Just as Guderian's Second Armored Group on the left repelled the Soviet counterattack and advanced at high speed, the German army extended from the right to another armored iron pincer deep in the Western Front - the German Third Army under the command of Army General Holt. The Panzer Army also began to close in. Since the beginning of the war, the Western and Northwest Fronts of the Red Army did not pay enough attention to the German armored group that interspersed from the junction of the two fronts. Therefore, there were only the Fifth Tank Division belonging to the Third Mechanized Army of the Soviet Northwest Front, and The XXI Infantry Corps of the Thirteenth Army of the Western Front counterattacked the armored group.
The first to stop the armored group was the 5th Red Army Tank Division. The division had been hit hard by Luftwaffe bombers since the beginning of the war, and its strength had suffered great losses. But they were not lucky enough to encounter the 7th Armored Division, the strongest in the German Wehrmacht. General Rommel did not command a larger army after the Battle of Britain. He was still the commander of the 7th Armored Division, but his military rank However, he was promoted to general. There are many division commanders in Germany who simply hold the rank of general. General Rommel had no complaints. He then served as the division commander of the 7th Armored Division. Rommel believed that as long as his ability was recognized, he would be able to sit in the army. The first-level commander is a matter of time.
The tanks of the 5th Tank Division of the Soviet Red Army only need to be the T28 medium tank. The T-28 was first developed in 1931. The design team headed by designer NV Barykov was ordered to develop a "16-ton tank" and required the equipment to be equipped with a 45 mm tank. Cannon, two machine gun turrets, equipped with DT machine guns, and the engine uses a 400-horsepower M-5 aviation water-cooled gasoline engine. The earliest prototype appeared in 1932 and was tested immediately. However, because the M-5 was not developed, the prototype was only equipped with a 300-horsepower M-6 aero engine, and the artillery also used a 37mm gun.
The T-28 first participated in the battle of Khalkingol against Japan. Due to the lack of effective anti-tank weapons by the Japanese army, the T-28 achieved good results in the battle. However, in the subsequent Winter War, the T-28 was severely damaged. A disastrous failure. Its armor was not enough to withstand the attack of anti-tank weapons. Therefore, the Soviets installed 30MM armor on the front body of the T-28 turret. These models were called T-28EH, and the weight also increased. 32 tons, but this is still no match for the Panzer IV.
The T28 medium tank has a long-standing habit of the Soviet Union, which is to make it simple and in large quantities. But like other Soviet tanks, when encountering evenly matched German tanks, they have no numerical advantage and are generally no match for Germany. Moreover, the Panzer IV is far more powerful in terms of quality than the T28 medium tank. The Panzer IV, which has reached its full potential, is simply not something that the T28 medium tank can deal with. At a distance of 800 to 1,000 meters, as long as it hits the T28 medium tank, the Panzer IV's 75mm gun will hit it no matter where it is. It can penetrate Soviet tanks like opening a can.
The battle lasted only thirty minutes, except at the beginning, when three Panzer IV tanks were hit by side armor and tracks, rendering them unable to move. Under the ferocious firepower of the Panzer IV Tank Group, the 5th Soviet Red Army Tank Division was in a panic. Although it tried its best to resist, it could not withstand the rapid advance of the 7th Armored Division, and its own tanks were destroyed one after another. , the tank division soon turned into an infantry division, and was eventually defeated by Rommel, making way for the 7th Armored Division to advance.
Knowing that Rommel had cleared the obstacles to advance, General Hott, commander of the Third Armored Army, immediately ordered an attack on Minsk to meet up with Guderian's Second Armored Army and block the Western Front's retreat.
The actions of the two armored armies finally made General Pavlov instinctively feel the danger. After discussing with Marshal Shaposhnikov, the representative of the Western Front Army of the Soviet Supreme Command and Deputy People's Commissar of Defense, General Pavlov and Shaposhnikov Marshal Boshnikov and the two men jointly sent a message to the Supreme Command, asking the Western Front to retreat. At this time, the Western Front could no longer withstand the offensive of the German Army Group Center.
