Yang Mingzhi expected that Guderian would not actually obey Hitler's orders. After he had a big quarrel with Hotter, Hotter's large forces diverted to attack Minsk and achieved a major victory. However, Guderian only deployed a small number of troops in the southwest.
Infantry divisions and motorized divisions were used to deal with the Führer, and they were just stationed most of the time.
If Guderian had followed Berlin's wishes, the besieged Soviet army would have been unable to escape. In fact, compared with the original historical trend, the situation was worse for the Soviet army that was eager to break out. The Soviet army escaped a few days late.
, the "safe corridor" is even narrower, and only a small number of people are destined to escape from danger.
Yang Mingzhi and his team were on the way to retreat. They hibernated during the day and set off at night.
The troops carried a large amount of food and water, discarded all heavy equipment, and only had a few heavy machine guns with wheels and all the mortars that could be carried.
In the end, the troops did not choose to move through vehicles. Firstly, most of the vehicles had been destroyed by air strikes. Secondly, the trucks were too obvious.
Occasionally, German reconnaissance planes would fly over in the sky. Yang Mingzhi sat and lay in the woods, looking at the blue sky and listening to the low roar of the planes.
Yevlov was very nervous and asked Yang Mingzhi beside him: "We retreated right under the eyes of the enemy. Even with the woods as cover, they let us go so carelessly?"
"Of course, because in the southwest we are facing, the German army there is the weakest in the entire encirclement. Besides, we are not the Germans' priority targets for annihilation." Yang Mingzhi pointed to the west, "Kuznie
Zov's large army is also retreating, and the enemy is planning to completely annihilate them."
"Alas, the war is already like this. Even if they retreat, they will not be able to withstand the enemy's encirclement. Maybe they will fight to the end and all die for their country."
Yang Mingzhi shrugged, "Who knows. The Soviet army does not allow troops to surrender. According to relevant regulations, the Soviet army must fight to the last man. Those who surrender are regarded as traitors to the great motherland."
"But we have lost ground and we have committed crimes." Yevlov muttered.
The division commander was killed in action, and the troops suffered a heavy blow. The division originally had more than 14,000 troops at full strength, but now only 3,000 are left. Those lost troops were either killed in battle or have been lost, but no one has surrendered."
Yang Mingzhi sat up straight and sighed. "The division commander is dead, and you Yevlov will be the acting division commander. As the deputy division commander, I think it would be better for everyone to listen to me in the future."
"Why? Do you want to be a full-time teacher?"
"We are retreating into the forest. I am better at fighting in the forest. Once it turns into guerrilla warfare, it will be my strength."
Yevlov thought for a while and realized that this person was a member of the Chinese Anti-Japanese Alliance. They had been fighting the Japanese for a long time in the forests of China. Then Yevlov remembered the final order from the commander of the front army, that everyone should break out.
Therefore, the opposition troops were also locked in a deadly fight with the German army.
"Okay, just think about it. We Chinese are very good at guerrilla warfare. When the last resort comes, you will definitely want me to command a large force." After that, Yang Mingzhi stood up and went to take a look at the camp where the wounded soldiers were placed.
The army of three thousand people is actually not that many. A small forest is enough to hide the entire army. Looking down from a high altitude into the woods composed of broad-leaved trees, it is really a perfect hiding place.
Yang Tao and her companions are taking care of these wounded soldiers. Many of them still have some ability to take care of themselves, because the seriously wounded have been basically cruelly abandoned.
Many soldiers felt guilty. They had to abandon their compatriots in order to survive. Many soldiers could not forget their desperate eyes and vicious curses. They were all going to die anyway.
"Xiao Tao, you can still work. You should have a good sleep during the daytime break."
Yang Mingzhi stood behind his wife, watching her work, and couldn't help asking worriedly.
"There is no way, the soldiers cannot live without us. Even if there is not enough medicine, I still have to check their wounds."
Star Tao slowly pulled off the bandage of a wounded soldier. His right forearm was scratched by a German bullet, and part of the muscle tissue had been lost. Star Tao had no choice. Like a Mongolian doctor, she used her own hair to make a rope and reluctantly sewed it up.
The wound, followed by the wrapping of cloth strips.
Now she untied the soldier's wound and saw that it was already festering.
"Bessica, how is my injury?" the soldier asked.
"It's okay, it's okay. Just be patient for a while."
She was so comforted, but what she told her husband was another story. "Because there has been a war before, there are a lot of impurities in the rain. His wounds have become infected and will become suppurative in the future. Without anti-inflammatory drugs, he will definitely die."
"
Yang Mingzhi was shocked. There were more than fifty soldiers wrapped in cloth here. If they were all infected and suffered from septicemia, then there was really nothing he could do as the deputy division commander.
Sometimes in order to survive, people must become cruel. Reason tells him that war is a situation of survival of the fittest. If you are injured, it often means death. This is true at all times and in all countries. But human nature is calling, and these soldiers are all comrades-in-arms.
They should live well.
In any case, the anti-inflammatory drugs have been exhausted, and most of the remaining drugs are for sterilization. Including the vodka that some soldiers secretly brought, which is now used as medical alcohol. The hygienists can only use these things to wash the soldiers' wounds, hoping to kill the bacteria.
What.
Star Tao was finally able to rest and checked the wounds of several soldiers. The situation was not optimistic.
After the girl washed her hands, she took off her coat and hung it on a tree branch to dry. Many soldiers did the same. After the previous heavy rain, in order to avoid skin diseases, the soldiers often went to the resting place and cleaned themselves first.
