "Our army troops promise to launch an attack on the enemy within the specified time."
However, the plan could not keep up with the changes. When the attack began, there were only the last four hours left. Zhukov heard that the 1st Guard Army had not yet entered the designated position, so he quickly called Moskarenko and asked in anger: "Moskarenko, where is your troops now?"
"Sorry, comrade General." Moskarenko replied in a panic: "Due to the lack of fuel in the transport troops' vehicles and the delays on the way caused by poor road conditions, we cannot enter the starting position at the prescribed time. In order not to cause the troops to enter the battle unorganized and therefore suffer unnecessary losses, I request that the attack be delayed."
Although Zhukov wanted to shoot Moskarenko in one fell swoop, considering that the war was about to come, he suppressed his anger and asked, "Then when will you enter the starting position?"
Regarding Zhukov's question, Moskarenko was silent for a moment and said carefully: "Comrade General, judging from the current situation, the troops will be able to enter the designated position as early as this evening."
Since the troops must enter the designated position in the evening, it means that the counter-assault was originally scheduled to be carried out today, and it was impossible to carry out. Although Zhukov was furious, he had no choice but to sigh and say to the microphone: "Since that's the case, then change the attack time to five o'clock in the morning on September 3. If your troops are unable to participate in the attack by then, then you can wait to go to the military court."
Faced with Zhukov's threat, Moskarenko couldn't help but tremble and replied in a hurry: "Comrade General, please rest assured. I promise you that our troops will definitely launch an attack on time tomorrow."
Since the attack time of the 1st Guards Army, which was the main attack, has been postponed, the attack time of the other two armies also needs to be adjusted accordingly. Then, Zhukov called Kozlov and Malinovsky respectively, informing them to change the attack time to September 5.
Zhukov cannot hide the major event of such a postponement of the offense, otherwise, once Stalin pursued it, even if he is the deputy commander, he will be blamed. So Zhukov called the host of the Kremlin. After hearing the sweet voice of the female operator from inside, he said in a low voice: "I am General Zhukov, please take me to Comrade Stalin's office."
"Hello, Comrade General." The female operator said respectfully: "Please contact you later, I will connect you immediately."
After the phone was connected, the person who answered the phone was Poskrebeshev. He politely said to Zhukov: "I'm sorry, Comrade Zhukov, Comrade Stalin is resting. If there is nothing important, I can't wake him up at this time."
Chapter completed!