The movements of the Western Front alarmed Marshal Bock, commander of Army Group Center. After carefully studying the advancement progress of each group army and the armored group army, Marshal Bock was finally shocked to find that there was some disconnect between the actions of the armored group army and the infantry support troops. In other words, This encirclement is not very tight and has quite a lot of loopholes. Once these loopholes are exploited by the Soviet Red Army who are familiar with the terrain, this huge victory that is about to be achieved may shrink a lot immediately.
"No, the encirclement is not tight! Let that unit go up? It's already too late!" Marshal Bock fell into hard thinking. Finally, Marshal Bock, who had been pondering for a long time, thought of the 1st Waffen SS who had been marching. The Panzer Division, at this time, only this most mechanized force could catch up; "Where is the position of Dietrich's 1st SS Panzer Corps?"
"Lutsk!" the staff officer replied, "The Waffen SS have been following Marshal Guderian's marching route, so they have been making rapid progress. According to the progress, they will be able to reach Minsk soon!"
"Really?" Marshal Bock thought for a moment and said, "The occupation of Minsk is a foregone conclusion. Let them prevent the retreat of the Soviet Union west of the Berezina River. The Soviet Red Army has too many people and cannot let them Return to the rear safely and annihilate them on the spot in Minsk!"
Marshal Bock dictated the order slowly, and the staff on the side quickly wrote it down. Immediately, the order followed the radio wave and reached Dietrich's hands, "Berezina River!!!" Dietrich Holding the telegram tightly in his hand, this was the second time Dietrich heard the name of this tributary of the Diberny River. Judging from the tone of the telegram, Dietrich had almost guessed what Marshal Bock was thinking. There must be something wrong with the encirclement.
"Let the two generals do it!" Dietrich still respects the opinions of the two generals at least now, because before coming to the Soviet Union, Lin Wei once said to Dietrich that Dietrich's shortcoming was that he was big. If he could learn more about the regiment's command experience from the two generals, it would be of great benefit to him.
After a while, the commander of the Imperial Division, Paul Hausser, and the commander of the Viking Division, Felix Stanel, arrived at Dietrich. Dietrich did not waste any time and directly handed over Marshal Bock's order. The two men held their hands and said, "Marshal Bock, commander of Army Group Center, called and asked us to expand west of the Berezina River. I wonder what the two generals think?"
Paul Hausser and Felix Stanel looked at each other and said, "Although it is exciting to capture Minsk, it is nothing compared to the annihilation of the Western Front! I think it is best to follow Bock's instructions. The Marshal's opinion is the best!" Admiral Felix Stanel nodded in approval, obviously agreeing with Paul Hausser's opinion.
"That's no problem. I'll send a telegram to the leader now!" Dietrich said, "Then please ask the two generals to prepare first!"
After Paul and Hausser left, Dietrich immediately reported the situation here to Lin Wei in Berlin. Not long after, he received a call back from Lin Wei. There were only a few words on the call back, "Very good." Okay, but let go of General Pavlov, the commander of the Western Front! Stalin will take care of him for us!"
Although Dietrich was not very talented in military command, Dietrich, who had been trained in the Waffen SS for so many years, understood what Lin Wei meant if he thought about it carefully. If the Western Front was completely annihilated , no matter how you look at it, General Pavlov is dead, and Stalin will not keep it. It seems that his leader has new ideas.
With the double approval of Lin Wei and Marshal Bock, the First Army of the Waffen-SS immediately stopped its march towards Minsk and instead focused on the Berezina River as its main target. Spread out west of the Berezina River and begin preparations to snipe the Soviet Western Front retreating eastward. The 70,000-strong Waffen-SS First Panzer Corps purchased more than 100 kilometers of defensive positions with more than 700 Panther tanks that had just been put into service with the German army. Dietrich's The Guards Corps was stationed at the crossing of the Berezina River, blocking the retreat of the Western Front to the east.
