Burning Moscow

Chapter 1701 Wings are hard to escape

The defeat of the 117th Regiment of Guards in the attack on the Capitol made the atmosphere of the headquarters dull.

The military commissioner Pronin proposed loudly: “We should immediately attack the Kroll Opera House and eliminate the enemies entrenched here.”

“The opera houses are all stone buildings, and the Germans are heavily guarded here.” Vladimirov glanced at Pronin with a dissatisfied look, and said angrily: “No heavy weapons, no tanks and Artillery, how can our troops capture this place?”

“I remember that the 39th Guards Division was equipped with a tank battalion equipped with the latest T-34.” Pronin did not hear the taunt in Vladimirov’s tone, but asked in a puzzled manner: ” Why not throw them into battle?”

“Comrade Military Commissioner, you remember that right, the 39th Guards Division does have a tank battalion, but they are now attacking Berlin’s Tempelhof Central Airport with the main force of the division.” Cuikov said: “The airport is Berlin. The last remaining area in the city where the plane can take off. Obviously, the Germans are trying their best to control the only window to the sky in their hands, so that Hitler, Goebbels, and Bauer can be controlled at the right time. Man and other leaders of the Third Reich were airlifted to other parts of Germany. We must not let them slip through this only air window! Therefore, the capture of the airport is of great significance to the entire Berlin campaign.”

Cui Koff’s words shocked Pronin. He did not expect that there is still such an important area in Berlin that has not been occupied. He quickly reminded Cui Koff: “Comrade Commander, since this airport is so important, I think the Germans must be We are heavily guarded, and only relying on the two regiments and one tank battalion of the 39th Guards Division to seize the airport, our strength is far from enough.”

“Don’t worry, Comrade Military Commissioner, I have already made sufficient preparations.” Cuikov continued to explain: “In addition to the 39th Guards Division, the troops attacking the airport are also the 79th Guards Division of Colonel Semchenkov. At the same time, we dispatched a cannon regiment and an anti-aircraft artillery battalion to block the runway with artillery fire, so that even if we can’t get to the airport in a short time, the German planes don’t even want to take off.”

“By the way, I have a very interesting phenomenon,” Pronin said suddenly: “Judging from the recent battle reports, the German tanks have not taken the initiative to attack. They are all hidden in semi-underground fortifications as fixed Fort use.”

“The Germans have no way to do this.” Vladimirov explained to him: “According to the confession of the captured tank soldiers, because of the shortage of fuel in the Berlin garrison, all the fuel was taken away for use by the aircraft. The tank cannot be started because there is no fuel, so it can only be used as a fixed firepower point.”

“Tempelhoff’s central airport is empty. You can’t see any German airplanes.” Pozharsky said with some chagrin: “Otherwise our artillery can wipe them all out.”

Pozharsky’s words reminded me of a question. If Nazi leaders like Hitler and Goebbels wanted to escape from Berlin by plane, they would definitely not come from the ground in a car because they might be attacked by our army. Bombing or shelling, even a small force can destroy them. Therefore, there must be an unknown underground passage from Hitler’s hiding place to the airport.

Thinking of this, I asked tentatively: “General Trikov, I have a question. If the Nazi leaders want to escape from Berlin by plane, where will they enter the airport and where will the plane carrying them be?”

“Lida, you have a very reasonable question. According to the information we have, there is an underground passage from the bandit’s nest where Hitler was hiding to the airport. As for the plane carrying them, it is hidden in the airport’s underground hangar. “When Cui Kefu said this, he shrugged his shoulders, spread his hands, and said helplessly: “Unfortunately, we don’t know the exact coordinates of the exit of the underground hangar. Therefore, I can only order the troops involved in the attack. Using artillery and machine gun fire to cut off the various roads leading to the runway, using this method to block enemy aircraft underground.”

After discussing things about Tempelhof’s central airport, our topic turned back to how to seize the Kroll Opera House. Pronin once again suggested that tanks and artillery should be sent immediately to reinforce. The 117th Regiment of Guards near the Capitol destroyed the enemies in the Opera House and avenged the sacrificed Lieutenant Colonel Gritsenko.

Deputy Commander Dukhanov said regretfully: “Although we destroyed a large number of German fortifications when we shelled the other side of the canal, it also brought a side effect. The masonry and rubble formed by the collapsed houses piled up on the road. One **** after another was formed, blocking the path of our tanks and self-propelled artillery. Unless we can clear the road as soon as possible, we cannot send more technical equipment to the Capitol.”

