What should we do now? Marshal Timoshenko knew Stalin's temper well. Although he had a higher status than General Pavlov, the commander of the Western Front, he might be able to avoid being shot, but if he suffered such a huge failure, his fate would be the same. You know it. Marshal Budyonny's qualifications were much more senior than mine, so didn't he still lose his trust? Further forward, Marshal Tukhachevsky and Chief of the General Staff of the Red Army Trotsky were not Stalin’s early comrades. If Stalin believed that he must be responsible for the destruction of the Southwest Front, then Marshal Timoshenko He was absolutely certain that even if he avoided death, his military career would be over.
Should we send the Southern Front to join this battle? Marshal Timoshenko fell into deep thinking. According to the current situation, if he ordered the Southern Front Army to retreat, it would indeed be possible to avoid a large part of the losses, but the Southwest Front Army, which was surrounded on three sides, would be completely hopeless. If the Southern Front is allowed to join the battle, it may not have a decisive impact on the battle situation. After all, Germany's two army groups are huge in number. Even if they face the two fronts under their command at the same time, they will still be in an advantageous position.
"Marshal, the Southwest Front Army is now surrounded on three sides. Is there any way to rescue the Southwest Front Army? You must know that this is the most elite front army of our Soviet Union. If it is completely wiped out in Ukraine, it will be a huge blow to the entire Soviet Union. Loss!" The Southwest Front was established by General Kiel Noss. He had a deep affection for this army. Now that he saw his own army in this predicament, who would General Kiel Noss compare to? They were all in a hurry, so it was not surprising that they forgot their identity and urged Marshal Timoshenko.
The weather was so bright, but Marshal Timoshenko's heart was getting colder and colder. Kiel's urging from Admiral North made Marshal Timoshenko even more upset. He looked at Kiel who was sweating profusely. General North, Marshal Timoshenko sighed secretly, and ordered, "Power Lieutenant General Ryabyshev, order the Southern Front Army to join the battle, advance westward, and use the Ninth Army and the Eighteenth Army's Attack the city of Lochvita with superior forces, capture it, and open an exit for the Southwest Front to escape!" Marshal Timoshenko finally let the now safe Southern Front join this unprecedented battle. He may not know it now, It was this order that caused the Soviet Union's losses in the Battle of Kiev to be unprecedentedly huge.
"Okay, I'll send the report right away!" Admiral Kilbeinos, who was already in a state of panic, replied immediately before waiting for the staff officer next to him to take notes. It seems that he has forgotten his identity and should not do such a thing. In fact, it is not only Kiel who is now in great fear due to Admiral North. The soldiers of the entire Southwest Front who have no way to escape are all full of despair about the current war situation. Maybe they are not so concerned about the current situation. I understand, but even as General Paul Hausser said, soldiers trapped in encirclement have a huge sensitivity to the future. Maybe they will be inspired by the war situation to have a stronger desire to survive, just like Minsk The Soviet Red Army that broke through was also more effective. Perhaps he will become more timid, fearful of combat, and scurry like a fly on his brow. Judging from the current situation encountered by the German army, the situation of the Southwest Front is obviously the latter.
Following Timoshenko's order, the Soviet Union's only active force in the entire Nan County also joined the battle at ten o'clock in the morning on September 15th. At this time, the Imperial Armored Division, a unit of the First SS Panzer Corps, under the command of General Paul Hausser, reduced all its forces to the city of Lochvita and the surrounding areas. General Paul Hausser did not know that Marshal Timoshenko had asked the Southern Front to advance westward to attack the city of Lochvita, but in view of the special location of Lohvita City, General Paul Hausser still went ahead. After a lot of effort in defense, he didn't know now that it was this order that guaranteed the victory in the battle of Kiev.
