The Rise of the Third Reich

"The enemy plane has flown away! Comrades, keep working! Come on!"

As soon as the dozen German Fw-190s in the sky were lured away, Lieutenant Pavlov was the first to rush out from the hidden woods and waved a small red flag in his hand.

Immediately afterwards, a hundred or so Red Army soldiers with axes and saws in their hands all came out of the woods with a roar - they were in the depths of the large forest in western Kalinin State, and a group of soldiers with axes and saws came out of the woods. The end of the simple road cut by the saw.

There is actually a road connecting Kalinin City in Kalinin Region to Veliky Luki City in Pskov Region, but most roads in the Soviet Union have little traffic capacity. There are very few hard-paved roads here like those found everywhere in Western and Central Europe. The so-called roads are actually dirt roads. If it rains continuously for days, it will turn into mud, and the earthen road cannot withstand the crushing of a large number of tracked and wheeled heavy vehicles, so the traffic capacity is very limited. Moreover, the road leading to Velikiy Luki has long been targeted by German and White Russian troops, and it is impossible to conduct a sneak attack through there.

Therefore, after Zhukov took over as the commander of the Kalinin Front, he immediately dispatched more than 30,000 officers and soldiers from the 11th, 12th and 13th Guards Infantry Divisions to cut down trees and open roads in the large forest, preparing to spend 2 months using axes and The saw cut out three simple roads that could be passed by the tank army.

But before the road was cut, the Germans launched an attack on the Belarusian salient first. So Pavlov (who now belongs to the 13th Guards Infantry Division) and his comrades worked day and night with axes and saws.

And as the highway gets closer to the border of Pskov State controlled by Germany (Belarus), the possibility of them being discovered by the Germans and Belarus is increasing. Therefore, we must be extremely careful. We must not only pay attention to reconnaissance from the air, but also send out a large number of patrols and security forces, and have opened a powerful and airtight search curtain in the border area of ​​​​Pskov Oblast and Kalinin Oblast. .

In the afternoon of May 1, the reactionaries of the 1st Russian Cavalry Division commanded by Colonel Sergey Bunyachenko had already collided with the powerful Soviet search curtain.

The gunfire crackled like popping beans, and the dull firing sound of the Soviet Tokarev M1910 heavy machine gun was intertwined with the harsh sound of the MG42 machine gun tearing through linen. Occasionally there are mortars and recoilless rifles (after the bottleneck of non-ferrous metals was completely broken, the number of recoilless rifles owned by the European Community army also increased greatly, and even the Belarusian army also obtained a lot of 75mm and 105mm recoilless rifle) and other light artillery.

Colonel Bunyachenko, who had served in the Soviet Red Army for many years, immediately became vigilant when he heard the intensive gunfire and artillery fire. Because he knew that the opponent who had such firepower and could compete with his elite cavalry could not be any militia or guerrilla. The opponent must be a regular army, and most of them are the elite of the Soviet Red Army.

According to Bunyachenko's understanding of the Soviet troops, these Soviet troops sent to the junction of Kalinin and Pskov Oblasts must belong to the Kalinin Front under the command of Marshal Zhukov!

Troops belonging to the Kalinin Front did not go to the outskirts of Leningrad, but appeared near Velikiy Luki in the south of Pskov Oblast. What did they want to do? Could it be that the main direction of the Kalinin Front's attack was not Leningrad, but Velikiy Luki?

Feeling that the problem was serious, Bunyachenko did not dare to delay Her Majesty the Queen's restoration, and immediately reported his findings and speculations to the headquarters of the German Army Group Northern in Pskov. The troops moving south from Luki all belong to the Central Army Group, but Velikiy Luki and the entire Pskov Oblast are under the jurisdiction of the Northern Army Group, and Bunyachenko's cavalry division is directly under the Army Group headquarters.

When Bunyachenko was sent to the headquarters of the Northern Army Group, the commander of the Army Group, Marshal Kuchler, was visiting the Krom Castle on a promontory near the Velikaya River in the city of Pskov - this The castle was built in 864 AD or earlier, and now it belongs to the Russian Empress Olga.

Empress Olga arrived at Krom Castle by train from Tsarskoe Selo on the outskirts of Leningrad this morning. According to the plan, she will stop here and have lunch with Marshal Kuechler, and then fly to Berlin and Germany's big shots meet.

For this woman who has been the king of subjugation for more than 20 years, now is the most critical moment. Leningrad had been besieged for nearly a year, and the city's supplies had been almost exhausted. Starting from April, Soviets with Leningrad residence registration have been "deported" under various names!

