Chapter 96: Collapse in the Heart
Lake Shinialved in northeastern Poland is the largest freshwater lake in the country at present, but if one traces its origins, the lake, together with the Varia-Masuri region in which it is located, was the territory of the Germanic people for more than four hundred years before the end of the Second World War - from the Duchy of Prussia to the Kingdom of Prussia, the Second German Reich, the Weimar Republic, the Third German Reich - until the end of the Second World War, when large areas of German land became the spoils of the victors and the reparations of the invaders, The Poles only got this fertile land. By 1948, Poland had dominated the land for less than three years, but due to the great retreat of the Germans at the end of World War II and the post-war immigration policy of the Polish government, the land was still this land, and many towns and villages still retained their original appearance more or less, but the inhabitants became 98 percent Poles plus 2 percent other races, and the concept of right and wrong was vividly reflected here.
Geographically, Lake Sinalved resembles a long-tailed cat with its head facing east and its tail extending for 30 kilometers from the south, both sides of which are fertile with water and soil, but this 30 kilometers is only bridged at the Mykovai infrastructure. If you want to get around this bridge, you either have to use the boats on the lake to ferry, or you can walk dozens of kilometers from north to south. In the German period, the road and railway network of East Prussia already had a high density and quality, and after the Poles took over, it was able to be fully used with only a little repair, and if it was a pleasant car trip, it would not be a big problem to walk an extra forty or fifty kilometers, but the same problem was in front of a discarded and disorganized coalition army, and the trouble was not just one or two!
On May 7, 1948, eight days after the launch of the Soviet Army's "Labor Day Offensive", the Soviet troops who had broken through the Allied barrier from the border area between Lithuania and Belarus were already approaching the Lake Shnyarved area, and 3 American divisions, 1 French division, 4 Polish divisions, and 11 German regiments under different commands also retreated all the way to this place after withdrawing from the front line area. After the stubborn resistance of the Allied air forces, the frenzied assault of the Soviet air forces in the first few days had been stopped, which was great news for the embarrassed Allied officers and men, who had passed through the lake area and marched about 50 kilometers west to the defense area of the "Great Depth of the Polish Defense Line." With Allied reserves unthwarted by the Soviet offensive, well-built fortifications, and piles of war materiel, and strong cover from the Allied air forces, soldiers can take a good breath, slowly forget the nightmare of the front line, and adjust their mindset to fight the Soviet attacking forces.
"There is only one short distance left", the officers continue to boost their confidence and fighting spirit in the way of quenching their thirst, and the soldiers who have lost a lot of weapons and equipment in front of them, but basically every unit looks disgraced. Due to the loss of many transport vehicles on the front line and on the way to retreat, and the reinforcements from the rear were often congested in some sections, a large number of soldiers could only retreat on foot on foot, and those who walked envied those who could get on the car, and the car was plagued by bumps and congestion and envied those who took the train, and the wounded on the train were extremely envious of the able-bodied walkers, but these envy and envy would be rendered meaningless by the collapse of several bridges in the Varmia-Masuri region on the same night.
Without even hearing the sound of explosions, the news that the Mikavaiki Bridge, the Okatovo Bridge and other bridges had been damaged and impassable reached the retreating Allied troops who were just about to start a new day's journey at dawn. After a night's rest, the Allied officers and soldiers finally recovered, and the bad news made them feel like a stick, and worse was yet to come: news from the air force and rearguard units showed that the Soviet arrowhead troops had entered the Königsberg area all the way, and engaged in fierce battles with the Allied troops in the Vomza area all the way, and had formed a two-flank outflank trend in terms of tactics, and since the end of World War II, the Soviet offensive has been as fast as lightning and thunder. No one knows how fast they will be this time - maybe they will be able to cut off the retreat of the Allied forces in this area by dinner. …,
As soon as the news spread, the Allied officers and soldiers of different nationalities and different units could not be suppressedly panicked!
At first, people were only worried about the current situation and their own back roads, and soon some people began to judge that the German team deliberately destroyed those bridges. At this time, night aviation technology was still in the initial stage of development, and radar-guided air interception was still feasible, and there was no way to deal with ground targets such as bridges, so manpower blasting was the only way. Coincidentally, some bridges such as the Mikkovaiki Bridge were indeed guarded by German ** teams earlier, and the collective defection of the 115th Regiment occurred recently. With the object of suspicion, the officers and soldiers of the alliance were filled with righteous indignation, and the allied generals in charge of this combat area also made a brain-beating decision: after the pontoon bridge was urgently erected, the German ** team closest to the pontoon bridge was stationed on the spot, and the troops of other countries passed first!
