On the afternoon of May 2, two contradictory news reached the Supreme Command of the Soviet Red Army. Pen "Fun" Pavilion www.biquge.info

One piece of news was that the partisans operating in Pskov had discovered a large number of Tiger tanks heading south from Veliko Luki - not only Zoya's report, but also many guerrilla women who, like Zoya, begged for food for their lofty ideals, also reported the discovery of Tiger tanks.

The cumulative number of German heavily armored battalions found in the cumulative report has exceeded 20!

There is certainly overlap, but it is almost certain that the Germans concentrated a large number of armored forces in the territory of the Pskov region.

And the other news is that the German armored units, which broke through from the southern front of the Belarusian salient, captured Lechtsa on the west bank of the Dnieper in the early morning of May 2, and also took advantage of the situation to cross the Dnieper!

According to the report of the 13th Army (part of the Western Front), the 50th Infantry Division and a battalion of the 8th Tank Destroyer Brigade (with about 20 tanks, tank destroyers and assault guns) fought fiercely with the invading Germans outside Lechtsa for 8 hours (in fact, only 4 hours), repelled 6 enemy attacks (in fact, only 3 times), and finally the Germans committed a cluster of hundreds of Tiger tanks (in fact, more than 100 Grizzly assault guns, tank 4 and Rhino tank destroyers) to break through the Red Army lines, stormed the city of Lechitsa......

If the report of the 13th Army of the Red Army is true, then the German troops that broke through from the south of the Belorussian salient were most likely the main forces. Moreover, judging by the speed of their breakthrough -- from the early morning of April 30 to the morning of May 2, they broke through the two lines of defense of the Red Army and advanced about 100 kilometers -- there is also a bit of the momentum of the main force!

"There is no doubt that the main forces of the German army are on the southern front," Pavlov said to the General Staff, looking at the scary black arrows on the map, "the breakthrough was too fast, and in 2 days it advanced 100 kilometers and crossed the Dnieper...... It seems that the goal of the German army on this road was to outflank the Dnieper defense line where the main forces of the Southwestern Front were stationed! ”

"But the fight on the north road is also fierce." Shaposhnikov shook his head, "Although the progress of the German army in the north is slower, they are encountering our main forces...... The 3rd Army and the 13th Army are not the same thing. ”

The 3rd Army of the Red Army was the main force, with the 4th Infantry Army, the 11th Mechanized Army, the 68th Infantry Army, 2 tank destroyer brigades and 1 rocket artillery brigade. Among them, the 4th Infantry Army and the 11th Mechanized Army are elite soldiers who fought in the Polish campaign, and there are 5 tank regiments under the 11th Mechanized Army. Therefore, the combat effectiveness of this 3rd Army is not at all comparable to that of the 13th Army.

In addition, behind the 3rd Army there were the 5th Tank Army and the 22nd Infantry Army, which could be reinforced at any time. Therefore, the German 4th Panzer Army did collide with the main force of the Soviet army, and it was a completely tough battle, and the progress was naturally relatively slow.

"Could it be that both the north and the south are heavy military groups?" Pavlov crossed his arms and frowned as he looked at the situation on the map, "If the Germans have heavy troops on both the north and south, then their target is the salient...... Perhaps we should use the Bryansk Front to delay the southern route of the German army, and then concentrate the main forces of the Kalinin Front, the Western Front, and the reserve front to encircle and annihilate the northern route of the German army. ”

"Encirclement?" Shaposhnikov was stunned when he heard Pavlov's proposal, "Comrade Pavlov, do you really think that we are capable of encircling and annihilating a group of the main German forces consisting of several Panzer Divisions and Panzergrenadier Divisions?" ”

"This ......" Pavlov fought the Germans in Warsaw, and at that time he could not encircle Warsaw with overwhelming superiority, let alone now?

"Besides, the Germans still have 60-1 million troops around Leningrad!" Shaposhnikov suddenly stretched out his hand and pointed at Leningrad on the map. "Although Leningrad is six or seven hundred kilometers away from Smolensk, the Germans can quickly mobilize the large army encircling Leningrad to the line of Velikiye Luki-Smolensk because of the railway line at their disposal. So that they will not be inferior in numbers, how can we fight a war of annihilation? ”

When Pavlov heard Shaposhnikov's words, his eyes suddenly lit up, and he slapped his face sharply, "Comrade Chief of the General Staff, if we can really mobilize the German troops encircling Leningrad to the south, won't our goal of relieving Leningrad be achieved?" ”

"It's done." Shaposhnikov shook his head, "But what will happen if the 60-1 million German troops around Leningrad join the battlefield of Velikiye Luki-Smolensk?" ”

Pavlov sighed softly, "Do you need to talk about it?" If the Germans Army Group North goes south, let's prepare for a battle for the defense of Moscow! After a slight pause, he added, "But...... Leningrad was saved! This heroic city is more important than Belarus and Smolensk Oblast combined! ”

The meaning of his words is very clear, treat Belarus and Smolensk as outcasts in exchange for the liberation of Leningrad. And after the siege of Leningrad was lifted and Smolensk was lost, it was time to prepare for the defense of Moscow.

