In April 1944, when the war between the Soviet Union and Germany was about to enter its third year, the old opponent who had been fighting with the other party for two years suddenly realized that he had to get to know the other party again.

The experience accumulated in the battles in 1942 and 1943 is now not very reliable even if it is not completely invalid.

For the German army, the progress of the Soviet Red Army in anti-tank combat capabilities was unexpected. In particular, the common equipment of low-cost anti-tank weapons such as the "Red Iron Fist" 60, "Bazukka" rocket launcher, RPG-43 anti-tank grenade, as well as the appearance and use of the Su-57 tank destroyer, which is low in the body and good at ambushing and is also relatively cheap, as well as the "suicide use" of a large number of zis-3 cannons. Most of the German tanks/assault artillery, including the Tiger H-type tank, have become vulnerable to attack. Now the only German tanks that can be guaranteed to be destroyed are probably the powerful E-50a and Cheetah tank destroyer. The opponent of the Soviet Red Army is obviously making rapid progress and we need to re-understand it!

For the Soviet army, the daytime bombing on April 22 and 23 also made them re-recognize the powerful Luftwaffe.

Although Soviet ground forces were often bombed in 1942 and 1943, the Soviet Red Air Force had not completely lost the sky at that time. Especially before the British submission, the Luftwaffe could not concentrate its forces on the Soviet-German battlefield. At that time, the Soviet Red Air Force could still compete with the Luftwaffe with its huge number of advantages, and the air supremacy on the battlefield did not completely belong to the German army.

However, this situation has undergone a fundamental change because the British mainland turned to Germany! Of course, this fundamental change did not happen overnight, but a gradual evolution process.

First of all, the number of German fighter jets on the Soviet-German battlefield increased significantly and the "survival time" of Soviet pilots decreased greatly. Throughout the second half of 1943, a large number of veteran pilots of the Soviet Red Air Force were sacrificed or captured, and the strength of the Red Air Force quickly disappeared.

The second is the leap in performance of German fighter jets! Because of the absorption of aviation technology from Britain, the performance of German fighter jets has seen a period of rapid growth since the second half of 1943. Although on the surface, the main fighter jets of the German army on the Eastern Front were still -190, the engines installed in the shell of -190 have been fully upgraded, all of which are combined with British high-temperature resistance technology, British supercharge technology, German cooling technology and German engine "drug-taking" technology!

Moreover, the fuel used is also higher, all high-quality aviation gasoline with higher octane (the higher the octane number, the better, it depends on the engine condition), which can maximize the performance of the engine.

So since early 1944, the air battle on the Soviet-German battlefield had been one-sided, and the Luftwaffe completely suppressed the Red Air Force and became the overlord of the sky.

The third change is the rapid expansion of the scale of the Luftwaffe, especially the bombing aviation force.

Before the British submission in 1943, the positioning of the Luftwaffe was mainly the tactical air force. In addition to fighter jets, most of the aircraft equipped were strictly ground attack aircraft for precise strikes, including dive bombers and anti-tank attack aircraft.

The medium-sized, heavy bombers are not large in number for tactical or strategic bombing targets behind enemy lines (there are many ju288 in the naval aviation, mainly used for anti-ship).

With the surrender of the UK and the gradual improvement of the oil supply situation, it is certain that there is a shortage of oil, but the amount of fuel that can be controlled by the Luftwaffe is getting more and more year by year. The Luftwaffe finally has a large number of equipment, such as do217, ju188, ju288 and me264, the possibility of four medium-sized and heavy bombers.

By April 1944, after the unremitting efforts of the Luftwaffe Air Force, the newly established Bomber Command (excluding fighter bombers, anti-tank attack aircraft and dive bombers) had exceeded 3,000 heavy bombers, and all of them were new aircraft with superior performance. They were sufficient to support strategic bombing of the Volga-Ural industrial zone, and at the same time, they could bomb roads and transportation hubs behind the Soviet army on the front.

Therefore, while the German armored troops learned about the anti-tank combat power of the Soviet infantry, the Soviet Red Army also knew for the first time how passive and helpless it was to fight under the enemy's overwhelming air superiority.

"What? The troops cannot withdraw?"

In the Kremlin, after listening to Zhukov's report, Stalin suddenly felt that his eyes were black.

More than one million people and thousands of tanks could be smashed into the northern line. If it cannot be withdrawn, how can the Moscow defense battle be fought? Is it time for me to devote myself to the cause of human liberation soon?

