For Sokov, the capture of Letzen was nothing more than the liberation of an insignificant small city. But he had no idea how much of an uproar it caused after the news of the city's fall came out. Because of the existence of this city
The significance has long exceeded his imagination.
First, after Rokossovsky received the information, he clapped his hands and celebrated with Subotin, Bogolyubov and others. According to his vision, if he wanted to liberate the city, he would have to go through at least a bloody battle, and at least there would be casualties.
The strength of one or two divisions. Unexpectedly, the enemy encountered the 3rd Infantry Division of the 48th Group Army, but they only made symbolic resistance, then laid down their weapons and surrendered.
Rokossovsky reported the news to the General Staff, and Chief of General Staff Antonov reported the matter to Stalin. Unexpectedly, Stalin also clapped his hands and applauded after hearing this, and said emotionally: "I really didn't expect that.
The city regarded as a fortress by the Germans was not worth mentioning in front of Xiao Misha, and it was taken so easily." Then he said to Antonov: "Comrade Chief of General Staff, please record my order. In order to
In recognition of the bravery and heroism shown by the 3rd Infantry Division of the 48th Group Army in the battle to liberate the city of Letzen, the division is specially awarded the Order of the Red Banner."
Although the 3rd Infantry Division has a higher rank, it has never achieved any great feats due to the incompetence of its previous division commanders. But now that Kirillov has become the division commander, he has won a title for the battle to liberate Letzen.
Order of the Red Banner awarded to the collective.
The Soviet army liberated Lötzen, which was simply bad news for the German high command.
Chief of General Staff Guderian was extremely shocked when he learned that Lötzen laid down his weapons and surrendered to the Soviet army with almost no resistance. He did not expect that in the area where a large-scale defensive battle could have been fought, guns and artillery
As soon as the sound was heard, the defenders surrendered, which was simply incredible.
When Mustache heard about this, he became even more furious. He pointed at Guderian and asked loudly: "Guderian, what is the name of the commander who defended Lezen?"
"My name is Klein." Fortunately, Guderian had read the information in advance and knew the name of the city defender, so he was not asked by Mustache: "Colonel rank."
"I once specifically issued an order that this city must hold on." Mustache roared hysterically: "Even if it can't hold on, it can only be allowed to retreat after getting my order. Who knows this damn Clay
Because, without even a decent resistance, he ordered the troops to lay down their weapons and surrender to the Russians. Where is his home?"
"His home is in Berlin." Guderian replied: "He has a wife, two sons, and a sister."
Mustache waved his hands as if convulsively: "Catch them all and send them to the concentration camp. I want everyone to know that this is the consequence of betraying me."
Just when Guderian agreed and was about to convey his order, he changed his original order: "No, you can't send them to the concentration camp. That would be too cheap. Hang them and then hang them on the road."
Hang a sign on the telephone pole next to your chest and write 'The fate of traitors'. Hurry up and follow our orders."
"Yes, my head of state." Guderian picked up the phone on the table, dialed a number, and conveyed Mustache's order.
After making the phone call, Guderian continued to report intelligence on the battlefield: "My head of state, General Reinhardt, called and said that the situation there is not ideal. The pressure that Königsberg is currently experiencing,
Forcing the 4th Army to continue retreating, I am afraid that the entire East Prussia east of the Aare River will have to be abandoned."
"No, Guderian, such a retreat is absolutely not allowed." Mustache, who had already fallen into madness, roared: "The steps of the coward must stop, as long as I personally order no more retreat and correct those coward generals.
Wrong orders given can re-energize the soldiers' courage. Please put me through Reinhard immediately, I want to speak to him."
When Guderian picked up the phone and dialed, a bitter smile appeared on his face. He knew very well that if the situation had not reached an irreversible point, Reinhard would not take the initiative to propose a retreat.
The call was quickly connected. When Reinhard's voice came from the receiver, Guderian said into the phone: "Reinhard, the head of state wants to talk to you." After saying this,
Afterwards, he held the microphone in both hands and handed it to Mustache, "My head of state, Reinhardt is online."
