Chapter 105 Pilot
So the battlefield is not only about planes and cannons, but also open and covert battles between the commanders of the enemy and us... For example, this battle is more about the battle of wits and courage between Kleist and Shulka.
Major General Gavrilov immediately conveyed Shulka's thoughts to General Kirponos.
Admiral Kirponos, who was restless, felt that Shulka was right after hearing this, so he immediately ordered the transfer of a tank unit from the east bank, a tank unit disguised as the 9th Army.
It is not difficult to do this, because the 9th Mechanized Army itself is a patchwork of various units. To disguise them as them, you only need to mix various tanks together and hide their own numbers.
Then, Admiral Kirponos gritted his teeth and ordered: "Order the 5th Airborne Brigade to prepare for battle!"
"Yes, Comrade General!" The staff officer responded and conveyed the order.
The 5th Airborne Brigade is an elite unit directly under the Southwest Front Army. Although they are called "airborne brigades", their airborne operations are immature at this time, and airborne troops are generally used as elite infantry. Admiral Kirponos originally wanted to keep them as a reserve team to defend Kyiv, but now, he had to put this force into the battlefield ahead of time.
At 9:00 that night, a few red flares suddenly rose above the Kyiv defense line, followed by a burst of artillery fire, and rows of artillery shells slammed from the city towards the German offensive line outside.
After ten minutes of artillery preparation, the Soviet 5th Airborne Brigade launched a counterattack against the Germans.
The counterattack must of course be carried out at night, especially when the infantry is attacking the enemy's mechanized troops, because this can minimize the advantage of the enemy's tanks.
The Soviet counterattack caught the Germans by surprise, including Kleist, commander of the 1st Armored Group.
At this time, Kleist was resting in his command vehicle with his clothes on. It was a British command vehicle. The German army seized it from the British on the North African battlefield, and then worked tirelessly to transport a few vehicles to the Eastern Front for the German army. Used by senior officers.
Admiral Kleist was lucky enough to get one.
However, if it is not necessary, Admiral Kleist rarely chooses to command or rest in the command vehicle, because it is too conspicuous to the enemy, it is like telling the enemy that a senior officer is inside, and then let them send Sneak attack by troops or direct artillery bombardment.
But tonight, the 60-year-old Admiral Kleist felt that he couldn't hold on anymore. The torrential rain made him catch the wind and cold. He had to ask his subordinates to drive the command vehicle behind the bunker and put up a camouflage. Going to spend the night there.
The luxury of the command vehicle made Admiral Kleist feel like he was at home... In fact, the command vehicle of the British army is a caravan, with a small command and work area in the middle and a living area in the rear , equipped with beds, desks, lamps, etc., and even a wine cabinet.
If it wasn't for his illness, Admiral Kleist really wanted to open a bottle of wine and take a few sips.
Just when Admiral Kleist was hiding in the warm and dry blanket and lamenting the enjoyment of the British general, the adjutant Colonel David came in from the door and reported: "Your Excellency, I think you should see this, Ten minutes ago, the Russians launched a counterattack!"
"Counterattack?" Hearing this, Admiral Kleist sat up from the bed.
"Yes, counterattack!" The adjutant handed over the telegram and then reported: "Their attack is very fierce, and we are retreating!"
The voice of the second half of the sentence was very low, but Admiral Kleist still raised his head in shock.
After a while, Admiral Kleist asked: "How many tanks do they have?"
"No, Your Excellency General!" The adjutant replied: "They don't have tanks!"
This surprised Admiral Kleist. No tanks could push back his armored forces purely by infantry, although it was difficult for tanks to play a role at night.
"But I have good news, Your Excellency General!" The adjutant said: "Colonel William believes that the Russians who attacked them were pilots!"
Admiral Kleist raised his head again, he couldn't believe what he heard: "Pilot?"
"Yes, the pilot!" The adjutant replied, pointing to the map: "Our information shows that this force departed from Junea Airport and then launched an attack from north to south. Moreover, they are wearing pilot uniforms and flying helmets. ..."
(Note: The Soviet Airborne Forces use similar uniforms to pilots)
Admiral Kleist was silent for a while, and then said: "Stupid Russians, they use pilots as infantry. But it seems to make no difference, because they have no aircraft to use!"
"Your Excellency, General!" The adjutant then asked, "Does this tell us that they have indeed withdrawn their mechanized troops to the east bank?"
Admiral Kleist nodded slightly.
The Russians urgently called back the tank troops, and now even the pilots are sent to the battlefield, which is enough to prove that their troops are insufficient and the command is chaotic.
In other words, Admiral Kleist has already got the answer he wanted.
Then, there is no need for him to let his armored forces storm the Kyiv defense line and cause unnecessary casualties.
"Tell the Air Force to blow up the Kyiv Bridge no matter what!" Admiral Kleist said: "Give the Kyiv attack to the 6th Army, and we should free up our hands to attack other places!"
"Yes, Your Excellency General!"
After the adjutant stepped out of the command vehicle, Admiral Kleist turned his attention to the map, took out a pen and drew a circle at a point on the east bank of the Dnieper River, and said to himself: "Kremen Hill This is going to be a place to make history!"
Admiral Kleist is right, Kremenchug, this little-known town on the east bank of the Dnieper River, because the German 1st Armored Group successfully smuggled here and finally completed the encirclement, resulting in the entire southwest of the Soviet army The front army was annihilated and recorded in the annals of history.
As soon as the sky brightened the next day, the German 1st Armored Group withdrew from the sequence of attacking Kyiv under the cover of infantry.
Of course, this was done in secret. In order to prevent the Soviets from discovering the withdrawal of the armored troops, the German army even made some fake tanks with camouflage and hid them in the trenches... Rommel used this method to deceive the British in Africa.
In addition, the German Air Force also invested a large number of bombers to bombard the Kyiv Bridge indiscriminately.
Everything seems to be developing in the direction favorable to the German army.
But what Admiral Kleist didn't know was that all his plans were under the control of the Soviet army.
To be precise, it was "guessed" by the "escape hero".
(end of this chapter)
