The defense of Loev was completely handed over to the 634th Division. Blücher and his more than 2,000 armed SS officers and soldiers had escaped from the forest around Loev.
Blücher's original mission was to reinforce the Muller Regiment of the 805th Division on July 9 and prepare for a decisive battle with the discovered main force of the Soviet army. Therefore, they were supposed to advance westward. However, due to the attack on the Soviet army in the south,
After destroying the Soviet forest barracks, they continued their pursuit, and the direction of their pursuit was still to the west.
The pursuit began in the morning, and by two o'clock in the afternoon the German army had escaped from the continuous forest.
Chasing the Germans all the way, the losses were not great, but Blücher felt a little sorry for the loss of the tanks. The broken down Panzer III tank was not completely destroyed. Only one of them exploded, and the others either had their staggered road wheels broken or damaged.
The track was shattered and broken. The fragile side armor was blown out by the Soviet RPG, resulting in casualties among the personnel inside.
If there are a large number of repairmen and enough materials in the army, it is still possible to repair the assault tank and quickly return to the battlefield.
The battle situation was waiting for no one, and Blücher did not bother to repair the damaged tanks at all, because he still had a large number of half-track armored vehicles and motorcycles under his command, and his assault capability was still very good.
Tanks are rampaging through rugged forests, which consumes a lot of fuel. Tanks have been fighting continuously for more than six hours, and the reserve fuel used first is still used up, and the remaining fuel has to deal with uncertain battles in the future. Tanks and armored vehicles are
The source of the Waffen SS's self-confidence, actual combat has proven that they are indeed the best way to drive the Soviet army away like a duck.
Blücher was very convinced that what he was chasing was indeed another main force of the Soviet army, and it must only be the main force, causing him heavy losses in the past few days.
The Soviet army has fled to a certain group of woods in the west. Perhaps their ultimate goal is to fight against the Soviet army in Homnich.
After all, the Waffen SS wanted to go west. Blücher estimated his position on the map and determined that he was nine kilometers southeast of the Muller Regiment. This distance was not too far, and he wanted to join them.
, we will definitely succeed before dark.
But Blücher still changed his decision. Due to personal vendetta and his own understanding of the war situation, he refused the order of Wagner, the commander of the Wehrmacht Army Group, in his capacity as the commander of the frontline troops of the RUHE operation.
He had his own reasons: "We have been bombarded by rocket artillery from the main force of the Soviet army in the south for several days. Our army was supposed to move towards friendly forces early this morning, but the main force of the Soviet army suddenly launched an attack on Roev. Our troops and
The 634th Division used powerful artillery to organize the offensive of the main force of the Soviet army. Our Xuanji unit launched a full-scale counterattack and occupied the Soviet forest camp in one fell swoop, forcing the main enemy force to flee to the west.
At present, our department does not know where the enemy we are pursuing is. The enemy is either moving towards Homnich or heading south.
Our unit suffered minor losses, but the fuel consumption was serious and the troops were tired, so we decided to set up camp nine kilometers southeast of the friendly Muller Regiment for repairs."
After all, they were members of the Waffen SS, and Wagner had to consider their special status. Therefore, for the sake of his own future, Wagner had only full faith and full support for Blücher's report.
Of course, apart from passive support, Wagner himself believed that the Soviet army had more than just one main force. As reported by the 634th Division, they faced off with a large number of Soviet troops on the left bank of the Dnieper River. Those enemy units were also the main force of the Soviet army?
The Soviet Union has been operating the Pripet Swamp for a year. A large number of guerrillas have moved here. The Soviet Union has slowly taken advantage of the special geographical environment of the swamp to develop and grow. It is precisely because of this fact that this RUHE operation was launched.
On the fifth day of the operation, Wagner was already aware of the problem of insufficient troops. He was also willing to believe that the Soviet army in the swamp had mobilized more than 10,000 people! In this way, Blücher should have encountered the main force of the Soviet army.
Especially today, Wagner received a piece of bombshell news. The missing transport team was found, and they had turned into a pile of gray corpses. It was obvious that they died when they lost contact. Whoever eliminated them, Wagner believed.
