April 13, Soviet-German front, Valdai. Pen @ fun @ pavilion wWw. ｂｉｑUｇE。 ｉｎｆｏ

Colonel Kaminsky arrived in the Valdai in a Volkswagen 82-barrel truck covered in mud. The 8th Panzergrenadier Division of the Russian Imperial Army, of which he was deputy commander, had just been withdrawn from the front line to Valdai to recuperate.

From April 5 to 10, the Russian 8th Panzergrenadier Division fought the front line, knocking over many "Stalin" tanks with "Olga's little hammer". However, it also suffered a lot of losses, with no less than 5,000 casualties and missing people, and by the time the troops were ordered to retreat from Kuvshinovo, the original division of 15,000 men had less than 10,000 men left. Most of the heavy equipment was also consumed in a few days of fierce fighting, but by the time the Russian 8th Panzergrenadier Division retreated to Valdai, additional troops and equipment had arrived - all from the capital of the Russian Empire via the Petrograd-Moscow railway line.

A few days ago, the Leningrad Army Group of the former Soviet Union surrendered to the White Army, which suddenly made the strength of the White Army relatively relaxed. So Prince Yusupov now has enough troops to send to replenish the troops at the front.

In addition, "Olga's Little Hammer" also sent a lot.

With the help of Britain, France and Germany, the military-industrial complex in Petrograd was rapidly recovering. In March, the Petrograd naval plant started construction of two Prussian-class aircraft carriers (built for the Japanese Navy).

The Petrograd Military Plant (the former Kirov and Voroshilov Plants) was producing tank destroyers of the "Olga" type at full capacity. Not all of them were assembled from parts of the T-50, a considerable part of them were assembled from parts of the "Stalker", but the artillery was still a 6-pounder tank gun given by the British - the current Russian Empire did not have a complete industrial system to support the production of tanks.

However, Kaminsky and Voskoponiko (commander of the 8th Russian Panzergrenadier Division) don't care whether the "Olga Little Hammer" they get is the blood of the T-50 or the bloodline of the "Stalker", the most important thing is to be able to use it.

Because the rest of the 8th Panzergrenadier Division of Russia is about to end early!

Kaminsky, who got out of the barrel cart, trotted all the way into the division headquarters with a frown, and shouted loudly when he saw Major General Voskoponiko who was looking at the pictures of the women (he was looking at the pictures of the noble girls of the White Russians, which were sent by Empress Olga, who is now keen to protect the white generals below who have "lost their families").

"General, there's another big battle to fight!"

"Oh? Going to fight Moscow? Major General Voskoponico didn't look up either, and continued to pick a wife for himself. In his mind, the general trend of the Soviet Union has gone, and even the current counterattack is so-so...... Those big Stalin tanks, still annihilated by the little Oligatans, what hope is there?

The next big battle was nothing more than going to Moscow and arresting Stalin -- Major General Voskoponiko was eager to seize Stalin and ask: Why should he and "old revolutionaries" like Kaminsky be arrested for labor reform?

But Kaminski's answer surprised him.

"It's not! It's the Red Army that is about to hit Valdai! ”

"Hahahaha......" Vosco Ponico laughed when he heard this, "Are you joking?" Our division only retreated from Kuvshinovo on the 10th, which is 120 kilometers away from us, and no matter how powerful the Red Army is, it is impossible to advance 120 kilometers in 2 days, right? It's muddy season! Even if the Germans in front did not resist, the Stalin tanks would not have been able to move fast in the mud. ”

Although Zhukov was determined to push the Germans (coalition) as far north as possible, the Red Army did not advance well, and Kuvshinovo had not yet been completely occupied by the Red Army.

"They didn't come from Kuvshinovo," Kaminsky sat down on a tattered couch that he got out of nowhere, "they're from Andreapol......"

"What? Andrea Pol? Voskoponico looked up at Kaminsky - he already remembered that Kaminsky had just returned from the command of the Russian 1st Army on his way to Okulovka. It's true? ”

"Really!"

"But Andreapor is still in the hands of the German paratroopers." Voskoponico frowned and asked, "Is it ...... Germany?"

"The Germans did not misreport," Kaminsky said, "Andreapor was still in the hands of the 2nd German Paratrooper Division, but the Red Army bypassed Andreapol...... This morning, the German reconnaissance planes spotted a large armored cluster coming towards us. ”

"They can't come," Voskoponico sighed, "the Germans' air force will take them all." ”

"No, they're coming!" Kaminsky shook his head with some distress, "Marshal Cappel (Vladimir. Oskarlovich. Capppel, who was sent by Kolchak to the Crimea to meet Empress Olga on this plane, escaped death and has been following Olga ever since) said that the Germans were going to put this Red Army in Valdai and would temporarily cut off the Red October railway line! ”

"What?" Voskoponico couldn't sit still at this moment, and stood up all of a sudden, "What do the Germans want to do?" Are they going to fall into the encirclement of the Red Army themselves? ”

Kaminsky nodded, "I think so!" ”

"And what about us?" Voskoponico asked.

