Chapter 511: Advance
“We must seize the most advantageous positions before the Soviet generals can rally these routed troops,” Guderian said, staring at the map in front of him as he spoke to his staff officers. “Which units are here and here, and can they continue to attack?”
On the huge map, after later organization and summary, the German army had renamed all the towns with code numbers to facilitate the secrecy of radio communications for the grassroots units. And the small town that Rein was paying attention to was at this very moment also being watched by Guderian. The code name for this small town was Y107.
Normally, he would not have asked this way, but now his troops were too spread out. Many of the frontline units simply did not have the manpower to attack. Most of the assaults were happening at the battalion or company level, which was simply unimaginable for an army group.
So he asked to confirm the actual situation of his troops there. He had to ensure that these units had the ability to protect themselves before he could order them to launch an attack, right? If he were to casually order an attack, and there was only a company of troops there, wouldn’t that be a joke?
“Report, sir. There is a tank company from the 502nd Heavy Tank Destroyer Battalion and a grenadier battalion forming a special detachment there,” a staff officer reported to Guderian, pointing to the map. “But they are scattered over an area several kilometers long. It seems unlikely that they can spare the forces to attack.”
“Troops from the 3rd SS Division?” Guderian nodded, then continued to look at the map. The small town in his eyes was simply too tempting. If the German army could control it, all subsequent operations would become incredibly simple.
He turned his head, walked to the command post’s desk, grabbed the telephone, and then said, “Please connect me to the headquarters of the 1st Panzer Corps. Yes, this is Guderian… I need to dispatch a unit to capture the small town codenamed Y107. Are there any difficulties?”
If your superior asks if you have any difficulties, this is definitely not the time for you to cry about your various problems, but to hold back your tears and say there are none. The 1st Panzer Corps was Guderian’s old unit, so they certainly wouldn’t make things difficult for their old commander. The mission to capture the small town of Y107 was immediately accepted.
The matter was thus simply passed on to the headquarters of the 1st Panzer Corps. That place was now in a complete mess. The positions of various units were being repeatedly confirmed, the counter-attacks of the Red Army in some sectors were being summarized and dealt with, and of course, there was the coordination of supplies and air support, and the final tally of the list of fallen soldiers.
As for the trivial matter of capturing a small town, handing it over to a division to handle was obviously the most prudent thing to do. So the corps headquarters directly called the headquarters of the 3rd SS Panzer Division.
As a general who was not very good at fighting, the commander of the 3rd SS Panzer Division, Frick, was known in the 1st Panzer Corps as a logistics general. He was a genius at getting benefits, second to none. His troops had the highest supply completion rate in the entire Army Group G.
His men ate the best food in the entire army, used the most abundant ammunition, and even had far more tents than other units. Of course, in return, the 3rd SS Panzer Division was also one of the best fighting units in Army Group G, having produced a large group of aces like Rein and Marcus.
This unit had captured all sorts of towns, so when Frick received the call from the corps commander ordering him to capture the small town of Y107, he agreed without hesitation and gave his guarantee, “Rest assured, General. I guarantee that place will be occupied by the 3rd Panzer Division, no problem!”
After he hung up the phone and looked again at the position of his own troops on the map, he finally realized what this offensive order meant for the entire 3rd Panzer Division. He looked at his staff officer with a wry smile, hoping that this young major who had just been transferred in could turn into Moltke the Younger in the next second.
“Dispatch a portion of our forces to reinforce them,” the young staff officer said after holding it in for a long time. If he had world-class talent, he would have recommended himself at the Führer’s residence long ago, wouldn’t he? Hadn’t that old Sir August come from behind to become the number two man in Germany?
Frick sighed helplessly. If he had extra troops, would he need to ask his operations staff? He would just directly support the frontline troops and attack. Even a fool would know that, let alone a general. “There are almost no support troops that can be mobilized now.”
“Call the commander of the 3rd Regiment and have him figure something out,” the staff officer said after thinking for a moment, finally coming up with a more feasible solution. After all, attacking a town was not a field battle, so the 1st and 2nd Panzer Regiments did not need to be drawn from. That only left the 3rd Regiment, the panzergrenadier regiment. Who else could they ask?
Frick nodded and picked up the phone to connect to the 3rd Regiment headquarters. “Take the town of Y107. Are there any difficulties?”
