USSR 1941

Messages came one after another from Major Gavrilov to Shulka:

The German army concentrated hundreds of bombers to bomb the Kyiv Bridge in turn. However, due to the visibility and the strength of the Kyiv Bridge, the results were not satisfactory in one day. Only two bombs hit the bridge and caused partial bridge deck damage.

Finally, the bridge was blown up in the evening, which made the German pilots cheer.

What they don't know is that this is actually Admiral Kirponos secretly helping... He hoped that the German 1st Armored Group could leave Kyiv as soon as possible, so he ordered the soldiers to tie explosives on the bridge, and then waited for the German bombers to dive and drop bombs. Detonate.

Just listening to the sound of "boom", the bridge deck was split into two and exploded into two pieces.

Because it was under the rain curtain, it was not easy for the German pilots to see the bridge, and of course they couldn't find the details. What's more...who would have thought that the Soviets would blow up their own bridges?

The German armored group left Kyiv that night and moved towards the lower reaches of the Dnieper River.

If it was at other times, it would not be easy for the Soviet army to know this. The reason is that at this time, a large area south of Kyiv, that is, the lower reaches of the Dnieper River, is occupied and controlled by the German army. In addition, the Soviet army’s communication system is very backward. The guerrillas or civilians found that the German tank units could not report in time.

This is also one of the reasons why the German army successfully crossed the river in history, but the Soviet army did not notice it... The Soviet army always thought that the German 1st Armored Group was still concentrated near Kyiv, so they did not regard the small group of infantry who crossed the Dnieper River as a group. thing.

But now, in anticipation of the possible transfer of the German 1st Armored Division, General Kirponos sent scouts with radios across the Dnieper River to carry out reconnaissance.

It is not difficult to do this, because at this time the Dnieper River is still under the control of the Soviet fleet, and the defense of the German army on the west bank has not been consolidated. The West Bank opened up the intelligence network.

Therefore, the movement of the German 1st Armored Group can almost be said to be under the control of the Soviet army.

"You are right, Sergeant!" On this day, General Kirponos was so excited that he rushed to the warehouse to find Major Gavrilov and Shulka.

"The German 1st Armored Group has left Kyiv and is moving south!" Admiral Kirponos said: "In addition, they used planes to lay mines everywhere on the Dnieper River to block the river. Obviously, they want to cross the river!"

"At the same time!" After a pause, Admiral Kirponos continued: "Last night their infantry launched an attack in the direction of Kremenchug and occupied that town. Build a pontoon bridge here to cross the Dnieper!"

"Comrade General!" Shulka said. "We shouldn't tell the Confederates about this...not even anyone else!"

Admiral Kirponos couldn't help being taken aback when he heard the words, and then nodded in agreement.

The answer is obvious, if this information is told to others, especially the Southern Army, will they let the German 1st Armored Group cross the river?

They may formulate a defensive plan, or even set up an encirclement on the east bank to encircle the German 1st Armored Group... If they can succeed, it will be fine, after all, the German 1st Armored Group is a serious problem for the Soviet army.

The problem is that the result of doing so is likely to make the German army cancel the plan to cross the river, because it is well known that it is very difficult for the Soviet army to keep the German army's secrets at this time, and this means that the entire plan of the Soviet army will be aborted. middle.

Then, the order to prepare for battle came quickly.

Mechanized units require longer pre-war preparations, especially for long-distance raids like they are now...but this is the responsibility of the main logistics and tank crews, who have to do a complete overhaul of tanks, cars, etc., and replace them if possible aging parts.

On the other side, Kleist has led the German 1st Armored Group to the west bank of the Dnieper River.

Kleist was very careful. He ordered the troops to drive and control the people near Kremenchug and even on both sides of the road... This could prevent the whereabouts of the tank troops from being exposed.

Kleist believed this, because the visibility was poor during the rainy day, and the Soviet army could not observe anything from the air. Even if some people on land found German tanks, they could not cross the Dnieper River to report.

Unless, of course, they have a station.

However, the Soviet army was equipped with very few radio stations, and it was even more impossible for the common people to have radio stations.

Admiral Kleist raised his binoculars and looked towards the east bank, only a few trees and houses could be seen faintly under the rain.

"Is the 3rd Reconnaissance Battalion ready to respond?" Admiral Kleist asked the adjutant.

"Yes, General!" replied the adjutant.

"If I remember correctly!" said Admiral Kleist, "it was dark at five-thirty-five, wasn't it?"

"Yes, General!"

"Then!" Admiral Kleist put away the binoculars and said, "Order the pontoon bridge troops to build the pontoon bridge at 5:35!"

"Tonight?" The adjutant was a little surprised. They had just arrived here and didn't even have time to catch their breath. What's more, it was raining harder and harder. It seemed that it was not suitable for crossing the river tonight.

"Of course!" Admiral Kleist replied without explaining anything, and raised his binoculars to observe the nearby terrain again.

"Yes, General!" The adjutant responded, then turned around to deliver the order.

Speed ​​is the most important thing, this is the principle of "blitzkrieg", and Kleist is very aware of this, especially now... the delay of the first armored group for a day means that the danger of being discovered by the enemy is one point higher.

Therefore, Kleist did not intend to make any stops, even though it was indeed not suitable for crossing the river tonight.

The difficulty of crossing the river does not lie in the construction of pontoon bridges... The flow rate of rivers in the Soviet Union is generally relatively low. This is because the Soviet Union is mainly a plain, and the river drop is generally not large.

For example, the total length of the Dnieper River is 2,200 kilometers, the drop is only 253 meters, and the velocity of most river sections is less than 1 meter per second.

This made it easy for engineers to build the pontoon bridge on the river.

The difficulty is that the tanks are driving over, at night, in the rain, over the swaying pontoon bridge...

It was pitch black all around, and the driver in the tank, not to mention the other side, could not even see the pontoon bridge below. He could only follow the light of the fluorescent sticks in the hands of the infantrymen in front of him in the rain and move forward a little bit.

This is the second thing, the driver must also be careful to feel the shaking of the tank, because as long as the position is a little bit off, the pontoon may tilt under the weight of the tank. Went to the river to feed the fish.