The Rise of the Third Reich

When the reactionary leaflets fell from the sky, Kuznetsov, the second secretary of Leningrad City, was bidding farewell to his wife Zinaida Dmitrievna and several others at a long-distance bus station next to a dense forest in the northeast of the city. Children - Kuznetsov's wife and children are of course on the evacuated list. This is not because Kuznetsov has any selfish motives, but to show his absolute loyalty to the central government.

All senior party, government and military cadres who stayed in Leningrad must now send their wives and children to Moscow!

Therefore, leaving Kuznetsov’s wife and children today were hundreds of family members of senior party, political and military cadres in Leningrad. In addition, a group of Red Navy family members, cadres, military academy cadets, naval factory personnel and sailors in Leningrad (Kronstadt) also left today together with the families of senior party, government and military cadres.

When the German planes came to drop leaflets just now, everyone hid in the woods. Although the German plane left at this moment, the people did not come out of the woods because the convoy to pick them up had not arrived yet. Instead, he continued to stay in the woods and said goodbye or something else.

Kuznetsov was just about to say a few more words to his wife - he always had an ominous premonition in his heart, as if the separation from his wife would become an eternal farewell! So he wanted to talk to his wife more while he could still talk to her.

But looking at his lover who had been with him for many years, he didn't know what to say at this time.

And at this moment, he suddenly heard someone discussing reactionary things nearby!

"My dear, New York is so prosperous and rich, better than Leningrad and Moscow. If I have the chance, I really want to take you with me."

"Better than Leningrad and Moscow? But I heard that it is a paradise for the rich and a hell for the poor. We don't have much money. How can we live in New York?"

"A poor man's hell? It doesn't look like it to me...but there should be a lot of rich people there. The streets are full of cars, and there are often traffic jams."

"Traffic jam?"

"It's just that there are long lines of cars on the road, crawling slower than a turtle... Ah, that's a very wide road, wider than Nevsky Prospekt."

"Really? I must go and see if I have the chance..."

The person speaking should be a young man and woman. Listening to the content of their conversation, Kuznetsov knew that they must be from the Red Navy. After the siege of Leningrad was lifted, relevant personnel of the Red Navy became a headache for Kuznetsov and the Leningrad internal security department.

Because many Red Navy personnel who had been to New York entered Leningrad, these people not only brought many items produced in the United States, but also preached the prosperity of New York and the wealthy living standards of the American people.

How dare you spread rumors that there are millions of cars in New York, that Americans have an open supply of food, that they don’t need rations to eat and drink, and that they don’t need tickets to buy various industrial products!

When Kuznetsov and Abakumov, who had just arrived in Leningrad, heard these rumors, they immediately decided to set up a special task force to investigate. But before the task force started working, the anti-GM elements spreading rumors were about to go to Molotovsk. And he has to go with Kuznetsov’s wife and children - in fact, Kuznetsov’s wife and children still need the protection of these anti-GM elements of the Red Navy to reach Kirovsk safely...

So now Kuznetsov can only pinch his nose and endure the reactionary remarks when he hears them with his own ears... It is impossible to leave the Red Navy personnel to carry out counter-revolutionary campaigns!

Because the Red Navy is about to be dispatched to fight alongside the US Navy, how can it have time to eliminate counter-revolutionaries at this time? The navy is not the army, it just needs to be able to walk. If all the people in the navy are purged of rebels, where can we find so many people to sail the ship in a short while?

Therefore, Kuznetsov could only write a report to Stalin, and at the same time suggested that Stalin settle the accounts at the appropriate time.

Kuznetsov, who was thinking about how to write a report, suddenly saw his deputy in Leningrad, Pyotr Sergeyevich Popkov, walking quickly with a piece of paper in his hand that he picked up from nowhere. The flyer came.

"Comrade Secretary, look at this." Popkov handed the leaflet to Kuznetsov.

"This is..." Kuznetsov took the leaflet and looked at it, his face immediately turned ugly. Of course the leaflet he saw was the same as the leaflet Kaminsky saw!

"Comrade Secretary," Popkov said in a low voice, "the problem seems to be very serious now!"

"Not many people will be fooled by them," Kuznetsov said. "We should believe that most Leningraders love the Soviet motherland."

"It's not this," Popkov said, "it's that the enemy knows our situation very well, and all of a sudden..."

It hit the nail on the head right away!

Kuznetsov already understood that what Popkov meant was...the enemy knew the situation in Leningrad very well, which meant that there must be someone of theirs inside the city of Leningrad, and the level might not be low, maybe even one group!

