The Rise of the Third Reich

Although the synthetic tactical group commanded by Lieutenant General Arnold von Lendsky is only division-sized, it has a large number of Puma series armored vehicles/assault guns/tank destroyers and Panzer 4 tanks (belonging to the 1st SS Panzergrenadier Division) and the "Rhino" tank destroyer (also belonging to the 1st SS Panzergrenadier Division) and the "Hersmann Organ" rocket launcher.

Therefore, looking down from the air, you can see a very large marching team, almost comparable to a Soviet tank army.

"It's a military-level tank group!" Golikov, commander of the Bryansk Front Army, put down the report sent by the 11th Air Force Group Army, breathed out softly, and told Military Commissioner Maihelis and Chief of Staff Lieutenant General Kazakov Said, "It seems that Comrade Lukin's little plan has succeeded."

It turns out that the sound of tanks and car motors heard by the Ukrainian Germans at Collective Farm No. 13 last night was deliberately caused by Lukin. He made a small number of tanks and cars circle around Collective Farm No. 13, and it sounded as if there were a huge number of people. It looked like tanks and cars were coming.

"Comrade Commander, I think Comrade Lukin's 5th Tank Army can continue to attract the German armored forces to move north." Kazakov, the chief of staff of the front army, suddenly thought of a plan to lure the enemy north. "If Comrade Lukin can attract two or three more German armored corps, then we will be sure to break through from the Gomel area and advance all the way to the Dnieper River."

Today is already May 8. Most of the 1st and 2nd Tank Armies from Moscow and Kalinin in the Klintsy area east of Gomel will be fully in place and deployed tomorrow.

According to the plan, on May 10 or 11, the 1st Tank Army and the 2nd Tank Army will launch the Gomel-Dnieper River assault. A powerful assault force composed of 5 tank corps and 3 mechanized corps will rush towards the German army that occupied Gomel like a tide.

If part of the German armored forces can be attracted to the battlefield north of Klimovich before the two tank armies launch their attack, then the Gomel-Dnieper assault has a high probability of success.

Once the Soviet army controls the territory between Gomel and the Dnieper River, the logistics line of the German Army's South Armored Group will be partially cut off (it cannot be completely cut off, because the German Army's Center Armored Group will soon advance to Moji. In Lov Prefecture, a new logistics line can be established by then, but after such a hassle, the German South Route Cluster will definitely have problems with insufficient fuel and supplies), which will help the Bryansk Front to launch further attacks on the German South Route Cluster.

However, the 5th Tank Army, which is responsible for the task of luring the enemy, is likely to suffer huge losses! Comparing the attack power of 3-4 German armored corps is no joke.

"It's worth it!" Seeing Golikov's hesitation, Mykhlis encouraged him, "As long as we can complete the Gomel-Dnieper assault, it's worth sacrificing the 5th Tank Army!"

The King of Whistleblower's words make sense. As long as the German army's southern cluster can be severely damaged, at least one-third of the German offensive will have failed. After forcing back the Southern Lutheran Army, the Bryansk Front could still be used in Smolensk.

If Smolensk had not fallen yet. This will have a great chance of turning the Battle of Smolensk into a see-saw, and the Soviet Union can survive 1943 safely. According to the estimation of the Soviet Supreme Command, in order to launch a large-scale attack, the Germans must Spend months saving up gas.

Therefore, as long as one of their major offensives is crushed, even if it does not cause fatal losses to Germany, it is unlikely that they will launch another offensive of the same scale in 1943.

By 1944, most of Germany's eastern ally Japan had been defeated by the Americans...

…

Admiral Lukin had established his own former enemy headquarters near Collective Farm No. 13 in Klimovich.

Although thousands of tanks and cars did not arrive last night, Lukin's troops around the No. 13 Collective Farm still increased by more than half of the tank brigade (the 57th Tank Brigade all arrived) and 2 assault gun battalions (SU-122) and 1 Motorized Infantry Regiment (belonging to the 5th Tank Corps). However, this amount of troops is completely insufficient to compare with a German "armored army", and it probably cannot even defeat an armored division.

Therefore, after seeing the order issued by the front army headquarters, Colonel Cheremisov, the commander of the 109th Mechanized Brigade, immediately said to General Lukin: "Comrade Commander, we should retreat now and lead the enemy to Smoleng." The area of ​​​​Rosallf in the Sk region, where we are dealing with the enemy.”

"No," General Lukin shook his head, "We can't just think about ourselves, but we must think about the overall situation... If we retreat from Klimovich, then even if the Germans follow them to Roslavl, they will not dispatch 3 -4 Armored Corps. Because once we retreat, the Germans will no longer treat us as the main force. So by May 10th and 11th, the 1st and 2nd Tank Armies will likely run into the German army. The main force of the South Road Armored Group."

