Chapter 251 The German army is unable to defeat the enemy and wants to retreat? The time for counterattack has come!
Inside the canopy.

The story of the battle in Stalingrad was full of twists and turns.

It was visible to the naked eye that the German army had broken through the defenses several times, reached the river bank, and occupied key points.

Even the Soviet command headquarters was almost lost several times.

But every dangerous moment.

Under the tenacious resistance of Soviet soldiers and the reinforcements of countless troops who came one after another

The German army was driven back again.

Street fighting had been going on for months.

But the battle continues.

Outside the sky.

Seeing the BBC's fair reporting, Ying Zheng couldn't help but say happily:
"I seem to remember seeing Tianmu saying that the relationship between Britain and the Soviet Union is not very good."

“But they told the truth and highly praised the Soviet resistance in Stalingrad.”

“Is the BBC a completely fair, objective and authoritative media?”

"Or did Britain just want to use the Battle of Stalingrad to humiliate France?"

……

In the Han Dynasty, there was Huo Qubing who greatly admired the German army's style and combat effectiveness.

At this time, he could only speak with a complicated expression.

"It's already October, and it's almost November."

"And the battle still shows no signs of ending."

"It can be determined now."

"The German army has definitely lost the Battle of Stalingrad."

"Oh?" Liu Che smiled and asked with interest.

"Qubing, this is not your style."

"You are Germany's strongest supporter. How can you say that Germany is doomed to fail?"

"Look at the sky, the Battle of Stalingrad is still going on with the German army attacking continuously."

"Although the Germans certainly suffered heavy casualties, the Soviets must have suffered even more."

"Looking at what's being said on the sky screen, the German army almost defeated the Soviet defenders several times."

"The Soviet Union is just holding on with all its might."

"No matter how you look at it, the German army is still strong."

"How dare you conclude that the German army has already lost?"

And Huo Qubing.

He just shook his head helplessly.

"Hydrology, climate, and environment are all important factors in determining a war."

"We can see this from what Tianmu said about World War II."

"German offensives were generally carried out in the summer, in an effort to end them before the onset of winter."

"And the Soviet Union, obviously, is good at winter warfare."

"In the previous Battle of Moscow, they launched a major counterattack in the winter and annihilated hundreds of thousands of German troops."

"In the Battle of Leningrad, the Soviet Union also withstood the most difficult times in the winter, relieving the situation of the city being completely surrounded."

“Even the failed Battle of Sevastopol.”

"It was also the Soviets who launched a counterattack in the winter, but the counterattack failed. Then in the summer, the Germans took over the entire Crimean Peninsula in one fell swoop."

“So it can be clearly determined.”

"Summer is the home turf for the Germans, while the Soviets are active in winter."

"In the current Battle of Stalingrad, the Germans began their offensive in the summer, but the Soviets dragged the battle into the winter."

"If nothing else happens."

"The Soviets will launch a massive counterattack in the winter, taking advantage of the Germans' severe cold and fatigue."

"And can the German army withstand it?"

"After watching the amazing fighting spirit of the Soviet army on the sky, I think it would be difficult for the German army to hold the defense line around Stalingrad in the winter when it is not conducive to their performance."

"After all, judging from the big map of the sky."

"The German front has been stretched too far, too far."

"An army of several million people, a battle line thousands of kilometers deep."

"How many troops are needed to defend it?"

In fact, Liu Che had always felt that the Soviet Union would definitely launch a major counterattack.

Now that he heard Huo Qubing say this again, he stopped joking.

Instead, he asked Huo Qubing in a tone of learning and discussion:
"Then let's do as you say."

"The Soviet Union is about to launch a massive counter-offensive."

"And it would be hard for the Germans to resist."

"Does that mean the Germans should retreat?"

After asking this question, Liu Che answered it to himself.

"Although the German army paid a heavy price, it seems that it is indeed time for the German army to retreat."

"Given the German army's strong combat capability, if they want to retreat, the Soviet Union should not be able to surround them."

"It's just that the German army will sense the danger and start to retreat."

"Or should we continue to deploy heavy troops in the city and fight to the end?"

Liu Che, Huo Qubing, Wei Qing and others at the scene of the Han Dynasty.

Everyone thought that the Soviet Union would launch a major counterattack in winter.

The German army will most likely choose to retreat after paying some price and wait to fight again next spring.

