The Rise of the Third Reich

April 13, the front line of the Soviet-German battlefield, Valdai.

Colonel Kaminsky arrived in Valdai in a Volkswagen 82 truck with mud on its body. The 8th Armored Grenadier Division of the Russian Imperial Army, of which he served as deputy division commander, had just withdrawn from the front line to Valdai for rest and recuperation.

From April 5th to the 10th, the Russian 8th Panzergrenadier Division fought hard on the front line, knocking over many "Stalin" tanks with "Oliga's little hammer". However, it also suffered a lot of losses, with no less than 5,000 casualties and missing persons. When the troops were ordered to retreat from Kuvshinovo, the original 15,000-person division had less than 10,000 people left. Most of the heavy equipment was also consumed in several days of fierce fighting, but by the time the Russian 8th Panzergrenadier Division retreated to Valdai, additional troops and equipment had arrived - all via Petrograd. -Moscow railway lines were brought from the capital of the Russian Empire.

A few days ago, the former Soviet Union's Leningrad Army surrendered to the White Army, which suddenly made the White Army's military strength more relaxed. So Prince Yusupov now has enough troops to send to supplement the frontline troops.

In addition, many "Olga's little hammers" were sent.

With the help of Britain, France and Germany, Petrograd's military industry is recovering rapidly. Among them, the Petrograd Navy Yard started construction of two "Prussia" class aircraft carriers (built for the Japanese Navy) in March.

The Petrograd Arms Factory (the original Kirov Factory and Voroshilov Factory) is operating at full capacity to produce the "Oliga" tank destroyer. Not all of them are assembled with T-50 parts. A considerable part of them are assembled with "Stalker" parts, but the artillery is still the 6-pound tank gun given by the British-the current Russian Empire has not completed it. The industrial system can now support the production of tanks.

However, Kaminsky and Voskoponiko (Commander of the Russian 8th Panzergrenadier Division) don’t care whether the “Oliga Hammer” they got is of T-50 or Stalker origin. Being usable is what matters most.

Because the rest of the Russian 8th Panzer Grenadier Division is about to end early!

Kaminsky, who got off the barrel truck, trotted into the division headquarters with a frown on his face. He saw Major General Voskoponiko who was looking at photos of women (he was looking at photos of Belarusian noble girls. These photos were It was sent by Queen Olga, whose Majesty the Queen is now keen on protecting the media for the White Army generals below who have "lost their families", so she yelled loudly.

"General, there is another big battle coming!"

"Oh? Are you going to attack Moscow?" Major General Voskoponiko did not raise his head and continued to choose a wife for himself. When he thought about it, the Soviet Union's general situation was gone, and even the current counterattack was so-so... Those big Stalin tanks were still wiped out by the small Olga tank, so what hope was there?

The next big battle is to enter Moscow and capture Stalin. Major General Voskoponiko really wants to capture Stalin and ask: Why should he and "old revolutionaries" like Kaminsky be arrested? Go to reform through labor?

But Kaminsky's answer surprised him.

"No! The Red Army is about to hit Valdai!"

"Hahahaha..." Voskoponiko laughed after hearing this, "Are you kidding me? Our division only retreated from Kuvshinovo on the 10th, which is 120 kilometers away from us. No matter how powerful the Red Army is, it’s impossible to advance 120 kilometers in two days, right? It’s muddy season! Even if the Germans in front don’t resist, the Stalin tanks can’t move fast in the mud.”

Although Zhukov was determined to drive the German army (allied forces) as far north as possible, the Red Army's progress was not smooth, and Kuvshinovo has not yet been completely occupied by the Red Army.

"They didn't come from Kuvshinovo," Kaminsky sat down on a tattered sofa he got from somewhere. "They came from Andreapol... …”

"What? Andrea Bol?" Voskoponiko raised his head and looked at Kaminsky - he had already remembered that Kaminsky was the Russian 1st Army who had just gone to Okulovka. Returned from headquarters. "This is real?"

"real!"

"But Andrea Bol is still in the hands of German paratroopers." Voskoponiko frowned and asked, "Could it be that Germany also..."

"The Germans did not make false reports," Kaminsky said. "Andrea Pol is still in the hands of the German 2nd Paratrooper Division, but the Red Army bypassed Andrea Pol... This morning a German reconnaissance plane discovered A large armored group is coming towards us."

"They won't come," Voskoponiko breathed out. "The Kraut's air force will catch them all."

"No, they are coming!" Kaminsky shook his head in distress, "Marshal Kappel (Vladimir Oskarovich Kappel, in this time and space he was captured by Kolchak Sent to Crimea to meet Empress Olga, so he escaped death, and has been following Olga since then) said that the Germans were going to put this Red Army in Valdai, and would also let them temporarily cut off the Red October Railway!"

"What?" Voskoponiko couldn't sit still anymore and stood up. "What do the Germans want to do? Do they want to be surrounded by the Red Army?"

