Hopkins spent a full week in Moscow, although they had already agreed on the first day. Pen × fun × Pavilion www. ｂｉｑｕｇｅ。 However, there are still a lot of details to be discussed. For example, how much assistance does the U.S. provide for this battle plan? When did Soviet Russia launch an attack on the Chinese Empire, etc. These are all things that need to be clarified.

The United States naturally hoped that Soviet Russia would launch an attack on the Chinese Empire as soon as possible. In this way, they will not be forced so tightly by the Chinese Empire. After winning the Battle of Australia, it is highly likely that the Chinese Empire will soon launch an offensive against other U.S.-controlled areas in the Pacific. And Soviet Russia is clearly not going to let the Americans get their wish. Molotov proposed that Soviet Russia would launch an attack on the Chinese Empire this winter and launch a southward campaign. In this way, they will have a greater advantage. Fighting in the cold winter, the Soviet army would have had a little more advantage. And the American side obviously can't wait so long. There is still half a year before winter! Perhaps by then, the Chinese Empire would have occupied the entire Pacific Ocean and pushed the front to the doorstep of the United States.

After a long period of bargaining, the Russians finally relented and agreed to launch a southward campaign four months later, in mid-September. Although, the American side is still not very satisfied with this. However, in the case that Soviet Russia no longer made concessions, they had no choice but to compromise. After all, now they need Su Wei to relieve them from the siege, forcing Soviet Russia to be in a hurry, and if the two sides break up, it will not benefit them at all.

In terms of aid, Soviet Russia naturally opened its mouth. The Russian side demanded that the United States provide Soviet Russia with 1 million tons of crude oil, 1 million tons of grain, and a large amount of weapons and ammunition in the next three months. Advanced aircraft engines and tank engines will also be supplied to Soviet Russia with 3,000 units each. The United States raised a slight objection to the demands of Soviet Russia. However, the attitude of the Soviet and Russian sides was very tough, and the Americans did not dwell on these minor issues. If, for these reasons, the Soviet Russia's southward battle plan could not be carried out for a long time, it would be the most unfavorable to them.

A week later, Hopkins left Moscow, where he was to travel by train to Murmansk. Then board a British warship there and head to England. Then take a flight back to the United States in the UK. However, the contents of the agreement reached between the United States and the Soviet Union had already been sent back to China in advance. The aid promised by the United States had to be prepared immediately and then shipped to Soviet Russia. Otherwise, with the character of Soviet Russia, which does not see rabbits and does not scatter eagles, it is impossible for them to honestly launch an attack on the Chinese Empire.

On the morning of May 12, Stalin summoned in the Kremlin the People's Commissar of Defense Voroshilov, the General Staff of the Soviet Army, Marshal Shaposhnikov, the commander of the Volga Defense Line of the Soviet Army, General Zhukov, and the commander of the Don Defense Line, General Vasilevsky. He summoned these major military generals for only one purpose, that is, to get the military to come up with a feasible southward battle plan, and to strive to defeat the Chinese Empire and achieve their strategic goals in this southward operation.

"Comrades, I know that this time the Americans are trying so hard to let us go south because they want to use us as gunners, let us provoke the Chinese, attract the Chinese firepower for them, and let them slow down." Stalin said. He is not a fool, and it is easy to bluff to be able to defeat so many political opponents and become the supreme leader of Soviet Russia. Otherwise, I don't know how many times I would have died.

The high-ranking generals of the Soviet army did not look very good. Because in their opinion, the Soviet army was able to hold the existing line of defense, and the Chinese Empire did not take the initiative to attack them, which is already thankful. Now that Soviet Russia still wants to take the initiative to attack the Chinese Empire, isn't that looking for death?

