Listening to Pavlov's words that seemed to be full of confidence, Major General Limowski shook his head: "Comrade commander, the 4th, 28th, 30th and 31st armies are still in the area on the west bank of the Bug River, the distance from Warsaw is on average more than 100 kilometers, and they have other tasks to take care of......"

The Soviet Western Front had a total of 20 armies, 10 of which had already reached the vicinity of Warsaw. Pen @ fun @ pavilion wWw. ｂｉｑUｇE。 Info1 strong tank army group and 1 ordinary army group remained in Minsk to prevent a German breakthrough from the Ukrainian direction. 1 army group was cooperating with the South-Western Front in the siege of Lviv, and 3 more army groups were deployed in front-line positions in the Baltic-Lithuanian direction.

In addition, there were four armies, namely the 4th Army, the 28th Army, the 30th Army, and the 31st Army, which Pavlov mentioned, deployed in the liberated areas on the west bank of the Bug River.

If all four army groups were to march to the Warsaw front, not only would the rear of the Warsaw campaign cluster become very empty, but the local Polish people's power, which had been built up with great difficulty, would also be overthrown by the reactionary forces because of the loss of strong backing.

Therefore, these four armies could not all be transferred to the Warsaw front unless absolutely necessary. If Pavlov were to mobilize them all, he would have to bring in other troops to fill the vacancies. And the only troops that the Western Front Command can mobilize now are 2 armies in Minsk. If Pavlov did not want to empty the surroundings of Minsk, he had to ask Moscow for more troops.

"Comrade Commander," suggested Major General Limowskik, "it is better to ask the Supreme High Command for help......

"There's no need at the moment," Pavlov thought for a while, then shook his head, "at most it's a corps-level armored cluster, which we can deal with." ”

Although the Tiger and Panther tanks are very powerful, there are not many of them. And the Western Front had 20 armies, and if he had asked the High Command for help because of a German arm-sized armored cluster equipped with heavy tanks, the great leader of the world revolution would have thought that General Pavlov was a useless fool.

"Order the 3rd Army to continue its roundabout mission," Pavlov thought for a moment and then said, "and be ready for a decisive battle with the German panzer clusters at any time!" ”

Major General Rimowsk, Chief of Staff of the Western Front, changed his face slightly, looked at Pavlov and asked: "Comrade Commander, do you think that the German army has massively increased its troops to Warsaw?" ”

The Battle of Warsaw was fought for more than a month, and how many troops the Germans had in Warsaw, the command of the Western Front was generally clear. Rimowik knew that the Germans had only one armored division in Warsaw (in fact, 6 tank battalions), and the German armored group, which was now breaking through the defense line of the 100th Army, should be this armored division.

And if the 3rd Army encountered a German armored cluster on the north bank of the Renaf River, then this armored cluster was probably new.

"It's quite possible!" General Pavlov frowned, "Now the progress made by the North-Western Front and the South-Western Front is very limited, and the encirclement of Lviv by the South-Western Front has not yet been completed.

And the offensive of the North-Western Front against the Baltic and Finnish was also repeatedly thwarted...... I fear that the north-western and south-western directions will have a limited effect on the German army. As for the British offensive on the island of Ireland, although some progress has been made, the British army's combat effectiveness is limited, and the number of German reinforcements that can be attracted will not be large. So the German High Command must now have enough troops to support Warsaw! ”

He was silent for a while, and then said in a solemn tone: "If the 3rd Army encounters another German armored cluster on the north bank of the Renaf River, then it is almost certain that the German army has greatly reinforced Warsaw, and it is not too late to ask the Supreme Command for help at that time." ”

Major General Rymoskik already understood Pavlov's thoughts, and the comrade general was very concerned about the trust of the great leader. And Stalin's trust was left with the crushing defeat of the last battle of Legionovo-Vovomin. If he had easily asked for help from the Supreme High Command, Comrade Pavlov would have been in danger of becoming a reactionary...... Unless Germany also sends a large number of troops to Warsaw, then the Western Front will have reason to demand more troops from Moscow.

However, Pavlov was correct in his judgment that the 3rd Army might encounter a German panzer cluster on the north bank of the Renaf River-Vistula River, and the 3rd Army of the Red Army would soon encounter the German 48th Panzer Army from the direction of Posen.

"Your Excellency, Commander, do you have something to do with me?"

While Pavlov and Limowski were discussing the situation at the front, the commander of the German 48th Panzer Corps, Hermann. Lieutenant General Bakker also walked into the office of Field Marshal Rundstede, commander of Army Group Center of the German army.

Field Marshal Rundstede, who is 67 years old this year, looked a little out of spirits and apparently had not slept all night -- although he was not the commander of the first line in Warsaw, he was, after all, the commander of Army Group Center, and he naturally could not sleep when the counterattack launched by the 6th Army was about to begin.

