In the current military establishment of the Southwest Front, Timoshenko also has the Second Guards Air Corps on hand, which contains a large number of paratroopers.? ??? ?
For the upcoming airdrop of supplies to the swamps, the cargo gliders used on a large scale came from this unit. After all, Tupikov could not build these aircraft out of thin air. He disassembled and transported the gliders to Severodonesk to become this unit.
The current main tasks of the airborne troops.
An airborne regiment was ordered to escort these aircraft, and more than 300 professional pilots were responsible for assembling the aircraft.
There was originally no need for so many people to escort the transport plane, but Timoshenko came up with a bold plan - airborne.
His idea is that since the 284th Guards Division in the swamp suffered 2,000 casualties in the recent battle, its combat effectiveness will inevitably decline anyway. The loss of so many troops is equivalent to a regiment. Considering that they are elite troops, the personnel needs to be replenished.
It would be best to recruit elites.
Therefore, the airborne troops wearing sea soul shirts are the best elites. Similarly, if an entire airborne regiment is dropped in the swamp, it will not only greatly increase the combat power of the local armed forces, but also have great political significance.
Furthermore, a group of telegraph operators will also be transported there. Many of these people are women. They do not know how to parachute and can only rely on the assistance of professional paratroopers.
Timoshenko planned to include a few tractors in the delivery list.
In his opinion, the military S65 tractor currently widely used by the front army is too slow as an artillery tractor, and its true job is as an agricultural tractor. Five such tractors have been added to the list, and a batch of them must be prepared for this purpose.
diesel fuel.
Because of these adjustments, this airdrop operation has turned into a large-scale airborne operation.
As far as the current war situation is concerned, in the vast battlefield from Belgorod to Donetsk, the Soviet army made a certain breakthrough in the battle that ended in February, preventing the German army from attacking on this front. Similarly, Germany temporarily
took a defensive position because their offensive focus was entirely on capturing Crimea.
Timoshenko has already issued all combat orders to each group army. Whether they can block possible German attacks in the future depends on the soldiers themselves.
"If every one of my army groups and every division could have the combat effectiveness of the 284th Guards Division, the current defense would have turned into a full-scale attack! I could even quickly recapture Kiev!" Of course, this is just a complaint. Iron
Mu Xinge is completely sure of the strength of the 284th Guards Division, and besides, that is his troops!
This unit trapped in the occupied area and continuing to fight has been working hard to expand its strength. They need all resources, including human resources!
If the airborne troops are transported there on a large scale and trained by Berekov into elite forest troops, they will be a surprise force in current operations and even future counterattacks!
Because of these considerations, Timoshenko immediately ordered a meeting, and this time he specially summoned Rechkarov, commander of the Second Air Force Corps.
The meeting was held in a small office, and Timoshenko deliberately explained the possibility of airborne operations to everyone present.
"Originally we planned to airdrop a batch of supplies to the Pripet Swamp, but considering that it is an infantry division with extremely strong combat effectiveness and the title of Guards, it is difficult to show the sincerity of the front army by only airdropping a small amount of supplies. We
We must make a statement that even if that unit is trapped in the swamp, it is still not isolated. So I decided to carry out a huge airborne operation on one side. Rechkarov, I plan to send all the 233rd Airborne Brigade under your command to the swamp.
land."
"The entire infantry regiment?! That's a swamp there! I know the commander's intention, but the environment there is terrible, there are just a lot of quagmire." No general wants his troops to survive in a dangerous natural environment, let alone besieged on all sides.
Of course Rechkarov was not satisfied with fighting under such circumstances, but an order was an order. This was an order from the commander of the front army and must be obeyed.
Similarly, because Tupikov was not informed about this matter, this man was worried. He couldn't help asking: "Comrade Timoshenko, we rashly sent more than 2,000 paratroopers there. These young men have never been there before."
The experience of living and fighting in a difficult environment. Furthermore, to allow a large number of paratroopers to airborne, we need more transport aircraft and more gliders."
Timoshenko nodded: "Yes, only 720 tons of supplies cannot be used by that army for a long time. Since we can dispatch a total of sixty aircraft, we can dispatch more. Our army still has many old TB3 bombers.
There are also a large number of transport aircraft. Our air force fighter jets have been fighting German fighter jets, while our airborne troops have been on standby. This can no longer be the case!"
This was finally said to Bogdanov. Ask yourself, at present, the Second Air Force has not received orders for large-scale airborne landings. The reason is that it is not necessary. It was Timoshenko who always believed that it was not necessary, because these were
Soldiers wearing sea soul shirts are really a huge waste as ordinary infantry, and now the opportunity has finally come.
Timoshenko continued: "This airborne regiment of yours must land in the swamp, and will then be under the command of the 284th Guards Division. For this, Comrade Rechkarov, you must start preparing more aircraft,
And I will also prepare more supplies. Life and fighting in the swamp are very difficult, I believe you can complete this task."
What else could Rechkalov say? He could only shake his head regretfully: "Who said the air force is destined to be surrounded? Let me choose. I don't want them to fight positional warfare like ordinary infantry. Just
Like our navy, those sailors have no choice but to act as infantry. Now that our paratroopers can finally penetrate behind enemy lines, it is probably a joy for them."
"Very good, I am touched by your awareness. Now we should immediately plan this airdrop operation that will become bigger again."
After systematic research, it was found that because a glider can transport forty people and a transport aircraft can transport thirty people, the airdrop operation will deploy an additional thirty-five transport aircraft and an additional thirty-five supporting transport aircraft, making the entire operation more efficient.
There were as many as 125 aircraft. From all aspects, this was a large-scale airborne combat operation.
It is not a problem to parachute a paratrooper regiment to a predetermined location. The Soviet army completed such an experiment in the 1930s. At the beginning of the war, the Soviet army also conducted airborne operations. In addition to airborne paratroopers, some of the heavy equipment they carried
The equipment was also directly tied to parachutes and dropped from the sky, because it also included combat anti-artillery, mortars and other equipment.
Regarding airborne locations, this aspect is the most important in airborne operations.
Rechkalov fully agreed with this bold action, and because his fighter jets could move in large groups, blood surged in the middle-aged man's veins. He couldn't help but ask: "What I hope most is that I
The people landed in a flat area, where it would be better to have less trees and muddy ponds. Is there such an area in the dangerous environment of the swamp?"
Tupikov said: "It turns out there is one, but their airport was bombed into a muddy pond by the German air force. The location of their village is very clear. The vegetation there is not particularly dense and there are all small open spaces. By then our paratroopers will
After independent adjustment and settling, we can basically achieve a smooth landing.”
If you think about it carefully, I am afraid that the Germans would never have dreamed of airborne landing into the swamp. This was an unexpected action. Various difficulties were overcome, and the purpose of the action was naturally achieved.
After discussion, the airdrop operation turned into a large-scale airborne operation, and the original operation time was postponed to a certain extent.
Timoshenko ordered: "We must take action before April, unless heavy rains force us to postpone the action." 8