At first, other German soldiers were very confused as they watched the "Rat Catching Special Operations Team" running around the wheat fields. Many people were curiously asking the same question: "What are they doing?"

However, when they smelled the scent of roasted voles in the air, they suddenly understood, especially after trying it, they could no longer hold back, and formed "action teams" in groups of three, five.

Despite the well-trained German army, this set a record of the most conscious and heroic engagement in combat in the 21st Armored Division ever.

There is entertainment, vegetables, and crispy field meat. There is really nothing to be demanding on such a battlefield.

But such days soon became a memory of German soldiers.

That night, Eberhard looked north while chewing the field meat, and then said, "Brothers, I wonder if you feel that the northern defense line is much quieter!"

The baker turned to listen, then nodded and replied, "Yes, the Soviets can't continue this kind of battle!"

"Or, it can be said that they are ready in Stalingrad!" Dominic expressed a different opinion.

But Qin Chuan thought the baker was right.

This is because the Stalingrad Front's attack, regardless of casualties, consumes a lot of troops.

According to statistics, the total strength of the four armies used by Zhukov reached 250,000, and one-third of the force was lost in the seven-day attack, which means an average of more than 10,000 casualties per day.

The four armies had a total of 400 tanks, of which 300 were destroyed, and dozens of tanks were unable to start again due to failure or combat, so the tanks were almost exhausted.

Under such casualties and losses, even the Soviet Union, which had a large number of troops, could not afford it and could only end such a battle.

On the other hand, if Stalingrad is ready... no preparation will have a "good" day.

"This is a good thing, isn't it?" Eberhard said: "We can finally get out of the northern line!"

"Why is this a good thing?" Qin Chuan asked back.

The soldiers understood what Qin Chuan meant. The German army could escape from the northern defense line, which meant that the battle to attack Stalingrad was about to begin.

Sure enough, in the early morning of the next day, the 14th German Armored Army was transferred to the direction of Stalingrad... Paulus's 6th Army had only one armored army, so it was needed for both the northern defense line and the attack on Stalingrad, and he could only mobilize this force back and forth in the battle.

It can be seen that the Germans in the 14th Armored Army were generally optimistic about the attack on Stalingrad.

When the 14th Armored Army passed the state-owned farm, many soldiers stood on tanks and cheered at the soldiers of the 21st Armored Division:

"Good job, 21 Armored Division."

"Good example, 1st Infantry Regiment!"

...

Of course, Qin Chuan and others knew that they were referring to the First Infantry Division's break into Stalingrad and burning the factory... There was no need to worry about the record like this, because the German commanders needed to use these examples to set an example for other troops to inspire them to fight bravely.

But what is unexpected is that Major General Wittersheim, the commander of the 14th Armored Group, stayed to visit all the officers and soldiers of the 1st Infantry Regiment when he passed by.

"You have bought us time!" Major General Wittsheim held the hands of Colonel Slein and Qin Chuan and said: "It is conceivable that everything you do is a disaster for the defense of Stalingrad. Now, we have freed up our hands from the northern defense line, so the next one is Stalingrad!"

Major General Wittsheim's expression and tone were as if Stalingrad was already at his fingertips.

But Qin Chuan didn't think so.

This is not only because he knows how difficult the Battle of Stalingrad was in history, but also because he knows that Stalingrad should be taken over by Cuikov at this time.

But Cui Kefu... is not that easy to deal with.

In fact, the reason why the Soviet army was able to win the Battle of Stalingrad was not only Zhukov's command in the general strategic direction, but more importantly, Cuikov's command in Stalingrad.

Qin Chuan guessed correctly. As the offensive on the northern front weakened, Cui Koff also realized that there was not much time left for him to prepare, so he rectified the 62nd Army almost day and night.

Cui Kov was one of the "three horses" of the Soviet Union. The so-called "three horses" meant almost the meaning of the three famous generals.

As a famous general, Cuikov immediately realized that the most serious thing about Stalingrad was actually morale problems.

This may be caused by Lieutenant General Lopatin, or by the repeated failures of the 62nd Army... But no matter what, Lopatin, as a commander of the army, has no confidence in sticking to Stalingrad, which is definitely indispensable in this regard.

But Cui Kefu knew that there was no benefit in holding the responsibility at this time. The mess in front of him was such a mess: insufficient equipment, insufficient troops, insufficient supplies, and panic, from top to bottom, from the army to the people, seemed to be waiting for the German army to attack, and then the symbolic defense retreated to the east bank of the Volga River.

On the way to take office, soldiers even heard such remarks: "Is there any point in defending Stalingrad? The tractor factory and the artillery factory have burned the Germans. We should retreat to the east bank of the Volga River to defend, which will be much easier! The Germans cannot break through the Volga River defense line!"

Therefore, the first thing Cui Kefu did after taking office was not to inspect the fortifications on the front line, nor to deploy and adjust the forces on the front line, but to do ideological work for the 62nd Army.

"If they have already given up in their hearts!" Cuikov said to his deputy Krelov: "Then, even if they have guns in their hands, it will be useless. All they can do is raise their hands at the Germans and hand them to the enemy!"

So, Cui Kefu gave a speech on the radio as soon as possible... At this time, it was impossible to gather the soldiers together to give speeches, so it was obviously very dangerous to do so.

"I am Cuikov, commander of the 62nd Army!" Cuikov said straight to the point: "I am in Stalingrad now, among you. I just want to tell you one thing, Stalingrad is our last line of defense. In order to defend her, we will never take a step back, including me. I will repeat that no one can withdraw from Stalingrad. I flew here from Moscow to join you, with the purpose of dying with you!"

The speech was short and rough, without gorgeous language or vocabulary, but it was sonorous and powerful.
Chapter completed!