Chapter 1712

The defeat of the 117th regiment of the guards in attacking the parliament building made the atmosphere of the headquarters dull.

"We should launch an immediate attack on the Croll opera house and wipe out the enemy who is here," military Commissioner plonin suggested loudly

"The opera houses are all stone buildings, and the Germans are heavily guarded here." After looking at Pronin with dissatisfied eyes, Vladimirov said: "without heavy weapons, tanks and artillery, how can our troops capture here?"

"I remember the 39th division was equipped with a tank battalion, equipped with the latest T-34." Instead of recognizing the irony in Vladimirov's voice, Pronin asked, "why don't you put them into battle?"

"Comrade military commissar, you can remember that there is indeed a tank battalion in the 39th division of the guards, but they are now attacking the central airport of tempelhoff in Berlin with the main force of the division." "The airport is the last remaining space in Berlin for planes to take off, and it is clear that the Germans are trying to do their best to control the only window to the air so that Hitler, Goebbels, Bowman and other leaders of the Third Reich can be airlifted to other parts of Germany at the right time," trakov said, We must not let them slip through the only window in the sky! Therefore, seizing the airport is of great significance to the whole Berlin campaign. "

Trikov's words startled Pronin. He did not expect that there was still such an important area not occupied in Berlin. He quickly reminded trikov: "Comrade commander, since this airport is so important, I think the Germans must be heavily guarded. They wanted to seize the airport only by two regiments and a tank battalion of the 39th division of the guards, Our strength is still far from enough. "

"Don't worry, comrades of the military Commissar. I have been well prepared for a long time." "In addition to the 39th guard division, there was also the 79th guard division of Colonel shemchenkov," he continued. At the same time, we also 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 the airport in a short time, the German plane can't take off. "

"By the way, I found a very interesting phenomenon," Pronin said suddenly. "Judging from the recent war reports, German tanks have never taken the initiative to attack. They are hidden in semi underground fortifications and used as fixed fort."

"There is no way for the Germans to do so." 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 the use of aircraft, while the tanks could not start because they had no fuel, so they could only be used as fixed fire points."

"The sky above Tempelhof Central Airport is so clear that no German plane can be seen." Pozharsky said with some chagrin, "otherwise our artillery can wipe them out."

Bozarsky's words remind me of a problem. If Hitler and Goebbels wanted to fly away from Berlin, they would not come from the ground by car, because they might be bombed or shelled by our army, or even wiped out by a small force. So there must be an unknown underground passage from Hitler's hiding place to the airport.

Thinking of this, I tentatively asked, "general trakov, I have a question. If the * * leaders want to fly away from Berlin, where will they enter the airport and where will the plane carrying them be?"

"You have a good point, Rita. According to our information, there is an underground passage from Hitler's hiding place to the airport. As for the plane carrying them, it is hidden in the underground hangar of the airport. " Trekov shrugged his shoulders, spread his hands, and said rather reluctantly, "unfortunately, we don't know the exact coordinates of the underground hangar exit. Therefore, I can only order the troops involved in the attack to cut off the roads leading to the runway with artillery and machine gun fire, and block the enemy aircraft underground in this way. "

After discussing about the central airport of tempelhoff, we turned to the issue of seizing the Croll opera house. Pronin once again suggested that tanks and artillery should be sent immediately to reinforce the 117th guard regiment which was staying near the Capitol building, eliminate the enemy in the opera house, and avenge the sacrifice of lieutenant colonel grizenko.

Deputy commander duhanov said regretfully: "although we destroyed a large number of German Fortifications on the other side of the canal, it also brought a side effect. The bricks and stones formed by the collapsed houses piled on the road, forming one slope after another, blocking the way of our tanks and self-propelled artillery. Unless we can clear the roads as soon as possible, we will not be able to send more technical equipment to the vicinity of the Capitol building. "

I looked at the map and asked dukhanov, "Comrade General, do you think we can discuss with our neighbor general berzalin to let our tank brigade pass through the defense area of the 5th shock group army and attack the Capitol building from the direction of Brandenburg gate and Paris Square?"

Duhanov shook his head and said, "Comrade deputy commander, general berzalin's troops are now completely blocked by the German army. They can't cross the canal themselves. How can they let our tank brigade pass through. Besides, it will cause unnecessary confusion. I do not recommend it. "

Trikov obviously had the same idea as me. After hearing duhanov's words, he sighed softly and said, "yes, the headquarters of the front army has defined the attack scope for all the group armies. Even if we can really break through the German defense and enter the Brandenburg gate from the defense area of the 5th assault group army, it will cause general berzalin's displeasure. Forget it, we'd better take a steady tactic and continue to push the Capitol. Comrade chief of the engineering corps! " Tkachenko, who was called by him, agreed quickly, and trekov began to assign tasks to him: "immediately deploy engineers to clear the road to the Capitol building, so that our tanks and self-propelled artillery can pass smoothly. I don't know how long it will take you to finish this task? " After thinking about it, Tkachenko replied, "I've been to the field and observed that it will take at least a week to clean up the bricks and rubble on the street." When he said this, he saw a look of discord on trakov's face and quickly added, "but if it's just to open up a road for technical equipment, it's probably a night."“ What are you going to do? " Trekov asked“ Because there are a lot of huge reinforced concrete beams in these ruins, we need to send engineers to bury explosives first, and then carry out blasting. " Tkachenko said with confidence: "after the blasting is completed, we will use the lifting machinery to clean up the ruins, so as to open up a channel for the armored forces..." the officers and men of the 39th and 79th divisions of the guards finally captured the tempelhoff Central Airport in the evening. They occupied the terminal building, communication hub and underground hangar, seized the aircraft that had been filled with oil in the hangar, and completely cut off the escape route of the bandit leaders. After confirming that our army had taken full control of tempelhoff Central Airport, I immediately called Zhukov and reported this exciting news to him. After hearing this, he said, "great, that's great. Tempelhoff Central Airport is the last airport in Berlin. Our army's occupation of this airport is tantamount to cutting off Hitler and other bandits' escape road. Even if they put on their wings, they can't escape from our heavy encirclement. Please convey my order to trikov that even if you dig three feet, you should find a way out for Hitler and his gang of accomplices. You should live and die. Do you understand? "“ Don't worry, comrade marshal. I'll pass on your order to general trakov. " I suddenly thought of the third shock group army, which was attacking the new German prime minister's office, and asked tentatively, "marshal, what's the progress of the third shock group army?"“ Just half an hour ago, general Kuznetsov's troops succeeded in occupying the new German Chancellery and annihilating the enemy who held fast to it. " Zhukov said casually, "after a night's rest, they will push forward to the Capitol tomorrow morning. If you linger any longer, it will be theirs to win the honor of the Capitol." For me, it doesn't matter who captured the parliament building. I only care about whether Hitler was captured or killed in the battle just ended. So I tentatively asked, "Comrade marshal, after the troops of the third shock group captured the new German chancellery, did they catch any important figures of * *“ Important people, what important people? The premier's office is full of minions. " When Zhukov heard my question, he was a little puzzled and said, "Rita, although the enemies who hold fast to the prime minister's office have made tenacious resistance, the terrain there can't build a solid defense at all, so Hitler, the bandit leader, will never hide there. According to our analysis, his hiding place must be in the basement of the Capitol building. " Knowing that Zhukov didn't know where Hitler was hiding, I became happy. Although I am not familiar with Berlin, according to the history I know, Hitler's hiding place is near the new German prime minister's office, but Kuznetsov's troops have not found a place. Although it is the territory of the third shock group army, there should be no problem for us to send an army to search for Hitler.