Chapter 128
As the 1st SS Panzer Army descended to the center, the Soviet Army launched another offensive in the direction of Novgorod.
The Northern Army Group, which had either pushed all its strategic reserves into Leningrad or sent them to save the crisis in the center, was helplessly swept away.
“Was the operation successful?”
[Yes, it was! We are now looking at Lake Peipus! We dedicate this glory to Comrade Chief of Staff!]
“Hurrah! Long live victory!”
It was a success! The Northern Army Group, which had neglected the defense of its flank by clinging to Leningrad, was breached. In just three days.
Most of the German divisions on the defensive line were exhausted and on the verge of collapse.
The artillery units were mostly seconded to the higher command, and the infantry battalions had a hard time finding a complete unit with full strength.
As a result, the German retreat route was increasingly choked.
The only railway that could supply the 600,000 Germans north of the breakthrough line was now a single thread.
Manstein, who had tried to pull out the troops from Leningrad, must have realized that he was in deep trouble. He couldn’t run away even if he wanted to. He had fallen off the cliff while trying to pull out the one who was stuck in the mud.
The last exit for the Northern Army Group was now only one place left.
The Lake Peipus we had just reached was the Narva River that flowed into the Gulf of Finland in the north.
If we blocked the Narva River, the Northern Army Group would be completely isolated.
“We must get to the Narva River as soon as possible! If we encircle and crush 600,000 men, it will be our victory! Victory!”
“Yes, Comrade Chief of Staff!”
I imagined the majestic scene of the red flag of the workers and peasants flying over the Reichstag in Berlin.
The red army marching proudly on the Brandenburg Square!
The current situation in Leningrad was somewhat similar to that of Stalingrad.
The period was much shorter, but the aspect of being surrounded in the city after fighting a terrible street battle and neglecting the defense of the flank was similar to the Battle of Stalingrad.
And in real history, it was Manstein who had rushed to rescue the German 6th Army trapped in Stalingrad.
This time, it was the same general who had been trapped by stuffing his troops into Leningrad.
How would Manstein resist until the end in front of the impending doom? Or would he surrender like Paulus, the commander of Stalingrad, after seeing the horrible fate of his subordinates? Or would he succeed in repelling the Soviet Army with a miraculous and ingenious plan, like a magician?
I had received a report that he was gathering reserves for the next operation, but I was already looking forward to how he would deal with it.
“…Trapped.”
Manstein uttered a short word. Compared to the Pskov direction, where he could retreat smoothly if only the double-track railways were opened to bring out the soldiers, the Narva direction lacked railway lines.
Now, even if he pulled out the soldiers from the hell of Leningrad, the way to escape was blocked.
The panic was already spreading within the unit. Although the rumor that they were surrounded did not reach the ordinary soldiers, the officers sensed the unrest in the unit.
With the shortage of supplies, the amount of food distribution could only be reduced.
The soldiers complained about the poor diet and the harsh battle, and blamed the superiors for the lack of ammunition and weapons.
“Throw us to fight, but don’t give us weapons or food, how do we fight?”
“Orders are orders, sir.”
The senior non-commissioned officers despised the junior officers who had become platoon leaders and company commanders in an instant thanks to the expansion of the army.
The competent and brave officers had fought against the overwhelming Soviet Army and died one by one.
Their empty seats were filled by those who were less courageous and more cowardly, or unqualified.
Of course, the officers had their own complaints. They did not like the subordinates who kept defying and trying to confirm their superiority by bringing up problems they could not solve. Supply? Do I make it and give it to you?
It was not pleasant to be criticized in the same situation of starving. In this way, the emotional gap between the officers and the soldiers deepened.
[Surrender! We guarantee the best humanitarian treatment for those who surrender!]
