The problem that Foreign Minister Ribbentrop has always faced is the long-standing pro-British sentiment among Turkish people. After the Ottoman Empire began to decline in the 16th century, Turkey had to face the defeat of its subordinates, Europeans, especially Western Europe. The strong rise. Among them, Britain and France had a decisive influence on the history of the Ottoman Empire. It can be said that if Britain and France had not been painstakingly maintaining the balance of power, Turkey would have been defeated in the Russo-Turkish War that occurs once every eighteen years. The failure of the First World War led to the complete collapse of the declining Ottoman Empire. Turkey also suffered a disastrous defeat, losing all European territories except Istanbul, and even the Asian territories were almost divided. At this point, the Ottoman Empire, which once spanned nearly 7 million square kilometers across three continents, had lost almost 90% of its territory.
After studying hundreds of years of British history, Kemal, the founding father of modern Turkey, gave his successors a piece of advice, to the effect that his successors should first look at the actions of the British when encountering major problems, because Historically, the British have always been the final victors.
It is precisely because of Britain's hegemony for hundreds of years that Turkey has always had extraordinary confidence in the British, even after France surrendered. Gibraltar was occupied by Germany, Türkiye remains so. After the British mainland was occupied, the Turkish army, as the main pro-German force, once hoped that the government would quickly take sides. However, as Germany immediately carried out the Barbarossa plan to attack the Soviet Union, Turkey once again stopped joining the war and changed to wait and see. Because at this time Turkey is still not sure whether Germany will win the final victory.
But with the huge victory of Germany's all-front offensive, Turkey suddenly discovered that it was now entirely possible for Germany to win the war on its own. What scares Turkey even more is that Germany is no longer urging Turkey to join the war. It is good to have both sides when the major forces are balanced, but if you are not careful, you will get burned. Especially now, Germany, a dangerous country, seems to never stop the war. The Turkish government has felt that Germany is no longer so close to Turkey. If Germany solves Turkey after solving the Soviet Union, it will be just another victim of Germany in the eyes of the world. Therefore, Türkiye naturally showed goodwill to Germany immediately.
Don’t think that Germany’s attack on Turkey is such an incomprehensible thing. Too many incidents have happened to solve the problem smoothly. Yugoslavia also had a good relationship with Germany for a period of time, but under the leadership of Germany, it was still besieged by a group of small countries around it. It has finally disintegrated.
The main pro-German forces in Turkey, the military and the government, feel that it is time to deal with the pro-British pro-British forces among the people. If Germany does not contribute its own strength before Germany has captured Moscow, Turkey may never have the opportunity to contribute. Naturally, the opportunity to share the cake was lost at the same time. In fact, the Turks themselves don't know yet. They have now lost the opportunity to share the cake. How much profit they can make in the war depends entirely on whether their own army can live up to expectations.
For Ribbentrop, it was not that he had never encountered the situation in Turkey. Portugal, ruled by Salazar, was also a country with strong pro-British sentiments. This was very similar to Turkey. However, after Germany captured Gibraltar, Portugal He also immediately changed his political direction, turning a blind eye to the pro-British sentiment at home, and dispatched troops when Germany landed in Britain. Compared with Portugal's insignificant role, Turkey's natural conditions for blocking the Dardanelles Strait are obviously more important to Germany. For this reason, Ribbentrop has urged Turkey to join the war more than once, but as Germany determined its own With an absolutely dominant position, Ribbentrop was no longer thinking about how to incite Turkey, but was preparing to teach Turkey a lesson.
But no matter what, Turkey successfully made a statement before the last traces of patience of Ribbentrop and the German government ran out. On October 18, Kemal's main aide, Ismet Inonu, who is also the current President of Turkey, gave a speech and expressed strong condemnation of the Soviet Union's actions in the Black Sea. But all fools know that in this kind of situation, Taking a stand at this time can only prove that Turkey has made a decision and is ready to beat the Soviet Union when it is at its weakest.
