"You guys are pretty good at running. It's been more than ten days and we haven't had a good night's sleep."

Outside Rostov, General Chuikov took the pistol from General Stipnagel, commander of the 17th Army of the German Third Reich, and said to him in a joking tone.

Admiral Stipnagel also looked tired, but there was a hint of relief in his eyes.

After Operation Uranus began, the 6th Army and the 17th Army faced the greatest pressure.

Stipnagel still remembers the fire in Grozny, which was a turning point in the fate of the Seventeenth Army.

After the loss of Grozny, the Supreme High Command had to abandon the North Caucasus. From then on, the 17th Army began to retreat on the surface but actually to escape.

After more than ten days of running, it still ended in helpless and humiliating surrender.

Admiral Stipnagel no longer thought about the war and the dead, and finally felt relaxed.

Facing Chuikov's teasing, he responded with a wry smile, not intending to compete with the other party.

After surrendering, I put down many things and looked away.

The officers and soldiers of the 17th Group Army, like their commander, just feel relaxed and tired at this moment, nothing else.

Chuikov waved his hand and hastily ended the surrender ceremony.

The Red Army soldiers were also very tired and just went to sleep after finishing.

Before leaving, Chuikov asked with a smile:

"You really don't want to know how Manstein and Guderian are doing now?"

Stipnagel's eyes hesitated for a moment, then slowly shook his head:

"For me and my soldiers, the war is over!"

After saying that, he walked into the queue of prisoners, his steps brisk.

After being bored, General Chuikov was not angry. He shrugged and went to the temporary headquarters of the Southern Army in Rostov.

"It is a pity that we failed to capture the newly appointed commander-in-chief of Army Group South, Marshal Bock." Comrade Malinovsky, the commander of the front army, said:

"However, the Kremlin is generally satisfied with our military operations, and commendation orders will be issued to each unit soon."

"These are not the most important. I came to you mainly to discuss the next stage of the battle!"

The generals looked at the sky, with some displeasure on their faces.

The 17th Army Group has surrendered. Can't the next stage of operations wait until tomorrow?

Everyone is very tired.

Khrushchev, a member of the Military Commission of the Don River Front, noticed the dissatisfaction among the generals. He glanced around coldly, and then said:

"There is still a large area of ​​land belonging to the great Soviet Union that is occupied by the invaders. At this time, we should pursue the victory and liberate more land and people."

"The enemy's troops are empty in the direction of Kharkov, so it's a good opportunity to attack them in one fell swoop."

Rokossovsky and Malinovsky both frowned. They waited until Khrushchev finished speaking before the former said:

"I know everyone is working hard. Our meeting is just to discuss the general direction of the war, not to take immediate action."

"After the meeting, you can go back and have a good rest. You will have a new look tomorrow."

The reason for the resistance was not only because the officers were tired, but also because during this month of combat, all the troops had not rested and recuperated, and supplies and ammunition were almost exhausted.

Continuing to attack will only increase the troubles for our own people, and it is unclear whether we can expand the results.

The meeting was held in a dull atmosphere.

After July 2, the more than 1 million Red Army troops in the south will continue to attack eastward.

Mainly responsible for liberating the Crimean Peninsula, Kharkov, and eastern Ukraine, putting heavy pressure on the enemy and allowing comrades in the north and center to make breakthroughs.

The Soviet Supreme High Command is already considering the issue of troop reorganization after the end of Operation Uranus.

The current organization and command system of the various units in the south are somewhat chaotic, the command efficiency is low, and the full strength of the Red Army soldiers has not been unleashed.

…………

9:30 p.m., Joint Command.

Manstein's breakout operation has been going on for an hour, and the gap opened by the V2 missile is closing little by little.

"We don't know the locations of Manstein and Guderian now. The staff estimates that they should have jumped out of the encirclement!"

Chief of Staff Wu Zhan said to Jiang Dong in a low tone:

"The enemy's tanks have been destroyed, and the frontline troops have captured tens of thousands of prisoners."

"Alas...it's a pity that Manstein and Guderian are nowhere to be found."

Marshal Zhukov was even more depressed than Wu Zhan, even a little downcast. He said:

"How many enemies have broken out of the encirclement? Can they still be chased back?"

Wu Zhan glanced at Jiang Dong, who was still calm and indifferent, and replied:

"About four infantry divisions with less than 100,000 men broke out of the encirclement."

"Our armored armies are all on the east side, and it will take a certain amount of time to catch up with the enemy."

"Mustache is willing to use 200 V2 missiles at once. What is certain is that there must be supporting troops on the west bank of the Don River."

Wu Zhan's implication was that it was very possible that Guderian and Manstein would not be caught.

It was pitch dark outside, and air superiority could not be used.

After daybreak, the enemy had already traveled dozens of kilometers, and it was basically impossible to catch up.

"Tuk-tuk-tuk..."

Jiangdong tapped his fingers on the edge of the long table, looked at the map of Eastern Europe and said:

"If Manstein and Guderian run away, just run away."

"Our Operation Uranus was overall successful and achieved the expected strategic goals. Army Group South was basically completely annihilated."

"Fighting continuously for a month, the troops are very exhausted."

"Let the Young Guards lead an armored division to continue pursuing Manstein, while the rest of the troops clean up the battlefield and rest in place."

"By the way, continue to pay attention to the actions of the Air Force and report to me every half hour."

Jiangdong summarized the entire operation, and the million-strong army could finally rest.

Although there are regrets, the victory still makes people happy.

Zhukov left the Uranus Operation Joint Command and will go to the Kremlin to personally report the harvest to his loving father.

With the conclusion of Operation Uranus, the Joint Command will soon be disbanded.

…………

The Young Guards continued to pursue the fleeing Manstein and Guderian, who had already crossed the Don River and could not see any trace in the darkness.

Bombers bombed Kiev, Minsk, Bryansk and other places. Because it was night, the Third Reich sent fewer fighter jets to intercept.

More Stormbird jets were sent to protect Mustache's Wolf Lair and the capital city of Berlin.
Chapter completed!