Iron Cross

On September 25, when the first light of day had not yet appeared on the horizon, the Dawn Battle, which had been planned and prepared for several months but had been continuously postponed, finally started. The largest offensive since the Battle of the Fortress had begun again. On the central battlefield, artillery roared, tanks opened the way, and fighter planes were overwhelming.

The front line advanced smoothly. On the first day of the war, the German army broke through the Soviet defense line across the board and advanced rapidly in the main attack direction - a nearly 400-kilometer front from Saransk in the north to Kalininsk in the south. The Soviet troops faced numerous Retreat.

On the evening of September 26, the second day of the battle, the Southern Lutheran Army advanced towards Saratov on the left bank of the Volga River; in the afternoon of the next day, the third day of the battle, the Northern Lutheran Army arrived on the outskirts of Ulyanovsk. In the connection area between the two, the armored forces advanced very smoothly. The Red Army troops in front of them seemed to have little combat effectiveness, and were basically at the level of collapse at the first touch. At first, the commanders of each unit were very happy and kept reporting to the headquarters how fast their headquarters was advancing and what the results were, but problems were soon discovered.

After the Soviet troops collapsed from the front-line positions, they did not choose to defend the second-line and third-line positions. Instead, they retreated one after another. The Soviet troops on the second- and third-line positions even retreated faster than the first-line positions. As soon as the front line heard the enemy , regardless of victory or defeat, they immediately began to flee. A large number of troops even crossed the Volga River overnight to retreat. This situation made the German army extremely excited. They believed that this time, as the head of state said, there was hope for solving the problem on the Eastern Front. Looking at the Red Army's current vulnerable posture and retreating like an avalanche, how could there be any tenacity at all? It was a world of difference from the fighting spirit shown during the Battle of Moscow.

However, contrary to the excitement of the frontline commanders, the atmosphere in the headquarters was quite strange. Faced with the intelligence compiled from all fronts, it didn't take much effort to draw a conclusion - strange! This strangeness quickly attracted the attention of Chief of General Staff Zeitzler, Commander Model of Army Group Center, and Commander Weikes of Army Group East: The speed of advancement reported by each ministry was brilliant, and the overall front line was moved in three days and two nights. We have advanced 150-200 kilometers, but if we carefully analyze and study the battle reports of each department, except that the map control area becomes more beautiful, other results are lackluster.

Most of the battle reports reported by various ministries are: Our troops attacked bravely, destroyed and captured several enemy troops, defeated several enemy troops, and the overall front moved forward... The losses were very small, and the combat requirements were completed faster than expected.

Every battle report is good to read, but after statistics, the staff in the headquarters were shocked to find that in such a "brilliant" battle with 600,000 troops to attack, only less than 70,000 Soviet troops were wiped out, and most of them were wiped out. They are all purely new infantry units. Not a single guard number or a tank unit was found. What is even more vaguely worrying is that the local population has also been reduced by more than half. The Russian People's Liberation Army, which was attached to the German offensive, quickly reported the situation they had learned: most of the people had evacuated a few days ago, and the Red Army who retreated The troops crossed the Volga without stopping at all.

"How could it be possible to retreat so quickly?"

"Because there is almost no heavy equipment, the biggest prize so far is a batch of 152mm howitzers, but it seems that there are not many shells..."

On September 28, both the north and the south launched attacks on the two important towns of Saratov and Ulyanovsk. As a result, the Soviet army's resistance was completely powerless, and they surrendered in just one day and one night. What surprised the German army even more: The production and living facilities in these two important medium-sized cities were completely destroyed, and all the supplies that could be taken away were taken away. The main force of the defenders also set a fire and fled. In addition to people suffering from diseases, There are almost no other people with physical disabilities or people over 70. According to those who stayed, the Soviets had been arranging evacuation and personnel transfers for several months.

What worried the top brass of the German army even more was that that night, continuous explosions were heard on the Volga River. The Red Army was actively blowing up various large bridges. At this time, the closest German troops were even more than 10 kilometers away.

This scene makes people worry. According to the current progress, the 15-day combat mission planned in the pre-war plan was completed in less than 5 days. It was originally a very gratifying thing, but now that this situation has appeared, even the most sluggish People also reacted, and the ministers looked at each other, not knowing how to deal with it. Should they wait where they were or should they continue to move forward as planned?

"The enemy is digging a hole waiting for us to jump down? Want to use the same method against Napoleon to deal with us?" Model experienced the initial furious assault during the implementation phase of the Barbarossa plan. At that time, although the advancement speed was a little slower than now, it was still too slow. It makes people feel at ease. At least they are fighting with the enemy all the time, and then marching on the victory. Unlike now, it is like a heavy punch hitting cotton, which makes people feel very uneasy.

"How many results were there?" Zeitzler asked with a frown.

