The Rise of the Third Reich

On the afternoon of May 2, two contradictory messages reached the Supreme Command of the Soviet Red Army.

One piece of news is that the guerrillas operating in Pskov have discovered that a large number of Tiger tanks are heading south from Velikiy Luki - not only Zoya's report, but also many guerrillas like Zoya who are begging for lofty ideals. Female soldiers also reported the sighting of Tiger tanks.

The cumulative number of German heavy armor battalions discovered in the report has exceeded 20!

There must be some overlap, but it is basically certain that the German army has concentrated a large number of armored forces in the Pskov Oblast.

Another piece of news is that the German armored forces that broke through from the southern line of the Belarusian Bulge captured Lechcha on the west bank of the Dnieper River in the early morning of May 2, and even took advantage of the opportunity to cross the Dnieper River!

According to reports from the 13th Army (part of the Western Front), the 50th Infantry Division and a battalion of the 8th Tank Destroyer Brigade (with about 20 tanks, tank destroyers and assault guns) were fighting with the invading troops outside Lechica. The Germans fought fiercely for 8 hours (actually only 4 hours), repelled 6 enemy attacks (actually only 3), and finally the Germans invested a group of hundreds of Tiger tanks (actually a group of More than a hundred Grizzly assault guns, Panzer IV tanks and Rhino tank destroyers) broke through the Red Army's defense line and broke into the urban area of ​​Lechica...

If the report of the 13th Army of the Red Army is true, then the German troops that broke through from the south of the Belarusian salient are probably the main force. And looking at their breakthrough speed - from the early morning of April 30th to the morning of May 2nd, they broke through two lines of defense of the Red Army and advanced about 100 kilometers - they also have the momentum of a main force!

"There is no doubt that the main force of the German army is on the southern front," Pavlov looked at the scary black arrows on the map and said to Chief of General Staff Shaposhnikov. "The breakthrough was too fast. It was advanced in two days. 100 kilometers and also crossed the Dnieper River... It seems that the goal of this Lutheran army is to outflank the Dnieper River defense line where the main force of the Southwest Front is stationed! "

"But the fighting on the northern route was also fierce." Shaposhnikov shook his head. "Although the Northern Lutheran Army's progress is slower, they encountered our main force... The 3rd Army and the 13th Army can It’s not the same thing.”

The 3rd Army of the Red Army is the main force, with the 4th Infantry Army, the 11th Mechanized Army, the 68th Infantry Army, 2 tank destroyer brigades and 1 rocket launcher brigade. Among them, the 4th Infantry Army and the 11th Mechanized Army were both elite troops who had fought in the Polish Campaign, and there were 5 tank regiments under the 11th Mechanized Army. Therefore, the combat effectiveness of the 3rd Army is not comparable to that of the 13th Army.

In addition, behind the 3rd Army, there is the 5th Tank Army and the 22nd Infantry Army that can reinforce at any time. Therefore, the German 4th Panzer Army did indeed hit the main force of the Soviet army. It was a completely tough battle, and the progress was naturally slow.

"Could it be that both the north and south routes are heavily armed groups?" Pavlov crossed his arms and frowned as he looked at the situation on the map. "If the Germans' northern and southern routes are heavily armed, then their target is the salient. ...We should probably use the Bryansk Front to delay the German Army's Southern Route, and then concentrate the main force of the Kalinin Front, the Western Front, and the main Reserve Front to encircle and annihilate the German Army's Northern Route."

"Encirclement and annihilation?" Shaposhnikov was stunned when he heard Pavlov's suggestion. "Comrade Pavlov, do you really think we are capable of encircling and annihilating an army consisting of multiple armored divisions and panzergrenadier divisions?" The main force of the German army?"

"This..." Pavlov fought against the German army in Warsaw. At that time, he could not surround Warsaw with overwhelming force, let alone now?

"Besides, the German army still has 600,000 to 1 million troops around Leningrad!" Shaposhnikov suddenly pointed to Leningrad on the map. "Although Leningrad is six to seven hundred kilometers away from Smolensk, because there are railway lines available, the Germans can quickly mobilize the army surrounding Leningrad to the Velikiy Luki-Smolensk line . In this way, they will not be at a disadvantage in terms of numbers, so how can we fight a war of annihilation? "

When Pavlov heard Shaposhnikov's words, his eyes suddenly lit up and he clapped his hands suddenly, "Comrade Chief of General Staff, if we can really mobilize the German troops surrounding Leningrad to go south, our purpose is to relieve the siege of Leningrad. Isn’t it accomplished?”

"It has been achieved." Shaposhnikov shook his head, "But what will be the consequences once the 600,000 to 1 million German troops around Leningrad join the Bolshoi Luki-Smolensk battlefield?"

Pavlov sighed softly, "Does that need to be said? If the German Army Group Northern moves south, we will be prepared to fight a battle to defend Moscow!" He paused for a moment and then said: "But... ...Leningrad was saved! This heroic city is more important than Belarus and Smolensk region combined!”

