**Chapter 870: Cute Stalin (7)**

On the morning of January 4, 1943, the Chinese military conducted only a single preparatory artillery barrage before its armored units began driving deep into the British and American positions along paths cleared by the sustained fire.

The tracks of Type 59 tanks crunched over shattered trenches, piercing the British lines. Inside the armored personnel carriers (APCs), the dim yellow lighting flickered as the officers and men gripped their weapons, waiting in the jolting vehicles for the order to charge.

Accompanying the first wave were several photographers—strapping young men who rode in various APCs, ready to record the fierce combat.

Finally, the order came over the vehicle radios: "Attack!"

The APCs skidded to a halt, and their rear doors swung open. Bright sunlight poured in as the infantry surged out with weapons ready. The photographers leaped from their respective carriers, cameras balanced on their shoulders.

However, the expected roar of massed gunfire did not materialize on the positions. While the rumble of distant explosions could be heard, they were far from the APCs. The photographers followed behind the soldiers, only to find them not moving with the practiced tactical maneuvers of their training, but lingering near the vehicle exits as if stunned by what they saw.

Adjusting their cameras, the photographers saw several white flags appearing in their lenses. The flags were being waved gently, a clear sign of goodwill.

The photographers tilted their heads for a better look, and the scene became clearer: the nearby British troops were not resisting, but were hoisting white flags.

Thinking he might have misunderstood, one photographer climbed the ladder on the side of an infantry fighting vehicle (IFV) to stand on the roof. From that height, he could see much further. As far as the eye could see, white flags were fluttering across the British positions. There were so many that the photographer couldn't even estimate how many units had chosen to surrender.

With no other choice, the photographers faithfully carried out their duty, filming the scene from every angle. At their elevated positions, they were easy targets, yet they remained completely safe. Seeing the cameras, several British officers even walked out of their trenches, preceded by subordinates carrying white flags.

Approaching a Chinese tank, a British officer asked bluntly, "Excuse me, does China currently recognize the Vienna Convention?"

"Of course!" a Major and battalion commander replied, stepping down from his IFV.

Hearing this, the British officers visibly relaxed. They continued, "Before surrendering, we require a guarantee from the Chinese military that the surrendering officers and men will receive treatment in accordance with the Vienna Convention."

The Chinese Major was also a bit dazed. Although he knew the British had zero chance of victory, he hadn't expected them to surrender so thoroughly. Especially with the white flags everywhere—it wasn't just battalion-level units that had prepared them; companies and even platoons had done so in advance.

Witnessing such a shameless display, the Major felt an impulse to draw his pistol and shoot the lot of them. But NDF discipline was deep-seated; he suppressed his rage and said in a heavy tone, "Follow our orders and hand over your weapons. We will grant you POW status in accordance with the Geneva Convention."

A few British units did continue to fight, but compared to those who surrendered, this handful was negligible.

Meanwhile, along the hundreds of kilometers of the front where the Korean units were leading the assault, the sound of gunfire was deafening. Once the Type 59 tanks broke through the lines, the US Army immediately abandoned its positions and began fleeing toward the rear.

The US Army had expanded rapidly after 1938; in 1930, it had numbered fewer than 200,000 men. Compared to the British, the US Army could be said to have no military tradition at all.

Given that the US forces were also short on ammunition, the task of attacking them had been assigned to the Korean military. However, the Command hadn't expected the Americans to simply abandon the British and desert their posts as soon as the battle began.

The Korean 6th Army was forced to give chase. The Americans on their two legs were no match for tracked vehicles. The Korean troops, lacking extensive war experience, assumed the white men were planning some sort of counter-strike. Machine gunners on the APCs fired relentlessly at the backs of the fleeing Americans, mowing them down row by row.

Realizing they couldn't escape, the US troops dove into trenches to begin a counter-attack. While an IFV couldn't withstand a heavy shell, small-arms fire against its armor was merely an "itch." Ducking behind their shields, the Korean gunners fired fiercely, pinning down the resisting Americans.

Under the cover of machine-gun fire, the rear doors of the APCs opened and the Korean infantry leaped out. Following their training, they advanced along the American trenches under the suppressive fire.

More APCs poured through the gaps opened by the lead vehicles, striking deeper. Before long, several kilometers of positions were completely breached. A portion of the Korean APCs drove deeper to hunt for American artillery batteries and seize key transport nodes to cut off the retreat. Other assault units expanded to the flanks to help further groups sever the American lines.

