Chapter 905 Soviet Counterattack (6)

"Sir, we have just received the latest information. Two Red Army armies have been besieging Rostov for three days. The headquarters believes that the time has come for our army to attack."

"What are the specific tactical objectives?"

"Cut off the connection between the enemy troops besieging Rostov and the follow-up troops in Dontsk on the Volga River, and cooperate to annihilate them."

Hausser nodded. This task was not too difficult, but the next order made people stunned: "Marshal Holt requested that it be best to use 1 armored division, and no more than 2 at most, so as not to scare the Russians."

"This is a really strange request..." After all, Hauser had no intention of violating it. Marshal Holt is known as the commander-in-chief of the 14-nation coalition. It is impossible to manage so many troops, especially the Italian 8th Army, without any tricks. Guderian, Rommel and others got headaches when they talked about the Italians. Big, but Marshal Holt did it. Hauser never underestimated this real ability. In Manstein's absence, it was not unreasonable to order Marshal Holt to take charge of all matters on the Eastern Front.

Soon he recruited Theodor Wisch, commander of the Guards Division, and Fritz Wit, commander of the Youth Division. The two divisions were technically brother divisions, and a large number of officers in the Youth Division were transferred from the Guards Division. In the past, coupled with the armband bearing Adolf Hitler's name, the origin is extraordinary.

"According to intelligence, two armies, the 24th Red Army and the 1st Guards Army, are currently attacking Rostov, while the 5th Guards Tank Army is stationed at Dontsk on the Volga River with the intention of maintaining a continuous front. What do you think of this?"

Responsible for attacking Rostov was the Don Front led by Rokossovsky. Before the Battle of the Great River Bend, the front had the 1st Guards Army, the 21st, 24th, 63rd, and 66th Army Groups and the 4th Tank Army. After the Battle of the Great River Bend, the 21st Army suffered heavy losses and was almost completely destroyed. The group army was hit hard and lost half of its troops. It was the weakest among the three fronts on the southern flank (Southwestern, Don, and Stalingrad).

In order to enhance the strength of the Don River Front, the Soviet army tried its best to make reinforcements: the 21st Group Army was revoked, and the remaining strength plus newly recruited recruits were enriched into the 24th Group Army; the Soviet army used all the troops drawn from the Steppe Military District, Central Asia, the Far East and other directions. The 69th Army was formed and joined the Don Front. At the same time, the 1st Guards Army, the 63rd and 66th Army and the 4th Tank Army were supplemented, and the strength was restored to about 400,000. In the three battles of Spring Awakening, Castle, and Summer Thunder, the front once again lost most of the 66th Army and the 4th Tank Army, forcing Moscow to once again deploy backup forces to supplement them.

In the winter of 1943, as the main force of the German offensive was placed in the center and there were fewer attacks on the southern flank, the front maintained its original size and slightly increased in total number of troops. The total strength increased to just over 500,000, and its combat effectiveness continued. Training hard also improved. However, the 69th Army was later transferred to strengthen Malinovsky's independent group army, and the total strength dropped again to 400,000. It was the limit to draw nearly 200,000 people from the two armies to participate in the southern flank attack.

The force structure of Vatutin's Southwest Front was almost the same as that of Rokossovsky. However, because his troops had to cover the right wing and upper reaches of Stalingrad, and also face the suppression of the main force of Army Group South, only one tank was drawn out. The 5th Army Group fought together, and Fatty Wa’s wishful thinking was very good: placing the most mobile tank army at the center line connection position, on the one hand, it can effectively support the attacking troops, and on the other hand, it can quickly adjust the layout if something happens. response.

Marshal Holt's first sword was ready to strike at this tank group. As long as he captured the most mobile group of the Red Army and blocked the retreat of the two Red Army groups under Rostov City, these infantrymen would not be able to escape no matter how fast they were. Where to go.

"Shouldn't we use all the armor strength of the cluster? This is the fastest way to solve the problem." Wisch asked strangely, "I'm not worried that our two divisions can't defeat the Russians, but I think four divisions will definitely It’s faster than 2 divisions to solve the problem.”

This is really not complacency. Due to differences in army building ideas, the Red Army’s division-level establishment has always been very small (Note: the so-called captain’s sudden promotion to division commander after the so-called Great Purge in China is actually equivalent to a German major’s sudden promotion to brigade-level combat. (group commander, although it is an exception, but not too excessive), the size of the corps is about the same as a German division. Most of the time, a tank corps cannot defeat a German armored division, let alone the 1944-type reinforced division.

A standard Red Army tank army consists of about 2 tank corps and 1 mechanized corps, which is close to the original German armored corps, with about 50,000 troops and 350-400 tanks. However, the 5th Guards Tank Army mobilized by Vatutin is a strengthened alternative, with 3 tank corps, 1 mechanized corps, 1 independent tank brigade and 1 anti-aircraft artillery division, and even a light bombing aviation unit. The 994th Regiment (mainly equipped with IL-2 attack aircraft) has a total strength of more than 80,000 and has between 600-650 tanks. The overall number of tanks accounts for about half of the Southwest Front where Vatutin is located.