I looked at the map and asked Dukhanov: “Comrade General, see if you can discuss with the neighboring General Berzalin and let our tank brigade pass through the defense zone of the 5th Assault Army from the Brandenburg Gate. And the direction of Paris Square had an impact on the Capitol.”

Dukhanov shook his head and said: “Comrade Deputy Commander, General Berzalin’s troops are now completely blocked by the Germans. They cannot cross the canal by themselves. How could it be possible for our tank brigade to pass through? Besides, doing so will cause unnecessary confusion, and I don’t recommend this.”

Cui Koff obviously had the same idea as me. After listening to Dukhanov’s words, he sighed softly and said: “Yes, the front army headquarters has delineated the range of attacks for the various armies, even if we really can From the defense zone of the 5th Assault Army, breaking through the German defenses and entering the Brandenburg Gate will also cause General Berzalin’s discomfort. Forget it, let’s adopt a steady and steady tactic and continue to advance to the Reichstag. Comrade Director of the Engineering Forces !”

Tkachenko, who was called by his name, quickly agreed, and Trikov began to assign him a task: “Immediately deploy engineers to clear the road to the Capitol, so that our tanks and self-propelled artillery can pass smoothly. I don’t know what you need. How long will it take to complete this task?”

Tkachenko thought for a while, and then replied: “I went to observe on the spot. It will take at least a week to clean up the masonry and rubble on the street.” He said that when Cui Kefu’s face was exposed. In response to the discordant expression, he quickly added, “But if you just open up a road for technical equipment to pass, it will be about one night.”

“What are you going to do?” Cui Kefu asked.

“Because there are a large number of huge reinforced concrete beams in these ruins, we need to send engineers to bury explosives before blasting.” Tkachenko said confidently: “After the blasting is completed, we will use lifting Machinery to clean up the ruins, thereby opening up passages for the armored forces…”

The commanders of the 39th and 79th Guards Division finally succeeded in capturing Tempelhof Central Airport in the evening. Occupied the terminal building, the communication hub and the underground hangar, and seized the aircraft that had been filled with fuel in the hangar, completely cutting off the escape route of the Nazi bandits.

After confirming that our army had fully controlled Tempelhof Central Airport, I immediately called Zhukov and reported the exciting news to him. After hearing this, he kept saying good: “Great, this is really great. Tempelhof Central Airport is the last airport in Berlin. Our army occupying here is equivalent to cutting off the escape route of Hitler and other bandits. Even if they put their wings on, they couldn’t escape from our heavy siege. Please convey my order to Cui Koff. Even if you dig three feet, Hitler and his gang of Nazi accomplices must find their way and live to see you. People die to see the corpse. Do you understand?”

“Relax, Comrade Marshal. I will pass your order to General Cuikov.” I suddenly remembered the 3rd Assault Army which was attacking the new German Chancellery, and asked tentatively: “Comrade Marshal, I want to ask. How is the progress of the 3rd Assault Army?”

“Just half an hour ago, General Kuznetsov’s troops successfully occupied the new German Chancellery and wiped out the enemies that were standing there.” Zhukov said casually: “They will come tomorrow morning after a rest night. The Capitol is advancing, and since you linger and win the honor of the Capitol, it belongs to them.”

To me it doesn’t matter who captured the Reichstag. I only care about whether Hitler was caught or killed in the battle that just ended. So I asked tentatively: “Comrade Marshal, 3rd assault. After the troops of the group army captured the new German Chancellery, did they capture any important Nazis?”

“Important people, what important people? The prime minister’s office is full of small people.” Zhukov heard this question of mine, and said with some puzzlement: “Leda, although the enemies who stick to the prime minister’s office have resisted stubbornly, but there The terrain simply cannot establish a strong defense, so the Nazi bandit Hitler will never hide there. According to our analysis, his hiding place must be in the basement of the Reichstag.”

Knowing that Zhukov didn’t know where Hitler was hiding, my mood suddenly became happy. Although I am not familiar with Berlin, according to the history I know, Hitler’s hiding place is near the new German Chancellery, but Kuznetsov’s troops did not find a place. Although it is the site of the 3rd Assault Army, we should send a force to search for Hitler’s whereabouts. There should be no problem.

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