Soviet soldiers regarded their slovenly appearance as a shame, but most of them only had this kind of clothing.
There was a small stream running through the woods. After the soldiers briefly washed themselves, some even jumped into the river to take a bath.
Yang Tao was no exception. As a woman, she had to be private enough, but that didn't matter to her husband. She ordered her husband to bring a basin of water, and Yang Mingzhi happily agreed.
Being able to see his woman in the cruel war, Yang Mingzhi only felt a huge sense of happiness surrounding his whole body. The two of them wiped each other's bodies and took a bath, and then dried their clothes cleanly.
It was a very sunny day. During the day, the soldiers lit a bonfire and cooked some noodles and porridge to replenish their strength.
In terms of food, almost all soldiers in the remnants of the infantry division wear huge linen sacks. The long sacks are nearly two meters long and wrap around the body. They are mainly flour or wheat grains. In addition to weapons,
The maximum load is enough to feed a soldier for three weeks.
There is no shortage of salt in the troops, and there are even some canned meats.
If we say what is most lacking, it is weapons and ammunition. The troops that have lost most of their heavy weapons are already light infantry, and everyone will completely retreat into the large forest southwest of Minsk.
Many soldiers know that as long as they escape there and the German army sends out a very large force to encircle and suppress them, the troops will be particularly safe.
After resting for a day, the team set off in the evening.
Yang Mingzhi ordered a platoon of his own troops to conduct reconnaissance at the front. They carried radio guide troops and paid close attention to the enemy's situation.
The marching team implemented a light control, and no one was allowed to smoke, let alone try to light a torch for lighting. Everyone retreated under the moonlight. The weather was beautiful, and the nights were very clear these days.
After marching for two consecutive days, sleeping during the day and advancing at night, this unit miraculously did not encounter the German army.
Yang Mingzhi became more certain in his judgment. Either there were not many German troops in this direction, or the main force was not concentrated in front of him.
After all, Guderian is famous for supporting armored cluster lightning assaults. No matter how you think about it, he can let large troops enter the forest? So he explained his thoughts to all the junior officers. This is what the soldiers want to hear.
Opinion.
The officer explained to the soldiers the commander's encouragement. As long as we enter the big forest, we can avoid the sharp edge of the German army and take a long rest.
Everything was proceeding step by step. After passing the last small forest, the entire team faced a vast forest.
It is still the first half of the 20th century, and human development of natural vegetation is very limited. Moreover, the entire Soviet Union retains a huge area of vegetation, so much so that Moscow has always been surrounded by forests.
In the distance are forests and hilly areas, with only a few roads passing through and dozens of villages.
Before entering the forest, Yevlov once again raised his telescope to observe, and then ordered the troops to move forward after confirming that there was no enemy.
The remnants of the 284th Guards Infantry Division, as well as a small number of militiamen and citizens, lined up into the forest and continued to move southwest according to the compass.
Therefore, on the new night, the troops had retreated into the forest, and the whole army was safe. Then came the general reorganization.
All soldiers count their equipment, especially the quantity of weapons and food.
The temporary division headquarters has been established, and Yevlov ordered the radio operator to continue trying to communicate with the surrounding friendly forces. The broken map was stretched out, and with the light of the flashlight, Yang Mingzhi estimated the movements of the enemy and friendly forces.
"Now the north and east are German. Most of our friendly forces are in the west. They are still heading towards Minsk..."
"Can you determine all of this?" Yevlov already admired this Chinese so much. He led the team into the forest to avoid the Germans, and now he can guess the location of the Germans.
Yang Mingzhi quickly shook his head. These are all speculations. "It is undeniable that our friendly forces will definitely try to break out. They will definitely hit a wall in Minsk. If they want to withdraw, they will definitely go through the forest."
Yevlov nodded, and the friendly forces would join forces with everyone. Forming a force of tens of thousands in this way would still have great hope of breaking through.
Yang Mingzhi was not what Evlov thought. He was planning on-site guerrilla warfare. Because even if he broke through, the army would definitely encounter Guderian who was forced to go south. Even if this man did not agree, Hitler would use various threats
Order him to abandon Moscow as the primary target of attack.
The German Army Group South also encountered severe obstruction. For this reason, after Army Group Center eliminated the Soviet troops in the Minsk encirclement, the German troops headed by Guderian's troops would inevitably go south to participate in the Ukrainian encirclement. If this million-strong Soviet army
Without military presence, Hitler and the General Staff's plan to capture Moscow simply could not be realized.
Furthermore, it is also very necessary to encircle and annihilate the Soviet army in Ukraine, because at the beginning of the war, Soviet bombers stationed in Crimea attacked the Ploiesti oil fields in Romania. Without sufficient supply of gasoline and diesel, the blitzkrieg was simply impossible.
accomplish.
Yang Mingzhi knew that at the time he was at, Kuznetsov's troops always broke out, and they were also likely to fight Guderian's troops heading south.
In the original plane, the Soviet army that broke through defeated the obstructing German army. At the same time, the Soviet army in Smolensk took advantage of the situation and moved south, providing important strategic support to the Soviet army that had just escaped from the occupied area of Minsk. In the end, this Soviet army will participate in
The battle to defend Moscow, but the current battle situation is a bit uncertain. Yang Mingzhi does not think that Kuznetsov in this dimension can still be so lucky.
Regardless of all that, the troops stopped to take a good rest and at least get some sound sleep for a few days.