Before the outbreak of the war, there were 30,000 people living in the urban area of Lechica, almost all of whom were workers and family members of Soviet state enterprises.
Because the local timber resources are very abundant, the city's main source of economy is timber processing, with thousands of workers engaged in related industries.
Although the city of Lechica existed hundreds of years ago, this area of Belarus has been a bloody battle between Poland and Tsarist Russia since ancient times. The ancient city of Lechica has long since perished, and the existing city is basically a new city built on the ruins.
.
It is a city located on the right bank of the upper reaches of the Dnieper River. Its sparse population makes the city small.
The railway line passes through the city, and the train station is in the southwest of the city. A relatively wide highway extends north from the train station, which is four kilometers long. There are a large number of branch roads on both sides of the highway, and a large number of reinforced concrete buildings are located along it.
Road construction.
Due to the factors of the times, the construction technology of the Soviet Union is much worse than that of the United States in this time and space. In Lechica, the tallest building has only four floors, which was the original Soviet office building. Around it, there are a large number of renovated three-story or
Two-story building.
Around the concrete buildings, there are many wooden houses, which are so-called shantytowns.
When the war suddenly broke out, Lechica immediately suffered misfortune. With the collapse of the main force of the Soviet army, the small number of Soviet troops remaining in the city were quickly defeated by the sudden attack of the German troops.
Naturally, the Germans made brief artillery preparations when they attacked the city. They targeted the tallest buildings for bombardment, so when they captured the city, the office building was truly intact.
Therefore, Hertzman naturally moved the 707th Division's headquarters to this building.
The breeze from the north was slightly cool. It was obviously the height of summer in Belarus, but this coldness actually made Hertzman feel a little desolate.
He stood on the top of the fourth floor of the office building, which was fifteen meters above the ground. He stood on the highest point in the entire city of Lechica.
"To the south, a large number of Russians are marching towards us! What a hell!"
Herzmann smoked a cigarette and raised his telescope to look south from time to time, worried about the future.
After receiving a series of reports of the collapse of the defense line, he knew that Lechicha must be the enemy's first target. If he could only stay restless in the office, he might as well go to the rooftop and look into the distance in person.
He also turned his perspective to the city from time to time, and saw a large number of people moving on the widest street. Many of them were wearing headscarves and carrying baskets or boxes, and their shapes fully indicated that they were women.
There were many women in the city. They were family members of the police regiment, civilians who had migrated from the city to work for the German army, and there were basically military brothels.
Letting women leave the city was an order given by Hertzman himself. He had a premonition that due to the incoming Soviet army, a bloody battle would break out in Rechica. He knew very well that the Soviets regarded local people who served the German army as traitors.
, being caught will almost certainly lead to death.
All women and children who could not be used to defend the city were moved, but all adult men had to stay, whether they wanted to or not.
Herzmann simply asked women and children to walk north along the road, toward the so-called safe area of Svetlogorsk. Is it safe there? Bah!
Herzmann simply drove the women away, not even separating the husband and wife. The German soldiers used forceful means to accomplish all this, just like driving livestock, ruthlessly driving the women away and not allowing them to stay at all.
As for those men who lost their wives and children, many of them came to Lech to look for a better life and worked for the Germans without conscience. But now, the so-called jobs of helping logging and porters at railway stations have turned into working for Germany.
People fight.
When the order was issued, even though some people clearly stated their refusal to cooperate.
The German soldiers were also very simple and rude, and all non-cooperators were directly shot. After more than ten people were shot, there was no longer any opposition.
As a result, the troops currently under Hertzman's direct control include an infantry regiment and a police regiment, with a strength of barely 5,000. Under the German rule, the so-called peaceful residents of Lechica originally numbered 5,000. As women and children were eliminated,
During the raid, nearly 1,500 male civilians were driven away. They were deemed suitable to serve as soldiers and were issued guns during the raid.
The army was armed with the equivalent of three battalions of soldiers. Herzman was completely dismissive of the combat effectiveness of such people.
Excellent soldiers need no less than six months of systematic training, this is his understanding. Who can expect civilians with almost no military skills to suddenly pick up weapons and show so-called combat effectiveness. They can only serve as troops that are better than nothing.
, or simply cannon fodder.
The only thing that gave Hertzman some confidence was that there were some half-track armored vehicles and even four assault guns in the city.
There is a weapons repair shop in the city of Lechica, which is currently overhauling eight Panzer III tanks and two Panzer IV tanks. They are all items brought back from the battlefield. After they were unloaded from the train station, they were guarded northeast of the train station.
In the repair shop on the side.
It is simply impossible to expect tanks to be repaired and put into the battlefield instantly. Their engines have been removed, but the turrets can still be used, and the warehouses also need a small amount of supporting shells.
The most critical part of Lechica is the train station. No matter whether the Soviet army will come or not, the train station is the most defensive. It is not only its strategic value, but also its location - it is so important;
Located in the southwest of the city, it is like the soft belly of a fish facing a sharp knife.
"All the repaired tanks are pulled by tractors to the outside of the train station to serve as fixed forts."
The soldiers actually completed Hertzmann's order, so just after noon that day, the German army added ten more turrets to the defense on the side of the train station. The German soldiers also piled a large number of sacks filled with soil on the tank.
To increase defense, those in the army who know how to operate artillery can enter the turret and hold on.
There is no engine, and the tank's electric motor cannot be used. The turret can only rely entirely on manual steering. What are the so-called fixed turrets? Hertzman has no idea. At least they are better than nothing.
Herzmann placed the main forces in the south of the city and deployed a circular defense line in a surprise attack.
The outermost layer of the defense line was the 1,500 ordinary citizens who were armed for assault. Two hundred meters behind them were the real German troops.
"They are cannon fodder. They will die when they die. Our army can easily recruit a large number of Belarusians and Ukrainians like this." Based on this understanding, Herzman really has a clear conscience. He is too lazy to try to understand the people on the front line.
The sorrow of the so-called "militiamen", he doesn't even care much about the casualties of the police regiment, he only cares about his German men.
Ironically, the 707th Division had already suffered heavy losses. The position held by the brave German man he was looking for was actually broken by the Soviet army in an hour!
Hertzman continued to observe anxiously, smoking from time to time, trying to calm himself down with cigarettes.
A guard hurriedly climbed to the top and hurried to the division commander's side.
"Report!"
"speak!"
"The five reconnaissance squads we sent all arrived on the southern highway and carried out ambush."
"Very good, order them to send a telegram immediately if they find the enemy. Don't get entangled with the enemy to avoid unnecessary exchanges of fire."
In this way, the German cordon was extended to the southern highway, which is five kilometers away from the railway line, that is, the Mozyr-Gomel highway. However, only five reconnaissance squads can serve as eyeliners for the fifteen-kilometer highway cordon.
It's so hard.
The road extends to the Dnieper River, and an iron bridge crosses the Dnieper River. On the other side of the river is the ferry town of Donajchi. Four weeks ago, a unit of the 722nd Division passed through this town and headed south in an attempt to reoccupy Loev.
.Today, this small town is still defended by only one company of the 707th Division.
Didn't Hertzmann know the importance of this town? Unfortunately, he really couldn't spare enough troops, so he could only send a telegram to the garrison there to encourage them to fight.