"However, if this plan can be successful, it will be very beneficial to us. Our country is sandwiched between the two great powers, China and Germany. Although we are working hard to develop industry and armaments, this does not mean that we are still far behind them. In this war, the Chinese Empire was even more bent on destroying us and restoring the Russian Empire. Therefore, we must fight as hard as we can. Only by defeating the enemy on the battlefield can we change our current unfavorable situation. Americans are not a good thing though. But the enemy of your enemy is your friend. In this war, the United States is also the only friend we can rely on. So, we have to find a way to help Americans. It's helping them as well as helping ourselves. In addition, this is also for the post-war layout. Oil has now become one of the most important sources of energy, and whoever controls it after the war controls the world's energy lifeline. There's a lot of oil in the Middle East, if we can control it. Then, we will not only be able to solve our own energy gap, but we will also be able to use the oil resources here to develop our country and make our country stronger. and even to achieve our ultimate goal of liberating all of humanity. Stalin said wistfully. Although, the war is not over yet. And in this war, Soviet Russia was in a very difficult situation. However, Stalin had already begun to lay out for the post-war period. He didn't seem to think that if they lost this war, wouldn't all the preparations be useless? After all, if they lose the war, Soviet Russia will most likely cease to exist.

"Comrade Stalin, we deeply admire your foresight. However, it was too difficult to defeat the Chinese Empire in the south. "said Marshal Shaposhnikov, Chief of the General Staff of the Soviet Army.

"Yes, Comrade Stalin. The Chinese did not deploy many troops in the Caucasus and the Middle East, though. However, they can always deploy more troops to these areas if they wish. General Vasilevsky also said.

"Comrades, I know that there is difficulty. But even if it's difficult, we have to overcome it and win. "Stalin was very resolute. He had already made up his mind to launch a plan to go south. Even if these military generals strongly oppose it, it will not help.

When several high-ranking commanders of the Soviet army saw Stalin's attitude, they immediately knew that Stalin had made up his mind, and even if they were against it, it would be in vain.

"Comrade Voroshilov, is there a problem with making a battle plan in a week, and then secretly transferring troops?" Stalin asked. He gave an ultimatum straight away.

"Yes, Comrade Stalin, there is no problem at all." Voroshilov said.

"Well, I'll review your battle plan myself in a week." Stalin said.

A week was fleeting, but it was like a year for the senior Soviet commanders who had drawn up plans for the southward movement. They knew that if they took the initiative to attack the Chinese Empire, it was very likely that they would fail. However, no one dared to disobey Stalin's will, and all they could do was to try to increase their chances of victory as much as possible. For this reason, they must invest more troops in this southward plan. Although, in terms of combat effectiveness, their army may be inferior to the army of the Chinese Empire. However, if the number is increased as much as possible, it may be possible to make a qualitative change so that they can win the war. In addition, the Middle East is also relatively far away from the Chinese Empire, and now the Chinese Empire is in a two-front war. Maybe they still have a chance to win.

A week later, Stalin punctually summoned Voroshilov, Shaposhnikov, Zhukov and Vasilevsky, among others. Voroshilov also presented the battle plan they had drawn up to Stalin.

According to the agreed time with the United States, they will launch an operation in mid-September, in which the Soviets will concentrate between 2.5 million and 3.5 million troops to launch an offensive into the Caucasus and the Middle East. Of these, 2.5 million are the current standing forces, and the other 1 million belong to the reserve forces. The reason why so many troops were invested was entirely because Voroshilov and others were worried that if the battle plan failed, they could still invest a large number of troops to stabilize the battle line and avoid the war situation from becoming unmanageable.

In order to ensure the total annihilation of the three main armies of the Chinese Empire in the northern Caucasus, the Soviet army was to commit 5,000 tanks and 5,000 combat aircraft. Of these, 1,000 are the latest T-34 tanks, 1,000 KV-2 tanks, and the remaining 3,000 are old KV-1 tanks, BT-1 fast tanks and T-26 tanks. Among the 5,000 combat aircraft, there are 1,000 cutting-edge Yak-1 fighters, and the other 4,000 are old I-16 fighters, I-15 fighters, and some bombers and attack aircraft.

Although, the scale of the armored forces and air force of Soviet Russia is very large. However, most of the tanks and planes they are equipped with are old, and they are no match for the advanced tanks of the Chinese Army and the advanced fighters of the Air Force on the battlefield. Only the T-34 tank and the Yak-1 fighter, which are about to begin mass production, are slightly more advanced. However, due to the small number, it is difficult to form a strong combat force, let alone confront the Chinese army and air force.

The battle plan submitted by Voroshilov and others was divided into two phases, one was the campaign in the northern Caucasus, where they planned to encircle and annihilate the three army groups of the Chinese Empire. The second stage was to climb the Caucasus Mountains, move south to defeat the Chinese* army, and occupy Iraq and Iran. (To be continued.) )