Chapter 235
Berezino is a key ferry crossing on the Berezin River. The railway from Mogilev to Minsk passes through this city. It is not only an important supply line hub for the German Army's Central Group, but also an important transit point for logistical supplies.
East of Berezino, all the way to Mogilev, the German Army Group Center built three solid defense lines, namely the Dnieper River Line, the Drut River Line and the Olisa River Line. As the commander of the army group, Busch probably never dreamed that the three directions he carefully constructed would all collapse in less than a week.
collapse!
That’s right, that’s the word, collapse, a complete collapse, an unprecedented collapse.
Just three days after Yuri arrived at the headquarters of the 1st Belorussian Front, the front encircled a full seven divisions of the German 9th Army in Bobruisk. At the same time, the 9th Army, with the cooperation of the 1st Guards Tank Army, quickly captured Svisloch, Osipovichi and other places, bypassed the rear of the German Berezina River defense line, and began to advance towards Minsk.
In the north, the 3rd Belorussian Front successively captured Ostavichi and Borisov. The 5th Guards Tank Army commanded by General Rotmistrov broke through the Berezina River defense line and began to detour to the rear of Minsk.
At this point, the two major Soviet fronts had seized almost all the crossings on the Berezina River except Berezino, and crossed the river, stabbing towards Minsk like two sharp knives. In the embrace of these two sharp knives, the main force of the German Ninth Army, which had retreated from Mogilev and Orsha, including the 39th Tank Army, the 12th Infantry Army, and the 27th Army, was still retreating towards the Berezina River. Behind them, the main force of the entire 2nd Belorussian Front was chasing them relentlessly.
This cross-river bridge at Berezino became the only retreat route for the entire German Ninth Army. For the German army, it was a lifeline. Its existence determined whether the army of more than 100,000 people could escape the Soviet encirclement.
In early spring in Belarus, the weather is getting warmer day by day. However, the increasingly warm weather is definitely not a good thing for the German army at this time. If possible, they hope that the temperature can drop by another ten degrees.
The warming temperature melted the ice on the Berezina River. The melting of the ice increased the water volume of the river. The damn spring flood came, and the turbulent current mixed with floating ice rushed in the riverbed, invisibly turning this damn river into an insurmountable natural barrier.
The Berezino Bridge is a steel structure bridge, a product of the Soviet Union's pre-war five-year plan period. It is not used for vehicles and pedestrians, but is a genuine railway bridge.
During this period, the Soviet Union's railway bridges had one characteristic: they were strong and durable, but very narrow. The wide-gauge design meant that the railway bridge could only accommodate one train. Therefore, whether it was a tank or a truck, it was very difficult to pass through such a bridge.
It was early morning, the mist had not yet dissipated from above the river, the sun rising from the end of the eastern fields was still emitting a cold light, and the wilderness on the east bank of the Berezino Bridge was already crowded with noisy voices.
The railway embankment, the extension of the embankment, and the endless wasteland on both sides of the road were all full of messy German soldiers. Some of these soldiers were withdrawn from Mogilev, some from Orsha, and some from Grodishche. Some belonged to the 12th Infantry Division, some to the 27th Infantry Army, and the tanks belonged to the 37th Tank Army. These troops were mixed together , with no one under their command. Some soldiers could not find their commanders, and some commanders could not find the troops under their command.
Everyone felt a sense of despair. They felt that the entire Ninth Army had been abandoned and no one would come to save them.
Tens of thousands of people were crowded in the narrow ferry, everyone was scrambling to cross the river first, flee to Minsk, or even flee directly to the past. In order to move forward, some people even cursed at each other and even fought. The gendarmerie responsible for maintaining military discipline was crowded in the crowd, and they were helpless in this chaotic situation.
When the sun in the eastern sky finally jumped out of the horizon, a dozen black dots appeared in the light and shadow of the sun like a flock of geese, followed by the roar of airplane engines that made everyone feel creepy.
The crowd crowded at the ferry was in panic in an instant. Some people tried to escape to the tunnel beside the roadbed, while others tried to squeeze onto the bridge. The tanks waiting to get on the bridge tried to turn on the spot, while the tanks that had already entered the bridge tried to speed up and rush forward.
In the chaos, some people were pushed to the ground, and before they could stand up again, they were stepped on by countless feet. Some people were knocked down by the tracks of moving tanks, and then crushed by the steel tracks.
The riots were spreading rapidly, and everyone wanted to find a safe place to hide, because everyone knew very well that the plane coming from that direction could not belong to the German Empire. It was a Soviet fighter plane, and from the sound, it was clear that it was the terrifying Il-2 attack aircraft.
A dozen black spots quickly . In just a few minutes, the black spots had transformed into a row of hideous-looking fighter planes.
There were three formations of fighter jets flying in, all of them were Il-2 attack aircraft. They roared in the air, first dropped bombs one after another, and then fired rockets while diving.
The tanks crowded on the roadbed were blown up, and raging flames and billowing smoke rose into the sky. The fleeing German soldiers, lacking anti-aircraft fire, could only use machine guns, rifles, and even pistols to shoot into the air, but such damage had no effect on the Il-2 attack aircraft.
The roadbed, which was crowded with people not long ago, was covered with corpses and blood in just a few minutes. Soldiers injured by the explosion rolled and wailed on the rubble, but no one could offer help.
The three-year war created a blood feud between the Soviet and German soldiers, and neither side would attack the other without the slightest mercy.
The three formations of fighter planes dropped all their bombs and rockets at the ferry, and finally, used up all their machine gun bullets before returning towards the rising sun, leaving behind only the devastation at the ferry.
The retreat of the Soviet fighter planes did not calm the German troops at the ferry. On the contrary, the panic became even more intense. Everyone knew that the next wave of air strikes would come soon, and perhaps the Soviet tanks were already on the way.
Interestingly, in the summer three years ago, it was also in this place, but on the other side of the river, that the Soviet army, which had suffered a crushing defeat in Minsk, was once crowded here, and in the chaos they suffered the ruthless slaughter of German fighter planes. Now , the old scene has appeared again, but the side that suffered the slaughter has become the German army.
At this time, the German troops blocked at the Berezino Bridge did not know that even if they crossed the bridge, their fate would not change at all, because just in front of them, dozens of kilometers to the west in Smilovichi, the Soviet 2nd Guards Tank Army, which had detoured from the north, was already at the gates of the city.
On the northern front, in Ostrovno, Yuri, accompanied by Baghramyan, climbed up a watchtower built on the edge of the jungle. From this five-meter-high watchtower, he could see the defensive position of the 1st Infantry Army through a telescope. There, the battle was going on fiercely. The German army trying to break out of the area was like crazy. Since nightfall yesterday , they have been continuously attacking the 1st Infantry Army's position and have not stopped until now.
Just north of Ostrovno, including Vitebsk, the four divisions of the entire German 53rd Army and part of the 197th Infantry Division were surrounded by the Soviet 43rd and 39th Army Groups. The strength of this German army group was as high as 35,000 people. In order to wipe out this part of the German army, the First Baltic Front mobilized its reserve troops.
At present, the German 53rd Army's forces have been cut into two parts, and the one surrounded in the Ostrovno area is the German 4th Field Division, with a strength of about 8,000 people.
This German army was like a trapped beast. It first tried to break out to the southwest and fled towards Chashniki. After being repelled by the Soviet army, it tried to break out towards Vitebsk, planning to join up with the 6th Field Division and the 206th Infantry Division that were surrounded there, but suffered setbacks again.
Within the field of view of the telescope, a large number of Soviet soldiers were attacking the German army under the cover of tanks. The German defense line had collapsed, and a large number of German soldiers were fleeing into the jungle. From time to time, someone was shot and fell to the ground, and was then caught up by the Soviet soldiers behind.
Putting down the telescope, Yuri glanced at Baghramyan standing beside him and said seriously: "The battle in Vitebsk must be ended within two days. The troops that suffered heavy losses need to retreat to the rear to rest, and the reserve force replenishment work must also be accelerated. You know, Minsk is not the end of our offensive. We need sufficient troops to launch the second phase of the offensive."
Baghramyan nodded carefully. He knew very well how important the second phase of the attack was.
At present, the Soviet offensive on the Dnieper River line has achieved great success. The battles in the three directions of Vitebsk, Orsha and Bobruisk have basically destroyed the main forces of the German Army Group Center. Once the Battle of Minsk is over, there will be a gap of more than 400 kilometers wide in the defense front of the German Army Group Center.
In a short period of time, the German army simply did not have enough troops to fill this gap, and this would be an excellent opportunity for the Soviet army to expand its victory.
