Empire in Progress

Chapter 377: The destruction of the Western Front (2)

Views:

The Soviet Fourth Army, which was fleeing hastily from the encirclement, and some scattered Soviet soldiers who broke out of the encirclement, lined up in a long queue as far as the eye could see. Marching toward the Berezina River in a mighty manner, their morale was extremely low and their weapons were almost lost. They were so similar to the British Expeditionary Force who fled for their lives in Dunkirk a year ago. On their way to escape, there are now 70,000 soldiers of the 1st Armored Corps of the Waffen-SS gathered together. If they can break through the blockade of the Waffen-SS, they will be able to escape and ascend to heaven in the huge encirclement of Belarus. If they cannot, The entire Soviet Western Front Army will be completely annihilated by the German Army Group Center.

Beginning on June 29, Soviet soldiers who had temporarily escaped from the encirclement appeared in front of the SS soldiers. The sudden appearance of armed SS soldiers made the Soviet soldiers who thought they were safe suddenly despair. They thought they were already safe. After escaping the hateful encirclement, I didn't expect that Germany still had an army here. If the Waffen SS did not appear here, they would indeed be safe, because the armored group of Army Group Center was not strong enough, and the infantry group was not able to catch up with them. As long as they reach the Berezina River, they can return to the areas controlled by the Soviet Union. At that time, they can either accumulate strength and fight again, or hide and look for opportunities.

However, there is one person in Berlin who will definitely not let these simple soldiers' wishes come true. The Berezina River has long been controlled by Lin's majestic order at all costs. While other German troops are still fighting, the Waffen SS has been On the march. Finally reaching the Berezina River before a major breach occurred, Field Marshal Bock's order was just the icing on the cake for the SS.

During the battle on the 29th, the Soviet troops that appeared were only small groups. They had just escaped from the encirclement and had nothing but bayonets and rifles. Moreover, these Soviet Red Army troops did not have a large scale of travel. Under such circumstances, if they attacked the positions already laid out by the Waffen SS, the consequences would be obvious. I don't know how many people fell under the fire of the German Air Force when they just launched the attack. After finally starting the attack, the long and short-range weapons of the Waffen SS organized an airtight fire net. The machine gun bullets were fired as if they were free, like a sickle cutting wheat, harvesting the lives of Soviet soldiers, without even using Germany's most terrifying tanks, and the battle was over.

I don't know how many Soviet soldiers fell on the road to charge, but they all knew that they would be safe as long as they broke through here. This way you can avoid the fate of being surrounded and annihilated by the German army. In front of the position of the First SS Armored Corps, there were corpses of Soviet soldiers. The entire front of the position seemed to be stained red with blood. Although the summer in the Soviet Union was not hot, these corpses must be disposed of immediately. Because if it is left here indifferently, it will be corrupted in less than two days. When the Soviet breakout troops arrive here, the infectious disease will help them break through the sniper attacks of the Waffen SS without having to take action.

So after the battle during the day, the Waffen SS soldiers helped collect the bodies of the Soviet soldiers who died in their hands during the day. Throughout the day, the Waffen SS sniped seven waves of Soviet soldiers' charges, which numbered thousands. There were as few as a few hundred people, and at least three to four thousand corpses of Soviet soldiers were left in front of the position. How to find a place to bury these corpses was a big problem. Fortunately, Dietrich directly ordered the soldiers to throw the corpses into the Berezina River, so that the soldiers who had just finished fighting during the day would not be able to rest at night. .

In general, the armed SS defended the battle on the 29th without any difficulty. Facing the charge of the Soviet infantry, it was a bit like the Eight-Nation Allied Forces fighting against the Boxers. After one battle, the 70,000-strong armed SS Only a few people died. These guys were extremely lucky and were killed by stray bullets.

"With an exchange ratio of one to a thousand, it would be great if there were more battles like this!" The whole day's purely unilateral massacre made Dietrich very happy, and he was also full of enthusiasm for this mission of sniping the Soviet Red Army's breakout. an optimistic attitude.

"Don't be careless, these are just stragglers!" Paul Hausser said with a big pipe in his mouth, "In today's battle, we only dealt with a small group of defeated soldiers. You saw it too, although they Their efforts are in vain, but their bravery cannot be denied. They fight almost with courage. These soldiers should get our respect! I really hope the Soviet Union has fewer such soldiers!"

"Not bad!" General Felix Stanel also agreed, "According to time, the Soviet Union's breakout Fourth Army should be here soon tomorrow, and we must do everything possible to delay them for three days! "

"It's not difficult!" Dietrich asked.

"The difficulty is that we must suffer as few losses as possible!" General Felix Stanel said, "You have also seen the fighting spirit of the Soviet soldiers. There is no problem with a small number, but the Soviet Union's breakthrough When the large army learns that we have blocked their escape route, they will definitely fight us tooth and nail. We cannot bear the charge of hundreds of thousands of people at any cost! If the losses are too great, we will not be able to participate in the attack on Moscow!"

