Inside the slightly shaky underground anti-aircraft bunker in Moscow, shaken by the explosion of artillery shells, Konev and his commanders were holding a new operational meeting.

The meeting was convened in the light of changes in the situation and the preparation of a reformulation of operational arrangements, and was attended by all other high-ranking Soviet officials, except for Khrushchev, who had gone mad.

The atmosphere in the conference room was very depressing, because in all directions, almost a fifth of Moscow was already under the control of the German army.

Don't underestimate this fifth, because as time goes by, the consumption of supplies and ammunition, as well as the collapse of the determination to fight, when there are about two-fifths of the street fighting left in the city, the defenders will fall into a collapse like defeat.

On the wall hangs a huge map of Moscow's defenses, and a Soviet commander is describing the battle near the Kiev railway station: "The enemy is advancing towards the Kiev railway station, very fast, we tried to stop their advance, but we suffered heavy losses. ”

"Yesterday alone, we lost 17 anti-aircraft guns of various types and 30 barricade ......defensive positions," he said, pointing at the Kiev railway station and along the Moscow River.

Seeing that Konev did not interrupt himself and pointed to the map, the general in charge of introducing the battle situation swallowed a mouthful of spit and continued to speak: "Some troops claimed to have eliminated 100 German troops, but the German offensive in that direction was not delayed at all......"

"These damn bastards, who are lying about the results of the battle at this time, are they crazy, or are they completely stupid?" A general heard this report and said with a sneer.

"It's not necessarily a lie, we lost about 1,000 people in one day yesterday, and the Germans estimated that they also lost more than 700 people, and this data is still credible." The other general explained with a wry smile.

"On the whole, the defense line near the Kyiv railway station has not collapsed, and there are still no problems holding on for a day or two." Speaking of this, the general who introduced the battle situation glanced at Konev again.

When Konev heard this return, he could only smile helplessly in his heart: he hoped that the Kiev railway station would last until next month, but unfortunately, it was only the beginning of July.

Obviously, if nothing else, it would be a miracle that the Kievskaya railway station would last until mid-July.

As for whether he could hold on to the original plan for August, Konev knew that this was simply an unrealistic request.

Aside from everything else, Konev does not know whether the ammunition stockpiled in Moscow will be enough until the end of August......

Before it was completely encircled, the work of rushing ammunition into the city of Moscow was not completed very well, and the amount of ammunition consumed on the front line was several times that of the previous estimate, so Konev's ammunition in his hands can be said to be stretched thin.

Without a sufficient amount of ammunition, let alone holding on to the Kiev railway station, the whole of Moscow could become a trophy of the German army in an instant.

At this time, another general spoke: "The Germans are systematically destroying the bridges, and they know that there is no way to take them from us intact, so they are trying to destroy them in advance. ”

"The destruction of the bridge by the Germans means that we will soon be unable to replenish our troops with ammunition on the other side of the river." Hearing the news, the general in charge of holding the Kiev railway station said with a pale face.

He paused, wiped his sweat with his handkerchief, and complained to Konev: "Near the bend of the river, we have a total of seven bridges, and now three have been destroyed by the Germans...... Half an hour earlier, the Germans had just destroyed a new bridge. ”

Just half an hour earlier, the Germans had organized a new bombardment, this time blowing up another railway bridge, leaving the Soviets with one less supply line to rely on.

"Can't, can't you build a pontoon bridge? We can build a pontoon bridge in a relatively safe place, can't we? An official in a suit interjected.

One of the generals sitting next to him explained his doubts: "Building a pontoon bridge is a good solution, but we don't have the equipment needed for the pontoon bridge. ”

"The matter of the pontoon bridge is secondary, the ammunition of the front-line troops is the most critical, there is no ammunition left at the arms distribution point near the Kyiv railway station, and all the ammunition has to be transported from this side of the river." The general in charge of the Kiev railway station, seeing that Konev did not speak, added another sentence.

"Transported over this side of the river? What kind of joke to let the soldier carry ammunition on his back through the bridge that the enemy is constantly blocking? Upon hearing this, an official in charge of civil affairs was frightened and turned pale.

Another general explained: "There are a few bridges that are still safe, at least for now." But if our troops in the bend of the Kiev River continue to lose positions, the bridges in these places will soon be exposed to the range of the German strikes. ”

The general in charge of the Kiev railway station had to emphasize again: "It is impossible to stop the troops from retreating, and if we have the ability to hold our positions, we will not be beaten to this position by the Germans." ”

"Isn't it...... Isn't it predetermined to give up some positions, or to give up some positions in a planned way......" said another civil officer sneeringly.

Another official sitting with him, who was also Khrushchev's confidant, said coldly: "The regulations are good, but the speed of giving up is so fast, will we have to give up Red Square to the German army next month?" ”

Seeing that the atmosphere in the conference room had changed, Konev had to stand up and speak.

"Enough! When you become a prisoner of the Germans, you have a lot of time to quarrel. Now we have to talk about how to better hold Moscow! He slapped the table, causing the room to fall silent.

"Defending Kyiv is my order, and it will not change in the future!" Konev looked at the civil officers who were already frightened by the battle situation, and said: "I don't have much reserves left, and there is not much time in Moscow!" ”

What he said was not intimidation, but the truth. The fighting situation of the Soviet army in Moscow is not optimistic, and the rest can only be left to God's favor.

"Right now, I only have less than 100,000 mobile troops, which will be consumed by rotation or reinforcements...... August, and at most September, is the most optimistic time I can guarantee......" Konev estimated, and opened his mouth to give his judgment.