"Reinhardt, I am the Führer." Mustache said loudly into the microphone: "I order you to stop the retreat of all troops, turn to defense on the spot, resolutely block the Russian attack, and defend our east.
Prussia…”
"My head of state, I do want to continue to hold on." Reinhard complained: "But my troops have been severely weakened, while the Russians opposite us have received a steady supply of soldiers, weapons and ammunition.
, making our situation more and more unfavorable. If we continue to hold on to the current position, there is a possibility of being wiped out by the Russians. But if we give up some areas that are not necessary to defend and gather more troops, we can
At a temporary advantage in a local area..."
"That's enough, don't explain." Before Reinhard could finish speaking, Mustache interrupted him: "I order you to have all troops stop retreating, stay where they are or return to their original positions, and resolutely
ground to block the Russian attack. Do you understand?"
"My head of state, I'm afraid this matter will be difficult to handle." Reinhard said perfunctorily: "Most of the troops are on the move, and it may be very difficult to contact them in such a short period of time. And our
Many troops have already withdrawn from their original defense areas. If they are ordered to return now, it may cause unnecessary chaos."
"Reinhardt," Reinhardt's words made Mustache fall into thinking. After a long time, he said hesitantly: "I will give you a final reply at five o'clock in the afternoon. But before that, you
The troops must be ordered to stop their meaningless retreat."
Reinhard, who had received Mustache's promise, put down the phone with satisfaction, and waited until five o'clock to call the headquarters in Berlin to ask what Mustache's final decision was.
After putting down the phone, Mustache put his hands on the table and stared at the map spread out on the table. He began to think about whether he should agree to Reinhardt's request, abandon the current position, and head towards Königsberg.
direction to retreat.
He didn't know how long he had been looking at the map, and Guderian, who was standing next to him, almost fell asleep. Just when Guderian was drowsy, he suddenly heard a mustache's voice: "Guderian!"
"My head of state!" Hearing Mustache's voice, Guderian shuddered, straightened up quickly and said, "Do you have any instructions?"
"I got up too early today and am a little tired. I want to go back and rest. I will leave the things here to you." Before leaving, Mustache told Guderian: "While I am sleeping, no one can
Don't bother me."
"Okay, my Führer."
After Guderian sent Mustache away, he suddenly remembered that Mustache had told Reinhardt to wait until five o'clock to give him a final reply. But now it was almost four o'clock, and it was obvious that Reinhardt was waiting for him.
Mustache was definitely not here when the call came.
When the hands of the clock on the wall pointed to five o'clock, the phone on the table rang.
Guderian stared at the ringing phone on the table for a while, then turned to ask a general who had just entered the door: "Is the head of state here?"
"No." The general shook his head and said, "I didn't see the head of state on the way here."
Hearing what the general said, Guderian couldn't help complaining. He didn't expect that Mustache would actually run back to sleep at the critical moment without keeping his words. How could he reply to Reinhard? But the phone kept ringing.
It was obviously impossible not to answer, so he had no choice but to pick up the phone.
"Hello, I'm Guderian. Where are you?"
"Hello, Chief of General Staff!" Reinhard's voice came from the receiver: "I followed the agreement with the head of state and called him at five o'clock..."
"General Reinhard." Guderian didn't wait for Reinhard to finish what he said before interrupting him: "I'm really sorry, the head of state was feeling a little uncomfortable just now and went back to rest. Before he left, he specifically told us,
No one is allowed to disturb them. Therefore, General Reinhardt, I cannot help you call the Führer, so please forgive me."
"Hell, how could this happen?" When Reinhard heard this, he knew that he had been deceived by Mustache. The other party had obviously asked him to call back at five o'clock, but he didn't know that when he called as originally planned, he
He went to run and rest. He originally wanted Guderian to call Mustache, but then he remembered that Mustache left and said that no one was allowed to disturb him, so he swallowed the words that were on his lips and asked cautiously: "
Your Excellency, Chief of General Staff, I wonder when would be a better time for me to call?"
