Lieutenant Rabin's men followed him and jumped into the trenches, and the close quarters battle for the trenches began. Pen? Interesting? Pavilion wWw. ｂiquge。 ｉｎfo

Sapper shovels played the role of machetes, grenades acted as war hammers, and butts and bayonets were stained with enemy blood.

The soldiers on both sides used the most modern weapons and staged the most primitive hand-to-hand combat.

Led by Lieutenant Rabin and his men, countless honorary Jewish soldiers frantically rushed to the Soviet position, and behind them, on two pontoon bridges that had been successfully built in the battle, E-40 tanks and No. 3 assault guns rushed across the Pripyat River to join the general attack.

As heavy weapons crossed the river, the balance of victory tipped sharply in favor of the Germans.

Under the suppression of tank guns and vehicle-mounted machine guns of armored forces, the Soviet firepower became weaker and weaker, and it was no longer possible to stop the advance of German soldiers.

On the front line of the Polish Governor's Palace, the infantry crossed the E-40 tanks in front of them and rushed straight to the Soviet positions.

The flamethrowers of the combat sappers swept back and forth through the trenches, throwing the Soviet troops into purgatory as they tried to resist.

The infantry then followed up with assault rifles and semi-automatic rifles in their hands to end the suffering of the Soviet troops, and the surviving Soviet troops turned around and fled to the rear positions.

The E-40 tank made a sharp turn on its tracks, ran over Soviet trenches and foxholes, and covered the infantry to pursue the Soviet defense line in depth and expand the results of the battle.

In the battle before the city of Pinsk, the Soviets were on the offensive, and the Germans relied on the city and the Pripyat River for passive defense.

Under the offensive operation, the Soviet army did not build particularly complete fortifications, and many sections did not even have barbed wire.

The continuous offensive operations caused heavy losses to the Soviet troops, and the various units suffered serious attrition.

The sudden counterattack of the German army completely caught the Soviet army by surprise, and it was still attacked from both sides.

Under the combined effect of various factors, the trenches along the river were lost, and the rear was in no danger to defend, and the Soviet army began to rout on all fronts.

In the southern part of the front, the cavalry of the 8th Cavalry Division of Figlein used tank killers and iron-fisted anti-tank rockets, combined with No. 3 assault guns and anti-tank guns, to withstand the counterattack of Soviet armored forces.

The Soviets won because of the large number of tanks, and the Germans won because of combat experience, and the battle situation between the two sides was stalemate for a while.

When the battle was in a stalemate, the cavalry suddenly noticed a strange sight.

Some Soviet tanks on the battlefield suddenly stopped charging and then reversed.

The troops of the Soviet army, which were far away from the line of fire, turned around and drove directly to the east.

As the mainstay of the battlefield, the escape of the tanks immediately caused panic among the Soviet infantry, and the Soviet offensive turned into a mass escape.

After the surprise, the cavalry concentrated on dealing with the Soviet tanks and infantry, which were trapped in the battlefield and could not escape the net of fire.

When they saw the friendly troops rushing out from behind the Soviet army and on the west side of the battlefield, the cavalry found the answer to the question in their hearts.

After confirming that the two armies had met, Fegrain made a rare move north in an SDKFZ251 half-track and headed straight for the city of Pinsk.

Upon learning of Feglein's arrival, Spudent personally went out to greet him, which immediately increased Figlein's favorability.

"General Figlein, welcome. Without your cooperation, I would have wasted a lot of time trying to defeat these enemies head-on. ”

"My men and I just did what I was supposed to do. What's next for us? Mr. Admiral. ”

"Our rendezvous heralded the beginning of the great collapse of the Russians, and the initiative in this campaign has returned to us."

Stepent walked to the map with Feglein, pointed to the Pripyat River, south of Pinsk, where it flowed east-west, and said: "Our next move is this: with the Polish Governor's Palace Guard as the spearhead of the attack, and the two Honorary Jewish Divisions following up, we will attack from west to east along the south bank of the Pripyat River. ”

"Here, in Slutsk, the vanguard of the 1st Panzer Army has joined up with the 7th Parachute Division, and they will move south along the road to the Plippyat River to join our attacking forces from west to east at Mikashevich.