It can be seen that although the Red Army has problems with its combat effectiveness, it is only due to helplessness after the rapid loss of soldiers and weapons and technical equipment. In certain tactical concepts (such as large-depth operations, armored forces are equipped with aviation units equipped with Il-2 attack aircraft) is not lagging behind. The Red Army has a total of 6 such tank groups. The biggest challenge for the 1944-type armored division is to suppress or even defeat the strengthened tank army in a 1vs1 situation - this is still difficult, so Marshal Holt proposed the operation of 2 armored divisions

"This is a major concern of the command. After discussions between Marshal Manstein, Marshal Hoth and some staff officers, they believed that the enemy must have arranged other reinforcements on the flanks and rear of the 5th Guards Tank Army, such as direct The advance of the army will frighten the Russians and force them to retreat quickly. If we just maintain a high pressure and let them think that they can hold on even if they grit their teeth and try, our strategy will be successful," Hausser said with a smile. "The goal of the headquarters is not only to eat the 300,000 people from these three armies, but also to kill all the rats that have crawled out of the rat holes on the southern wing!"

The two division commanders looked at each other and said they knew what was going on.

"If this is the case, we must cut off the connection between the three enemy armies and cooperate with the friendly forces to eliminate the tank army among them first." Witte thought for a while and said, "At the same time, we must be mentally prepared. The enemy may also know that we are coming and say Maybe there will be other troops and three armies to surround us and try to eat us."

Everyone knows that the establishment in 1944 was very good, but theory is theory and reality is reality. Hausser is very cautious. He is worried about the factors mentioned by Witte and is ready to send other forces.

"I will also send you the National Leaders Division." He thought for a while, "and give you a Tiger 2 heavy armored battalion. This is the first battle after the SS army changes its equipment. It can only be fought well, not badly! The head of state is watching us... At such a decisive moment that concerns the fate of the two countries, we, as the party and the head of state's personal guards, cannot distract the head of state. "

The two of them saluted together: "Understood!"

"If there is indeed an enemy ambush, I will have other troops follow up with reinforcements as soon as possible." Hauser explained, "Be careful, the Air Force will clear the way for you first."

Just when the German army was sharpening its sword and preparing to strike hard, the Red Army also felt an unusual atmosphere. After the battlefield expanded to the entire Caucasus, Zhukov no longer stayed in Central Asia and directly moved his headquarters to Stalingrad in an attempt to control overall situation.

"Judging from the intelligence we intercepted and the movements of aircraft reconnaissance, enemy reinforcements have arrived."

"Can you find out which part it is?"

"SS Panzer Army."

"Which troops?"

"The ones that are famous and have special numbers are all in it." Rokossovsky sighed, "I haven't smelled the SS on the Southern Front for more than half a year. There are so many here at once. It's unbelievable." It’s a bit tricky.”

Zhukov remained silent. The SS was the most dangerous enemy of the Red Army. In the Battle of the Don Bend, the Guards Division made the Red Army miserable and brought down two armies. In subsequent battles, they encountered the SS every time. None of them are ideal. This time we ran into the SS troops again in Central Asia. I thought it would be easier to deal with if they were not armored divisions. Unexpectedly, the mountain divisions were also a headache. At least one-third of Chuikov’s gagging troops suffered losses. Prince Eugen's division did it. Even the Americans who were tortured to death by the Germans in Cape Verde were able to fight after they had skinned the SS. It was really a ghost.

After several years of fighting to the death, everyone has long figured out the pattern: wherever there are SS troops, especially SS armored divisions, they may be key targets of attack by the German army, so this information is very important.

"My judgment is that the German army is bound to compete for Dontsk on the Volga River, and I have arranged the 5th Guards Tank Army there." Vatutin explained, "There are also two independent tank armies hidden behind to deal with the SS. The short-term impact does not matter, but in the final analysis, Comrade Rokossovsky’s troops must capture Rostov quickly, otherwise they will not be able to withstand the long-term impact.”

Rokossovsky complained: "Rostov is very strong and not so easy to fight. Another problem is that the Kleist cluster has not retreated. Our army's flanks are threatened and we cannot attack the city with all our strength."

"Shouldn't Comrade Yereomenko's two armies cooperate with Comrade Chernyakhovsky's offensive group to launch an attack?"

Everyone was silent for a while, and after a long time, Fatty Wa said: "He ran very fast, and he put the least pressure on the Germans."

"This won't work, comrades, we are launching a major counterattack, and we must unite." Zhukov frowned and said, "We can't all put the blame on other comrades."

Just halfway through speaking, an emergency telegram came: The German army launched a violent bombing of Dontsk on the Volga River...