After formulating the defense plan for Lochvita City, General Paul Hausser immediately sent a message to Lin Wei, requesting the Military Police Division to come to Lochvita City and block the second key point of the Kiev encirclement. Lin Wei also knew the importance of the city of Lochvita, and immediately issued an order to Heinz, the deputy commander of the Gendarmerie Division and Lin Wei's first adjutant, "In view of the fact that the strength of the Imperial Division cannot guarantee the success of the city of Lochvita, To ensure safety, the Gendarmerie Division must arrive at the city of Lochvita within ten hours, which will become the decisive battlefield in the Battle of Kiev! I do not require the Gendarmerie Division to be like Marshal Guderian’s Armored Division, running 214 miles in one day , but a distance of one hundred kilometers should be covered in half a day!”
The city of Lochvita suddenly became the focus of competition between the Soviet and German armies. Soviet soldiers encircling the city from the west began to appear in large numbers on the west side of the city of Lochvita, and there was an increasing trend. Now the pressure on Lochvita City is increasing every moment, so it is not unreasonable for Lin Wei to say that Lochvita City is the key to the battle in Kiev.
The forces that were simply unified and commanded have been annihilated. Most of these Soviet soldiers who broke out were stragglers. Their situation was simply worse than that of the Soviet Fourth Army that broke out in the Battle of Minsk, because these soldiers had almost no unified command. In this way, they can only rely on their own strength to attack the positions that Germany has built. The offensive troops of the Southern Front are still rushing westward, and it is temporarily impossible to help those soldiers break out. Therefore, the officers and soldiers of the Imperial Division who are waiting to work unceremoniously enjoy this. This was a unilateral massacre battle, the busiest of which was undoubtedly the 2nd Armored Artillery Regiment of the Imperial Division. In a few hours of fierce fighting, countless Soviet soldiers died under their artillery fire. It was they who asked the Imperial Division to defend The pressure on the troops is greatly reduced.
The soldiers of the 2nd Armored Light Infantry Battalion also took the initiative and defeated many small groups of Soviet troops that were hesitating. During the two-hour battle, the soldiers of the 2nd Armored Light Infantry Battalion captured more than 300 prisoners. Compared with the Battle of Minsk, the same Soviet soldiers broke out. The reason for such a big contrast is mainly because the headquarters of the Soviet Fourth Army was still intact during the Battle of Minsk. More importantly, They knew it was safe to cross the Berezina River. The Soviet soldiers here were obviously unprepared for the fall of Lochvita, so they suddenly came to despair.
Major Frank's battle group was responsible for the defense of the southeastern side of Lochvita. The infantry, anti-tank troops and artillery in the position have been fighting against the small Soviet forces trying to break through, and have not yet rested. During a skirmish, they captured a Soviet general. He is the deputy director of the logistics department of the 21st Army of the Soviet Army.
Near noon, dust was flying from the north, and a group of tanks came rushing from east to west, getting closer and closer, posing a threat to the Imperial Armored Division's position. The headquarters responsible for defending this area told the soldiers to prepare for battle and immediately reported to the division commander in the city, General Paul Hausser. Just when the battle was about to break out, a man suddenly jumped out of the tank on the opposite side and came to the tank. Bian ran over quickly, and the sharp-eyed soldiers had already seen the Iron Cross logo on the opposite tank.
"Hey, don't fire, unfriendly comrades!" A commander with the rank of major came over and shouted exaggeratedly. Seeing that the soldiers of the Imperial Division finally put away their weapons, the major regained his calm expression. He walked up to the commander in charge of the area, raised his right hand, and said proudly, "Major Alec Bird, commander of the 1st Armored Battalion of the 1st SS Armored Division Gendarmerie Division! Now, we We are about to fight together!”
The soldiers of the Imperial Division nearby heard Alec Byrd's words and suddenly ran towards the powerful Panther tank of the 1st Armored Battalion with joy, cheering and slapping the gray icon with the Iron Cross mark.
"Mr. Major, I don't know where the other troops of the Military Police Division are!" Although the commander was also very happy, he had not forgotten his responsibilities. All these situations had to be reported to General Paul Hausser.
