The Rise of the Third Reich

go ahead! go ahead!

Stalin's determination soon turned into the actions of millions of communist fighters on the Soviet-German battlefield!

In the night of April 13, large groups of troops rolled forward on a muddy land. There was a crowd of people shouting and neighing, and the sound of a roaring motor. In the vast plains of Tula, Orel and Lipetsk oblasts southwest of Moscow. Several armies carrying a large amount of baggage were desperately approaching Moscow, the great capital of the Soviet Union. These troops approaching Moscow from the southwest belonged to the original Orel Front, now the Reserve Front. They were commanded by Marshal Konev, who had been transferred from the Crimean Peninsula not long ago.

Different from the Central Front Army gathered in Moscow, the Orel Front Army (Reserve Front Army) originally deployed in Tula, Orel and Lipetsk Oblasts is only a smaller and lightly equipped "small front army". There are only three armies under its jurisdiction, but they are quite elite. They are the 1st Guards Army (including the 4th and 6th Guards Corps, the 18th Tank Corps and the 153rd Infantry Division), the 2nd Guards Army (including the 1st and 3rd Guards Infantry Corps and the 153rd Guards Mechanized Corps). 2nd Army) and the 1st Red Flag Army transferred from the Far East (including the 22nd Infantry Corps, the 26th Infantry Corps, the 10th International Column Division, the 88th Independent Infantry Division, and the 77th and 79th Tank Destroyer Brigades).

According to the original plan, the task of the Orel Front Army was not to hold on to the three states of Orel, Tula and Lipetsk, but to conduct peripheral mobile operations after the Moscow Defense Campaign began to reduce the pressure on Moscow. When conditions are ripe, the Orel Front will also engage in counteroffensive operations to relieve Moscow.

Now, according to the order of the Supreme Command, this army, renamed the Reserve Front Army, will join the battle to defend Moscow.

The Moscow battlefield will also bring together a huge Red Army of nearly 3 million people to fight to the death with the invading coalition forces with the German army as the core!

At the same time that the main force of the entire reserve front was divided into three routes, approaching Moscow from Orel, Tula, Lipetsk and other places. On the railway from Moscow to Kalinin, there are also columns of military vehicles loaded with JS-2 tanks, T-38/85 tanks, SU-85 tanks and other heavy equipment heading north.

As the biggest trump card in the hands of the Central Front, the four heavy Guards tank armies are now being transported by train to the battlefield of the northern line counterattack.

According to the orders of the Supreme Command and the Central Front Army Headquarters, starting from the night of the 14th, the Red Army will launch the most violent offensive on the Kuvshinovo, Torzhok, and Likuslavl lines!

Further north, near Vadel in Novgorod Oblast, the main force of the Red Army's 7th Guards Tank Army, which was heading north from the west of Kalinin Oblast, had already overcome the muddy roads and the German air force's daytime attacks. Air strikes and detouring back into position as quickly as possible. Their leading force, the 18th Guards Tank Brigade, had already occupied May Day Town on the Red October Railway line under the leadership of a "Red German" detachment that penetrated behind enemy lines on the night of April 13.

On the same night, Paul, who already knew that he was about to be "surrounded" (actually not completely surrounded, there is still a northbound route east of the Red October Railway, was deliberately left by Zhukov for the Paulus group to escape) General Si deployed an iron barrel formation in his headquarters in Upper Cholok for the Soviet army to besiege.

"Sir, the Soviet army has occupied the town of May Day, and the railway line to Petrograd has been cut off. The 8th Panzergrenadier Division of the Belarusian Army is besieged at Vadel near the Red October railway line, and the battle has begun 4 hours. In addition, the battle in Andrebol is still fierce. Now the Northern Army Group headquarters is asking: Is it necessary to dispatch the 5th Armored Army to relieve us and re-open the Red October Railway Line?

Lieutenant General Schmidt, the chief of staff of the 6th Armored Army, stood in front of Paulus with an excited look on his face. He was actually the one who first proposed the plan to use the 6th Armored Army, the 1st Belorussian Army, the Polish Army and the 1st French Mechanized Army as bait to lure the Soviet army that was detouring from the west of Kalinin State into a siege.

Judging from the current situation, it seems to have been a complete success! As long as the 5th Panzer Army commanded by General Tipelskich (composed of 1 German armored division, 2 French reserve armored divisions, 1 Hungarian armored division and 4 German Panzergrenadier divisions), a battle A big victory will be within reach, and it will not affect the pace of Army Group North's attack on Moscow. Although Marshal Hessmann has spoken and handed over Moscow to Army Group Northern, many generals of Army Group Northern, including Model, are still a little worried...

