Therefore, the battlefield is not only about airplanes and artillery, but beyond the smoke of gunfire, there are overt and covert struggles between the enemy and our commanders... For example, this battle is more about the battle of wits and courage between Kleist and Shulka.
Major Gavrilov will immediately convey Shulka's thoughts to General Kirponos.
After hearing this, the uneasy General Kilponos felt that Shulka was right, so he immediately ordered the transfer of a tank unit from the east coast, a tank unit disguised as the 9th Army.
It is not difficult to do this, because the 9th Mechanized Army itself is a patchwork of various units. To disguise themselves as them, you only need to mix various tanks together and hide their own numbers.
Then, General Kilponos gritted his teeth and ordered: "Order the 5th Airborne Brigade to prepare for combat!"
"Yes, Comrade General!" the staff officer responded and passed on the order.
The 5th Airborne Brigade is an elite unit directly under the Southwest Front. Although they are called an "Airborne Brigade", their airborne operations are immature at this time. Airborne troops are generally used as elite infantry. General Kilponos originally wanted to
They were left as a reserve force to defend Kiev, but now, he had to put this force into the battlefield in advance.
At exactly 9 o'clock that night, several red signal flares suddenly rose above the Kiev defense line, followed by a burst of artillery fire, and rows of artillery shells hit the outer German offensive line from the city.
After ten minutes of artillery preparation, the Soviet 5th Airborne Brigade launched a counterattack against the Germans.
Of course, the counterattack must be carried out at night, especially if the infantry is against the enemy's mechanized troops, because this can weaken the advantage of the enemy's tanks to the greatest extent.
This Soviet counterattack caught the Germans by surprise, including Kleist, commander of the 1st Armored Group.
At this time, Kleist was fully clothed and lying in his command vehicle to rest. It was a British command vehicle. The German army captured it from the British on the North African battlefield and then painstakingly transported several vehicles to the Eastern Front for the German army.
Used by senior military officers.
Admiral Kleist was fortunate enough to receive one.
However, if it is not necessary, Admiral Kleist rarely chooses to command or rest in the command vehicle because it is too conspicuous to the enemy. It is like telling the enemy clearly that a senior officer is inside, and then asking them to dispatch
The troops made a sneak attack or directly guided the artillery bombardment.
But tonight, the 60-year-old Admiral Kleist felt that he could not hold on any longer. Days of fatigue and heavy rains had infected him with wind and cold. He had to ask his subordinates to drive the command vehicle behind the bunker and put up a camouflage.
Plan to rest there for one night.
The luxury of the command vehicle made General Kleist feel like he was back at home... In fact, the British command vehicle is a RV, with a small command post and work area in the middle, and a living room in the rear
The area is equipped with beds, desks, lamps, etc., and even a wine cabinet.
If it weren't for his illness, Admiral Kleist would have really wanted to open a bottle of wine and take a few sips.
Just when General Kleist was hiding in a warm and dry bed and lamenting the enjoyment of the British general, the adjutant Colonel David walked in from the door and reported: "Your Excellency, I think you should take a look at this,
Ten minutes ago, the Russians launched a counterattack!"
"Counterattack?" Hearing this, Admiral Kleist sat up from the bed.
"Yes, counterattack!" The adjutant handed over the telegram and reported: "Their attack is very fierce, and we are retreating!"
The second half of the sentence was spoken in a low voice, but it still made Admiral Kleist raise his head in shock.
After a while, General Kleist asked: "How many tanks do they have?"
"No, General!" the adjutant replied, "They don't have tanks!"
This surprised General Kleist. Without tanks, he was able to push back his armored troops purely by relying on infantry, although it was difficult for tanks to be effective at night.
"But I have good news, General!" the adjutant said: "Colonel William thinks that the Russians who attacked them are pilots!"
Admiral Kleist raised his head again. He couldn't believe what he heard: "Pilot?"
"Yes, pilot!" the adjutant replied, pointing to the map: "Our intelligence shows that this force set off from Junea Airport and then launched an attack from north to south. Moreover, they wore pilot uniforms and flying helmets.
…”
(Note: Soviet airborne troops use uniforms similar to those of pilots)
Admiral Kleist was silent for a while, and then said: "Stupid Russians, they actually use pilots as infantry. But it doesn't seem to make any difference, because they have no aircraft available!"
"Your Excellency, General!" the adjutant then asked, "Does this tell us that they have indeed withdrawn their mechanized troops to the east coast?"
Admiral Kleist nodded slightly.
The Russians urgently recalled their tank troops, and now even pilots are sent to the battlefield, which is enough to prove that their troops are insufficient and their command is chaotic.
In other words, Admiral Kleist has gotten the answer he wanted.
Then, there is no need for him to let his armored forces storm the Kiev defense line and cause unnecessary casualties.
"Tell the Air Force to blow up the Kiev Bridge no matter what!" Admiral Kleist said: "Leave the attack on Kiev to the 6th Army. It's time for us to free up our hands to attack other places!"
"Yes, Your Majesty General!"
After the adjutant stepped out of the command vehicle, Admiral Kleist turned his attention to the map, then took out a pen and drew a circle on a point on the east bank of the Dnieper River, and said to himself: "Klemenkou
Ge, this will be a place where history is made!”
Admiral Kleist was right. Kremenchug, a little-known town on the east bank of the Dnieper River, was the reason why the German 1st Armored Group successfully smuggled in here and finally completed the encirclement, causing the entire Soviet army in the southwest to be encircled.
The entire front army was wiped out and recorded in history.
As soon as it became dark the next day, the German 1st Armored Group withdrew from the attack on Kiev under the cover of infantry.
Of course, this was done in secret. In order to prevent the Soviets from discovering the withdrawal of the armored forces, the Germans even made some fake tanks with camouflage and hid them in the trenches... Rommel used this method to deceive the British in Africa.
.
In addition, the German Air Force also deployed a large number of bombers to carry out indiscriminate bombing of the Kiev Bridge.
Everything seemed to be moving in a direction favorable to the German army.
But what General Kleist didn't know was that all his plans were under the control of the Soviet army.
To be precise, it was "guessed" by the "escape hero".