The aviation units of the Western Front and the neighboring fronts are used to carry out intensive assaults on German airports and ground army assault groups, and to provide air cover for our own troops. The encircled Soviet army resisted successive German attacks and aviation attacks. In the first few days, they pinned down twenty-eight divisions, fourteen of which could not be mobilized for subsequent attacks by mid-October. On the 12th, the Soviet Defense Committee decided to establish the Moscow Defense Zone, mobilize 500 million citizens to build military units, build several new militia divisions, and prepare for street fighting. On the 13th, most of the Soviet Vyazma Group was wiped out, one part broke through, and Kaluga fell. Some Soviet troops broke out and retreated to the Mozhaysk defense line, while some troops and detachments remained behind enemy lines to engage in guerrilla warfare.
The closest distance the German army has to Moscow is the Fourth Armored Group attacking from the northwest of Moscow. The Fourth Armored Group transferred from Army Group North has occupied Istria, which is 20 meters away from the center of Moscow. Seven kilometers away, it can be said unabashedly that if the commander of the Fourth Armored Army looks toward Moscow with his military telescope, he will be able to see the Soviet flag on top of the Kremlin minaret.
Between Smolensk and Moscow, two of the three lines of defense deployed by the Soviet Red Army have been breached, and the Bryansk Front in the two large pockets has disappeared. However, as time goes by, the German army finds itself facing the Soviet Red Army. Not only has the number not declined at all, but it has been increasing. A large number of Soviet soldiers came out of nowhere. The German army's offensive pace became slower and slower, and finally stopped at the last line of defense before entering Moscow.
Now it seems that Germany is only one step away from the final victory, but this last step prevents the German soldiers on the front line from taking it. Moscow seems infinitely close and infinitely far away. The Fourth Panzer Army stopped in Istria, and in front of it were the Sixteenth and Twenty-sixth Army of the Soviet Red Army. The offensive in the west is also not optimistic. The Soviet Red Army's 5th, 33rd, and 43rd Army lie in front of the German Fourth Army. To the southwest, the 49th Army and the 50th Army blocked Guderian's path.
There was a pause on the entire front that seemed very scary to Lin Wei. Yes, it was a pause. This was the first time since Germany began to blitz Poland in 1939 that it was forced to stop its attack because of the opponent's defense. This is different from the cessation of the offensive of Army Group Center after the Battle of Smolensk. At that time, the Soviet Red Army's role was minimal. It was only because Guderian's Armored Group Army had to cooperate with the Kiev Battle to conduct a southward cover attack, so Marshal Bock ordered Army Group Center to carry out the attack. Rest and replenish at the same time. This time it was completely different. In addition to Hoth's Third Armored Army in Leningrad, Army Group Center had concentrated three of the four armored armies and five of the seven armored divisions of the Waffen-SS, possessing Germany in the war. The armored force, which had a bonus of 85%, was actually forced to stop the attack.
"Is this the end of Qiangnu?" Standing in front of the giant map in Marshal Bock's office, Lin Wei's eyes were full of worry. But compared to Lin Wei, Marshal Bock is still full of optimism. In fact, he doesn't understand why Lin Wei is so cautious, and even thinks maliciously of Lin Wei and Hit? They have been together for too long and have become hysterical. This is because yesterday, October 13th, Marshal Kruger's Fourth Army had annihilated all the Bryansk Front encircling troops in the encirclement, and 670,000 people had become prisoners of Army Group Center. In terms of quantity, it is no less than the Battle of Kiev. Moreover, this was accomplished independently by Army Group Center, rather than the combined efforts of the two Army Groups in the Battle of Kiev.
"Lampard, although the attack has stalled, it is only October now. We should remain confident in the next battle. If we maintain the current advancement speed, we can definitely capture Moscow!" Marshal Bock said, patting Lin Wei on the shoulder. Indeed, Marshal Bock believed that the war could not be smooth sailing, and it was normal for the offensive to stagnate. Marshal Bock was right. If he were in another country, Lin Wei would think that it was no big deal to stop, because it had nothing to do with the overall situation. But the Soviet Union was different. In this magical land, Lin Wei could watch everything for a long time once it was revealed.
I glanced out the window and saw that the snowfall three days ago had already stopped. Perhaps because of the first snowfall this year, the snowfall did not gain a firm foothold on the earth. As the temperature rose in the past two days, it has long since disappeared. However, the negative impact of snowfall is obvious, although the worst situation did not occur and the temperature dropped significantly. But it made the already poor road situation in the Soviet Union even worse. Considering that the German army still relied on the transport line of mules and horses, Lin Wei felt ice-cold in his heart.
With a bang, the door was pushed open, and people dressed in black and Lin Wei's clothes walked in one after another. Lin Wei didn't even look at it, and knew that it was his deputy Heydrich who came in. It turned out that Lin Wei You guessed it right, Heydrich came in with a chill and said, "The winter in the Soviet Union is really extraordinary, so cold!"
