After the railway supply was cut off by the Soviet army, the person who reacted the most was General Hoppner of the Fourth Tank Army.
The Fourth Tank Army's supplies mainly relied on railways.
There is no doubt about this. Road transportation has shortcomings such as small transportation volume, the cars themselves consume fuel, and roads are often blocked by snow. Railways can transport large quantities.
At this time, the Soviet army immediately cut off the railway and another road after occupying the Tverskaya Bridge, leaving only one road that could barely transport... The reason for using "barely" is because the Soviet Air Force at the same time stepped up its efforts to control this only road.
The bombing of existing transportation lines made the transportation of the Fourth Tank Army even worse.
Hoppner immediately called Wolf's Lair because he knew it was meaningless to communicate with Kubiler at this time.
"Your Majesty the Führer!" Hoppner said to Hitler: "Our soldiers are bravely resisting the Russian attack. They insist on the front line in the severe cold of minus 40 degrees. They have not flinched, even if there are people every day.
Frozen to death. But... we are going to run out of bullets and artillery shells, and our cars and tanks don't have enough fuel. They are fighting the enemy with bayonets and teeth, so the casualties are very heavy, and a large number of tanks have been abandoned due to non-combat factors!
"
Hoppner was very smart. He knew that he could not say "retreat" or how difficult it was for the troops. He changed his words and described the Fourth Tank Army as a force that was resisting heroically.
In fact, this is indeed the case. Anyone who persists in fighting at minus 40 degrees Celsius can be said to be "heroic". However, what Hoppner did not dare to say is that a considerable part of the non-combat attrition was caused by German soldiers attacking the Soviet army.
Surrender, and the number of people is still growing.
This is not surprising at all, with such extreme cold, such supplies, and more importantly, many German soldiers now believed that they could not win this battle or even this war.
Therefore, under the common thought in Europe that "it would be shameless to surrender if the situation of the war cannot be changed", surrender was a matter of course.
"I know, General!" Hitler replied: "Don't worry, you will get the supplies you need soon. The Russians will not stay in Tver for long! No, it should be said that they will stay in Tver forever!"
After hanging up the phone, Hitler immediately contacted Kubiler.
"You command a group army, but you allow an enemy brigade to penetrate our choke points!" Hitler said: "The soldiers of the Fourth Tank Army are fighting bravely, but they are in danger because of your mistake and lack of ammunition. You
Be responsible for this, Lieutenant General!"
Kubil felt helpless.
He did command an army group, but the problem was that his opponent was not just the brigade that penetrated Tver.
What's more, it is not just the Fourth Tank Army that is in danger due to lack of ammunition and supplies. The entire German army is in such danger, including Kubiler's troops.
But of course Kubiler could not refute Hitler in this way.
"Yes, Your Majesty the Head of State!" Kubile replied: "I will eliminate them and resume transportation!"
"What are you going to do?" Hitler asked.
Kubile did not expect Hitler to ask this, because even Hitler would not interfere with the specific tactical command issues on the front line before this.
Kubil looked at the map and replied: "I will send the 29th Infantry Regiment to reinforce the Tver Bridge, Your Excellency the Head of State!"
"Just an infantry regiment?" Hitler asked.
"We don't have any extra troops!" Kubil replied.
"As far as I know, General!" Hitler said, "Your Sixth Armored Division is not far from Tver!"
"But this is urban street fighting, Your Excellency the Head of State!" Kubile replied: "Such a battle is not suitable for tank combat. In addition, the Russians also have new equipment..."
"Forgot their new equipment!" Hitler interrupted Kubiler impatiently: "We will have to face it one day, Lieutenant General! We can't give up fighting the enemy just because they have new equipment!"
Kubile couldn't help but be speechless when he heard this, because Hitler's words did make sense.
At least it sounds reasonable, but in reality... we should get more information about this new equipment, try to find its weaknesses and then fight with confidence, instead of pushing the tank troops forward again without knowing anything.
"As for whether it is suitable for armored forces to fight!" Hitler said: "If it is not suitable, why are Russian tanks suitable? They used armored forces to take down the Tverskaya Bridge!"
Kubil was speechless.
This is a military issue. The tanks used by the Soviet army are "Matilda" tanks with thick armor and slow speed. This tank does not have much mobility, so although it is difficult to enter urban street fighting, at least it has good mobility.
The loss is not very big.
More importantly, the Soviet army actually had rocket launchers to assist its tank troops in order to have such a strong combat effectiveness in street fighting and then occupy the Tverskaya Bridge with overwhelming force.
But if it's the other way around.
It is obviously inappropriate for German tanks with excellent maneuverability and mediocre defense to engage in street fighting, especially when the enemy has new equipment with a longer range and extremely high penetration.
Kubiler knew this, but he could not explain it to Hitler.
In fact, Hitler was not completely ignorant at times, but deliberately chose not to see it.
Just like when Rommel, who commanded the Afrika Korps, complained to Hitler, Hitler also pretended not to see it and presented a lot of meaningless data to convince Rommel that he had enough.
"No matter what!" Hitler finally concluded: "Transportation must be restored and the railways must be kept open, understand? This is related to the safety of the Fourth Tank Army and even the entire defense line!"
"Yes, Your Excellency the Head of State!"
After putting down the phone, Kubile felt like he was "unable to express his suffering."
He spent a few minutes thinking about it. If he had not deliberately delayed the time to allow the Russian army to penetrate deeper, would the situation have become like this?
Kubile doesn't think the outcome will change.
Because the Russian army will still leave the river to attack any part of the city, and these parts are even random. Only one thing is fixed, and that is the Tver Bridge.
Therefore, it is difficult for the empty German army to block it. The most they can do is buy more time to build a tighter defense on the Tverskaya Bridge.
Thinking of this, Kubiler felt better, because at least this result was not caused by his own wrong judgment.
At this time, the adjutant came in nervously from outside the headquarters and reported: "General, we know the number of this enemy. It is the 1st Guards Tank Brigade, which was the previous 4th Tank Brigade!"
"What? It's the 1st Guards Tank Brigade?" Kubil raised his head in surprise when he heard this.