The Rise of the Third Reich

"Still low on fuel?"

Hersman learned at the General Staff Operations Meeting held in the early morning of April 26 that the 4th Armored Group Army was facing a shortage of fuel.

This problem is actually caused by the muddy roads. The trucks used for logistics transportation cannot operate normally, which makes it difficult for the offensive troops to obtain fuel and supplies.

In order to alleviate the logistical difficulties of the 4th Armored Group, the German Air Force has even dispatched hundreds of Fokker 42 transport aircraft every day since April 23 to drop supplies and fuel. But even so, the heavily-equipped 4th Armored Army was still "not full."

"Can the Air Force dispatch more Fokker 42s?" Hersman first posed the problem to the Air Force.

Marshal Val T. Weaver, commander-in-chief of the Air Force, thought for a while and replied: "Now we can dispatch up to 600 sorties every day, and we can airdrop about 3,000 tons of supplies, ammunition and fuel. However, these airdrops cannot all be given to the 48th Armored Corps. The 15th Armored Corps, the 19th Armored Corps, the 47th Armored Corps and the 58th Armored Corps all need airdrops.”

"Give the 48th Armored Corps half of its airdrop quota," Hersman said. "The other armored corps can slow down their advance to save fuel."

Guderian shook his head, "1,500 tons is still not enough. After all, after strengthening 11 heavy armor battalions and 3 heavy tank destroyer battalions, the 48th Armored Corps has a total of more than 2,000 tanks/assault artillery, and most of them are heavy equipment.

In addition, the 48th Armored Corps also has a large number of tracked/half-tracked armored vehicles, which are also indispensable to support operations, so the total number of armored vehicles owned by the army may exceed 4,000. "

Heavy equipment and heavy consumption are definitely synonymous. After gathering 2,000 tanks and assault artillery, the 48th Armored Corps has extremely powerful attack capabilities, but its consumption is also an astronomical figure. Even if we give them the daily airdrop quota of 3,000 tons, there is no guarantee that they will be "full."

"Then leave all the medium tank battalions in Volokolamsk!" Hersman thought for a while and made a decision that surprised Guderian. "This will reduce the number of armored battalions by 6. The fuel should be enough."

"Marshal Reich, this will reduce about 400 tanks," a senior staff officer of the General Staff immediately raised objections. "The total number of tanks/assault artillery owned by the 48th Armored Corps will drop to 1,600, and the 48th Armored Corps will The opponent will dispatch at least 3,000 tanks/assault artillery.”

Hersman glanced at the person who raised the objection, who was Major General Stauffenberg, the second operations officer.

Hersman shrugged, "At most, one German tank can fight two Soviet tanks. There is no problem in that."

Hessmann, who has always been cautious, now seems confident, but his confidence is not unreasonable.

Because on the Soviet-German battlefield in another time and space, the German armored forces fought with fewer troops most of the time. If there could be an armored force ratio of about 1:2 to fight the Soviet army, I am afraid that all the German generals would wake up laughing in their dreams.

And more than 500 of these 1,600 German tanks/assault guns are still powerful E-50s and "Cheetahs". In addition, these two tanks/assault guns also have a trump card that most Soviets don't know about.

"However, the total strength is still a bit low." Hessmann decided to reduce the number of tanks invested and at the same time decided to increase the infantry assigned to the 48th Armored Corps. "The infantry has been in the battle since April 5. It has been proven to be effective against enemy tanks, so increase the infantry assigned to the 48th Armored Corps. If motorized infantry cannot be mobilized, some paratroopers and infantry will be deployed.”

Hersmann has always attached great importance to the construction of paratroopers, and continuously expanded several paratrooper divisions in 1942 and 1943. Currently, the German Wehrmacht Air Force already has 7 paratrooper divisions. However, these paratrooper divisions do not necessarily have to drop from the sky. In many cases, they play the role of light infantry and are active in areas where heavy troops cannot penetrate.

Because the roads were muddy and not suitable for the actions of motorized infantry divisions, Manstein assigned General Hoth's 4th Armored Group 3 elite paratrooper divisions and 2 ordinary infantry corps (which commanded 7 infantry divisions). ).

The decision to transfer infantry, heavy armor battalions, and heavy tank destroyer battalions to supplement the 48th Armored Corps was quickly made.

However, the mobilization of thousands of armored vehicles (heavy armored battalions and heavy tank destroyer battalions also have many tracked/half-tracked armored support vehicles) and tens of thousands of infantry requires at least 24 hours.

On the 27th, the 48th Panzer Corps of the German Wehrmacht will march towards Klin!

At the same time, the Soviets were also busy deploying troops to deploy defenses and prepare for the tank battle that was related to the survival of the communist cause.

