Zhukov's decision was a quick decision. Just two days after he issued the retreat order, the German army quickly ate the flank troops arranged by Baglamyan and took advantage of the situation to surround Borissogrebsk. When more than 150,000 remnants of the Central Front were in a mess, Borissogrebsk had been captured by the German army, and more than half of the defenders there were killed, and half were captured. Since the German Second and Fourth Armored Army jointly advanced south on June 1, Moder had eaten up half of the central front forces (250,000 people) and occupied Borissogrebsk, which was very important. He used his actual record to prove that he could not only fight defensive wars, but also fight offensive wars.

If Vatujing had not sent troops to serve the remaining troops of the Central Front, even Barashov might have been taken away in one breath. Even so, Barashov's life would have been difficult. Moscow's order had come down, and he coldly told him that the remaining troops of the Central Front were reduced into a group army and included in the Southwest Front Army. Barashov himself was suspended from office and went to Moscow to undergo treatment. Although Zhukov sent a private telegram to tell him that he was not in danger of his life, it would be even more difficult to stand out in the future.

What made Baglamyan most sad was that Primakov, who was very optimistic and valued, volunteered to take over the responsibility of cutting off the rear during the retreat. As a result, not only did his troops almost completely destroyed, but he also died in the German airstrike.

In the direction of Tula, Konev, who followed Zhukov's will, relied on the unskilled troops in the Grassland Military Region and soldiers gathered from Tula and Ryazan to launch a fierce counterattack against the Kishna armored cluster, and lost 120,000 people in just 3 days. In addition, the losses caused by the German army's unexpected attack at the beginning, the total strength of the direction was nearly 180,000. The only thing that is to be thankful is that after paying a heavy price, he finally "repelled" the German army and temporarily resolved the Tula crisis.

In fact, he didn't know that the original purpose of the Kirchner armored cluster was to test the defense of Tula and Liangzan on the front line, and it was not really necessary to occupy the place. After paying nearly 9,000 casualties and learning that there was a heavy army group in the Red Army approaching, Kirchner decisively chose to retreat.

This round of feint attack on Tora also disrupted the steps of the Moscow Front's military to transfer the grassland military region to defend. Stalin himself was afraid that Tura would be in trouble, so he bypassed the General Staff secretly ordered Tolbuxin to suspend the mobilization, and always paid attention to the results of Konev's counterattack, preparing to transfer the Moscow Front's military to the point that he would be unfavorable. The heavy army group that Kirchner observed was the Moscow Front Red Army now had no choice but to break the siege of Tambov.

When Konev finally repelled the enemy, the Tula defenders were also seriously injured. The original base camp reserve team was completely ruined, forcing Meletskov to draw troops from other directions to fill the Tula. The troops on the front line of Ryazan were vacant to maintain the balance of the front line, which in turn affected the power that the Red Army on the Viazima line could invest. However, this change was not obvious yet. For Stalin, Konev was able to repel the enemy with his very weak forces, which proved that he was capable. He decided to reuse him in the next stage.

Huasilevsky looked at the center of the battlefield on the map, and sighed. His attempt to get the German army to transfer troops from the center to reinforce the two wings was mostly bankrupt. This huge protrusion threatened the flank of Moscow in the north and the flanks of Stalingrad in the south. He stocked 800,000-900,000 German troops in the middle, but he was helpless. Although Zhukov's strategy has temporarily established a line of defense, everyone knows that this is very unreliable and easy to be broken through.

"Does it still need to launch an attack in the direction of Stalingrad to attract the enemy?" Kutsnetsov asked in a low voice.

Huasilevsky shook his head with a wry smile: After the two German armoured armies approached Balashov and threatened the flank of the Southwest Front, the German army not only had troops but also technical weapons in the direction of Stalingrad, and they were struggling to defend. How could they have the strength to attack?

"Where do you think they will attack next? Go and fight Saratov?"

Zhukov shook his head: "I don't think so. According to Hitler's ideas, he might temporarily withdraw his troops."

"Stop the army?" Kutsnetsov couldn't believe his ears, "Why? The Germans were stupid?"

"They are not stupid, they are even much smarter than we think." Zhukov pointed to the distance between Voronezh and Balashov on the map and said, "The German army has hoarded two armored armies in this area, with more than 350,000 troops and more than 5,000 tanks and armored vehicles, including food, oil, ammunition and other supplies. How much supplies do you think they need in a day?"

“3000 tons are enough…”

Zhukov laughed: "This is according to our standards, you have to multiply by 3-4 times by German standards."

"More than 10,000 tons?" Kutsnetsov was stunned.

