. Shumilou.CoM.Shumilou.Co

At four o'clock in the morning of 11 June, in the lounge next to the war room of the headquarters of the Seventh Armored Corps in the east of Kaulcao Town, Chen Dao lay on his back in a rocking chair, and while closing his eyes and leisurely shaking the rocking chair, he listened to Major Lorenz report on the movement of troops.

"General Mandolfil sent a telegram that he had returned to the headquarters of the Imperial Marshal's Division at Krutown, and that the Imperial Marshal's Division was ready to attack at any moment. The Italian Litorio Panzer Division and the Turin Motorized Division have all arrived in the Solnok area, and the regiments of the Greater German Division have arrived at their respective starting points, are currently replenishing fuel, and are expected to be ready for attack in an hour. ”

Chen Dao raised his right hand and pressed it on the desk to the right of the rocking chair, stopped the rocking chair from shaking, and sat up straight.

"What's going on there in the Sixty-seventh Infantry Corps? There was no trace of the Soviets. ”

The 67th Infantry Corps was a direct subordinate unit of the Balkan Army Group, and after the headquarters of the 3rd Panzer Army led by "General Hoth" arrived in Hungary, the 67th Infantry Corps was placed under the command of the 3rd Panzer Army.

The 67th Army laid a defensive line 70 kilometers east of Budapest, which was the last line of defense to protect Budapest.

Major Lorenz shook his head and said, "According to your instructions, I have asked the military headquarters of the 67th Army, and no trace of the Soviets has been found in front of their defensive line, except for the Soviet Air Force. ”

Chen Dao scratched his head, his mouth slurped, his body went limp, he leaned back on the rocking chair weakly, and muttered to himself with his eyes closed.

"The Soviets marched much slower than I thought, and it was so disappointing to me," told General Holren, of the Großdeutsche Division. They still have an hour and a half to rest. An hour and a half later. Wait for my command. ”

"I'll go tell them right away."

"Remember. As soon as a telegram arrives from the 67th Army, it will be delivered to me immediately, without any delay. Chen Dao said.

The moment Major Lorenz closed the door, he heard Chen Dao muttering to himself there, muttering a sentence over and over again

"It's too slow, our actions are too slow, I can't stand this kind of procrastination, what the hell are the troops of the 213th Motorized Division doing? Does their division commander want to go to a court-martial? ”

Fifty kilometers due north of Kaurchog. In the town of Mazechat, the commander of the Soviet 24th Mechanized Corps, Kryakov, slammed the pencil in his hand on the map table and roared angrily.

"There are also the 45th Tank Division and the 216th Motorized Division, it's been two whole days, haven't they run the last 100 kilometers, are they sitting in tanks or snails? Do they want to wait for Budapest to become a fortress and hit their heads on it and break the blood? ”

The chief of staff, Lieutenant Colonel Kosolov, glanced at one of the captain's staff officers and motioned for the staff officer to pour a glass of water.

He knew very well the root of Kryakov's troubles.

In one night, four telegrams were sent in a row from the headquarters of the Southwestern Front to the headquarters of the 12th Army.

The contents of the telegram were much the same, urging him to divide his forces as soon as possible. Complete two difficult tasks.

Recall that in the early morning of 8 June, the 24th Mechanized Army and the 12th Army fought side by side. More than 4,000 artillery pieces, more than 1,000 tanks joined forces to attack.

Like a hammer on an egg, the defensive line of the Hungarian Second Army, entrenched in the area of Niregihazo, north of the city of Debrecen, was smashed to pieces in an instant.

The 24th Mechanized Army, as a rapid group of army groups, passed through the stabbed and porous Hungarian defense line, and frantically marched into the Hungarian hinterland, encountering basically no Hungarian army formed resistance along the way, only a large number of routs and countless refugees.

At that time, Major General Kryyakov was very high-spirited, claiming that he would rush to Budapest, the capital of Hungary, in three days, and strive to capture the city during the march and win the first victory against Hungary.

However, on the evening of June 9, everything began to take a turn for the worse.

First an order from the command of the XII Army.

The army group command ordered them to divide a tank division, cooperate with the reinforcement and give them the 213th motorized infantry division to launch a right hook, hook the back of the Italian Eighth Army, cut off the connection between the Italian troops and the rear, and then cooperate with the frontal attack of the 21st Army and the 19th Mechanized Army, flank the Italian Eighth Army on both sides, and annihilate them in one fell swoop.