"All other troops of the Military Police Division will arrive within five hours! They may appear anytime and anywhere now!" After thinking for a long time, Major Alec Byrd gave an ambiguous answer, but that was all. Enough, as long as the approximate arrival time of the Military Police Division is known, the Imperial Division can make further deployments. The conjunction of the Gendarmerie Division and the Imperial Division marked the encirclement of the eastern section of the Kiev Battle that had been controlled by Germany.
General Paul Hausser finally waited for the support force Lin Wei gave him, the largest division of the Waffen SS, the Waffen SS Gendarmerie Division with 50,000 people and 472 tanks. Now Paul & Howser can finally plan according to their own strength without worrying about insufficient strength.
The Gendarmerie Armored Division commanded by Heinz followed the 16th Armored Division as it advanced toward Lubne on the 13th. Then, it was ordered to advance eastward according to Lin Wei's order, and then quickly moved southward. On the morning of the 15th, it occupied Bridge over the Sura River near Senca, east of Lochvitsa. On this day, the Gendarmerie Division was located in a wedge-shaped area with a depth of fifty kilometers and an extremely narrow front. The area was between Sencha and Mirgorod, which had been occupied by the 14th Armored Division of Army Group South. At this time, the Gendarmerie Armored Division needed to fight in three directions at the same time. The leading force advancing northward, the 1st Armored Regiment, established contact with the Imperial Armored Division at this time.
Coincidentally, before the Gendarmerie Division and the Imperial Division joined forces, General Paul Hausser's Imperial Armored Division was also fighting on three sides. The 1st Infantry Regiment expanded its position to the north and south and captured the bridge near Yashniki. The 2nd Infantry Regiment moved forward between Lochvitsa and the Viking Armored Division advancing in the direction of Priluki. The 1st Reconnaissance Battalion drove the enemy to Chernushi. The Soviet army attempted to achieve a breakthrough near Shidane. The 2nd Motorcycle Battalion and the 3rd Battalion of the 2nd Armored Regiment, which followed, intercepted this enemy force.
The only thing now facing General Paul Hausser is to establish reliable contact with the First Armored Army of Army Group South, which is the third key point on the southern front. Now the Imperial Armored Division has expanded its occupation After the area, in a vast area, the only thing relied on was the Gendarmerie Division. The troops of the two divisions were interdependent until a large number of infantry divisions from the Southeast Army Group following the Gendarmerie Division arrived. In view of this, General Paul Hausser ordered the only remaining combat forces in his hands, the 3rd Panzergrenadier Regiment and the 4th Panzergrenadier Regiment of the Imperial Division, to march south to fight against the First Panzer Army of Army Group South. Make reliable connections.
For the outcome of the entire battle, General Paul Hausser's order was very necessary, but it also reduced the strength of his own troops to a dangerous situation. If it were not for the arrival of the Military Police Division, General Paul Hausser would have You would never do that. Admiral Paul Hausser did not yet know that a force that almost ruined the battle was advancing towards the areas defended by the Imperial Division and the Military Police Division.
One day later, the two Panzergrenadier regiments of the Imperial Division finally made a southward assault and established contact with the First Armored Army of Army Group South. General Kleist, commander of the First Armored Army, immediately dispatched an armored division and the Imperial Division. The armored forces established a link between Lochvita and Kremenzug. When the leading elements of the Paul & Hausser and Kleist armored groups met in Lubne, Lochvita, the battlefield here was Appearing as a triangle, its northern corner is Roslavl, its western corner is Kiev, and its southern corner is Kremenchug. The side length of this triangle is about 500 kilometers, and the total area is about 135,000 square kilometers. In this vast land where sunflowers, corn, grains and fruit trees grow, windmills have been turning for centuries, and farmers have driven their carriages on the rugged sandy road. However, from this moment on, this vast land has The land will be covered with the corpses of thousands of officers and soldiers, thousands of rotting and stinking horses, and abandoned artillery and tanks... This will become the largest battlefield in the Eastern War.