Because Smolensk is only 350 km from Moscow!

"But Comrade General Secretary ......," Shaposhnikov lowered his voice, looking around as he spoke.

He and Pavlov were in a map room dedicated to them, with no one else around.

"The situation will naturally develop to that point," Pavlov whispered, "and we need only remind Comrade Zhukov of the possibility of a decisive battle with the main German forces in the Velikiye Luki area...... I am sure that with the abilities of Comrade Zhukov, the Kalinin Front will not suffer too many losses. ”

In other words, the Western Front is an outcast!

The Chief of the General Staff of the Red Army, Shaposhnikov, nodded in silence, and now he could only watch the Western Front being sacrificed, and could not do anything and could not say anything. In fact, Shaposhnikov can't think of a better way now......

……

Solzhenitsyn went into battle again, and with his half-manned artillery reconnaissance company, he returned to the trench where the artillery was under fire - in fact, it was not he who went to the battlefield, but he who was on the battlefield! Although the 4th Infantry Corps of the Red Army, which he was in, was defeated by German (French) artillery in the battle on April 30, and was defeated that night. On May 1, the commander of the 13th Army, Zhimachenko, was assigned to the preset positions outside Demidov (these positions were built in the months since the autumn of '42). Unexpectedly, not long after the troops entered the position, the Germans broke through to the front!

At about 3 o'clock in the afternoon of May 2, just after a burst of German artillery bombardment, Solzhenitsyn had just drilled out of a solid anti-artillery bunker, and the mournful whimper of the hand-cranked anti-aircraft siren sounded.

Solzhenitsyn held up his binoculars to try to identify what type of aircraft they were. He quickly recognized them as the French Breguet attack aircraft (not the model of the early days of the war, but a complete body with two 1600 hp 14-cylinder Diro-Rhône air-cooled engines, with solid armor and powerful firepower, which could fly at low altitudes in the face of Soviet ground fire), and the German Fokker Zero D-type fighter escort.

Just as Solzhenitsyn was about to burrow into his bunker again, someone in the trench suddenly cheered loudly, and he turned his head to see several Yak-1 fighters with light blue bellies and camouflage paint flying from the south. They were light and muscular, and they seemed to be fast, and in the blink of an eye they were passing over their positions, their red star insignia shining with excitement under their wings. Solzhenitsyn also spotted a white lily painted on the red star under the wing of one of the planes.

"Lilia! It's Lilia here! Solzhenitsyn and several of his men cheered at the same time.

Lilia, the goddess of war in the air who pilots a Jacques war eagle painted with a white lily pattern, was the darling of the propaganda department of the Red Army, and there were almost no Red Army soldiers who did not know her. And this petite and sweet girl is also the goddess in the hearts of many Red Army soldiers.

Because of the arrival of the "goddess", many soldiers in the trenches joined in the cheers, and some even waved their arms excitedly. Lilia's plane and several other Yak-1 planes rushed towards the German fleet with a pleasant humming sound, and opened fire first, firing 20mm shells and 12.7mm machine gun shells.

Since it was daytime, only the trails of tracer bullets with orange glow could be faintly discerned, and they headed straight for the German (French) fleet in front. Unfortunately, the enemy was always more cunning and difficult to deal with than the propaganda department said, and the French and German planes in the air each swung their wings sharply to dodge, easily dodging the first wave of fire from the Soviet planes. This made Solzhenitsyn and others feel a little bad -- from the 30th, the sky seemed to be occupied by the Nazi enemy, and the majestic posture of the Red Air Force warhawk was almost invisible......

At this time, the battle in the sky took a new turn, the French Breguet planes scattered in all directions and disappeared, while the German Fokker Zero and the Soviet Yak-1 began to rise at the same time, as if trying to occupy the high altitude.

Solzhenitsyn, on the other hand, was quickly disappointed to discover that although the Yak-1's fuselage looked smaller and lighter than the Fokker Zero, it seemed to be half a beat slower when climbing. Soon the opponent occupied the height, and the sound of machine guns and machine guns like fried beans was heard immediately, and the leading plane, which seemed to be piloted by Lilia, quickly made a sideways maneuver, but still could not dodge the powerful fire of the Fokker Zero (6 MG131 aviation machine guns), and immediately fell into a rain of bullets.

With great frustration, the Red officers and soldiers watched the plane fall in the middle of the smoke, but fortunately, the plane did not fall much before a white umbrella flower appeared in the sky. (To be continued.) )