Kaminsky nodded, "I think so!"

"What about us?" Voskoponiko asked.

"Our mission is to hold on to Valde... or we may be surrounded!" Kaminski said with a wry smile. "We will be reinforced later by a destroyer tank brigade (equipped with German-assisted Stalker tank destroyers). Then we have to hold on in Valdai until the mud season is over."

…

"What? The leading troops of the 7th Guards Tank Army are approaching Valdai?" Zhukov almost suspected that there was something wrong with his ears. He looked at Lieutenant General Kokopev, the chief of staff of the Central Front Army, in surprise, "You mean the close The 7th Guards Tank Army is about to cut off the German army’s main logistics line?”

"Yes!" Lieutenant General Kokopev looked a little excited, "This is a major turning point! The situation on the northern front will be completely changed, and the Germans will have to take a big step back."

This is really pie in the sky! Zhukov immediately walked to the map table, where Lieutenant General Kokopev had already used red and blue pencils to figure out the direction of the 7th Guards Tank Army.

"Fedyuninsky did a great job and caught the Germans off guard." Kokopev smiled and said to Zhukov, "The Germans may have been negligent. They followed the original plan when our army launched a counterattack. The troops on the northern front were transferred to the center, which obviously underestimated the enemy. "

What he is talking about now is the Red Army General Staff's speculation on the reasons for the transfer of German troops - the Red Army General Staff really can't figure out why the German army transferred troops from the northern front after the Red Army launched a counterattack. The only reasonable explanation seems to be that they were carrying out the original plan. plan of.

Zhukov nodded noncommittally.

"Comrade Commander," Pepekov added, "there are still about 20 days until the end of the mud season. We have plenty of time and should expand the offensive on the northern front."

"No," Zhukov shook his head, "The purpose of the counterattack has been fully achieved, and there is no need to cut off the Red October Railway line... Now we only need to maintain a certain intensity of offensive on the front and wait for the German troops to retreat."

He would not naively believe that Paulus's 6th Armored Group could be surrounded. Even if Paulus lay still, he would not surround him.

Because the siege was in vain, the weather has cleared up and the roads are very muddy, which is not conducive to the Soviet attack without air superiority at all.

Therefore, Zhukov was satisfied to be able to force the German army back to the north and allow the Soviet Central Front to gather its forces to deal with the upcoming large-scale attack on the German center.

Eating Paulus's army...that is obviously impossible!

However, although Zhukov's idea was correct, there was a great leader above him, Stalin.

"Why not surround the enemy?" In a map room in the Kremlin, Stalin pointed to the arrow on the map symbolizing the 7th Guards Tank Army with the pipe in his hand.

The arrow was now approaching Valdai and seemed not far from the Red October railway line.

"As long as the Red October railway line is cut off, we can put at least 500,000 enemies in our pockets, right?" Stalin asked.

"Yes..." Zhukov already felt a little bad, "But... we don't have the ability to eat these 500,000 enemy troops. The German army will inevitably launch a fierce attack in the middle in early May, and may also separate a powerful mechanized cluster from Moscow's southern flank. Therefore, we should end the operation on the northern front as soon as possible, gather our forces, and prepare to deal with the enemy's attack on the center and southern front. "

"It's only the 13th," Stalin said, "and there are still 20 days before the beginning of May... Can't we win a real victory on the northern front? Even if we can't encircle and annihilate the German army, we should force them to break through in the direction of Leningrad. I I think they will definitely break through, so that the threat of the German troops on the northern front can be temporarily relieved. As for the middle and southern roads, there is no need to worry at all, because we have the Moscow Fortress. It doesn't matter even if the German troops hit the Moscow city. If it is not enough, we will send more. More troops to Moscow!”

Hearing what Stalin said, Zhukov was also a little shaken - Moscow is indeed a big fortress and is not afraid of a strong attack by the German armored forces. In Zhukov's view, what Moscow is really afraid of is being surrounded. If the German northern route can be severely damaged, it will be difficult to encircle Moscow with the German central route alone. After all, the Soviet Central Front has a huge number, and there is also the Orel Front nearby. Support Moscow at any time.

Stalin's idea seems feasible...but the battle on the North Road cannot go on endlessly.

Thinking of this, Zhukov said to Stalin: "Comrade General Secretary, we should set a time for the termination of the battle on the North Road. If the Northern Lutheran Army still refuses to break through on April 20, then the battle should also be ended."

"April 30!" Stalin said, "At the same time, the Orel Front will be reorganized into a reserve front and used on the Moscow battlefield!"

The fatherly leader showed a firm and unusual expression at this time: "The key to the success or failure of the communist cause lies in Moscow! Now that we have the opportunity to severely damage the German army, we must not give up!

Even if it is a trap, the GC fighters can turn it into an opportunity to annihilate the German army in large numbers! "