In the new staff room of the Berlin presidential palace, Lynn looked intently at the battle map. Since the Soviet army crossed the Oder River into Germany, it advanced to Berlin with a strong center corps, and the Germans did not dare to face each other along the way except for a little resistance on the border defense line, and the only factor that delayed the pace of the Soviet offensive was probably the active destruction of roads and bridges by the Germans; On the north and south flanks, the Soviet mechanized troops, led by armored men, quickly overcame the difficulties caused by the Germans, seized a number of strategic points in the northeast and southeast of Germany, and gradually outflanked Berlin. According to the analysis of intelligence inside and outside the battlefield, the total strength of the Soviet army on the three routes exceeded 700,000, and countless follow-up troops were constantly entering the German territory through the pontoon bridges on the Oder River, while on the western border of the Czech Republic and northwestern Austria, although it was difficult for the Soviet mechanized corps to cross the mountains and cross the forests to launch an attack, they had gathered heavy troops and built fortifications, so that the German troops were deterred from this area that was originally conducive to guerrilla warfare, and once the situation required it, the Soviet mountain troops could also break through into southern Germany at a relatively fast speed.

From the perspective of the situation, the Soviet army's "just action" showed an unstoppable momentum from the beginning, which will undoubtedly frustrate the Germans and Western countries, and in Lynn's arsenal of war, the mourning army is a very dangerous move, so dangerous that the slightest carelessness may lead to a complete loss, but in the long run, if Germany cannot get rid of the direct threat of the Soviet Union, it will inevitably have a distorting impact on the national rejuvenation line. Instead of worrying about the next few decades, it is better to change everything with a singable war. It was with such courage and determination that Lynn calmly continued to stay in Berlin, directing the garrison of the capital to move war supplies in an orderly manner, protecting the relocation of important scientific personnel and equipment to the west, and escorting the evacuation of foreign and foreign personnel from the capital, lest they see and spread the sight of the Soviet troops entering Berlin with high spirits, further undermining the already weak confidence of the Western camp. At the same time, tens of thousands of conscripted laborers were still digging fortifications on the outskirts of Berlin, and the garrison was deploying false targets to which they had begun to prepare in secret. As a result, frequent Soviet reconnaissance planes photographed the illusion that German tanks, heavy artillery, and a large number of troops were preparing to defend Berlin. In fact, the German War Commission had drawn up a diplomatic document declaring Berlin an undefended city, ready to be sent by radio, so that not a single real mine had been laid on the roads in and out of Berlin!

Five years ago, millions of Germans defended the sacred capital with their blood and lives. If Lynn had ceded Berlin without firing a single shot, even if he could give a good strategic reason, it would be difficult to explain to the people psychologically and spiritually, and the Soviet army was so domineering, and the GDR urgently needed an extraordinary result to strengthen the will of the army and the people to fight. Due to the rapid changes in the battlefield situation, Lynn had previously agreed with the Imperial generals to fight a quick battle of annihilation near Berlin, but now the battlefield situation is clearly presented in front of her. Lynn pondered over the map, and the officers of the Joint Staff in Hanover searched for the same target, and they finally settled on a location, Wandelitz.

Wandelitz, an ordinary town in the German state of Brandenburg, is located directly north of Berlin, about 30 kilometers from the center of Berlin, and can prevent enemy troops from entering the city of Berlin from the north. With an area of just over 100 square kilometers and a permanent population of less than 20,000, there is nothing special about the scale and density of the building. It is impossible to fight a Stalingrad-style defensive war on the basis of such a town. As the vanguard of the Soviet army's northern flank corps approached rapidly, the new German 6th Infantry Corps stationed north of Berlin retreated, although there were no serious losses, but it really could not withstand the strong combat power of the Soviet armored forces. The German Joint Staff saw the right time to make arrangements, and dispatched 55,000 men of the 2nd Expeditionary Corps of the Reich and 82,000 men of the 2nd Army of the German Army to Wandlitz overnight, and waited in the wooded areas northwest and southwest of the city. …,

After careful battlefield reconnaissance, the Germans learned that the vanguard of the Soviet Army, which was closely following the German 6th Infantry Army, was subordinate to the 11th Guards Red Banner Carpathian-Berlin Tank Army, which was formed in 1942 and participated in the Rzhev-Sychovka offensive, the Battle of Kursk, the Belgorod-Kharkov offensive, the Zhytomyr-Berdichev offensive, the Korsun-Shevchenkovsky offensive, the Proskrov-Chernovice offensive, The Lviv-Sandomierz offensive, the Warsaw-Poznan offensive, the East Pomeranian offensive and the Berlin offensive won numerous victories and honors with resolute and courageous fighting spirit. There was little defeat in the process. From 1946 to 1948, the unit successively fought with the United States, Britain, France and other allied forces, and staged many long-distance raids, crossed rivers to attack, and outflanked and annihilated. In the spring and summer of 1950, the army underwent reorganization and rearmament, and was fully equipped with cutting-edge T-54 tanks. This medium tank, armed with a 100-mm rifled gun, evolved from the T-44 tank. A prototype was built in the first year after the end of World War II, and despite the impact of the East-West War, it was still in mass production by mid-1949 and was identified as the main tank of the new generation of the Soviet Army. In terms of attack power, it was a notch higher than the T-34/85, and introduced high and low gun stability and hot smoke screen application, the cast turret continued to maintain the advantage of a bulletproof shape, and the 382 kW water-cooled diesel engine provided strong power for the 36-ton tank.

