Republic of China: Ace Pilot

Chapter 844 Katyusha Cluster Launch, Smolensk Night Breakout

May 18, 1941, dusk.

The Soviet forces defending the western side of Smolensk suffered a major defeat.

Hoth's 3rd Panzer Group, which launched attacks from both the north and south, joined forces with Guderian's 2nd Panzer Group.

Subsequently, German armored forces moved in and outflanked the city of Smolensk and nearby Soviet positions.

Thus, the second massive Soviet encirclement since the start of the Soviet-German war was officially formed.

(The first encirclement was the Bialystok-Minsk encirclement last month, in which 300,000 Soviet troops were encircled and annihilated by the German army.)

When news of the encirclement by the two armored groups reached the headquarters of Army Group Center, the German generals in the command center cheered.

After several days of intense offensive, the German army, despite some minor setbacks in the air, still managed to complete its original operational strategy.

The armored forces once again replicated the German blitzkrieg tactics in Europe, crushing the last frontline barrier of the Soviet army on the western front.

At this moment, the German vanguard was less than 380 kilometers away from Moscow in a straight line. The flat East European plain no longer had any major natural barriers to stop the armored onslaught. Everyone believed that capturing Moscow was only a matter of time.

After a brief period of celebration, the German army quickly formulated comprehensive tactical and strategic adjustments based on the current battlefield situation, addressing all the hidden dangers that had been exposed.

Learning from the lessons of the Soviet Air Force's previous use of airburst bombs to break through interception and launch airstrikes, disrupting the offensive rhythm, the German front-line armored units were the first to complete the reorganization.

All armored columns completely abandoned the large-scale mass marching mode and were split into dozens of small assault detachments of about 100 men each, with three to five tanks as the core, accompanied by half-track troop carriers and motorcycle squads.

The squads coordinated via radio, enabling them to advance rapidly while avoiding the mass damage caused by Soviet aerial bombs.

At the same time, each armored squad is required to be equipped with a dedicated air defense unit, and 20mm Flak 38 anti-aircraft guns are distributed to grassroots combat units, no longer being centrally deployed.

Anti-aircraft artillery is on duty 24 hours a day, with dedicated air defense zones, high and low altitude firepower combined to make up for the shortcomings of squad air defense.

At the air force level, each air force squadron adjusted its air combat strategies.

In response to the operational shortcomings of airburst bombs, the previous high-altitude dive-bombing hunting tactics were abandoned.

The Bf-109 formation increased its cruising distance and split into two parts: an interception unit and a mobile unit. The mobile unit was responsible for intercepting Soviet aircraft that broke through the interception and conducting secondary interception.

Ju88 fighters intensified low-altitude patrols, specifically targeting Soviet Yak fighters that broke through interception lines for low-altitude air raids.

In contrast to the simple and efficient tactical reforms at the front, strategic disagreements emerged within the German high command.

From the moment the encirclement of Smolensk was completed, all senior frontline commanders within Army Group Center reached a unified consensus:

Abandon rest and reorganization, abandon the idea of ​​concentrating forces to annihilate the surrounded Soviet troops, and immediately advance eastward.

With Marshal Bock overseeing the overall situation and Guderian and Hoth, the two major armored commanders, at the core of the frontline faction, they were all the most loyal practitioners of blitzkrieg tactics.

In their eyes, this was a golden window of opportunity, a once-in-a-lifetime opportunity, for the entire Eastern Front war.

With the main Soviet forces trapped in the encirclement and the western defense line collapsing, Moscow was wide open and there were no sufficient reserve troops to replenish it in a short period of time.

The group jointly submitted a combat report to Berlin, advocating that all the elite armored forces of Army Group Center be concentrated, all secondary combat objectives be abandoned, and a direct attack on Moscow be launched.

Capturing the Soviet capital would cripple the Soviet command structure, crush the will of the Soviet people and military to resist, and end the war on the Eastern Front before the onset of winter and the freezing of the ground.

However, a few hours later, a secret telegram arrived from Berlin, personally approved by the Führer, coldly shattering the dreams of all the frontline generals.

Unlike the strategic thinking of frontline generals who focused on a quick victory, the Führer in Berlin had his own biased and utilitarian considerations.

In his strategic blueprint, Moscow, the political capital, was never a top priority;

It would be extremely costly for the German army to expend a massive amount of manpower to capture Moscow, a vast, densely populated city that was highly vulnerable to urban warfare.

Compared to empty political victories, acquiring real war resources and eliminating more enemy forces were the foundations that enabled the Nazi empire to continue its expansion.

The Führer's telegram was strongly worded, explicitly rejecting the proposal by the Central Army Group to directly attack Moscow, and issuing a firm operational order:

The main force of the Central Army Group was immediately split into two groups to carry out new combat missions.