Now, the situation of the German army is as follows: the Skeleton Armored Division and the Police Armored Division of the Southeast Army Group, which was committed late, are fighting in the far north. As the Totenkopf Division began to advance southward on a wide front east of Romney, the Police Division had to cover the eastern flank. The other units of the Southeast Army Group on the right are still fifty kilometers behind the SS "Reich" Division. Another division of the First SS Panzer Corps, the Viking Panzer Division, was also moved south due to the movement of the Gendarmerie Division. Retreating to the second line, the Viking Division ordered its units to stop advancing and turn northward at dusk. As for Army Group South, on the 15th, the Sixth Army Headquarters ordered the 51st and 17th The army surrounded Kiev from the north. The 51st Army selected the junction of the Soviet 5th and 26th Group Armies as the breakthrough point, and its 79th Infantry Division achieved a deep breakthrough here. The 29th Army surrounded Kiev from the west and south; the 34th Army Headquarters, the 4th and 44th Army were on guard along the Dnieper River between Kiev and Kremenchug. The Eleventh Army of the Seventeenth Army had arrived along the Sula River from Mirgorod to the mouth of the Sula River. The 48th Motorized Corps was fighting around Rubne. The 14th Motorized Corps is advancing towards the Pusho River south of Mirgorod. The 55th and 52nd armies are slowly advancing on a wide front toward the northeast of Poltava.
On the Soviet side, the Soviet Fifth and Twenty-first Armies located in the northern part of the encirclement front fell into disintegration. They were divided on both sides of Priluki, and the troops were in disarray. The Soviet 37th Army, still holding on to Kiev, was almost surrounded on three sides and could only defend within a radius of 25 kilometers. The Soviet 26th Army was still fortified along the Dnieper River, and the remnants of the 38th Army northwest of Kremenchug were also commanded by it. On the same day, the Southwest General Headquarters under the command of Marshal Timoshenko ordered the 40th and 38th Group Armies and the 2nd and 5th Independent Cavalry Corps to launch an attack from the east in order to separate the German encirclement front. Seeking to repel the German Panzer Army.
At this time, Lin Wei, who was leading his own bodyguard on the way to the city of Lochvita controlled by the Imperial Division, also clearly understood the huge advantages that Germany had gained. During the journey, Lin Wei also ordered troops like the Southern Army Group. Chief of Staff Marshal Manstein sent a telegram, "The battles on the northern, northeastern and eastern fronts will be left to the Southeast Army Group. As for the battles on the western and southern fronts, Marshal Manstein will be responsible for Look at Army Group South, if we work together, within a week, the Soviet Southwest Front will cease to exist!"
"In just one day, the entire Southeast Army Group will go into battle! Inform the five armored divisions of the Gendarmerie, Empire, Police, Skull, and Viking to maintain the existing front line, and leave the rest to other troops to complete. According to my estimation, the infantry division of the Southeast Army Group will be able to take over their battle tomorrow afternoon at the latest!" Lin Wei said while enjoying the bumpy journey and looking at the map. Closing the map, Lin Wei closed his eyes and thought for a moment, then said, "After the infantry division took over their battle, the five armored divisions headed north as quickly as possible to Smolensk, which is the direction of the attack of Army Group Center. , the target doesn’t need my explanation, Moscow, the capital of the Soviet Union!”
At this time, the convoy suddenly stopped listening and saw an armored command vehicle in front of him getting out of an armored command vehicle and walking anxiously towards Lin Wei's vehicle. For some reason, Lin Wei suddenly felt that this was definitely not good news. Lin Wei opened the door and saw the radio operator saying, "Leader, the 40th and 38th Group Armies and the 2nd and 5th Independent Cavalry Corps are attacking the combination of the Imperial Division and the First Armored Group Army of Army Group South. The troops launched a fierce offensive, and the offensive was so large that the Imperial Division felt a little overwhelmed!"
"What?" Lin Wei said in surprise, "Let the Military Police Division that is with the Imperial Division send troops to help the Imperial Division stabilize the front. With the strength of the Military Police Division, it is not difficult to do this!"