In this battle around Loyev, commander Yang Mingzhi still overestimated the enemy. He was sure that the enemy would attack, but he had no idea that the enemy's reinforcements actually chose to start at six o'clock in the morning on June 24.
Gritty action.
The Soviet army had a time advantage because on this day, the Soviet army deployed 4,000 elite troops in Homnich and a 2,000-strong siege force outside Loev. After adjustments, most of the parachute brigade will be stationed in Germany.
There was an ambush in Nipra Zedi, and the rested 17th Guerrilla Brigade was in charge of its original position.
The combat strength currently mobilized by the Soviet army has reached a huge number of nine thousand men. Not only are the numbers huge, they are also well-equipped, and the morale of the soldiers is high.
At this moment, who would question that the great Soviet Red Army is not invincible?
However, Yang Mingzhi never expected that the enemy who came to reinforce Loyev would be a mixed force with strong combat effectiveness.
The German troops and puppet troops in the north, even Yang Mingzhi, who was quite cautious about commanding operations, believed that they were a mob.
But if this rabble was equipped with some heavy weapons, it would be unlikely that the Soviet army could unilaterally crush them with sheer strength.
The German commander Quetzal, who was very arrogant towards the Soviet army, boasted that he indeed had the strength to despise the Soviet army!
This officer who used to be in charge of logistics is now commanding an army equivalent to a brigade.
Its core force is the infantry regiment adapted from the logistics corps, with a strength of 2,300. Followed by is the police regiment composed of Belarusians with low combat effectiveness, with a strength of 2,000 in four battalions.
He also has a tank unit with very "powerful" combat effectiveness. It is a temporary tank battalion, consisting of one No. 4, three No. 3 and ten T26s.
Before this, these armored vehicles were either repaired in Gomel or used as tractors. The so-called tank troops were also temporarily recruited. Those among the logistics troops who could drive trucks have now become tank drivers. Because from an operational point of view, driving
There is not much difference between driving a truck and driving a tank of this era.
Therefore, the German commander Quetzal very much hopes to recreate the blitzkrieg that the German army is proud of. He has more than ten tanks and nearly 5,000 troops, and his troops can also apply for air support. Is it possible that he is besieged by the enemy?
Loyev, didn't you just charge so bravely and be able to successfully reinforce him?
He is such a fantasy, and reality is just a slap in the face.
Perhaps because of the two months of no war, most of the German officers and soldiers had gained weight. In the occupied areas, the German officers and soldiers took the Reichsmarks with astonishing purchasing power and stuffed their own food, barbecue and alcohol from the occupied areas wantonly.
Stomach, they mailed back a lot of bacon, and they themselves didn't eat any less.
If such peaceful days can last for a long time, who will be eager to fight. So when the order to march was conveyed, many officers and soldiers were resistant. That is to say, fighting madmen like the regiment leader Quetzal would not accept this dangerous battle.
Longing for it.
The tank crews are all temporarily matched, and their tacit understanding needs to be adjusted. The tanks move very fast, and they don't feel tired, which is undoubtedly a disaster for the infantry.
Quetzal was naturally not tired sitting on the German jeep, while his soldiers were panting. The distance from his starting point to the stage target, the Dnieper River Bridge south of Lechica, was only 25 kilometers.
The German officers and soldiers arrived here, and everyone was exhausted. They joined the police regiment waiting here. There was no friendship between the two forces.
Some of the Belarusians who make up the police force were persecuted by Stalin, and most of them were forced by the German army or became puppet soldiers to solve the problem of food.
In the German-occupied areas, the Soviet-era foundations of most villages have completely collapsed, and ordinary people are struggling to survive. Among them, Belarusian nationalists took the opportunity to cooperate with Germany, so-called "liquidating Stalin's crimes", "establishing Belarusians' own country", etc.
The words spread wantonly, and for this reason, many civilians who were seeking a living were indeed deceived.
Some people are unwilling to kill the guerrillas in the south who are also Belarusians, and some people are following the German army's lead. No matter what their attitude is, in the subsequent combat operations, their attitudes are surprisingly consistent - do not be defeated by the enemy's 63rd Group Army
If the Soviet army catches you, run away if you can.
The puppet army has this kind of mentality. When everyone knows that the battle they are facing is dangerous, they should not foolishly sacrifice their lives for the German army. It is more important to save their own lives. Because, isn't their existence just to serve as cannon fodder for the German army?
The puppet army is very self-aware, but Commander Quetzal still looks fearless.
This is a man with some mental fanaticism, and he should even be an officer of the Waffen-SS. This is what Padrov, the puppet police chief who met him for the first time, thinks so.
The police regiment was ordered to obey the command of the German army, to be precise, the command of the German Colonel Quetzal.
The German army then set up camp at Donajci Ferry. The ordinary soldiers built their own field tents, while the senior officers lived in wooden dormitories.
This ferry town is important because of the road bridge across the river. It is the defense area of the 707th Division, and a battalion of officers and soldiers is stationed here. Knowing that the brothers of the friendly 722nd Division were going south to fight the group of Russians, they all started to prepare for it.
I was worried about the fate of the friendly forces, and in my heart I had to admire these friendly forces for their feat of welding detonators and sawing light bulbs.
In short, the 707th Division is really afraid. If the friendly forces can beat the Russians, they will be happy. Of course, everyone is still worried about the future of the friendly forces.
After all, the friendly troops were going to the front line. The garrison battalion commander opened the food warehouse and not only supplied a large amount of bread, but also smoked ham.
Even the officers and soldiers of the police regiment had a very sumptuous dinner today.
Maybe this is the last supper! Most of those guys who will go to the front line to fight through fire and water are self-aware, and each of them has a small calculation in his heart. Whether the battle south can recover Loev, the grassroots officers and soldiers of the German army do not have that much confidence.
.
However, what else can we do except fight under orders?
Most of the soldiers ate bread with sliced ham, almost everyone ate a can of canned beef shipped from Germany, and many of them were lucky enough to drink a large glass of dark beer.
After eating and drinking, they quickly went to bed, each one nestled in his tent, snoring one after another to tell the story of their fatigue during the day, and to replenish their energy for a new day's march.
On the morning of June 25, the rising sun heralded a new sunny day. Perhaps it was the continuous rain at the beginning of the month that wiped out all the rain in June. The long-term sunny weather not only made this area gradually dry, but also caused the temperature to rise rapidly.
When marching during the day, almost all German soldiers knitted their arm sleeves, and some even took off some sleeves of their military uniforms regardless of etiquette. The highest temperature during the day was close to 25 degrees. At this time of the year in Belarus, such high temperatures are very rare.
The morning horn woke up these soldiers, and they lazily got up. The first thing they did was to tidy up the house. The tents were dismantled, and the sticks used to support the tents were discarded. They skillfully folded the tents and blankets into rolls and wrapped them around them.
on my backpack.
Compared with Yang Mingzhi's Soviet army, the weight of the German soldiers was much smaller. In this battle, each German soldier did not carry more ammunition. Except for the small number of MG34 machine gunners who had 3,000 rounds of ammunition, the average soldier still carried ammunition boxes.
It's just the sixty rounds in it.
The German and puppet troops were relatively lightly armed. After having a simple breakfast, they lined up and continued along the Dnieper River. Accompanied by more than a dozen tanks and more than 20 baggage carriages, they began to head south toward the battlefield...