Empire in Progress

Chapter 392: Battle of Kiev (6)

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What made Stalin feel even more distressed was not the photo of this man who hated him so much, but the other person in the photo. This person was the commander of the Soviet Northwest Front, General Kuznetsov. . With a gloomy face, Stalin read all these photos one after another with the same seriousness as when he was reading Marx's works when he was young. After making sure that he had not missed any details, Stalin took a deep breath and said,; "Have you understood the investigation?"

"Yes!" Beria certainly knew what Stalin meant and said, "According to the investigation after we received the news, the national leader Krupp and deputy leader Heydrich of the German Waffen SS, two days ago I once went to Estonia with the purpose of persuading General Kuznetsov to surrender, and General Kuznetsov did secretly receive two people!"

Stalin's chest rose and fell rapidly, as if he was trying his best to endure something. After a long time, he finally got angry and said, "This son of a landlord and a traitor to the country, how come the northwest is so safe during this period? Germany's Northern Army Group suddenly suddenly We only encircled and did not attack. Now I understand that General Kuznetsov is ready to lead the Northwest Front to commit treason. This shameful traitor, I want to shoot him!"

Stalin's rage was terrifying. Beria stood there like a candle in the wind. After Stalin finished his anger, Beria said cautiously, "Comrade Stalin, should we ask Kuznetsov?" Admiral, I think there may be some reasons for this!"

"What's the reason?" Stalin interrupted, "The reason is that he is ready to be a traitor and we can't give him time. Beria, go and seize his family in the concentration camp and then immediately exile him to Siberia. For such a person, , should be treated with red? Terror!" Stalin's reaction was exactly as Lin Wei guessed, and he would not investigate it at all. Once Stalin identified this kind of thing, he would take action immediately. Beria instinctively felt that the matter was not that simple, but Stalin believed that General Kuznetsov had betrayed the Soviet Union. Unfortunately, Stalin was obviously easier to talk than Beria.

Although Beria wanted to say something to General Kuznetsov, Stalin had already made up his mind, so Beria could only say, "Yes, Comrade Stalin, I will go to Kuznetsov's house right away and take care of him." Get his family under control!" Even so, Beria still wanted to try his best to ensure the safety of General Kuznetsov's family. Unlike his predecessor, although Beria killed many people, even if People who were afraid of him had to admit that Beria also saved many people while killing people. With this kind of thinking, General Kuznetsov's family was lucky not to die, but sometimes living is more terrifying than death. After all, the suffering of the Siberian concentration camps is not something ordinary people can endure.

General Kuznetsov, who is far away in Tallinn, the capital of Estonia, is discussing the current situation with his generals and staff. Lin Wei is right. The current situation of the Northwest Front is not good, and the area occupied is only Limited to the east and north of Estonia, the route back home has been blocked by the Norwegian Army Group, and the Northern Army Group is pressing forward step by step. The fate of the Northwest Front is now in the hands of General Kuznetsov. Now he has rejected Germany's proposal to surrender. Facing the Northern Army Group and the Norwegian Army Group, which are more than twice his own strength, Kuznetsov Admiral Husband must now come up with an effective tactic, and as we all know, this is not a simple matter.

Now the armored units of Army Group North have moved south to support Army Group Center. After the Battle of Smolensk, they returned to the northern front with General Huth's Third Armored Army, but they went to Leningrad. Now Kurdistan Most of the troops in front of General Znetsov were mountain troops. In this case, General Kuznetsov's staff suggested that since the armored strength of Army Group North no longer poses a threat, it would be very simple to consolidate the defense. As long as the tactics of more than 20 years ago are restored, heavy machine guns are added. The barbed wire fence is enough to make the Northern Army Group, which is mainly infantry, helpless.

However, this method was immediately vetoed by General Kuznetsov. Simply sticking to it would not solve the problem. General Kuznetsov knew that just because Army Group North does not have armored strength now does not mean that it will not have it in the future. The defensive model of World War I When I encountered the current tactics, I didn’t even know how I would die, so I objected, “What we need now is a mobile defense, not a blind defense! So we must work hard to ensure mobility. As we all know, The German Wehrmacht's offensive power is very powerful, and standing firm is not an effective solution!"

While the headquarters of the Northwestern Front was planning how to fight the next stage of the battle, General Kuznetsov's adjutant suddenly came in, handed the general a telegram, and spoke in General Kuznetsov's ears. After whispering a few words, under everyone's gaze, Admiral Kuznetsov's expression suddenly changed.

"Okay, today's business ends here, you go down first!" The tremor in Admiral Kuznetsov's voice could even be heard by the guards on duty outside the door, so these people looked at each other in confusion and remained silent. He went down silently.

After everyone had left, General Kuznetsov immediately said to his adjutant, "Allred, what you said is true! Did Stalin really exile my family to Siberia?"

Allred was single-handedly promoted by General Kuznetsov. It can be said that he has been with General Kuznetsov since he was the commander of the regiment. So as soon as this incident happened, Allred De immediately came to tell Admiral Kuznetsov.