"Okay, rest now! Let's talk about something tomorrow!" Paul & Hausser gave Admiral Felix Starnell a look. After all, Dietrich was the commander under Lin Wei's personal orders. Felix Stanel If General Kes Starner treated Dietrich as if he was reprimanding his subordinates, it would inevitably lead to discord, which Paul & Hausser tried to avoid. Admiral Felix Stanel simply knew that his attitude just now was wrong, so he did not continue and followed Paul and Hauser out of the headquarters.

On the 30th, the vanguard of the Fourth Army's breakout had already appeared in front of the Waffen SS. People in the Soviet Fourth Army had already heard that a German army was blocking their way to break out. It was an army wearing black military uniforms. The troops, I heard they were the troops of the German SS, were completely different from the German Wehrmacht. Maybe Beria had too much power among ordinary Soviet soldiers. These soldiers couldn't help but think of the Soviet internal defense troops. For a while, they some**.

However, they were not comparable to stragglers who had been dispersed. The command structure of the Fourth Army was still there and quickly stopped the soldiers' rebellion. And now the soldiers of the Fourth Army have no choice. If they can't break through here, Army Group Central may catch up and annihilate them at any time. At this time, let alone the armed SS to snipe them, even God's Angel Legion will come to stop them. They, they also fought without hesitation. Most of the Fourth Army's artillery and other heavy weapons that were difficult to move had been lost. However, there are still more than 200 tanks. Although the attack group composed of more than 200 tanks is a bit weak, fortunately, the Fourth Army still has some troops that can cooperate with the tank attack, including two cavalry divisions.

The cavalry division has only one unit left in Germany, and among the countries Germany has fought in, only Poland still has a large-scale cavalry unit. Unexpectedly, there are still so many cavalry units fighting in the Soviet Union, and the Soviet Union has its own tactics in coordinating cavalry with tank attacks.

If it encounters the Wehrmacht's No. 4 tank group, the Soviet Fourth Army may be able to inflict some losses on the German army under a desperate attack. However, if it encounters the Armed SS that has just been equipped with Panther tanks, these Soviet tanks will Something is not enough. The Panther tank is simply invincible to these Soviet light and medium tanks. The 45mm main gun on the Soviet tank could not penetrate the armor of the Panther tank at all. The cavalry troops running on the ground became perfect targets. If Lin Wei saw this scene, his first reaction would be Seng Gelinqin in the Battle of Bali Bridge. Eighty years ago, cavalry could no longer pose a threat to infantry, let alone World War II.

The cavalry cooperated with the tank's charge, but was beaten back by the Panther tank group without any suspense, leaving behind dozens of scrapped tanks and nearly a thousand cavalry. The attack launched by the Fourth Army failed, but as time went by As time went by, more and more Soviet soldiers gathered in the west of the Berezina River. By the afternoon of the 30th, the number of Soviet soldiers stopped by the Armed SS had reached almost 100,000. Looking around, the Armed SS The soldiers of the First Armored Corps were almost out of breath under the weight of the gray human wave.

"No, a head-on confrontation will definitely cause massive casualties among the soldiers! There must be a way!" General Felix Stanel said worriedly, "According to the Air Force's reconnaissance, there are still many Soviet soldiers We are heading here, the number of enemies is increasing, we have to find a way!"

Paul Houser walked back and forth in the tent, as if thinking of ideas. After a long time, General Paul Houser sat down and knocked on the table and said, "We have seven hundred tanks, although we don't want to be able to do it." Launch a big battle, but it shouldn't be difficult to break up the Soviet Fourth Army! The Soviets ran for their lives in a panic, and they must have thought that we would defend. If we use a blitzkrieg to defeat them, we should be very confident. You know, the Soviets are almost They have abandoned all their heavy weapons and have been attacking us without building any defensive positions. This is a good opportunity!"

Following Paul Hausser's voice, Dietrich's eyes became brighter and brighter, and he was almost about to issue an order in accordance with Paul Hausser's wishes, but at this time Felix Stanel came on The general objected, "What General Hausser said makes sense, but there's one thing he didn't take into account!"

"Where?" Paul Hausser asked dissatisfiedly, "This is the best way to preserve your strength and succeed in sniping!"

"It's easy to defeat them, but it's hard to capture them! Can you guarantee that these Soviets won't disperse in a hurry? Can you find them after they take off their uniforms?" Felix Starner The general said, "An attack can solve our problem immediately, but it will cause trouble for the entire Army Group Center. Defend, although I don't want to do this!" General Felix Stanel said sadly. .

"Hey..., okay!" Paul & Hausser obviously also understood the disadvantages. Sometimes sacrifices must be made for the sake of the whole. This is a saying that has been circulated within the SS. Unexpectedly, it was used on himself. This made General Paul Hausser a little bit unacceptable, but his reason still allowed General Paul Hausser to accept the words of General Felix Stanel.

After a brief discussion, Paul & Hausser's initiative to attack was rejected. Dietrich followed General Felix Starner's idea and then carried out mobile defense, without requiring the Waffen-SS's record to be as good as Glory, but devoted all his thoughts to sniping the Fourth Army in order to obtain a greater victory for Germany.