With the T-54 with a considerable proportion of self-propelled guns and armored vehicles, the Soviet army had already entered mechanized combat in the true sense of the word, not to mention the number of such troops in the entire Soviet army, the Soviet officers and soldiers of the 11th Guards Red Banner Carpathian-Berlin Tank Army were advancing towards Berlin with contempt for the enemy. Perhaps in the eyes of some of them, as long as the red flag was planted again on the landmark of Berlin, the war would have ended in a landslide victory for the Soviet Union, and what to do with the defeated country next would be a matter for politicians to consider, and the front-line officers and soldiers could enjoy the warm autumn sunshine and everything that the victor should enjoy in Germany, and then return with honors and receive applause and flowers from the people at home. When they learned that a tank column of the 200th Tank Brigade, the vanguard of their own army, had been ambushed by the enemy about 30 kilometers from the city of Berlin and had suffered heavy losses, almost everyone felt that the Germans were desperately defending the capital, and that this effort would eventually be crushed by the tracks of Soviet tanks. The commander of the 200th Tank Brigade immediately dispatched a tank battalion to reinforce the vanguard, while the main forces of the 200th Tank Brigade, as well as the 22nd Tank Brigade, the 6th Mechanized Infantry Brigade, and the 100th Tank Brigade, continued to advance rapidly along the arterial road in northeastern Germany in the direction of Berlin. The highway, which runs east of Wandelitz and runs northeast of Berlin into the Ring Road, was an important achievement in the development of the German autobahn in the 30s. Without any hindrance, it took only three hours to drive a fuel-filled T-54 from the former German port of Stettin to Berlin, and now Soviet tankmen have spent three days on this road, and the distance from Berlin is still beyond normal horizon......

On the night of 17 September, the Battle of Vandlitz began, when the 1st and 4th Infantry Regiments of the Imperial Guards Marine Corps and six additional reinforced anti-tank companies attacked the headquarters of the 200th Tank Brigade of the Soviet Army east of Vandlitz. Despite the heightened alert of Soviet officers and men and the combat deployment along the road during the march, the heavy guided rockets of the Imperial Army destroyed several T-54 tanks, Su-122 self-propelled guns, and Soviet personnel carriers from a long distance. In the face of sudden and heavy firepower, the Soviets were initially ready to carry out the operational order to counterattack on the spot, but the rapidly rising casualties made them realize the dilemma of their situation, and they had to organize their defense while calling for help from the headquarters. At this time, the headquarters of the 200th Brigade was only three kilometers away from the battlefield, and the brigade commander Velistov immediately mobilized reinforcements, and assigned two tank battalions in the rear to outflank the German blocking forces left and right, and at the same time reported his own deployment to the army headquarters. Soon, German troops, covertly advancing northeast of Windlitz, observed a Soviet armored unit leaving the main road and advancing towards Windlitz. In accordance with the operational arrangement, the Imperial Army, which had successfully blocked the vanguard of the Soviet Army, immediately retreated to the city of Windlitz, inducing the 200th Tank Brigade of the Soviet Army to suspend its advance to Berlin and turn to the south of Windlitz, intending to encircle and annihilate this German unit with good combat effectiveness in Windlitz. …,

When the Soviet troops approached Windlitz, the German artillery deployed in the city opened fire together, bombarding the Soviet tank units with fierce rapid fire, and the conventional artillery fire did little damage to the Soviet tanks and self-propelled guns, but gave the Soviet commanders the illusion that the Germans had assembled a strong force to defend Windlitz.

In order to annihilate the German forces guarding the northern gates of Berlin, more units belonging to the Soviet 11th Tank Guards left their original route and flanked Wandlitz. Near midnight, the combat reconnaissance unit sent by the 22nd Tank Brigade of the Soviet Army attacked the city of Wandelitz and destroyed a heavy artillery position of the German army, the unexpected surprise stimulated the nerves of the Soviet commander, seeing that the 200th Brigade outflanked from the south was already in place, and the 6th Mechanized Infantry Brigade also arrived at the battlefield closely, and the army headquarters issued an order to attack immediately, and at this time, the 6th Mechanized Army, which was advancing towards Berlin with the 11th Guards Tank Army, only barely maintained contact with friendly forces due to the slowdown in supplies after nightfall. (To be continued.) If you like this work, you are welcome to (.) to vote for recommendation, monthly pass, your support is my biggest motivation. )