221

Episode 221: How to die to live (1)

February 4, 1943

New Fuhrer's Residence in Berlin, Germany

"Roskers are gathering in large numbers in the central and southern regions...?"

"That's right. If you look at this photo and map here-"

Brauchitsch marked the positions of the Soviet troops captured on camera one by one on the map.

The area around Moscow in the central area and Rostov in the south were quickly filled with red check marks.

Despite the paralysis of transportation networks and fuel shortages, the Soviet army was steadily concentrating troops and supplies.

"······As you can see, the enemy's troops and materials are concentrated in the southern and central regions."

"Aren't you preparing for our army's offensive in the summer?"

"At first, we thought so, but according to additional reports coming from the front, we are wondering if the enemy is focusing on defense."

"Do you have any doubts?"

"It is said that the enemy is only minimizing the construction of trenches, anti-tank shelters, and bunkers essential for defense, and is focusing on gathering more troops, weapons, fuel, and ammunition. "If it is truly for defense, it is somewhat incomprehensible."

"It's winter, so the ground is so frozen that construction may have been halted for a while, right?"

"For that reason, our defense preparations are a little excessive. thus… "

"The Soviet army is believed to be preparing for an offensive, Mr. Fuhrer."

Kaitel was in charge of the finishing touches. Preparing for an offensive? Not defense?

"No, doesn't that make sense?"

I just laughed out loud. I can't believe they've been telling the truth so far and are preparing for an offensive rather than a defensive attack.

Doesn't the Soviet military no longer have the strength to go on the offensive? It's enough to conscript troops, and even if you can somehow extract equipment, that won't be enough for fuel.

We cannot ignore the possibility that the United States secretly provided more fuel to the Soviet Union, but it is unlikely that it would have increased the amount of fuel given to the Soviet Union during the uproar caused by the Katyn massacre.

Of course, there may be variables, but isn't there still such a thing as common sense?

"No matter how much I think about it, I still don't understand? An offensive when defense is urgently needed. "It's not like there's any fuel left."

"Aren't you still under the illusion that you can turn the situation around?"

"It may be because they believe that now is the only time they can attempt a counterattack."

Each general spoke about why the Soviet army was preparing an offensive.

I don't know what the real reason was, but it didn't seem entirely false to say that the enemy wasn't focusing on defense.

"If the enemy is really planning an offensive, where do you think they will aim?"

"Isn't that Moscow?"

"I agree too."

"Stalin will definitely target Moscow."

There was no disagreement here.

If the enemy is really preparing an offensive, they will most likely target Moscow.

There is no need to explain why.

"Then what do you think we should make of the concentration of troops and supplies in the south?"

"That's it..."

"Isn't this a deception to hide that their target is Moscow?"

I thought there were too many flaws in it to be considered a deception, but I couldn't think of anything to refute when asked if this was not a deception.

The Soviet army is preparing to retake Moscow to turn the tide, and is squeezing out troops and supplies to do so.

I think I can organize it like this.

But why do I feel uncomfortable?

"Is it possible that Moscow is actually a deception and the South is the real thing?"

"It's not impossible, but it's slim."

At my guess that the South might be the target, Brauchitsch shook his head.

"What good is an offensive in the south if we can't retake Moscow?"

"but······."

Brauchitsch's words were straight forward, so there was nothing to refute. The generals generally agreed with Brauchitsch.

From a common sense point of view, the Soviet army had no other option than to recapture Moscow.

If it were more common sense, it would be a better choice to focus on defense instead of offense.

***

Although it was not too late, the Soviet Union did its best to ensure the success of what would be the last offensive of the war.

To prevent the German army from realizing that the offensive target was the south, the Soviet Union used all possible methods to disrupt the German army.

To make it look like they were targeting Moscow, the most important city, they deliberately concentrated troops and materials in the central area and made people think that the troops and materials in the south were just a trick.

The troops, artillery, vehicles, and tanks gathered in the south were real, but the troops gathered on the outskirts of Moscow were mostly third-class units made up of old men, women, and boys.

The artillery and tanks that moved with them were fakes made to look convincing, so it was difficult to distinguish them from the real thing when viewed from the air.

Even the boxes that looked like ammunition boxes were all empty.

And to maintain confidentiality, all instructions were given verbally, and the use of wireless communications was strictly prohibited except for disseminating false information to confuse the enemy.

The German army also noticed abnormal signs of the Soviet army early on through consistent reconnaissance activities, but was unable to determine exactly what the enemy's intentions were.

