"In order to rescue us from the Russian encirclement, Marshal Manstein sent multiple armies and simultaneously launched an attack on the Russians from the periphery of the encirclement." Stemerman continued: "The most successful progress is now
, none other than the Baker Heavy Armored Regiment. They have broken through the defense line of the Russian 20th Tank Corps and are attacking the 18th Tank Corps defense area in Lisyanka. If we leave some of our troops to contain the Russians here, the main force rushes over to fight with Baker.
The confluence of the heavy armored regiments can completely break the Russian encirclement."
In addition to General Giller, the officers present included the commanders of the 72nd, 112th, 38th and 57th Infantry Divisions. When Stemmermann finished speaking, the commander of the 72nd Division immediately asked: "Your Excellency, General,
I wonder how you plan to distribute our existing forces?"
Stemerman knew what the other party meant, and he wanted to ask which troops he planned to leave behind to attract the attention of the Soviet army near Hill 239, so as to cover the main force's smooth breakout.
"The breakout force will be divided into two echelons. The first echelon is the 72nd and 112th Infantry Divisions and the Viking Division. Under the cover of tanks and assault guns, you will open a gap for the besieged troops and cooperate with the rescue forces from outside the encirclement.
The troops converge. The commander of the first echelon is General Giller, the commander of the Viking Division."
The officers had no objections to Stemmermann's arrangements and just stared at him intently, waiting for him to continue to issue orders to break out.
"The headquarters of each division and officers above the regiment level followed the first echelon and participated in the breakout operation. Behind them are our wounded baggage teams and health institutions."
"The second echelon consists of the remaining troops. Among them, the 38th Infantry Division provides cover from the north and east, and the 57th Infantry Division protects the breakthrough group from the south."
After describing the breakout arrangements in one breath, Stemmermann paused for a moment and then asked: "Do you have any questions?"
"Yes, Your Excellency General." The commander of the 57th Infantry Division stood up and asked with a stern expression: "I would like to ask, who will be the commander-in-chief of the second echelon?"
"The task of the second echelon is arduous. They are not only responsible for containing the Russians near Hill 239, but also serve as the rearguard of the entire besieged group." After saying these words expressionlessly, Stemmermann was shocked.
Said: "I will personally serve as the commander-in-chief of the second echelon. If we can successfully break through the Russian encirclement, I will work with ordinary soldiers to finally leave this damn encirclement."
Everyone was shocked when they heard that Stemmerman planned to kill the rear in person. Giller even said excitedly: "Your Excellency, General, how about I serve as the commander-in-chief of the second echelon, and you will command the second echelon?"
One echelon broke through the Russian defenses and rushed over to join friendly forces."
Faced with Giller's kindness, Stemmermann still refused: "General Giller, thank you for your kindness. I have made the final decision, and you don't have to persuade me anymore."
Hearing what Stemmermann said, Gille knew that no matter how much he tried to persuade him, he could not change the other party's decision. He could only nod his head and said helplessly: "Okay, General, I will follow your order and lead the first echelon.
Break out in the direction of Lixiangka." After a brief pause, he asked, "Then when should we take action?"
"Tonight at 23:00." After Stemerman told the time of the operation, he also explained to Giller: "Because the ground is frozen at that time, it is more conducive to marching, and at the same time, the visibility is extremely poor at night, which is conducive to us concealing our own
action.."
"Then do we need to shell the Russian defense lines before attacking?"
"No, we can't carry out artillery bombardment." Stemerman shook his head and said: "When the cannon fires, doesn't it mean to tell the Russians that we are going to prepare to break out from there? Therefore, you do not have any artillery fire before attacking.
For cover, you can only rely on the tanks and assault guns you have to open a gap in the Russian defense line as soon as possible to ensure that the entire army can break through smoothly."
After the Army Chief of Staff waited for Stemmerman to finish speaking, he asked tentatively: "Your Excellency, Army Commander, since we are about to break through tonight, will the attack on Hill 239 continue?"
"Of course." Stemmerman nodded and said: "In order to prevent the Russians from noticing our strangeness, the attack on Highland 239 must continue. However, except for the Walloon assault brigade remaining, the Viking division's
All other units should be returned to construction. The task of attacking the highlands should be left to the 167th and 168th Infantry Divisions."
