"Now the tank units that are fighting against the ferocious attack of the German tank groups are the only tank units left in the 2nd Guards Tank Army, the 2nd Tank Army, the 4th Guards Tank Army, the 3rd Guards Tank Army, the 25th Tank Army, and the 20th Tank Army!"

"As for the 4th Tank Army, the 9th and 19th Tank Armies, and the 1st Tank Army also suffered heavy casualties; There was not much combat power to meet the attack of the German tank group! ”

"These tank corps are ready to be deployed to the rear, replenish and rest!"

When Zhukov finished speaking with the Chief of the General Staff, Vasilevsky, he responded unhurriedly.

"In addition to that, I also intend to change our combat status from an active attack to a defensive state! Use our former defense-in-depth to measure and drain the living forces of the German army, and drag them down! At the very least, let this battle end as soon as possible, so that our troops and weapons and equipment can quickly stop deteriorating! ”

"If it weren't for the current losses, even if this battlefield allowed us to win, it would be a big loss!"

Zhukov boldly spoke out about his true proposal.

"You're a good idea, but that's what I think! It's just that Comrade Stalin will not let us do this, because now he is like a gambler, with red eyes when he loses, and he will definitely ask us to carry out a desperate and active attack to recover the lost land as quickly as possible! ”

Chief of the General Staff Vasilevsky shook his head and said helplessly.

"That's why I'm only now calling you here to discuss countermeasures, because judging from the current loss ratio, it is not suitable for us to continue to resist the Germans!"

"Because the Germans are now using elastic defense, to respond to our attack!"

"Their defensive capabilities, and the obstacles they have set up, will definitely not lose to our defense-in-depth strategic defense!"

Zhukov said with a sigh.

"Yes! So it's a headache! In fact, I didn't expect that the German army would be able to deploy so many elite troops and a large number of new weapons and equipment to resist our attack after the Battle of Sicily! Catch us off guard! ”

"Otherwise, we wouldn't have suffered so many casualties this time, as well as aviation!"

"Even our tank army has lost so many soldiers!"

Chief of the General Staff Vasilevsky said in a low mood.

"I don't want such a defeat to happen again, so I hope that you will think with me if there is any way that Comrade Stalin can make us change the combat strategy of our troops into a defense strategy in depth to resist the ferocious attack of the German army!"

"We must be fast, or I'm worried that the Germans won't know what unexpected things will come out and kill us by surprise!"

Zhukov worried.

"But what kind of character Comrade Stalin is, I believe that you and others know better! It's not easy to get him to change his mind, especially now that we've lost one battle after another, we don't have the right to speak! ”

The Chief of the General Staff, Vasilevsky, smiled bitterly and said with a helpless expression on Zhukov's face.

"If this is the case, then we can only deploy a large number of anti-tank weapons on the German advance route first, first block their tank army, and then build a deep fortification as quickly as possible, in the area of the Dnieper River!"

"We are fighting an offensive war with the Germans and building fortifications for defensive warfare at the same time!"

"When our fortifications in depth are finished, let's fight a defensive battle in depth with the Germans on the Dniepo! In this way, we are fighting on the front line, and there is no evacuation! ”

Zhukov proposed with a sad face.

"But will you be able to build a large-scale, complete fortification in depth in such a way? Don't forget to shake and build a real defensive circle with strong defense, but it takes a lot of manpower, material resources, and time to complete! Like we did at the Battle of Kursk, it took months to build! ”

The Chief of the General Staff, Vasilevsky, shook his head and objected.

"It doesn't work! That's not going to work! So what do you say we should do now? Is it really stupid to fight to the death with the German army, which has a large number of new weapons and equipment, and whose troops will not lose too much to us? ”

Hearing this, Zhukov couldn't help but said angrily.