"But this armored force in front of us... I'm afraid we can't deal with it!" Colonel Cheremisov said with a guilty conscience.

Lukin's idea was right, to exchange the sacrifice of the 5th Tank Army for the overall advantage - this is very communist, but the Soviet Union has Article 58 of the "Criminal Code"! If caught by the Nazis, his reputation would be ruined and he would become a loyal servant of Her Majesty the Queen.

"No problem," Lukin shook his head, "We can deal with it... The enemy can only start attacking in the afternoon at the earliest. We only need to hold on for a few hours until the evening. By then, Roslavl will start from Roslavl. Call in reinforcements."

"A decisive battle with the Germans near Collective Farm No. 13?"

"No, it's best not to fight here." Lu Jin still shook his head, "But we must show some prestige before retreating, and at the same time use tank destroyer battalions and anti-tank artillery battalions to set up ambushes along the way to severely attack the Nazi armored forces!"

"What about the enemies in Collective Farm No. 13?" Colonel Cheremisov said. "According to the people who escaped from the farm, those people are all Ukrainian traitors, and there are hundreds of them."

Lu Jin sneered: "Destroy them all!"

Following General Lu Jin's order, the battle against collective farm No. 13 began immediately. The troops Lukin invested were 2 assault artillery battalions (with 15 operational SU-122 vehicles) and the 358th Regiment of the 18th Motorized Brigade belonging to the 5th Tank Corps (with about 2,400 people).

Among them, 15 SU-122 assault guns belonging to 2 assault gun battalions were deployed to the edge of a forest near Collective Farm No. 13 last night. Because they lost air superiority, the Soviet army was relatively passive during the day. Da Ming did not dare to place equipment such as tanks/assault artillery in open areas generously, so he could only hide them. Even if they were to be used, they could only be deployed in easily concealed areas, ideally around the woods.

At this time, the Soviet infantry regiment's establishment was still very sufficient. After all, the Soviet-German war in this time and space only started in 1942, and the Soviet Union's personnel losses in the first year of the war were not as large as in history. Therefore, the Soviet ordinary infantry regiments and motorized infantry regiments both have a strength of about 2,400 people. However, the number of personnel in the infantry division is still about 23% lower than before the war. This is because the division's directly affiliated agencies and troops have been greatly streamlined. , the number of division artillery and anti-tank troops was also greatly reduced (the overall strength of the Red Army's artillery and anti-tank troops was not reduced, but many independent units were formed).

The 358th Motorized Infantry Regiment of the Soviet Red Army was such a well-organized infantry regiment. Therefore, as soon as the regiment appeared on the battlefield near Collective Farm No. 13 on the afternoon of May 8, it caused damage to the Ukrainian German troops stationed at the farm. Extreme pressure.

…

"Assault Gun No. 4! Hurry and take cover!"

Also at dusk on May 8, when Solzhenitsyn was calling the army artillery headquarters for artillery support, a trembling scream sounded in his ears again.

The future great writer and his comrades are still on the battlefield of Katyn Forest, which has become a focus area in the Battle of Smolensk.

General Yeremov, who is responsible for commanding the defense of Smolensk, has given a fatal order to hold on to the Katyn Forest at all costs!

Because once this forest is lost, the German army will tighten the siege of Smolensk. Although the city of Smolensk itself is a fortified area, its defense capabilities are very strong. However, the German army's current offensive capabilities are equally strong. Not to mention those 170mm, level 1 heavy artillery, even the "Grizzly" assault gun, which is currently attacking the Soviet positions and is called the "No. 4 assault gun" by the Soviets, is also very difficult to attack. A powerful weapon to deal with.

Its 150mm cannon can be said to be powerful and accurate when bombarding at close range. The 100mm 40-degree armor on its front gun bay is equivalent to the defensive capability of 130mm right-angle armor, and it also uses nickel-chromium-manganese-molybdenum rolled steel with excellent ballistic resistance. Its frontal protection capability even exceeds that of the Tiger G tank. Even the Soviet Union's strongest anti-tank weapon, the SU-85 tank destroyer, cannot hit the "Grizzly" assault gun.

In this case, the 3rd Army of the Red Army guarding the Katyn Forest had to rely on the flesh and blood of the infantry and the Red Iron Fist (the Soviet version of the Iron Fist anti-tank grenade launcher) to resist. The fight was very difficult and the losses were huge. By the afternoon of May 8, the group army had only one corps left, and all its mechanized equipment had been exhausted.