"Our mission is to stay in the Valdai...... It is also possible to be surrounded! Kaminsky smiled wryly and said, "Later there will be a tank destroyer brigade (equipped with German-aided Stalker tank destroyers) to reinforce us." Then we're going to hold on to the Valdai until the muddy season is over. ”

……

"What? The vanguard of the 7th Guards Tank Army approached the Valdai? Zhukov almost suspected that something was wrong with his ears, and he looked at the chief of staff of the Central Front, Lieutenant General Kokopev, in surprise, "You mean that the 7th Guards Tank Army is about to cut off the main logistics line of the German army?" ”

"Yes!" Lieutenant General Kokopev looked a little excited, "This is a major turnaround! The situation on the northern front would change completely, and the Germans would have to retreat in great strides. ”

It's pie in the sky! Zhukov immediately walked to the side of the map stand, on which Lieutenant General Kokopev had already reached the direction of the advance of the 7th Guards Tank Army with red and blue pencils.

"Fedyuninsky did a beautiful job and caught the Germans off guard." Kokopev smiled and said to Zhukov, "The Germans may have been negligent, and when our army launched a counterattack, they transferred the troops of the Northern Front to the center according to the original plan, which was obviously too light on the enemy." ”

What he was talking about now was the speculation of the General Staff of the Red Army on the reasons for the German transfers - the General Staff of the Red Army really could not figure out why the Germans would move their troops away from the Northern Front after the Red Army launched a counterattack, and the only plausible explanation seemed to be that they were carrying out the original plan.

Zhukov nodded noncommittally.

"Comrade commander," Pepekov added, "now there are about 20 days left before the end of the muddy season, and what we have is time, the offensive on the northern front should be expanded." ”

"No," Zhukov shook his head, "the purpose of the counterattack has been fully achieved, and there is no need to cut off the Red October railway line...... Now it was only necessary to maintain a certain intensity of the offensive on the front and wait for the Germans to retreat. ”

He would not be naïve enough to believe that the 6th Panzer Army could encircle Paulus, even if Paulus was lying still, he would not besiege it.

Now that the weather has cleared up, and the roads are very muddy, it is not conducive to the attack of the Soviet army, which has no air superiority.

Therefore, Zhukov was already satisfied with being able to force back the German army on the northern route and let the Soviet Central Front gather forces to deal with the imminent large-scale offensive of the German army in the center.

Eat Paulus's army group...... That's obviously impossible!

However, although Zhukov's thinking was correct, there was also a great leader above him, Stalin.

"Why don't you surround the enemy?" In one of the map rooms in the Kremlin, Stalin pointed with his pipe at the arrow on the map, which symbolized the 7th Guards Tank Army.

The arrow is now close to the Valdai and looks like it's not far from the Red October line.

"As long as the Red October railway line is cut off, we can pocket at least 500,000 enemies, right?" Stalin asked.

"Yes......" Zhukov already felt a little bad, "but...... We are not capable of eating these 500,000 enemy troops, and the Germans will inevitably launch a fierce attack in the center in early May, and may also split a strong mechanized group to seize from the south of Moscow. Therefore, we should end the operation on the northern front as soon as possible, gather our forces, and prepare for the enemy's attack on the central and southern fronts. ”

"It is only the 13th," said Stalin, "and there are still 20 days left until the beginning of May...... Can't we fight a real victory on the Northern Front? Even if the Germans could not be encircled, they should be forced to break through in the direction of Leningrad. I think they will definitely break through, so that the threat of the Germans on the northern front can be temporarily lifted. As for the middle and south routes, there is no need to worry at all, because we have the fortified city of Moscow, even if the German army hits under the city of Moscow, it doesn't matter, if it is not enough, more troops will be transferred to Moscow! ”

Hearing Stalin's words, Zhukov was also a little shaken - Moscow was indeed a big fortress, not afraid of the German armored forces. In Zhukov's view, what Moscow is really afraid of is being surrounded, if it can hit the German army's northern route, it will be difficult to encircle Moscow by relying on the German army's middle road alone, after all, the Soviet army's central front is huge, and there is an Orel Front nearby that can support Moscow at any time.

Stalin's scenario seems to be feasible...... However, the battle on the northern road cannot be fought endlessly.

Thinking of this, Zhukov said to Stalin: "Comrade General Secretary, we should set a time for the end of the battle on the Northern Road. If, by 20 April, the Germans in the North Roads still refused to break through, then the battle should also be ended. ”

"April 30th!" Stalin said, "At the same time, the Orel Front was reorganized into a reserve front and used on the Moscow battlefield!" ”

The Fatherly Leader showed a firm and unusual expression at this time: "The key to the success or failure of the cause of GCISM lies in Moscow!" Now that we have the opportunity to inflict heavy damage on the German army, we must not give up!

Even if it's a trap, GC fighters can turn it into an opportunity to annihilate the German army in large numbers! ”