208

Episode 208: Battle of Moscow (9)

November 2, 1942

Soviet Moscow

In addition to the German army, armies from numerous countries participated in the Battle of Moscow.

Vlasov's Free Russian Army. And the armies of Ukraine and the Baltic countries who had deep resentment toward the Soviet Union and the Communist Party.

Similarly, the Finnish army suffered the ill-fated fate of the Winter War.

To participate in the rare opportunity to occupy the Soviet capital with their own hands, the armies of each country selected as few as one regiment or as many as two divisions to fight under the German army.

When foreign volunteers from Waffen-SS divisions are included, the number of countries involved in the Battle of Moscow further increased. Pilots of various nationalities, not only in the army but also in the Sky Air Force, fought on the side of the Axis powers.

A representative example was the Russian pilots of the 1st Eastern Combat Squadron of the Free Russian Army.

Captain Semyon Baichukov, an ace who served in the Soviet Air Force and received the Hero of the Soviet Union Medal, engaged in combat with Yaks over Moscow in a Bf109.

Soviet Air Force pilots gritted their teeth and fought to protect their capital, but they were no match for Baichukov, who had a history of shooting down Bf109s and Fw190s with his Yak-1, which had better performance than German aircraft.

"Goodbye, comrade!"

Baichukov, who easily dodged the attack of the opposing Yak plane and caught up with the enemy through rapid maneuvering, fired an autocannon and broke the Yak plane's tail wing.

The yakgi, which lost its tail, spun and fell, landing on the roof of a building and exploding.

"Long live Russia! Long live freedom!"

"Uraaa!!!"

Soldiers of the Free Russian Army, who had served in the Soviet Army in the past, charged while shouting "Ura!" just as they did during the Soviet Army days.

The T-34 and KV-1, which had the emblem of the Russian People's Liberation Committee and a white-blue-red Russian airliner instead of a red star for enemy identification, also charged toward the Soviet military positions.

The Soviet army was embarrassed when their tank turned into an enemy and charged.

The KV-1, which defended against the attack of the T-34 with its body buried in the ground, fired its 76mm main gun to silence the T-34 and broke the barricade made of bricks and broken furniture to create a passage for the infantry to pass through.

"Liberation is not far away! Comrades, forward!"

The captain, who was a political officer in the past, led the soldiers from the front and repeatedly shouted charges.

The sight of Free Russian Army soldiers charging while wearing stahlhelms and carrying Kar98k, StG39, and MP40 instead of Mosin-Nagant, SVT-40, and PPSh-41 was now a sight that could not be easily seen on the Eastern Front.

"General? "Can you tell me how you feel right now?"

In response to a question from a war correspondent from the SS Propaganda Company, Vlasov looked at the lens of the camera held by the SS soldier with a very serious expression.

"It feels...exciting yet strange. "When I was serving in the Red Army, I never dreamed that I would be in a position to attack Moscow."

"Do you believe that the liberation of Russia is just around the corner?"

"Sure. "Can't you see it?"

Vlasov pointed to the battlefield with his right hand.

While the corpses of fallen Soviet soldiers lined the streets, Free Russian Army soldiers were shelling buildings filled with Soviet infantry using 88 guns donated by Germany.

And in the sky, a squadron of Stukas was flying to drop bombs on the Kremlin.

"I'm tired of this now."

Rudel, who was holding the steering wheel of the Stuka, yawned and said.

"There is no one other than the Major who says that every time he goes on a sortie."

said Sergeant Henschel in the back seat.

Rudel and Henschel flew over 250 sorties, destroying 160 vehicles, artillery pieces, and tanks, destroying 40 bridges, railroads, and bunkers, and sinking 3 armored trains and more than 20 ships.

There was even a record of fighting an enemy aircraft with a Stuka and shooting down a Yakgi and a Sturmovik. Not a fighter plane, but a Ju87, a dive bomber.

For these achievements, Rudel was awarded the Knight's Cross of the White Leaf and Swords, and succeeded in becoming a candidate for the Knight's Cross of the Diamond White and Swords, which only the best soldiers among the best soldiers in Germany could receive.

His faithful subordinate and comrade in arms, Erwin Henschel, had also been nominated for the Knight's Cross.

"Look at that. "The class welcomes us again today."

It had been a long time since he had become accustomed to anti-aircraft machine guns and anti-aircraft artillery firing from the ground, but Rudel still did not let down his guard.

He realized through actual combat that all disasters begin with a momentary mistake or slight carelessness.

As I started to dive through the barrage of fire, I felt a strong force of gravity weighing down my entire body.