The main task of the Soviet army entrenched near Homnich is indeed to destroy or severely damage it. It is indeed the key task at present.
However, Blücher had his own considerations and did not intend to reinforce the Muller Regiment of the 805th Division.
Wagner had no choice but to curse a few times, and in his reply to Blücher, he said politely: "The invincible Waffen-SS is the best force in the empire, and I support your decision."
Is Blücher a fool? He can feel the dissatisfaction of the army commander, but these are minor problems. Only the regional flag captain is his real superior.
Wagner was also very fortunate that in the afternoon, the main force of the Soviet army did not continue to attack the Muller regiment. Moreover, the Waffen SS also sent an armored unit to assist in the defense. Even if Blücher's large force did not arrive, the Waffen SS still
Helped the National Defense Forces in combat.
Since those people were unreliable, Wagner had no choice but to find someone else.
The 707th Division, the 722nd Division, and the 734th Division are of course dispersed to defend many places. However, since the main force of the Soviet army is entangled with the attacking troops, they definitely do not have more troops to try to get close to the defense line.
, it is still acceptable to withdraw some battalion-level troops from the troops guarding the defense line for reinforcements.
Ever since, after replying to Blücher, Wagner began to actively operate. In this way, the combat troops participating in the RUHE operation were no longer the original 22,000. Three more German divisions were involved, and they
Forced to send combat troops south to reinforce Muller who held his position.
The German army was actively operating, and the Soviet army was not idle either.
The staff officers and documents that Yang Mingzhi gave to the headquarters all looked scheming. Of course, he himself was more modest, and did not arrogantly shout that labor and management were the best in the world. On July 9, he learned that Barr
Cen was defeated and suffered heavy losses, but he was still worried.
However, didn't they still complete the bait work? The development of the battle situation catered to the original plan, and the next protagonist will become the second regiment of the 284th Division, his direct troops of Yang Mingzhi!
A large number of shark rockets have been transported to the second regiment's ambush site, which is a small forest.
In the open area 1,500 meters away to the northeast of the forest is the "trap" village.
During the few days of fighting, the position of the second regiment was unmatched by the enemy, but the weather was unfavorable. They were already relatively far south, and the rainfall affected this area, making the ground a little muddy. Fortunately, the rain was not heavy, so in the
Before the world turns into a pure quagmire, the rain turns to drizzle.
The wet environment is a kind of torture for officers and soldiers, and it is a great test for weapons and ammunition.
The propelling agent of the Shark rocket is not special. It gets damp when it comes into contact with water. Once it gets wet, it cannot deflagrate quickly and the tactical effect cannot be achieved.
After receiving a message from Balzen's messenger on foot, Yang Mingzhi thought for a while and issued a death order to Lavrenti, the commander of the second regiment.
"Your regiment must strengthen its defenses and ensure that all Shark rockets can be launched normally. Once it is confirmed that the German troops have been correctly attracted to the village, we will report back. I will personally order whether to bombard or not."
The rear areas of the Soviet and German armies were actively operating on the afternoon of July 9, and the warring forces were not simply facing each other.
For example, the scouts of the Soviet and German armies on the left bank of the river spied on each other, fought twice, and hurriedly withdrew after winning or losing.
Here in the German Muller Regiment, the German army actually took the initiative to shell, and of course the shelling only blew up some pine trees. I saw it in Roshakov, and I saw that the German army was using shelling to cover up its fear.
Take the initiative.
The person who did the most outstanding job was undoubtedly Balzen. As night gradually fell, the soldiers of the Waffen SS saw a large number of flames gradually appearing in the distance. Because it was a cloudy sky, the flames were as luxuriant as stars and were very conspicuous, which simply proved that
A large number of Soviet soldiers camped here.
Blücher, who was eager to make meritorious deeds, was overjoyed. Without even doubting it, he sent an order to the generals: "We are indeed the main force of the Soviet army in front of us. Tonight is not a good time for a night attack. All soldiers should seize the time to rest.
All armored vehicles and tanks have their equipment adjusted to the best possible condition, and we will launch an assault at seven o'clock tomorrow."