BXBX NOVEL Chapter 1137: steady progress
"How is the battle on the front line?" Admiral Guderian was also very concerned about the battle in Smolensk. Before the coming winter, the German army and its allies had to build a solid line of defense hundreds of kilometers long. And Smolensk and other cities will become an important fulcrum of the defense line. Therefore, Smolensk must be obtained.
"General, the 3rd Army, the two armies of the Polish Army, and the 1st Belarusian Army are storming Smolensk. Judging from the current situation, our attack is going well. However, the losses of the 3rd Army are not serious. Big. But the losses of the Poles and Belarusians were not small," reported a staff officer.
Admiral Guderian nodded, and he knew it well. The Polish Army and the Belarusian Army, although trained by the German officer corps, are inferior to the German army after all. Especially the troops we are facing now can be regarded as the elite troops of the Russian army. Under their tenacious resistance, it is acceptable to be able to fight like this.
"Send a telegram to the front-line armies to let them fight steadily. We can take Smolensk within half a month!" Admiral Guderian said. He didn\'t want the ministries to rush to attack in order to seize the time, causing more casualties to the troops. Whether it is the German army or the army of the protectorate, in the ensuing battle, it is best not to have too many casualties. Otherwise, it will not be conducive to subsequent operations.
After winter comes, the main force of the German army will withdraw from the first line of defense in order to preserve its strength as much as possible. The armies of the slave countries will go up to the top. If they lose too much in the battle to attack Smolensk, it will not be conducive to the next battle.
"Yes, General."
"In addition, contact the Air Force and ask them to give us greater air support for the troops attacking Smolensk!" Admiral Guderian ordered. In the battle of the German army, air support is undoubtedly indispensable. Powerful air support can cause greater casualties to the enemy as much as possible, so that the own side will not suffer too many casualties during the attack.
The air support of the German army is undoubtedly very powerful. In particular, the 2nd Aviation Group assigned to Army Group B fully supported their operations. During the battle to attack Smolensk, the 2nd Aviation Group dispatched hundreds of sorties every day to fly over Smolensk to reinforce them. This allowed the German army to receive effective air support when attacking.
"Yes, General!" The staff officer immediately went to send a telegram.
The attack by the German army and its allies in the urban area of Smolensk was generally smooth, and it was still advancing steadily. Although the losses of the Polish and Belarusian troops were slightly larger, they were still within an acceptable range.
On the other hand, as the casualties of the Russian army increased, more and more positions were lost, and morale was also affected to some extent. After all, no matter how brave a person is. But after seeing his comrades fall in front of him one after another, he would also be frightened. Because no one knows if he will die in the next battle. As long as you have concerns, you will no longer be so brave in battle. The current Russian army is also encountering such a situation.
The German army and its allies attacked Smolensk from four directions, and the entire Smolensk was already surrounded by the German army and its allies. This made the Russian army in the city actually become a turtle in the urn, and there was no way out.
"Boom! Boom! Boom!"
A German ground attack aircraft is bombing a Russian position. Several bombs fell on the Russian positions, knocking out their machine gun fire points.
"Boom boom boom!"
After dropping the bomb, the ground attack aircraft did not leave immediately, but continued to attack the Russian positions with cannons.
The 20mm cannon and 30mm cannon are very powerful and can easily tear the Russian army on the ground to pieces. Even some machine gun fortresses are absolutely irresistible.
"Where\'s the anti-aircraft machine gun? Shoot down the German plane!" A Russian officer shouted loudly.
An anti-aircraft machine gun began to shoot into the air.
"Da da da!"
A bullet from the anti-aircraft machine gun hit the ground attack aircraft. But unfortunately, it didn\'t hit the nail on the head.
Some key parts of the ground attack aircraft are armored. Although the armor is very thin, it cannot withstand anti-aircraft guns. However, it can withstand the attack of anti-aircraft machine guns.
The firing of the Russian anti-aircraft machine gun seemed to anger the ground attack aircraft. After hovering in the sky for a week, it was strafed again with machine guns.
Soon, this anti-aircraft machine gun was blown into parts. The machine gunner was also in the attack and was torn to pieces.
The German soldiers on the ground took advantage of this opportunity to attack the Russian army\'s position. With just one attack, they crossed the Russian army\'s defense line.
After a fierce fight, the Russian army on the position was wiped out, and the entire position fell into the hands of the German army.
During the attack on Smolensk, the German army was able to give full play to its own advantages. Artillery support and air support are carried out alternately. Once there is a position held by the Russian army that cannot be easily broken through, they will call for air support or artillery support, and use powerful firepower to directly destroy the Russian army. In this case, the German army will be able to eliminate those Russian troops at a minimum cost.
Under the attack of this tactic of the German army, the Russian army suffered heavy losses, continuously lost its garrison positions, and retreated steadily.
After three days, a small half of the urban area of Smolensk has fallen into the hands of the German army and its allies. Moreover, the casualties of the Russian army in the city were also very large, with more than 100,000 Russian troops killed or injured in battle. This undoubtedly further weakened the strength of the Russian army in the city, making the attack of the German army and its allies more smooth.
General Fedor von Bock, commander of the German 3rd Army, even asserted that if this continues, they will be able to take Smolensk within a week instead of half a month.