Steel Soviet Union

"Obviously, the Germans have noticed the abnormal situation of our army's tank troops in the Leningrad theater, but for a while they were not sure where the organized heavy tank troops in our hands came from when they were already surrounded. In the end, the target of suspicion could only be fixed on the former site of the Kirov Tank Factory.”

Just as Zhukov inferred from his words at this moment, half of the armored division and two infantry divisions were completely defeated by the Soviet army after launching a partial counterattack. This indeed gave the German Army Group Northern that besieged the city of Leningrad a considerable opportunity. Shocking, the news was reported layer by layer, and in the end, even Marshal Loeb, the supreme commander of the German Army Group North, learned the news.

As early as World War I, he had established a good superior-subordinate relationship with Major General Fritz, who was just a second lieutenant at that time. Marshal Loeb, who served as the supreme commander of Army Group North, knew very well that he could bring Major General Fritz to his command. It is not easy to defeat the brave and intelligent German soldiers head-on. The Soviet troops that launched a local counterattack in the direction of Schlusselburg must be very problematic.

Sure enough, the summary report on the battle situation written by Major General Fritz himself and the final investigation results of the Army Group Northern staff confirmed Marshal Loeb's suspicions not long after.

The Soviet troops that launched a local counterattack in the direction of Schlusselburg actually invested more than 50 KV1 heavy tanks at one time. This was simply a disaster for the Soviet troops in Leningrad, which had already exhausted their tank troops and basically only had infantry left. It’s a fantasy!

The German attack force, which was ill-prepared for anti-tank operations, was caught off guard and was overwhelmed by this group of Soviet steel behemoths. In the ensuing position defense battle, the German mechanized mixed battle group commanded by Major General Fritz was even more attacked. The Red Navy naval gun attack on the Neva River, and the combination of many unfavorable and unexpected factors eventually led to a disastrous defeat in the direction of Schlusselburg.

Marshal Loeb, who had been reprimanded by Führer Hitler for "too slow advancement", took this very seriously.

The German army, which had already surrounded the Soviet legions in the ravaged city of Leningrad, finally managed to establish an armor advantage in the local theater by cutting off land transportation links. This large number suddenly appeared out of nowhere. The deeper meaning represented by the Soviet heavy armor is what Marshal Loeb is really worried about.

"The emergence of one Russian armored force means that there may be a second, third, or even an entire armored corps! As long as we don't find out where these Russian tanks come from, this This situation will continue! Stalin will not give up this cradle of the Bolsheviks easily, he will do everything possible to support it until they completely defeat us!"

Compared with the appearance of a powerful Soviet heavy tank unit, Marshal Loeb, as the commander of the entire army group, is more concerned about where this Soviet heavy tank unit came from. Finding the root of the problem and eradicating it are far more difficult than It is even more important to ostensibly eliminate the existence of this Soviet heavy tank unit.

"Perhaps they are heavy tanks smuggled from Lake Ladoga. Air Force reconnaissance reports have always mentioned that the Russians are using them to transport food and supplies. Our aircraft can only use part of their forces to block the lake during the day, but cannot at night. No one knew what the Russians were carrying on the lake when they took off."

The reasoning from his partner, the chief of staff, was not unreasonable. It was indeed a piece of cake for a large ship capable of transporting hundreds or thousands of tons of supplies to transport heavy tanks across the lake. What's more, Army Group North, which was unable to take off planes at night, had no idea what the situation was like on Lake Ladoga at night.

But Marshal Loeb, who thought it was somewhat possible when he first heard about it, quickly rejected this speculation after careful consideration.

The reason for its denial comes from an investigation report jointly submitted by internal intelligence personnel of the German army and the Finnish army who infiltrated the refugees in Leningrad.

"The famine among the people in the city has reached an unprecedented level. The fire in the Badaev warehouse burned all night and lasted for several days and nights and was difficult to extinguish. It was even enough to light up the night sky. There is a rumor among the refugees that there are at least several thousand tons of food supplies stored in that warehouse. According to rumors, everyone is worried about their food rations. The Air Force's incendiary bomb offensive is indeed effective. "

"The Soviet military political commissar in the city drives a propaganda vehicle among the ruins every day to use the loudspeaker on the vehicle to encourage people, but based on the current situation, it seems that the effect is very limited. After all, the daily bread supply has been limited so far It has been lowered five times in a row. The supply for the elderly, weak, women, children and those unable to participate in the labor force will be even less on this basis. In my personal opinion, it is not even enough to sustain life, let alone dragging such a hungry body. Go do something else."

"Last night, two guys who looked like gangsters tried to steal the few rations from a young mother and her three children. They were two young men in their twenties. They looked like they should It's because I'm hungry, it happened in the refugee settlement where I am."

"But what is surprising is that the other refugees around who were also hungry and about to collapse did not sit idly by. They attacked in groups and subdued the two gangsters who were trying to snatch food, and handed them over to the police. Soviet patrol passing by outside the building."

"I leaned against the window and vaguely heard that the Soviet instructor leading the team conducted a severe and brief interrogation of the two poor guys on the spot. Less than five minutes later, two shots were fired that were almost connected together. The next morning I saw two pools of blood on the corner of the alley downstairs, but there was only dust there before sunset, which was obviously related to the two gunshots last night."

"The will of the Soviet people is stronger than we thought. It seems that physical hunger in the short term cannot defeat the vast majority of them. This may be related to the Bolsheviks' brainwashing. But there is no doubt that these hunger The refugees still maintain the sanity and rationality of the vast majority of the people, as well as their strong will as always.”

Gently closing the intelligence summary that was handed over to the Northern Army Group Headquarters two days ago, the thoughtful Chief of Staff immediately tried to speak to Marshal Loeb, who had a dull expression in front of him.

"What you mean is that when the famine in the city is so severe, it is impossible for the Russians to use the Lake Ladoga transportation line, which can barely sustain the city's life, to transport heavy tank troops that can fully squeeze out the weight of tens of thousands of people. Heavy weapons are entering the city, right?"