"The current situation is this. Hundreds of thousands of troops from the Mao Xiong Southern Front are still pursuing the retreating enemy 17th Group Army in the North Caucasus."

Wu Zhan pointed to the sand table and said to Jiang Dong, Zhang Shengqing, Li Zhaoying and others:

"But in the mountainous terrain, the Third Reich Mountain Division can give full play to its advantages. Their retreat is not chaotic. Lao Maozi's advancement is not fast!"

"After Guderian arrived at the great bend of the Don River, the enemy's military strength was instantly enhanced."

"The pressure on Manstein and Paulus has been reduced a lot. With the Second Armored Army on the west bank of the Don River, the enemy's Army Group South can advance, attack, retreat and defend."

"In addition, there is Stalingrad as the core nail zone. On the surface, the battlefield situation is favorable to our army, but if you look deeper, the victory rate of the Allies is not particularly high."

"If we hadn't mastered the key air superiority, the outcome would probably have been 50-50."

The enemy's strength still cannot be underestimated, and everyone's eyes became solemn.

Wu Zhan elaborated on the opinions of the staff:

"The most effective and quickest way to break the situation at the moment is to completely encircle Paulus's 6th Army and prevent it from continuing to contact Manstein and Guderian."

"Only by accomplishing this can we carry out the next battle plan and intercept the 17th Group Army!"

"The staff believes that the Eighth Army Corps and the Sixth Army Corps should each dedicate 1 to 2 group armies to attack the connection line between the Don River and Stalingrad from the north and south directions!"

"The armored group army can prevent enemy reinforcements on the western front and hold the Don River. This strategic goal is very likely to be achieved."

"Of course, this is a life and death battle, and the battle will definitely be extremely fierce!"

After Wu Zhan finished speaking, no one spoke for a short period of time. Everyone was looking at the combat sandbox.

Due to the reinforcement of Grozny, Jiangdong's action to persuade Paulus to surrender was delayed for a few days.

Large-scale bombing operations must take several days to prepare, otherwise it will be difficult to achieve the effect of striking and shocking the enemy's mind.

100 Super Sky Fortresses cannot be assembled at any time.

After this delay, the bombing of Berlin was postponed.

The staff's combat plan was completed under the guidance of Jiangdong, so this is basically the final combat plan.

Seeing that no one had any other opinions, Jiang Dong said:

"The 1st and 2nd Army will attack from the north, and the 13th and 14th Army will attack from the south. We will prepare immediately after the meeting. The operation to close the encirclement will officially begin tomorrow morning!"

…………

Stalingrad, 6th Army Headquarters.

On June 16, the Chinese army began to attack the defense line and important transportation lines west of Stalingrad from the north and south directions.

Before this, the Chinese also had the strength to attack these places, but they have not moved yet.

The reason is very simple. The Chinese Armored Group Army is located northwest of Stalingrad. If the Sixth Army abandons Stalingrad and breaks through to the west, the Chinese Armored Group Army will crush it like an ant.

Without solid fortifications and no city ruins as cover, the infantry and armored armies must have been completely crushed in the encounter, so Paulus did not dare to act rashly.

The two sides were secretly competing, with the Chinese always taking the initiative.

The arrival of Guderian caused some slight changes in the balance of strength. The Chinese no longer continued to adopt the strategy of boiling frogs in warm water, and began to become direct and fierce.

Paulus knew that the other party was going to attack his 6th Army, but he had no choice but to place his hope in the Führer and other friendly forces.

The position of Stalingrad was too critical, and the head of state would never allow his troops to retreat.

"The general, the head of state and the army group headquarters all ordered us to persist to the end!" the chief of staff said to Paulus with a telegram:

"The 11th Army and the Second Armored Army will definitely come to support Stalingrad, and we are required to persist until then!"

"Boom boom boom..."

There was a dull explosion outside the underground headquarters, the ground was shaking slightly, and the lights above were flashing.

Paulus had already expected this and did not even raise his head. He was still looking at the battle map with concentration.

The battle officially started in the early morning of the 16th, and it was not yet noon. The 44th Army deployed in the west was almost unable to withstand it, and suffered heavy casualties.

The enemy's artillery fire was very fierce, and there were fighter jets and bombers in the sky for support. The Imperial soldiers of the 44th Army were suppressed and beaten, and they were too passive.

In addition to air superiority and artillery superiority, the Chinese also have absolute firepower superiority in close combat.

Their semi-automatic rifles and assault rifles can create instant crushing firepower, and the bolt-action Mauser rifles are too disadvantaged in the face of enemy firepower.

One thought after another flashed through Paulus's mind, and he frowned deeply.

"Have you told the Führer that we are about to be surrounded by the enemy and can only hold on to Stalingrad!"

The chief of staff nodded seriously:

"I explained the situation in the telegram, but the head of state and the army group headquarters demanded that we stick to the end!"

Paulus grinned, as if he had a headache.

So the Führer knew about the critical situation in Stalingrad!

Paulus hesitated for a moment and then ordered:

"Let the 44th Army hold on until dark, then retreat to the core defense area and wait for the support of the head of state!"

"yes!"

The length of the western border defense line exceeds 200 kilometers. No matter what advantages the Chinese have, they cannot break through the 200 kilometers of defense line in just one day.

The core defense circle has a large number of bunkers and reinforced concrete fortifications, and there is no problem in holding on for ten days and a half. Paulus' only worries are supplies and military morale.

At four o'clock in the morning on June 17, Yang Fugui, who had been fighting continuously for 20 hours, joined forces with the 13th Army of the 8th Army at Sovietsky, southwest of Stalingrad.

At this point, the two Chinese corps completed the siege of Stalingrad.

More than 400,000 enemies were trapped in a narrow area of ​​more than 50 kilometers around Stalingrad.

The final battle against Stalingrad, which has a major turning point, is about to begin.

June 17th was another sunny day, and the early morning mist was quickly blown away by the cool breeze from the Volga River.

After 20 hours of continuous fighting, some troops of the 6th Group Army were also very tired. After entering the core defense circle, they could no longer hold on and fell asleep.

Paulus did not feel sleepy at all. He patrolled the front lines anxiously.

He could already see the Chinese military flag on the opposite side through the telescope, which was as red as fire and blood.

Many soldiers knew that they were surrounded by enemies, and there was a trace of panic in their eyes.

During the inspection, Paulus heard some words that shook the morale of the troops, but he did not stop them.

The Sixth Army was also an elite force of the Third Reich and had achieved numerous dazzling results.

The soldiers were generally proud and able to adjust themselves quickly after being surrounded.

But the situation of the Romanian servant army is very bad!

Previously, the Romanian cavalry brigade and two infantry divisions surrendered to the Chinese soldiers. Shortly after their surrender, the other side of the Volga River remembered the Romanians' calls to surrender.

This is the enemy's psychological tactic.

Before being surrounded, Paulus paid no attention to it.

But when Stalingrad was surrounded by enemies and there was no hope of breaking out, Paulus realized that the enemy's persuasion to surrender had deeply affected the Romanian servants.

He called some Romanian officers and was about to give him a few words of instruction, when suddenly a shrill and rapid air-raid siren sounded in his ears.

"Uuuuuuuuuuuuuuuuuuuuuuu"
Chapter completed!