No matter what, the personnel of the 715th Division must be replaced, and Army Commander Wagner must give an explanation to his colleagues, Yuan, and John Kube.? ?
In mid-March 1942, the Rzhev-Sechovka battle was still going on. Not far to the east of Belarus, the Soviets were trying hard to make a strategic breakthrough. However, the German army's defensive capabilities were strong and the Soviet army had made minimal progress. But the German army
Having lost the absolute initiative on the northern front, Moscow was unable to defeat it, and Leningrad continued to be surrounded.
Wagner also has his own tasks. The supply of the northern front relies heavily on the smooth roads of Belarus. There are many roads and one railway in the area under his control. The southernmost one is naturally Mozyri-Lechica-Lechica, which is adjacent to the swamp.
Gomel Highway.
These three cities are all small towns. The Soviet authorities did not build railways here, and a dirt road became the only reliable transportation line.
Spring is gradually coming in Russia, and the ice and snow in most areas have completely melted. Excessive water seeped into the land, making the land muddy and some roads turning into swamps.
Although the road from Mozyr to Gomel is a dirt road, it must be because there are more vehicles traveling on weekdays, or it may have been deliberately tamped to make the ground harder. It is still flat and smooth now.
The frontline needs more and more materials, and due to frequent harassment by guerrillas, material losses during transportation have begun to increase. Only by increasing the number of transportation lines can we try to meet the needs of the frontline, because Mozyri-
Gomel Highway, peace must be restored.
The recent war unexpectedly turned into a bloody battle. Although the Soviets hiding in the forest showed strong combat effectiveness, the troops who have not experienced this battle must take it for granted that the combat effectiveness of the troops performing combat missions is poor and the level of the commander is extraordinary.
Difference.
The 284th Guards Division of the Soviet Army was able to kill the elite tank regiment of the 7th Armored Division at the beginning of the war. One hundred and fifty tanks were destroyed! Such combat effectiveness is rare. He knew that Schultz and Swava
Ge Ge clearly followed the order to attack, and the huge losses of the troops were not entirely due to his improper command.
The 722nd Division, which also participated in the battle, was even worse. One regiment was completely wiped out! Simply because this division had more troops, they were not selected as scapegoats.
Schulz's 715th Division suffered various humiliations, and Wagner knew that he was also guilty. Because of his misjudgment of the Soviet guerrillas in southern Belarus, not only did they expand their strength, but his own troops suffered setbacks too late.
The adjustment finally led to this fiasco.
"If I want to shoot those commanders, I might as well drink a bullet and kill myself first." Wagner had no intention of shooting Schulz and Swager. In any case, they had been serving Germany since World War I.
Although their punishment must go through a military court, Wagner feels that it is enough for these two to be "forced to retire". They will lose their military status, or they may spend a few years in prison and stop interfering in military affairs. The vacant positions will be filled by others.
Instead, this solves the best of both worlds.
But Kubei had a little more thought. On the phone to Wagner, he said: "I suspect that there are insiders among the personnel of your 715th Division. I have received many reports about the recent fiasco. Not to mention the large number of reports.
Why did the guerrillas and the Soviet 284th Division appear that should have been eliminated? So many enemies are very powerful, but they frequently appear when our army is most exhausted, and appear in unexpected locations to make sudden attacks. Such methods have been used repeatedly.
Realization. This is totally unreasonable.”
This is indeed unreasonable. After thinking about it, Wagner thought that he should interrogate the division commander and chief of staff of the 715th Division, and then investigate the officers and division staff among them. What needs to be done now is to stabilize these people, and the investigation work is gradually
Expand.
The top priority now is still to guard the transportation lines. The Mozyr-Gomel highway has stopped transporting supplies due to the impact of the war. Although the main way to transport supplies to the east is train transportation, road transportation can still deliver a large amount of necessities.
Looking at the current German occupation map, the Pripyat Swamp has been marked as German occupied, but in fact there must be a large-scale Soviet resistance force entrenched there.
Wagner thought this was like a malignant sore. To deal with them, one had to send a very large force. Ten thousand people were no longer enough, but at least fifty thousand were needed. The army went to the swamp with great pains, and wiped out all the "fleas on the head" like a comb.