After assigning the Northern Front Tank Assault Group to the battle-hardened General Katukov, Zhukov found Marshal Pavel Alexeev of the Armored Tank Corps, who was as famous as Katukov in the Red Army. Chi. Rotmistrov.

This man was also the tank brigade commander when the world revolution broke out, and his resume was similar to Katukov's. However, he had much better luck on the battlefield. He first fought a smooth battle on the Polish battlefield, and later participated in the First Battle of Minsk (Battle of Belarus), the Second Battle of Leningrad and the Defense of Kalinin. War (that is, the battle in which Paulus's 6th Armored Army marched towards Moscow in the autumn of 1942 and was blocked north of the city of Kalinin), he was basically one of the few victorious generals in the Soviet army. Therefore, he received the rank of Marshal of the Armored Tank Corps in early 1944.

However, the reason why Zhukov valued this general who had a big round head, liked to wear a pair of black-rimmed round glasses, and had a mustache that looked like a big red deer in the Japanese Army was not because of his "constant victory record." It is because he, like General Katukov, is one of the few generals in the Soviet army who truly masters the essence of the use of armored tank troops.

In the early morning of the 27th, Zhukov, who had been squinting for several hours in a GAZ-61 military off-road vehicle that drove very bumpyly (actually a car with off-road capabilities), arrived at Rotmistrov's headquarters. The former enemy headquarters in the small town of Istria.

Unlike Klin, which was nearly turned into rubble by German planes, Istria, located on the Moscow-Riga railway line, was not heavily bombed, and the railways and roads extending from downtown Moscow can also be used normally.

Therefore, the mobilization and deployment of the Soviet "Southern Front Tank Group" is much easier than the "Northern Front Tank Group". When Zhukov arrived in Istria, on the road north from the small town, large groups of vehicles and infantry were moving forward in an endless stream! "Katyusha" rocket launchers, 152mm howitzers and 122mm cannons pulled by strong draft horses, a large number of ammunition trucks, and SU-57 tank destroyers, almost formed a long queue on the road!

In order to ensure the victory of the "Tank Battle", the Soviet army really did its best to mobilize troops. Not only were two powerful Guards tank armies mobilized from Moscow, but also a large number of mechanized/motorized infantry, including hundreds of SU-57 tank destroyers that had just been modified.

According to the plan drawn up by Zhukov, Pavlov and others, if the night assault of the two Soviet tank clusters failed, then a large number of infantry and artillery would be thrown into the attack together with the tank clusters, using overwhelming numbers and firepower to forcefully Crush the German armored forces!

Zhukov got out of the car and walked into Rotmistrov's headquarters surrounded by staff and guards. Marshal Rotmistrov was looking at the map head to head with Rybalko, commander of the 3rd Guards Tank Army. The phones around him were ringing non-stop, all from the troops reporting on their mobilizations. Seeing Marshal Zhukov walking in, Rotmistrov and Rybalko were both surprised and quickly gave Zhukov a military salute.

Zhukov also returned the military salute, then looked at Rotmistrov with bright eyes and asked: "How is the trap set up? Are you confident in defeating the Germans?"

"Comrade Chief of General Staff, the mobilization of tank clusters has basically been completed, but the three infantry corps and eight tank destroyer brigades are not yet in place." Rotmistrov adjusted his glasses and replied, "But fortunately the Germans There was no action all day on the 26th, so we still have plenty of time."

General Rybalko looked impatient and asked: "Comrade Chief of General Staff, if the Germans don't attack Klin, how should we attack him?"

Zhukov smiled, walked to the map table, and pointed with his finger in the direction of Kalinin City on the map: "With an entire front army as bait, how could the Germans not rush into the trap? If the Kalinin Front Army, the Central Front Army, and the reserve When the front armies join forces, the total strength of the Red Army around Moscow is almost 3 million. How many people are the Germans prepared to die for Moscow? "

He patted the map: "So even if Hessmann sees through our plot, he will still take the risk and send out the most elite armored forces. As long as we can annihilate them, the Germans will not be able to defeat them in the winter of 1944." We will surround Moscow before arriving. In this way, the war of attrition between us and the Germans can be postponed until 1945... I believe the Japanese will not be able to hold on for that long!"

"Can't Japan hold on for too long?" Rotmistrov felt a little strange. He is currently the deputy commander of the armored forces and works in the headquarters. He knows a lot of information, but none of them indicates that Japan will not be able to hold on. 1945.

"Yes!" Zhukov nodded, "Without a doubt...because American submarines have dealt a huge blow to Japan's maritime transportation lines, and starting from April, the activity of American submarines will increase significantly! So! The Germans would never miss an opportunity to defeat us in 1944."

Before he finished speaking, a staff officer loudly reported: "Report, the position of the 1st Red Flag Army of the Reserve Front in Telvivo is currently being violently shelled and bombed!"

Zhukov laughed: "It's started! The prey is about to rush towards the trap!"