"It's a pity that Felix Stanel is not here. Otherwise, the Viking division and I should be able to control the entire city of Smolensk, right?" At this critical moment, Paul & Hausser entered The general actually thought of the Viking division commander who had always been at odds with him, General Felix Stanel.
"General Wilhelm Bittrich, prepare to build a pontoon bridge. We must control the industrial area!" General Paul Hausser pondered for a moment and said, "We must occupy this gateway to Moscow for Germany. This way This will create an opportunity for the imperial army to attack Moscow!"
At the same time, Marshal Bock, commander of Army Group Center, issued an attack order in the name of the commander of Army Group Central! The German army launched an offensive from the front lines of Polotsk, Vitebsk, and Rogachev. The 3rd and 2nd Armored Groups were the main forces to carry out pincer assaults in the direction of Smolensk, and some forces were used in the direction of Velikiy Luki and An auxiliary assault was carried out in the direction of Roslavl, followed by the Ninth Army and the Second Army.
Following the orders of General Paul Hausser, General Wilhelm Bittrich began to repair the broken bridge connecting the old city of Smolensk and the industrial area. In order to prevent Soviet ground attack aircraft from coming to bomb, Bittrich The general also specially deployed several anti-aircraft positions around the bridge. Can anti-aircraft missiles fly away? The machine and the 88mm anti-aircraft gun of the flat-fire tank were quietly hidden around the bridge.
The next day, the bridge was repaired. Although the Soviet army used all available forces to resist desperately, facing the Imperial Division supported by 88mm anti-aircraft guns, assault artillery and heavy artillery, it was only a matter of time before Smolensk fell. Problem. In the city of Smolensk, the Imperial Division went on a rampage, leaving the 29th Division specially sent by Guderian to respond. The division commander, Major General Bolton Stein, was dumbfounded. Hundreds of Panther tanks appeared on the streets of Smolensk, showing that Showing the arrogance of the German army.
Shocked, Major General Boltonstein immediately put his troops into the battle. Even if Major General Boltonstein did not care about politics, he knew what Smolensk meant to Moscow. After occupying the entire Smolensk, Paul Hausser was quite satisfied. Although the battle in the entire area around Smolensk was not over yet, Paul Hausser believed that Germany had won this battle.
It seems that as General Paul Hausser expected, the 16th, 19th, and 20th Soviet armies were surrounded in the Smolensk area. However, this encirclement was not very tight. In Smolensk, There is still a gap in the road between Skopje and Moscow that has not been closed. It may be that Guderian ignored this small loophole in order to expand the results. In fact, this small loophole was hardly discovered by any German generals.
"The Soviet Union is finished!" Not only General Paul Hausser thought so, Guderian, Hott and even Marshal Blomberg of the Supreme Command also believed that as long as we captured this place, controlled Smolensk and attacked Moscow The battle will be over soon.
But Stalin did not forget that as long as there was a chance, Stalin would not admit defeat. After learning about the dangerous situation in reorganizing the Western Front, Stalin quickly recruited Marshal Timoshenko to his office.
"Marshal Timoshenko! The evil German army has approached the heart of the Soviet Union. Don't you have anything to say?" When they first met, Stalin's words scared Marshal Timoshenko into a cold sweat.
Marshal Timoshenko calmed down and said, "The German army is stronger than ever. I have tried my best to stop their advance!"
"What you have to do is not to stop but to counterattack!" Stalin interrupted unceremoniously, "What you want to do is to drive the German troops out of Smolensk and then drive them out of the country! Not to defend!"
"How is the situation in Smolensk?" Stalin asked after calming down, "What news is coming!"
Marshal Timoshenko took the time to wipe away the non-existent cold sweat and said, "Smolensk is now occupied by the Imperial Division of the German SS, while the city of Yelniya, which is closest to Moscow, is occupied by another It was occupied by an SS unit, the Viking Division, but Guderian didn’t know why? He didn’t even close the encirclement, maybe he wanted to achieve greater results!”
Stalin's eyes lit up, he stood up and looked at Guderian's bulge, and said, "If I ask you to attack Smolensk now and drive away the German troops there, are you sure?"
"This may require a lot of troops!" Marshal Timoshenko said.
Stalin waved his hand and said, "In order to raise as much counter-offensive force as possible, the Supreme Command sent the 29th, 30th, 24th and 24th troops drawn from the general reserves. A total of seventeen divisions of the 28th Army will be transferred to you. I only ask for one thing, and that is to drive the German Army Group Center out of Smolensk at all costs!"
Stalin had already talked about this, and Marshal Timoshenko didn't even have a reason to refuse. He had no choice but to bite the bullet and accepted Stalin's appointment. Marshal Timoshenko, who was supported by the reserves mobilized by Stalin, quickly began to prepare for a counterattack after meeting Stalin.
On August 20, the Soviet army mobilized five battle groups, 16 infantry and cavalry divisions, and four tank divisions to launch a counterattack against the German army in the area between Bely, Yartevo, and Roslav. Marshal Timoshenko sent a telegram to the group army surrounded by Germany, asking them to try to break out of the encirclement, so that they could attack from inside and outside together with Marshal Timoshenko, and finally tear the German army's encirclement into pieces.
No one expected that the battle, which was almost certain, would have twists and turns. Marshal Timoshenko would come back to fight again. What is even more unexpected is, where did the Soviet soldiers come from? The Soviet Union still has so many reserve teams. When they arrive in Moscow, will the Soviets engage in street fighting with them? These are the questions Marshal Bock is considering.
Although he was a little surprised by the ferocity of Marshal Timoshenko's offensive, Marshal Bock keenly noticed that although the attack was violent, it was definitely not unstoppable by the German Wehrmacht. As for Smolensk, Marshal Bock ordered Paul & Howe Sale must be defended and cannot be taken back by the Soviet Red Army. At the same time, Guderian and General Hott were ordered to concentrate the armored forces in the rear, waiting to judge the Soviet Union's movements before entering the battle.