"Who told you not to wear winter clothes? You deserve to be cold!" Lin Wei exposed Heydrich's lies at a glance. Lin Wei felt that he had nothing in common with this guy who wanted to be elegant. Unlike Lin Wei, who stayed at the headquarters without wearing winter clothes, Heydrich ran around wearing summer clothes, letting Lin Wei know that people in the 1940s needed to be elegant but not warm.
"You must have something to do when you come here!" Lin Wei immediately started to make a cup of hot coffee for Heydrich and asked at the same time. There was no other way. Apart from Lin Wei and Heydrich, there was only Marshal Bock here. Could it be that Lin Wei was asked to order a marshal to make coffee like a servant? Moreover, given the age of the marshal, even if Marshal Bock was willing to do it, Lin Wei would be embarrassed to speak.
"Of course there is something!" Heydrich's face straightened, and when he wasn't smiling playfully, Heydrich had the aura of an executioner, coupled with his sinister voice, which made people uncomfortable. Lin Wei made coffee while waving his hand to continue, and Heydrich said, "I have sent people to bribe a few locals in Moscow, and asked the subordinate Gestapo to disguise themselves as ordinary Soviet soldiers and sneak into Moscow!"
"Well done!" Lin Wei praised, "But what I'm curious about is, it seems that not many of the people you brought from home understand Russian?"
"I have Volga Germans, and it is not difficult to find people who understand Russian among them! Ever since they learned that their families were deported by Stalin, they immediately became extremely cooperative! There is no need to worry about their loyalty at all!" Heydrich was proud. said.
Lin Wei filled the coffee and handed it to Heydrich and asked, "Did you find anything?" Marshal Bock also listened carefully and was very interested in this matter.
Heydrich took a sip and said seriously, "They sent news this morning that the situation is very bad!"
"What?" Marshal Bock asked with a tone full of disbelief, "What on earth is going on?"
"Stalin mobilized 500,000 people to build defense lines in downtown Moscow to prepare for street fighting! The three lines of defense are almost completed. The more important news is that the number of Red Army troops in Moscow has greatly increased. Stalin has withdrawn many troops from various fronts to defend Moscow. "Marshal Bock, wasn't your Army Group Center forced to stop attacking today?" Heydrich asked with an unpredictable smile; "To be honest, I don't know where they got so many troops. But I think the numerical advantage of Army Group Center may no longer exist!" At this point, Heydrich walked to the map, pointed in the direction of Stalingrad on the map and said, "The two most important lines now are , the one who can provide military support to Moscow is Stalingrad. Soldiers from Stalingrad rush to Moscow every moment. Time is not good for us. In addition, there is another thing... "
"The Siberian Front in the Far East!" Lin Wei added with an expected expression, "The Siberian Front in Siberia is Zhukov's old unit. It once inflicted heavy losses on the Japanese army in the Battle of Nomonkan and is good at winter operations! During the Finnish War, the Siberian Ski Brigade almost rescued the surrounded Soviet Red Army under the nose of the Northern Mountain Division! It seems that the Japanese Kwantung Army was indeed frightened by the Soviet Red Army and could not do anything to the German Empire. Help! We cannot allow more Red Army troops in Moscow. Army Group South must increase pressure on the southern front to force the Red Army wherever it is unable to rescue Moscow!"
"Can't we increase the strength of Army Group Center?" Heydrich suddenly asked a layman's question. Even Marshal Bock secretly shook his head. Lin Wei could only explain, "According to our current supply capacity, Our military deployment in Moscow has reached its limit. No matter how many troops come up, they will only starve to death. Moreover, the northern and southern fronts are also very important, and the balance of the theater is the most important!"
It is okay for Heydrich to study how to stabilize his rule, but when it comes to military issues, it is obviously beyond his ability. The current situation must be broken. Once the German army falls into a war of attrition with the Soviet Red Army, it will Germany is obviously at a disadvantage. It is impossible for Germany to waste its troops in a war of attrition without blinking an eye like Stalin did.
"Istria..." Lin Wei's eyes were fixed on the closest distance between the German army and Moscow. Compared with the frontal attack position of Army Group Center, Istria is located in the 26th position of the Soviet Union. At the junction of the Group Army and the Sixteenth Group Army, the Fourth Armored Group Army's control here is very beneficial to the German army. As for why the offensive in the northwest has stalled, Lin Wei can also imagine that in addition to heavy losses, the road there must be Indispensable factors, but none of these can change Lin Wei's determination to use Istria as a breakthrough.
"Heydrich, ask Dietrich, General Paul Hausser and the commanders of each division to come!" Lin Wei ordered, "Uncle Bock, the next stage of the battle will mainly start from East in the northwest. At the beginning of the pull, each armored group can take a break, allowing the Fourth Army and the Ninth Group to take over from each armored group to put pressure on the Moscow defenders. The Fourth Army storms the front of Moscow, and the Ninth Army maneuvers in the southwest to cover the attack from East What’s going on with La’s offensive forces and the situation in Leningrad?”
"Loeb sent a telegram yesterday. Four-fifths of Leningrad has been occupied. Zhukov is trapped on the north bank of the Neva River. Occupying Leningrad is no longer a problem!" Marshal Bock replied.
