There was another heavy exchange of fire in the northern part of the swamp, and a new situation in the battle, all of which preceded Operation Airdrop, which may need to be adjusted. Pen | fun | pavilion www. ｂｉｑｕｇｅ。 ｉｎｆｏ

In short, the situation of the battle before March 30 was reported to the superiors by the 284th Division as it was.

Tupikov was the one who was in charge and planned the operation, and they were fighting with the Germans, whether it would irritate the nerves of the German army. He had to worry a little more, and at noon on March 29, he went directly to Timoshenko, the commander of the front army.

Tupikov came directly to the command headquarters without any delay, and asked straight to the point: "Do you know everything about the situation in the swamp?" “

"Of course I do!" The commander who was lying on the desk slowly raised his head and asked, "It's hard that my chief of staff came in a hurry just for the troops in the swamp?" You know, the overall situation right now is not optimistic. “

The Marshal of the Soviet Union liked to stare quietly at the strategic map, looking for the current fighters of his own army and the flaws of the enemy.

Judging from the current situation, the Soviet army has been unable to expand the situation of the war and continue to counterattack, and Belgorod and Kharkov are still in the hands of the German army.

"When have we ever been optimistic?" Tupikov took a few steps forward.

"Now the offensive against Kharkov is difficult to maintain, all units of our army are not satisfied, it is difficult to replenish personnel losses, and it is also difficult to replenish equipment consumption. Timoshenko said with difficulty.

"However, our army's new recruits and new equipment are still advancing to the front line, and the total strength of our Southwestern Front has not suffered huge losses."

"Only in the state of the front-line troops and equipment, it is simply impossible to capture the well-defended Kharkov or Belergorod." As he spoke, Timoshenko pointed to a node on the minimap in front of him: "Here, Zhukov's Northwestern Front will not be able to take Bryansk either." “

"Yes!" Tupikov affirmed: "If our army can lift the siege of Leningrad, in Vyazma, in Bryansk, from Kharkov to the Crimea, our army can completely go to the offensive and defensive victory, and the whole situation will be optimistic." “

Temoshengo shook his head with a wry smile: "We can't do all these things you said at the same time, and it's difficult to complete even one. But the enemy won't let us get better, so we will retaliate with a tooth for a tooth. “

"In the swamp, for example?" Tupikov teased.

"Who knows? That force is very close to Kyiv, and if they can attack Kyiv, even on the outskirts of the city, or around the lines of communication in and out of the city, it will be a huge plus for us! “

"So, what do you think of the untimely fighting these days?" Tupikov asked.

Timoshenko did not rush to answer, he asked rhetorically: "Then what do you think?" “

"Of course it's out of place! I hope that the airdrop will be kept secret and happen without the knowledge of the enemy. Now that the enemy has been stimulated, I'm worried that they will react violently when the airdrop is launched. “

"Offense, for example? Please, this is simply impossible for the Germans! "Timoshenko is not entirely optimistic, the possibility of a German attack is there, I am afraid it is only one percent.

He continued: "The situation of the war was created, the 284th Division stimulated the Germans, but it turned out that the initiative was not the Germans. They will not have an overreaction, so it is difficult for the German counterattack you are worried about to happen, but when they see parachutes in the sky, they will think that our paratroopers are going to attack in full force! “

Tupikov laughed: "I feel at ease with your words." So the airdrop won't be interfered with? “

"That's inevitable, now I just hope that our army is ready, and the fleet must take off in the early hours of tomorrow morning!" Timoshenko changed his words and asked solemnly: "You are in charge of leading this airdrop operation, and now you are ready?" “

"Of course! As you know, at the airport in Severodonetsk, our troops have been assembled, all the supplies have been loaded, and an airborne regiment is also on standby. “

Timoshenko was very satisfied, he nodded and said: "This matter must not go wrong, after this matter is over, we will still study the current battle situation, as for the troops in the swamp, let them continue to cultivate." Speaking of this, he casually picked up a pen and drew a circle on the map, the area south of Gomel and north of Kyiv: "This force, maybe their energy can affect Kyiv and even disrupt the enemy's entire layout." “

Tupikov sneered: "Comrade commander, don't overestimate them too much, let's first level out the dozens of German divisions in front of us." “

Timoshenko looked up to the sky and sighed, of course he knew that the German army was quite strong now, and his own troops were indeed formed by a large number of mobilized troops, and it was difficult for this kind of troops to continue to counterattack, so he could only hope that his defense line was stable, and the friendly southern front army had made a breakthrough.

He once again confirmed the airdrop operation, and in a dozen hours, the group of planes would be carrying a huge amount of supplies and personnel and heading straight for the Plippet swamp.

On the other hand, the Soviet Air Force stationed in Severodonetsk was also intensively preparing.

Now, the inhabitants of this newly liberated city, who were saved from the clutches of the Nazis, have been transported to the rear on a large scale after screening. During the enemy's occupation, the spies, guides, pseudo-policemen, etc., who were cultivated, were simply judged to be "traitors to the great motherland" and hastily executed.

A lot of the city's buildings have become WALL-E, and it's a great place to do street fighting.

But its greatest strategic value is its proximity to the river, and the bridge over the Donbas River outside the city is crucial. At the same time, it was also a plain area, and by the standards of this era, as long as the land was flat and hard enough, it was an excellent field airfield. So the new airport was quickly built on the basis of the previous airport, which had already been slightly damaged. The city has become a battleground, so a large number of Soviet troops are moving towards it.

A large number of planes took off and landed here, and the new fighters began to engage in air strikes on enemy positions.

Now that the counteroffensive of the Southwestern Front has temporarily stalled, it cannot be slackened, and the same is true for the German army. Therefore, in the sky, air battles occur from time to time, and the air force that has come to open the Soviet army has a relative numerical advantage due to its geographical advantages.

But German reconnaissance planes also spotted a large number of long-range bombers recently docked at the city's airfield, and a lot of guys with exaggerated wingspans, apparently heavy gliders.

What are the Soviets going to do?! Obviously, when the gliders are all sorted, it can only mean that the enemy will make a large-scale parachute.

Suddenly, the air defense pressure on Kharkiv, Belgorod, Sumy, Poltava and other occupied cities increased sharply.

The Germans reacted quite violently, the Soviets were clearly planning an airborne landing, and their strategic intention was most likely to continue the counteroffensive! Army Group South led by von Bock was still storming the Crimea, with the main forces and Romanian allies on the Black Sea front, and the Soviet counterattack on the flank was indeed unexpected.

At present, some troops are urgently returning to the defense in case the Soviets continue to attack, and they are planning airborne operations, most likely to send paratroopers to carry out tactical sabotage, occupy some bridgeheads and strongholds, and destroy railway facilities so that the Soviets can drive straight in.

Until there is no conclusive evidence, all this is only reasoning through aerial photographs. In addition, the Soviet troops were very heavy in their aerial firepower, and their fighters were often near the airfield. It takes time to prepare for its strategic bombing, and at the current time node, von Bock has to order his troops to do a good job of air defense, and pay close attention to the abnormal noise in the sky and parachutes. All pilots' vacations were stopped, and after discovering an anomaly in the sky, all fighters that could be mobilized took to the air to intercept them.