The decisive battle against the Third Reich

As the fighting in the school ended, the Soviet army realized that their attack would no longer have any effect, so they retreated like a tide.

And this retreat was not just the retreat of the 33rd Division, but the retreat of the Soviet Third Army and even the Fourth Army... After Pukaev realized that Holm could not be captured, he immediately reported the news Communicated to several divisions that had advanced to the west of Holm.

But it was too late to retreat.

It should be said that if they were just marching, they might still be able to make it in time. The Soviet army only penetrated more than a hundred kilometers west of Holm. At this time, the snow had begun to melt. Although the road was muddy, it was still much better than the one-meter-deep snow before. , based on a march of thirty kilometers a day, it would take three days to retreat to Holm.

The problem is that the German army will not let the Soviet troops withdraw so easily, so they sent small troops and bombers to bomb and occupy the high ground to intercept... As mentioned before, the test of the quality of an army is not to attack but to retreat. Troops with poor quality are in All sorts of chaos often ensue when retreating.

The Soviet army obviously belonged to the latter, so although they suffered heavy casualties in a few days, they only retreated thirty kilometers, and the further they went, the more difficult it became.

Finally, on the thirteenth day after the battle of the school prisoners, the first sound of ice breaking came from the Lovady River, followed by another sound, and soon the Lovady River became a small stream. .

Although the swamps around Holm have not completely thawed... the swamps are a mixture of mud and water and are still. The thawing will be slower than the river water. The melted snow water has made the swamps muddy everywhere, and the Soviet army had to withdraw from the swamps. East of Holm.

Pukayev's order to the divisions to the west was: "The swamps have thawed, and it is too late to withdraw. In order to avoid being surrounded and annihilated by the enemy, break them up into pieces and disperse into the forest to deal with the Germans!"

Several division commanders were not reconciled to this. One of them, Major General Terizhensky, objected: "Comrade Pukaev, even if the swamp thaws, we can launch a two-sided attack on Holm. With the huge strength advantage, The German invaders can also be driven out of Holm and the way back can be opened!”

"Believe me, this is nonsense!" Pukayev replied: "This is not a matter of troop strength. If it were as easy as you think, Holm would have been ours long ago!"

So several Soviet divisions had no choice but to blow up all their heavy equipment and flee to the woods to fight guerrillas.

But fighting guerrilla warfare is easier said than done, and the reason has something to do with the Soviet army itself... A large part of guerrilla warfare requires the support of the people, otherwise hiding in the mountains and forests for supplies will be a big problem.

The problem is that when the Soviet army withdrew to Moscow, they implemented a policy of fortifying the people and clearing the country. In addition, the war prevented the people from producing, so even the people themselves did not have enough food. This made the Soviet army retreat into the woods to fight guerrillas. The basis for survival, so in the end these divisions suffered heavy casualties in the German encirclement and suppression. Only a few hundred people in a division could survive, which was actually being encircled and annihilated.

Of course, these are all things for later.

As soon as the Soviet encirclement was withdrawn, Holm's German troops cheered like a festival.

But Qin Chuan quickly realized the danger at this time.

There is a saying that "we can share adversity but not happiness".

What this means is that when we share adversity, everyone has the same goals and pursuits, so it is easier to unite and fight for the same interests. But when happiness comes, especially when the shift from "sharing adversities" to "sharing blessings" occurs, you will relax psychologically, and everyone's thoughts will be different, so the original strength of unity will It will become a piece of loose sand again.

This is the case for Holm's German army. The whole army only has more than 5,000 people but there are more than 60 troops. Before, they were united for survival, but now... the problem of survival seems to have been solved, so soon There will be all kinds of ideas soon.

As expected, some scattered troops began to prepare their luggage and planned to withdraw from Holm, including Major General Hartmann.

"Colonel!" Major General Hartmann said to Colonel Slain: "I deeply admire your command in Holm during these months. You have done a good job with the officers and soldiers of the 1st Infantry Regiment. But Now... you know, the Soviets have withdrawn, and there is no need for us to stay in Holm..."

"No, General!" Qin Chuan interrupted Major General Hartmann: "We still have to defend here!"

"Sorry, Captain!" Major General Hartmann replied: "We did not receive an order to defend Holm, or... the defense of Holm is the task of your 1st Infantry Regiment, but not ours. Here It can be said that we were helping you defend before, so...you don’t need to thank us!”

"General!" Colonel Slain handed Major General Hartmann a telegram and said: "This is the order just issued by Marshal Kruger. If it was not your obligation to defend Holm before, then from now on Come on, it’s done!”

That was actually the order Colonel Sline asked Marshal Kruger to issue, in order to prevent Holm's power from dissipating.

Major General Hartmann took the telegram, looked at it, and replied with an unhappy face: "Well, it has been stationed for a few months, and of course it won't be a problem for longer!"

Then, everyone received a fatal order: "Everyone must stick to their posts until the order to retreat!"

It is inevitable that soldiers will have some rebellious emotions.

This is normal, because the German soldiers, surrounded by the Soviet army, faced the pressure of being crushed by the superior Soviet army at any time. They were isolated and helpless. Their mental pressure accumulated day by day and became heavier, which could destroy them at any time. reason.

They all survived.

At this time, Holm's door to the outside world of light suddenly opened. His wife, children, children, relatives and friends were all waiting for them at the back, waving to them. They could get these by just taking a step back, and even countless flowers and praises.

However, the order they received was to continue to stay where they were, and the only ones who could be evacuated were the wounded... So one by one they vented all the negative emotions they had suppressed in their hearts.

Of course, this is not a big problem.

Because Colonel Slain quickly gave the soldiers good news: "The Führer was always paying attention to the progress of the Battle of Holm, and he decided to reward every officer and soldier who defended Holm with a special medal. And hope that all of us can hold on to the last moment!”

"Long live the Führer!" the German soldiers cheered in unison.

(Note: This medal is the Holm Battle Coat of Arms)