The first part remained in the Smolensk encirclement, gradually clearing out the trapped remnants of the Western Front, annihilating all Soviet troops, and seizing all military supplies such as tanks, artillery, fuel, and food from the battlefield.

The second part involved drawing upon Guderian's elite armored forces, turning south to join Rundstedt's Army Group South in encircling Kiev, capturing the Donbas heavy industrial base and the Caucasus oil-producing region, and completely severing the Soviet Union's industrial lifeline and energy supply that sustained the war effort.

Just as the German army finalized its new operational plan.

Urgent discussions are also taking place within the Moscow Kremlin regarding how to deal with the current predicament.

A group of high-ranking Soviet military officers gathered in front of a giant battle map, their faces solemn, and no one spoke.

The news of the encirclement of Smolensk weighed heavily on everyone's hearts.

Although some troops have been withdrawn, there are still as many as 200,000 troops trapped.

Everyone knew that if the 200,000 besieged troops were completely annihilated, Moscow would face immense pressure to the west.

After a brief period of silence, the top leadership finalized two response plans.

The first plan is to implement a dual strategy of "breakout + containment" against the Smolensk encirclement.

Timoshenko was ordered to integrate the remaining troops on the periphery and the reserves in the rear to form a temporary counterattack force and launch a counterattack from the weakest point in the encirclement.

At the same time, they secretly dispatched communications soldiers and guides into the encirclement to transmit breakout orders and guide the trapped troops to break out in small groups under the cover of darkness and through gaps in the woods.

The second plan involves increasing wartime mobilization in Moscow, strengthening its defenses in depth, and utilizing all available resources to counter the German armored onslaught and air raids.

Urgently recruit reserve soldiers from Moscow and the rear areas and send them to three pre-established defense lines around Moscow to build anti-tank ditches, lay minefields, and set up firing positions.

All civilian factories in the rear were restructured overnight, with all employees working in three shifts to stop production and prioritize supplying tanks, artillery, firearms and ammunition to the front lines.

On the Air Force side, the mass production plan for airburst bombs has been elevated to the highest priority.

Fang Wen's suburban military factory received an additional allocation of raw materials, technicians and production lines, and skilled workers, with a requirement to double its daily production capacity and to deliver ammunition to the six major air regiments on both the east and west fronts around the clock.

The Air Force Headquarters revised and simplified the tactical manual, streamlined the operational threshold, and distributed it to every pilot to expedite the popularization of basic delivery skills, maximize the air combat value of the new munitions, and curb German air superiority.

Ground forces will soon be equipped with a killer weapon that could change the landscape of land warfare.

At a top-secret ordnance testing ground on the western outskirts of Moscow, dozens of heavy-duty trucks equipped with multiple rocket launchers were neatly lined up—the BM-13 vehicle-mounted multiple rocket launcher (Katyusha), which the Soviet Union had been secretly developing for a long time. Prior to this, the Storm series of vehicle-mounted rocket launchers from the Far East Taishan Military Industry had already shone brightly on the battlefield against Japan, revolutionizing land warfare with their characteristics of saturation bombardment, ultra-long range, and cluster destruction. Intelligence agencies from various countries have relevant records of this.

Because of the emergence of pioneers, Katyusha is no longer a unique, groundbreaking weapon, and has lost its strategic element of preemptive strike.

But no one can deny the terrifying power of this weapon.

A single Katyusha launcher can unleash sixteen 132mm rockets in ten seconds. A single salvo can cover an entire position. The explosive shockwave, fragments, and intense heat can simultaneously kill clusters of infantry, damage light armor, and destroy field fortifications. It is the optimal solution for dealing with dense German infantry formations, supply points, and temporary positions.

It was also a strategic weapon that broke through the German encirclement.

The artillery lieutenant general, who had come specifically for this purpose, looked at the equipment and asked eagerly, "When can it be deployed to the front lines?"

The chief engineer in charge of the Katyusha project pushed up his glasses: "All debugging is complete, and it is ready for actual combat at any time."

The lieutenant general immediately ordered: "Establish an independent rocket artillery special forces unit immediately, equip it with twelve Katyusha launchers in the first batch, and secretly deploy it to the counterattack battlefield on the outskirts of Smolensk."

The objective was clear: to use the overwhelming firepower of the Katyusha rockets to bombard the outer blockade positions of the German army, severely damage their garrisoned infantry and intercepting tank units, and forcibly tear open a gap to create a breakout channel for the 200,000 friendly troops inside the encirclement.

However, the lieutenant general and technical experts were well aware that the inherent scattering characteristics of the Katyusha could not be eliminated, and its firing accuracy was far inferior to that of artillery. Once a salvo was launched, the indiscriminate coverage of the artillery fire could very likely result in friendly forces inside the encirclement being accidentally wounded.