It’s not just the Han Dynasty trio, either.

Basically, all the military strategists and strategists of all dynasties have seen this.

At this time, the German army continued to attack for several months, dragging the time into winter, but still could not steadily take Stalingrad.

The only option is to retreat.

Moreover, most people believed that with the strong combat effectiveness of the German army, the Soviet Union would not be able to stop them if they wanted to retreat.

We can only kill as many as possible.

But it will definitely allow most of the German main force to withdraw.

The sky screen continued to play amid speculation that the Soviet Union would launch a major winter counterattack.

[The German army called the fierce street fighting in Stalingrad the Rat War.]

[It means that both sides are like rats running wildly in ruins and sewers, messy and bloody. ]

[The distance between the two armies was often only a dozen meters.]

[In this case, many tactics are no longer applicable. ]

[It's all about the courage, creativity and tenacity of the grassroots soldiers in the war. ]

[The fierce rat war continued until the end of October.]

[Soviet soldiers discovered that the German soldiers on the other side no longer shaved or even washed their faces.]

[This may be because there is a relative lack of water in the areas occupied by the Germans.]

【But there is one sign worth noting. 】

[That is, the German army never had lice before, but now they have lice. ]

[The Soviets have relatively rich experience in dealing with lice. ]

[Those so-called German volunteers who surrendered to Germany had their clothes buried in the ground by the German army, with only a small piece of clothing left outside.]

[When the lice escape from this small piece of clothing, burn them to death immediately with fire.]

[In contrast, the Soviet troops on the Volga River positions were completely different.]

[Even during this period of fierce street fighting, the Soviet army still regarded slovenly appearance as a symbol of low taste.]

[Taking advantage of being close to the Volga River, the Soviet army would go to the river bank every week to bathe and change into clean clothes.]

[On the banks of the Volga River, a temporary exchange market was formed. ]

[The soldiers knew where they could get their watches or shoes repaired.]

[Where can I get a good knife or a pipe?]

[And thus, a famous frontline tradition was born. ]

[That is, something similar to blind box exchange. ]

[The soldier covered his pocket and asked the other party, do you want to exchange things? ]

【The person being questioned has no right to refuse. 】

[So on the front lines, half a cigarette might be exchanged for a discarded cigarette box.]

[A lighter might be exchanged for a pistol or some money.]

[On the fierce front line, facing the threat of death, everything valuable is redundant. ]

[On November 11, Paulus launched another large-scale offensive.]

[The German army surged forward, attacked the artillery factory by the river, and surrounded the guarding troops there.]

[At the same time, the Germans continued to bomb the crossings on the Volga River.]

【As winter arrives, the Volga River begins to freeze. 】

[The ferry can no longer transport various military supplies to the Soviet troops at the front line.]

【For this reason, the Soviet army could only airdrop ammunition and bread into the city of Stalingrad. 】

[Due to the shortage of parachutes, planes can only fly at low altitudes, dropping items directly and roughly to the ground. ]

[Food and ammunition were tied to the wings of the transport plane.]

[When the pilot pulls the controller, the cargo will fall to the ground.]

[Of course, when transporting vodka, it must be dropped by parachute. ]

[A pilot must take off and land twelve times in one night under the cover of darkness.]

[But even so, the airdropped supplies are still far from meeting the needs of the front line. ]

[With supplies scarce, the fate of the defenders of Stalingrad became uncertain.]

[The battle line remained deadlocked until winter came, and the German army was no longer able to launch an offensive.]

【But the German army firmly believed in one thing. 】

【That is, their defense is invincible. 】

……

Outside the sky.

Huo Qubing saw this.

He sighed and shook his head, and said with certainty:

"This is it."

"The German advantage ends here. The Soviets will counterattack next."

"The German army is trapped in the fortified city."

"The long defense line could be breached by a Soviet counterattack at any time."

Emperor Wu of Han, Liu Che, who was present at the scene, actually thought so too.

But Liu Che wanted to discuss more.

So Liu Che started from another perspective and asked Huo Qubing:
"But what we can see, the Germans can definitely see as well."

“They’re definitely going to bolster their defense.”

"At worst, we can wait until the winter is over and fight again next spring."

Huo Qubing shook his head.

"Your Majesty, I am almost certain that the Germans will either retreat immediately."

"Or the whole army will be wiped out!"

"But will the Germans retreat?"

(End of this chapter)