When he first received this order, Kryakov was delighted, believing that this was an easily accomplishable task, and subsequently handed over the task to the 49th Tank Division, which was marching on the left flank.

The headquarters of the Southwestern Front then sent a telegram asking if there were any difficulties in accomplishing this task of the 24th Mechanized Army.

Kryakov said at that time that there were no difficulties and only hoped that the 213 Infantry Division would quickly reach the area where the sortie was carried out.

Admiral Kirponos personally called Kryakov to verbally commend him, and after some discussion, the two men set the time for the attack to start at 7 a.m. on 11 June.

However, I am afraid of what comes.

The 213 Motorized Rifle Division was delayed in arrival, and after radio contact, they claimed to have blocked the road by countless infantry units of the XII Army.

Time flashed by, and it was already 4:50 a.m. on 11 June, two hours and ten minutes before the offensive was launched, and the troops of the 213th Motorized Division were still one regiment away from reaching their designated positions.

The Front Command and the Group Army Headquarters sent four telegrams in succession, asking whether the 24th Mechanized Army would be able to launch an offensive on time, and claiming that all hopes for victory in the campaign rested on their offensive.

Once the Italian Eighth Army was annihilated, the enemy in Hungary would be almost completely swept away, and there would be no one to resist the 24th Mechanized Corps rushing towards Budapest, unless the Germans brought in more troops into Hungary.

The hope of the war in Hungary was pinned on the 24th Mechanized Army, and the hope of the 24th Mechanized Army was pinned on whether the 213th Motorized Rifle Division could be in place in time.

The 213th Division was unable to arrive for a long time, and not only Kryyakov, but even Kosolov was full of anger in his heart.

The Italian Eighth Army would not ignore the exposed left flank, and any delay could have an immeasurable impact on the tide of the battle.

Maybe the attack started an hour late. The left flank of the Italian Eighth Army would have had an extra defensive force. And, most likely, the armored divisions of the Germans.

According to a report from the command of the army group. The vanguard of the 3rd Panzer Army of the Germans had already entered Hungary.

Kosolov suppressed the anger in his heart, took the glass of water handed by the staff officer, and took a sip to moisten his thirsty throat.

"I suggest that the 213th Motorized Division be ordered to launch an attack on time when the time comes, and use the regiment that arrived late as a reserve."

Kryakov agreed to Kosoloov's proposal without thinking, and the order was subsequently issued.

Kryakov and Kosolov kept looking at their watches, and the minutes and seconds flew by.

At 5:30 a.m. Kosolov couldn't bear the exhaustion of his spirit, covered his mouth and yawned profusely.

Before his mouth could be closed, a communications staff officer hurried into the operations command room, his face full of joy.

"Report, the 213th Motorized Rifle Division has just sent a call back, and that regiment of theirs is in place and ready to launch an attack on time."

"Great." Kosolov rushed to the side of the communications staff officer, grabbed the telegram, and before he could read it, he saw another communications staff officer rush into the command room.

Report. A telegram came from the 45th Tank Division. ”

Could it be that they hit Budapest? Kryakov shouted in surprise: "Read." ”

"The vanguard of the 45th Tank Division reached the Jasbereni line and encountered a well-established German defense. The 45th Tank Division asked whether it would storm the German lines and carry out the established plan for attacking Budapest, or whether it would change its combat plan. ”

Kryakov was like a basin of cold water poured on his head, and the flame of joy that had just been ignited by the arrival of all the 213 motorized divisions was instantly extinguished.

Kosolov walked up to Kryakov and said: "Since the plan to seize Budapest on the march has been aborted, it is better to transfer the units of the 45th Tank Division to the south and join the operational plan to outflank the Italian Eighth Army." ”

Kryakov took out a pack of cigarettes, pulled out one and lit it.

After smoking half a cigarette, he glared at him and said categorically: "That's fine, when we concentrate on destroying the Italians, the infantry behind will almost rush to the line of Yasbereni, and then we will cooperate with the infantry to break through the German defense line and fight to Budapest." You immediately send a telegram to the army group command and tell them what we think. ”

Seeing Chen Dao sleeping on the rocking chair, his snoring was long and rhythmic, Major Lorenz could hardly bear to disturb his good dreams, but he still pushed his shoulders with a hard heart.

"What's the matter?"

"A telegram from the Sixty-seventh Army, the Soviets were found in front of their line of defense, and the Soviets tried to launch a tentative attack, which had been repulsed by the Sixty-seventh Army."