You have two tasks, the first task is to separate a cavalry regiment to stay in Minsk, guard the prisoners, and exterminate the fleeing Soviet stragglers nearby, this task is relatively simple, the second task is difficult. ”

"What's the second mission?" Figlein's attention was instantly drawn to the second task, and he couldn't wait to ask.

"Your second mission is to lead the rest of your troops back to the Pripyat Marshes and do combat reconnaissance there. If you can find the enemy's logistics in the swamps, then destroy them by fighting, as you said in your previous telegram, and if not, then all the way south and see what the starting point of this Russian unit looks like. ”

Fishent's previous words, Figlein was not too surprised, until the last sentence was heard.

Raising his head suddenly, Figlein stared at Bootdent and asked, "You asked me to scout the departure place of this Russian unit・・・・・・ they are from Ukraine, you want me to go to Ukraine?" When we arrived in Ukraine, were we just doing reconnaissance work? ”

Spudent smiled meaningfully and nodded at Figlein.

"You're right, I want your troops to go to Ukraine, but going there to reconnoiter is only the first step of the mission, and you need to wait for my order for the next mission."

Speaking of this, Spudent patted his head in annoyance.

"I've been a little tired and my brain is a little dull these days, and the people of the 101st Special Air Service Regiment will still be temporarily under your command and cooperate with you to complete this reconnaissance mission."

"Mr. Admiral, I have a hunch that this mission ・・・・・・ well, I will complete this mission perfectly. ”

Although Figlein did not say what his hunch was, Spudent still said, "General Figlein, I hope your hunch will come true. ”

After the assignment was issued, Fieglein refused Spudent's offer to leave him for lunch, and took the initiative to leave.

The capital of Ukraine, inside the city of Kiev, the General Headquarters of the Southwestern Direction of the Soviet Red Army.

Marshal Budyonny, commander-in-chief of the southwestern direction of the Soviet Red Army, stared at the map on the table and asked in surprise: "What do you say, they encountered the German First Panzer Army, is this information reliable?" ”

"Completely reliable, our troops attacking Minsk in the north, and when we reached the city of Slutsk, which is only a hundred kilometers from Minsk, we encountered a counterattack by a large number of German armored forces, and the enemy's unit number was the 1st Panzer Army, which just happened this morning. The units of the 1st Panzer Army have joined up with the German paratroopers in the city of Slutsk, there are now signs of moving south, and our troops marching to Minsk have been put on the defensive. ”

"It's a pity that the appearance of the 1st Panzer Army means that this surprise operation of ours is no longer meaningful. Send a telegram to the troops north of the swamp telling them to retreat, to move closer to the marsh, not to go any deeper into Belarus. Budyonny said.

The chief of staff said in embarrassment: "Will the general secretary agree with us to do this?" ”

"The German 1st Panzer Army appeared in Belarus, how many troops do you think we need to take them out? A front? Will those roads in the marshes of Pripyat allow us to maintain adequate supplies for one front? Budyonny said.

"As for the general secretary, immediately send a telegram to Moscow to report on the situation here." Budyonny added.

A communications staff officer hurried up to Budyonny and handed him the telegram in his hand.

After reading the telegram, Budyonny let out a long sigh and forwarded it to the chief of staff.

"The battle for the city of Pinsk is over, and the front of an infantry corps that we put a tank division there collapsed. This is almost a third of our troops in the northern part of the marsh. Retreat, immediately give the order to retreat. Also, again ask the High Command about the movements of the Germans in the south of the Central Theater of Operations. If there is any change in the Germans, we must be notified as soon as possible. ”

The telegram from Budyonny was quickly sent to the Chief of the General Staff, Vasilevsky, who read it with surprise and horror.

After reading the telegram handed over by Vasilevsky, the expressions on the faces of the two old marshals, Timoshenko and Shaposhnikov, were also very complicated.

"I really don't know if the appearance of the 1st Panzer Army of the Germans in Minsk should be good news or bad news for us."

Shaposhnikov knew the meaning of Timoshenko's words.

The first disappearance of the German 1st Panzer Army took place in Belarus, followed by a sudden appearance behind the North-Western Front.

