The Rise of the Third Reich

May 11, 1943, night.

On the front of the Soviet-German battlefield, from Leningrad in the north to the lower reaches of the Dnieper River in the south, a 1,600-kilometer-long front, fierce fighting broke out everywhere this night. Around Leningrad, although Marshal Kuchler, commander of the German Army Group Northern, received the order "allowed to abandon the siege" on the morning of the 10th, it was not until the night of the 11th that he wanted to seize Leningrad to make himself happy. Marshal Kuchler, whose name is recorded in history, still did not give up the siege. The German troops under his command also firmly blocked the Soviet Kalinin Front's relief troops in the Lyuban area southeast of Leningrad.

In Smolensk, 560 kilometers south of Leningrad, the battle is also reaching its climax. Although the 3rd Army of the Red Army was defeated in the Battle of Katyn Forest and Smolensk was surrounded on three sides, the Central Front of the Red Army was still determined to defend Smolensk.

On the nights of the 9th and 10th, the Central Front Army sent a large number of reinforcements (sent from Moscow) to Smolensk, setting up a posture of fighting the Germans in the city of Smolensk to the end.

Further south, at the junction of the four states of Smolensk, Bryansk, Mogilev and Gomel, a larger decisive battle between armored and tank armies was in full swing.

Judging from the battlefield situation map of the Soviet Supreme Command, the battle that broke out at the junction of the four states was roughly divided into two decisive battlefields, the north and the south. The north battlefield was in Klimovich (in Mogilev Oblast), with No. 13 Collective Farm as the battlefield. core. The 5th Tank Army of the Red Army started a decisive battle with a German army-level armored group heading north from Lechica. The 5th Tank Army of the Red Army is currently on the defensive.

During the day on the 11th, Red Air Force reconnaissance aircraft discovered two huge armored groups heading south in Smolensk, north of Klimovich, which were at least corps-level units. Their target is obviously the back of the 5th Tank Army!

About 150 kilometers south of the Klimovich battlefield is the Gomel battlefield, the southern battlefield of the joint battle. Different from the situation in the northern battlefield where the Red Army was on the defensive, in this area, the advantage seemed to be on the side of the Red Army. The 1st and 2nd Tank Armies were divided into two groups, passing through Dobrusz Forest and Vetka City, towards Gomel Oblast. The capital Gomel launched a pincer-type assault. Breakthroughs were made continuously on the night of May 9th and May 10th, and the attack has now reached near the city of Gomel. There are only more than 30 kilometers left on the east bank of the Dnieper River to achieve the initial goal of a successful campaign.

Victory seems close at hand!

The fighting on the Ukrainian battlefield also started on May 10. The German army launched forced crossing operations in many places along the Dnieper River. By the evening of May 11, they had made breakthroughs in many places such as Kiev, Kaniv, Dzerzhinsk on the Dnieper River, and Zaporozhye, and opened landing sites and bridgeheads.

The Ukrainian battlefield seems to have reached a climax overnight!

Stalin, the fatherly leader of the Soviet Union, withdrew his eyes from the huge military map, looked at Marshal Pavlov and Marshal Shaposhnikov who were standing nearby, and asked: "How is the German army's defense in Velikiy Luki? Can it be done?" Can it withstand the assault of the 3rd Tank Army?"

Tonight, Kalinin's left-wing group (including the 3rd Tank Army, the 2nd Assault Army and the 20th Army) will launch the Battle of Velikiy Luki. Hundreds of tanks/assault artillery will suddenly appear north of Velikiy Luki through several "forest roads" cut secretly, first cutting off the railway going south from Pskov. Then go straight to the city of Great Lucki, which is the storage center of German supplies and fuel (most of the fuel there has now been distributed to several armored corps, but there are still many other supplies and ammunition), and capture or surround it!

If this raid succeeds, not only will the German army on the Smolensk battlefield lose a large amount of supplies and ammunition, but the main logistics line will also be interrupted (since the German 4th Armored Group Army and the 3rd Armored Group Army have already joined forces, so Logistics will not be completely cut off), and supply difficulties are likely to occur!

In this way, not only the siege of Leningrad may be broken, but also the Battle of Smolensk may have a greater turn for the better.

"Comrade General Secretary, according to repeated investigations, the German army in the Velikiy Luki area is relatively empty. There are only infantry, cavalry and a small number of mechanized troops, and no armored groups. Therefore, it is impossible to withstand the assault of the 3rd Tank Army..." Shapo Shnikov paused and added, "However, it is still possible for them to defend Velikiy Lucki City. Because the Germans have been operating in Velikiy Lucki City for a long time and built a large number of fortifications around it.