“Sir, you’re not joking, are you? An attack in this situation? I’m not being pessimistic, sir… the Red Army just hasn’t counter-attacked. Once they do, our defensive line will collapse,” the regimental commander said. Within the division, they were all frontline combat units, so there was no need to play the bureaucratic game. They were all people who lived with their heads on the line, so of course, they would speak the truth about any difficulties. “You want me to pull out troops? I really don’t have any!”
“Not even a single one? A company will do!” Frick was going mad. His division was stretched over dozens of kilometers, and yet he couldn’t even pull out 100 men from his ten thousand soldiers.
“…” After a moment of silence, the 3rd Regimental Commander finally spoke. “I can try for a company, but it will probably be understrength.”
“Understrength is fine! As long as they can fight!” Frick quickly nodded, afraid that if he hesitated for a moment, even this understrength company would disappear.
After hanging up the phone, the 3rd Regimental Commander summoned the commander of the 1st Battalion and gave him the support mission. The poor battalion commander, with a mournful face, found the commander of the 3rd Company and had him take his men to find the special ad-hoc unit at the German front. This company commander collected all the ammunition he could find and set off with his 73 men.
And so, the supreme decision of the Army Group G headquarters, the operational order to capture the small town of Y107, was pushed around and, after passing through the corps, division, regiment, and battalion commanders, was handed over to a small company commander to execute. This story tells everyone that even if you are the CEO of a large company, the person who actually executes your decision is probably not even a team leader. So don’t have too much faith in your own orders.
And at this moment, Rein was discussing the operational plan to attack the small town of Y107 with the grenadier company commander who was responsible for covering him. They did not yet know that their superiors had already issued an order to attack. This shows the extent to which the grassroots German commanders had a grasp of the battlefield situation and a wealth of experience.
Many times, the German army often did not need to wait for operational orders from the high command but would spontaneously organize local tactics. This, in another way, reduced the German army’s reaction time and greatly reduced their casualties.
“Not counting the soldiers escorting the prisoners, I can at most spare 60 men to support your attack. Counting your three tanks, to be honest, our forces are severely insufficient,” the company commander said, frowning as he looked at the map in Rein’s hand. “My men can organize fire support on the perimeter, but if the Soviets deploy troops to fight for every house, we will be driven out of the town.”
Rein nodded. It was about what he had imagined. “Our attack is based on the premise that the Soviets have not deployed a large number of troops in the small town. If they have already completed their defensive deployment, we will retreat immediately.”
Soon, as the afternoon sun began to slant, Marcus’s tank 112 and tank 115 returned to the battlefield. Following these two tanks were 50 dust-covered German soldiers. After entering the village, these soldiers began to set up to cook, and it was clear that they were exhausted after a battle.
Marcus was very much in favor of the idea of attacking the small town of Y107. He was a typical warmonger, and the kind of person who was afraid that things wouldn’t get out of hand. The commander of tank 115 also agreed with Rein’s idea. After all, the impression of Rein as a god of war that he had left on him was still too deep.
A moment later, the German infantry reinforcements arrived, and the order to attack was officially confirmed. Rein and the two company commanders confirmed the tactics once more and decided to launch a surprise night raid.
“I still don’t get it. Since they ordered us to attack, why did they only send 70 soldiers as reinforcements?” Rein was clearly very dissatisfied with the decision from above. It was one thing for him to attack on his own initiative, but to be ordered to attack was another. Since you’re telling us to attack, you should at least give us some troops, right? And you only send 70 men? What’s that supposed to do?
“We didn’t want to come either, but the orders from above were what they were,” the newly arrived company commander said, also feeling very innocent. “If the Soviets have really set up a defensive position, what’s the difference between this and sending us to our deaths?”
Rein sighed helplessly. “Then let’s just fight smarter. We’ll move at night. If any problems arise, we’ll pull back immediately.”
The two infantry company commanders quickly nodded. Three tanks and a few armored cars would be parked on the perimeter as fire support, using their machine guns and cannons to drive the Red Army soldiers out of their houses, and then the grenadiers would launch a sudden attack, catching the Soviets off guard.
So everyone had a good rest for a few hours. In the evening, the rested troops set out, heading towards their objective, the small town of Y107. They had received a piece of good news before they left: the air force had deliberately added the town of Y107 to the target list for their last bombing run of the day. That place was now pretty much a pile of ruins.
Published: 2025-09-01T03:58:36.000+00:00
Last Edited: 2025-12-06T11:33:10.000+00:00
URL: https://www.patreon.com/caleredhair/posts/mtr-c511-advance-137832049
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