The Rise of the Third Reich

"Oh? The Germans have started to evacuate Warsaw's useless population?"

On May 16, 1942, the day after the Royal Polish Government declared a state of emergency in the country and issued a "compulsory evacuation order from Warsaw". Stalin, the fatherly leader of the Soviet Union, received the report - the forced evacuation of cities with millions of people showed that the Germans were very aware that Poland was actively being attacked by the Soviet Red Army!

"This means that the Germans know that we are going to attack?" Stalin asked Voroshilov and Zhukov.

"I think so," Zhukov said. "We also received intelligence that two days ago the German Empire's Minister of Defense Hersman inspected the Polish Defense Forces positions on the west bank of the Bug River. After he left, the Chief of General Staff of the Polish Defense Forces General Nicholas von Falkenhorst immediately issued a first-level combat readiness order, and now the entire Polish Defense Force is on the verge of war. "

"It seems that Comrade Molotov's activities in Berlin did not achieve the expected results." Stalin spoke while slowly loading pipe wire from an unscrewed tin can into his carved pipe. Molotov's trip to Berlin was not part of the "Thunderstorm Plan", but was something he thought up on the fly.

Stalin just said in an understatement: "This is also normal. Millions of workers and peasants' Red Army troops have gathered in the border areas and are on standby. It would be abnormal if the Germans were not aware of it."

"But it's too late for them to evacuate the population now," Voroshilov said to Stalin with a smile. "It will take at least a month to evacuate millions of people, and according to reliable intelligence, Zhukov's Germans did not build anything outside Warsaw. With so many fortifications, Warsaw was nothing more than an undefended city. Before the Germans turned it into a city fortress, millions of workers and peasants’ Red Army soldiers must have entered Warsaw.”

Although this space-time world war has been going on for almost three years, there has never been a truly brutal battle against the city. Therefore, although Voroshilov also knew that large cities with tall and solid buildings were not easy to fight, he did not take it too seriously.

Stalin turned his eyes and looked at Zhukov. Zhukov nodded slightly and agreed with Voroshilov's statement. After all, it is already mid-May, and there is only a little over half a month left before the severe thunderstorm starts from June 1st to 6th. Even if the Germans realize that the Soviet Red Army is about to attack, they may not have time to mobilize more troops to participate in the war. According to intelligence from the Soviet Military Intelligence Bureau, the Germans focused their military expansion on the navy and air force after the Battle of France. There was no significant increase in the size of the Army and no major expansion of the armored force.

In terms of army strength, the Soviet Red Army can already overwhelm the German army, and the German army still fights on two fronts - before the Soviet Union launches a thunderstorm assault, the British army will launch a counterattack on the island of Ireland first!

According to Zhukov's estimate, once the Red Army begins its offensive, it will only take three days to advance to the gates of Warsaw.

In Zhukov's opinion, there is no need to attack the brigade-level circular defense positions scattered east of Warsaw and on the west bank of the Bug River. They can just be surrounded by tactical clusters of tens of thousands of people. Dozens of brigade-level circular defense positions use thirty The infantry division also surrounded them. According to the Thunderstorm Plan, the Red Army ground troops used to attack Warsaw had 162 divisions. After 30 were used, there were still 132 divisions, which was enough to take Warsaw.

In addition, although those brigade-level circular positions are placed next to traffic arteries and railway lines, the Soviet Red Army will not be able to use the Polish railway network unless they are removed, and road transportation will also be affected.

But Warsaw is only 1,560 kilometers east of the Bug River. Transporting supplies by truck would take two to three hundred kilometers even if it takes a detour. For the Red Army, which had only 140,000 poor-quality cars in the entire Western Military Region a year ago, this may still be a problem. However, for the Red Army's Western Third Military District (Front), which has doubled the number of trucks after receiving U.S. aid, this transportation volume is not a problem at all.

Stalin had already lit the fire on his pipe, took two puffs of cigarette, and finally said in a deep voice: "June 1 will be the day when the world revolution begins. From this day on, every Bolshevik and Soviet will fulfill their obligations." Sacred duty - fight for the cause of human liberation!"

…

"Bombardment! Concealment!"

As soon as the shouts started, a sharp and piercing whistling sound was already coming through the air. Even if the Nazi superman Captain Otto Skorzeny plugged his ears tightly with his fingers, the annoying whistling sound could still penetrate everything and shake violently. His brain was beating on his heart!

boom! boom! boom……

The ensuing explosions began to pound the ground violently, the powerful shock wave formed a violent air wave, and countless small shrapnel turned into the scythe of death, sweeping everything. The ground was shaking violently, as if the whole world was being distorted. Skorzeny, who had just been promoted, held his head in his hands and pressed his knees to his chest. He huddled at the bottom of the cold and muddy trench in a standard avoidance posture, waiting for the end of this round of shelling with the mentality that I am a superman, not cannon fodder.

