Film and Television: Starting from the Journey to Guandong

Chapter 161

If the Battle of Kursk is a steel battlefield, then the Battle of Rzhev is a human meat grinder.

With the decisive victory in the defense of Moscow, the tragedy of the Rzhev battlefield only further proved the complexity of the war.

This war was the Waterloo of the famous woolly bear general Zhukov, and it was also a classic battle of the German general Model.

Two different military ideologies collided fiercely on the battlefield, resulting in huge casualties.

The famous White Dove Soldier statue that stands in Rzhev in later generations is to commemorate the soldiers who died in this war.

When most people think of the Battle of Moscow, the first thing that comes to mind is the special Red Square military parade and the great Battle of Stalingrad.

The Mao Xiong soldiers and civilians used their tenacious will to block the German attack, and at the same time, the overall situation at the second station was crucially reversed.

To be honest, for the Mao Xiong soldiers and civilians, they paid too much to win this war.

This was not a hearty victory, and it would not be an exaggeration to describe it as a miserable victory.

At that time, almost everyone in Mao Xiong who could take up arms went to the battlefield.

The Battle of Rzhev, as a continuation of the defense of Moscow, was an extremely "conspicuous" "flaw".

After the failed attack on Stalingrad, a large number of German troops retreated to the Rzhev area.

In order to completely drive the Germans out of their territory, the Mao Xiong sent troops far larger than the number of German troops to attack Rzhev.

As a result, Germany relied on limited manpower and materials to complete its defensive tasks, and also caused great trauma to the Soviet army. This was also the most tragic war defeat in the life of famous Soviet general Zhukov.

The entire front of the Battle of Rzhev, in addition to Rzhev, also included the areas of Sychevka and Vyazma, which together formed the Rzhev salient.

The success of the Blitzkrieg led Germany to turn its target to the Bear. However, the German military's wrong assessment of the local climate and the resistance of the Bear soldiers and civilians led to its defeat in the very important Battle of Stalingrad.

The Battle of Rzhev was actually a continuation of the Winter Campaign. The failure of the Battle of Stalingrad did not dispel the idea of ​​attacking the Soviet Union.

He used the Rzhev salient as a springboard to attack Moscow and ordered the 9th Army of Army Group Center to guard Rzhev.

From the perspective of a bear, the existence of the Rzhev salient is like a dagger pointing at Moscow. If it cannot be pulled out of Moscow, there will never be peace.

This is also the main reason why Mao Xiong still wants to capture Rzhev even if he pays a huge price.

In other words, the outcome of this battle not only determines whether Nazi Germany can "come back", but also determines whether the victory in the defense of Moscow is a complete and complete victory.

However, the final development of this battle exceeded the expectations of both warring parties. Whether from the perspective of duration or the number of casualties, the Battle of Rzhev is a well-deserved "meat grinder".

When the Mao Xiong people recall this war again, what they may think of is not the joy of victory, but the mourning for the lost lives.

This is also the reason why the soldiers on the Rzhev Battle Memorial Statue are designed with their heads lowered and eyes lowered.

Because from a historical perspective, there was no real winner in this battle.

When Model took over the Ninth Army, the overall state of the German army could be described as terrible.

In terms of military rank at the time, Model was not suitable to be the commander of the Ninth Army. From a certain perspective, this appointment could be regarded as a front-line promotion.

Model, who had just become the commander of the group army, had many problems to solve: First of all, the gap in the number of German and Soviet troops was too large at that time. There were only about 26 German troops stationed in Rzhev, and not all of these garrisons were combatants.

Secondly, the German army's momentum was very low. Whether it is ancient war or modern war, it is actually an illusory but very influential factor. The idiom "Besieged on all sides" is an example of the morale of soldiers and the outcome of war.

After Model first arrived in Rzhev, Blolock, then the operational staff officer of the Ninth Army, was responsible for receiving him. After talking with him, Model quickly formulated a plan to cut off the supplies of the Soviet army and launch a counterattack. Blalock felt incredible about this.

He asked Model if he had brought enough support to oppose the plan, but Model confidently stated that he was the only one providing support this time. Obviously, he himself was very confident about the direction of the war and his personal battle plan.