The Waffen SS was sniping at the Soviet Fourth Army, and the armored armies of Guderian and Hoth were also encircling and annihilating the encircled troops of the Soviet Western Front. In the battles on the Western Front and Poland, almost all of the encircled enemies were hundreds of enemies. One hundred percent voluntarily surrendered. On the Eastern Front, the situation was exactly the opposite. Many Russians hid in forests, fields, and swamps where there was no comprehensive search area. Some of the well-equipped Soviet troops posed a great danger, and they did not want to surrender at all.

At this time, Stalin seemed to also want to do something for the encircled Western Front. The Soviet bombers that had survived the bombing of the Luftwaffe were sent to the encirclement by Stalin. Stalin's Supreme Command gave the commander of the Third Israeli Army of the Long-range Bombing Aviation The task of annihilating the advance from Minsk to Orsha and Mogilev was issued, and instructions were given to carry out assaults day and night and to carry out bombings with the strength of the entire regiment. This is the most effective support the Red Army high command can provide to the besieged troops.

Forty-three DB-3F bombers failed to return during the bombing that day, and operations in the following days also suffered heavy losses. A large number of Soviet aircraft fell prey to German fighters and anti-aircraft guns. The German fighter pilot could even see the gunners on the falling Soviet aircraft shaking their fists at him. On June 29 alone, one hundred and three Soviet aircraft were shot down over Bobruisk, including the 1,000th kill of the Luftwaffe's 51st Fighter Air Wing. Regarding these air raids, Kesselring, commander of the German Second Air Force, commented: "Since the next day, I have watched Russian heavy bombers flying from deep inside the country to join the battle. It seems to me that it is a kind of Sin: Seeing these planes fall into a trap in tactically impossible formations. Almost every once in a while, a group of innocent planes fly in to die. They are the easiest prey for our fighter jets. This is simply Childish suicide.”

The most important thing is that such a huge sacrifice by the Soviet Air Force did not have an impact on the war situation. In addition to allowing the German Air Force and anti-aircraft artillery units to improve their results, Guderian and Hott still carried out their own annihilation plans step by step, and this time it was particularly necessary. The Soviet Fourth Army was pinned to the west of the Berezina River by the Waffen SS because it had no support at all. The entire Soviet command seemed to have forgotten about this Soviet Army that had successfully broken through. It can also be seen that the Soviet Union's chaos due to Germany's sudden war continues and has not been significantly improved.

In the northwest, the Soviet Northwest Front tried its best to retreat from the three Baltic countries, and Marshal Loeb's Northern Army Group tried to stick to them as much as possible. The Norwegian Army Group's southward movement continued, but it would take two days to reach the interception location. It would take more than a week for the entire Norwegian Army to reach Stara Lusa and Holm. While the Army and the Soviet Red Army were fighting in the Baltic States and Belarus, late at night on June 30, the German Navy quietly set out from its home ports of Kiel and Wilhelmshaven, disappearing into the night in the blink of an eye.

Compared with the Northwest and Western Front armies, the Southwest Front Army led by General Kilponos is much stronger. It consists of the 5th, 6th, 12th and 26th armies, plus the 18th and 9th armies of the Southern Front, totaling six armies, 69 infantry divisions, 11 cavalry divisions and 2nd Eighteen armored brigades. After a series of battles in the border areas and the defeat of the Dubno-Lutsk-Rovne tank battle, the Soviet Supreme Command believed that the southwest was the main direction of the German attack. When the encirclement and annihilation of the Western Front Army was a foregone conclusion, the Soviet Union The Stavka ordered the South-Western Front to begin its retreat from Western Ukraine on June 30. The task of the front army is to use field troops to occupy the fortified areas such as Korosten, Volynsky New Town, Shepetovka, Stara Konstantinov, Proskurov and other areas built on the old border before July 9 , and organize a solid defense on this line.

Corresponding to the Soviet Southwest Front is Germany's Army Group South. The number of tanks that Army Group South can effectively use is equivalent to that of the Soviet army. Moreover, in terms of total strength, the German army was greatly inferior to the Soviet troops in front of it. , although Romania has sent two armies into the Soviet territory, Marshal Rundstedt still feels that the troops are insufficient. Fortunately, the armed SS troops have begun to enter the Soviet Union. Marshal Rundstedt’s troops can It has been relieved to a certain extent, but it still takes time to wait for all the armed SS to arrive at the garrison location of Army Group South.

Although they controlled the most powerful combat force of the Red Army, the senior officials of the Southwest Front Command had little confidence after receiving the order from the General Military Commission to launch a counterattack. Although the situation of their troops is much better than that of other front armies, they also face the dilemma of unclear enemy situation and inconvenient headquarters. Since wired communications were cut off in many places and radio communications were not stable, the front army headquarters could only send some officers to the troops on motorcycles, cars and planes to understand the situation and convey orders.