April 13, Soviet-German front, Valdai.
Colonel Kaminsky arrived in the Valdai in a Volkswagen 82-barrel truck covered in mud.
The 8th Panzergrenadier Division of the Russian Imperial Army, of which he was deputy commander, had just been withdrawn from the front line to Valdai to recuperate.
From April 5 to 10, the Russian 8th Panzergrenadier Division fought the front line, knocking over many "Stalin" tanks with "Olga's little hammer".
However, it also suffered a lot of losses, with no less than 5,000 casualties and missing people, and by the time the troops were ordered to retreat from Kuvshinovo, there were less than 10,000 men left in the original division of 150,000 men.
Most of the heavy equipment was also consumed in a few days of fierce fighting, but by the time the Russian 8th Panzergrenadier Division retreated to Valdai, the additional troops and equipment had arrived, all from the capital of the Russian Empire via the Petrograd-Moscow railway line.
A few days ago, the Leningrad Army Group of the former Soviet Union surrendered to the White Army, which suddenly made the strength of the White Army relatively relaxed.
So Prince Yusupov now has enough troops to send to replenish the troops at the front.
In addition, "Olga's Little Hammer" also sent a lot.
With the help of Britain, France and Germany, the military-industrial complex in Petrograd was rapidly recovering.
Among them, the naval plant in Petrograd started construction in March, and two Prussian-class aircraft carriers were built for the Japanese Navy.
The Petrograd Military Plant, which was formerly the Kirov Plant and the Voroshilov Plant, produced the "Olga" tank destroyer at full capacity. 50 parts were assembled, and a considerable part of them were loaded with "Stalker" parts, but the artillery was still a 6-pounder tank gun given by the British, and the current Russian Empire did not have a completed industrial system that could support the production of tanks.
However, Kaminsky and Voskoponiko didn't care whether the "Olga Little Hammer" they got was the bloodline of the T50 or the bloodline of the "Stalker", the most important thing was to be able to use it.
Because the rest of the Russian 8th Panzergrenadier Division is about to end early Kaminsky, who got off the barrel car, trotted all the way into the division headquarters with a frown, and saw Major General Voskoponiko who was looking at pictures of women, he was looking at pictures of white Russian noble girls, which were sent by Empress Olga, and Her Majesty was now keen to protect the white generals below who had "lost their families" and shouted loudly.
"General, there is another big battle to be fought" "Oh, I'm going to fight Moscow" Major General Voskoponiko didn't look up, and continued to pick a wife for himself.
In his mind, the general trend of the Soviet Union has gone, and even the current counterattack is so-so, and those big Stalin tanks are still annihilated by the little Oligatans, what is there any hope The next big battle is nothing more than entering Moscow and arresting Stalin, but Major General Voskoponiko is very eager to seize Stalin and ask why he and "old revolutionaries" like Kaminsky should be arrested for labor reform But Kaminski's answer surprised him.
"It's not that the Red Army is about to hit the Valdai" "Hahahaha" Voskoponico laughed when he heard this, "Are you joking, 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 is impossible to advance 120 kilometers in 2 days, it is now the muddy season, even if the Germans in front do not resist, Stalin's tanks will not be able to go fast in the mud." ” Although Zhukov was determined to push the German coalition forces northward as much as possible, the progress of the Red Army was not smooth, and Kuvshinovo had not yet been completely occupied by the Red Army.
"They didn't come from Kuvshinovo," Kaminsky sat down on a shabby couch that he got from somewhere, "they're from Andreapol" "What Andrea Pol" Voskoponico looked up at Kaminsky, who already remembered that Kaminsky had just returned from the command of the Russian 1st Army, which was going to Okulovka.
"It's true" "Really" "But Andreapor is still in the hands of the German paratroopers."
Voskoponico frowned and asked, "Is it Germany too?"
"The Germans did not make false reports," Kaminsky said, "Andrea Poel was still in the hands of the German 2nd Division of the Paratroopers, but the Red Army bypassed Andrea Poel, and this morning the German reconnaissance planes spotted a large armored cluster coming towards us." ” "They can't come," Voskoponico sighed, "the Germans' air force will take them all." ” "No, they're coming," Kaminsky shook his head a little distressed, "Marshal Kappel Vladimir Oskarovich Kappel, in this time and space he was sent by Kolchak to the Crimea to meet Empress Olga, so he escaped death, and has been following Olga since then to say that the Germans are going to release this Red Army to Valdai, and will let them temporarily cut off the Red October railway line" "What" Voskoponico couldn't sit still at this moment, and stood up at once, "What do the Germans want to do, do they want to fall into the encirclement of the Red Army by themselves?"
