Chapter 1113 Encirclement

"Report, Your Excellency Commander, the 3rd Army reports that they have broken through the Russian defense line and are marching towards Vitebsk. They are expected to arrive this afternoon and launch an attack!" A staff officer reported.

Admiral Guderian nodded. This time the attack of Army Group B was carried out by the five armies working together on a defense line of hundreds of kilometers. Although the Russian Army's Western Front Army is also strong. However, because of the gap in combat effectiveness, the German army still had the upper hand in this battle. Next, they only need to eliminate the vital forces of the Russian army according to the predetermined plan. Then, the first phase of the battle can be regarded as a victory.

"Tell General Fedor von Bock, Vitebsk must be taken within two days, and then march to Smolensk!" Admiral Guderian ordered.

"Yes, General," the staff officer reported.

Next, good news came one after another. The 13th, 14th, and 15th infantry armies under Army Group B have also successively broken through the Russian defense line and are attacking their intended targets.

Although, these three armies were mobilized urgently before the outbreak of the war. The soldiers are also mainly veterans who have been discharged from the military in the past few years. Due to physical conditions and other factors, their combat effectiveness may not be as good as the front-line troops of the German Army. However, when facing the Russian army, they still had the advantage. It's not just because the quality of the soldiers is generally higher than that of the Russian army. What's more, they have far more powerful weapons and equipment than the Russian army. Therefore, the attack will be so smooth.

According to the Barbarossa plan, a large net is being rolled out to the Russian Army's Western Front. Soon, it will be time to close the net. At that time, the entire Western Front of the Russian Army will suffer heavy losses. If you are unlucky, there may even be annihilation of the entire army. In that case, Army Group B will be able to achieve a perfect victory in this battle.

"General, the 8th Panzer Army has eliminated the 3rd Russian Tank Army." An officer reported excitedly.

There was also a smile on Admiral Guderian's face. Although he also served as the commander of the B Army Group, the Eighth Army was directly led by him after all. However, he did not let the Eighth Army perform simpler tasks because of this, but directly asked them to perform the most difficult tasks. After all, as one of the only two armored armies of the German Army, it was originally going to gnaw hard bones. Otherwise, I would be sorry for His Majesty the Emperor who invested huge sums of money in them.

"Is our loss big?" Admiral Guderian asked.

There is no doubt about winning. The only thing Admiral Guderian worried about was loss. After all, after the war, although Germany accelerated the production of tanks, there are still new troops to be formed in the rear, and the lost troops in the front also need to be rebuilt. In this way, the number of tanks needed will continue to rise. If the losses are too great, it will be difficult for the troops to be replenished.

"Your Excellency, Commander, the performance of Russian tanks is far from enough. They do not pose any threat to our tanks at all. During the battle, the 8th Panzer Army destroyed six or seven hundred Russian tanks, but its own losses , less than twenty. Moreover, most of them were destroyed due to mechanical failures, and the number of tanks that were actually destroyed by the Russians was very small. Moreover, many of them were destroyed by Russian anti-tank guns."

Admiral Guderian nodded. He was very clear about the performance of Russian tanks, whether it was T-28 tanks, T-26 tanks, or BT-7 tanks. The tank guns equipped by these tanks did not have the ability to penetrate the armor of the German Tiger and Leopard tanks at long distances. Unless the fight takes place very close. Otherwise, the frontal armor of the Tiger and Leopard Tank would be very strong. The 75mm tank gun and 88mm tank gun used by the Tiger and Leopard tank are enough to penetrate the weak armor of the Russian tank and destroy it thousands of meters away. This allowed the German tank troops to take full advantage of this advantage and destroy Russian tanks at long distances.

"Give the 8th Army an order to let the follow-up infantry solve the surrounded Russian army. The armored forces continue to advance to Smolensk!" Admiral Guderian ordered.

"Yes, Your Excellency Commander!"

Smolensk serves as the headquarters of the Russian Army's Western Front and is also the western barrier of Moscow. If Smolensk can be occupied, this will create very favorable conditions for the German army to attack Moscow next. Taking Smolensk as the starting position is naturally faster than using Minsk as the starting position.

Admiral Guderian's eyes fell on the map hanging on the wall. Now, the four German army groups are all attacking. The combat mission of Army Group A will be to take Ulyanovgrad, Army Group B will take Smolensk, and Army Group C will start from Kharkov and take Voronezh , if possible, continue to push north. The combat mission of the D Army Group is to first cooperate with the Ukrainian army to eliminate the Russian Southern Front Army that broke into Ukraine, and then march towards Josephgrad to try to take it there. In that case, the Caucasus would almost be separated from Bu Russia.

"It's September now, and in another month, the weather will be cold. Even if we are fully prepared, it is best for large-scale military operations to end in early November. Next, wait until the cold winter slowly passes, Spring has come again. During this period, the Russians will definitely increase their strength desperately, and even use the influence of the weather to launch a counterattack!"

Qin Tian is not like the head of state, he is an aggressive person. He knew that it was very difficult to destroy Russia. Therefore, he will not ask the troops to attack blindly and occupy Russian territory blindly like the head of state. If you can't wipe out the Russian army, you can't defeat them, no matter how much territory you occupy, you can't hold it! Therefore, this time, the Barbarossa plan formulated according to Qin Tian's opinion puts Russia's ability to annihilate the Russian army in the first place.

The progress of the other three army groups of the German army is also very smooth. Although the strength of the Russian army is still very strong, they still cannot withstand the German army during the battle. The battle has just begun, and the losses have already been considerable. There is no doubt that the balance of victory has begun to gradually tilt towards Germany. It is not so easy for the Russians to come back.