The Lower Ural Front suffered heavy losses, the main forces were wiped out, and the morale of the remaining troops was greatly affected by the defeat of the Chinese* army. Therefore, Stalin doubted that the Volga defense line would be able to hold www.biquge.info. If they can't, what are they going to do? Will Soviet Russia perish because of this? This worried Stalin very much.

"Yes, Comrade Stalin, I immediately called Comrade Zhukov and asked him to return to Moscow on an Air Force plane." Shaposhnikov said.

A few hours later, a tired Zhukov rushed to Stalin's office. Having received the order, he immediately went to the airport and boarded an Air Force plane to Moscow. Basically, he hasn't rested much, which naturally makes him very tired.

Although it was already two o'clock in the morning on November 5 when Zhukov arrived, Stalin waited until this time to meet Zhukov in his office. In addition to Stalin and Zhukov, there were only Shaposhnikov in the office.

"Great leader Comrade Stalin, Zhukov reports to you. I am very sorry that I was not able to complete the task assigned by you, to hold the Ural line of defense, and to rescue the encircled Soviet troops so that they surrendered to the Chinese. Please punish me! As soon as he saw Stalin, Zhukov took the initiative to admit his mistake and asked for punishment.

Stalin nodded, and Zhukov's attitude made him very satisfied. In his opinion, Zhukov was different from other generals. The other people's chests beat on the pound, in fact, as soon as they encountered difficulties, they immediately coaxed. Such a person is not someone he values. Zhukov was modest and loyal to him, and it seemed that he could be entrusted with important tasks.

"Comrade Zhukov, this defeat has nothing to do with you. By the time you took over the Lower Ural Front, the situation had already eroded into that. It will not be easy for you to lead the remaining forces of the Lower Ural Front to withdraw west of the Volga in time to avoid further blows from the Chinese. Stalin said.

Hearing Stalin say this, Zhukov couldn't help but breathe a sigh of relief in his heart. On his way to Moscow, he was speculating whether Stalin would dispose of him. But now it seems that he has thought too much. Stalin not only did not intend to dispose of him, but apparently intended to reuse him.

"Comrade Stalin, Comrade Zhukov, this time we will fail only because the Chinese are too cunning, they have long set a trap for us to fall into. Next time, we will definitely not fall for them again. Shaposhnikov said.

Stalin nodded, and he also attributed this defeat to the cunning of the Chinese. If the two sides fought in an upright manner, the Soviet army would not necessarily be defeated. Even if it will fail, it will not fail miserably like it is now.

"Comrade Zhukov, you have been to the front and personally commanded the war with the Chinese. Tell us, where are the Chinese stronger than us? Honestly, I need to know the truth. Stalin said.

Zhukov hesitated, and then said: "Okay, Comrade Stalin. As far as my personal observation is concerned, the Chinese are indeed much stronger than us. The reason why we lost to them this time is actually not wrong.

First of all, the weapons and equipment of the Chinese are much more advanced than ours. Their fighter performance is more advanced than ours. Our fighters are not at all their opponents. In an air battle, the exchange ratio between the two sides is more than 10 to 1. Even if we lose ten fighters, we may not be able to shoot down one of them. In terms of bombers, his dive bombers and specialized ground attack aircraft have powerful firepower and long stay in the air, which can provide comprehensive fire support for the infantry. The reason why we have not been able to tear through the defense line of the Chinese has a lot to do with this. At the time of the attack, it was bombed by the Chinese Air Force, and the losses were very large. In terms of armored forces, the Chinese's tanks are very advanced, fast, strong in defense, and even more powerful in firepower. It's simply not comparable to our tanks. Our T-26 tanks, BT-7 fast tanks, armor defenses are too weak and can easily be penetrated by Chinese tanks. Even the armor of the KV-1 heavy tank may not be able to withstand the tank guns of the Chinese. On the other hand, the Chinese tank has a good bullet-resistant shape and thick armor, even the 76.2 mm tank gun of the KV-1 heavy tank cannot tear the armor of the Chinese tank at a long distance. In terms of artillery, the Chinese attach more importance to the construction of artillery than we do. They have very powerful artillery, 210-mm howitzers, 155-mm howitzers and 105-mm howitzers, which are not only powerful, but also numerous. This made our battle completely suppressed by the Chinese artillery.