"Voronezh should have a German logistics base, and this distance is about 200 kilometers. Whether they transport supplies by truck or train, they can only be recharged once a day after another trip, plus loading and unloading time. If the distance is far, such as 300 kilometers, it will not be time to recharge once a day. This will affect their offensive rhythm and continuity, and will be disconnected from the front and back."

"I understand your idea. Do you think if they advance too far, the supply will not be able to keep up?" Vasilevsky stared at the map and thoughtfully, "Can we take measures to lure the enemy into the depths?"

Zhukov nodded first, then shook his head: "It is correct in theory, but it is very dangerous at the moment, because we cannot guarantee that the German army will pursue according to our ideas. What if we attack our weakness? Besides, to lure the enemy, there must be a suitable place. Where can we lure it now?"

This is indeed a difficult problem. Currently, Moscow and Stalingrad are the only ones that meet the strategy of luring the enemy into the deep. However, it is difficult for both to implement this strategy to tempt less. The Germans are not deceived, and they are more tempted. Who is the one who loses these two cities?

"How are you planning to solve the protrusion in the middle?" While the three of them were talking, Stalin had come in.

In the past half month, he has been dissatisfied with the performance of each front, nor has he been satisfied with Zhukov and Huasilevsky, who dominate the center. But no one is useful, and he also knows that the poor fight during this period is indeed because of his poor strength, but Zhukov's "arrest negotiation" still shocked him. On the surface, Stalin remained silent, but in fact he had sent Belia to the grassroots level to understand the situation.

If it was just Zhukov's idea or a few people, he could ignore it. If it was the opinion of the vast majority of people, he believed that the entire guiding ideology of the war would change.

"The Moscow Front will replace the Bryansk Front to cover the northern section of the central battlefield. If the problem is to be solved in the short term, it is necessary to redeploy a front in the southern section. You can consider drawing out the Volkhov Front and then transferring 300,000 troops from the Far East."

"Short-term solution?" Stalin asked unhappily, "What about long-term solution?"

"There is no way to solve it for the long term." Zhukov pointed to the map. "The German army's starting base for this offensive battle is the Voronezh line. The base for the next attack will be transferred to Tambov and Borisso Grebsk line, and then push forward 200-250 kilometers."

Zhukov said while explaining to Stalin the strategic intention of the German army's "200-kilometer offensive".

"Is this your judgment?" Stalin was quite worried, "Hitler would not continue to attack with such a big advantage?"

"I personally think it won't be possible. The Germans have learned to be smart. In the future, they will use more short-term attack methods to overcome the shortcomings of the depth. Hitler is preparing to fight a protracted battle with us."

Stalin frowned: This judgment was completely contrary to his original opinion. He always believed that Germany was preparing to quickly destroy the Soviet Union with blitzkrieg, and that Germany had no ability and no manpower to support the protracted war.

Of course, he now has to admit that what Zhukov said is reasonable: after Germany won the Middle East and North Africa and successfully solved its worries, its resources and industrial capabilities are constantly moving upward, and Germany's manpower is much richer than expected. They have a military force to use. What's more, Germany now has a population of 80-90 million, which is not much less than the population that the Bolsheviks can control.

Seeing Stalin silent, Zhukov continued: "In the next stage, we may have to rely on the Volga River to build a continuous front. What bothered me the most now is not that the front line is here or there. The front line is empty and must rely on the troops to defend it. If the troops are not good, no matter how good the defensive line is, it will be useless. What I am most troubled at the moment is that the Germans have too much advantage in the central battlefield, and we are unable to open the situation on both wings..."

"How many more troops do you need?"

"It's not a problem of military strength, it's a problem of combat effectiveness." Huasilevsky interrupted, "At present, our army's combat effectiveness and tactical quality are lower than those of our opponents, and even slightly more than those of the enemy's army, they cannot defeat the opponents. The battle situation of the central front is very telling: Comrade Baglamyan concentrated three times the enemy's troops, but failed to win the mixed forces of Germany and Italy for a week; the Germans concentrated three times our troops, and ended up killing an army group on average in two days. This gap is too big and too amazing."

"Why do you improve the combat effectiveness of the troops should not be a problem you think about and deal with?" Stalin was a little angry, "Does I need to take responsibility for this?"

"This is of course our unshirkable mission, but under such a severe military situation, we cannot do this. The Red Army urgently needs a chance to breathe, so Comrade General Secretary..." Zhukov once again suggested, "Can we consider a truce negotiation with the Germans?"

"You..." Stalin was so angry that he couldn't speak. (To be continued.)
Chapter completed!