"Your Excellency, Army Commander," the Army Chief of Staff was shocked when he heard Stemmermann's order: "Today, the total strength of these two divisions is only more than 6,000 people. If they are allowed to carry out such an order,
I’m afraid it will turn them into an empty number.”
Stemerman stared at his chief of staff and said earnestly: "Chief of Staff, if we don't find a way to attract the attention of the Russians, then the main force will not be able to complete the breakout at all. All the airports we have in contact with the outside world have been occupied by the Russians.
If we continue to occupy all the troops, I'm afraid we will make the same mistake as Paulus did in Stalingrad. By then, no matter how many remaining troops there are, they will be declassified by the high command."
The Chief of Staff of the Army thought about it carefully and found out that what Stemmerman said was very reasonable. If the troops were allowed to stay in the encirclement, it would be a matter of time before they were annihilated by the Soviet army. To get rid of such a fate, they must break through the Soviet army at all costs.
encirclement, and containing the 53rd Army near Highland 239 is the key to breaking through.
Seeing that no one was speaking, Stemmerman waved his hands to everyone and said: "Let's all go back to our respective units to prepare. Next, we will face a fierce battle that affects our survival."
…………
Two hours later, the German army launched another attack on Hill 239.
Kirillov soon discovered something strange. When the Germans attacked this time, they launched a charge directly without preparing for artillery fire. The infantry attack was covered by tanks and assault guns that had not been seen for a long time.
Seeing this situation, Kirillov couldn't help but frowned. He didn't understand why the Germans suddenly changed their offensive tactics. You know, before the attack, the Germans carried out violent shelling and destroyed fortifications on the highlands.
It caused certain casualties to the defenders. However, this kind of attack that relied on tanks and assault guns as cover was obviously much less effective.
After observing with a telescope for a while, Kirillov also noticed that the attackers now were ordinary Wehrmacht troops, not the SS just now. He couldn't help but frowned and thought about what was going on. But after thinking for a long time, he still couldn't help but think about it.
He didn't have an answer, but he felt that he should report this situation to Sokov, so he picked up the phone on the table.
"Comrade Commander, the enemy has once again launched an attack on Highland 239, which our division is holding on to." As soon as the call came through, Kirillov said straight to the point: "But I feel something is wrong with this attack."
"Something's wrong?" Sokov asked in confusion: "What's wrong?"
"It's hard to say," Kirillov looked at the enemies approaching the position and said with a complicated expression: "I can't tell you exactly, but I always feel that these enemies are somewhat different from the enemies in the first two rounds of attacks."
Kirillov's report made Sokov realize that the Germans might want to escape. In order to confirm his suspicion, he ordered the other party: "Lieutenant Colonel Kirillov, try to find out the enemy's number. I would like to know
, which army was so bold that it dared to directly attack Highland 239 without artillery cover."
"Understood, Comrade Commander." Kirillov said: "I will find out the number of the German army as soon as possible."
It is not difficult to figure out the number of the German army. You can confirm which army they belong to by interrogating the prisoners and checking the documents on the corpses.
Less than ten minutes later, Kirillov called Sokov again and reported urgently: "Comrade Commander, we have figured it out. Our soldiers confirmed it by checking the documents on the body.
The enemies attacking the highlands this time are the officers and soldiers of the 167th and 168th Infantry Divisions."
"What, officers and soldiers of the 167th and 168th Infantry Divisions?" After listening to Kirillov's report, Sokov was more certain that Stemerman was planning to escape. However, he did not reveal this situation to Kirillov.
, just warned the other party: "The Germans replaced the troops attacking Highland 239 with ordinary Wehrmacht troops. I think there is a problem. You have to find a way to capture a few prisoners and send them to the army headquarters.
I want to interrogate them myself."
As soon as Sokov put down the phone, Smirnov asked curiously: "Comrade Commander, tell me, the Germans changed the troops attacking the highlands from the SS with strong combat effectiveness to the 167th and 167th with average combat effectiveness.
168th Infantry Division, what on earth is going on?”
Before he figured out the truth of the matter, Sokov was unwilling to reveal his guess casually, so he said perfunctorily: "Maybe Stemerman wants to use these ordinary troops to consume our manpower and ammunition. Wait.
After achieving the goal, the Viking division will be used to carry out the final assault, thereby achieving the purpose of occupying the high ground and opening the gap in the encirclement."
