Chapter 183 Wake up

Knowing in his heart what Stalin's intention was, Zhukov, who was full of gratitude for this, soon spoke again.

"Comrade Stalin, before setting off, I would like to bring a few people with me from the General Staff Headquarters in Moscow. This will make it easier for me to carry out further work after arriving in Leningrad."

Regarding Zhukov's small request, Stalin did not think much about it after waving his hand.

"Take whoever you want to take with you, and tell Comrade Shaposhnikov that it was my personal order."

After a pause after finishing his sentence, Stalin, who was still worried about the direction of the Ukrainian war zone to the south, immediately changed the direction of the topic again.

"The situation in the southwest is very bad now. We have decided to reorganize the Supreme Command of the Front Army. Who do you think is the most suitable person to be the new commander?"

Even though he forcibly dismissed Zhukov as the Chief of the General Staff of the Red Army in anger and fought him to the end, Stalin still couldn't help but seek military advice and solutions from Zhukov after he felt a headache when he encountered a problem. .

This has nothing to do with Stalin's personal subjective will. It is purely due to the fact that Zhukov always brought the best solution to Stalin when he served as the Chief of General Staff of the Red Army.

Faced with the advice that the supreme leader asked him to ask for, Zhukov quickly gave an affirmative answer after thinking for a moment.

"Marshal Timoshenko performed very well in commanding the newly formed Western Front. Although there were some failures in the process, this was not a problem with Marshal Timoshenko's commanding ability but was caused by objective factors. Furthermore, Marshal Timoshenko is very familiar with the issues and situations in Ukraine, and the marshal’s prestige will also help stabilize military morale. I recommend sending Marshal Timoshenko to serve, Comrade Stalin.”

Without commenting on the feasibility of Zhukov's suggestion, Stalin rolled his eyes and quickly continued to ask questions.

"Then do you have any good suggestions about the vacant commander position of the Western Front?"

As the most powerful Red Army force blocking the gap between Moscow and the German Army Group Center, the importance of the Western Front, which has the most powerful combat strength in the entire Red Army sequence, is beyond doubt. The selection of the commander of the Western Front will affect the survival and future of the entire Soviet regime in the precarious situation, and Stalin cannot help but be cautious.

Zhukov, who knew the importance of selecting the commander of the Western Front, did not immediately give Stalin's answer. The Red Army God of War, who was familiar with all the famous generals of the Red Army because he served as the Chief of General Staff of the Red Army, thought for several minutes. Only then did Stalin slowly raise his head with expectant eyes and gave the answer to the supreme leader.

"Comrade Stalin, I propose to appoint Lieutenant General Konev, commander of the 19th Army, to succeed Marshal Timoshenko as the new commander of the Western Front."

"Lieutenant General Konev?"

I was a little surprised by the answer Zhukov gave. After all, the fashionable and unknown Konev in 1941 was far from the brilliant military exploits he had at the end of the Great Patriotic War, commanding a torrent of steel to march to Berlin. Now he is just He is just an inconspicuous army commander among millions of Red Army soldiers.

Although he had some doubts about the answer given by Zhukov, based on his trust in Zhukov, after thinking for a while, Stalin finally nodded and acquiesced to Zhukov's recommendation.

The conversation was almost over at this point.

Just when Stalin wanted to have a final discussion with Zhukov about the war in the direction of Kiev, Zhukov suddenly spoke, interrupting Stalin's thoughts and spoke first.

"Comrade Stalin, there is a very important thing that I think deserves the attention of you and the entire High Command. That is that our opponent, the Germans, has probably begun to develop new tanks to break the current front line occupied by our army. The absolute tank quality advantage.”

"Tanks, an important land warfare technical weapon with great offensive power, have always been the absolute mainstay of the German blitzkrieg tactics. Without armored troops, the German blitzkrieg is like a tiger with its teeth pulled out, and now the Germans only The teeth of the Blitzkrieg Tiger have become increasingly dull in front of our tanks. The Germans must pay enough attention to the development of new tanks!"

As a dual political and military dictator, Stalin had two main personal favorite weapons.

Powerful tanks, and large-caliber heavy guns with thicker tubes.

To a certain extent, this is quite similar to the German leader Hitler who was on the opposite side. This has to be said to be a very wonderful and surprising relationship.

Stalin's emphasis on and love for Red Army tanks has always been known to everyone.

Whenever Stalin went to inspect the grassroots units of the Red Army, he would always go to see for himself the new steel behemoths in service in the Red Army tank units.

And when Moscow holds a grand military parade on Red Square, the scene when a column of brand-new Red Army tanks roars past the Red Square is always the moment when Comrade Stalin laughs the happiest.

But now, when Stalin, who loves tanks, heavy land weapons with strong armor and sharp cannons, heard Zhukov's words, the fatherly comrade who immediately frowned immediately spoke to Zhukov in a deep voice.

"How can you be sure that the Germans are developing new tanks? What basis is there? Zhukov."

Seeing that Stalin was doubtful about what he had just reminded him, and remembering that he had been in the same boat as Stalin, Zhukov then fully narrated to the face in front of him what Malashenko had told him and used to persuade him. The suspicious supreme leader.

After listening to Zhukov's words and copying them almost unchanged, Stalin's heart could not be called a huge wave, but he could not calm down for a long time and pondered for a long time.

A moment later, when the fatherly comrade with slightly tired eyes raised his head again, those warnings and reminders brought by Malashenko from later generations finally had an effect on Stalin.

"Maybe you are right, Zhukov. I will host a relevant meeting at the Supreme Command as soon as possible about our Red Army's future tank plan. At that time, I will ask all senior tank engineers such as Morozov and Kotin to attend. In addition, you will The elements you just told me will be compiled into a complete report and handed over to me, which will be used at the meeting. "

"As for the signature of the report, are these all your own ideas? Zhukov."

After listening to Stalin's question, he smiled lightly and realized that the supreme leader of the Soviet Union was just like himself at the time. He was also awakened by Malashenko's conclusion, which sounded shocking and avant-garde. Zhukov, who had no intention of taking the credit from Malashenko, then faced Stalin and spoke slowly.

"No, Comrade Stalin, I think Major Malashenko's name should be added at the end of the report."