His Moonlight Squadron, a makeshift company-sized tactical unit, was disbanded a few days after the landing in Dublin. Otto Skorzeny received medals and promotions and is now the captain of the 11th Company of the 19th Parachute Infantry Regiment of the 7th Airborne Division. His 19th Parachute Regiment was sent to the small town of Trim on the upper reaches of the Boyne River on May 5 to set up defenses. Trim is located 41 kilometers northwest of Dublin and is stuck on a key highway. Through this road, the British armored forces can detour to Dublin's right flank.

The 11th Company led by Otto Skorzeny was sent to the bend of the Boyne River, dug trenches according to the standards of field position warfare, and buried many anti-tank mines in the direction where tanks could pass.

The British army also rushed to the north of the town of Trim the day after Otto Skorzeny arrived in Trim. Because the number of troops coming over was obviously more than that of the 19th Parachute Infantry Regiment, and there were also tanks following, the 19th Parachute Infantry Regiment did not dare to take the initiative to attack, but chose to dig trenches to defend it.

However, the British army did not launch an attack immediately, but began slow preparations - digging trenches, repairing roads, setting up artillery positions and anti-aircraft positions. They worked step by step for several days. It was not until May 15 that artillery and infantry operations began. , coordinated attack of tanks.

As soon as the British army opened fire, the battle-hardened Captain Otto Skorzeny knew that he and his men had a tough battle to fight this time.

Because the British army's artillery fire was unexpectedly fierce, it was obviously not the result of a single artillery group attached to a division-level combat unit, but the combined force of several division- or corps-affiliated artillery groups.

Each bombardment usually involves dozens of scattered 18-pound guns, 25-pound guns, 4.5-inch (115mm) guns, and 5.5-inch (140mm) guns firing at the same time. The bombardment lasts for 10 to 15 minutes, and then is replaced by several others. Ten identical cannons opened fire to avoid German air attacks. A complete bombardment is often completed by 3-4 artillery groups working together. The alternating bombardment lasts for 1 hour to 1 and a half hours before infantry and tanks are dispatched along the Boyne River (the Boyne River is not a thing in this area). direction, but to make a bay from north to south, so not all areas can be defended along the river) to launch a round of attack.

Although one hour or one and a half hours is not a long time, every minute is so long to the people who have been shelled, even the German Superman is no exception. So much so that Captain Otto Skorzeny was looking forward to the British tanks and infantry coming up soon.

After a long time, the sound of shelling like a landslide and tsunami finally turned from dense to sparse. After a while, the last dull roar brought this round of endless shelling to an end.

"Attention, attention, prepare to fight!"

Otto Skorzeny shouted, picked up his FG42 paratrooper rifle, stood up from the artillery trench, and then ran along the traffic trench towards the forward position. As for the other supermen in the trenches (paratroopers are all elites), they all got up and ran to the front without the supervision of the platoon leader or squad leader. Firearms, helmets, kettles, mortars, recoilless rifle barrels and other objects collided with each other, converging into a unique sound before a battle in the trenches, and the tense atmosphere quickly spread.

Otto Skorzeny arrived at the forward position where the Boyne River turns and flows north, so there is a river thirty or forty meters wide on the left, and there is an ancient castle 2,000 meters away on the right. I don’t know. It was left behind by some great noble. That place is now an important support point for the entire defense line. The 1st Paratrooper Company of the 19th Parachute Infantry Regiment is guarding there, and further to the right are the positions of the 4th and 5th Companies of the 19th Parachute Infantry Regiment.

In addition, the 3rd Company of the 7th Anti-Tank Battalion of the 7th Airborne Division carries 12 Pak38 50mm anti-tank guns and is deployed dozens of meters behind the four paratroopers and parachute anti-tank companies. The 12 Flak 30 20mm anti-aircraft guns belonging to the 1st Company of the 7th Battalion of Parachute Anti-aircraft Gun were also deployed in the same way.

About 1.5 kilometers behind the defense line formed by these six companies is a road leading to Dublin. The raised roadbed of the road became another line of defense, and the main force of the 19th Parachute Infantry Regiment was there. In the farmland south of the highway, two tank companies belonging to the Marine Corps were deployed, with 30 operational No. 3 tanks, and 4 Crusader cruiser tanks captured from the town of Swasworth. Further south, there is an artillery battalion of the 7th Parachute Artillery Regiment equipped with 105mm LG40 recoilless rifles and 150mm LG42 recoilless rifles.

The sound of a motor roaring suddenly came from far and near, and a nervous expression suddenly appeared on Otto Skorzeny's originally relaxed face. He quickly raised his telescope and searched the flat farmland to the north. Hundreds of steel monsters staggered out of the horizon.

Otto Skorzeny shouted: "Tanks! It's a tank cluster, hundreds of tanks. The British are really back now! Put up the recoilless guns quickly!"

This time, the British army invested hundreds of Churchill tanks, Crusader cruise tanks, M3 Grant/Lee tanks and other auxiliary armored combat vehicles, leading the densely packed infantry to launch a surging offensive!