Berlin determined that the Soviet army was preparing to retake Moscow.

Accordingly, the Central Army Group in Moscow was put on alert, and supplies and troops were concentrated in the Central Army Group for a while.

In contrast, the Southern Army Group was relatively calm.

For the summer offensive, Kleist loaded supplies as usual, distributed new soldiers who arrived from the rear to the front to each company, and sent divisions that had stayed at the front for a long time to the rear to rest.

The Soviet Army also roughly grasped these movements within the Southern Army Group through reconnaissance.

Among the thick German defense lines, which part is thinner and where the armored forces are concentrated?

"The German fascists seem to have been almost fooled by our forces' disruption operation."

"The enemy firmly believes that we are targeting Moscow."

"The Southwestern Front, Don (Дон) Front, and Voronezh Front are all fully prepared."

For this offensive, Stalin squeezed the Red Army's remaining elite troops, weapons, ammunition, food, and fuel to the last drop.

Spam, Coca-Cola, and Hershey's chocolate from the United States were provided to raise the morale of the soldiers, who had fallen to the bottom due to successive defeats.

Half of this was Roosevelt's secret support for the Soviet Union, and half was stolen land lease supplies bound for China.

Chiang Kai-shek dispatched inspectors to prevent the Soviet Union from stealing landless supplies, but the Soviet Union paid small bribes to the Kuomintang government's inspectors or tricked their eyes into switching the train that was supposed to go to China to a secluded place in Siberia. did.

If Chiang Kai-shek knew about this, he would immediately cut off diplomatic relations, but he is busy fighting Japan in Chongqing and is in no position to pay attention to what is happening in the Soviet Union.

Even if they found out, there was no other way for American aid to reach China than by using the Soviet Union's railroads, as the Chinese coast and the entire Southeast Asian border were blockaded by the Japanese military.

There is also a way to send it to China by plane over the Himalayas, but considering the total amount of supplies that China needs, it is like peeing on your feet.

Although it was a method that there are no words to describe other than being petty in many ways, through this method the Soviet Union was able to obtain some of the vehicles, fuel, and food needed for the war.

"Comrades."

Stalin finally decided that the time had come and gave the order.

"Initiate 'Operation Neptune'."

"I understand, Comrade Secretary."

***

February 16, 1943

The final Soviet offensive on the Eastern Front has begun.

The number of troops gathered by the Soviet Union for Operation Neptune was 820,000.

19,000 artillery pieces, 4,500 armored vehicles, and 3,000 aircraft supported the offensive of the 820,000-strong army.

The Southwestern Front, which took charge of the center of the offensive, began its advance under intense support from artillery.

"from now on!"

"Comrades, forward!"

"Charge!"

Kolobanov, riding the latest heavy tank IS-2, felt a sense of déjà vu as he saw numerous tanks racing towards the front lines and infantrymen guarding them like a swarm of ants.

It was similar to the sight I saw when crossing the German border for the first time.

Privates with little or no actual combat experience could not help but be amazed when they saw this sight.

It occurred to me that with an army this large, it would be worth a shot even if we were to face the German army head-on.

However, experienced veterans, especially those who had survived more than three months of combat on the battlefield, were skeptical.

Because they had memories of being defeated by the Germans even after mobilizing a larger army, they did not believe the propaganda of political officers announcing the start of a counteroffensive.

Kolobanov was also in the latter position. His only concern was the performance of the Stalin tank he was riding and the skills of his newly selected crew, rather than the strategic benefits our troops would gain if the offensive was successful.

The ammunition operator was a 17-year-old boy who had been chopping wood in Siberia just two months ago, and because of his good arm strength, he was assigned to the IS-2, which uses 122mm shells, which are heavier than the T-34's 76mm and 85mm shells.

Even though the gunner and driver did not have much experience, they had already fought in a tank.

"There are enemies ahead!"

As the Soviet army approached, the German attack began. The driver shouted after seeing a flash of light ahead.

Immediately afterwards, the sound of a tank exploding was heard. A T-34 was destroyed by a PaK 40 and was spewing fire.

As the fighting began, Kolobanov gave instructions to each crew member.

"Ignore it and move forward. Maintain your speed."

"Oh, I understand."

"Ammunition gun, don't wander around and reload the shells. "The battle begins now."

"What should I do with Tanjong?"

Kolobanov clicked his tongue lightly in response to the child soldier's question. Did you just send it away without learning any of this?

"Of course it's a stray bullet. Unless otherwise instructed, it must be a grenade. okay?"

"All right!"

