Stalin did not pay much attention to this at first because he suspected that it was just a German strategy to prevent the Soviet army from counterattacking in the direction of Moscow.
"Why isn't this a scam?" Stalin said to his subordinates: "Of course, what Mahlis said may make sense. However, this is not a way for the German army to solve the frontal crisis. They hope that we can transfer troops to
The South may focus their attention on the South, so that they can stabilize their position and maintain their current defense line!"
"But, Comrade Stalin!" the staff reminded: "Our offensive on the front line has been blocked and the progress is slow. There seems to be no need for the Germans to do this!"
Stalin took the pipe from his mouth and replied: "This may be just a facade. We don't know whether the Germans are on the verge of collapse. We know that their troops in the direction of Moscow lack supplies and cannot adapt to the cold climate. They even
Many soldiers surrendered to us..."
This is indeed a fact. Such things were still happening on the front line at this time. Many German soldiers secretly ran to the Soviet side because they did not have enough clothing and food, and because they did not want to freeze to death or starve to death.
This was unimaginable before, but now it happens.
"So!" Stalin concluded: "We should wait and see, maintain the current offensive, and even strengthen the attack on the enemy in the direction of Moscow. As long as we can drive out the Germans in the front, then the enemy in the south...
…Their flanks will be exposed and surrounded by us!"
Stalin's words were well analyzed and well-founded, even Shulka was no exception when he heard them.
Of course, Shulka knew that was not the case.
The battlefield is sometimes like this, with virtual reality and virtual reality, and real reality and virtual reality. It is difficult to guess and grasp the enemy's true strategic intentions when you are there.
Shurka was able to see through and confirm it at a glance just because he stood at the height of history.
Therefore, the entire Soviet army did not respond to the German offensive in the south. Even the air force did not move to the south and continued to attack the German Army Group Center in the direction of Moscow with all its strength.
All this pressure was put on Model's 9th Army. However, because the 9th Army received four armored divisions that had just been reinforced from Germany, coupled with Model's commanding talent, they were soon attacked again and again.
Repelled the Soviet attack.
There are several key points among them: Holm, Stara Russa and Demyansk, which were defended even when surrounded by a large number of Soviet troops.
These locations all have terrain similar to Rzhev, that is, they are surrounded by a swamp and there is only one hard ground and high ground. This makes it difficult for the Soviet army to capture these small towns garrisoned by only a few thousand defeated soldiers even if they have tanks and troop advantages.
town.
Of course, this also has something to do with the fighting spirit and perseverance of the German army.
Coupled with Model's full reinforcements to them...this support is mainly reflected in the transportation of supplies and a small number of troops.
For these strategic locations that were surrounded and completely separated from the German defense lines, Model used an ingenious method of reinforcement: gliders.
Glider is a way of airborne for the German army... As we all know, the German airborne troops are at the forefront of the world. Ironically, airborne troops and airborne operations were invented by the Soviet Union: In 1927, the Soviet army used transport aircraft to airdrop troops in Central Asia and annihilated them in one fell swoop.
In 1930, the Soviet airborne troops officially established the world's first formal paratrooper force.
However, this kind of airborne combat was not taken seriously by the Soviet Union. By World War II, airborne troops were even used as ordinary infantry.
Instead, it was the Germans who carried it forward during the war.
It is not surprising that the Germans attach great importance to airborne troops, because their "blitzkrieg" requires some troops to rush in front of the armored forces to occupy important strategic targets such as bridges and transportation hubs.
"Blitzkrieg" must do this.
The reason is simple, no matter how fast the tank is, it cannot load the explosive package and light the fuse faster than the enemy.
The enemy under attack saw the German tanks coming from a distance, and just blowing up the bridge was enough to slow down the German armor, so the "blitzkrieg" could no longer "dodge".
However, if the enemy is not seen in the distance at all, or the German armored forces are still far away, at least a few days away... Suddenly a group of German soldiers descend from the sky and occupy these bridges, and then under the cover of the air force
Guard this bridge to ensure it is not blown up.
Then, the German armored forces arrived quickly day and night, not only successfully crossing the bridge, but also successfully defeating the enemy with the cooperation of the airborne troops, and then attacked the next target non-stop, and so on.
It is not difficult to imagine that the airborne troops played an important role in the "Blitzkrieg". It can almost be said that without the airborne troops, there would be no "Blitzkrieg".
The genius of the Germans is that they have developed a set of practical and effective tactical theories with almost no actual combat experience.
If there is actual combat experience, it is the actual combat experience of World War I.
The actual combat experience gained by most people, including the French and British, from World War I was "absolute defense," while what the Germans derived was "blitzkrieg" coordinated by multiple arms such as the air force, airborne troops, and armored forces.
So it is not surprising that it is invincible on the battlefield.
For this reason, the German army attaches great importance to the training of glider pilots.
Of course, some of them were forced out... The Treaty of Versailles stipulated that the German army was not allowed to train and train pilots, but gliders were not among them.
Therefore, after Hitler came to power in 1933, he seized this opportunity and made glider training one of the compulsory subjects in German high schools. In other words, almost every high school graduate could fly a glider.
The benefit reflected at this time is that the German army can easily find a large number of glider pilots from the army, and then let them fly gliders to carry supplies and even soldiers to reinforce Holm and other besieged important places.
This is also one of the reasons why the Soviet counterattack has been unable to expand... There are a few thorns in the rear that cannot be pulled out, and no one dares to move forward with confidence. Sometimes, there will even be artillery shells whizzing from the rear. If you are not careful,
There is also the possibility of being attacked from both sides.
Mahlis became even more excited at this time.
"I said it, Shulka!" Mahlis said while pacing back and forth: "I said they would definitely attack Crimea, but they didn't listen to my opinion!"
Seeing that there was no one around, Mahlis lowered his voice and said to Shulka: "Well done, Comrade Shulka! Now, how do you think the battle will continue?"