In the great war at the end of 1941, the German 715th Division suffered huge losses. Although this division had poor weapons and equipment, it had as many as 15,000 troops. They were not a front-line combat force. You must know that at this point in the war, most of the German troops on the front line
There are already shortages of personnel, and the strength of a division has generally been reduced to just over 10,000 people.
Because of the losses Schulz suffered, his troops reached the standards of some infantry divisions on the front line.
The loss of only a few thousand men seemed to have only weakened 40% of the strength of this huge army. It was still an armed group of up to 10,000 people.
Unfortunately, the troops lost were mainly the most combat-effective troops.
The combined casualties of Floyd's and Hoffman's infantry regiments accounted for 60% of their total strength. These two regiments were theoretically collapsed, but they still worked hard to maintain their structure and just stayed at the station to make corrections.
The punishment received was very light, and soon all the officers were reinstated (after all, they were needed to continue to command). Schulz had no choice but to organize the transportation battalion of the logistics unit and immediately integrate these transportation troops into the missing units.
These battalions lacked tactical training, so Floyd and Hoffman had to act as instructors, ordering veterans in the unit to strengthen the training of their new units in order to quickly restore combat effectiveness.
Later, the 722nd Division sent a battalion to the expedition to Homnich, which gave Schulz a great deal of motivation.
Everything stems from the arrogance of the division commander Florid. "I want to see how your battalion can defeat a fortress that neither of our regiments can defeat." Schultz said fiercely at the division headquarters,
His advisers were also waiting to see what happened, predicting that Floride would make a fool of himself.
The reality was just as Schultz expected. Even if an air force brigade bombed the city, it had turned into powder. The Soviets hiding in the forest still annihilated all the elite troops sent by Florid. To make matters worse,
The results achieved by the Air Force are also really unclear.
Schultz was not the kind of person who would retaliate for his anger. His comrade had already paid the price for his arrogance, so there was no need to provoke him again.
Seeing the joy of everyone on the staff, Schultz stamped his feet and said: "We received this information. A battalion of the 722nd Division was wiped out. We should not gloat about our misfortune. Now the facts are before us. Those damn swamps
The guerrillas, their combat effectiveness is very powerful, not even inferior to that of the SS."
"Really? The combat effectiveness of our army is indeed not as good as the front-line troops, but if the SS comes, our pressure will be very small." A staff officer said.
"Maybe. Now you all know that there is an infantry regiment of the SS in Lechica, and it is composed of Frenchmen. The arrival of these people has at least eased the defensive pressure on our division." Shu
Ertz stated.
"Tch! A group of French people. Our men are defeated. I don't think much of them." The person who said this was Schulz's chief of staff, Swager. He had fought in World War I and his participation in it was very bad.
The Battle of the Somme, he was very lucky to survive.
Regarding the perception of the French, from the perspective of World War I, they are very ferocious and have a tenacious will to fight. But why were the French able to be completely defeated within a month in the new war twenty years later?
In previous wars, every kilometer advanced would cost tens of thousands of casualties. As a result, in the new era, the army's tanks and fighter jets attacked at the same time, and the French army was defeated.
The victory made many German soldiers look down on the French, even if they were Germans living in France. So if these people join the SS, can their combat effectiveness be really guaranteed? This is doubtful.
Swager continued unceremoniously: "I absolutely believe that the joining of these people is not a good thing for the SS. At least they have experienced systematic military training, not to mention the group of livestock and cannon fodder in the Soviet Union. These people join the party
The Guards are not for the interests of the Germans at all, but for themselves. I guess Yuan used them to organize Europe to be occupied by the Soviets and prevent full Sovietization. And this is why we come to the Soviet Union to fight now.
"
His explanation was quite recognized by most of the staff.
Schulz paused and said: "At least a hundred years ago, Napoleon commanded the French army, as well as the Austrian-Württemberg-Bavarian army, as well as the Polish and Czechs, to jointly attack Imperial Russia. Now times have changed, and the
Germany has been unified, and we will lead the French to defeat the Soviet Union and complete what Napoleon did not finish. In this way, the French will support us psychologically."
This was obviously just Schultz's wishful thinking. Aggression is aggression. Swagger did not deny that Germany was actually plundering France's national wealth. He was disgusted by this, but because he was a soldier, he could only carry out the mission. Therefore, he did not stop it.
It's okay to deceive those French guys with these childish ideas of the teacher, but if you believe it yourself, you would be too stupid.
However, with the arrival of a regiment of French SS troops, Rechica's strength was at least greater.
It was also due to the arrival of these people that some heavy weapons would also be deployed to several divisions along the highway. However, due to the sudden snowfall, such as the No. 3 assault gun and some long-barreled No. 3 tanks, their arrival time was delayed.
put off.
Due to the bad snow, the training of German soldiers was also forced to be delayed, and all the aircraft of the air force group were pulled into the hangar.
Schulz received the order to take a comprehensive rest. He did not dare to be too negligent, but ordered some soldiers to keep an eye on various outposts to prevent the Soviets from taking this opportunity to attack.
But what's really bad is that the attack still happened!
This was not an attack from Yang Mingzhi's troops. After the war, the defense center of the 715th Division almost completely tilted to the south, so that its north side became a soft belly.
Coupled with the shortage of troops, combat effectiveness and morale are at their lowest point as an army.
There were two Soviet guerrilla groups operating near Slutsk. Under orders from their superiors, they took advantage of the heavy losses suffered by the 715th Division to attack them in order to further weaken its strength.
The total strength of these two troops is only more than 200 people. Their weapons and equipment are almost all rifles, and food is also very scarce. When they joined forces with the guerrillas operating in Lechica, their military strength and logistical support were strengthened.
In this battle, like bandits (the Germans often called guerrillas bandits), they powerfully attacked a German field hospital.
The attack took place in the early morning of January 25th. Worried that the German army's defense would be too strong during the day, they chose a snowy day. Coupled with the cover of night, more than 200 people attacked the hospital!
You know, most of the people living in this hospital are the wounded who are continuing to recover after the war. There are more than 100 people living in this hospital at the moment, there are more than 20 medical staff, and there is a platoon of guards.
The German army was unprepared for this sudden attack. The Soviet guerrillas, full of rage, occupied the hospital at the cost of more than a dozen casualties.
The bloody killings took place at night, and all the wounded were killed, including the medical staff.
The captured Greta and her sisters were undoubtedly lucky. They encountered troops with strict military discipline, which was actually very rare. At least in 1942, the Soviet army captured a small number of German prisoners, and after interrogation, almost all of them were
Executed.
So the guerrillas did not hesitate to insult these German female nurses and then killed them all. They also took away everything that could be used, including the firearms of the killed German guards, including their helmets.
The next day, the patrolling German troops passed by the hospital and saw a mess outdoors. When they entered the house, they saw only blood and countless corpses. The information was immediately reported to the 715th Division headquarters, which surprised Schulz.
He was so angry that he broke the water glass and cursed: "You Slavic pigs! You dare not fight openly on the battlefield, but you actually attacked my wounded! Swamp guerrillas! Do you only have this much courage?"
After this incident, almost everyone believed that this was the revenge of the southern Soviets. But Swager still felt something strange. You must know that in this snowy day, those people in the swamp had to cross more than 80 kilometers. If they
This attack should have been carried out early, even earlier than the 722nd Division captured Homnich.
Maybe they arranged it this way, and Swager didn't say anything. Now everyone's anger has been ignited, and the Soviets in the swamp can only be held responsible for the "hospital massacre". (To be continued.) 8