"The evil lackeys of Nazi Fascism were trampled under the feet of the heroic Red Army! Hitler's criminal conspiracy will be completely defeated on Soviet soil!"
While silently reciting the impassioned headline on the second page of Pravda, Zhukov lowered his vision and looked intently at the picture accompanying the headline, but his eyes almost dropped to the ground.
Seeing the surprised expression on Zhukov's face next to him, Stalin, who could not conceal his joy despite the terrible war in Kiev, then smiled again and spoke.
"It seems that you recognized your subordinate, Zhukov, can you tell me what this is about?"
The photo on the front page of the second page of Pravda, which is held in Zhukov's hands at this moment, is none other than Malashenko, wearing a black leather tank cap on his head, with a proud victor's attitude, rising from the groveling party The scene was photographed by reporter William when Clauseheim, the leader of the Second Class Assault Squadron of the Guards, took over the Ruger PO8 pistol that symbolized the glory of the German officers.
"Comrade Stalin, I didn't even know such a thing existed! It's true that the person in the photo is a tank crew major named Malashenko under my command, but I have never heard anything like this before. No one has ever mentioned anything related to this matter to me!”
"Huh? That's actually the case..."
Zhukov's exclamation obviously exceeded Stalin's expectations, but after thinking about it, Stalin calmed down and spoke again immediately.
"Now that the matter has happened, it seems a bit irrelevant to pursue the process. Tell me your views on this matter, Zhukov."
Zhukov, who was stirred up by quite a storm in his heart, soon calmed down and thought about the ins and outs of the whole thing.
The Waffen SS, which was Hitler's private army, was actually captured and surrendered, and it was also one of the most powerful SS Reich Divisions. This was indeed a remarkable achievement for the Patriotic War when it first broke out in 1941. A very explosive news.
Many elite units of the Waffen SS, including the SS and Reich Divisions, made great progress after the start of Operation Barbarossa.
These armies of Hitler's fanatical believers were armed with the best weapons due to their priority in supply, and they cleared away all the Red Army troops that stood in their way along the way.
The Red Army troops that stood in front of them were either sent to see Comrade Lenin or collectively entered the prisoner-of-war camp. This arrogant army marching like a devil in hell gave frontline Red Army commanders and fighters at all levels quite a headache. There was even a "fear" among the grassroots troops. "Double Lightning Mark", low morale and fear of war, "I would rather deal with the National Defense Forces than fight these lunatics".
The elite divisions of the Waffen SS, including the Reich Division and the SS Division, were able to retreat in an orderly manner even if they suffered a defeat or the attack was temporarily blocked.
It is extremely difficult to fight against these lunatics who are willing to fight with their lives. In the few months since the war began, the Red Army troops at all levels have not captured even a single member of the armed SS. The small army suffered consecutive defeats in front of it, which also made Comrade Stalin, who had a great reputation, feel angry and ashamed.
The great war between the Soviet Union and Germany was, at a large scale, a competition between the two sides' different ideologies and living space; at a smaller scale, it was a competition between the two leaders, Hitler and Stalin.
The Waffen SS, which represented the extension of Hitler's personal will in the army, defeated the most elite troops under his command and continued to stand firm.
This extremely angry situation made Stalin often feel the burning pain on his face in the dead of night when no one was around. He brought down the armed SS, which symbolized Hitler, and regained the city. This became a lingering thought in Stalin's mind.
A piece of heart disease.
There is a saying in ancient China: "When you feel sleepy, take a pillow." This is exactly what happened to Stalin, who often tossed and turned and suffered from insomnia all night long.
Stalin was shocked when he learned the news. The SS officer wearing a helmet with double lightning marks bowed down and offered his gun to the Red Army major.
In Stalin's eyes, the photos were as if a front-line army had won a great victory, and it was extremely gratifying.
Stalin, who was a political leader before being a military commander-in-chief and possessed all the characteristics of an outstanding politician, was not only concerned about the military significance of the capture of this small SS unit.
With this photo, Stalin, who used it as capital, was able to promote and report the incident through the Soviet government's own mouthpiece media.
First of all, the news of the capture and surrender of the SS after the publication of the report broke the myth of the invincibility of the armed SS. This played an important role in boosting the morale of the front-line grassroots troops and played an important role in the Soviet Union.
The common hatred of all soldiers and civilians has extremely positive and inspiring significance.
Secondly, Stalin, who used this to gain political capital, could use this news to criticize and trample Hitler himself.
Different from national-level regular military units such as the Wehrmacht, as the form of Hitler's personal will and the extension of the Nazi Party in the army, the Waffen-SS surrendered to the Red Army and received their guns.
The implication of this is that it can be portrayed as the evil bandit Hitler was defeated by the Red Soviets led by the great leader Stalin, implying that small things can lead to big things.
To put it mildly, at least the elite armed SS, who were the incarnation of the evil existence of the Nazi Party, were no match for the elite Red Army troops. The key depended on how Stalin wanted to build publicity.
In this backward era when PS technology has not yet become widespread, the black and white photos cleaned from the film are solid evidence. What's more, such clear black and white photos were taken by the reporters who accompanied the Germans after they were captured. It is true.
Reliability is even more certain.
Zhukov, who has been with Stalin for many years, is naturally not a simple-minded idiot with low emotional intelligence. Not being interested in political matters does not mean that Zhukov cannot understand the deeper meaning. Zhukov, who understands why the supreme leader is happy, is slowly
After putting down the newspaper in his hand, he spoke solemnly.
"This incident undoubtedly has very positive significance and value for our entire Red Army and even the entire Soviet Union."
"Capturing the armed SS who represented Hitler's personal existence was tantamount to hitting the enemy's weakness, let alone an elite unit with excellent combat capabilities. This is a very important propaganda capital, Comrade Stalin, at least I personally think so.