If the troops of the 3rd Tank Army, 2nd Assault Army and 20th Army cannot seize Velikiy Luki at the first time, the German armored forces on the Smolensk front line may reinforce Velikiy Luki. "

Stalin nodded, Shaposhnikov's analysis was still very thorough. It is easy to raid Velikiy Luki and it is not difficult to cut off the railway lines, but it is difficult to capture the city of Velikiy Luki - after all, it is a siege! Moreover, in order to pass through the "Forest Road", it was impossible for Fejuninsky's army to carry many heavy artillery. The German army carried a large number of heavy artillery to attack Smolensk. Without the artillery advantage, the attacking force City or something, if it really doesn’t work, we can’t force it.

…

"Comrades, for the sake of the Soviet motherland, go for it! Ula! Ula! Ula..."

Lieutenant Pavlov shouted, raised his submachine gun, and ran wildly in a large forest full of towering ancient trees. Behind and around him were officers and soldiers of the 13th Guards Infantry Division and the 14th Guards Infantry Division, wearing yellow-green military uniforms like him, holding rifles and submachine guns.

Nearly 18,000 officers and soldiers, without artillery preparations or guidance from tanks/assault artillery, just took advantage of the night and set off from hidden positions like a tide, walked through nearly 5 kilometers of forest, and then garrisoned here. The White Russian cavalry troops on the edge of the forest launched a sea of ​​​​people attack!

"Ula! Ula! Ula..."

Colonel Sergey Bunyachenko, commander of the 1st Belarusian Cavalry Division, who had just taken off his clothes and was leaning on the cot, looking at photos of his wife and children by the dim oil lamp, suddenly heard a sound like a roaring wave in his ears. of shouts.

The former Red Army colonel who betrayed the cause of human liberation did not react for a moment. All his thoughts were immersed in the longing for his wife and children - he felt that they were suffering, maybe somewhere in Siberia, maybe in Kazakhstan. Stan. In the dark Gulag labor camp, I was tortured for the mistakes of my husband and father...

Whenever he thinks of this, Colonel Bunyachenko always feels regretful... Why not commit suicide?

"Colonel! That's not good!"

A young traitor suddenly rushed in from outside the tent and crawled. When he saw the colonel leaning on the cot, he did not salute. He just shouted: "The Red Army, the Red Army is coming!"

Only then did Colonel Bunyachenko realize that the bursts of "Ula" shouts in his ears were made by Red Army officers and soldiers.

"Why are you panicking?" Colonel Bunyachenko glared at the man, who turned out to be his adjutant. "Send my order and the entire division is ready for battle!"

Before Bunyachenko could finish his words, the piercing sound of gunshots like tearing linen came from outside.

This is the sound of MG42 machine gun firing!

Bunyachenko has deployed several machine gun positions near the camp of his troops. Now one or two of them are firing, which shows that the Red Army has arrived very close to the camp!

"Damn!" Bunyachenko felt the seriousness of the problem, and he immediately rushed out of his tent. At this time, the gunfire suddenly became intensive, crackling like fried beans, and occasionally there were grenades and mortars. The roar of exploding artillery shells.

The battle has been intense from the beginning! The troops around Bunyachenko were on high alert and were not under attack. After the shouts and gunfire rang out, the resting officers and soldiers immediately picked up their weapons and entered the battle.

However, Bunyachenko did not have many troops. He only had the headquarters of a cavalry division, a direct team and a cavalry regiment, totaling less than 2,000 people. But his opponent Feijuninsky invested a total of 18,000 people at one time, and they were all the elite of the Guards Infantry Division, directly overwhelming the opponent with a sea of ​​​​people.

The battle between the Red Army and the White Army took place on the edge of the large forest 30 kilometers north of Velikiy Luki. The winner was decided in a very short time without any suspense. Although the 2,000-strong White Army resisted tenaciously, they were quickly defeated. Most of them became martyrs of Tsarist Russia. A few escaped and went into the woods. Almost no one surrendered...

Bunyachenko himself fulfilled his oath to Her Majesty the Queen and fought to the death - his body was later recognized by an officer of the 13th Guards Infantry Division of the Red Army, which in turn led to the death of his wife and eldest son (who had reached the age of 16 years old) was shot in a Siberian labor camp!

After sweeping away this outpost in the large forest, the 13th and 14th Infantry Divisions of the Red Army Guards did not delay and immediately rushed to the railway line 20 kilometers away (not in the same direction as Velikiy Luki, Velikiy Luki to the south and the railway line to the west).

At the same time, dozens of T-34 tanks equipped with buckets transformed into "T-34 woodcutters", tearing down trees along the way to open roads, and drove out of the large woods in the shortest possible time. 10 kilometers of roads for tanks to pass through.

In the early morning of May 12, hundreds of tanks and more than 100,000 Red Army soldiers appeared on the railway line between Velikiy Luki and Pskov, like magic soldiers descending from the sky!