Kaminsky nodded, "I think so" "And what about us," Vosco Ponico asked.
"We hold on to our mission, and there is a possibility that Valdai will be surrounded," Kaminsky said with a wry smile, "and later a tank brigade of destroyers equipped with German-aided Stalker tank destroyers will reinforce us."
Then we're going to hold on to the Valdai until the muddy season is over. ” "What is the vanguard of the 7th Guards Tank Army approaching Valdai" Zhukov almost suspected that something was wrong with his ears, and he looked at the chief of staff of the Central Front, Lieutenant General Kokopev, in surprise, "You mean that the 7th Guards Tank Army is about to cut off the main logistics line of the German army" "Yes," Lieutenant General Kokopev looked a little excited, "this is a major turning point, the situation on the northern front will change completely, and the Germans will have to make a big stride back." ” Zhukov immediately walked to the map table, where Lieutenant General Kokopev had already reached the direction of the 7th Guards Tank Army with a red and blue pencil.
"Fedyuninsky did a beautiful job and caught the Germans off guard."
Kokopev smiled and said to Zhukov, "The Germans may have been negligent, and when our army launched a counterattack, they transferred the troops of the Northern Front to the center according to the original plan, which was obviously too light on the enemy." ” He was now talking about the speculation of the General Staff of the Red Army on the reasons for the transfer of German troops, and the General Staff of the Red Army really could not figure out why the Germans would move their troops away from the Northern Front after the Red Army launched a counterattack, and the only plausible explanation seemed to be that they were carrying out the original plan.
Zhukov nodded noncommittally.
"Comrade commander," Pepekov added, "now there are about 20 days left before the end of the muddy season, and what we have is time, the offensive on the northern front should be expanded." ” "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 it is only necessary to maintain a certain intensity of the offensive on the front and wait for the German army to retreat." ” He would not be naïve enough to believe that the 6th Panzer Army could encircle Paulus, even if Paulus was lying still, he would not besiege it.
Now that the weather has cleared up, and the roads are very muddy, it is not conducive to the attack of the Soviet army, which has no air superiority.
Therefore, Zhukov was already satisfied with being able to force back the German army on the northern route and let the Soviet Central Front gather forces to deal with the imminent large-scale offensive of the German army in the center.
It was obviously impossible to eat Paulus's army group However, although Zhukov's thinking was correct, there was also a great leader above him, Stalin.
"Why not surround the enemy?"
Stalin pointed to the arrow on the map symbolizing the 7th Guards Tank Army with his pipe in his pipe.
The arrow is now close to the Valdai and looks like it's not far from the Red October line.
"Just by cutting the Red October railway line, we can pocket at least 500,000 enemies, right?"
Stalin asked.
"Yes," Zhukov already felt a little uncomfortable, "but we are not capable of eating these 500,000 enemy troops, and the Germans will inevitably launch a fierce attack in the center in early May, and may also split a powerful mechanized group to steal from the south of Moscow."
Therefore, we should end the operation on the northern front as soon as possible, gather our forces, and prepare for the enemy's attack on the central and southern fronts. ” "It is only the 13th," said Stalin, "that there are 20 days left before the beginning of May, and that a real victory cannot be fought on the Northern Front, and that the Germans should be forced to break through in the direction of Leningrad, if not to encircle them."
I think they will definitely break through, so that the threat of the Germans on the northern front can be temporarily lifted.
As for the central and southern routes, there is no need to worry at all, because we have the fortified city of Moscow, even if the German army hits under the city of Moscow, it does not matter, if it is not enough, more troops will be transferred to Moscow" Hearing what Stalin said, Zhukov was also a little shaken that Moscow was indeed a big fortress and was not afraid of the German armored forces.
In Zhukov's view, what Moscow is really afraid of is being surrounded, if it can hit the German army's northern route, it will be difficult to encircle Moscow by relying on the German army's middle road alone, after all, the Soviet army's central front is huge, and there is an Orel Front nearby that can support Moscow at any time.
Stalin's idea seemed to be feasible, but the battle on the northern route could not be fought endlessly.
Thinking of this, Zhukov said to Stalin: "Comrade General Secretary, we should set a time for the end of the battle on the Northern Road.
If, by 20 April, the Germans in the North Roads still refused to break through, then the battle should also be ended. ” "On April 30," Stalin said, "at the same time the Orel Front was reorganized into a reserve front and used on the Moscow battlefield" At this time, the leader of the loving father showed a firm and unusual expression: "The key to the success or failure of the cause of GCISM lies in Moscow, and now that Moscow has the opportunity to inflict heavy losses on the German army, it must not give up Even if it is a trap, GC fighters can turn it into an opportunity to annihilate the German army in large numbers" t1706231537: