Take Taobao to fight against Japan

But the soldiers soon realized that their new division commander was not only a strict and disciplined commander, but also a fatherly man to his men.

Soon, Giller showed excellent organizational skills again. Under his training, the "Viking" division had steel-like perseverance,

On November 1943, 11, Giller was awarded the Knight's Cross of the Iron Cross with Oak Leaves for commanding the "Viking" division for his outstanding defense in the Donets and Dnieper regions and southwest of Kharkov.

A short time later, he was promoted to regional commander of the SS and Lieutenant General of the Waffen SS.

"Okay, let's work together!"

Seeing that Giller had made a decision, Stammerman did not persuade him much, because the upcoming difficult breakout battle really needed an excellent general like Giller to stabilize the morale of the army, so that as many German soldiers as possible could escape Ascension.

On February 2, there was a snowstorm, and the visibility was only 16-10 meters.

The wind and snow were blowing, and the besieged German soldiers felt even heavier after the night of bloody battle. General Stammermann finally decided to set the breakout time at 16:23 on the evening of the [-]th.

Because the ground was frozen at that time, it was more conducive to marching, and at the same time, the visibility was extremely poor at night, which was conducive to the German army to conceal their actions.

General Stammermann divided the German army into two echelons. The first echelon consisted of the "Viking" division, the 72nd Infantry Division and the B Army Group. Their task was to create a gap in the Soviet defense line.

Then the second echelon consisting of the 88th, 57th and 389th divisions will follow up, and they will also take on the heavy responsibility of the rear guard.

The German breakout was directed southwest to Rezuka to join the 1st Armored Division.

In order to pay attention to confidentiality, General Stammermann canceled the artillery preparations, and announced that he would act with the German rearguard. Finally, he saluted all the soldiers solemnly: "I wish everyone good luck, and we will see you outside the encirclement!"

"salute!"

The German officers present solemnly returned the military salute to General Stammerman, and they knew what the general's decision meant.

For Stammerman and others, the most painful thing is not to risk their lives to break through, but to order more than 2000 seriously injured to stay.

These seriously wounded will wait quietly for the arrival of the Russians together with a few military doctors who volunteer to accompany them.

Everyone knows that neither the German nor the Soviet troops had a tradition of treating each other's prisoners of war well on the Eastern Front. It often happened that guards in prisoner-of-war camps used wooden sticks to send German prisoners of war westward.

What kind of future and fate these seriously injured and volunteers will suffer, they know what it will be like even if they think about it with their feet.

But now, what else can they do?

Is it possible to solve it by yourself?

After a full meal, the German officers and soldiers were waiting nervously. Obviously, the German soldiers were not affected by the Soviet offensive to persuade them to surrender.

On the contrary, they thought that the tormenting long wait was over, and they were about to fight to the death, and the morale of the German army began to become high.

At 23:00, the time to break out has finally arrived!

The armored vehicles of the "Viking" division began to roar, and in the ranks of infantry, the company platoon leaders issued the same order almost at the same time, "All bayonets!" "Assault!"

Under the cover of night, the first batch of German troops embarked on the road to break out.

The Germans discarded their artillery and supplies, and gathered all their soldiers to break out quietly.

However, the German army's breakout operation was quickly discovered by the Soviet army.

The Soviet army used flares to illuminate the night sky as bright as day. Under the illumination of the flares, Soviet tanks and night bombers fired fiercely at the German column

The battle quickly turned into a massacre.

However, because there were too many German troops breaking through, the German troops once occupied the 239.0 Heights.

At this time, Soviet reinforcements arrived and started a brutal hand-to-hand battle with the Germans.

In the extreme chaos, the original German troops of different units gradually mixed together in the dark. By dawn, the organizational system above the German company that had broken through the encirclement had almost ceased to exist.

The German officers and soldiers were struggling to move forward on the almost knee-less road. Soviet artillery shells continued to explode in the ranks of the German army, and more and more people fell down.

But the others still walked forward firmly. After marching in the cold and freezing all night, the German officers and soldiers exhausted their physical strength. There was only one belief that supported them: even if they climbed, they had to climb back to their own defense line!

General Konev, the supreme commander of the Soviet army, set up five blocking lines in the direction of the German breakout. The first two lines were infantry, the third line was artillery, and the fourth and fifth lines were tanks and cavalry respectively.

When the German army broke through the first three lines of defense of the Soviet army, they encountered only weak resistance. They all thought they had escaped safely, and all fired guns into the sky, cheering happily.

However, at about 2 o'clock in the morning on February 17, when the German army broke out and reached an open field, the Soviet tanks and cavalry who had been ambushing for a long time appeared.

The T34 tanks rushed into the crowded German marching columns in a dense formation, wantonly crushing the German officers and soldiers who had dispersed.

In order to avoid accidental injury to the tanks around them, the Soviet tank group tried not to fire and shoot, but adopted a direct crushing method.

They rampaged and overturned the German trucks, and ran over the trailers and carriages, crushing matchboxes one by one. The wounded German soldiers and horses on the vehicles were all crushed into meatloaf by the tanks.

The Soviet cavalry followed behind the tanks, chasing the fleeing German soldiers, slashing and killing them with their swords, and even the raised hands of the surrendering German soldiers were chopped off.

When the surviving German troops rushed to the front of the Soviet position in dense numbers, they were swept down by machine guns in rows.

By this time, the battle was no longer a battle, it had completely turned into a unilateral massacre by the Soviet army.

Chapter 1568

In this extremely tragic and tragic breakout battle, the tankers of the "Viking" armored division with the blood of the Vikings fully demonstrated their blood, destroying one Soviet army after another with their "Leopard" tanks. The T34 tank saved many desperate German officers and soldiers.

However, the tanks of the "Viking" armored division were wiped out in the battle of attrition with the Soviet tanks. In the end, only 5 people successfully broke through.

In the evening of the same day, the Soviet army closed the encirclement again. As of this time, among the more than 6 German soldiers who were surrounded, 4 had successfully broken through.

At noon on the 17th, the German army, which survived under Soviet artillery fire and tank tracks, came to the north bank of the Gniloydikich River.

This 30-meter-wide river was the last obstacle on the way for the German army to break out of the siege, and as long as it passed, it could reach a safe zone.

However, there aren't any bridges over the river.

Boom boom boom!

At this time, the shells of the Soviet army began to explode on the river bank. If they wanted to escape to Shengtian, the German officers and soldiers had only one choice: swim over!

Judging from the history of wars in ancient and modern China and abroad, in such a situation where there is a big river in front and chasing troops in the back, the army is very easy to collapse and disintegrate, but at this time the unique discipline of the Germans saved them again.

Many German officers stood up spontaneously to maintain order on the shore, and they loudly encouraged the soldiers to "hold on, and you will be home when you cross the river."

Under their command, the German soldiers began to cross the river. Some of them brought simple life-saving tools, and some helped each other. Those who could swim helped those who could not swim, and the strong helped the weak. Soldiers swam across the river.

Nevertheless, because of the severe cold weather of minus 5 degrees, many people sank to the bottom of the river due to physical exhaustion, and at least hundreds of people drowned.

In the afternoon, the Germans found a shallower section of the river downstream, so many Germans crossed the river more easily from there.

This unprecedented and tragic breakout battle, despite the loss of most of the vehicles, equipment and supplies, comforted the German top brass that this battle did not become the second Stalingrad.

Among the nearly 6 German officers and soldiers who were besieged, 4 escaped in the end, but a large number of senior officers and the rest of the personnel, including the supreme commander of the 11th Army, General Strömmermann, were all buried on the snow field. .

Out of a total of 14000 members of the SS "Viking" Panzer Division and the "Walloons" Brigade, 8000 survived, and of the 2000 members of the "Walloons" Brigade, only 632 survived the battle.

The battle was over, and along the path of the German breakout, German corpses were strewn all over the field.

General Konev, commander of the Soviet army, came to the battlefield, and he was shocked by the scene before him.

He recounted in his post-war recollections that "I have seen countless bloody scenes in the war, but seldom have I seen so many German corpses in such a small area" among the many corpses.

After the war, when the Soviet army cleaned up the battlefield, they found the body of General Stemmelman on the high ground where the battle was most intense, holding a rifle tightly in his hand.

Beside him lay the rear guard battalion of the Viking Division. This small unit responsible for blocking missions paid the price of all the deaths in exchange for the survival of a large number of compatriots.

Stemmelmann's bravery won the respect of his opponents, and General Konev personally ordered the German general who calmly fell on the rear guard to be buried with full military ceremonies.

The victory of this siege made Comrade Si very excited. He not only declared in a high-profile manner that the German troops in the area had been wiped out, but even fired a salute specifically for the victory of this battle.

It is worth mentioning that Stalin deliberately left the honor of annihilating the German army to his newly promoted general Konev.

General Konev, the supreme commander of the Soviet Army in the Battle of Cherkasy, was promoted to Marshal based on his achievements in this battle.

However, although the Soviet Union claimed to wipe out the German army, in fact, 4 German troops in the area escaped in the end.

Even so, the Cherkasy encirclement battle was the most tragic breakout battle in World War II for the German army. This battle exhausted the final German offensive force in Ukraine and completely disrupted the deployment of the southern front.

For the Soviet army, it was a victory with heavy casualties and great significance.

Through this battle, the Soviet army gained the freedom to advance to the South Bug River, which created favorable conditions for advancing to Poland, Romania, and the Balkans in the summer and autumn of 1944, and also laid a solid foundation for the final victory in the Soviet-German War.

"Phew, it really is a mighty trend in the world, and those who follow it will prosper and those who go against it will perish! The war myth created by German tanks is still no match for the trend of history, and it will eventually lead to a dead end step by step!"

After receiving the latest battle report from the European Eastern Front, Yang Fan let out a long breath.

As a fan of the modern army, regardless of various complicated factors, Yang Fan still admires the German army in World War II, and he is a powerful opponent worthy of respect.

But it doesn't stop there, because the ways are different and they don't conspire with each other, the only way to deal with the enemy is to sweep the fallen leaves with the autumn wind and carry out the most ruthless blow.

At this time, the Battle of the Marshall Islands on the Central Pacific battlefield also came to an end.

On February 2, with the support of naval guns and aviation firepower, the U.S. military bypassed the outlying islands and directly landed at the north and south ends of the main island of Kwajalein Atoll.

Nearly 8000 Japanese troops were killed or wounded on the island, and the remnants were ordered to stand firm and fight back in the dark.

On the same day, the U.S. military occupied the Majuro Atoll without encountering resistance. Later, it successively occupied the islands and reefs of Voto, Namu and Uja, Kwajalein Atoll on February 2, and Eniwetok Atoll on February 7.

In order to reduce casualties, the U.S. army besieged and did not attack the Mili, Voj, Maloerap, and Jaluit atolls, which were heavily fortified by the Japanese army, and only suppressed and blocked them with the navy and air force until the end of the Pacific War.

So far, the Battle of the Marshall Islands has ended. In this campaign, the Japanese army suffered about 1.1 casualties and captured about 2200 people. The U.S. military broke through the Japanese outer defensive circle at the cost of about [-] casualties, opening the way for the march into the Mariana Islands.

After that, Nimitz decided not to launch an assault on the 5 Japanese army's fortified Truk Islands, but to use the aircraft carrier's carrier-based aircraft to carry out a violent bombardment, and then bypass the island.

At the same time, after several months of tug-of-war, the total strength of the Allied forces fighting on the ground in Guadalcanal Island has reached more than 5, and they have already taken the initiative, and the front line has advanced to the core of the Japanese army. Near Plains Airport.

In order to defend Guadalcanal, the Japanese army also increased its troops many times, and the current total strength has reached more than 3.

However, under the long-term attrition battle, the Japanese defenders on Guadalcanal Island have already shown a defeat, and they have completely become the end of their strength.

During this period, the Allied Fleet was not idle either. It fought against the Japanese Combined Fleet many times in the Coral Sea, South Pacific, Central Pacific and other oceans, and exchanged dozens of warships of various types.

In terms of the ratio of casualties alone, the two sides can only be described as winning and losing each other, but obviously the same consumption means that the Japanese army is getting weaker and weaker, and the Allied forces are getting stronger and stronger!

The balance of victory in the entire Pacific Ocean battlefield is tilting towards the Allies at a speed invisible to the naked eye.

