Chapter 406 Fiction
Stalin didn't pay much attention to this at first, because he suspected that this was just a German strategy to prevent the Soviet army from counterattacking in the direction of Moscow.
"Why isn't this a hoax?" Stalin said to his subordinates: "Of course, Mehlis may have a point. However, this is not a way for the German army to solve the frontal crisis. They hope that we can transfer troops to the The south or focus on the south, so they can hold their ground and keep the existing defense line!"
"But, Comrade Stalin!" The staff officer reminded: "Our offensive on the front line has been blocked and progress is slow. It seems unnecessary for the Germans to do this!"
Stalin took his pipe from his mouth and replied: "This may only be an appearance. We don't know whether the Germans are on the verge of collapse. We know that their army in the direction of Moscow is short of supplies and unable to adapt to the cold climate. They even Many soldiers offered to surrender to us..."
This is indeed a fact. At this time, such things are still happening on the front line. Many German soldiers sneaked to the Soviet army because they did not have enough clothing and food, and because they did not want to be frozen to death or starved to death.
This was unthinkable before, but it is happening now.
"So!" Stalin concluded: "We should wait and see what happens, maintain the current offensive, and even strengthen the offensive against the enemy from Moscow. As long as we can drive out the Germans in the front, then the enemy in the south... Their flanks will be exposed and surrounded by us!"
The analysis of Stalin's words is well-founded, even Shulka is no exception after hearing it.
Of course, Shulka knew that wasn't the case.
The battlefield is sometimes like this. It is difficult to guess and grasp the enemy's true strategic intentions in it.
Shuerka is only able to see through and confirm it at a glance because he stands at the height of history.
Therefore, the entire Soviet army did not respond to the German offensive to the south, and even the air force was not transferred to the south, and it still attacked the German Central Army Group in the direction of Moscow with all its strength.
All this pressure was put on Model's 9th Army, but because the 9th Army got four armored divisions that had just been reinforced from Germany, coupled with Model's command talent, it quickly fought again and again. Repelled the Soviet attack.
There are several key points: Holm, Staraya Rusa and Demyansk, which even defended themselves when surrounded by a large number of Soviet troops.
These locations have a terrain similar to Rzhev, that is, surrounded by a swamp, there is only one hard ground and high ground, which makes it difficult for the Soviet army to capture these small towns garrisoned by only a few thousand remnants and defeated soldiers, even with tanks and superior forces. town.
Of course, this also has something to do with the fighting spirit and perseverance of the German army.
Plus Model's full reinforcements to them... This support is mainly reflected in the delivery of supplies and a small amount of troops.
For these important places that were surrounded and completely separated from the German defense line, Model adopted an ingenious reinforcement method: glider.
The glider is a kind of airborne method of the German army... It is well known that the German airborne troops are at the forefront of the world. Ironically, the airborne troops and airborne operations were invented by the Soviet Union: In 1927, the Soviet army used transport planes to airdrop troops in Central Asia, annihilating the Rebels such as Batuma traitors were the first real airborne warfare to appear. In 1930, the Soviet Airborne Forces formally established the world's first formal paratrooper force.
However, this kind of airborne combat did not receive the attention of the Soviet Union. By World War II, there was even a phenomenon that airborne troops were used as ordinary infantry.
Instead, the Germans carried it forward in the war.
It is not surprising that the Germans attach importance to airborne troops, because their "blitzkrieg" requires some troops to occupy important strategic targets such as bridges and transportation hubs before the armored troops.
"Blitz" had to do it.
The reason is simple, no tank can be faster than the enemy to load the explosives and light the fuse.
The attacked enemy saw the German tanks coming from a distance, and only needing to blow up the bridge was enough to slow down the German armor, so the "blitzkrieg" could not "flash".
However, if the enemy is not seen in the distance at all, or the German armored forces are still far away, at least a few days away... At this time, a group of German soldiers suddenly parachuted down to occupy these bridges, and then under the cover of the air force Hold the bridge so it doesn't get blown up.
Then, the German armored forces arrived quickly day and night, not only passed the bridge smoothly, but also successfully defeated the enemy with the cooperation of the airborne troops, and then attacked the next target non-stop, and so on.
It is not difficult to imagine that the airborne troops played an important role in the "Blitzkrieg". It can almost be said that there would be no "Blitzkrieg" without the airborne troops.
The brilliance of the Germans is that they have developed a set of practical and effective tactical theories with almost no actual combat experience.
If there is actual combat experience, it is also actual combat experience in World War I.
The actual combat experience of most people such as the French and the British from World War I was "absolute defense", while what the Germans derived was "blitzkrieg" that was coordinated by multiple arms such as the air force, airborne troops, and armored forces.
So it is not surprising that it is invincible on the battlefield.
For this reason, the German army attached great importance to the training of glider pilots.
Of course, some of them were forced out... The "Treaty of Versailles" stipulated that the German army was not allowed to train and train pilots, but the glider was not among them.
So, after Hitler came to power in 1933, he seized this opportunity and listed glider training as one of the compulsory subjects in German high schools. That is to say, almost every high school graduate can fly a glider.
The advantage reflected at this time is that the German army can easily find a large number of glider pilots from the army, and then let them drive the glider to carry supplies and even soldiers to reinforce Holm and other besieged important places.
This is also one of the reasons why the counterattack of the Soviet army has been unable to expand... There are several thorns in the rear that cannot be pulled out, and no one dares to move forward with confidence. Sometimes there will even be shells roaring from the rear. It is possible to be attacked from both sides.
Mechlis became even more excited at this time.
"I said it, Shulka!" Mehlis said while pacing back and forth: "I said they would definitely attack the Crimea, but they didn't listen to my opinion!"
Seeing that there was no one around, Mechlis lowered his voice and said to Shulka: "Good job, Comrade Shulka! Now, how do you think the battle will continue?"
(end of this chapter)
RECENTLY UPDATES