After learning the truth of the matter, General Kuznetsov seemed to have aged more than ten years. He muttered, why..., I did not betray the motherland. Apparently Stalin had taken the family of General Kuznetsov into his own hands. The act of exile dealt him a huge blow, and he still can't believe it. After a while, Admiral Kuznetsov said, "Allred, you go out first, I have something to think about!"

Allred moved his lips as if he wanted to say something, but in the end he said nothing. He just sighed slightly and went out without saying a word. After a while, the conference room that was very lively just now suddenly became empty. Admiral Kuznetsov was left alone inside. He looked depressed and didn't know how to solve the problem Stalin had given him.

As General Kuznetsov became sluggish, the Northwestern Front's determination to fight to the death with the same enemy suddenly dimmed. No one knew what was wrong with their commander. Obviously what happened in distant Moscow, they People don’t have the qualifications and channels to know. If Marshal Loeb now orders the Northern Army Group to attack the Northwest Front, he will definitely achieve huge results, but for some reason, Marshal Loeb did not do so.

Different from the calm on the northern front, the fighting on the southern front is going on all the time. The Eleventh Army of the Southern Army Group, like the 52nd Army, also received orders to survey the crossing. The commander of the army issued the order for the operation in Onufriyevka. Since enemy reconnaissance planes can easily detect every unit marching on the beach within two kilometers of the west bank of the Dnieper River during the day, in order to ensure the safety of this operation, it is stipulated that the troops will only move in the early morning and dusk. On the same day, Lieutenant Colonel von Alphen, commander of the 617th Engineer Regiment of the military, led a reconnaissance team composed of officers from the 73rd Engineer Battalion to survey the one-kilometer-wide river. In the evening, the lieutenant colonel submitted an equipment application report to Major Jarre, the army engineer commander. The report concluded that it was possible to cross the rivers at the mouths of the Upanskoye and Psiol rivers. In order to cross the rivers, the Eleventh Army needed: 150 to 200 assault boats; 15 rows of boat bridges, and A military bridge with a load capacity of eight tons and a length of about 800 meters was erected; as well as two rows of ferry bridges with heavy equipment. In order to occupy the starting point of the attack, it is necessary to capture the island located in the winding tributary and defended by strong enemy troops. The 257th Infantry Division sent the 446th Infantry Regiment to capture the two-kilometer-long and 500-meter-wide island west of Kremenchug. Although the regiment landed on the island, it encountered fierce resistance from the enemy. They could only advance slowly, and by the end of the month they had not been able to completely drive the enemy off the island.

After discussing with the army headquarters, General Onufriyevka felt that the conditions for forced transfer could be met. After the negotiation was completed, General Onufriyevka reported the situation here to Marshal Manstein. Soon General Onufriyevka received a call back from Marshal Manstein, "Do what you want, and the Army Group will give you full support!" After General Onufriyevka received the order, , immediately ordered the Eleventh Army to start preparing to forcefully cross the Diboni River.

Like the 11th Army, the 52nd Army encountered the same problem. The army surveyed a crossing near Deriyevka, a large village on the west bank of the river. However, two large islands - which the soldiers called "Ham Island" and "Snail Island" based on their shapes - posed an obstacle to a smooth crossing of the river. On the night of August 28, the German army began to attack these two islands. The attack of the 100th Light Armored Division was more effective. In the darkness of the night, a company of the 207th Light Infantry Regiment prepared for an attack opposite the northern end of "Snail Island". Another company used light signals and sound to deceive the Soviet troops opposite the southern end of the island. At dawn the next day, the engineers quietly put the rubber boat into the river and groped their way through the bushes that resembled a virgin forest. When they encountered the first batch of Soviet troops, they immediately encountered fierce resistance. In close combat, after hard fighting, the enemy was gradually driven back. It was not until the afternoon, when the 2nd Battalion of the 207th Light Infantry Regiment landed on the island, that the enemy gave up the fight. The next day, the Eleventh Army and the Fifty-second Army completed preparations for forcibly crossing the Dnieper River. In order to strengthen the combat troops, the group army transported the last batch of artillery and engineering and technical equipment to the front on August 29th and 30th. Only in the area of the 97th Light Armored Division near Deriyevka, in addition to the division's artillery, there are also the staff of the 501st Artillery Regiment, the 2nd Battalion of the 46th Artillery Regiment, and the 17th Battalion of the 46th Artillery Regiment. The 4th Battalion of the 6th Artillery Regiment, the 2nd Battalion of the 863rd Artillery Regiment, the 1st Battalion of the Mortar Training Regiment and the 1st Company of the 48th Anti-aircraft Artillery Battalion.

