The battle-hardened Neindorf was well aware that there was no other way to survive than to break through at the moment, and anyway, Holt's troops had fled in the direction of Robin, and Gomel's importance was greatly reduced, and there was no point in continuing to hold on here.

So on the third day of the siege, the day after Hort turned to Robin, Neindorf sent an urgent telegram to Army Group Center Headquarters and the German General Staff, hoping to allow him to break out immediately.

However, to Neindorf's dismay and disappointment, the answer given above turned out to be - keep going! Until the last man!

Neindorf really couldn't figure it out, why did he stick to a small town that was trapped 15 kilometers behind enemy lines? So he once again reacted to his superiors, explaining the specific situation and the difficult situation, hoping that his superiors would be a little more sober. But to Neindorf's despair, the reply telegram soon came, still ordering him to continue to hold on, and the signature of the telegram turned out to be Hitler!

Hitler undoubtedly had a great deal of political skill, but his professed military prowess was repeatedly ridiculed by the world, the most controversial of which was the theory of fortresses in the later stages of the war - "Hold the city until the last man!" It became the most "solid" reason for almost every German general to shirk his responsibility for defeat in the future.

Thousands of kilometers away in the Wolf's Lair, in the face of the defeat in the Second Battle of Bryansk, in the face of the terrible situation of Hoth's collapse, Hitler has been racking his brains to think of countermeasures. Soon there was a flash of inspiration among the heads of state - "Fortress! Yes, that's it! ”

The Führer's will soon reached every trench on the long Eastern Front, and Gomel became Hitler's "first victim on the blacklist." In the instructions of the German High Command to Army Group Center, it was said: "...... All large and medium-sized cities of Belarus are guarded. You must play a more important role when the Russians attack. As the first barrier of the Reich against the Bolsheviks. Stop and delay the enemy's advance. It is your duty to contain and weaken the other side as much as possible. The Empire needs you to prove your worth with bravery and sacrifice! ”

Of course, the fortress theory is not original to Hitler, it has existed since ancient times, but when mankind entered the middle of the 20th century, there were still illusions about this medieval method of warfare, it could only be described in two words - stupid!

Hitler always believed that his Germanic army could be relied upon, even in an embattled situation, to the end. Now that all the armor available for assault has been exhausted, and it is impossible to expect to defeat the Russians by offensive means, it is natural for Hitler to think that the Soviet-German front is dotted with cities. No! It was the fortress that was able to hold back the momentum of the Red Army's offensive and buy time for the Germans to recover.

Is this a good idea? It should be said that absolutely not, because the real right thing to do is to defend and shorten the front line (including the shortening of the supply line), but to do so would mean to give up the hard-won strategic depth!

The German maneuver that freed up their hands could make the counterattack more powerful, although this could not be equated with victory, because the battle still depended on the soldiers to fight with one shot and one bullet, but after all, there was still a chance to turn the offensive around.

But Hitler believed that if he so easily ceded his hard-fought territory, it would inevitably have an even more negative effect on the already low morale.

In fact, similar mistakes were made by the Red Army, who, in the early days of the Great Patriotic War, had always hoped to keep the enemy out of the country and to preserve every inch of the country, fought a bitter battle against the Germans. In fact, at that time, it was the best policy to abandon Eastern Poland and shorten the front for defensive operations!

Containment + attrition + counterattack = stable front. At least logically, Hitler's petty abacus was not wrong. Taking 10,000 steps back, even if there were any mistakes on the front line, the Germans would still have more room for manoeuvre. I believe that these are not understood by the generals who complain all day long that the Führer is greedy for land. It must be admitted that politicians had an extremely keen sense of how events would develop, not to mention that it is fair to say that Hitler was indeed a very good politician. But the course of the war ultimately declared the failure of the "fortress" theory, and what was wrong with Hitler?

Hitler, in fact, including the vast majority of German generals, did not think at all about how strong the Red Army had become at this moment. This is not to say that the comparison of the strength of the Soviet and German armies on paper (such as tanks, aircraft, artillery, etc.) is already one-sided, but as the two sides in the game, there is a gap in the level of their own potential.

The Germans were largely on their own, and everything from industrial raw materials to valuable oil resources seemed to be stretched thin. But what was the situation on the Soviet side? One completed industrialization and war preparations earlier and more comprehensively than in history, and all kinds of resources were extremely abundant, and more importantly, with the entry of the United States into the war, the Soviet Union's advantage was even greater!

Regardless of the fact that the Red Army led the way with the majestic T-54s, T-34s, T-35s, and the Black Death, the United States opened up supplies to the Red Army in terms of food, auxiliary vehicles, non-ferrous metals, machine tools, and spare parts, so that the Soviet war machine could always operate with ultra-high efficiency and speed.