[Comrades! Don’t fight for the fascist regime! I am in a peaceful place after surrendering to the Soviet Union, not in a battlefield where only death awaits me…]
[There is a street lamp in front of the gate of the barracks~ And she is still standing there~]
Now the Soviet Army had installed dozens of speakers and started a full-scale psychological warfare. Manstein restrained his offensive except for sporadic shelling to secure reserves for the next operation.
The Soviet Army took advantage of the gap and played broadcasts to lower the morale of the German Army.
Broadcasts that guaranteed humanitarian treatment if they surrendered, broadcasts that criticized the fascist ‘ball-less’ Hitler, and songs that made them miss their lovers or mothers they left behind.
The German soldiers who listened to the love songs sung in a voice that melted their hearts were gradually reaching the limit mentally.
There was no more reinforcement, the food was poor, and they felt like they could die at any time, but the Soviet Army kept urging them to surrender.
“Ha… Should we really surrender?”
“Hans, are you crazy?”
Two new recruits with shaved heads chatted while on guard duty. Hans, the soldier called, was holding a leaflet that the Soviet Army sprayed from time to time.
From the Soviet Army’s speaker far away, his favorite song, Lili Marleen, was playing. He also heard the sound of the Soviet soldiers singing along in awkward Russian pronunciation.
They were close enough to be vigilant, but the command was not obeyed by the soldiers who were tired of fighting.
“We’ll die here, and if we go, we’ll end up… in Siberia? You never know. Maybe they’ll really treat us well like they say here.”
“…”
The other soldier swallowed his saliva. Of course, there was something missing in Hans’s words. What if they die on their way to the Soviet Army’s position? Wouldn’t the Soviet Army be on guard? If suspicious people sneak in at night, how would they know if they were soldiers trying to surrender or enemies infiltrating?
And, if Germany wins…? They would probably kill the surrendered Germans like rats. The Führer had shown them what the word of the traitors was by executing the traitors in the defense army.
“Didn’t you see what happened to the traitors…?”
“Fritz, are you really stupid? Do you think they really betrayed? All those officers? Even General Rommel?”
Fritz was puzzled. So, did they shoot dozens of innocent generals and drag their families to concentration camps? Even Rommel, the conqueror of Africa?
The daily newspaper that used to pour out articles about General Rommel did not say a word about him now.
The soldiers who liked to pretend to know everything said that General Rommel was somehow involved in the rebellion and that was why.
The officers reacted very sensitively to spreading such ‘rumors’. But the words were faster than the wind.
The fact that they could not produce any evidence to refute Rommel’s rebellion also contributed to the spread of the rumor.
This rumor had a considerable impact on the morale of the soldiers.
If even someone like General Rommel betrayed, wouldn’t there be something seriously wrong?
“Do you really think we can win? They have thousands of tanks! We only have…”
“Shh! Do you want to be accused of defeatism?”
Hans covered his mouth with an exaggerated gesture and imitated the SS officers mockingly. Salute to the Führer! It’s the Führer’s order! Defeatists will be executed!
Fritz also laughed at that. Damn SS bastards. They gave badges to the local thugs who had no decent jobs or education, and they ran around causing trouble. Especially the ones who acted like officers.
“Shit… The more I think about it, the more fucked up it is.”
“Let’s just run away, then?”
“…”
Hans looked like he would flee alone if Fritz didn’t go with him. He was scared and restless.
And maybe, to prove that he was not a spy while surrendering… He would shoot his fellow sentry and run away.
That would be his ‘evidence’. Hans looked scary as he fiddled with his Kar98 rifle.
But their thoughts didn’t last long. The Soviet artillery fire started.
Whooosh! Whizz, whirr, whooosh!
“It’s rockets! Katyushas!”
“Damn it…!”
Both sides realized that it was difficult to bring heavy artillery into the city. They didn’t use many howitzers in the city.
Instead, the Soviets favored rocket launchers that could be separated and transported, and used in various ways.
They didn’t care about destroying the city that the Germans had already ruined. They fired rockets at any place where the Germans might be.
And the rockets were not the end of it.