For a time, the 1st Panzer Corps of the Waffen-SS on the western defense line of the Berezina River suddenly became the most critical factor in the Battle of Minsk. Will this battle become a huge strategic victory? An ordinary regional victory depends on whether the Waffen SS can snipe the hastily retreating Western Front Army. Although most of the Red Army troops of the Western Front Army have already been stuck by the German Wehrmacht and cannot escape. However, according to Marshal Bock's estimate, there are still 200,000 to 300,000 Soviet Red Army troops who may escape the encirclement and flee toward the Berezina River.
On the night of the 25th, the German 47th Panzer Corps cut off the Soviet army between Solnim and Volkovsk, forcing Pavlov to order the troops to retreat to the Shara River in Solnim to avoid Surrounded, many troops were unable to fight the Germans, and due to heavy losses in fuel and transport vehicles, the troops could only retreat on foot. This retreat began in the area south of Minsk.
The actions of the 47th Armored Corps have shown that Army Group Center has begun to tighten the encirclement. This is just the beginning. While the Waffen SS was stepping up construction of fortifications to cope with the upcoming sniper battle, Marshal Guderian's Second Armored Group and General Huth's Third Armored Group were attacking Minsk.
The leading force of Guderian's Second Armored Group, the 17th Armored Division, has approached Minsk. The 17th Armored Division and the 57th Motorized Corps of the 3rd Armored Group converged in the Minsk area. The most powerful 2 armored iron pincers of the German army were closed here. One day, the German Motorized 24th Army occupied Bobruisk, southeast of Minsk.
Originally, the 17th Armored Division had arrived in Minsk first and launched an attack on Minsk, but the 17th Armored Division was alone. In front of the two divisions of the Soviet 13th Army defending Minsk, the 10th Armored Division The Seventh Armored Division deeply felt that it could not complete the task of capturing Minsk alone, but with the arrival of the 57th Army and the 24th Army, it already had the power to capture Minsk.
On the 26th, the 17th Armored Division first rushed into Minsk. The two defending Soviet Red Army divisions put up a desperate resistance. However, at this time, the Soviet Red Army in Minsk was far from being outnumbered by the two Germans in terms of armaments. The Soviet Red Army surrounded by the Armored Group Army lacked heavy weapons to deal with tanks. Some soldiers used cluster grenades and Molotov cocktails to tenaciously resist the attacks of German tanks. The artillery had been transferred to the front line. On the one hand, they had to withstand the German artillery bombardment of Minsk, and on the other hand, they had to resist the impact of the tanks of the 17th Armored Division. In addition, the Luftwaffe appeared from time to time to join in the fun. The defensive Soviet Red Army Life in the army was difficult.
Due to Lin Wei's existence, Germany's No. 1 and No. 2 tanks were rejected as early as the drawings. Germany's attack on the Soviet Union did not see a large number of Panzer II tanks participating in the battle. Instead, they were all the ultimate model of Panzer IV tanks. Cluster grenades and incendiary bottles were too reluctant to deal with the shock wave formed by Panzer IV tanks. Reluctantly amidst the earth-shattering explosions, the soldiers of the Soviet Red Army watched with surprise and then despair as the German tanks drove out of the thick smoke.
Now even if the Soviet Red Army guarding the city wants to withdraw, they have no way to withdraw. They are already stuck. Without transportation, once they withdraw from Minsk, they will be overtaken and destroyed by German armored forces in the wild. As more and more troops from the two armored armies arrived, the balance of power in Minsk became increasingly unfavorable to the Soviet side.
More and more German soldiers entered the city of Minsk, and the defending Soviet Red Army had to turn to street fighting, and the range of activities they could move has become smaller and smaller. The sad thing for these Soviet Red Army soldiers is that some of the soldiers in Minsk did not The evacuated residents watched the battle between the German army and the Soviet Red Army with an indifferent attitude, showing no obvious inclination.
