nycdaug Chapter 220: War on the Southwest Front
Chapter 220: War on the Southwest Front
Lindemann immediately ordered the 39th and 56th Motorized Corps to advance, while the 52nd Tank Corps, the 71st Infantry Division, the 340th Infantry Division, and the 352nd Infantry Division to flanke from both sides, seeking to bypass this enemy force and quickly close in on Doorman's 7th Tank Army. Powehermann was also quick to act, ordering the four SS divisions already at Taganrog to flanke the coastline and join the Rostov Front as quickly as possible.
The German 39th Motorized Corps rushed to the front line, quickly overcoming the defenses of the Youth Grenadier Division and launching a fierce attack on the 599th Tank Division. The 599th Division cleverly took the opportunity to withdraw, drawing the Germans into the defensive line established by the 301st and 302nd Corps.
The commander of the 39th Army, overjoyed at having crushed the Chinese army in a single blow, immediately ordered a full-scale assault and reported to General Lindemann with a triumphant tone, "General, the enemy is just as you expected. They have no more tanks. Our army has launched a full-scale assault and is advancing deep into their territory!"
The 39th Motorized Corps was effectively a second-tier German army, consisting of only one tank division and two light motorized divisions. Its strength was relatively small compared to other German frontline corps-level units. It possessed approximately 180 tanks/tank destroyers, along with a number of armored vehicles, mostly half-tracks and wheeled, with the majority consisting of cars and motorcycles. Its artillery consisted primarily of towed artillery, and to coordinate the overall corps' operations, most of its guns were under 105mm. The most threatening of these were its 36 88mm anti-tank guns with 63x scopes.
The 39th Army was obviously confused by the tactics of the 599th Division and began to attack with all its might. Anti-tank guns such as 88mm were left behind, and some wheeled armored vehicles and motorcycles even surpassed the tanks and rushed to the forefront arrogantly.
Liu Molong saw this and realized it was the perfect opportunity to crush them. He acted decisively, ordering the 302nd Division to block the advance from the front, while the 599th and 301st Divisions attacked from two fronts. He wanted to wipe out this reckless German force cleanly and efficiently.
It was already completely dark, which undoubtedly gave Liu Molong's group more opportunities. The tanks of the two divisions quietly circled back into position. Liu Molong ordered a full-scale counterattack without hesitation.
"Swoosh, swoosh, swoosh—" Like angry dragons of fire, dozens of rocket launchers unleashed a deafening roar, followed by the 302nd Division's unbroken artillery fire. Like a torrential downpour, the dense barrage instantly overwhelmed the German vanguard. These lightly armored units could not withstand such a ferocious onslaught. They were instantly shattered, their formation disrupted, and they began a hasty retreat. Their chaotic retreat trapped the German tanks behind them. Before the tanks could grasp the situation, the rumble of engines echoed from both sides, and the ground shook more violently, signaling the arrival of a massive tank column bearing down on them.
"Boom boom boom!" Before the German tanks could even adjust their guns, a barrage of armor-piercing rounds rained down upon them. The first round of attacks had already inflicted heavy losses on the German tanks, many reduced to flaming wrecks. The remaining tanks no longer cared about the cars, motorcycles, and armored vehicles blocking their path. Their drivers pounded the accelerators, frantically crushing and overturning these obstacles, attempting to free themselves and launch a counterattack.
At that moment, the commander of the 39th Army finally woke up from his dream. He was horrified to discover that the enemy was not just one division, but at least two tank divisions surrounding him. He shouted at the top of his lungs, "General Lindemann, Commander Lindemann, we are surrounded! The enemy is not a panzer army, but a tank army. We are under siege by at least two tank divisions!"
"What? The enemy had more than two tank divisions besieging the 39th Army? Then where did the tank divisions that the 56th Army encountered come from?"
Lindmann was horrified. Just now, the 56th Motorized Army had discovered an enemy tank division and was currently engaged in a fierce battle. The enemy tank division was extremely ferocious and was completely unlike an ordinary tank division. The 56th Army's tank guns could hardly penetrate the enemy's armor!
Lindemann knew that the enemy tanks must be equipped with anti-tank armor, and it was obviously not the Soviet army but the Chinese army, because at present, only the Chinese army's tanks were fully equipped with reactive armor, and only some of the German and Soviet tanks were equipped with reactive armor. The two armies had been fighting on the battlefield, and it was impossible to withdraw the tank troops and replace them all with reactive armor.
At least three tank divisions, this is at least a reinforced armored group army. Lindemann is very familiar with the organization of the Chinese army. Only the 200th Group Army has three armored divisions.
This was the main force of the Chinese army, the 200th Army! Lindemann admired the Chinese courage while secretly cursing Dollman for being an idiot. If the 200th Army was in this direction, even if the Chinese army concentrated all the tanks of the 115th Panzer Army and the Su-58 Panzer Army, they would at most be roughly equivalent to the tanks of the 7th Tank Army. The German tanks still had an absolute firepower and armor advantage against the Soviet tanks.
"Dolman, you pig!" With the same number of troops, he was unable to defeat the opponent, making the battle situation so bad!
Lindemann tried hard to control his anger and immediately ordered the 52nd Tank Army and three infantry divisions to rush over. He saw an opportunity; he wanted to take advantage of the 200th Army's isolated advance and encircle and annihilate it here.
Lindemann no longer cared about Doormann and the 7th Army, nor did he care about his own life or death. He believed that no matter what, the 7th Army should not be destroyed or annihilated. As long as he could defeat the largest Chinese force and then march eastward, no one, Chinese or Soviet, could stop the Third Reich's advance. Lindemann saw the Order of the German Empire in his eyes.
In less than two hours, Liu Molong completely routed the German 39th Motorized Corps. However, Liu Molong did not become complacent, nor did he order a pursuit. He needed to turn immediately and, in conjunction with the 600th Division, defeat the German 56th Motorized Corps before confronting the 52nd Tank Corps and its massive infantry. Liu Molong's plan was to hold out until daybreak, awaiting the outcome of the decisive battle zone.
But the Germans didn't give him another chance. Just as he was about to reorganize the 599th and 310th Divisions and move them towards the 600th Division, the 600th Division's deputy commander informed him that the main German tank force had arrived and that the 600th Division had withdrawn as planned. Liu Molong immediately ordered the two tank divisions to withdraw as well, relying on the 302nd Division's deep positions to resist the German attack!