Paulus just glanced at his chief of staff, turned around and asked Marshal Kappel, commander of the Belarusian 1st Army, who was lying on the map: "Is there any change on the front of Likuslavl?"

Likuslavl is located about 40 kilometers north of the city of Kalinin and is also along the Red October Railway. It was the forward base for the coalition forces moving south to attack Moscow. After it was occupied by Paulus's 6th Armored Army in the autumn of 1943, it was "fortress-like" built and turned into a solid fortification area. Currently standing there is the White Russian Queen's Guards. This is an elite mechanized infantry army composed of Cossack warriors. It is equipped with a large number of "Oliga's Hammers" and has outstanding anti-armor combat capabilities.

Marshal Cappel seems a little tired. He is 62 years old this year. Like most elderly "old white men", he has the bad habit of drinking. Therefore, his health is poor. He has been commanding operations with high intensity for days. His energy seemed to be failing him.

Marshal Kappel smiled: "Likuslavl's front is very stable, the performance of the 'Oliga' tank destroyer is better than expected, and the 'Stalin' tank is no match at all."

A tank destroyer assembled from the body of a T-50 tank and a British 6-pound gun actually overturned many behemoth JS-2 heavy tanks. This result was unexpected by everyone.

Therefore, Likuslavl, which was to be occupied by the Soviet army in the original plan, is still in the hands of the White army and is impregnable.

"Abandon Likuslavl early tomorrow morning," Paulus said calmly. "Abandon Torzhok at noon tomorrow and Kuvshinovo in the afternoon. Shrink the troops to the triangle between Verkhny Volochok, Udomlya and Bologoye."

…

"Likuslavl got it!"

"Ula! Ula!"

Cheers immediately echoed throughout the Red Army General Staff Headquarters (the Central Front Army Headquarters is located here). Zhukov, who had stayed up late before, got the news that May Day Town was liberated last night and went home to rest. Sitting in command at the headquarters is General Rokossovsky. He is a very energetic general. Even after staying up for several nights, he still has no tired look on his face, and his mind remains clear and calm enough.

Hearing the cheers of his staff, he just said to himself: "The Kalinin counterattack has actually been won..."

He was right. Taking the Likuslavl fortification zone meant that the defense zone north of Moscow was dozens of kilometers deeper. Moreover, the fortifications in the Likuslavl area can also be used by the Soviet army, as long as a sufficient number of SU-57 tank destroyers, ZIS-2 anti-tank guns, ZIS-3 cannons and A-1 are placed there. The Germans may not be able to break through an army-level battle group even if they fight for several weeks.

"Call Marshal Zhukov," Rokossovsky ordered, "and tell him the good news about the recapture of Likuslavl."

After receiving the good news, Zhukov immediately took the "Moscow Metro Line 2" and rushed from his underground residence to the underground command center of the General Staff Headquarters.

Within the General Staff, before he started asking about the situation on the Likuslavl front, another piece of good news came.

"The French army is evacuating Torzhok!"

"Ula!"

The underground command center of the General Staff Headquarters was filled with joy again. Torzhok and Likuslavl are 20 to 30 kilometers apart, and they are also a fortification zone - the two fortification zones are actually connected together, called the Torzhok-Likuslavl fortification defense zone. .

Now that the Soviet army has captured this key fortification area, it only needs to deploy two armies. It will be difficult for the German Army Group North to make a breakthrough in the short term.

"How is the situation with Andrea Bol?" Zhukov suddenly asked a somewhat discouraging question.

"Comrade Chief of General Staff, Andrea Pol is still in the hands of the Germans. The terrain there is not conducive to attack, and it is guarded by elite German paratroopers..."

"We must take it down!" Zhukov said firmly, "Andreapol must be taken resolutely... Only by taking Andreapol can it be possible for the detour cluster to be truly consolidated near May Day Town and Valdai. position, otherwise the roundabout 7th Guards Tank Army would be able to penetrate deep alone, and the blocking of the German (allied forces) rear would be ineffective.”

"Comrade Chief of General Staff..." General Rokossovsky seemed to have a different view. He said to Zhukov, "Andreapol is not important, May Day Town and Valdai are not key, Torzhok -The most important thing is to fortify the defensive zone in Likuslavl.”

In fact, his intention was to give up when things were good, and switch to defense after taking the Torzhok-Likuslavl fortified defense zone.

Zhukov glanced at him and just shook his head and said: "The decisive battle has begun in advance. Comrade General Secretary has made up his mind. We must do our best to launch a counterattack before April 30, and we should aim to severely damage the main force of the German Army Group North." !”