Another huge painter has opened up in the Kremlin Palace.

***

While the German army advanced step by step toward the center of Moscow, desperate escapes continued in the east, where the road was still open.

After Stalin left, Zhukov, who was completely alone, allowed civilians to escape, which Stalin had previously prohibited.

To be precise, 'those deemed unnecessary for combat' were 'relocated' to the outskirts of Moscow, and Stalin's ban on retreat was still in effect.

However, because the term "relocation" was used rather than "retreat", the order prohibiting retreat was not violated.

While the front-line troops desperately tried to block the German army's advance, the civilians, wounded soldiers, and survivors of the destroyed units who had been forced to remain in downtown Moscow fled Moscow.

They headed to Noginsk via Balashikha, which borders Moscow, and from Noginsk to Pokrov.

Although we were barely able to get out of Moscow, evacuation was also difficult.

The German army carried out air strikes whenever possible on the main road leading from Moscow to Balashikha to Noginsk.

Every time an aircraft took off in the sky, people took refuge. Regardless of whether it was an enemy plane or a friendly plane, I avoided it at all costs.

"Comrade Sergeant, I have a question."

"What?"

"When is it our turn?"

Sergei shrugged his shoulders in response to the child soldier's question.

"Once those people are all gone."

"shit. If this continues, the Nemetz (немец, German soldiers) will arrive first."

"Watch your mouth. "If it falls into the ears of political officers, we will all be screwed."

In fact, Sergei was equally nervous.

When the order to move to Noginsk was given, I felt like I was finally alive. If he had stayed in Moscow, he would have died or become a prisoner.

But what is this? The roads were paralyzed because refugees who had been unable to evacuate and remained in the city poured out all at once.

The company commander said that we would cross the bridge after the refugees had crossed it first, but that also meant that we could not cross the bridge until all the refugees had crossed.

The political officer also seemed to be nervous and ordered his soldiers to look for a section that could be crossed on foot without a bridge.

Soldiers searching the river area under the orders of a political officer eventually found a section that could be crossed on foot.

The section the soldiers found was a place where the water only reached up to the chest. Because the situation was so urgent, an order to cross the river was issued hastily.

But even though the order to cross was given, Sergei couldn't smile much. He wanted to avoid getting his clothes wet, as the weather was already quite cold.

The number of refugees had decreased noticeably, so I thought I might be able to cross the bridge if I only had to wait for about 5 minutes.

However, the sick officers, who could not see the soldiers in comfort, urged the soldiers.

"Hurry up. "You never know when the German army will come."

The soldiers hesitated and threw themselves into the river. As soon as I stepped into the water, the chill penetrated into my bones.

The river water was already like ice, and as the water-soaked clothes touched my skin, I felt an unbearable chill. I felt like I was going to die of a heart attack before I was shot.

When I had crossed about three-quarters of the way through the river, a siren suddenly rang. It was an air raid warning.

"It's an air raid!"

"Hey guys! "Run now!"

"Everyone hurry!"

The few anti-aircraft guns spewed fire, and refugees ran out onto the road screaming.

However, the refugees crossing the bridge had no place to escape other than jumping off the bridge into the river.

Those who had reached the end of the bridge or had just begun to cross it were able to cross or go back the way they came, but those in the middle of the bridge could not do this or that.

The Ju88 soon reached the bridge, dived in, and dropped a bomb on the bridge.

The bomb hit the bridge by a narrow margin, shattering the refugees crossing the bridge.

"Great! "It's a hit!"

"How does it taste, you damn commies!"

The pilots burst into laughter as they looked at the bridge, the center of which had been blown off by the explosion.

Sergei had forgotten the cold as if it were a lie. Already, dismembered human corpses and the remains of bridges were floating in the river.

He was lucky this time too.

If he had insisted on crossing the bridge, he might have been one of the corpses in the river by now.

People and death were so close that it was scary.

***

November 3, 1942

USSR Moscow Kremlin Palace

"Comrade General, this is a radio call from Lieutenant General Yeromenko."

"Give it here."

Outside the Kremlin Palace was already filled with gunshots. The German army soon pushed into Red Square and engaged in a fierce battle with the Soviet army.

Because of the gunfire and gunfire, it was now impossible to hear what the person next to you was saying unless you shouted.

Zhukov took over the receiver and listened to what Yeomenko said.

-Comrade Captain? This is Yeromenko. The situation is very serious now.

"I know."

-Ammunition has also run out, and 3 hours is the limit even if you squeeze it to the max. Comrade, please get out there while the northeast exit is still open.

