No wonder Trufanov and Zolotarev were confused. How could they know the enemy's plan and still follow the original plan and wait for the enemy to attack.
However, Shulka's "original plan" was not entirely the original plan.
It at least appears to be the "original plan".
Manstein put a lot of effort into allowing the armored division to quickly rush to the designated position to intercept the enemy.
It is well known that the German armored divisions move quickly. This is not only because their tanks have good maneuverability and high safety, but also because the German army usually has air superiority on the battlefield, so it can always get accurate information to know where the enemy's defense line is.
Weak spots.
But this march was different. Manstein calculated on the map that even if the 1st Armored Division he sent set off overnight and rushed to Milowe without stopping, it would only be able to arrive the next night... This
It is still an ideal speed, during which the tank driver still needs time to rest, and the tank unit may be intercepted by enemy air power, or the tank may malfunction.
Among them, one heavy tank battalion that Manstein transferred back is the "Tiger" tank. If it is allowed to travel more than 100 kilometers, the entire "Tiger" tank battalion will be destroyed.
None of them can move.
In fact, the problem is not just about the mobility and safety of the "Tiger" tank. Since the "Tiger" tank is too heavy, whether the roads, bridges, etc. along the way can bear its weight need to be considered.
All of this would slow down the armored division's march exponentially.
So, without much thought, Manstein immediately decided to use railway transportation.
"Is rail transportation too risky, Your Excellency Marshal?" the adjutant asked: "Tanks are sealed on flatbed trucks and have no combat effectiveness. Once attacked by the enemy, they will suffer heavy losses and will be unable to fight back!"
This is common sense, so railways are usually not used to transport tanks near combat zones or on the front line... As the adjutant said, once the train schedule and route are known to the enemy, or in case of an enemy ambush, the enemy only needs a few tanks
A whole train of tanks can be captured.
"We can only do this!" Manstein replied: "Of course, we must keep it secret!"
Manstein's confidentiality measures were very good. He even ordered the troops to clear out all the Soviet civilians in nearby villages and towns... They were needed to build a defense line, so all men, women, and children were taken to the flanks to work as hard labor.
On the other hand, more than a dozen fighter planes patrolled the air to prevent enemy reconnaissance planes from approaching.
Therefore, although it was during the daytime that the 1st Armored Division withdrew and loaded its vehicles, it could be said that no outsider saw it.
Then the German army camouflaged these trains filled with tanks...using wooden boards to nail a frame on the outside. From the outside, it was impossible to tell that there were tanks inside.
Finally, the train set off as darkness fell and was escorted by night fighters.
In this way, the train smoothly carried the armored division forward for the critical 80 kilometers that night... If the tanks were allowed to travel these 80 kilometers, I don't know how much fuel and time it would consume.
Even Manstein, who dared to take risks, did not dare to proceed by train for the remaining 0 kilometers.
This is partly because the front is a high-risk area for bombing by Soviet fighter planes.
On the other hand, the railway has been blown up section by section, and the train has to stop and go while moving forward, which increases the risk exponentially.
The most important thing is that it is already dark, and the train on the rails is the best target for the enemy's air force.
So Manstein ordered the truck to be unloaded on the spot.
"Tiger" tanks are more troublesome because they need to replace their tracks... which may take several hours, so other tanks rush to their destinations first.
While the 1st Armored Division was advancing, Manstein was always paying attention to the enemy's movements.
This was necessary because what he wanted was for the 1st Armored Division to stop the enemy from reaching Miloway to join forces with the South-Western Front.
However, it is not difficult for the German army to do this, because they have an air force and reconnaissance aircraft follow the Soviet tank group in the air, and then report their position to the headquarters in a timely manner.
Therefore, Manstein's movements of the Soviet tank troops were even accurate to the "mile".
Sometimes, Manstein believed that the Soviet tank troops were too fast and would artificially let the air force force them to "slow down."
It goes without saying how to force the enemy. The fighter planes drove away the enemy's fighter planes, and then the bombers and attack planes bombarded the enemy tanks indiscriminately.
Everything went smoothly, and Manstein expected that the 1st Armored Division would meet the enemy's vanguard one hour in advance.
But then Manstein became a little confused.
"Is there something wrong, Your Majesty Marshal?" The adjutant asked suspiciously when he saw that Manstein's face looked strange.
"Everything went so smoothly!" Manstein replied: "Does the enemy really know nothing?"
"Of course they don't know anything!" the adjutant replied: "Everything is done in secret! In addition, the Russian tanks have suffered heavy losses in the bombing of our air force... If they knew something, they would not act like
Now we are marching towards Miloway without hesitation, regardless of casualties!"
"This is what I find strange!" Manstein replied: "If they didn't know it before, then it is already dark now, and our tanks have been successfully unloaded from the train and deployed, and are heading towards their leading troops.
Moving forward, why do they still not respond and continue to move in the same direction?"
This is indeed a bit strange, after all, the German army is an armored division.
An armored division is advancing along the road in a long snake-like formation, with tanks, cars, artillery, etc., which can be seen by enemy reconnaissance planes from a long distance. This cannot be easily stopped by interception by fighter planes.
So, if the Russians already know that a German armored division is advancing towards them and will meet up in an hour, they should immediately stop organizing defenses or wait for the follow-up troops to accumulate strength and prepare for battle.
But the Soviet army did nothing and continued to advance in the original direction, with the forward pointing directly at Miloway where the Southwest Front was located.
Manstein's guess was not wrong. Shulka and others did know that a German armored division appeared on the flank.
Trufanov even praised Shulka fiercely: "Good guy, you guessed it right again!"
But the tanks of the 51st Group Army still moved in the same direction, because their purpose was to attract the enemy's armored division...if they could be called "tanks."
Although Manstein had doubts, at this point he had no choice but to let the 2nd Armored Division continue to advance and fight another battle. (To be continued)