Dnepropetrovsk did not live up to Stalin's expectations, and with their practical actions, they proved their loyalty. The Soviet troops did not surrender and did not retreat, they held their positions and fought for three whole days without flinching.

For three days, the Germans made no progress except for some outer defensive positions, and the city was still under the control of the Soviet army!

Of course, this also has something to do with the fact that the Germans did not attack with all their might. But no matter what, they can be regarded as completing one-third of their "results".

According to Stalin's instructions, the Soviet army only had to hold out in Dnepropetrovsk for 10 days to complete the task.

Therefore, as long as they hold on for another 7 days, they will be regarded as having fulfilled their responsibilities and made their own contribution to the continuation of the motherland.

Crowded in the not very strong trenches, the Soviet soldiers faced the dense German artillery fire and terrible fire suppression.

"Marshal Bock! Are we really in no hurry to attack Dnepropetrovsk? The two division commanders stood behind the commander-in-chief of Army Group D and asked softly.

Marshal Bock, who put his eyes on the mirror of the artillery team, looked away, waved his hand and said: "The battle order issued by the Führer, before the winter comes, we only need to take Dnepropetrovsk, Kharkov and Donetsk. ”

After he finished speaking, he looked at the two subordinates who didn't know what to say, and comforted: "The Führer doesn't want the troops to spend the winter in a field state, so he plans to let most of the troops have cities as their backing, waiting for the coming of winter." ”

"The combat mission of our army group is to capture Kharkov and Donetsk in the last two months." As he spoke, Bock walked to the door of the observation post, smiled and whispered: "So, there is no such hurry to attack Dnepropetrovsk, it will be enough to fight for another ten days!" ”

Army Group D, commanded by Bock, now has two main directions of attack, one to attack Dnepropetrovsk and the other to attack the Crimean Peninsula.

In order to ensure the safety of the Black Sea route as soon as possible and to make its transport route operate at full power as soon as possible, Bock set the focus of his attack on the Crimean Peninsula.

He wanted to concentrate his superior forces and first kill the Soviet troops guarding the peninsula, so that his rear would no longer have to worry about the future.

In this way, he consciously slowed down the speed of the attack on Dnepropetrovsk, and even had some meaning of "appeasement and nurturing traitors".

"With Dnepropetrovsk, the Soviets will have to add more men to this pocket...... Didn't I gather so much artillery just to turn this place into ruins? Bock walked out of the observation post with his hands behind his back and muttered quietly.

Army Group D had been waiting for the Soviets to strengthen the defenses near Dnepropetrovsk and then fill in more troops.

As the final battle before the onset of winter, Bock thought of using Dnepropetrovsk to contain a large number of Soviet troops, and then encircle and annihilate these Soviet troops, and then take Donetsk in one go.

"Boom!" In the distance, on the Soviet position, a large-caliber artillery shell exploded, kicking up even greater black smoke and soaring into the sky.

Dnepropetrovsk, the only city held by the Soviet army on the Dnieper, has now been bombarded by the Germans to half a ruin.

Many of the buildings had collapsed, the bridges had collapsed – and the Soviets stood in the ruins, battling the Germans with their flesh and blood.

Anyway, the Germans did not attack with all their might, and the Soviets were happy to see it. The two sides played a tacit understanding here, and it is very likely that they will play until winter comes.

Both sides saw the problem very thoroughly, and the Germans did not have the ability to take Stalingrad before this winter came.

The Soviet side also clearly knew that before this winter, let alone counterattack, it was a little reluctant to even hold the position.

Therefore, after a short period of testing, the Soviet and German armies coordinated with each other and prepared for the winter of 1941.

Ten days later, Dnepropetrovsk, which had held out for 13 days, was occupied by the Germans, and Marshal Bock achieved the brilliant result of annihilating 100,000 enemy troops.

Subsequently, German Army Group D advanced eastward, targeting Donetsk. Following the left flank of the German army was the Italian expeditionary force; Deployed on the right flank of the German army, it was Romanian troops.

In the same way, Army Group B, commanded by Guderian, was now under no pressure, and the Führer ordered them to capture Kharkov before winter.

So Guderian had 1 whole month to prepare for the offensive, which allowed Army Group B to abandon the option of continuing the forward assault and instead massed near Kharkov, semi-encircling the city.

On September 27, the Germans captured Pavlograd, Guderian's armored forces arrived in Belgorod, and Kharkov was surrounded on three sides.

On the same day, German Army Group A advanced several tens of kilometers and occupied Yaroslavl, an important city northeast of Moscow.

Also on the same day, the German Army Group C advanced northwards and completely encircled Murmansk.

Marshal Loeb personally led his troops forward and stormed forward, having captured the area west of the Volga in Petrozavodsk two days earlier, and the Soviet Union actually had nothing left to be nostalgic about.

If Stalingrad is excluded, the Germans west of the Volga already controlled most of the rich areas.

Although the Ural Mountains were still some way from their ultimate goal, the Germans had already completed their strategic planning.

In addition to not forcing the Soviets to surrender quickly, the Germans got everything they wanted – Moscow, St. Petersburg, Minsk and Kiev.

Li Le's offensive plan was almost the same as Hitler's offensive plan: he abandoned the attack on Ukraine and took Moscow.

It is a pity that the capture of Moscow did not put an immediate end to the Soviet-German war. Similarly, the confusion that followed the loss of Moscow by the Soviets allowed the Germans to achieve greater victories in the subsequent campaign in Ukraine.

The Germans annihilated more Soviet troops in the Battle of Kyiv, and at a much faster rate! At the same time, it is also possible that the German army will capture the whole of Ukraine before the end of 1941!

At least for now, in addition to the fact that the defeat of Stalin was unsuccessful, the Germans went further than they did in history, taking one more Moscow and St. Petersburg, and occupying large swathes of Soviet territory in the north.

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Long Ling is lazy, so I'll stop changing it today...... Last month, the supplement exploded even more, and I haven't rested until now......