As a result of this bold intersperse, the front of the North-Western Front was forced to retreat a hundred to one hundred and fifty kilometers to the east, and the former commander of the North-Western Front, Colonel-General Kuznetsov, was arrested and is currently being interrogated before a military court in Moscow.

Just as they were preparing for Operation Guillotine and the defense of Leningrad, which could break out at any moment, the new commander of the North-Western Front, Colonel-General Vadudin, sent a telegram that made them nervous.

The German 1st Panzer Army was lost on the front of the North-Western Front.

This intelligence caused a high degree of tension among Vasilevsky and others.

An armored army, no matter what front it appears on, has the potential to change the dynamics of that front.

After some deduction, combined with the telegram submitted by Marshal Budyonny, Vasilevsky and others came to a terrifying conclusion.

The 1st Panzer Army is likely to go to the south of the German Army Group Center front, and the task of this unit is likely to go south to Ukraine, cooperate with the German army in Ukraine to carry out a huge pincer offensive, and encircle the Soviet army in Ukraine in one fell swoop.

According to the report submitted by Marshal Budyonny, after driving the Soviet troops of Romania and Hungary out of the two countries, the German army in the south only established several bridgeheads in the eastern Carpathian Mountains and on the east bank of the Danube, and did not make a long advance into Ukraine.

This approach of the German army was clearly not in line with the style of the German blitzkrieg, and immediately attracted the close attention of Budyonny, followed by Vasilevsky and others.

The current battlefield situation is a dilemma for the Soviet army in Ukraine.

If, in order to avoid being outflanked by the German troops moving south from the central theater of operations, the Soviet troops in Ukraine fully retreat, it means that west of the Dnieper River, half of Ukraine, including Kiev, will be occupied by the German army on the march, and the three front armies will inevitably be pursued by the German army in the south on the way back, Vasilevsky and others dare not guarantee that under the pursuit of the German armored forces, the troops will not collapse.

If they do not retreat, the outflanking of Ukrainian forces is likely to lead to an even worse consequence, that is, the total annihilation of Ukraine's armies on three fronts.

All the problems are almost all related to the missing First Panzer Army.

Now, the appearance of the 1st Panzer Army, which worries Vasilevsky and others, in Minsk, has to be said to be a surprising and gratifying piece of intelligence.

"What are you doing? What's new in the battle? ”

After Stalin went to the toilet, he returned to the command and saw Vasilevsky and others with complicated expressions and asked curiously.

"General Secretary, please look at this telegram, from Marshal Budyonny."

After reading this, Stalin, to the surprise of the three of them, did not get angry at the obstruction of the guillotine's operation.

"It seems that our guillotine will not be able to fall on the necks of the Germans, but it will be an unexpected victory to be able to lure out the missing 1st Panzer Army through this failed operation. A telegram was sent to Marshal Budyonny, allowing the troops in the northern part of the Pripyat marshes to retreat into the marshes and then move to the defense. ”

"Also tell Marshal Budyonny to find a way to let his troops drag the German 1st Panzer Army in Belarus as long as possible, to buy us some more time." Shaposhnikov added.

"This task is very important, let Comrade Budyonny think more about it." Stalin said.

"General Secretary, how can we solve the problems of Ukraine? Marshal Budyonny's telegram said that he was very worried that the German Army Group Center would move south and that our troops in Ukraine were in danger. Personally, I still recommend withdrawing troops to the east of the Dnieper, pulling the front, and as long as we can keep our troops, we can still retake Ukraine. ”

Stalin looked at Vasilevsky with a straight face.

Vasilevsky stubbornly said: "I also propose to withdraw Ukrainian troops to the east of the Dnieper, but you can leave a few bridgeheads for counteroffensive on the west bank of the Dnieper, such as Kyiv." ”

Shaposhnikov continued: "The Germans have already reached Leningrad, and if we do not want the city named after Comrade Lenin to be occupied by the Germans, we will have to transfer a large number of reserves to the Leningrad region, so we are not very generous in terms of troops. ”

"Really want to give up half of Ukraine? Even if we already know the location of the German 1st Panzer Army? Stalin asked in a deep voice.

"Even without the 1st Panzer Army, there would be other German units going south, this is inevitable, we must give up." Shaposhnikov said. (To be continued.) )