The current Soviet Red Army is far from having the same street fighting skills as they did in the Battle of Stalingrad. On the contrary, Germany has conquered many cities in the Battle of Poland and the Battle of Britain, and has a certain degree of study in street fighting, although it is far from being familiar with it. But it was enough to deal with the rookie Soviet Red Army.
On the morning of the 27th, the remaining Minsk garrison surrendered to Germany. This marked the successful rendezvous between Guderian's Second Armored Group and Hott's Third Armored Army in Minsk. The Soviet Western Front behind them was completely defeated. surrounded. The armored forces have penetrated 200 kilometers into the Soviet Union and have traveled one-third of the distance to Moscow. This is a shocking result.
The next day, the Ninth Army and the Fourth Army joined forces east of Bialystok and split the encirclement formed by the two German armored armies into two. Therefore, the Soviet army was surrounded in two encirclement circles: a larger Bialystok encirclement surrounded the Soviet 10th Army, and a smaller Volkovsk encirclement surrounded the Soviet 3rd Army and the 10th Army. Three armies.
The Soviet Union immediately launched a counterattack with the 20th Mechanized Army and the 4th Airborne Army of the Red Army. However, the counterattack failed under the strong attack of the German Wehrmacht. One week after the war began, Marshal Bock, commander of Army Group Center, announced, "The encirclement of the Soviet Western Front in Belarus has been completely sealed! The Western Front has been theoretically destroyed!"
The entire Third, Tenth, and Thirteenth Armies of the Soviet Red Army and part of the Fourth Army of the Soviet Red Army were surrounded. Just as Marshal Bock believed, the two armored armies of Guderian and Hoth had some differences with the infantry operations. Disjointed, the German infantry lacked motorized transportation, and there were still many gaps in the encirclement. Therefore, many Soviet troops were still able to retreat slowly, resulting in the encirclement being somewhat loose. The Fourth Army of the Soviet Red Army escaped from the encirclement, and in some weak spots of the encirclement, there were still small groups of Soviet Red Army units slowly retreating. However, what made Marshal Bock breathe a sigh of relief was that most of the Soviet Fourth Army that escaped from the encirclement was traveling in the direction of the Berezina River to the east. And there happened to be more than 70,000 armed SS soldiers who had been doing nothing.
It will undoubtedly take time to wait for the infantry at the rear to catch up and fill in the encirclement to make the encirclement tighter, and the armored group army is unable to maintain such a huge encirclement. Marshal Bock, who had thought about it for a long time, gave the order to Guderian and Hott, and said it without any scruples. the difficulties they encountered. Let them immediately launch an attack on the Soviet Red Army inside the encirclement, hoping to create more chaos and slow down the Soviet Red Army's retreat. If too many Soviet Red Army soldiers escaped from the encirclement, it is still unknown whether the Waffen SS could stop so many Red Army soldiers.
After discussing it, Guderian and Holt decided to immediately launch a war of annihilation and launch an attack on all the Soviet Third, Tenth, and Thirteenth Group Armies and part of the Fourth Group Army inside the encirclement circle.
At this time, soldiers of the First SS Armored Corps, who had been deploying positions west of the Berezina River, had discovered a small group of Soviet Red Army soldiers who had escaped from the encirclement and were slowly moving toward the Berezina River. Go ahead here. And immediately reported the situation to,
The situation was fed back to the headquarters of the First Armored Army. Dietrich looked at Paul Hausser and Felix Stanel, spread his hands and said, "It seems that the Soviet Red Army has escaped from the encirclement." They are already here, I don’t know how many people there are!”
"There is nothing to be afraid of!" General Felix Stanel said disdainfully, "Soldiers who are being chased like dogs pose no threat to us as long as their number is less than 200,000! I don’t believe it. What can the defeated soldiers without heavy weapons, tanks, or even guns use to fight us?”