Sure enough, in the Caucasus region, where the Turkish army and the Soviet Red Army have been in confrontation, the twenty-six Turkish infantry divisions that have been assembled here have been mobilized frequently. All signs indicate that Turkey is really not just talking this time, but is really prepared to fight against it. The Soviet Union went to war.
Stalin was very concerned about Turkey's sudden statement, and immediately asked Molotov to issue a severe condemnation, and warned Turkey not to misestimate its own strength. Even if the Soviet Union is in a difficult moment, Turkey cannot take advantage of it. While Molotov condemned, Stalin ordered the Caucasus Front and Transcaucasus Front to immediately enter a state of combat readiness to prevent possible surprise attacks by the Turkish army.
At this time, the war situation in Moscow had initially stabilized. The Soviet Red Army had blocked the troops of the Fifth SS Armored Group on Academy Street. In order to prevent the Fifth SS Armored Group from continuing its attack across the Moscow Canal, Stalin ordered the artillery units Destroyed all the buildings on the SS side of Academy Street near the SS. This situation reminded Lin Wei of Chiang Kai-shek's method during the Battle of Shanghai. He pulled out all the urban obstacles around Shanghai to form an open isolation zone. The troops rely on the city, while the attacking troops must be exposed in the open offensive zone. Although Chiang Kai-shek was still defeated in this battle, he still achieved a good casualty ratio despite an overall disadvantage. Obviously, his current position became that of the Chinese troops that originally attacked Shanghai, while Stalin's troops became Lao Chiang's condescending army relying on buildings. What drove Lin Wei even more crazy was that the combat effectiveness of the Soviet Red Army was far higher than that of Chiang Kai-shek's troops.
The Leningrad Highway, Baltic Street and Militia Street were trained by Stalin, and the troops attached to them were also the most elite troops in Stalin's hands. In addition to Beria's internal guards, there were also (division commander Major General Rusyanov ) 1st Guards Rifle Division, (Division Commander Colonel Akimenko) 2nd Guards Rifle Division, (Division Commander Major General Gagan) 3rd Guards Rifle Division, (Division Commander Colonel Moskvikin) 4th Guards Rifle Division . These divisions fought to the death with the Germans under the walls of Minks and Smolensk, and participated in the counterattack of the Western Front and the Reserve Front under the walls of Yelnya. It can be said that for some soldiers of the SS, these troops can be called old opponents. Many of these Soviet Red Army troops were troops who successfully escaped after the battles of Minsk and Smolensk. In addition to these troops resisting SS attacks from the front, the 5th, 6th, and 7th Guards Infantry Divisions were deployed on the streets of Leningrad to provide support anytime and anywhere.
"The SS versus the Guards?" Lin Wei fell into deep thought. The offensive situation was very unfavorable to the SS. The attack on Academy Street required passing through the bombed-out construction area. During this journey, the Party There is no place for the Guards' attacking troops to hide, because this neighborhood has become a pile of rubble. If you hide in it, you may never be able to get out after a shelling.
"General Paul Hausser, where is the Hermann Goering Parachute Armored Division now!" Lin Wei asked.
"We are sniping at the siege of us by the Soviet 16th Army and the 26th Army!" Paul & Hausser replied.
"Oh!" Lin Wei nodded and said nothing. It was no longer feasible to count on the support of the paratroopers and armored divisions to increase the offensive force. "We must attack now. We have already broken into Moscow. We cannot delay here for too long, otherwise we will end up with the enemy." There is no difference if you wait to die! General Paul Hausser, I will give you the military police division, and you will command this attack!" Lin Wei said solemnly, "Whether we can win or not, we cannot stand still. You know, This is Moscow, and the Soviets are replenishing far faster than us!" Lin Wei's words are true. In addition to bringing a week's worth of food, the supplies of the Fifth SS Armored Group completely rely on air drops from the Air Force. Lin Wei must be in a short time. A breakthrough was made within a short period of time, otherwise the fate of the Fifth SS Panzer Army would be the same as that of the Sixth Army commanded by the unlucky General Paulus under Stalingrad.
