Von Kruger was very angry. There were hundreds of thousands of Axis troops in Smolensk, and they were all defeated overnight. Which Soviet army did it? With such a powerful combat capability, could it be the Soviet Union? 1st Assault Army
However, the 1st Assault Army is clearly in the direction of Moscow. Apart from the 1st Assault Army, it seems that the Soviets do not have many effective combat troops in the direction of Moscow. Moreover, no large Soviet troops have been detected from the air moving towards Smolensk. Signs, so who fought this battle
Up to this point, von Kluge was still in the fog.
Judging from the intelligence, the number of enemy troops should not be large, that is, the size of a brigade. Von Kruger could not imagine that a brigade of Soviet troops actually captured the Stalin where hundreds of thousands of Axis troops had gathered. Molensk, are those hundreds of thousands of troops just decorations? Even if there are hundreds of thousands of ducks, we can’t catch them all in one night!
But von Krueger also wanted to understand one thing. No matter which Soviet army did it, he must immediately send troops to attack Smolensk and recapture this strategically important rear area.
Which troops will be sent back to support
Von Kruger finally decided to send the most powerful skeleton division back to Smolensk.
"What? Send the Skeleton Division back to support? Now the Skeleton Division's attack is going very smoothly. If we continue like this, we will be able to capture Moscow in a short time. Isn't it a pity to send the Skeleton Division back at this time?" said an officer.
Von Kruger said: "If we cannot recapture Smolensk in one fell swoop, let alone capture Moscow, our retreat has been lost, and it will be impossible to retreat safely by then. Therefore, return reinforcements Smolensk must be the most powerful force."
Guderian and Hoppner also expressed their intention to choose von Kruger. At this time, a powerful force must be sent back to help quickly defeat the enemies in Smolensk and protect the logistics line.
In addition to the Skeleton Division, von Kluge also dispatched the 9th Infantry Division and the 44th Infantry Division of the 6th Group Army, which have strong combat capabilities, so that these two divisions can follow the Skeleton Division to return reinforcements in order to recapture Smoleng. Sk.
The Skeleton Division was established during the war between Germany and Poland. At that time, the German head of state felt the need to expand the SS, so he formed a group of new SS divisions, the most powerful of which was the later famous Skeleton Division.
The SS Totenkopf Division was formally established, with Theodor Eicke as division commander. This tough and cruel Nazi told his subordinates on his first day in office: "At every moment on the battlefield, we must treat our enemies ruthlessly and never let down our skull and crossbones badge."
Since its establishment, the Skeleton Division has participated in a series of German battles on the Eastern Front and made great achievements. Its famous battle is the siege of Demyansk.
This battle can be called a major battle of elite SS troops in the history of World War II. In addition to the Skeleton Division, the German SS participating in the battle also included the Imperial Division, the Viking Division, and the 9th SS "Hohenstaufen" Panzer Division, Adolf Hitler's Guards Armored Division, the 7th SS "Prinz Eugen" Voluntary Mountain Division, the 11th SS "Nordic" Voluntary Panzergrenadier Division, etc.
It is said that the strength of the SS is indistinguishable, but if they are put on the same battlefield to compete, their superiority will be immediately reflected. During the siege of Demyansk, the Skeleton Division's combat effectiveness was much higher than that of the main forces of other SS armies. Of course, their casualties were also the most serious, with the attrition being almost half of the entire division.
The heavily encircled Skeleton Division relied on its excellent strategies and tactics and its tenacious combat effectiveness to break through the Soviet encirclement at the cost of more than half of its casualties, defeating the Soviet army's intention to annihilate the German army. This textbook breakout battle made the Skeleton Division famous. Its powerful combat style caused hundreds of thousands of casualties to the Soviet army, making it one of the most troublesome SS units for the Soviet army.
After the battle, the Skeleton Division won unprecedented honors in the German army and received the "Demyansk Battle Commemorative Armband" personally issued by Hitler. Through this battle, the Skeleton Division became famous in one battle, and of course it was destined to be on the Soviet army's "blacklist" for violent retaliation.
The reason why the Skeleton Division formed a deadly feud with the Soviet army was at the most intense moment of the siege of Demyansk. After the Skeleton Division failed to encircle it once, the Soviet army captured eleven SS soldiers. In order to attack The morale of the Skeleton Division was so high that the Soviet internal guards shot all eleven SS soldiers.
After the Skeleton Division learned about it, they burned two Soviet prisoners alive in front of the Soviet soldiers at the forward position. At this point, the Skeleton Division and the Soviet army became mortal enemies, which would not end until the end of the battle.
In one battle, ten tanks of the Skeleton Division were surrounded by more than a hundred Soviet tanks. Facing a Soviet army that was several times their own, they refused to surrender. They used machine guns to shoot the shells and sabers to shoot the bullets. The Skeleton Division's sturdy combat methods caused the Soviet army to suffer heavy losses again. They destroyed 10 tanks at the cost of them. The Soviet army has nearly 80 tanks. Every time the Soviet army encountered the Skeleton Division, it had to pay a huge price.
