On the other side, the German heavy tank troops also began to launch fierce attacks with the cooperation of artillery. Under the attack of the heavy tanks, Rokorosovsky's troops could no longer support it. He quickly analyzed the current situation: the existing positions in the Istria Reservoir area were undefendable, and his weak troops here were obviously not enough to stop the German tank attack. Rather than die needlessly here, it is better to retreat to the Istria River behind the reservoir for defense. There were ready-made defenses and plenty of gentle slopes and high ground. The Istria River that runs there can also effectively prevent the impact of German tank troops. In addition, here you can save your own troops to the maximum extent and at the same time exclude some troops to strengthen the neighboring 30th Army's defense against Klin.
The Western Front Military Commission transferred all possible forces here from other areas of the front. Independent tank groups, anti-tank gun groups, artillery companies, independent cavalry brigades and anti-aircraft artillery battalions drawn from the air defense commander General Gromagin were all transferred to the Nechnogorsk area. No matter what, the enemy must be held back until the 97th Infantry Division in the Serpukhov area, the Krzysztof Brigade and the Second Anti-Tank Artillery Regiment of the Supreme Command Reserve arrive here.
These newly reinforced troops, as well as other Klin's defenders, were unified under the command of Rokorosovsky's deputy, General Zakharov. He resisted Feng's offensive in the city in order to block the German attack. , the Central Asian cavalry of the 17th Cavalry Division of the Red Army attacked with incomparable courage. These soldiers rode war horses without winter horseshoes. Brandishing a shining silver saber, he rushed out from the depths of the forest. They launched a heroic but desperate charge towards the Germans on the road. But under the fierce machine gun fire of the Germans. The Red Army cavalry who went on and on were beaten to the ground. In the end, more than two thousand corpses and a large number of dying horses were left on the battlefield. The Germans suffered no casualties. Four T-34 tanks of the Red Army Tank Brigade were also dispatched, and they entered the battle in the area west of Klin. These tanks engaged in a fierce confrontation with the 25th Armored Regiment of the German 7th Armored Division. The German Panzer IV had a little trouble facing the Soviet tanks with white camouflage. But the number of Soviet tanks was too small after all. They had no way to stop the enemy's attack. After half a day of fierce fighting. A battalion commander named Schulz of the German 25th Armored Regiment led his tank unit into Klin. The door to Moscow was opened.
And with Klin being captured. The Soviet defense line immediately bent into a bow shape. Many weak spots appeared in the originally sparse defense line, and it seemed that an irremediable incident might occur. But not a single army held its ground. After receiving reinforcements, a defense line that the enemy could not break was re-established.
At the same time, other units of Hoth's Third Panzer Army also rushed towards Moscow. Their 10th Armored Division finally captured the position that the Red Army's 78th Infantry Division had held for a long time, almost in front of Moscow. Hoth's 5th Armored Division and Motorized Division continued to advance towards their long-awaited goal. . Huot's 2nd Armored Division captured a long-distance bus station more than 20 kilometers away from Moscow.
The battle of the Fifth SS Armored Group on the Garden Ring Road was similar to the battle outside Moscow. Since the SS captured the Kremlin much slower than Lin Wei expected, in order to keep up with Marshal Bock's progress , in the afternoon of October 23, before Lin Wei fully controlled the area around Leningrad Street, he removed part of the police division and the skeleton division, and cooperated with the imperial division and the gendarmerie division to attack Klimt The first attack was made on the Forest Palace Absolute Defense Circle, the Garden Ring Road.
The enemies Lin Wei faced were also very powerful. In addition to the Dzerzhinsky Division of the Soviet Internal Guards that had withdrawn here, there were also the 6th, 7th, and 8th Guards Infantry Divisions that were almost unscathed. Of course, there were also early The Kremlin garrison, totaling 15,000 people, has already left a deep impression on Lin Wei. Due to the intensity of the war and the current chaos in Moscow, Lin Wei no longer knew the total number of enemies he faced. He could only make an approximate estimate based on the establishment of the Soviet Red Army, and came up with a figure of 60,000 to 70,000 Soviet troops. , which did not include the possible emergence of militia divisions and some loyal followers of the Soviet Union.
But even so, the density of soldiers around the entire Kremlin is already very terrifying. It is absolutely impossible to place so many troops anywhere else, but Moscow can. This is entirely because of the buildings in the center of Moscow. Density, from the Party Building to the Kremlin, from the National Center for the Performing Arts to the National Gallery, Museum, Astronomical Academy, Academy of Sciences, one huge building after another provides super battle fortresses. On the facades of these buildings, Now there is no trace of humanity at all, and the art of the past has disappeared without a trace. The battle fortress filled with weapons and food, in addition to a chilling atmosphere, is also filled with blood.