At ten minutes at noon on the 18th, General Paul Hausser commanded the attack forces of the Imperial Division and the Gendarmerie Division, forming two attack arrows. The Gendarmerie Division mainly attacked the junction of the Leningrad Highway and Baltic Street, hoping to The defending Soviet Red Army troops were divided into two. This was the intersection of three main roads in the west of the city. The Soviets certainly knew the importance of this place, so the defenders here were also the most tenacious. Their Soviet internal security forces were led by the first KGB officer. Named after Dzerzhinsky, the Dzerzhinsky division. The Dzerzhinsky Division has been stationed in Moscow. It has never changed from the beginning of the war to the SS attack on Moscow. But today, the prestigious Dzerzhinsky Division finally joined the war between the Soviet Union and Germany. Although Dzerzhinsky The fighting skills of the soldiers of the Basic Division are far less sophisticated than their own methods of catching traitors and suppressing them, but they have one thing that is more advantageous than the other Soviet Red Army, that is, they will never surrender at any time, and this is destined to be a life-and-death battle.
The deputy commander of the Gendarmerie Division has always been Heinz. Under Lin Wei, a division commander who has never been listed as the commander, Deputy Division Commander Heinz has always been considered the commander of the Gendarmerie Division, the first SS division. Here today , Heinz will also kick off the first contest between the SS and the KGB in the war.
The Dzerzhinsky Division is the same as the Gendarmerie Division. They have everything a field force has, and even more. Although they may not be as good as some of the Soviet Red Army and Wehrmacht in terms of combat skills, as a well-known special force, they are destined to be unlikely to surrender. Neither the glorious history nor the strong sense of honor allow this to happen. When attacking the area defended by the Dzerzhinsky Division, Heinz divided the offensive force of the Gendarmerie Division into three parts and advanced from three blocks to the destination. This was mainly because Heinz wanted to avoid causing damage due to the huge organization. It is difficult to command in street fighting. The large establishment has always been the signature of the Gendarmerie Division. However, in the street fighting in urban Moscow, the large establishment obviously did not bring any benefits to the Gendarmerie Division.
During the advance, small groups of Soviet Red Army troops continued to harass the Military Police Division in twos and threes. However, in the eyes of the soldiers sitting on the tanks, they knew the situation in all directions. Many Red Army soldiers were killed before they were ready for a sneak attack. The reason why There are soldiers sitting on tanks pushing forward because in the movies Lin Wei saw in his previous life, the Soviet Red Army often did this. The advantages and disadvantages of doing this in street fighting are equally prominent. A moving tank full of soldiers can have a panoramic view of the situation in all directions. It also causes a high casualty rate, so the German army, especially the Wehrmacht, will definitely not This is done, but in Lin Wei's view, the advantages of this method are also obvious. It can prevent sneak attackers with the greatest probability and speed up the advancement.
Half an hour later, after the Gendarmerie Division cleared all the small groups of Soviet Red Army troops in the nearby blocks, it immediately began a probing attack on the surrounding Dzerzhinsky Division's positions. In the blocks defended by the Dzerzhinsky Division, the intensity of the defense It was obviously not what they encountered when the Gendarmerie Division came. The soldiers of the Dzerzhinsky Division were everywhere and made the soldiers of the Gendarmerie Division feel extremely uncomfortable at the beginning of the battle. These experts in suppressive activities obviously regarded the soldiers of the Gendarmerie Division as Prisoners who entered the concentration camp always appeared in unexpected places. After a burst of gunfire, they immediately retreated regardless of whether they achieved victory or not. After frequent harassment, the soldiers of the Dzerzhinsky Division immediately let the people of the Gendarmerie Division see their The other side. When the Gendarmerie Division and the Panther tanks opened the way and forcibly advanced, the Dzerzhinsky Division immediately showed off dozens of T34 and Panther tanks in a tit-for-tat battle in the narrow streets. In this case, the tanks of both sides were almost There was no way to escape. Even if the Panther tank group succeeded in winning, Heinz would not be happy because the tank wreckage had blocked the originally narrow street.
