Chapter 993 The Decisive Battle Started Early

go ahead! go ahead!

Stalin's determination soon turned into the actions of millions of communist fighters on the Soviet-German battlefield!

In the night of April 13, large groups of troops rolled forward on a muddy land. There was a crowd of people shouting and neighing, and the sound of a roaring motor. In the vast plains of Tula, Orel and Lipetsk oblasts southwest of Moscow. Several armies carrying a large amount of baggage were desperately approaching Moscow, the great capital of the Soviet Union. These troops approaching Moscow from the southwest belonged to the original Orel Front, now the Reserve Front. They were commanded by Marshal Konev, who had been transferred from the Crimean Peninsula not long ago.

Different from the Central Front Army gathered in Moscow, the Orel Front Army (Reserve Front Army) originally deployed in Tula, Orel and Lipetsk Oblasts is only a smaller and lightly equipped "small front army". There are only three armies under its jurisdiction, but they are quite elite. They are the 1st Guards Army (including the 4th and 6th Guards Corps, the 18th Tank Corps and the 153rd Infantry Division), the 2nd Guards Army (including the 1st and 3rd Guards Infantry Corps and the 153rd Guards Mechanized Corps). 2nd Army) and the 1st Red Flag Army transferred from the Far East (including the 22nd Infantry Corps, the 26th Infantry Corps, the 10th International Column Division, the 88th Independent Infantry Division, and the 77th and 79th Tank Destroyer Brigades).

According to the original plan, the task of the Orel Front Army was not to hold on to the three states of Orel, Tula and Lipetsk, but to conduct peripheral mobile operations after the Moscow Defense Campaign began to reduce the pressure on Moscow. When conditions are ripe, the Orel Front will also engage in counteroffensive operations to relieve Moscow.

Now, according to the order of the Supreme Command, this army, renamed the Reserve Front Army, will join the battle to defend Moscow.

The Moscow battlefield will also bring together a huge Red Army of nearly 3 million people to fight to the death with the invading coalition forces with the German army as the core!

At the same time that the main force of the entire reserve front was divided into three lines, approaching Moscow from Orel, Tula, Lipetsk and other places. On the railway from Moscow to Kalinin, there are also columns of military vehicles loaded with JS-2 tanks, T-38/85 tanks, SU-85 tanks and other heavy equipment heading north.

As the biggest trump card in the hands of the Central Front, the four heavy Guards tank armies are now being transported by train to the battlefield of the northern line counterattack.

According to the orders of the Supreme Command and the Central Front Army Headquarters, starting from the night of the 14th, the Red Army will launch the most violent offensive on the Kuvshinovo, Torzhok, and Likuslavl lines!

Further north, near Vadel in Novgorod Oblast, the main force of the Red Army's 7th Guards Tank Army, which was heading north from the west of Kalinin Oblast, had already overcome the muddy roads and the German air force's daytime attacks. Air strikes and detouring back into position as quickly as possible. Their leading force, the 18th Guards Tank Brigade, had already occupied May Day Town on the Red October Railway line under the leadership of a "Red German" detachment that penetrated behind enemy lines on the night of April 13.

On the same night, Paul, who already knew that he was about to be "surrounded" (actually not completely surrounded, there is still a northbound route east of the Red October Railway, was deliberately left by Zhukov for the Paulus group to escape) General Si deployed an iron barrel formation in his headquarters in Upper Cholok for the Soviet army to besiege.

"Sir, the Soviet army has occupied the town of May Day, and the railway line to Petrograd has been cut off. The 8th Panzergrenadier Division of the Belarusian Army is besieged at Vadel near the Red October railway line, and the battle has begun 4 hours. In addition, the battle in Andrebol is still fierce. Now the Northern Army Group headquarters is asking: Is it necessary to dispatch the 5th Armored Army to relieve us and re-open the Red October Railway Line?

Lieutenant General Schmidt, the chief of staff of the 6th Armored Army, stood in front of Paulus with an excited look on his face. He was actually the one who first proposed the plan to use the 6th Armored Army, the 1st Belorussian Army, the Polish Army and the 1st French Mechanized Army as bait to lure the Soviet troops outflanking from the west of Kalinin Oblast to besiege them.

Judging from the current situation, it seems to have been a complete success! As long as the 5th Panzer Army commanded by General Tipelskich (composed of 1 German armored division, 2 French reserve armored divisions, 1 Hungarian armored division and 4 German Panzergrenadier divisions), a battle A big victory will be within reach, and it will not affect the pace of Army Group North's attack on Moscow. Although Marshal Hessmann has spoken and handed over Moscow to Army Group Northern, many generals of Army Group Northern, including Model, are still a little worried...