"We must speed up the reorganization of the Leningrad militia (which has actually been reorganized into the regular Red Army)," Kuznetsov said. "When I get back to the city, I will discuss it with Comrade Vlasov and Comrade Abakumov. this matter."

…

"Reorganize the militia?"

At the Leningrad Front Army Headquarters, Vlasov and Abakumov (who was also a member of the Military Committee) heard Kuznetsov's suggestion and looked at each other with helpless expressions.

"What's the matter?" Kuznetsov saw the strange expressions on the two people and asked, "Isn't now the time for reorganization?"

Vlasov shook his head and said with a wry smile: "The troops transferred to Leningrad now are all from Siberia..."

"So what if you're from Siberia?" Kuznetsov didn't understand.

“Many of them turned out to be labor reform prisoners!”

"Re-education through labor prisoner? Are...criminal prisoners?" Kuznetsov asked.

Abakumov smiled bitterly: "Where are there so many criminal prisoners in the Soviet Union? There are political prisoners in the capital!"

Beria's confidant now feels like he has fallen into a pit of fire! Before he came to Leningrad, he did not know that a considerable part of the reinforcements sent by the Supreme Command to the Leningrad Front came from concentration camps.

Since General Vlasov had just become the commander of the Front Army, his words to the Supreme Command did not have enough weight (the Kalinin Front Army belonged to Zhukov, and the Commander of the Central Front Army, Yereomenko, was Stalin’s confidant. The newly-established Reserve Front Army Commander Klimosovsky is Pavlov's man), so he can only bite the bullet and accept these "bad elements" - having reinforcements is better than having no reinforcements, right?

"Then we have to organize them!" Kuznetsov stamped his feet, "break up the two groups and mix them together, and then organize them into each infantry division in units of battalions or regiments. Each infantry division can be organized into up to 2 An unreliable group... This should make it more reliable, right?"

General Vlasov nodded, "That's all we can do... Fortunately, in the upcoming Fourth Battle of Leningrad, our Leningrad Front Army is not the main force. The battle is mainly fought by the Kalinin Front Army. As long as they win, we have enough time to adjust.”

Leningrad is unlikely to be attacked by the German army... This is the unanimous judgment of the Soviet Supreme Command, and it is also Vlasov's view.

However, Marshal Kuchler, commander of Germany's Northern Army Group, had a different view.

In the first few days of June, the strength in Marshal Kuchler's hands suddenly swelled. Every day, a large number of troops and equipment are transported by rail to Pskov or the outskirts of Leningrad.

By June 6, the main force that Küchler was looking forward to, the 48th Armored Corps commanded by Hasso von Manteuffel, had all arrived outside Leningrad - this Armored Corps had the first The 21st Panzer Division, the 22nd Panzer Division, the 10th Panzergrenadier Division and the 11th Panzergrenadier Division are very powerful.

While the 48th Armored Corps arrived outside Leningrad, Küchler also transferred the 19th Motorized Corps (comprising the 9th Panzergrenadier Division, the Hungarian 1st Armored Division and the elite) originally stationed near the city of Pskov. The 1st Infantry Division) was also transferred to the vicinity of Leningrad, and organized the 48th Armored Corps and the 19th Motorized Corps into a combat group, and also recommended Tipelskich, the original chief of staff of Army Group North. Served as the commander of the group.

"Kurt," Kuchler said to the newly appointed combat group commander Tipelskich on the afternoon of June 6, "we must strike first! The situation around the Leningrad battlefield determines who If you strike first, you can gain a certain advantage. I estimate that the Soviets are also preparing for an offensive. Their attack direction is likely to be near Pskov... and we currently only have infantry near Pskov, so You must be the first to attack from Lyuban (southeast of Leningrad, along the Red October Railway) to Chudov (also along the Red October Railway), the sooner the better, so I don't plan to wait for the Polish army. French reinforcements are here."

The Polish Army Group adapted from the Polish Defense Force is now arriving one after another, and the French have promised to give the Russian Queen a mechanized army that will arrive in mid-June. However, Kuchler was worried that the Soviet army would attack before then, so he did not dare to wait too long.

"Understood." Tipelskich replied confidently, "I understand the current situation... I will launch an attack on the 7th, or at the earliest in the early morning of the 8th, to seek a decisive tank battle! My troops have more than 1,500 tanks, Tank destroyers and assault artillery, including 88 Tiger tanks, and 5 battalions of Rhino tank destroyers, so the tank battle is bound to win!”