Of course Shulka and the officers and soldiers of the 1st Guards Tank Brigade did not know what was happening on the front line.
The few days stationed in Tver were simply a holiday for the 1st Guards Brigade... The battle line moved to the west, the sound of gunfire and artillery became farther and farther, and soon Tver became the second line.
So, what the soldiers did in Tver was drink, chat, and then take turns to stand guard outdoors and watch groups of ski troops passing nearby.
Timka's accordion once again played a role, and the soldiers always crowded into the room where he was, singing and dancing to the beautiful melodies, and sometimes carousing all night long.
Although Shulka knew that this was not good, because it would leave them without enough energy to face the upcoming war.
But Shulka did not stop them.
This is partly because there really isn't much to do in this weather.
Training? At minus 45 degrees, you might freeze to death if you stay outside for an hour.
Therefore, it is very difficult to fight at this time, whether it is the German army or the Soviet army.
In fact, the conditions of the German army were much worse than those of the Soviet army, because many German stragglers came to Tver to surrender to them...those were German troops from the German Fourth Tank Army.
The Fourth Tank Army should be said to be the most pitiful. They fought bravely under the command of Hoppner, both in the direction of Leningrad and when they were transferred to attack Moscow.
It was precisely because of this that the Fourth Tank Army was able to penetrate the Soviet defense line and threaten Moscow from the north.
However, what they did not expect was that the farther they attacked, the more difficult it would be to retreat, especially when they attacked in tanks and cars, and when they came back, they were chased and killed on foot and hid in Tibet.
Many people simply could not survive in such a cold and hungry environment outdoors, so they could only surrender to the Soviet army, trembling all over.
When the soldiers received these German prisoners, they found that many of them were wearing self-made "sack clothes." That is, they cut a few holes in the sacks and put them on their bodies and tied them tightly to keep out the cold. Some of them wore bandages around their coats.
Inside, there are circles like zombies, and there are also various tricks such as stuffing hay, shredded newspapers, etc. into military uniforms and tightening them.
Quite a few of them have various degrees of frostbite.
But of course, the Soviet army would not pay attention to this. The soldiers just locked them in the school and let them fend for themselves.
There is also a small episode in this.
About one company of German troops retreated to Tver last night. Because they entered Tver in the dark and occupied a building with weapons, the Soviet army did not dare to act rashly.
"We need a moment to start the tanks!" the instructor said to Shulka: "They are frozen!"
This is not to say that the Soviet army cannot capture the building occupied by the Germans. In fact, it can be done with only rocket launchers and infantry charges.
The problem is that this is unnecessary. If tanks can be used to minimize casualties, no one will be willing to rush forward with a gun and risk their lives.
"We may not need tanks!" Shulka said: "They may want to surrender!"
"We shouted to them!" the instructor said, "but they didn't respond!"
"That means they are still hesitating!"
"Yes, they are still hesitating!" the instructor replied, "but we don't have that much time to waste with them!"
This is a typical Soviet temper. They are always stubborn and will either surrender or beat you until you surrender.
"Send them some cotton-padded jackets!" Shulka said.
"What?" The instructor looked at Shulka in confusion.
"In addition, give some more food!" Shulka said: "Tell them that we have a warm stove here, and they can eat well and have a good sleep!"
The instructor was stunned for a while, then nodded and said, "I'll try it!"
So, the instructor led several prisoners forward, illuminated an open space in front of the building with a searchlight, threw a few cotton-padded jackets and a few cans, and then shouted: "Come here, Germans! We have food and clothing here."
Yes, we allow you to have a good sleep in front of the fire, as long as you are willing to surrender! Otherwise, what is waiting for you will be tanks and our ruthless attack!"
This trick worked as expected. After a moment of silence, the German army stretched out a white flag made of bandages out of the window and shouted: "We surrender, I hope you can fulfill your promise!"
They couldn't stand the temptation of those cotton coats and the stove.
This may seem a bit unimaginable, but in this extreme case, they are more tempting than anything.
Just like some prisoners later confessed: "As long as I can eat well and sleep in front of the fire, they will shoot me!"
This also shows how hungry and exhausted the German army was.
Later, the instructor fulfilled his promise and even provided some French brandy to the German prisoners.
This frightened the German prisoners, and they relaxed and thought they would receive normal prisoner treatment.
But Shulka knew that this was an extravagant hope...the instructor did this just because he didn't want to break his promise in front of his subordinates. He believed that as an instructor, he should keep his word, otherwise his majesty would be compromised.
On the third day, Katukov called a meeting with the officers.
"The battle situation is not as smooth as we imagined!" Katukov pointed to the map and said: "The pressure mainly comes from the 9th Army in the south. Not only did they not collapse under our army's attack, they also launched a counterattack... We have
The troops of 9 divisions broke into the German defense lines and were surrounded by them in the area of Sechovka! Our superiors ordered us to reinforce the 29th Group Army and rescue the 9 divisions that were surrounded!"
The officers in the conference room were talking a lot. They did not expect that the German army would be able to counterattack or even surround the Soviet army under such circumstances.
Shurka knew that this meant that Model's early plan was successful... His first step was to stabilize the 9th Army's defense line and threaten the flanks of the Soviet offensive forces to buy time for the collapsing and retreating German forces.
The second step is to use a series of key support points that are held by the German army.
For example, Holm, Stara Russa and Demyansk, these places are all traffic arteries in the swamp.
Model asked the Air Force to provide reinforcements to these places no matter what, and to go all out. Because this is the key to the German army being able to withstand the Soviet attack.
The German Air Force did indeed do this, and the German Air Force even sacrificed many pilots for this purpose.
But it turns out that Model was right, and these key support points did play a role... When the temperature gets warmer next year, the Soviet army's supply lines will naturally be cut off by these support points.
As a result, many Soviet regular troops had to stay west of the defense line and become guerrillas.