The following morning.

The twelve Katyusha rocket launchers, secretly transported to the front lines, were deployed at their designated positions. The launchers were uniformly adjusted in terms of firing angle and azimuth, and with a command from the commanding officer, the twelve rockets were launched simultaneously.

Hundreds of rockets streaked across the sky, trailing crimson flames, and hurtled towards the German encirclement lines on the south side.

Twenty seconds later, a cluster of rockets appeared over the German positions, illuminating the entire sky with their trails of smoke.

The German army had never seen such an attack before. It was not an attack by planes or artillery shells, but it looked huge and impressive.

Moments later, the rocket hit the ground and exploded.

A series of bursts of flame rose up, instantly engulfing several German infantry positions and temporary supply points.

The trenches were leveled, and ammunition depots exploded in a series of explosions, resulting in heavy casualties among the infantry.

The German blockade line, which took a day to build, was breached by blasting a gap more than 3,000 meters wide.

But the problem that the artillery lieutenant general feared most eventually came to pass.

Due to the inherent scattering defects of rockets, coupled with the rudimentary initial firing data and lack of precise correction methods, some of the deviated rockets crossed the German defenses and landed in the Soviet-held areas within the encirclement.

Caught off guard, the trapped Soviet troops were also subjected to artillery fire, resulting in the destruction of their positions and casualties.

Out of fear of unknown artillery fire, the surrounded Soviet troops dared not attempt to break through the gap.

This escape route, forged by artillery fire, had no effect.

After the first round of shelling, the army conducted an emergency review.

Although it did not achieve the goal of enabling the surrounded Soviet troops to break out, it did demonstrate the power and effectiveness of the rocket swarm launch.

After an emergency consultation, the top leadership finalized the nighttime raid plan, scheduled for late that night, to launch a surprise attack under the cover of darkness.

To support the surprise attack, Katyusha rockets will also be used for tactical strikes to increase the chances of success.

To minimize the risk of friendly fire, the communications department activated encrypted frequencies in advance and repeatedly sent radio notifications to Soviet units within the encirclement, informing them of the shelling area, time, and breakout timeframe.

However, the accidental injuries during the day cast a shadow over the artillery commanders' minds. The rudimentary original firing tables could not correct for wind drift and distance errors. With the existing technology alone, it was still impossible to solve the scattering problem at its root.

Moreover, the second round of shelling takes place at night, making the accuracy issue even more difficult to resolve, and it may even repeat the problems encountered during the day, causing friendly fire incidents.

In difficult circumstances, someone mentioned that person.

Fang Wen, the founder of Taishan Military Industry, a genius in the field of fighter jets and ordnance, and the leader of the research and development of Taishan Storm.

It had previously purchased Soviet rockets and had a unique understanding of the Katyusha weapon system.

The Army Operations Department quickly dispatched a special envoy to the airburst ammunition production plant to meet with Fang Wen and frankly explain the predicament at the front. They hoped that he could personally go to the Smolensk front to provide trajectory correction and technical support for the Katyusha rocket artillery, reduce the scattering range, and isolate the risk of friendly fire.

After hearing the whole story, Fang Wen did not refuse immediately, but put forward his conditions: "I can go to the front line to help you optimize the firing parameters, but I need you to build a simple temporary take-off and landing runway at the front line, and at the same time allocate a fully functional Yak-1 fighter for my use, which I will fly back and forth myself."

This condition was not considered harsh, and the army representative agreed on the spot.

Within half an hour, the army completed all coordination work: on the one hand, it ordered the frontline engineers to level the land and build a temporary field runway; on the other hand, it directly transferred a brand-new Yak-1 fighter jet from the 6th Air Defense Fighter Corps, and at the same time reported to the Moscow Air Defense Command, opened a dedicated flight route, and granted Fang Wen full passage rights.

Several hours later, Fang Wen piloted the brand-new Yak-1 fighter jet alone, taking off from a nearby military airfield and flying westward.

Half an hour later, the fighter jets reached an airspace 60 kilometers east of the town of Smolensk and landed on a makeshift hard-surface runway that had just been built on the front lines.

The plane slowed down on the runway and came to a stop.

Fang Wen shut off the engine, pushed open the canopy, and jumped to the ground.

A colonel, an artillery officer, strode over and saluted.

"Hello, I am Colonel Vasily, the commander of the rocket special operations battalion. Comrade Fang, you must be tired from your journey."

Fang Wen raised his hand in return.

Vasily's expression was grave: "The situation is urgent. Please come with me to the launch site, and I will explain the entire situation to you in detail."

Fang Wen nodded and followed Colonel Vasily into a military off-road jeep, which sped towards the rocket site. (End of Chapter)