Chapter 745 “Checkmate”

To be honest, Paulus wanted to fire Osheim right now in a fit of anger. This trash-like thing has disappointed him greatly, completely ruining his original plan to establish his prestige. It also shattered the beautiful chess game he had worked hard on and his solemn promise to the head of state, and then severely destroyed it. Put your feet on.

But if we abandon Osheim now, it would be equivalent to announcing to the outside world that he, Paulus, was blind and misappointed people. He chose a talkative waste who only knew how to gossip to improve the results of the Russians and let the German soldiers. Blood shed in vain.

At that time, not only Osheim, the guy he single-handedly promoted, will be finished, but if those who are deliberately plotting or displeased with him spread this word to the ears of the head of state, Paulus can think of his fate after falling out of favor. How miserable it would be.

Although it may sound exaggerated, this domino-like chain disaster effect does exist.

As for the question of what the probability and possibility are, it depends on how Paulus makes his judgment based on his own subjective starting point.

"Damn it, bastard! I can't even touch this piece of trash now! What a terrible feeling!"

Paulus, whose right eyelid was twitching upward, finally suppressed the anger in his heart and gave up. At least for now, this guy Osheim was absolutely untouchable. His initial judgment was still correct even now. , and after calming down, the more he thought about it, the more sense it made. This even made Paulus feel lucky for his calmness and lack of emotion.

"I still have many opportunities and a lot of troops available! The Sixth Army will not be defeated! The Führer said that my army can attack the sky. How could the Führer make mistakes? Those Russians can't be higher than the sky! Yes! , It must be like this, it can’t be wrong!”

Forcing his restless heart to calm down, Paulus calmed down his tone and changed his angry tone. Instead, he began to use a cold and unquestionable tone towards Osheim, who was still trembling and waiting on the other end of the phone. Open your mouth and give an order.

"The reinforcements that have been sent to you are now under your command, Osheim. You know better than me how much offensive energy you have in your hands now. These have been marked on the map."

"I don't want to hear any more unfortunate news and reports, Osheim! Reorganize your troops and crush those Russians into scum. I will personally change the red circle of the train station into a blue circle on the map! Do what you have to do and don’t let me repeat this order even once again! This is the last time!”

Osheim, who was holding the phone in his hand, was stunned.

He felt that he had not heard Paulus say the word "removal" just now, but just asked him to reorganize his troops, and this was the last order.

This time, the chief of staff, who knew that his partner was a bit brainless, answered a telephone line and stood on the other side of the table with a microphone in his hand, listening to the conversation between Major General Osheim and Paulus.

IQ and EQ are completely unrelated things. Osheim, who has rich combat experience and active battlefield thinking, lacks the latter. Especially under the tremendous pressure from Paulus, a man with a special status, his partner, the Chief of Staff, had to help Osheim get through this even if he risked being caught for eavesdropping in violation of military regulations. close.

"Why are you still standing there!? You have not been dismissed, you are still in command here! Answer Commander Paulus quickly!"

I did receive such news from the chief of staff who winked and danced.

Major General Osheim, who would plummet in the face of Paulus' heavy pressure and was extremely unconfident, finally found the courage to throw himself into the Volga River and had the courage to speak to the microphone in his hand. speak out,

"I understand, Commander Paulus! I will faithfully fulfill your orders and carry out the will of the head of state to the end!"

Paulus, who was impatient after hearing such words, immediately put down the phone. He was too lazy to argue with this guy who disappointed him so much. Paulus is now more concerned about who is the next candidate worthy of his promotion and trust after Osheim, a useless waste.

"Why did I fall in love with this kind of trash in the first place? It seems that I have to pay more attention to ability next time. A loyal dog that is like trash is still a useless trash no matter how loyal it is."

Paulus, who secretly sighed inwardly as he summed up his failed experiences, completely failed to notice that in a certain sense, these words were also quite applicable to himself.

When the first German marshal to surrender appears for the first time, Hitler may have the same resentment and the same thoughts as Paulus now.

This rapid and fierce offensive and defensive battle finally ended with the German army's front collapsing and retreating across the board.

Taking advantage of the huge air support advantage, the 1st Guards Heavy Tank Breakthrough Regiment, which launched a head-on attack, combined with the Cherchenkov Infantry Division, penetrated the fragile defense line that the German army only considered attacking but was not prepared to defend at all.

The situation of the German army, which encountered a breakthrough in the center and collapse of the front line, was critical!

After several unsuccessful attempts to assemble troops on the spot to defend against counterattacks, Major General Osheim, realizing that failure was inevitable, gritted his teeth and issued the order to retreat and regroup.

The Soviet army fighting in the direction of the train station was able to use this to push the front from the south of the train station all the way to Peiping past the ruins of the waiting hall in the central area, and finally compressed the German army to the last palm-sized area north of the train station. Kan stopped continuing to attack.

If those German reinforcements and more than a dozen BF109 and FW190 fighter jets hadn't arrived in time, Malashenko would have even wanted to drive these German troops who had completely forgotten about defense out of the train station in one go! It brings a very satisfactory ending to the train station battle that is about to end.

Ironically, with the support of reinforcements, the German army was able to stabilize its retreating position. The last piece of land it held was the train station where Malashenko had been crushed by the German army. There are several warehouses in the northeast.

In the battle situation at Stalingrad No. 1 Railway Station, after the tactical initiative changed hands more than a dozen times, the Soviet army finally turned its offensive and almost completely drove the German troops out of the railway station, basically achieving the first stage of holding the railway station. Target.

The train station that Paulus never forgets is still in the hands of the Soviet army. It is like a fish bone stuck in the throat of the German offensive, protecting the trestle not far behind it and providing a safe place for the incoming horses. The next stage of Mayev Gang's large-scale counterattack and recovery operation has accumulated strong strength.