During the two-hour battle, Heinz kept hearing complaints from his subordinates, and finally he could only send a message to Lin Wei, "Dear leader, I think the police division or the skeleton division that have been in concentration camps, Maybe it will be easier to fight with the Dzerzhinsky Division! I have to tell the leader one thing. According to the current advancement speed, it will take me about a week to occupy the Dzerzhinsky Division's position!"
Lin Wei got Heinz's telegram, read it for a long time, and ordered, "Retreat!" Not only the attacks of the Gendarmerie Division and the Imperial Division were also disrupted by the defending Soviet Red Army Guards, it seemed that Lin Wei had conquered Moscow. The street fighting in the city is too easy to think of. The setbacks of the Imperial Division and the Military Police Division made Lin Wei reassess the strength of both sides to a certain extent.
The battle on the 18th still did not allow Lin Wei to break the deadlock, but in the evening, Lin Wei received good news that Leningrad had been completely occupied. The final battle in Leningrad broke out in Lenin Square, where Zhukov last commanded the battle. When the first German soldier broke through the last line of defense of the Red Army and reached the front road of Lenin Square on the 17th, it marked the official start of the battle between the two sides in Leningrad and the Square Building.
The Waffen-SS Northern Mountain Division began its first round of charge against the Plaza Building on the 17th. At that time, the main goal of the Northern Mountain Division was to eliminate the remaining enemies. However, due to the strong resistance at the Leningrad Theater next to the Plaza Building, some The commander mistakenly believed that the Plaza Building did not have a strong defense force, so he organized a few hundred troops to conduct a tentative charge. As a result, none of these young soldiers set foot on the Capitol grounds.
But these lost lives did not awaken the Germans. The cruel street fighting made all the soldiers go crazy. They still organized the troops to attack the Plaza Building without caring. After many attacks, they finally rushed to the square of the Plaza Building. . The desire for revenge made the Soviet soldiers rush to the Capitol without any rest. Their eyes stained with blood could not see the Maxin heavy machine guns installed in the several shooting ports and windows in the Capitol. The condescending Soviet soldiers carried out crazy machine gun attacks. They didn't seem to care about the consumption of bullets when they fired, but later it turned out that the Soviets' move was extremely correct. In the later stages of the battle, such large-caliber machine guns had no effect at all.
The Germans and Soviet machine guns were about to be forced to the street corner outside the square. Due to the suppression of firepower by the Soviet Red Army, the snipers of the Northern Mountain Division were unable to launch an effective attack on the Red Army machine gunners. When the belated Panther tanks of the Northern Mountain Division drove into the square, the soldiers of the Northern Mountain Division cheered, but the Soviets quickly returned the favor. The remaining soldiers of the 21st Army also drove three tanks to join them. fighting. The remaining soldiers of the 21st Army of the Soviet Red Army put up tenacious resistance, and the defenders of the Plaza Building even used their remaining artillery to shell the tanks. The German tanks were immediately overturned. However, the good times did not last long. German armored units continued to pour into the vicinity of the Plaza Building. Even the troops of the Prince Eugen Division had concentrated around the Plaza Building. At this time, the Red Army's combat teams withdrew one after another and launched attacks behind the German army. After suffering several losses, the Northern Mountain Division had to re-establish a defense line behind it. However, the Red Army combat teams continued to penetrate into the northern mountains. Divisional line support went to Plaza Towers. Although the Red Army's combat team is not large in number, it is precisely because of the small number that the soldiers of the Northern Mountain Division are miserable because they are not easy to be discovered!