On December 25, 1942, when the Soviet Red Army advanced to the Vilnius-Lida-Pinsk line, the Soviet Red Army's advance began to slow down. Pen ~ fun ~ pavilion www.biquge.info

The Germans deployed a large number of troops on this line and temporarily constructed a defensive line. In order to complete the construction of the defense line in the shortest possible time, the German government forcibly conscripted hundreds of thousands of civilians and transferred tens of thousands of prisoners of war to participate in the construction of the defense line.

In a matter of days, a makeshift line of defense was formed, but most of the fortifications were rudimentary, more than a notch worse than the Manturov and Mannerheim lines.

The repeated bombing of the Soviet Air Force caused some damage to the defensive line, but the ruthless German soldiers actually used local civilians and captured Soviet soldiers as shields, making it difficult for Soviet planes to attack.

Moreover, with the increase in German aircraft production (9,422 aircraft were produced in Germany in 1941, and 13,000 in 1942), the numerical superiority of the Soviet Air Force was gradually compensated, and the German army gradually mastered part of the air supremacy, which also brought considerable resistance to the air raids of the Soviet Air Force.

The combat quality of the German Army is undoubtedly world-class, and although their weapons and equipment are not as good as those of the Soviet Army, they are at least not inferior to Britain and the United States, and even stronger than Britain and the United States.

Since the advent of the MG42 machine gun, the performance of the German Army on the battlefield has been greatly improved. This excellent machine gun combines reliability, durability, simplicity, ease of operation and low cost, and is one of the best machine guns in Germany and the world, with a maximum rate of fire of 1,500 rounds per minute!

The Germans, armed with MG42 machine guns, repeatedly repelled the charges of the Soviet Red Army, inflicting considerable casualties on the Soviet Red Army. However, the casualty rate of the German MG42 machine gunners was not small, because they often became the target of Soviet snipers, and they were also the primary targets of Soviet aircraft and tanks.

When the MG42 firing point on one front is destroyed, the Axis armies on the entire front will not have a firepower advantage, because at that time the German infantry was mainly armed with Mauser kar 98k manual rifles, while the Soviet Red Army was heavily equipped with DP light machine guns and PPSH-41 submachine guns, and the Soviets had an advantage in terms of rate of fire and firepower.

After several days of fighting, the Soviet Red Army successfully broke through the German defense line in Belarus, and millions of Red Army soldiers, led by thousands of tanks, crossed the German defense line set up on the outskirts, but some German troops were still holding in the cities of Pinsk, Baranovichi and Lida, fighting street battles with the Soviet army.

In the Lithuanian area, the Soviet army did not go so smoothly, and when the 3rd Belorussian Front of the Soviet Red Army approached Vilnius, it encountered stubborn resistance from the German 3rd tank group.

The Germans deployed heavy forces around Vilnius, which was not only the capital of Lithuania, but also an important strategic stronghold for the German army.

As early as 1941, when the Germans occupied the Baltic states, the command of the German Army Group Center and Army Group North realized the importance of Lithuania.

Lithuania had few resources and no industrial base, but it was an important transport hub for the German-occupied zone – almost all of the supplies and replenishment of Army Group North passed through this area.

In the event of the loss of Lithuania, the land supply routes of the German Army Group North would fall into the hands of the Soviet Red Army, their connection with Army Group Center would be cut off, and the dozens of divisions deployed in Latvia and Estonia would become a lone army, facing the danger of being encircled and annihilated by the Soviet Red Army at any time.

Therefore, in order to prevent such a situation, the German Army Group Center deployed heavy troops in Lithuania and southern Latvia, and also equipped the most advanced German Daimler Leopard, Tiger and Elephant tank destroyers to deal with the threat of the Soviet Red Army.

When the Soviets stormed Vilnius, the commander of Army Group Center, Bock, "discovered" that he had made the right bet. He ordered the 3rd Tank Group and the 9th Army, with a total of 400,000 troops, to defend Lithuania against the attack of the 3rd Belorussian Front of the Soviet Red Army.

Despite the superiority of the Belorussian Third Front (more than 500,000 troops), Lithuania, which was responsible for the offensive, was not the main direction of the Bagration operation.

The purpose of the Soviet Red Army to isolate the German Army Group North was true, and it was also true that it wanted to cut off the supply channels of Army Group North, but the person who carried out this strategic task was not the Third Belorussian Front, and the main place of the task was not in Lithuania, but in Latvia, and the 1st Baltic Front under the command of Baghramyan was responsible for its implementation.

Well, what are the tasks of the Third Belorussian Front? The reason why they wanted to attack Lithuania on a large scale was actually to contain the forces of Army Group Center, to contain the German 9th Army and the 3rd Tank Group in the Lithuanian area, to prevent them from going north to support Army Group North and obstruct the actions of the 1st Baltic Front.

As a result, the 1st Baltic Front, faced with a small amount of resistance, easily captured the important town of Dvinsk in eastern Latvia and advanced rapidly towards the Gulf of Riga.

By the time the Germans discovered the Soviet intentions, it was already too late, because the 9th Army and the 3rd Tank Group of Army Group Center had been pinned down by the Soviet 3rd Belorussian Front, and the main forces of Army Group North were also pinned down by the strength of nearly a million troops of the Soviet Army on the three fronts.

Even if the Germans were to draw forces from other fronts, it would have been too late, because they were facing a highly mechanized front with the 1st Baltic Front, which had reached a level of mobility and speed capable of launching a blitzkrieg.

The 1st Baltic Front was rapidly advancing at a speed of several tens of kilometers per day, and within a few days it was able to advance to the Baltic coast, trapping the entire Army Group North in the vicinity of Latvia and Estonia.

Of course, if the Germans mobilized the forces of the 3rd Tank Group or the 9th Army to intercept them north, they might be able to delay the offensive of the Soviet First Baltic Front, but in this way, the strength of the Lithuanian area would be greatly reduced, and the superiority of the Belorussian Third Front in the Lithuanian area would become more obvious.

At that time, even if the German army can stop Baghramyan, it may not be able to stop the Third Belorussian Front at the same time, and may not be able to hold Latvia and Lithuania at the same time.

Whether it was the loss of Lithuania or the loss of southern Latvia, the fate of German Army Group North would be the same, and it would be isolated by the Soviet Red Army in Estonia and Latvia.

If the Germans had lost Latvia, perhaps only Army Group North would have been isolated by the Soviets. But if they lose Lithuania, I am afraid that it will not be just Army Group North that will fall into the trap.