Through these Leningrad citizens who "betrayed" the Soviet motherland, the Queen learned that the city of Leningrad had almost become a hell of hunger. All edible things were used to satisfy hunger, and the rations for ordinary citizens were too low to survive. People starved to death every day, and the bodies of the deceased would "disappear" inexplicably. Starting in 1943, even the soldiers in the city began to starve, and morale was extremely low. Everyone is hoping that this disaster will end soon...even if the city becomes Her Majesty's loyal Petrograd!

Once Petrograd surrendered, Olga would no longer be a precarious exiled monarch.

And Marshal Küchler, the commander of Germany's Northern Army Group, also wanted to capture Leningrad like the Queen - this may mean another year or two of war for Germany, but for him , but it is a great achievement that can make future generations proud.

Of course...as the savior of the Romanov dynasty, real benefits are indispensable!

Just as he happily returned to his headquarters from Krom Castle, Bunyachenko's report had been delivered.

"What? They fought together with the Red Army infantry in the woods near Velikiy Lucki?" Marshal Kuchler frowned when he saw the report handed over by Lieutenant General Tipelskich, the chief of staff. Group.

"Marshal, the Soviet Red Army may launch a sneak attack on Veliky Luki." Lieutenant General Tipelskich has already studied this information with his staff.

"Sneak attack?" Kuchler thought for a moment, "How many troops can the road east of Bolshoi Luki support?"

"There is no problem with an infantry corps," Tipelskich said. "If the Soviets are prepared in advance, they may be able to invest several hundred more tanks. The main force of the 4th Armored Army is still in Velikiy Luki. Of course, we are not afraid of a sneak attack by the Soviets. But if the troops of the 4th Armored Army go south and cross the Velikaya River, then the area around Bolshaya Luki will be a bit empty."

The "Purple Plan" formulated by Hessmann and Guderian attaches great importance to "energy conservation and environmental protection", basically how to save fuel and deploy it. So the 4th Armored Army was moved to Velikiy Luki, where the railway from Leningrad to Ukraine happened to pass. Moreover, this road also intersects with the railway from Moscow to Riga in the city of Pskov.

The personnel, equipment and supplies of the 4th Armored Army, which uses Velikiy Lucki as its main offensive stronghold, can be transported directly from the Baltic States and even Germany via railway lines. This is not only very convenient, but also does not require the consumption of precious fuel.

The distance from Veliky Luki south to Smolensk is less than 200 kilometers, and it is also connected by railways, but it was cut off due to fighting. Once the German 4th Armored Group captures Smolensk, the railway from Velikiy Luki to Smolensk will be restored to traffic in the shortest possible time.

By the way, the problem of different railway gauges in the Soviet Union and Germany in this time and space did not cause much trouble to the German troops who invaded the Soviet Union. Because the railways in Germany's Baltic states, like those in the Soviet Union, are all 5-foot gauge.

This is because the Baltic States (Republics) used to be the territory of the Russian Empire, and most of the railways there were built by the Russians. Moreover, before Germany acquired Poland and Lithuania, transportation between Germany and the Baltic States (Republics) mainly relied on sea transportation. At the same time, the Baltic States (Republics) had long served as a transfer station for Soviet export materials. The scale of trade is huge. Therefore, the Baltic State (Republic) government did not change the railway gauge standards until the Soviet-German War broke out.

Because of this history, Germany's Baltic Railway Department has a large number of 5-foot gauge locomotives and wagons (the trade between the two sides was very large before the Soviet-German war), and there are also ready-made sea + rail transportation lines. , it is very convenient to transport materials.

Therefore, in this "Purple Plan", the German 4th Armored Group fighting south from Velikiy Luki is actually the main force of the German Army Group Center. The Pskov Oblast is the rear of the 4th Armored Army. Once the Soviet army invades, it is impossible for the 4th Armored Army to be surrounded (this army is too powerful and it is impossible to be surrounded), but the 4th Armored There must be problems with the army's logistics and transportation, which would make it difficult for the army to continue its operations after capturing or encircling Smolensk.

Kuchler thought for a moment and issued the order: "Deploy the 1st SS Panzergrenadier Division, the 7th Parachute Division, the Russian Guards Infantry Division, and the Russian 1st Armored Brigade south to Velikiy Luki. The SS General Hauser commanded, called the "Hausser Group". In addition, the Russian 1st Cavalry Division and the 60th Infantry Division, which were already in Velikiy Lucki, were also commanded by the "Hausser Group". 2 Russian divisions and 1 Russian armored brigade should be able to crush the Soviet plot. "

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