The rolling flow of retreating people continued to pour towards the lakeside, and there were more and more German ** teams who arrived here but could not cross the bridge. At the front, they had long been accustomed to the differential treatment within the Allied forces, and the German officers and soldiers gritted their teeth and chose to swallow their anger. However, the Allied soldiers who passed by the German standby site taunted and insulted them, such as "You got your wish", "Soviet lackeys", "Go and shine the shoes of the father from Moscow", and so on, deeply stung every German officer and soldier with clean hands and a clear conscience. After being wronged and facing such humiliation and provocation, ordinary people's endurance has been oppressed to the extreme. Later that day, two new pontoon bridges were erected thanks to the efforts of the American and German engineering units, and the retreat of the stranded troops was greatly increased, and by dusk the Soviet vanguard was finally closing in on the Allied rearguard. Shells fired from large-caliber artillery began to fall on the eastern shore of the lake and even near the pontoon bridge, while more than 20,000 German officers and soldiers and more than 10,000 Polish soldiers had not yet crossed the bridge. For many German officers and soldiers who had personally participated in the Eastern Front or had heard from their comrades about the details of the battle, the course and outcome of the Battle of the Steel Pocket in Cherkasy evoked infinite sorrow. These brave German soldiers did not collapse, and they silently consolidated their positions under the leadership of their officers, preparing for a final battle with the only weapons and ammunition in their hands, and when they looked back, they saw the hectic scene of the Polish army crossing the bridge, during which many people were squeezed into the lake by their own compatriots, and they only looked at it with contempt......
It was dark, and the roar of tank advance was approaching. If they can sacrifice skillful and skillful ground-air coordination, the German troops can also direct the Allied air forces to delay the Soviet attack with heavy bombardment, but the Allied command does not seem to intend to spend great efforts to save these German soldiers who may get out of control at any time, the American sappers have already placed explosives on the pontoon bridge, and they have received orders that no matter how many German ** teams have not had time to retreat, as soon as the Soviet tanks get close to the pontoon bridge, they will detonate the explosives - the German sappers involved in the bridge deliberately obstructed but were brutally rejected by the American troops. So much so that some German sappers broke away from their units and rushed to report to the German troops stranded on the east bank. The last Polish troops had already crossed the bridge, and if properly organized, the 20,000 German troops could have used the three bridges to evacuate quickly, but the German regiments did not receive any orders from the higher command to retreat, but the baggage, wounded, and rearguard units that had been left behind poured onto the pontoon bridge in a disorderly manner. Ironically, the German regiment that first arrived had by this time been stranded on the eastern shore of the lake for ten hours, enough time to march around the lake even on foot. …,
The German generals were angry, the German soldiers were angry, since they joined the allied camp to fight against the Soviet Union, they were always divided into the most difficult offensive and defensive positions, the poorest equipment, the least provisions, meritorious service without reward, defeat but have to bear the infamy of being greedy for life and fear of death, and not contributing to work, the dignity and honor of soldiers have been trampled on repeatedly, even if there are no rumors about the free empire, they will not be willing to sink there. In this situation, when the appearance of Soviet tanks brought not lethal guns but people waving white flags to persuade them to surrender, the German commanders walked out of their positions with their heads held high, demanding that the Soviets give them absolute guarantees of turning to the Free Reich to fight.
The Soviets agreed, and all seven German regiments that had not been able to withdraw in time to the western shore of Lake Hiniaalved laid down their arms. If the matter ends there, then the only thing that will turn to the Allies is only 20,000 German officers and soldiers who lack heavy equipment, but as soon as they learned that the Germans did not fire at the Soviet troops approaching the position, the Allied commander ordered the artillery on the west bank to fire at the German defense area, and the American and British fighters also carried bombs and incendiary bombs to bomb overnight, and hundreds of Germans had no time to leave their positions or fell on the way to the designated assembly area of the Soviet army. A joint telegram was sent on the contact frequency of the German Wehrmacht through the army radio, complaining about the injustices of the Allies, and calling on the former colleagues to stop fighting for the Allies and to run to the country that truly represents the will and faith of the soldiers - the Free Empire of Northern Scandina!
#c