The results of the Battle of Rzhev also showed that Model was indeed a master of micro-management, and he made the most of limited resources on the battlefield.

Model used strong point tactics in this war. The advantage of this tactic is that it transforms linear defense into more mobile point defense.

As the defensive side, the German army dispersed its forces into strongholds one by one. The attack ranges of strongholds and strongholds overlapped with each other. The attacking side must extract strongholds one by one in order to continue to move forward, which will undoubtedly increase the cost of war for the powerful attacking side.

For the defender, this is also the most manpower-saving layout.

At that time, the number of Soviet troops attacking the Rzhev area reached 29. Although the German and Soviet troops received reinforcements in the later period, the gap in the number of soldiers between the two has always been very large.

Model's main purpose in choosing the support point tactic was twofold: first, to consume the Soviet army's effective strength as much as possible; second, to delay its offensive as much as possible.

Practice proved that his strategy had the expected effect. The supply of Mao Xiong soldiers encountered big problems during the long and fierce battle.

Model was keenly aware of this and ordered his troops to counterattack Olenino on January 1942, 1, repelling all attacking Soviet troops in just 21 hours.

根据德军当时的战报，苏军第29集团军在此次战斗中苏军投入的阵亡2.6万人，5000人被俘。187辆坦克和373门火炮被德军摧毁和缴获。

The German army also paid the price with more than 5000 soldiers killed.

If we look at the battle loss ratio alone, the German army as a whole has a certain advantage. Since then, on the land of Rzhev, two famous generals, Zhukov and Model, have come and gone, winning and losing each other. In the end, although Model defeated Zhukov's Mars plan, the overall situation of the war and Hitler's own attitude changed. Model finally gave up the Rzhev salient, and the Soviet Union became the final victor.

However, Model's retreat was a strategic arrangement, not an escape after defeat. Therefore, the effective strength of the German troops stationed in Rzhev at that time was preserved to the greatest extent.

Speaking of the Battle of Rzhev, in addition to the famous German general Model, the most eye-catching one is Marshal Zhukov, the bear, and his Mars plan specially formulated for Rzhev.

Zhukov himself has always advocated the annihilation of the German Ninth Army stationed in the area. The purpose is to provide Moscow with a safer strategic environment and use this as a stepping stone to completely defeat the German Army Group Center.

At that time, Zhukov could be said to be in his prime. He successfully repelled the German Army Group during the winter counterattack in 1942, which further enhanced his confidence in the Battle of Rzhev. But it turns out that Zhukov hit Model this time.

On September 1942, 9, Stalin officially ordered a counterattack against the German Army Group in the Rzhev area and Stalingrad. Zhukov was in charge of the Dujun in the Moscow direction, and the Mars project officially began.

In order to achieve victory in this counterattack, Mao Xiong prepared 190 million troops and 24000 artillery pieces.

In addition, Mao Xiong is also preparing to invest 1100 fighter jets and 3300 tanks in the war.

It can be said that Mao Xiong spent a lot of money to win.

The overall combat plan of the Mars Project has a very strong personal style of Zhukov. Zhukov is very good at armored group combat and has excellent commanding capabilities of large armies. His and Model's fighting styles are completely opposite.

Zhukov planned to have Mao Xiong's seven armies attack Rzhev from three directions, and Mao Xiong's armored group troops would be responsible for the breakthrough.

According to Zhukov's plan, Mao Xiong's troops would tear open the German army's east and west sides, then encircle and annihilate the German Ninth Army, and then pursue other units of the German Army.

1942年11月25日，朱可夫的火星计划正式进入实施阶段，苏军第39军团在突入德军防线10公里之后就陷入了苦战。莫德尔的布置给苏军带来了很大的麻烦。

Once the Soviet army entered the German defense lines, they would need to face attacks from German fortresses from all directions. In this environment, the cavalry units with relatively low defense suffered a large number of casualties.

As the duration of the battle continued to extend, the Soviet army's overall combat effectiveness and logistical supplies began to have problems. The size and solidity of the German defense line, as well as the German army's fighting will, far exceeded Mao Xiong's expectations.