Such a ruthless and fierce Skeleton Division made the Soviet army gnash their teeth in hatred. Because of this, there is an unwritten rule in the Skeleton Division, "If you encounter the Soviet army, even if you die, you will die under the enemy's bullets. Falling into the hands of the Soviet army may be more uncomfortable than death."
At this time, Theodore Eicke was leading the Skeleton Division on a rampage in Moscow, destroying Soviet positions one after another. When he learned that he was asked to lead his troops back and retake Smolensk, Eicke was very dissatisfied. , Moscow is already in sight, and now we are going to attack Smolensk. Do we want to give up the glory of capturing Moscow to others
However, Eicke still obeyed von Kruger's order and led the Skeleton Division towards Smolensk. Behind him were the 9th Infantry Division and the 44th Infantry Division of the 6th Army, three The divisions formed a "pin" shape and headed towards Smolensk. However, since the Skeleton Division was a mechanized armored division and the remaining two divisions were infantry divisions, there was a gap in speed and the distance gradually widened.
The Skeleton Division rushed towards Smolensk in one swift movement.
At this time, Xu Rui did not realize that a real test was about to come...
At this time, Xu Rui was sitting in Vlasov's original office, drinking coffee leisurely, feeling very comfortable. But in one night, he led a group of troops composed of prisoners, women, workers, and remnants of soldiers. Defeating hundreds of thousands of Axis troops and capturing Smolensk, what could be more exciting than this
Xu Rui was drinking coffee and thinking about what to do next. At this moment, Leng Tiefeng said: "Old Xu, this Smolensk is the rear supply base of the Germans. Most of the entire Army Group Center All supplies are here, there are countless warehouses, weapons and ammunition are all available, but unfortunately we don’t have enough manpower, otherwise we would be able to equip an army of hundreds of thousands."
Xu Rui said: "Veteran, do you think we can stop the German counterattack?"
Leng Tiefeng was stunned, thought for a moment and said: "With our current strength alone, we cannot stop the German counterattack no matter what."
"So, we're afraid we won't be able to use these supplies."
"Can't use it? Should I give it back to the Germans?" Leng Tiefeng said.
Xu Rui said: "Veteran, please go down immediately and take away all the weapons and ammunition you can. If you can't take away, put bombs on them. We must be ready to evacuate at any time."
"What? Lao Xu, you don't want to defend Smolensk anymore?" Leng Tiefeng asked.
Xu Rui said: "It's not that I don't want to defend, but I can't defend even if I want to. We only have seven or eight thousand people in total. After a night of fighting, we lost more than a thousand. The newly added more than a thousand puppet troops are all a group of people." There is no guarantee that something will go wrong at a critical moment. In this case, as long as the German army dispatches a capable force, it will be difficult for us to defend Smolensk, and we must be prepared for the worst."
"But if this happens, Smolensk will probably turn into a pile of ashes." Leng Tiefeng said.
"What does that matter? It's not our Chinese city." Xu Rui said calmly.
Leng Tiefeng glanced at Xu Rui in surprise. After thinking about it, this was really the truth. He was just fighting for the Soviets. As for how the fight would turn out, it had nothing to do with him. He was not in China. He could let it go. Fight without worries.
"Commander, Zhukov is calling!" A signal soldier came in.
Diana on the side took the telegram and read it. When Xu Rui heard it, Zhukov encouraged himself in the telegram, but at the same time reminded himself that a German army of tens of thousands was marching towards Smolensk. The troops included the 9th Infantry Division and the 44th Infantry Division of the 6th Army, as well as the most elite Totenkopf division of the SS.
"What? Ike's Skeleton Division is here?" Xu Rui couldn't help but be surprised. The Skeleton Division is the most powerful unit in the SS, and it is also an armored unit. It once single-handedly defeated hundreds of thousands of Soviet troops. And calmly respond, the combat effectiveness of such a unit is far beyond that of ordinary German troops, and it is even more incomparable to the combat effectiveness of ordinary servant armies of the Axis powers.
If the Skeleton Division really arrives, Smolensk will definitely not be able to defend it.
Thinking of this, Xu Rui said: "Veteran, it seems that we really have to prepare for the worst."
Leng Tiefeng had also heard of the Skeleton Division, and thought to himself that it seemed that the Germans were really going all out this time. If they fought hard, they would definitely fail. They could only implement a scorched earth policy as Xu Rui said. No matter how you put it, it was impossible. Leave Smolensk's supplies to the Germans.
Xu Rui said: "Veteran, you should immediately organize people to arrange explosives for all warehouses. Kosygin and Safin, you two are going to lead troops to stop the Germans and lure the Germans into the city bit by bit..."
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