Paulus just glanced at his chief of staff, turned around and asked Marshal Kappel, commander of the 1st Belarusian Army, who was lying on the map: "Is there any change on the front of Likuslavl?"

Likuslavl is located about 40 kilometers north of the city of Kalinin and is also along the Red October Railway. It was the forward base for the coalition forces moving south to attack Moscow. After it was occupied by Paulus's 6th Armored Army in the autumn of 1943, it was "fortress-like" built and turned into a solid fortification area. Currently standing there is the White Russian Queen's Guards. This is an elite mechanized infantry army composed of Cossack warriors. It is equipped with a large number of "Oliga's Hammers" and has outstanding anti-armor combat capabilities.

Marshal Kappel looked a little tired. He was 62 years old this year. Like most of the older "old white men", he had a bad habit of alcoholism, so his health was not good. After days of high-intensity command and combat, his energy seemed to be a little bit out of reach.

Marshal Kappel smiled: "The front of Likuslavl is very stable. The performance of the 'Olga' tank destroyer is better than expected. The 'Stalin' tank is no match at all."

A tank destroyer assembled with the body of a T-50 tank and a British 6-pound gun actually knocked over many behemoth JS-2 heavy tanks. This result was unexpected by everyone.

Therefore, Likuslavl, which was originally planned to be occupied by the Soviet army, is still in the hands of the White Army and is as solid as a rock.

"Give up Likuslavl at dawn tomorrow," Paulus said lightly. "Give up Torzhok at noon tomorrow, and Kuvshinovo in the afternoon. Withdraw the troops to the triangle between Upper Volochok, Udomlia and Bologoye."

...

"Likuslavl is taken!"

"Ura! Ura!"

The cheers immediately resounded in the General Staff of the Red Army (the Central Front Command is located here). Zhukov, who had been staying up late for many nights, went home to rest after receiving the news that May Day Town was liberated last night. The one in command at the headquarters was General Rokossovsky, a very energetic general. He still did not look tired after staying up for several nights, and his mind remained clear and calm enough.

Hearing the cheers of the staff, he just said to himself: "The Kalinin counterattack has actually been won..."

He was right. Taking over the Likuslavl fortification area meant that the defense area north of Moscow had added dozens of kilometers of depth. Moreover, the fortifications in the Likuslavl area could also be used by the Soviet army. As long as an army-level battle group equipped with a sufficient number of SU-57 tank destroyers, ZIS-2 anti-tank guns, ZIS-3 cannons and A-1 was placed there, the Germans might not be able to break through even after fighting for several weeks.

"Call Marshal Zhukov," Rokossovsky ordered, "tell him the good news of the recapture of Likuslavl."

Zhukov, who received the good news, immediately took the "Moscow Metro Line 2" and rushed from his underground residence to the underground command center of the General Staff.

In the General Staff, before he began to ask about the situation on the Likuslavl front, another good news came.

"The French army is evacuating Torzhok!"

"Ura!"

There was another jubilation in the underground command center of the General Staff. Torzhok and Likuslavl are 20 to 30 kilometers apart and are also fortified areas. The two fortified areas are actually connected, called the Torzhok-Likuslavl fortified defense area.

Now that the Soviet army has taken this key fortified area, it only needs to deploy two armies, and it will be difficult for the German Army Group North to make a breakthrough in the short term.

"How is Andreapol's situation?" Zhukov suddenly asked a somewhat discouraging question.

"Comrade Chief of General Staff, Andreapol is still in the hands of the Germans. The terrain there is not conducive to attack, and it is guarded by elite German paratroopers..."

"We must take it!" Zhukov said firmly, "We must resolutely take Andreapol... Only by taking Andreapol can the flanking group truly consolidate its positions near May Day Town and Valdai. Otherwise, the flanking 7th Guards Tank Army will be alone and deep, and the blockade of the German (Coalition) flank will be empty."

"Comrade Chief of General Staff..." General Rokossovsky seemed to have a different opinion. He said to Zhukov, "Andreapol is not important, May Day Town and Valdai are not the key, the Torzhok-Likuslavl fortified defense zone is the most important."

What he meant was to stop while he was ahead, and switch to defense after taking the Torzhok-Likuslavl fortified defense zone.

Zhukov glanced at him, shook his head and said, "The decisive battle has already begun ahead of schedule. Comrade General Secretary has made up his mind. We must do our best to launch a counterattack before April 30, and our goal should be to severely damage the main force of the German Northern Army Group!"