“Hans, it’s the enemy!”
“…!”
The Soviets sneaked into the alleys, hiding from the rockets.
They carried assault rifles and grenade launchers, the symbols of elite soldiers.
They attacked and occupied the German outposts, thinking that their comrades were still holding the line.
Fritz looked at the damn ‘Wall of Sorrow’. The building where the speakers had been blaring was now silent, but the Soviets were still crawling out of the darkness.
“Hey, don’t shoot…”
“Fritz, I’m sorry.”
Hans pointed his gun at Fritz, not the Soviets. He didn’t look very sorry.
“I’m sorry, so put your hands up. I’m surrendering. You should surrender too.”
“Hey! You’re crazy… Eek!”
Fritz shut up as the muzzle came closer to his face. He might be better off following him than being held responsible for being with a deserter.
While he was hesitating, Hans openly called the Soviets.
“Zdacha! Zdacha! Surrender! I surrender!”
The Soviets came closer and reached out their bear-like hands. The grinning Soviet winked at Fritz.
“How do you pronounce it… Surrender!”
Manstein wanted to give up everything. He barely secured some reserves and tried to escape and retreat, but the Soviets started to attack aggressively from Leningrad.
Which way should he go? But in fact, the Soviets only left one way out.
He crossed the Narva River and fled to the Baltics, which were more friendly to Germany.
There were ports and railways there, where he could hope for the future. He regretted the lives of the soldiers he had lost while pushing up here, the soldiers who had died in vain…
“I’ll have to apologize with my life.”
He had already made up his mind. The crime of deceiving the Führer, the crime of losing, and other crimes.
The Führer’s flatterers would pin all kinds of crimes on him.
He might be exiled or executed. But he couldn’t hand over the 600,000, no, 1 million men who trusted and followed him to the beast-like Soviets.
He heard the sound of rockets and shouts from outside. They had already started the offensive.
Now it was his turn to counterattack.
“The southern part of the Northern Army Group, which was divided by the Soviets, will now be called the Pskov Army Group. We, who are trapped… stationed in Leningrad, are the Estonia Army Group.”
Manstein began to explain his prepared operation plan to the subordinate commanders.
The staff who participated in the strategy formulation busily distributed orders and drew plans on the map.
“Major General Gotthard Heinrici will command the 4th Army, which will take the rear. The 4th Army will… defend Leningrad and its surroundings as long as possible and cover the retreat of our army.”
“…Yes, sir.”
“Our reserves will be commanded by Colonel Holleit. Holleit’s detachment will launch an offensive in this direction, the weak flank of the Soviets, Novgorod. We don’t want a big victory. We don’t even want to actually capture Novgorod. We just want to stop them from threatening our escape route.”
“Yes, sir!”
The commanders were all grim. ‘4th Army’ ‘Holleit’s detachment’ were nothing but paper tigers, both on paper and in reality. They couldn’t match the actual combat troops. All the units had lost too much blood in Leningrad and couldn’t fill their regular formations.
At best, they were at the level of a corps. But if they didn’t do this, the entire 500,000 troops would die in Leningrad. The generals clenched their teeth.
“Our escape will be supported by Kriegsmarine. The situation in the Atlantic is not very good, but… they can’t abandon us now that it’s come to this.”
Short sighs, long sighs, hands burying faces.
The SS officers who used to threaten to execute the defeatists and traitors couldn’t say anything this time. Someone muttered. If only the 1st Panzer Army was here…
Manstein smiled bitterly and said.
“If the 1st Panzer Army hadn’t gone to the center, the 9th Army would have been surrounded.”
A sharp remark. He resented the Führer who kept forcing him to achieve impossible goals. At first, the Führer gave him such orders and confidently told him how to achieve them.
But at some point, the Führer changed from a mysterious prophet to a childish and spiteful brat. What had changed him?
“Well, we don’t have time. Go to your positions and prepare for the operation!”
“Yes, sir!”
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