Iron Cross

Ps: In order to prevent convulsions at the starting point, this chapter will be updated first, and there will be another chapter soon, please wait, thank you for your support!

On the evening of November 12, the night of the first day of the Battle of the Meander finally fell, and Manstein's plan was largely realized: the troops defeated 5 Red Army divisions in a rapid attack, weakened the remaining 7, and each The main force of the army has arrived at the designated position, artillery preparations are in full swing, and seven gunboats have firmly controlled the key waters of the meander of the Don River. Although the 24th Army of the Red Army has been trying to cross the river again, it has resumed erecting pontoon bridges many times. All the efforts were destroyed by gunboats and Stukas. The east bank of the Don River was piled with the corpses of Red Army engineers and artillery troops. More corpses and tank wreckage fell into the bitterly cold Don River and disappeared. In the first day of fighting, the German army killed and wounded nearly 50,000 enemies, destroyed 89 tanks, and shot down 49 aircraft. Its own losses were less than 4,000. Among the 50,000 soldiers, more than 40,000 were surrounded by the Red Army in the bend of the river, and another 10,000 were sacrificed by the 24th Group Army in trying to cross the river.

During the blocking operations upstream and downstream of the Don River, the exchange of fire between the two sides was very fierce. Although the Southwest Front Army in the upper reaches successfully crossed the river, they were unable to move forward due to the stubborn obstruction. Even if Vatutin used the 5th Tank Army to clear the way, it had little effect. The overall loss exceeded 10,000 people. More than 60 tanks were destroyed by German anti-tank firepower. The German army lost more than 2,000 people. The downstream Stalingrad Front sent three armies, 57, 62 and 64, to attack fiercely, but 8 German divisions were imprisoned. After firmly holding the defense line along the river, the Red Army's many efforts to build bridges failed. As the battle here was more bloody, the Red Army suffered nearly 20,000 casualties, and the German casualties also exceeded 4,000. Judging from the results of the day, the German army exchanged more than 10,000 casualties for the Red Army's nearly 80,000 casualties, and the tank exchange ratio was 23:148.

However, the regrets on the first day of the battle are also obvious: the goals of reducing the enemy's will to resist and cutting off the enemy's foreign aid have not been fully achieved. The 21st Army in the Hebend has been resisting tenaciously, especially the 27th Army, which has not been attacked by German troops. Nearly seven divisions of troops were actually gathered around it, more troops than Army Commander Chistyakov could directly control at the moment, becoming a major hidden danger in front of the German defense line; although the offensive troops were fighting during the day Many enemy troops were eliminated in the encirclement. Since the number of Red Army troops in the encirclement exceeded the original estimate, the remaining troops were estimated to be at least 150,000. This number even exceeded the plan when the initial combat plan was drawn up. All troops generally believed that they could not complete the plan within three days. The mission requires the headquarters to extend the attack time. A forced attack will only bring many unnecessary casualties to the troops.

The discussion on whether to extend the attack time caused a heated debate in the Army Group South headquarters. A large number of combat staff, represented by Lieutenant General Weiler, did not agree to continue to extend the attack time, nor did they agree to allow the troops to increase the casualty rate. Forcibly attacking, they believed that since the predetermined goal was to kill 120,000 to 140,000 Red Army troops, it would be enough to achieve this goal within three days. After achieving this goal, the focus was to completely withdraw the offensive troops as soon as possible, without having to consider the three How many days do the Red Army have left?

Some combat staff members headed by Heinrich believed that since the enemy situation has undergone major changes, major adjustments should be made to the strategy. They may consider extending the time by one day and inform the frontline troops of the plan changes in advance so that they can make proper arrangements. In terms of the final result, they agreed with Lieutenant General Weller. They believed that when the total number of enemy troops was as high as 190,000, it was impossible to annihilate them all in a short time. Don't ignore these densely defended points. Just weaken and destroy the weakened enemy. However, you must not let go of the 27th Army, which has not yet been attacked on a large scale. Strong troops should be dispatched to launch an attack.

After a full 2 ​​hours of discussion, Marshal Manstein finally made the decision: "Deploy 4 divisions to attack the 27th Army, and the overall battle time will be extended by one day."

"Four?" Weller was stunned. "Now our reserve team only has three divisions in total. How can we draw a fourth one?"

"You underestimated the strength." Manstein laughed, "Leave the 168th Infantry Division and move up the other four divisions - two German infantry divisions, one Cossack cavalry division, and one Kalmyk cavalry division. …”

"Oh..." Weller suddenly realized, "But this leaves only one division in the entire army group headquarters. In addition to artillery and technical troops, there is only a few guard troops. The defensive strength in the direction of Rostov is really strong. It’s too thin.”

"We have one more division."

"besides?"