Let's put it this way, from March 1943, the USSR only had to stretch out its hand, and the lovely Yankees would send everything that the Red Army needed. Let's put it this way, war itself is a full-scale confrontation between two hostile systems, and the difference in strength of the entire system determines the outcome of the victory. And from 1943 onwards, the Germans were inferior to their opponents in almost every link, so no matter how they fought, they would lose.

The Red Army was strong enough to trap these "fortresses" while continuing to seek to launch a deep assault into the German hinterland, and this was where the Germans had no choice at all. These poor Germans can only sit back and wait for the siege and then engage in a hopeless battle of trapped beasts.

After receiving Hitler's telegram, Neindorf knew in his heart that his former beloved Führer was determined to throw him and his troops into the fire pit, but even then Neindorf only frowned for a moment. In the depths of his heart, he always believed that unhesitating obedience to the orders of his superiors should be the most basic professional ethics of every Prussian soldier!

Of course. At that time, Neindorf still had some hope. That is to hope that his old friend Admiral Rouse will be able to pull him along. His intuition told him that this boss and brother, who had been with him for many years, would never ignore him in such a life-and-death situation. Perhaps Rouse has already ordered the armored troops to come and relieve the siege!

However, Neindorf also knew that it was useless to think nonsense, and the most important thing now was to do the job at hand, if the relief troops did not come, and his "fortress" was conquered by the Red Army, then everything would be in vain.

Neindorf quickly divided Gomel into four defense zones, east, west, north and south, with Neindorf's defense focused on the Sozh River, the southern bank of which was the advance of the Red Army, if it could keep the Red Army on the other side of the river. Then everything will be a lot easier.

Therefore, on the other side of the river, near the Gomel Fat plant, Neindorf left a considerable defensive force, and used this plant as a support point to delay as much as possible the direct attack of the main forces of the Red Army on Gomel. In addition, in order to ensure the smooth flow of the retreat, he sent two other companies to control two railway points leading to Lechitsa respectively: Novaja Buda and Sasnouyka.

In fact, it can be seen from Neindorf's arrangement that the general always believed that Gomel could not be defended, and that it was pointless to hold it, and he was ready to retreat from the beginning, and he also believed that the Führer would allow him to retreat in the future.

The question is, Neindorf's arrangement was a bit wishful thinking, and Zhukov could not see the importance of those places for Gomel? So from the beginning. He first ordered the 1st Guards Mechanized Corps to take Novaja Buda and Sasnouyka as quickly as possible. Cut off the enemy's escape path.

As for the GomelFat plant, Zhukov was not in a hurry. After a detailed study of the terrain of Gomel, he decided that it was impossible to carry out the main attack from the direction of the GomelFat plant, and even if the GomelFat plant was taken, it would be necessary to cross the Sozh River to attack the city of Gomel. With the veteran way of the German army, it is inevitable that they will focus on deploying defenses in this direction, and even if they can take Gomel by attacking from this direction, the losses will be relatively large.

Instead, Zhukov's eyes were fixed on the upper reaches of the Sozh River. Unlike the lower reaches, the upper reaches of the Sori River are more suitable for tank and armor clusters, and the north of the city is not the focus of the German army's defenses, so attacking from this direction is not only easier, but may also catch the Germans by surprise.

However, to attack from the north of Gomel, there is a problem, as Hot fled in the direction of Zhirobin, a considerable part of Hoth's scattered troops fled to Gomel in order to avoid the pursuit of the Red Army, this group of routed troops is still relatively strong, especially after the shrewd and capable Neindolf reorganized these disorganized troops, and controlled a considerable area north of the city.

These routs had built a relatively complete line of defense, and an attack from here would have to defeat them first. But this took time, and as soon as Neindorf's intentions were detected, he immediately adjusted his deployment, and then the effect of the raid was lost, and it was just as difficult positional and street fighting.

Therefore, in order to confuse the Germans and make Neindorf unclear about the direction of the Red Army's main attack, Zhukov made careful arrangements, his troops would attack from three directions, the 1st Guards Mechanized Army would attack Novaja Buda and Sasnouyka, and appropriately attack to the west of the city. The 15th Infantry Corps, on the other hand, was to attack the GomelFat factory and bombard the enemy with powerful firepower, creating the illusion that this was the main direction of the Red Army's attack. As for Zhukov's 4th Guards Mechanized Corps, it temporarily ambushed the upper reaches of the Sozh River, and when the Germans were focused on the NovajaBuda, Sasnouyka, and Gomel Fat factories, they forced their way across the Sozh River and broke through to the north of Gomel.

After the quiet dawn, the flying rockets announced the beginning of the Red Army offensive! The Red Army launched a fierce attack on Gomel from two directions at the same time, the most fierce of which was the 1st Guards Mechanized Corps, which, with the support of artillery fire, easily routed small German units on the other side of the river, and then quickly crossed the river with the support of engineers, and then penetrated directly into NovajaBuda and Sasnouyka. and consciously cut off Gomel's contact with the outside world.

