Five hundred and ninetieth chapters make up their minds
There was another fierce exchange of fire in the northern part of the swamp, and new situations emerged in the war situation. All this was just before the airdrop operation. The entire operation may need to be adjusted.?
In short, the 284th Division reported the war situation before March 30th to the superiors.
Tupikov was the one who was fully responsible for and planned the operation. If they were getting closer to the Germans, would it irritate the nerves of the German army? He had to be a little more worried. At noon on March 29, he directly found the front army commander Tie
Brother Musing.
Tupikov came directly to the headquarters without any hesitation and asked straight to the point: "Do you know everything about the swamp?"
"Of course I know!" The commander at the desk slowly raised his head and asked, "Is it difficult for my chief of staff to rush here just for the troops in the swamp? You must know that our current overall situation is not optimistic."
The Soviet Marshal liked to quietly stare at the strategic map, looking for the current fighters of his own army and the weaknesses of the enemy.
Judging from the current situation, the Soviet army is no longer able to expand the situation and continue to counterattack, and Belgorod and Kharkov are still in the hands of the German army.
"When have we ever been optimistic?" Tupikov took a few steps forward.
"It is now difficult to maintain the offensive against Kharkov. All units of our army are not satisfied with the establishment. It is difficult to replenish personnel losses and replenish equipment consumption. If such a unit is allowed to continue its fierce attack, it will almost be a needless consumption of soldiers."
Timoshenko said with difficulty.
"However, our army's new soldiers and new equipment are still moving forward in a steady stream, and our Southwest Front Army's total strength has not suffered huge losses."
"With only the first-line troops and equipment, it is simply impossible to capture the well-defended Kharkov or Belgorod." As he spoke, Timoshenko pointed to a node on the small map in front of him: "Here
, Zhukov’s Northwest Front was also unable to capture Bryansk.”
"Yes!" Tupikov affirmed: "If our army can lift the siege of Leningrad, our army can completely go to Vyazma, Bryansk, Kharkov and Crimea.
Only with victory in attack and defense can we be optimistic about the entire battle."
Timoshenko shook his head with a wry smile: "We can't accomplish what you mentioned at the same time, or even one of them. But if the enemy doesn't make things easier for us, we will retaliate in kind."
"Like in a swamp?" Tupikov quipped.
"Who knows? That force is very close to Kiev. If they can attack Kiev, even on the outskirts of the city, or around the transportation lines in and out of the city, it will be a huge benefit to us!"
"So, what do you think of the untimely fighting these days?" Tupikov asked.
Timoshenko did not rush to answer. He asked instead: "Then what do you think?"
"Of course it is untimely! The airdrop I hope will be kept secret and will happen without the enemy knowing anything about it. Now that the enemy has been stimulated, I am worried that they will react violently when the airdrop is launched."
"For example, attack? Come on, this is simply impossible for the German army!" Timoshenko is not completely optimistic. The possibility of a German attack is possible, but I am afraid it is only 10%.
He continued: "The battle situation was created. The 284th Division stimulated the Germans, but the initiative was not taken by the Germans. They would not have overreacted, so the German counterattack you were worried about would not happen. Instead, they saw parachutes filling the sky.
You would think that our paratroopers are going to launch a full-scale attack!"
Tupikov laughed and said: "With your words, I feel at ease. So the airdrop operation will not be interfered with?"
"That is inevitable. Now I just hope that our army is well prepared. The fleet must take off early tomorrow morning!" Timoshenko changed the subject and asked seriously: "You are responsible for leading this airdrop operation. Now
Are you ready?"
"Of course! You also know what has happened in the past few days. Our troops have been assembled at the airport in Severodonesk, and all supplies have been installed. An airborne regiment is also on standby."
Timoshenko was very satisfied. He nodded and said: "There will definitely be no problems with this matter. After this matter is over, we will still have to study the current war situation. As for the troops in the swamp, let them continue their training."
Here, he casually picked up a pen and drew a circle on the map, the area south of Gomel and north of Kiev: "This force, maybe their energy can affect Kiev and even disrupt the enemy's layout."
Tupikov burst into laughter: "Comrade Commander, it's better not to overestimate them. We'd better deal with the dozens of German divisions in front of us first."
Timoshenko looked up to the sky and sighed. Of course he knew that the German army was now quite powerful, and his own troops were indeed formed with a large number of mobilized troops. It would be difficult for this kind of troops to continue to fight back. At present, he could only hope that his defense line would be stabilized, and that the friendly Southern Front Army would have
Breakthrough progress.
He once again confirmed the airdrop operation. In a dozen hours, the fleet will carry a huge amount of supplies and personnel straight to the Pripet Swamp.
On the other hand, the Soviet Air Force stationed in Severodonesk is also making intense preparations.
Now, in this newly liberated city, the residents who were rescued from the clutches of the Nazis were transported to the rear on a large scale after being screened. During the enemy's occupation, the spies, guides, pseudo-policemen, etc. trained by the enemy were simply
He was judged as a "traitor to the great motherland" and was hastily executed.
Many buildings in this city have become Wall-E. If you want to engage in street fighting, this is indeed an excellent place.
But its greatest strategic value is its proximity to the river, and the bridge over the Donbas River outside the city is crucial. At the same time, this is also a plain area. According to the standards of this era, as long as the land is flat and hard enough, it is an excellent field airport. So in the original
A new airport was quickly built on the basis of the lightly damaged airport. This city has become a battleground for military strategists, so a large number of Soviet troops are moving closer here.
A large number of aircraft took off and landed here, and new fighter jets moved here and began to launch air attacks on enemy positions.
Now that the counterattack of the Southwest Front has temporarily stalled, it cannot be slacked off, and the same is true for the German army. Therefore, in the sky, air battles are always happening, and the Soviet air force currently attacking has a relative numerical advantage due to the convenient location.
But German reconnaissance planes also discovered that a large number of long-range bombers had recently docked at the city's airport, as well as many guys with exaggerated wingspans, which were obviously heavy gliders.
What is the Soviet army going to do?! Obviously, when the gliders are dispatched, it can only mean that the enemy will carry out a large-scale parachute drop.
Suddenly, the air defense pressure on the occupied cities such as Kharkiv, Belgorod, Sumy, and Poltava increased dramatically.
The German army's reaction was quite fierce. The Soviets were obviously planning an airborne landing. Their strategic intention was probably to continue the counterattack! Army Group South led by von Bock was still attacking Crimea. The main forces and Romanian friendly forces were placed in the Black Sea.
On the front line and on the flanks, he encountered a Soviet counterattack that really caught him by surprise.
At present, some troops are urgently returning to the defense in preparation for the continued Soviet attack. They are planning an airborne operation, which is likely to send paratroopers to carry out tactical sabotage, occupy some bridgeheads and strongholds, and destroy railway facilities so that the Soviet army can advance straight in.
Until there is no conclusive evidence, all this is just inference based on aerial photos. Furthermore, the Soviet army's air firepower is very fierce, and their fighter jets are often near the airport. It takes time to prepare for strategic bombing. At the current time point,
Feng Bock had no choice but to order the troops to conduct air defense and pay close attention to abnormal noises and parachutes in the sky. All pilots' vacations were stopped. After an abnormality was discovered in the sky, all available fighter jets were scrambled to intercept. 8