The meaning of his words was very clear. Belarus and Smolensk were abandoned in exchange for Leningrad's relief. After the siege of Leningrad and the failure of Smolensk, we must prepare for the defense of Moscow.

Because Smolensk is only 350 kilometers away from Moscow!

"But Comrade General Secretary..." Shaposhnikov lowered his voice and looked around as he spoke.

He and Pavlov were in a map room dedicated to them, with no one else around.

"The situation will naturally develop to that point," Pavlov whispered. "We only need to remind Comrade Zhukov of the possibility of a decisive battle with the main force of the German army in the Velikiy Luki area... I believe that with Comrade Zhukov's ability, The Kalinin Front will not suffer much losses."

In other words, the Western Front is an abandoned son!

The Red Army Chief of General Staff Shaposhnikov nodded silently. Now he could only watch the Western Front being sacrificed, and could do nothing or say anything. In fact, Shaposhnikov can't think of a better way now...

…

Solzhenitsyn went to the battlefield again, taking his artillery reconnaissance company with only half of the people left, and returned to the trench where the artillery fire was flying - in fact, he did not go to the battlefield, but the battlefield went to him! Although the 4th Infantry Corps of the Red Army he belonged to was an elite one, it was still beaten to pieces by German (French) artillery in the battle on April 30, and was defeated that night. On May 1st, Zhimachenko, commander of the 13th Army, arranged to garrison at preset positions outside Demidov (these positions were all built in the months since the autumn of 1942). Unexpectedly, not long after the troops entered the position, the Germans broke through!

At around 3 o'clock in the afternoon on May 2, a burst of German shelling had just ended, and Solzhenitsyn had just emerged from the solid anti-gun bunker when the sad and melodious whine of the hand-cranked air defense siren sounded immediately.

What appeared in sight was a group of low-flying light blue fighter planes. Solzhenitsyn raised his binoculars and tried to identify what type of aircraft they were. He quickly recognized them as French Breguet attack aircraft (not the models at the beginning of the war, but complete units equipped with two 1,600-horsepower 14-cylinder Rhône air-cooled engines. They had a sturdy With its armor and powerful firepower, it can fly at low altitudes despite Soviet ground firepower), and is also escorted by German Fokker Zero D-type fighter jets.

Just when Solzhenitsyn was about to get back into the bunker, someone suddenly cheered loudly in the trench. He turned his head and saw several Yak-1 fighter jets with light blue bellies and camouflage paint flying from the south. . Their bodies were light and vigorous, and their speed seemed to be very fast. They passed over the position in the blink of an eye, and the red star emblem under the wings flashed with exciting light. Solzhenitsyn also discovered that one of the planes had a pattern of white lilies painted next to the red star under the wing.

"Lilia! It's Lilia here!" Solzhenitsyn and several of his subordinates cheered at the same time.

Lilia, the air goddess of war who piloted the Jacques War Eagle painted with white lily patterns, was the darling of the Red Army propaganda department, and there were almost no Red Army soldiers who did not know about her. And this petite and sweet girl is also the goddess in the hearts of many Red Army soldiers.

Because of the arrival of the "goddess", many soldiers in the trenches joined in the cheers, and some even waved their arms excitedly. I saw Lilia's plane and several other Yak-1 planes rushing towards the German fleet with a pleasant buzzing sound, and opened fire first, firing 20mm artillery shells and 12.7mm machine gun shells.

Since it was daytime, only the traces of tracer bullets glowing orange could be vaguely discerned, heading straight for the German (French) fleet ahead. Unfortunately, the enemy is always more cunning and difficult to deal with than what the propaganda department said. The French and German aircraft in the sky swung their wings and turned sharply to dodge, easily dodging the first wave of shots from the Soviet aircraft. This made Solzhenitsyn and others feel a little bad - starting from the 30th, the sky seemed to be occupied by Nazi enemies, and the majestic appearance of the Red Air Force War Eagle was almost invisible...

At this time, the battle in the sky took a new turn. The French Breguet aircraft scattered in all directions and disappeared, while the German Fokker Zero and the Soviet Yak-1 aircraft began to pull at the same time. Lifting, seems to want to take advantage of high altitude.

But Solzhenitsyn soon discovered to his disappointment that although the Yak-1's fuselage looked smaller and lighter than the Fokker Zero, it seemed to be half a beat slower when climbing. The opponent quickly occupied the height, and the sound of machine guns and cannons sounded like fried beans. The leading aircraft, which seemed to be piloted by Lilia, quickly made a roll maneuver, but still could not avoid the Fokker. The Zero's powerful firepower (six MG131 aviation machine guns) immediately fell into a downpour of bullets.

With great frustration, the Red Army officers and soldiers watched the plane fall dragging smoke, but fortunately, the plane did not fall much before a white umbrella flower appeared in the sky.