"The 1st Division of the Russian People's Liberation Army." Manstein said word by word, "All forces must be used, let them serve as the guards of Rostov, and the 168th Division will assume the mobile defense task."

Everyone was shocked, "Sir, what if... what if..." Weller didn't say the next half of the sentence, but everyone understood what he meant: If the Russian People's Liberation Army is unreliable and betrays the enemy, the South can be captured tonight. Dumplings at Army Group Headquarters.

"Why not let them go to the front line to attack?" Heinrich persuaded, "That would at least be safer."

"Their tactical structure and command level are not yet qualified for this kind of interspersed operations." Manstein smiled bitterly and shook his head. "They are all prisoners from the original Red Army units. All links are still being adjusted. They are released rashly." Going out to attack can easily lead to a disconnect between top and bottom command.”

"But... if we are not reliable politically, it will kill us." Weller suggested again, "Should we change their roles with the Kalmyk Cavalry Division, I think the Kalmyks are more reliable. "

"The cavalry division will not defend the city. We must believe in them and their firm stance against the Bolsheviks. This is not only related to the success or failure of this battle, but also related to the success or failure of the entire war." Manstein dropped it decisively In one sentence, "Tell their commander that I am standing behind them, ready to defend Rostov with them, hoping that they can use their bloody battles to win glory for Russia's new life."

Everyone's faces were filled with sadness. Seeing the low spirits among the staff, Manstein took the lead in making a joke: "Don't be afraid, everyone, even if you are fighting in the street, we have new equipment - the Assault Tiger is watching. Follow us! By the way, I wanted to sign up to command a Stormtrooper during the last war, but was ultimately rejected. This time we finally have the opportunity to consider forming the highest-level commando team in Germany, the Army Group South Command Assault. team, captained by the marshal.”

"Ha..." Everyone burst into laughter, and the dull atmosphere was swept away.

For Zhukov, the news that Major Vasily was injured was just a minor incident. As long as his life was safe, Comrade Stalin might not take it seriously. The comrades below were completely unfounded. However, the situation on the front line was not ideal. He could imagine that it was almost inevitable for Stalin to get angry: the 21st Army had not escaped the situation of being passively beaten. The entire army had fallen into chaos. Chistyakov himself could not figure out the exact situation of his troops. , the 27th Army, the only one with a relatively complete system, returned in vain in front of the German position; the 24th Army failed many attempts to cross the river for reinforcements, and the 62nd, 64th, and 57th Army Groups sent by the Stalingrad Front were unable to cross the river despite heavy sacrifices. Comrade Vatutin, the commander of the Southwest Front Army, cannot be regarded as a hard worker - he succeeded in setting up a pontoon bridge, but obviously he could not find a good way to effectively break through the German blockade for a while.

The only good news is provided by the meteorological department: in 4 days, a cold current will move south, and the temperature will drop by 8-10 degrees in a short period of time. By then, the possibility of the upper reaches of the Don River freezing is 100%, and the meanders of the large river will freeze. The probability is also 70%. Based on this inference, Zhukov believes that as long as the reinforcements can quickly cross the river by then, the current unfavorable situation can be reversed immediately.

After staring at the map and thinking carefully, Zhukov changed his request for the 21st Army. Judging from today's battle situation, the chaotic Red Army is no match for the enemy. Squeezing out the infiltrated German troops has long become a luxury, and he can only retreat. Secondly, he asked the group army to further hold on to its existing position. He strictly ordered Chistyakov to hold the Germans firmly and create opportunities for other friendly and neighboring troops to annihilate the enemy. It is almost impossible to save the 21st Group Army now, so All the orders they received were to stick to their guns! Hold on! Keep holding on!

Stalin was very dissatisfied with the progress of the situation on the first day and scolded: "Who asked Comrade Vasilevsky to stay in the 8th Air Force Army all day long? Don't just focus on my son. He has other more important and pressing matters. Things need to be done.”

Zhukov quietly defended the Chief of General Staff of the Red Army: "He coordinated the air force to deal with the enemy warships on the Don River - this is currently the biggest threat to the 24th Army's crossing the river. There will be heavy snow tomorrow, and it is no longer suitable for the air force to dispatch. Today is the most suitable day. The opportunity, but it was a pity that it was not possible. As for the concern for Comrade Vasily, it was completely incidental. "

Stalin nodded and did not want to continue discussing this issue: "Call Comrade Khrushchev and ask him to urge that idiot Yeremenko to see what he is doing? Why is there no progress at all? They should learn from Comrade Vatutin uses all his strength to cross the river as soon as possible! Why doesn't he use the 2nd Guards Army? What does he want to do with this force? If he doesn't know how to command, I will assign the troops to Rokosov. That’s it, Comrade Ski.”

As soon as these words were said, the atmosphere in the General Staff Headquarters immediately became tense again.