After two days of preparation, the operation to forcibly cross the Dibennie River began. On the night of the 30th, the 52nd Army position that had been preparing suddenly roared with artillery, and the whistling shells flew towards Ham Island, destroying the island. The Soviet soldiers were sent to the sky while they were sleeping. At the same time, a pontoon bridge quickly began to be erected. The reason why the 52nd Army chose to start the attack at night was because it could hide for a longer time at night and would not be affected by the erection of the pontoon bridge. After that, he became a target for Soviet soldiers. However, the Soviet soldiers defending the island responded quickly. As soon as they were shelled, the Soviet soldiers on the island immediately fired flares into the sky as quickly as possible. For a moment, the sky turned like daylight. In this case The movements of the soldiers of the German 52nd Army were suddenly seen clearly by the Soviets. Suddenly the Soviets understood that the Germans were going to cross the river.

Seeing that a pontoon bridge was about to be erected, the Soviet soldiers who had regained consciousness immediately fired all their light and heavy weapons at the German soldiers in the river. However, it was over by this time. Although some German soldiers were killed and injured, the pontoon bridge had been erected. Germany The soldiers of the 54th Regiment of the 52nd Army became the troops of this attack. They carried Mauser 98 rifles and braved the hail of bullets fired from the island. They quickly rushed to the island from the pontoon. In the short distance of a few hundred meters, I don’t know how many soldiers were hit and then fell into the cold Tibernie River. However, the German soldiers behind them still rushed forward and quickly passed the pontoon bridge, because they knew that once they arrived on the island, , this action is tantamount to victory.

The flares that continued to rise from behind the German positions pierced the cover of the night and led the German soldiers to rush to the island. At this time, the Soviet soldiers could no longer prevent the German soldiers from landing on the island. However, the Soviets were also aroused to be ferocious, and some The soldiers came to the edge of the island with rifles in hand. It seemed that they were trying to drive off the German soldiers who had landed. In a short period of time, soldiers from both sides had already mixed together on the island. Under the cover of flares, soldiers from both sides struggled with each other. The scene clearly fell into the eyes of the soldiers who had not yet joined the attack. The Soviet soldiers who emerged from the bushes on the island and the German soldiers who rushed onto the island from the pontoon were still joining the battle group. At this time, the soldiers on both sides seemed to have forgotten that the guns in their hands were not used in this way. The rifles of the hot weapons were forgotten for a moment, and other functions of the rifles were discovered. On the sand by the river, the river water mixed with blood was still there. It continued to flow downstream, carrying a few cold corpses with it from time to time.

The battle lasted from midnight to morning, developing from the edge of the island to the bushes in the center of the island. The infantry of the 54th Regiment stepped onto the "Ham Island" with bushes and trees, and started a close-quarters fight with the enemy. After seven After hours of tenacious fighting, the island was finally captured.

At the same time as the attack of the 54th Regiment, the 97th Light Armored Division ordered the 204th Light Infantry Regiment to cross the river from Deriyevka. At the same time, the 207th Light Infantry Regiment also crossed the river from "Snail Island". "Boarded the assault boat. The artillery and mortars of the German army suppressed the artillery batteries of the 300th Infantry Division of the Soviet Union and released smoke screens to the east coast. The assault boats advanced at high speed. After the light infantry landed, they shouted "Long live". Launch an attack on the Soviet shore positions. Thereafter they advanced rapidly towards Beauzure, and after repulsing the enemy occupied the place. After the area near the river bank was occupied by me, Major General Fretel-Pico led the 204th Light Infantry Regiment to board the enemy's bank. The regiment was ordered to launch an attack on the Piedgora Heights in the northwest, and at dusk occupied the high ground. The 203rd Light Infantry Regiment followed soon after. In this way, the entire 97th Light Armored Division occupied a bridgehead five kilometers deep and four kilometers wide.

The black air force was unable to provide cover for the troops, but once it was daylight, the Luftwaffe was able to show its prowess, and the 4th Air Force sent its fighter squadrons to provide strong support for the crossing. However, although they had an outstanding record, their losses were also so great that there was a shortage of aircraft and it was difficult to replenish the full capacity. Some squadrons had to be deactivated due to lack of aircraft.

The successful operation of forcibly crossing the Dibennie River established a starting position for Army Group South to participate in the next step of the Kiev Battle. During these days, Field Marshal Manstein discovered the good opportunity presented by the rapid capture of the Kremenzug bridgehead and was determined to implement the basic orders issued by the Army Headquarters for the upcoming battle that could not be disobeyed.

At this time, the command of the First SS Armored Corps had been transferred from Army Group Southeast to Army Group South. After analyzing the current situation, Marshal Manstein suddenly discovered that the current command of the First SS Armored Corps was The movement turned out to be the slowest among all the units, so he immediately sent a telegram to Dietrich, "The 1st Waffen SS Panzer Corps must not only advance to the Desna River, but also cross the Desna River." , and cooperate with Army Group South until the battle is won, which is indispensable and decisive for the annihilation war in Eastern Ukraine." This order was issued because Marshal Manstein believed that the armed party The 1st Guards Panzer Corps' pincer attack to the south could eliminate the threat to the flanks of Army Group Center when it launched its final offensive toward Moscow. In addition, the troops of the Sixth Army can also be transferred to Army Group Center. This will allow the Sixth Army, the most elite of Army Group South, to help Army Group Center attack Moscow after the battle in Kiev.