"No, it's not that I can't withdraw..." Zhukov shook his head and said, "It's hard to withdraw."

Is there any difference?

Stalin looked at Zhukov, who explained: "It's just that the troops retreated slowly than planned, and the losses of personnel and equipment would also suffer considerable losses during the retreat."

Zhukov frowned even more when he said this, "And... and..., in the next battle, the mobilization and combat of the Red Army heavy troops will probably be carried out under the enemy's overwhelming air superiority."

"Georgi Konstantinovich," Stalin didn't fully understand what Zhukov meant. He frowned, "What do you have to say to me? Is the battle of Moscow going to be unable to continue?"

"No, no, no..." Zhukov shook his head quickly, "It's not that I can't fight, but on the contrary, today we successfully defeated the German attack in May Day Town on the Red October Railway. The 8th Guard Infantry Division fought very well, very well!"

Although the periphery was lost on the morning of the 24th, the 8th Infantry Division of the Guards could obviously still persist in May Day Town. In the eyes of the Soviet army, it was still possible to hold on for another 7-10 days to delay the German Northern Army Group's operations.

And these 7-10 days will be a key point for the Battle of Moscow.

Stalin knew that Zhukov had something to say, so he looked at his beloved general with a bright look.

Zhukov also said: "The Germans have now suspended the bombing of Ufa and Gubishev, and have concentrated the bombers in northern Moscow and Kalinin Prefecture. The main bombing of traffic lines should be to prevent our northern line cluster from quickly withdrawing from Moscow."

"Stop the Northern Line Cluster from retreating quickly?" Stalin was stunned. In fact, the Red Army Command did not want to withdraw all the Northern Line Clusters back to Moscow. At present, only a few tank armies have retreated.

"They want to surround our Northern Line Cluster!" Zhukov further analyzed, "The German bombing was to delay the retreat of the Northern Line Cluster, and the offensive they launched on the Western Line should be to allow the armored cluster to be inserted between Moscow and Kalinin."

"The Germans want to annihilate our Northern Line Cluster?" Stalin sneered, "They have a big appetite!"

Zhukov nodded and said, "Yes, the Germans have a big appetite, but as long as we understand their intentions, we have a chance to defeat them."

"Oh?" asked Stalin, "Are you setting a trap for the Germans?"

"Yes!" Zhukov said, "The General Staff believes that a part of the German armored cluster can be allowed to break into the Klin area between Moscow and Kalinin, and then concentrate powerful tank assault clusters to side-strike them, cutting off the liaison between them and the rear."

Klin belongs to Moscow Prefecture, located between Kalinin City and Moscow City in Kalinin Prefecture. On the Red October Railway Line, it is more than 60 kilometers away from Moscow city and more than 70 kilometers away from Kalinin City.

If the Germans occupied Klin, the main line of transportation between Kalinin and Moscow would be cut off and the northern line cluster of the Central Front would be in a dilemma of being attacked from both sides.

However, the German army cluster that broke into Klin was also attacked on both sides, because there were large areas of fortifications that the Soviet army worked hard around Kalinin and Moscow. Since the autumn of 1943, millions of people worked hard for half a year and built countless fortifications. No matter how strong the German army's ability to attack was, it took a long time to clear it.

"If this plan is to be implemented," Zhukov said, "there is no need to withdraw the Guards 1, 2, 5, and 6 on the Northern Line to Moscow. It only needs to concentrate it in the Kalinin Fortification Zone. At the same time, the Guards 3, 4 and other mechanized clusters are concentrated in the Moscow Fortification Zone. Then, after the German army broke into Klin, it was carried out north-south attacks, striving to annihilate the German armored cluster! Considering the threat of the Luftwaffe, we can arrange the tank army's assault at night, and use night battles and close combat to defeat the German armored cluster in one fell swoop!"

This plan seemed to have set a trap for Germany, but in fact it was Zhukov's bet on a bet with the last bit of luck from the Soviet Union.

However, this was a last resort. As the mud season was about to end, the German armored cluster would soon regain its vitality, and by then it would probably be the end of the Soviet Union.

After hearing Zhukov's latest plan, Stalin also showed a long-lost smile on his face. Zhukov's plan... sounds completely feasible! How powerful can a German armored cluster that is alone in the muddy season? How can it withstand the attack of six tank armies? Maybe it will be wiped out under the combined force of the six tank clusters!
Chapter completed!