Chapter 1569 Type XXI Submarine

In the early morning of February 1944, 2, somewhere in the sea near the Philippines.

At this time, the sky is just bright and everything has just awakened. There is no wind or waves on the vast and boundless sea, and there is no sound or movement, just like a pool of stagnant water, so dead and lifeless.

But if you observe carefully, you will find a black metal pipe standing upright on this inconspicuous sea. From a distance, it looks like a wooden stake protruding from the water.

However, people with a little common sense know that it is impossible for such a wooden pile to exist on the sea at a depth of thousands of meters, or even thousands of meters.

After all, Dinghaishenzhen only exists in mythology.

That's right, this is not a wooden stake at all, but the snorkel of the latest Type XXI submarine of the Huben Army.

Type XXI submarine, also known as Type 21 submarine, is a diesel-electric submarine designed and used by Germany during World War II. "Boat,.

The XXI submarine used the snorkel device for the first time, realizing the transformation of the basic performance of the submarine to underwater navigation, and promoted the rapid development of submarine technology in various countries after World War II. It is considered to be the third in the development process of modern submarine technology. milestone? .

In the early days of World War II, the German army, knowing that its surface fleet had lost to the United Kingdom, began to conduct submarine warfare again. The famous "wolf pack tactics" once almost suffocated the United Kingdom and the United States, which relied on shipping.

The critical situation has prompted countries such as the United Kingdom and the United States to increase research on anti-submarine warfare and the construction of anti-submarine capabilities. German submarines are facing technical and tactical challenges.

Especially in the second half of 1942, the Atlantic submarine warfare reached its climax.

The growing U.S. anti-submarine forces forced German submarines back to the North Atlantic from the western Atlantic and the Caribbean.Britain has also greatly increased the number of escort ships and aircraft, and developed new anti-submarine technology.

Although the total tonnage sunk by German submarines has increased, the daily tonnage per submarine has dropped sharply, and the wolf pack tactics are no longer good.

After all, the U-boats of the German Navy are basically "diving assault ships". They are used as warships capable of diving.

Submarines basically operate on the surface of the water, mainly for surface activities, and only dive before launching an attack. Due to the short underwater voyage time, the battery is fully sufficient, and there is no need to rely on any equipment to hide underwater to drive the diesel engine.

However, with the upgrade of comprehensive anti-submarine technology in the air, surface, and underwater, especially the expansion of the coverage area of ​​anti-submarine aircraft, German submarine surface activities are in a very dangerous situation.

This forced the German submarines to dare not stay on the surface of the water, and they were the first to come up with the trick of the snorkel, not to say how difficult it is to study the snorkel, sometimes there is still a question of whether it is needed.

However, the XXI submarine is not just as simple as adding a snorkel.

Type XXI submarines have undergone a series of technical improvements, including snorkels, water pressure-controlled depth setting devices, semi-automatic torpedo loading systems, improved underwater listening devices, sonar, radar warning receivers, radars, and the elimination of deck guns and external Torpedo storage boxes, etc.? .

The XXI submarine adopts a streamlined hull, a double-hull structure, and the facilities in the boat are much more comfortable than before. There are shower facilities and a cold room for storing food on the boat, etc.? .

The power system has also been greatly enhanced. When sailing underwater, the battery life is 18 hours at 1.5 knots, 12 hours at 14-10 knots, and 5 hours at 60 knots.

If cruising underwater at a silent speed of 5 knots, the Type XXI submarine can sail 365 nautical miles per day, and only needs 3 hours to float to the depth of the snorkel to charge once.

In other words, in this stealth mode, the Type XXI submarine can perfectly avoid various anti-submarine means of the current era.

If cruising at a surface speed of 10 knots, the total endurance can reach 15500 nautical miles, which is 28706 kilometers, which can be more than half a circle around the equator.

Type XXI submarine has six torpedo tubes on the bow and is equipped with 23 torpedoes. Its torpedo hydraulic loading system can reload all six tubes within 10 minutes, which is less than the time required to install one tube on Type VIIC? .

With the torpedo rapid loading system, it can launch a continuous attack, and can launch 20 torpedoes in 18 minutes, without having to retreat to a safe sea area to reload after firing all the torpedoes in the launch tube like the old model.