Second, in terms of operational ideology and tactics, the Chinese are much ahead of us. Their air-ground coordination, infantry artillery coordination, and infantry and tank coordination are all very sophisticated. When our operational thinking was still stuck in the last war, the Chinese had already summed up new tactics based on the improvement of weapons and equipment. So much so that in the middle of the battle, it was difficult for us to resist their attacks.

Third, the Chinese have a strong quality of individual soldiers, and the cooperation of various units is also very close. And our army is generally undertrained, and it is difficult to compare with the Chinese.

Finally, there is the contrast of national strength. China, as the most powerful country in the world, has a strong industrial strength, which allows their army to be guaranteed with sufficient supplies, unlike our troops, which are often not even short of ammunition, let alone fighting. ”

Zhukov said all these discrepancies in one breath, which made Stalin's face very ugly after hearing this, as if it was the bottom of the pot.

Although, these disparities are real, and even Stalin himself knew about them. However, being pointed out so face-to-face still made him a little embarrassed. Didn't this point at his nose and say that Soviet Russia's army building over the years was a failure at all?

Shaposhnikov secretly screamed in his heart that it was not good, Zhukov is so real, how can he say everything? There should be some reservations. Now it's okay, Comrade Stalin is a little embarrassed, and no one can keep him.

"Comrade Zhukov, is there really such a big gap between us and the Chinese? If this is the case, then we simply surrender to the Chinese, and this battle will not have to be fought. Stalin said.

"No, Comrade Stalin. Although the Chinese are much ahead of us, it is not impossible for us to win. First of all, our troops have a stronger will to fight than the Chinese, and they are not afraid of death when they fight. As long as the Chinese are separated from the support of the air force and the support of artillery, it is as if they will not fight.

Secondly, Soviet Russia is too far away from China, and a lot of war materials need to be transported to Soviet Russia from the hinterland, which makes their supply lines very long, much longer than ours. In the event of an emergency, such as bad weather, their supply lines will go wrong, and this is our chance.

Again, the Chinese have provoked too many enemies, and their main forces are fighting a decisive battle with the Americans in the Pacific Ocean, but they are provoking us again. This will only make the strength of the Chinese more dispersed, so that we can win this war. Zhukov continued.

Stalin nodded, and Zhukov's analysis, he agreed very much. The current Soviet Russia, although it is full of difficulties, the Chinese Empire is also very powerful. But on the whole, Soviet Russia was not without the possibility of victory. As long as the Chinese Empire can be defeated in the war, then Soviet Russia will be able to step on the corpse of the Chinese Empire and rise up and become a truly powerful country.

"Comrade Zhukov, you have analyzed it very well. Compared with the Chinese, the disadvantages are indeed very obvious. However, our strengths are also there. As long as we can play to our strengths and avoid our weaknesses, we may not be able to defeat them. Stalin said with satisfaction.

Shaposhnikov also finally breathed a sigh of relief.

"Yes, Comrade Stalin." Zhukov looked humbly taught.

"Comrade Zhukov, will we be able to hold the Volga line? We have given up large swaths of territory east of the Volga and can no longer compromise and retreat. Stalin said.

"Comrade Stalin, rest assured, we will definitely hold the Volga line. However, I ask for more support. In addition to reinforcing us with troops from the Upper Ural Front and the Don Front, we need more reinforcements. In addition, the Air Force must do its best to cover us and ensure air supremacy in our hands. The armored forces must also be further strengthened, and more advanced tanks are needed. Zhukov said.

The Chinese* army was too strong, and the strong attack power it showed made Zhukov realize how difficult it would be to hold the line of defense and resist the attack of the Chinese* army.

Stalin's face also became serious: "Comrade Zhukov, now I can transfer 200,000 people from the Upper Ural Front and the Don Front to you. In this case, there would be a million troops on the Volga defense line. In addition, our 500,000-strong mobile force can also be strengthened for you. When the follow-up troops are expanded, I will give you another million men. Air Force, we'll give you five air armies. However, now they are equipped with old aircraft. When it is, when our new aircraft start mass production, I will give priority to equipping your troops. It's the same with tanks. When our new tanks enter service, your units will be the first to be reloaded. I have only one request, and that is to hold the Volga line! (To be continued.) )