Guderian raised his head and glanced at the clock on the wall, and then said: "General Reinhardt, I think you'd better call back in two hours. Even if the head of state goes to rest, he should be there in two hours
Come back here again. If he is not here by then, you can call the Army Headquarters and ask to see if he has signed any orders."
Although Reinhard was unwilling to do so, since Mustache deliberately avoided seeing him, there was no point in being anxious. The only way now was to wait another two hours and then call the headquarters or the army headquarters.
Call to see if there are any latest instructions for mustaches.
Two hours later, Reinhard called the headquarters again, found Guderian, and asked about the whereabouts of Mustache. Guderian who answered the phone said apologetically: "I'm really sorry, General Reinhard, since
After the Führer left, I never saw him again. If you have anything to ask of him, I suggest you call the Army Headquarters and ask if there is any order signed by him."
Reinhard dialed the number of the Army Headquarters again. With the last trace of luck, he asked the officer who answered the phone: "I am General Reinhard. I want to ask if you have a head of state there."
Signed by your own hand, some order regarding the East Prussia region?"
"No, General Reinhardt." The officer on duty answered simply: "We don't have an order signed by the head of state."
Reinhard, who had already guessed the outcome, became angry. He raised his voice and said to the officer on duty: "Please record my words: Since I have not received any clear instructions, I will withdraw the troops to Afghanistan according to my original plan.
Le River Helsberg-Friedland line, and build new fortifications there."
After Reinhard hung up the phone, the officer on duty did not dare to neglect and hurriedly reported the contents of the call with Reinhard to his superior.
This call record was quickly sent to Xiaozhu. After reading it, Xiaozhu directly pulled the water glass in front of him to the ground, stood up at the same time, and walked back and forth in the room like a trapped animal, his mind began to
Think about how to deal with someone as bold as Reinhardt.
Reinhardt, who was far away in East Prussia, made several phone calls back to Berlin but could not find the whereabouts of Mustache. He made the final decision in anger and retreated the troops to a reliable location according to the original plan.
area and re-establish a new defensive zone.
His chief of staff, General Heide Koppel, reminded him: "Your Excellency, Commander, you are going against the wishes of the head of state and withdrawing your troops without permission. I am worried that it will have a negative impact on you."
"What adverse effects can there be?" At this moment, Reinhard had decided to take the risk: "At best, remove me from my post. I really don't want to be this commander anymore. I haven't had a solid night's sleep since I accepted this position.
, thinking about how to block the Russian attack every day, and even drive them away from the East Prussia area. But unfortunately, the high command does not add new troops to us at all. It is impossible to stop them just relying on the existing strength.
Lived by Russians.”
"Okay, Your Excellency, Commander." Seeing that Reinhard had made his final choice, Heidekoppel knew that no matter what he said, he could not change the other person's mind. The only thing he could do now was to help Reinhard.
Special coordinated with the retreating troops to try to get them to the designated location as early as possible. After all, just waiting for orders from superiors wasted most of the day.
While they were busy, a communications staff officer came over with a telegram and said to Heidekoppel with a serious expression: "Your Majesty, Chief of Staff, the telegram was sent by the High Command in Berlin. It is with you and the Commander."
There are relationships."
Heidekoppel took the telegram with a puzzled face and lowered his head to read it. When he saw clearly the contents of the telegram, he was stunned.
Reinhard, who was standing not far away, saw his chief of staff dazed there holding a telegram, and asked with some displeasure: "Chief of Staff, what did the telegram say? You look so distracted."
.”
"Your Excellency, Commander," the Chief of Staff came to his senses and quickly came to Reinhard, and said in a panic: "The high command in Berlin has just issued an order. In view of your unsatisfactory physical condition, we are going to let you go."
After being dismissed, he went to Berlin for treatment."
"Oh, the action is quite swift." Reinhard sneered and said, "I was dismissed so quickly. Chief of Staff, it seems that until the new commander arrives, this unit can only be temporarily commanded by you.
Already."
"Your Excellency, Commander, I haven't finished speaking yet." Heidekoppel said with a wry smile: "Like you, I have been relieved of my duties."
