GBP Chapter 219 Liu Molong's Arrogance
Chapter 219 Liu Molong's Arrogance
Let's talk about the armored group led by Liu Molong. Their three tank divisions and one armored division advanced westward from Schacht, successively breaking through several key German strongholds along the railway line and burning a large amount of their vital supplies. Their vanguard approached Sverdlovsk. The German forces along this line were unexpectedly weak, and the situation was extremely favorable. The 1st Cavalry Army had already advanced, and the Soviet 16th Cavalry Army was en route. Their vanguard had already contacted Liu Molong and hoped he would capture Sverdlovsk as soon as possible, thus opening a path for their offensive westward.
At this moment, an urgent order was delivered to Liu Molong. This was an order from the front command, signed by Huang Wei, the chief of staff of the front and commander of the 200th Army. The order required Liu Molong's group to immediately abandon the offensive in the direction of Sverdlovsk, not to hesitate for any reason, and quickly turn southwest to attack Amvrosyevka. If they encountered the main force of the German army, they should immediately retreat and retreat to the Rostov line as soon as possible.
Liu Molong, without hesitation, took all the captured supplies, especially the fuel. He knew that such a large-scale detour would significantly alter the situation southwest of Rostov. To prevent any future danger, the group must be as fully prepared as possible to face the severe test.
Sure enough, after a day and night of rushing, Liu Molung's group arrived at an unknown town west of Amvrosyevka and was immediately ambushed by a powerful German division-level force. The division was probably a grenadier division, but its combat effectiveness was extremely strong. In order to break through their defense line, the 599th Tank Division lost almost a battalion of tanks within an hour.
Liu Molong was shocked and rushed to the front line. Judging from the decorations of the dead enemy soldiers, this was clearly the German Army's most elite SS Grenadier Division. His mind immediately flashed to the "Reich Division, Skull Division, and Viking Division" - three notorious German SS divisions from different time and space. But looking at their insignia, they were not the three aforementioned divisions. Just as Liu Molong was puzzled, the Soviet reconnaissance translator picked up the epaulettes and exclaimed, "It's the Youth Division, the Hitler Youth Division!"
Liu Molong then remembered that, in addition to the three first-tier SS divisions mentioned above, the SS also had the Hitler Guard Division, the Youth Division, the Prince Eugen Division, the Northern Division, and the Hohenstaufen Division, all of which were the core strengths of the SS. The Youth Division, composed entirely of young volunteers, was renowned for its enthusiasm and bravery in the alternate time and space. The German army in this time and space was far more powerful than in the alternate time and space, so this Youth Division was certainly even more formidable.
Liu Molong had received part of the battle report of Huang Wei and his men in the decisive battle with the German 7th Tank Army west of Rostov. Knowing that Huang Wei and his men could not defeat the 7th Tank Army for the time being, coupled with the warning in Huang Wei's order, Liu Molong realized that the main force of the German army had appeared on this front.
By this time it was getting dark, and Liu Molong secretly planned to launch another feint attack. After it was completely dark, he would use the cover of night to retreat to the Rostov line according to Huang Wei's instructions.
Just then, a combat staff officer handed him an urgent telegram. Liu Molong took it and saw it was from Wang Congwu. They had been breached by two German motorized corps in the southwest of the decisive battle area. The southwestern front had been opened by the Germans. Wang Congwu warned Liu Molong to try to delay the German forces in the southwest, especially in the direction of Amvrosyevka and Taganrog, and prevent them from advancing north to join the battle. Otherwise, the entire front might collapse!
Isn't the southwest of the decisive battle site the rear of our army? We can no longer worry about the Taganrog direction. We must firmly hold back the main force of the German army on this front. We believe we are still capable of doing it.
Thinking of this, Liu Molong decisively ordered the 599th and 600th Tank Divisions to deploy at the front line, and the 599th Division continued to feint attack the Youth League Division. Although the 599th Division had lost a tank battalion, he believed that the Youth League Division would not be much better off, and the feint attack would inevitably attract the enemy.
He then ordered the 301st and 302nd Divisions to immediately dig deep positions behind the two tank divisions, and the mobile artillery to immediately establish and consolidate positions. At the same time, he sent a reinforcement signal to the Soviet 16th Cavalry Army not far from him, asking them to rush over immediately, to be sure to bypass him from the flank, and do everything possible to attack the rear of the German army!
The 599th Division's feint had indeed drawn the Germans in. General Georg Lindemann, commander of the 15th German Army, and General Powehermann, commander-in-chief of the 3rd SS Army, gathered together on a map, carefully analyzing the origins of this sudden, heavy enemy force. Georg Lindemann, no fool, immediately determined from the map that this was another enemy force attacking Schacht and heading towards Sverdlovsk.
However, the Germans still haven't figured out the origins or strength of Liu Molong's force. Georg Lindemann roughly estimated that the enemy force must be at least a Panzer Army, with over 500 tanks. However, intelligence indicates that the Chinese and Soviet forces lack such an armored army in this direction. Their Su-55th Army is pinned down north of Schacht, engaged in a fierce battle with the 23rd Army. The Su-58th Army, stationed in Rostov, also has to contend with the Azov offensive. Their main armored forces must have been diverted to the decisive battle zone, joining the 115th and 200th Armies in encircling and annihilating the 7th Tank Army. It's clear that the 7th Army was responsible for blocking the 17th Tank Army southwest of Rostov. What was the number of this suddenly appearing tank army? Could it be that the entire third batch of Chinese troops wasn't heading towards Moscow? That doesn't make sense either. According to intelligence, the 4th, 5th, 11th, and 129th Armies were at most motorized armies, without such a large tank presence.
No, this is definitely not a tank army, at most it is a motorized army. They are using deception tactics to try to stop our army from moving closer to the 7th Tank Army.
Georg Lindemann's speculation was correct; Liu Molong's unit was not a motorized army, and their goal was indeed to employ deception tactics to prevent the main German forces from linking up with the 7th Tank Army. However, Liu Molong's unit was far more powerful than a motorized army. Lin B's strategy of deploying the 343A and B Divisions, Liu B's strategy of expanding the old 598th Division to create this additional division, and the resulting 310th Tank Division and 302nd Armored Division were crucial to victory in this battle.