On the afternoon of the 23rd, the Gendarmerie Division came from the west, the Reich Division came from the south, and the transferred Police Division and Totenkopf Division came from the north. The SS launched its first attack around the Kremlin. The SS offensive force attacked The route, magnified a thousand times, was almost exactly the same as Army Group Center's attack on Moscow. It was also a three-front attack, and even made no progress. The regiment of the Gendarmerie Division that suffered the most damage lost almost all its heavy weapons in the two hours between the attack and the withdrawal, along with nearly a thousand corpses.
Ah... Although the difficulty of conquering the Kremlin has been fully considered, killing a thousand people in two hours is still beyond Lin Wei's ability. "How could so many people die?" Lin Wei endured the pain. He asked, "No matter what the reason is, five hundred people an hour, even the military police division cannot withstand such death!"
"Leader, there are too many enemies. Moreover, leader, you should understand that the front is narrow and there are many defenders, plus the large buildings here! These are the factors that caused our losses!" Crawford said, "And according to the report, even Dozens of soldiers from the Viking division defending Khimki are missing every day, probably killed by the guerrillas when they were alone!"
Lin Wei listened to Crawford's words with a gloomy face, and said gloomily, "I have never used the rules of the National Defense Force to restrict you, but your performance makes me very disappointed! The guerrillas facing civilians are dying every day With dozens of people, what on earth will the army I built do?"
"Leader, you can't blame them..." Crawford hesitated.
"Who is to blame?" Lin Wei interrupted, "Let me ask you, how many prisoners are the Vikings guarding now?"
"About 15,000 people. We didn't continue to capture prisoners later because we couldn't handle it anymore!" Although he didn't know what Lin Wei meant, Crawford said honestly.
"Select three thousand people and shoot them for me in front of the Muscovites! Push the corpses into the Moscow Canal!" Lin Wei said viciously, "My dear adjutant, if you object, I am prepared to let you carry out this task personally. Order!" Looking at Crawford who wanted to speak again, Lin Wei said directly. The meaning is very simple. If you think you can bear the reputation of a massacre like this, then I will let you be the executioner yourself.
After speaking, Lin Wei directly bypassed Crawford and said to the staff officer next to him, "Send me a telegram to all division commanders except General Paul Hausser. From now on, no matter what it is, The reason is, as long as a soldier is missing for more than one day, he will immediately retaliate and kill a hundred people around him!" Knowing that General Paul Hausser would not carry out the massacre order, Lin Wei did not tell him directly.
No wonder Lin Wei was so angry. The army suffered losses in front of the common people. I searched all over the world and couldn't find such a thing. Soldiers with guns and quality were killed by ordinary people. The reputation of the SS was simply lost to grandma's house. , obviously these Soviets did not know that the army they faced had long been synonymous with devil in Western Europe, and they actually thought that the SS would abide by the same disciplines as the Wehrmacht.
Lin Wei has always believed that as long as there is no problem with the army itself, no matter how disparate the number of people is, it will not be at a disadvantage in the confrontation with ordinary people. Guerrilla warfare can only be achieved when the frontal armed forces do not collapse. On the other hand, if the regular army is completely wiped out, relying on guerrillas organized by ordinary people may cause certain troubles, but as long as the occupiers are willing to pay a sufficient price, it will not be difficult to exterminate them. In other words, the underground resisters' advantage over the occupying forces is based on the fact that the occupying forces ignore you. If the regular army is really determined to compete with the guerrillas, it will be useless no matter how extraordinary the guerrillas are. .
Khimki, the headquarters of the SS Viking Division. The Viking Division, which has always been the main force of the SS, has obviously been much freer during this period. General Felix Stanel also had a rare opportunity during the war. Experienced a little bit of tranquility. But all this disappeared after the telegram just received.
"Shoot the prisoners? Three thousand people? Oh my God!" Admiral Felix Stanel didn't know what to do with this telegram.
"Herbert Gillette, what do you think?" General Felix Starnell asked. General Herbert Gillette was the most trusted person of General Starnell. He already had According to the news, after the Battle of Moscow, the SS will re-appoint two deputy commanders. General Starner and General Paul Hausser are almost certain to be selected. By then, the position of commander of the Viking Division will naturally be taken by Replaced by Lt. Gen. Herbert Gillette.