Chapter 1241 Eat It in One Bite

Almost at the same time, on the opposite side of him, the senior commander of the German Army of the South was also conducting an operational consultation.

Unlike history, the current Army Group South is under the command of Field Marshal Erich von Manstein. At the beginning of the French campaign, he proposed the tactic of breaking through the Ardennes Forest, which was received by Cyric. The affirmation of the head of state finally succeeded.

Although the German army's armored forces are very advanced, it is also related to tactics. If France can't be easily killed in the past, it will not lay a good situation for the back. If it becomes a war of attrition, it will become a terrible war. s consequence.

Now, Manstein was promoted by Führer Cyric to directly lead the entire army group.

Army Group South was huge. It included the 6th, 11th, and 17th armies, as well as the 1st Panzer Army, as well as the independent Viking Division, for a total of 63 divisions.

The total strength is similar to that of the army in the middle, but the area they want to attack is even larger. Along the way, Manstein already felt that his strength was indeed too scattered.

Every time, he could defeat the Soviet army, but he didn't have enough strength to surround and annihilate the enemy. When the Central Route Army created brilliant encirclement battles again and again, their South Route Army was really not enough to fight. .

"The Soviets are guarding the Dnieper River. Every bridge has a heavy hand, and there are positions outside the bridge head. This battle will not be particularly successful." Paul Ludwig Eyre, commander of the 1st Panzer Army Wald von Kleist said.

The impact of tanks, after all, still takes time. In the vast Ukrainian plains, the German armored forces are constantly advancing, but they are not as fast as in Belarus.

All because of logistical issues.

In Belarus, Germany built a broad-gauge railway, which was directly connected to the German railway line, which greatly facilitated the supply. Although the Soviets destroyed some railway lines, they were quickly repaired. Relying on that railway artery , the Central Route Army hardly has to worry about the problem of logistical supplies.

But it is different in Ukraine. Due to the different railway tracks, the train has to change its wheels when crossing the border, which is quite inefficient. The railway and road transport supplies together, and it has only been supported until now.

Compared with history, the proportion of tanks in the German offensive sequence has greatly increased. Not to mention the tanks in ordinary infantry divisions, only the 1st Armored Army is equipped with 3,900 tanks.

At the same time, there are also a large number of infantry fighting vehicles and various wheeled transport vehicles, all of which need to consume a lot of fuel, which puts forward new requirements for Germany's logistics supply. long.

These all slowed down their attack. As an admirer of Blitzkrieg, Manstein was not satisfied with the speed of his troops. At the same time, he also knew that he had another problem.

"We found the right place, we took the bridge, we crossed the Dnieper, and we didn't have too many problems. Now there are several places that seem to be very suitable," Manstein said. "But we don't have enough right now. Forces, encircle the Soviet army in the entire Kyiv region, like Belarus, stretch out its huge arms and encircle the entire region."

The Soviet Southwest Front in the Ukraine area has more troops than the central Belarusian army.

After a series of battles in the border area and the defeat of the Dubno-Lutsk-Rovno tanks, the Soviet Red Army High Command believed that the southwest direction was the main direction of the German offensive, so most of the Soviet Red Army troops were deployed in Ukraine.

Up to now, the entire Ukraine has the 5th, 6th, 26th, 12th Army of the Southwest Front, the 18th and 9th Army of the Southern Front, 6 armies, 69 infantry divisions, 11 cavalry divisions and 28 armored divisions. trip.

And in Kyiv alone, there are 44 divisions, and it is not as easy as the central ones to be completely surrounded by these troops.

Even Manstein, who has always been bold with his troops, is now scratching his head. How will this battle be fought?

Manstein was not worried that he could not defeat his opponent. He had enough ability to liberate Kyiv. However, Manstein, who knew Cyric's strategic goals, was not satisfied with just defeating the enemy.

They must not only defeat, but completely encircle and destroy the enemy.

Just defeating them, they will retreat, and then be organized again, only to eliminate them completely is the best solution.

The strategic goal, first, is to occupy Moscow, and second, is to destroy the living forces of the Soviets.

Manstein did not want to defeat the enemy, but to destroy them completely, and now Manstein is worried about this goal.

Not enough troops, too much meat to eat in one bite.

"Then we can stutter." At this moment, Kleist said: "If we hit Kyiv directly, once the defenders in Kiev can't beat it, they will definitely break through. We don't have enough strength to intercept them, so I Let's just cut off a part first, for example, in Uman south of Kyiv, how about we take care of Uman's defenders first?"

Uman is in the south of Kyiv. It is a big city in Ukraine. There are 1.5 million troops of the Southwest Front Army, of which 200,000 are deployed in Uman.

Start with Uman first and start a complete encirclement. So far, the southern army group has not had too dazzling results, so let's start with Uman!

At the same time, this is also very consistent with the current advancing route of the German Army.

The 1st Panzer Army, commanded by Kleist, was advancing in a wedge-shaped formation to the south of Kyiv and north of Uman, while the 17th Army of Sturp Nager was advancing to the south of Uman. With Uman as a target, their target is Kyiv.

Now, they can suddenly change their marching route, and they can encircle Uman.

When the time comes, let's see how the defenders in Kyiv will choose. If they divide their troops to save Uman, they will help them. In the wild, it is definitely a paradise for tank troops. They can destroy as much as they come. If they sit and watch Uman Destroyed, the army of their own will go eastward through Uman, cross the Dnieper River, and then move northward to surround Kyiv, which can greatly reduce the pressure.

"Yes, then we will adopt this tactic." Manstein: "Our southern army must hand over a satisfactory answer sheet, destroy the living forces of the Soviets, and lay the foundation for the final meeting in Moscow!"

With Manstein's decision, the vigorous Kyiv Great War finally began slowly, and the battle started from Uman in the south of Kyiv. This originally inconspicuous, just as a city on the flank of Kyiv, ushered in the most terrifying battle.