This half-truth and half-false analysis convinced Smirnov that it was true. He even said to Sokov with emotion: "Comrade Commander, your analysis is so correct. I think the actual situation should be like this."
Sokov began to figure out that just around Highland 239, four of his divisions were occupied, accounting for half of the total strength of the group army. If he wanted to launch an attack on the German army, he obviously did not have enough troops and could only ask his superiors.
Asking for help. Thinking of this, he immediately ordered the director of the communications corps to connect him to the front army headquarters.
The person who answered the phone was still Zakharov. When he heard Sokov's voice, he thought that Hill 239 had been lost, and he couldn't help but feel a little nervous: "Comrade Sokov, are you calling me about the matter of Hill 239?"
"Yes." Sokov didn't think much and answered truthfully: "The situation I want to report is indeed related to Highland 239."
Zakharov's breathing became rapid, and he asked nervously: "Comrade Sokov, you won't tell me that Highland 239 has been lost, right?"
"Hill 239 was lost?" Sokov said in surprise: "Comrade Chief of Staff of the Front Army, when did I say that Hill 239 was lost?"
"Since Highland 239 was not lost, then why did you call me?"
"It's like this, Comrade Chief of Staff of the Front Army." Sokov realized that Zakharov had misunderstood what he meant, and quickly explained to him: "The enemy attacking Highland 239 suddenly changed from the original Viking Division to the 167th
and the 168th Infantry Division, I feel it is necessary to report to you."
After hearing this, Zakharov asked with some surprise: "Comrade Sokov, what do you think about it?"
"Comrade Chief of Staff of the Front Army, you and I both understand that Highland 239 is the key to the success of the German army's breakout. This is the reason why the Germans always used the Viking Division to attack in the first place. Because this unit has strong combat effectiveness and has the ability to break through our army's defenses.
." When Sokov said this, he was not exaggerating the strength of the Viking Division, but seeking truth from facts. After all, this division crippled Stilitz's 116th Infantry Division in the recent attack. It stands to reason that they can achieve such results.
With the results of the battle, Stemerman will definitely continue to let them attack Highland 239, but now he has replaced other troops, and his intentions can be imagined. "The Germans suddenly replaced the troops with incomplete structures and their combat effectiveness has been seriously reduced.
There must be a conspiracy among the two National Defense Force divisions."
"Conspiracy, what conspiracy?" Zakharov asked.
"I think the Germans may want to use these two divisions to attract our attention, and then they will move the Viking division to other directions and continue to implement their breakout plan."
"Then where do you think their breakthrough point will be?"
Sokov's eyes stayed on the map for a long time before he said: "I think that if the Germans want to completely break out of our army's encirclement, they must cross the Gniloydikichi River. And to get there, they only have to
You can bypass Highland 239 from the north or south..."
When Zakharov heard what Sokov said, he really couldn't laugh or cry. To say this is to say nothing. If the Germans really cannot capture Highland 239 and can only choose to detour, they must detour from the south or north of the highland.
, we can't go back east to the area where the Soviet troops gather to die.
"Then what did you think about it?"
"I hope my superiors can send me a highly mobile force." Sokov made his request to Zakharov: "So that I can pursue the German army when they retreat."
"Wait a minute, Comrade Sokov." After hearing this, Zakharov was silent for a moment, and then said: "I will ask General Konev for instructions first to see what he means."
After listening to Zakharov's report, Konev stared at the map for a while, thinking about which troops should be transferred to Sokov so that he could decisively launch pursuit operations when he discovered that the Germans were retreating.
Seeing Konev's delay in speaking, Zakharov thought he was unwilling to send new troops to Sokov, so he asked tentatively: "Comrade Commander, if you feel something is wrong, you don't have to send troops to the 53rd Army."
Send new troops."
"Comrade Chief of Staff, I think reinforcements should be sent to the 53rd Army." Konev raised his head, looked at Zakharov and said: "Now call General Selivanov, commander of the 5th Guards Cavalry Corps.
, ordered him to lead his troops into the defense area of the 53rd Army and accept Sokov's command."
"What, give the cavalry to Sokov's command?" Zakharov asked in surprise: "Is this appropriate?"
"There is nothing inappropriate." Konev said confidently: "I believe that Sokov will be able to maximize the role of the cavalry. You and I will wait and see."