The Asian Allied offensive was a textbook display of fluidity, while the British and Americans chose, each in their own way, to abandon their allies.

Upon receiving the news at headquarters, Zheng Silang and Zhong Yifu both breathed sighs of relief, seeing the same sense of release in each other's eyes. If they had used high-intensity fire coverage, who knows how many more would have died.

By January 8th, combat across Australia had essentially ceased. The Asian Allied Forces announced to the world that they had captured over a million British and American troops. The Australia campaign was over.

The news spread rapidly. Most Allied members were not surprised, but felt a heavy pressure. Now, only the colony of New Zealand remained in the Pacific, and it likely wouldn't hold for long. Once China took New Zealand, the Pacific campaign would be over. By then, the powerful Chinese military would be able to deploy even more force toward Africa and Europe.

While the Central Committee of the CPSU sent a congratulatory telegram, no joy could be seen in their high-level meetings. From Stalin down, the leadership looked visibly pressured.

Stalin said nothing about the Chinese victory but instead emphasized the latest compiled battle reports: "According to the General Staff, in the period from November 16, 1941, to December 5th alone, the Germans suffered over 155,000 casualties near Moscow and lost approximately 800 tanks, 300 guns, and nearly 1,500 aircraft. The German invaders have suffered a heavy blow and lost the capacity for continued operations. Now it is our turn to annihilate them! Every unit must fight bravely to recover our territory and drive the German invaders from Soviet soil!"

Such an order wasn't strange; Stalin's greatest wish now was to rapidly annihilate the Germans and retake the prime regions of the Western USSR. Those areas produced over half of the Soviet Union's steel and coal. Furthermore, a massive natural gas field had been discovered in the lands seized by the USSR under the Molotov-Ribbentrop Pact.

Currently short on electricity, the USSR could use that gas to power its plants. Before the war, they had just finished a pipeline from the field to Lviv, but the Germans had seized it before it could be used!

The core of the Politburo shared Stalin's view. Yet these leaders didn't voice their opinions immediately, fearing they might be seen as stealing Stalin's thunder. Moreover, the Red Army had raised some differing opinions, leading the core members to exercise a bit of caution regarding the current vigorous counter-attack.

After all, the General Staff had submitted not only the German losses but also the Soviet ones. From the figures, Red Army losses were even higher than the Wehrmacht's.

This was despite the Red Army having used fortifications to deal the Germans heavy blows, and then counter-attacking from a well-supplied Moscow. Theoretically, Soviet losses should have been lower.

Stalin didn't dwell on that but switched to domestic disciplinary matters: "Those officials and cadres who fled Moscow in late October must be severely punished."

The Central Committee agreed. On October 16, 1942, the State Defense Committee had passed a resolution on "evacuating the residents of the Soviet capital." Many had interpreted this as Moscow being handed to the Germans. Chaos ensued: the metro closed, trams stopped. Some CPSU officials were the first to flee in panic.

According to a KGB investigation: "On the first day, 779 leading cadres fled the capital, carrying money and valuables worth 25 million Rubles; they also used 100 cars and trucks to transport their families."

Seeing their leaders flee, ordinary citizens also packed up and tried to leave. For three days, the roads out of the city were packed. But once Moscow was placed under siege on October 20th, the mass flight ceased.

Now that the battle had reached the stage of a general counter-attack, Russian tradition dictated that to boost morale, these cadres must be punished severely.

Seeing this approved, Stalin raised another matter, looking at Bukharin, editor of *Pravda*: "Comrade Bukharin, *Pravda* must counter the Western slanders. Use data to prove that the winter of 1942 was not the coldest in Russian history, as the Western media claims."

Bukharin nodded immediately, a look of righteous indignation on his face. Western media, seeking to disparage the Red Army, had described the 1942 winter as the coldest on record, claiming the Wehrmacht failed only because they weren't adapted to it. In truth, that winter wasn't exceptionally cold, just average.

The truly frigid days had only occurred during the Red Army's counter-attack; during the defense of Moscow, temperatures had actually been a degree or two higher than normal.

Against the Western media's smears, Bukharin was determined to strike back!

Seeing his resolve, Stalin finally raised the new issue: "The counter-offensive must be even more thorough!"

Once again, the room fell into silence.