Moreover, the SS Polish cavalry, operating on the north bank of the Reynaf River last night, also reported on the crossing of the Reynaf River from Serotsk by a very large Soviet armored group. And a later reconnaissance of the aircraft, which also spotted a convoy of Soviet troops marching with their headlights on, confirmed what the Polish cavalry had discovered.

Then the old Marshal Rundstead did not feel the slightest sleep, and stayed in the headquarters all night to discuss the enemy situation with Moder or Guderian on the telephone. As a result of the discussions, the 6th Army continued to carry out short assault operations, while Army Group Center sent the 48th Panzer Corps by train from Posen to Bouvogne on the banks of the Bochula River, and then by road to Zacrochem on the north bank of the Vistula River.

"Your Excellency, we are going to walk more than 300 kilometers," Herman said. Lieutenant General Bakker frowned when he learned of his mission from Rundstede, "And the Soviets only need to advance more than 30 kilometers...... Do you think we're likely to get there first? ”

"Of the more than 300 kilometers you have to walk, more than 270 kilometers are by rail, and less than 30 kilometers are by road." Rundstead smiled faintly and said, "And the areas that we pass through along the way are firmly controlled by our side, and there will be no enemy to stop them, and there will not even be Soviet planes in the sky to disturb them." Our two cavalry divisions, the 8th SS Division and the Wehrmacht's 1st Cavalry Division, plus a Hungarian tank brigade, would form a temporary campaign cluster, under the unified command of the commander of the 1st Cavalry Division, Major General Mandol, to hold off the Soviets on the north bank of the Vistula River. I think they'll be able to do it very well. ”

Use 2 German cavalry divisions to block 1 Soviet mechanized army group! Rundstead's words may sound like a fantasy, but it is not surprising in the current German army. Because the 1st Wehrmacht Cavalry Division and the 8th SS Cavalry Division were elite units, unlike the 20th SS Cavalry Division, which consisted of Polish volunteers.

These two cavalry divisions are actually semi-cavalry and semi-mechanized units, with the exception of three regiments marching on horseback (which do not ride horses during combat), and all divisional units have the same units as the Panzergrenadier Division, with units such as motorized anti-tank battalions, assault gun battalions, motorized anti-aircraft artillery battalions, motorized chemical battalions, and armored reconnaissance battalions.

Although there are no tanks, there are many weapons such as the No. 3 assault gun, 75mm anti-tank gun, half-track armored vehicles, and wheeled armored vehicles.

The six cavalry regiments under these two cavalry divisions are also the same as the Panzergrenadier Corps, with a No. 3 assault gun company and a 75mm anti-tank gun battery towed by a sd.kfz.251 half-track light armored vehicle, so the anti-tank combat capability is very outstanding, although it will not repel the Soviet mechanized army, but it is no problem to delay their movements.

Moreover, at the same time as the "Mandolfir Cavalry Group" and the 48th Panzer Corps were dispatched. The counterattack of the German 6th Army's "Reinhardt-class group" also continued, and if their counterattack went well, the Soviet 3rd Army's own rear would soon be threatened. When the time comes, they will have to turn east and fight the breakthrough German Tiger tanks and Panther tanks.

When Herman. While Lieutenant General Bakr was busy directing the departure of the 48th Panzer Army, Major General Popov, the commander of the Soviet 10th Army, who was responsible for the defense of the Razmin area, was busy arranging the remnants of his tank 22nd Army and the 100th Infantry Army to meet the German armored group.

The "Reinhardt cluster", with 132 Tiger heavy tanks as the main force, has now crushed the resistance of the 328th Division of the Soviet Army, and defeated the reserve 331st Division of the 100th Army, and forced the 330th Division, which also belonged to the 100th Army of the Soviet Army, to abandon the defensive line and retreat, and even broke the headquarters of the 100th Army in the assault and killed the commander Major General Barrons.

So when the Reinhardt cluster temporarily stopped its offensive at around 10 noon on July 20, 1942 (because the Tiger tanks needed refueling and emergency repairs), the Soviet 100th Army was already badly damaged, and only one 330th Division was left barely ready for a battle (the division discarded a large number of artillery and baggage during the retreat and became riflemen).

"Comrade commander, I'm afraid we won't be able to resist, the attack power of the German heavy tanks is beyond imagination......" Major General Bakharov, commander of the 22nd Tank Army, immediately realized the seriousness of the problem.

Major General Popov also nodded, agreeing with Bakharov, who said with a wry smile: "The road to the victory of GCISM needs to be paved with the blood of martyrs, Comrade Barons has fulfilled his oath, and now it's our turn!" (To be continued.) )