Yeromenko was urging Zhukov to escape. Yeomenko's troops occupied the road leading to Balashikha, on the outskirts of Moscow.

If I left the Kremlin even now, I didn't know if it would be possible to pass through the passage guarded by Yeomenko's 4th Shock Army and escape to Balashikha.

But Zhukov shook his head.

"There is no need. You know it too, comrade. "I can't even take a single step from here."

-······

At that time, a shell fell, and the flickering light bulb went out completely, leaving one corner of the conference room in darkness.

But Zhukov didn't care and focused on the conversation.

"Can you contact Comrade Vasilevsky?"

-Is that so?

"Go ahead and talk to Comrade Vasilevsky. That's all I can say. "The fascists have already invaded Red Square, so the Kremlin will soon fall."

Yeromenko was silent for a long time.

-······I understand, comrade. good luck.

"Thank you. "I wish you good luck too, comrade."

He had already instructed Vasilevsky to act according to his own judgment if he could not reach him by radio.

Now he had nothing to say to these two.

A Panther entering Red Square was hit by a 203mm grenade and completely destroyed. The turret was ejected, and the entire upper armor of the hull was torn off.

However, another Panther appeared and hit the front of the SU-203 while it was being loaded with an armor-piercing round. A huge explosion, several times the size of SU-203, occurred and shook Red Square with a roar.

The impact of the explosion shattered the windows, and pieces of broken glass fell on the wounded soldiers. Moans continued from all directions.

Along with the SU-203, the KV-3, which served as the guardian of Red Square, soon fell silent due to enemy fire.

The KV-3, which lifted the sidewalk blocks and buried and fixed the car body, destroyed three tanks and two armored vehicles until it was destroyed by the Panther.

However, this guy's luck ran out and he ended up spewing out flames from the hatch.

- All soldiers of the Red Army, listen!

When there was a brief lull in the battle, a light reconnaissance armored vehicle equipped with a loudspeaker rolled up with a white flag.

-You guys have already fought as hard as you could. But now your fate has come to an end. Your armies were defeated, and Moscow fell. Any further battles will only result in meaningless sacrifice and tragedy.

"Can I shoot that bastard with this?"

A sergeant with a bandaged head pointed his anti-tank rifle and asked Zhukov for permission. Zhukov shook his head resolutely.

"Comrade, can't you see the white flag hanging on the car?"

-We, Germany, will treat our soldiers appropriately in accordance with the Geneva Convention. This is what His Excellency the Führer has promised: the wounded will receive medical treatment and the hungry will receive bread. Stalin ordered you to be imprisoned, but he himself escaped alive. He left you in limbo.

Will you die for those who treat you like slaves and bullets? Or will you live as a free person?

I'll give you 10 minutes. If you want to surrender, raise a white flag and come out. Battle is now meaningless.

10 minutes. It was the time of choice promised by the German army.

Zhukov had already decided on an answer.

"Adjutant, get the gun. "It doesn't matter whether it's a rifle or a submachine gun."

"yes?"

"Are your ears clogged? Bring a gun. "I will fight myself too."

Surrendering was no longer an option.

But I also didn't want to sit in the corner of the bunker and wait for the fascists to knock on the door.

If I am a soldier, I want to meet the end like a soldier. That was Zhukov's only wish.

"Shouldn't we show the fascists how a Red Army general fights?"

***

"Charge forward!"

"charge!"

"The Kremlin is right around the corner, comrades!"

As promised, 10 minutes later, the German army launched its final offensive.

"There's a streetcar ahead!"

"No problem. Just push it away!"

Wittmann's Tiger rammed into a street tank that the Soviets had fixed as a barricade.

A streetcar with 'For the glory of the Soviet Union!' written on the side was flattened by the Tiger's tracks.

"Load grenades!"

"Load grenades!"

"launch!"

The Tiger's 88 mm gun burst into flames and shattered the main gate of St. Basil's Cathedral.

The soldiers who were firing machine guns at the charging German troops were torn to pieces, along with the sand bags piled up in front of the main gate.

With Tiger's support, the infantry entered St. Basil's Cathedral. Soon a bloody fight broke out, using all grenades, machine guns, and bayonets.

St. Basil's Cathedral was also an important target, but the final target was different.

"Kremlin, go to Kremlin!"

"1st and 2nd companies go towards the Kremlin! There is no time!"

St. Basil's Cathedral and Lenin's Mausoleum also fell into the hands of the German army. Now only the Kremlin remained.