The performance of the Soviet army in the Battle of Rzhev can be more objectively verified from the battle report of the German 9th Army. According to the battle report, the German army believed that the commander of the bear was superior in skills and adaptability.

However, some of their inherent problems have not been effectively solved. Once the Soviet army suffered a setback on the battlefield, they would lose their minds and lead to an unorganized attack.

At the same time, the Soviet army also had certain problems with its control of fighter aircraft. They had never seized the opportunity to expand their results.

It can be seen from this that Zhukov's Mars plan was completely destroyed by Model's support point tactics. But the defeat in Rzhev was overshadowed by the victory in Stalingrad.

Regarding the Battle of Rzhev and the Mars Project, it became the battle that Zhukov was least willing to recall in his life.

Even in Zhukov's memoirs in his later years, matters related to this war were rarely mentioned. This battle completely became Zhukov's Waterloo.

As a general who grew up in war, Zhukov is not afraid of failure, and failure has never knocked him down.

The reason why he kept secret about the Battle of Rzhev was most likely because the number of Soviet troops who died in the Battle of Rzhev may have exceeded the limit that they could bear.

It is not an exaggeration to call the Battle of Rzhev a meat grinder.

Mao Xiong organized a total of four attacks in this battle. During these four attacks, Mao Xiong's death toll reached 622664, and 1156485 Mao Xiong Red Army soldiers were injured in the Battle of Rzhev.

Germany did not announce specific casualty figures, but they suffered at least tens of thousands of losses.

Although Model did his best to preserve the vitality of the German army, most of these soldiers were killed in the next two battles.

The Battle of Rzhev was actually a battle between the Soviet Union and Germany over the Rzhev salient. However, there is currently no relatively unified conclusion in the academic community as to whether this area is important enough to be fought over at such a huge cost.

In fact, the reason why this battle turned into a meat grinder was because both the Soviet Union and Germany made decisive mistakes in this battle.

From a German perspective, the reason why Uncle Xi asked Model to defend Rzhev was because he was unwilling to admit Germany's defeat in the war against the Soviet Union. He also tried to use this place as a springboard to make a comeback toward Moscow.

When Model was stationed in Rzhev, he had a dispute with Hitler.

Uncle Xi wanted to have an armored military district under the 9th Army reinforce other German troops from the north and south in order to launch a counterattack against the Soviet army, but Model insisted that the 9th Army must place most of its forces on the northern defense line of Rzhev.

In addition, Model also believed that the value of the Rzhev salient was not as great as Uncle Xi had imagined, and repeatedly suggested that Uncle Xi give up the idea of ​​holding on to Rzhev, but his suggestions were not adopted.

Because Model's suggestion was to look at the problem from a military perspective, but Uncle Xi was more concerned about the impact of losing Rzhev. In other words, if Uncle Xi had made more rational decisions at that time, this battle might not have lasted so long at all.

More importantly, even after struggling for a long time, the final result was still the same as Model had originally predicted. The German army could only choose to give up under the pressure of the Soviet army.

If Germany's mistake was Uncle Xi's misjudgment of the value of Rzhev and the outcome of the battle; then the problem with the bear was the general's decision-making mistakes and the chronic problems of the army. In fact, the impact of the second problem is even more serious.

Although the Mao Xiong army has a numerical advantage, they have a big problem, that is, the military quality of their combatants is relatively poor. Since ancient times, Mao Xiong's regimes in this land have been very good at large army operations.

But the number of people and combat effectiveness are not completely proportional. At that time, the gap in personal combat effectiveness between the Soviet army and the German army was very large, otherwise Mao Xiong would not have suffered such heavy casualties. The furry bear soldiers are better at fighting against the wind. Once they encounter obstacles, they will have many problems.

The Mars plan encountered problems in the early stages of its development, but the commanders of the Mao Xiong military did not adjust their strategies in time. Instead, they chose to push more soldiers to the battlefield, causing more casualties. Therefore, the Mao Xiong government, the military, and Zhukov himself should all be responsible for the hundreds of thousands of soldiers who died in Rzhev.

(End of this chapter)