After the end of Operation Suvorov, the Southwestern Front of the Soviet Red Army successfully eliminated the German 3rd and 48th Panzer Corps, inflicting heavy losses on the German Army Group South for the Battle of Brody-Dubno-Rivne. Pen ~ fun ~ pavilion www.biquge.info

The 1st Tank Group under Kleist's command suffered a severe blow in this campaign. This group army, which originally consisted of 12 divisions, more than 200,000 troops, and 800 tanks, now has only two armies, 100,000 troops, and less than 200 tanks.

As a result, by July 1, 1941, the only Panzer Army Group of the South Army Group was disbanded by Hitler, and the 14th Panzer Corps, which originally belonged to the 1st Tank Group, was incorporated into the 6th Army under the command of Field Marshal Walter von Reichenau; The other corps was incorporated into the 17th Army under the command of General Karl-Heinrich von Stupnag.

As for the commander of the 1st Tank Group, General Ewald von Kleist, he was relieved of all duties and repatriated, ending the military career of the 60-year-old veteran.

The victory of the Soviet Red Army in Western Ukraine disrupted the deployment of the German army on the Eastern Front, and Hitler also found an excuse to remove the commander-in-chief of the army, Field Marshal Walter von Brauchitsch, and concurrently assumed the post of commander-in-chief of the army, fully grasped the command of the German army, and sent additional troops to the front, urging the military industry to develop a new type of tank that could compete with the T-34.

Even though the German army suffered setbacks in the south, in the direction of Belarus and the Baltic states, it won many battles and successes.

Army Group North, commanded by General Libu, broke through the defensive line of the Soviet Northwestern Front on the first day of the battle, captured the cities of Taulagay and Kaunas, and advanced to the vicinity of Vilnius, the capital of Lithuania, to engage with the Soviet army under the command of General Fedor Kuznetsov.

The Central Army Group, which has a large number of troops and a large number of generals, has also achieved good results. The 3rd Panzer Army, which captured Grodno and Lida, and the 2nd Panzer Group, also under the command of General Guderian, captured Kobrin, Pinsk and Slonim, besieged the Soviet 10th Army in the area of Bialystok, and the 3rd Army in the area of Vavkavysk.

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"Comrade Kirponos, how is the war going now?"

On July 5, after returning from Lutsk to the headquarters of the Front, Manturov, the political commissar of the Southwestern Front, asked the commander of the Front, General Kirponos, about the situation of the battle.

Kilponos turned a friendly gaze to the leader of the country, who was 18 years younger than himself, and said: "The enemy's 6th and 17th armies repeatedly attacked our troops in the Lviv and Lutsk regions, but they were all repulsed by our troops, and after our withdrawal from Lviv four days ago, the front remained basically on the Lutsk-Dubno-Brody line, and there was no change. ”

"So, what about the situation of the other fronts?" As the head of the Southwestern Front, Manturov, of course, would not be unaware of the situation on the side of the Southwestern Front, and what he wanted to know was the situation of the Western Front and the Northwestern Front.

Kirponos pointed to the latest military map on the table and said, "The situation of the Western Front and the Northwest Front is not very good.

At the beginning of the war, the German Army Group North quickly opened a gap in the defensive line of the North-Western Front and gradually advanced towards Kaunas and Vilnius. General Fedor Kuznetsov organized his troops to resist stubbornly, but due to insufficient troops, lack of logistical supplies, insufficient numbers and other reasons, he could not effectively stop the German advance, and has now retreated to the vicinity of Vilnius for defense. ”

Pointing to a tumor-like salient on the map, Kirponos continued: "The situation on the Western Front is even worse.

The German 3rd Tank Group had advanced to the Lida area, and the 2nd Tank Group had advanced to Slonim, advancing to the north and south flanks of the main forces of the Western Front, respectively, trapping the 3 armies of the Western Front in the area of Bialystok-Vavkavysk.

In order to avoid encirclement, the commander of the Western Front, General Pavlov, had already ordered the three armies to retreat in the direction of Minsk, and the Supreme High Command also decided to send Comrade Mehris (Deputy People's Commissar of Defense and Head of the General Political Department of the Red Army) to the Western Front as military commissar. ”

"Meheris?" As soon as Manturov heard the name, he immediately frowned. "Hopefully, he will be able to lead the Western Front to defeat the German fascists."

Kirponos also noticed Manturov's expression. He has served for many years and has a certain understanding of the figure of Mehris.

This Mehris, in the Red Army, can be said to be a well-known figure. His name, his character, and his appearance can be said to be known to almost everyone in the upper echelons of the Soviet military.

Mehris is not famous because of his achievements. In fact, he had no military talent, and he never made any contribution to the country, and his working methods were simple and crude, and it could almost be said that he had achieved nothing.

Even if nothing is done, Mehris still sabotages in the army from time to time, blocking some constructive resolutions and sabotaging the construction of the army for no reason. also quarreled with some generals from time to time, disrupted the harmony in the army, and gradually, became the object of hatred of the generals.

"I hope so. If Comrade Mehris had been able to exert his leadership, the situation on the Western Front should have improved somewhat. "Even though Kirponos didn't like Mehris very much, he didn't dare to say too much in front of Manturov, the military commissar sent by the central government, so as not to cause trouble.

Looking at the map, Manturov suddenly had a new operational idea, "By the way, Comrade Kirponos, do we need to take some actions to cover the retreat of the Western Front?" For example, the 9th and 19th Mechanized Corps were deployed to attack the right flank of the German 2nd Panzer Group, pinning down their forces and preventing them from flanking the Western Front from the south. ”

Kirponos looked at the map and analyzed: "This plan can be considered, but now, the 9th Mechanized Corps still needs time to rest and recuperate, and it may not be able to dispatch in time to deal a blow to the 2nd Armored Group." ”

"Well, what about the 19th Mechanized Army? This mechanized corps did not take part in Operation Suvorov and suffered no casualties in previous battles with the German 46th Panzer Corps. ”

"Yes, but the number of tanks in this mechanized army is not too much, only 110 T-34 medium tanks, 45 KV tanks, and 250 light tanks including T-26 and BT, and the number of the entire army is only about 30,000, which may not be able to pose enough threat to the enemy."

"Comrade Kirponos," Manturov explained his purpose, "it is not my intention to inflict many blows on the enemy, as long as I can contain the 2nd Panzer Group, prevent the enemy's 2nd and 3rd Panzer Clusters from attacking the Western Front from the north and south, and ensure that the 3rd, 4th, and 10th armies retreat to the Minsk area."

At present, deployed on the southern flank of the Western Front are the 46th and 47th Panzer Corps of the 2nd Panzer Group, which are deployed in the area of Pruzane and Slonim, respectively.

As long as we can contain the forces of these two armored armies, we can guarantee the security of the southern flank of the Western Front. ”

"You're right, but to contain the strength of 2 armored corps, I'm afraid you need to dispatch 2, or even 3 mechanized corps."

"No, in fact, one is enough."

(PS: First of all, I would like to apologize, because the author will be unusually busy in the coming months, from January to April, the update schedule will be changed to two days and one update, and the odd-numbered days of each month (such as January 3, March 21) will be updated around 5 pm to 7 pm.) For details, please refer to the "Update Arrangement" related to the work. (To be continued.) )