Clean it out. Or just encircle it, suppress the sabotage activities of these enemies, and let them fend for themselves in the swamp.
Looking at his army group, Wagner did not dare to take the risk of gathering serious diseases for suppression. His defense pressure has always been very high. Except for the south, other places are full of guerrillas. These people are happy to destroy the railways. It is not difficult to demolish the railway tracks, causing
If a train derails, the damage will be huge.
Of course, only a large army encirclement and suppression can solve the problem of the Soviet army in the swamp once and for all. Kube definitely disagrees, and Yuan certainly disdains it. Wagner knows that Berlin is going to make another big move, even if it is still in the discussion stage.
He looked at this war from an overall perspective, and it was normal for the main offensive direction to change to the south. After all, a large number of troops and materials would be assembled on the southern front through Ukraine, and some materials would be transferred from Belarus to Bryansk and then south to the front line.
If the Soviet troops in the swamp were allowed to develop and were given the opportunity to expand and destroy, they would not just break into the small city of Rechica and set fire to it. I am afraid that the target of the attack would be Babruisk, Kiev,
A big city like Pinsk!
So Wagner doesn't think it's a good idea to meet with Schulz and others now. They must have a lot to say. If he tells them, "You two are the scapegoats for the failure of the battle, and you bear most of the responsibility," what will happen to them?
infamy.
According to John Kube, he hopes that the Belarusian occupation area he is responsible for will stabilize and become a safe rear. Wagner believes that his decision will be approved by this person. As for whether there is any issue of communication with the Soviet Union, it will be reviewed slowly.
Wagner issued an order to the officers and soldiers of the 707 Division who were transferred to the original 715 Division station: "You must remember the shame half a year ago, and past failures cannot be repeated. The 715 Division suffered heavy losses in the war that just ended, and they have become a shame. And you
There was also the shame of a disastrous defeat, now is your chance to avenge your shame!"
These words are very useful for the officers and soldiers of the 7o7 Division, and it is impossible for everyone to look down upon their old rivals. The enemy is really strong, and the former division commander died heroically defending the division headquarters.
Hertzman, the new division commander, scratches his head every time he thinks about the death of his former division commander. "I wonder if I will have the courage to commit suicide when the war reaches its most dangerous moment."
The morale of the officers and soldiers of the 707 Division is not high. The veterans in the army always talk about the bloody battle in Kuta Town and the big explosion in Luwanka Town when treating the high-spirited recruits. It is rumored that the enemy in the swamp has a Mongolian.
They did not know that the person who caused all this was a soldier from China, but they connected it all with the "Yellow Peril".
The recent battles between the 715th Division and the 722nd Division have suffered a total of nearly 9,000 casualties, including minor injuries. The combined strength of the two armies is 25,000. The war against the guerrillas in the past few months has resulted in at least
Eight thousand people died and thousands were injured. Such losses were even more tragic than those on the front line. Many officers and soldiers of the 707 Division learned these data and couldn't help but feel panic about the future.
Based on future defense, division commander Hertzman also has his own method.
"Our division has 12,000 troops, guarding dozens of kilometers of defense lines, and is supported by multiple Dongfang battalions. It can mobilize up to 16,000 troops. Even if we attack across the board, we may not be able to annihilate the enemy. What we have gained
The order is to defend, and for this we should build a line of defense and create an offensive to stop the enemy within our defensive area."
What he simply means is to build a long line of defense, relying on fixed firepower points and cooperating with the aroused troops. In this way, when the enemy attacks again, the excellent defensive firepower can hit the enemy to the greatest extent.
At the military meeting, Herzmann put forward such an opinion, which undoubtedly received full support. Most of the officers here had experienced previous painful encounters. The enemy was very good at fighting in the forest. Going south, he fought with them in the mud and woods of the swamps.
Fight fiercely, and your life is really in vain.
It was imperative to build a line of defense. Seeing that no one objected, Herzmann finally made the decision. "I will inform my superiors about this matter immediately! I believe that the group army will fully support it." 8