The IS-2's turret defense was high compared to other contemporaneous tanks, but there was a problem that the inside of the turret was narrow due to the thick armor.

Because the large 122mm main gun was crammed into it, the already narrow interior of the turret became even narrower, and since the shells were separately charged rather than integrated, there were many difficulties in loading them.

While the gunner was laboriously loading the shells, Kolobanov paid attention to the enemy's flash.

"An enemy anti-tank gun at 1 o'clock. "Did you find it?"

"Please wait a moment... Ah, I found it!"

"Loaded!"

"Driver, stop."

The Germans saw the IS-2 for the first time today, but they instinctively recognized the danger of the IS-2 when they saw the huge turret and the equally huge main gun.

Three anti-tank guns fired concentrated fire at Kolobanov's IS-2, but not a single shot penetrated and all ricocheted.

"launch!"

The 122mm grenade landed about 2m to the right of the targeted anti-tank gun position, but that was enough.

When the 122mm grenade exploded, anti-tank artillery pieces flew into the air and the anti-tank gun was crushed beyond recognition.

"Anti-tank guns destroyed!"

Although it takes time to reload, and the accuracy is somewhat low due to the recoil of the main gun, I was very satisfied with the power coming from the large diameter of 122mm.

With this level of power, a light tank with thin armor would be completely destroyed even if it were only fired with a grenade instead of an armor-piercing bullet.

An armor-piercing round flew out and hit the front armor of the IS-2, but bounced off like a finger rubbing the surface of butter.

As satisfying as its firepower was the IS-2's armor. This amazing armor that makes most shells ricochet.

The KV-1 that Kolobanov previously rode was not able to properly protect against the German 75mm armor-piercing bullets.

But the IS-2 was different. The frontal 120mm sloped armor provided almost complete protection against the PaK 40.

The more I see this tank, the more I like it. The corners of Kolobanov's mouth rose slightly as he gained confidence.

After eliminating all anti-tank guns, the Soviet tank unit approached the German trenches. When the anti-tank guns were hit, the German infantry came out with Panzerfausts.

-Quaang!

Even the IS-2 was not invincible in front of the Panzerfaust. The IS-2's hatch, hit by the Panzerfaust's warhead, flew off and a plume of fire erupted.

The desperate screams of the tank soldiers could also be heard inside. The charge exploded and a fire broke out.

Even if an explosion occurs, not all tanks have their turrets separated from the hull, and in many cases, the interior of the tank becomes a sea of fire.

No matter which side you are on, there is no change in the fact that the tank soldiers inside will die in droves.

A German sergeant who plunged a Panzerfaust into the side of a T-34 crossing a trench was killed by the infantry following him.

Perhaps because the day was cloudy and sleet was falling, there were no German fighter planes visible in the sky.

The red wave continued endlessly to the west.

***

When the Soviet Army's offensive had just begun, the command of Army Group South was divided over whether the offensive was a diversionary operation to recapture Moscow.

However, after combining additional reports, news of the front line breakthrough, and the size of the Soviet army, the true picture gradually became clear.

"This is not a diversionary operation. "It is clear that the Soviet army is on a full-scale offensive."

"A retreat request has been received from the 44th Motorized Corps!"

"Are you saying that Moscow was the bait and this was the main force?"

Kleist was perplexed. Like Berlin, he also judged that the Soviet forces concentrated in the south were simply a gimmick, and he had no idea that the south was the target.

I mistakenly thought that even if an offensive were to be launched, it would only be done within a limited range.

But the Soviet offensive was beyond what Kleist and his staff had expected.

"Weren't the enemies clearly short of fuel? "How could this be…"

"It seems like every drop of oil has been scraped from all over the Soviet Union."

Kleist's chief of staff, Major General Ernst Koestring, said:

"Soviet troops have now entered the city of Azov, and Rostov and Pavlovsk are in danger."

The Soviet army's offensive was concentrated on Azov, Rostov, and Pavlovsk, located on the southern front line.

While the Southwestern and Don Fronts attacked southern cities, the Voronezh Front attacked the German lines leading to Voronezh from both the south and the north.

Because the German army had a strong defense line around Voronezh, the Soviet army planned to surround and destroy the city instead of attacking Voronezh directly.

Kleist first ordered that reserve units be increased on each front and that supplies accumulated at the front be moved to the rear for the summer offensive.

And he immediately contacted Berlin to report the news of the Soviet military's offensive.

"Tell this to His Excellency the President. I think we were deceived. "Their real target is Ukraine, not Moscow."

"Yes, Your Excellency."