"Very good, it's time to bring General Huot's Third Armored Army back and deploy it on the flanks of the Fourth Armored Army!" Lin Wei thought for a moment and said, "General Kleist's First Armored Army is attacking in the southwest. direction, in conjunction with Guderian's Second Armored Army, the second phase of the offensive will definitely work! At that time, the four armored armies will be divided into two offensive echelons and adopt a pincer offensive to encircle and annihilate all the Soviet Red Army units in Moscow, southwest The four armored armies from the two attack directions in the northwest are expected to meet at Orekhovo, 70 kilometers east of Moscow!"
Marshal Bock thought carefully about Lin Wei's plan and asked, "What if Stalin feels that he can't hold on and gives up Moscow? At this point in the war, Stalin will not hold on under extremely unfavorable circumstances!" "
"No, Stalin will definitely order the troops to hold on to Moscow!" Lin Wei said with certainty, mainly because of Stalin's performance in history. However, Lin Wei still answered Marshal Bock's doubts, "Even if it is This time Stalin was not stubborn and gave up Moscow, and our goal was achieved, which was to occupy Moscow. In short, if Stalin held on to Moscow, he might give us a huge victory. By giving up Moscow, we lost nothing. We also successfully occupied the capital of the Soviet Union! No matter how you look at it, it is beneficial to Germany! The only disadvantage may be that we will have to fight the Soviet Union for a year next year!"
After answering Marshal Bock's doubts, Lin Wei turned around and walked out of the office, waiting for his division commanders in the conference room next door. He said it was a meeting, but he strictly continued the tradition of the National Socialist Party. In other words, Lin Wei was talking They were listening, and then they gave some suggestions within the framework formulated by Lin Wei, and it was up to Lin whether he would adopt them. In the end, according to Lin Wei's intention, the five armored divisions of the Gendarmerie, Reich, Police, Skeleton, and Viking were reorganized into the Fifth SS Armored Group Army, which ranked behind the four armored groups of the Wehrmacht, but in terms of strength, it was the third largest in the German army. Highest. Dietrich, who had little talent but was very obedient, was appointed commander, and General Paul Hausser was appointed chief of staff. Dietrich's command was very symbolic, because Lin Wei was preparing to do it himself. Command this armored army.
The next day, October 14, the 5th SS Panzer Army with the new designation set out from their station near Smolensk. They had two days to rush to Istria. When setting off from Smolensk, Lin Wei took on two more historically famous units, the Grossdeutschland Panzergrenadier Division of the Wehrmacht and the Hermann Goering Parachute Armored Division of the Air Force, although they were far from the later ones. Although they were so famous, Lin Wei still focused them on this attack with the attitude of rather than letting it go in vain.
On the same day, in the direction of Leningrad, General Hott, who was attacking the north bank, received a telegram from Marshal Bock, requesting the Third Armored Group to go south and contribute to the current Moscow campaign. General Hott did not dare to neglect after receiving the telegram and gave Loeb a message. The marshal sent an apology telegram, and then led the Third Armored Group rapidly south. No matter what General Hott thought, the soldiers underground were thankful that they finally left this hellish city.
They once thought that the attack on the north bank would go very smoothly, but they were wrong, very wrong. The street fighting on the south bank of the Neva River had already frightened the German soldiers, but when they attacked the north bank of the Neva River, they discovered that The brutal street fighting he encountered was nothing compared to the fighting there.
At this time, the street fighting has heated up to an unimaginable level. The ground, villas, land, rivers, sewers, anything in Leningrad can be used as weapons to kill German soldiers at this time, as long as there are people who can get in. Where do you have to be preventive first? shooting. At the Serafimov Memorial Cemetery, armed SS soldiers in black and some Finnish snipers in white formed a very eye-catching offensive force. They fought fiercely with the defending Soviet soldiers in this cemetery. It was put to good use and became a cemetery for soldiers killed by both sides. The soldiers of the Northern Mountain Division smashed the grenades like hailstones into the graves guarded by the Soviet troops. The Soviet soldiers picked up the smoking grenades and threw them back. The shrapnel flying after the grenade exploded continued to increase casualties on both sides. Although the German army is constantly advancing. However, people continued to fall under the intensive firepower of the stubborn Red Army. The soldiers of the Northern Mountain Division even jumped into the grave to engage in hand-to-hand combat with the Russian soldiers. The two sides fought in the small space with rifle butts, bayonets and engineer shovels, until the grave was filled again with the corpses of paratroopers or Red Army soldiers.
Most of Finland's White Deaths acted alone, delivering fatal blows during the bloody battle between the Waffen SS and the Soviet Red Army. The entire Serafimov Memorial Cemetery has been occupied by the corpses of both sides, and many tombstones have been rewashed with blood. All this has further stimulated the troops on both sides in the battle, and the battle has become more and more brutal. The soldiers on both sides were gnashing their teeth and were about to turn the other side into a cold corpse. As for their own fate, they can no longer remember it!