Due to the negligence of the defenders, NovajaBuda and Sasnouyka were lost in the blink of an eye. But at the GomelFat plant, the Germans behaved to perfection, albeit under heavy shelling. Although the streets were full of Red Army soldiers carrying Bobosha and T-34 tanks flashing from time to time. But there is still nothing to be done with the snipers hidden in the Gothic houses and the cleverly camouflaged anti-tank positions.

The two sides fought fiercely over the commanding heights around the GomelFat plant. Every room changed hands every hour, and before the Red Army soldiers who could burst into the building could shoot, they would be blown to the ground with grenades by the condescending Germans, who would then immediately launch a counter-charge. It's just that the effect of the counter-charge is very limited, because once you get out of the house, it is the world of the Red Army.

The battle around the GomelFat factory, though trivial, is a profound illustration of what a tug-of-war is. Fierce fighting lasted for a day and a night, until at dawn the next day, when the 4th Guards Mechanized Corps took the upper reaches of the Sori River by surprise and launched a surprise attack.

This attack was completely unexpected by Neindorf, so he had little to do in the face of the surprise attack of the Red Army, but to press all the reserves on hand. And angrily questioned the commander of the 1st Battalion of the 949th Grenadier Regiment over the phone: "Let Huen answer the phone!" Why didn't you discover the Russians' intentions in advance, I told you a long time ago, you must pay attention to reconnaissance, you must find out the Russians' intentions, you have all taken it as a deaf ear. Must be resisted! Or I'll shoot you! ”

Angry is angry, Neindorf still quickly calmed down, he knows very well that he must stay sober at this critical juncture, panic and impulsiveness are the taboos of the commander!

At that time, Neindorf immediately sent in assault artillery units to reinforce Huhn's troops, and also transferred a considerable number of "Hungarian volunteers" (Mitchelling battalion). Plunged into hand-to-hand combat with the T-34. For a whole day and a night, the cannon fire in the north of the city did not stop. It can be seen that the battle is fierce.

At the GomelFat plant across the river, Zhukov threw an entire infantry division there, but the overwhelming superiority did not allow the German snipers of the 1168th Infantry Regiment of the Red Army to defeat the 1168th Infantry Regiment of the Red Army (the unit that had historically made an impressive record in Nikopol and belonged to the ace of the storm) bowed their heads and conceded defeat.

The battles here are like the thrilling sniper scenes in the Hollywood movie "Soldiers in the City", which is impressive. Of course, the real battle is even more brutal, the captured German snipers will basically be shot on the spot, don't be shocked by the Red Army's approach, anyone you meet will do this, when your comrades-in-arms, good friends who were born and died together died tragically in front of you, who can keep their sanity?

In the same way, the Red Army snipers and commissars captured by the Germans in Minsk, Kiev and Odessa did not escape death. For soldiers on both sides, the most annoying thing on the battlefield is the enemy's sniper!

To Neindorf's slight consolation, during the day's fighting, his troops had managed to hold positions north of the city and across the Sozh River at the Gomel Fat factory, while maintaining considerable room for manoeuvre. But beyond this remaining consolation, there is a deep worry. The loss of NovajaBuda and Sasnouyka has declared that they have no way back, already surrounded by two mechanized corps and an infantry regiment of the Red Army!

On the other hand, the results of the battle on the first day did not satisfy Zhukov, two mechanized corps invested two mechanized divisions, and one infantry corps invested two infantry divisions, and even two positions with large projectiles could not be taken, which is a shame no matter how you look at it.

According to Zhukov's temper, I am afraid that he will desperately choose to throw in more troops, and then use artillery and tanks to open the road and rush hard. However, an order from above calmed him down, according to the requirements of the Kyiv Military District Command, the 2nd Ukrainian Front must immediately return north of Kyiv after the end of the fighting in Belarus and prepare to participate in the operation to annihilate the Manstein cluster and liberate Kyiv. According to Shaposhnikov's requirements, the Ukrainian Second Front must preserve its strength and energy and not pay too many unnecessary casualties.

This forced Zhukov to tread carefully, and after some thought, Zhukov decided to adopt a novel, unhurried and oppressive style of play. It soon became clear to Neindorf that his opponent was no longer the reckless, sluggish, casual-minded Soviet Red Army. During the offensive, the Red Army learned what it meant to be step-by-step and step-by-step.

German soldiers who occupied street corners and the ruins of houses for defense often could only watch their opponents advance covertly on the other end of the block, digging trenches and preparing for the next attack. In order to deal with the German snipers hidden in the buildings, the Red Army strengthened the coordination of infantry and tanks on the one hand, opened the way with tank guns, and on the other hand, urgently issued a large number of cloudburst shells to the bazooka players on the front line.

Under the Red Army's steady and steady tactics, the German snipers could no longer sneak attack the Red Army with cold guns, and they could only choose to take the initiative to attack if they did not want to sit idly by...... (To be continued.) )