"About 9,500 people (including the wounded) were captured on the North Road, and more than 6,000 people were killed...and there were about 10,000 to 20,000 civilians."

Marshal Holt, who had just returned from a patrol in Saratov, also said: "The situation on the South Road is basically similar to this. It's really a ghost..."

In such a large-scale war posture, 600,000 men advanced more than 200 kilometers in one breath and captured the left bank of the Volga River, with only so few results. No one believed it, and all the staff shook their heads.

"First report the situation to the head of state. We will change the order and progress of the battle. The left wing will be divided into a group army to attack Kazan."

"You want to divide the troops?" Marshal Weikes was surprised, "I thought you would speed up the advance. Kazan is the second phase of the battle target."

"We can't advance from the front." Zeitzler shook his head. "All the large bridges on the Volga River were blown up by the Russians. If we want to cross over, we must build pontoon bridges, and they must be large pontoon bridge facilities. But this is still in the hands of the second-line transport echelon. It’s on the way. It will take at least 5 days to transport it here and put it up, which I can’t afford to wait.”

Model looked at the map, and after a long time he muttered: "Let's also divide our troops on the southern route."

"Going to fight Stalingrad?" Holt nodded, "I think we can give it a try."

Zeitzler shook his head like a rattle: "Further south from Saratov is Stalingrad. The head of state has repeatedly opposed our attack on the strong point. The troops on the southern route can be divided into 4-5 divisions to rely on Syzlan in the middle. , Strengthen the connection between the troops, and there will be mutual care in case the Russians come over. "

The others looked at each other and nodded in agreement.

However, the Russian counterattack that Zeitzler expected would obviously not occur. By October 3, the German army successfully occupied Kazan, but the results were the same as in the previous days, with only a little over 10,000 enemy troops eliminated in total. So far, the Battle of Dawn has lasted less than 10 days. It has controlled the left bank of the Volga River from Kazan in the north to Saratov in the south, with an overall width of more than 800 kilometers, and created a huge protrusion in the central area.

The results of the battle looked "brilliant", but everyone had an indescribable feeling - the Red Army not only withdrew most of its troops, but also carried out a clean and thorough work of clearing the wall. Fortunately, the Volga River had a large flow and a wide surface, otherwise The Germans even had trouble finding clean drinking water. In addition, the Red Army also left behind a large number of guerrillas. Transport convoys and trains were sabotaged every three days. The damaged materials were negligible, but the frequent road cuts greatly extended the transportation time. Even the train containing the bridge-building supplies and facilities that Zeitzler valued most was forced to be delayed for a day and a night.

Lieutenant General Schment, the director of munitions on the Eastern Front who was in charge of material support, was forced to ask Marshal Weickers to allocate troops to clear out the guerrillas. However, the heavily equipped German divisions and regiments were like anti-aircraft cannons to swat mosquitoes, and the clearing effect was not ideal. In the end, the Leave this job to the Russian Liberation Army.

Strictly speaking, all the battles on the left bank of the Volga River have been fought so far, and the victory has completed the combat objectives of the first phase of the Dawn Campaign - except for the annihilation of enemies, but everyone in the headquarters is not happy at all, they are all frowning, as if The battle was defeated and the situation was critical.

"How about teasing the Red Army in Stalingrad and letting them rush out?" Model suggested. "Since the war process has developed to the point of rapid advancement, we might as well withdraw part of Saratov's troops or let other troops move forward. Fight and attract the Russians to attack our flanks, so that we can find out the enemy's true intentions and true motives."

"What if the enemy doesn't come?"

"Then just fight forward." Marshal Holt said, "I don't believe that the Red Army can retreat all the way to the Ural Mountains. Regardless of whether there is an ambush circle or an encirclement in front of us, I am willing to break through first."

Zeitzler shook his head: "If we want to attack, we can't weaken the strength of the north and south wings. Let's attack from the center."

He quickly circled a target on the map: "Order the entire 4th Army to cross the river and advance quickly to Kuibyshev. Within 3 days, I will see our army's flag flying there! Even if there is an encirclement there, give me the first chance. Let’s go in! The rest of the troops will be ready to respond to the 4th Army at any time..."

Kuibyshev was the first location determined by the Soviet authorities to move the capital after the outbreak of the Soviet-German war. A large number of central offices and foreign agencies in the Soviet Union that had nothing to do with the military moved to this city, so it was considered very important. Zeitzler prepared to use this attack to test the Red Army's bottom line and policy.

Three hours later, a telegram from the Supreme Command was sent: "The head of state has instructed that we agree with your bold test. If the Red Army intends to abandon the front, our army can no longer be bound by the requirements of the campaign stage and schedule, and strive to obtain the victory before the autumn road turbulence period." The area on the right bank of the Lower Volga.”

On October 6, the German army began to cross the river to attack...