Chen Dao stood up abruptly, and if he hadn't dodged in time, Major Lorenz would have almost hit his head on the chin.

Chen Dao walked out of the lounge and came to the outer combat command room.

Looking at the map with red and blue arrows painted on the wall, Chen Dao said: "They have finally arrived, much slower than I thought. ”

Staring at the map on the wall, Chen Dao struggled to think about the battle plan.

The line of defense of the Hungarian Second Army was broken through, and Soviet tanks and infantry were pouring into the Hungarian hinterland from the left flank of the Italian Eighth Army.

Chen Dao glanced at the distance between Nirejihazo and Yasbereni, which was about one hundred and twenty kilometers in a straight line, and even farther by road, nearly two hundred kilometers.

Because of the difference in the speed of the march, this distance was enough for the Soviets' mechanized corps to throw off the infantry behind, creating a fatal gap between the two armies.

What he has to do now is to lead the Seventh Panzer Army to attack, insert this gap, cut off the connection between the Soviet forward armored forces and the follow-up infantry, and then eat the advancing Soviet armored forces first, and then beat the Soviet infantry exposed in the open field and lacking tank support.

Unexpectedly, the advance of the armored forces of the Soviet vanguard was too slow, and it was only at this time that they rushed to the front line of Asbereni, and there were not enough enemies who entered the pocket, so they had to wait a little longer to maximize the results.

After pondering for a few seconds, Chen Dao made up his mind and said to Major Lorenz: "Order all units to stand by in place, and do a good job of concealment work and air defense vigilance, and the scheduled attack time is set at nine o'clock in the morning." Inform the Sixth Air Force and ask them to send more reconnaissance planes to reconnoiter the movements of the enemy forces on the right bank of the Tisza River and report to us at any time. The 67th Army was also to keep me informed of the movements of the Soviet armored forces opposite. ”

Major Lorenz said: "With the delay in the attack, the likelihood of our exposure will increase a lot. ”

"It doesn't matter, let the Air Force send more fighters to combat patrols, and once the Soviet Air Force reconnaissance plane is discovered, shoot it down immediately. In order to achieve greater victories, the necessary adventures are needed. ”

After seeing off Major Lorenz, Chen Dao returned to the lounge to continue to sleep.

Once the battle starts, I am afraid that there will be no chance to sleep for three or four days in a row, and we must take advantage of all the opportunities available to refresh our spirits.

Delay the attack by three hours, and it is estimated that one or two Soviet divisions will reach the Yasbereni area, which will then be blocked by the 67th Army.

The distance between the Soviet armored forces and the infantry divisions behind will also be widened, and the opportunity for the 7th Panzer Army will come.

With a beautiful vision of victory, Chen Dao closed his eyes and fell asleep.

In the dark, I don't know how long it took, Chen Dao was pushed to wake up again, and when he opened his eyes, he saw that it was Major Lorenz again.

"What time is it?" Chen Dao asked.

"Eight-fifteen." Major Lorenz said.

Chen Dao rubbed his eyes, got up and said, "It's almost time, I'll go wash my face." ”

"General, there's something you need to know."

Chen Dao looked at Major Lorenz, his eyes full of doubt.

"The Sixth Air Force has just sent a telegram that a powerful armored unit of the Soviet Army is marching along the banks of the Tisza River towards our staging area. There are at least one armored division in number, and reconnaissance aircraft of the Air Force are monitoring their movements. ”

"Are you sure they came along the banks of the Tisza River, and the target was the staging ground of our army?" Chen Dao asked in surprise.

"That's what the telegram says, and with the direction of the Tissa River, the direction of their march will certainly pass through our assembly areas."

The Soviets were clearly here to copy the Italian Eighth Army's rear route, and Chen Dao was not surprised.

Chen Dao was surprised that the enemy had sent only one division.

"It is impossible, if the enemy wants to outflank the rear of the Italian Eighth Army, it is impossible to send only one division of troops. The Air Force was notified to continue to monitor the enemy's movements, the Großdeutsch and Reichsmarshal divisions were notified to send reconnaissance units and prepare for engagement. ”

About twenty minutes later, Major Lorenz rushed to Chen Dao's side.

"It was reported that the Sixth Air Force and the Litorio Panzer Division had sent a telegram that a large number of Soviet armored units were moving south to Solnok, the assembly place of the Litorio Division. The enemy coming along the Tisza was at least two divisions, at least one of which was an armored division. (To be continued......)