Nemesis (30 page)

Lavrinenko
was standing beside his T-34, looking like Napoleon in his long grey trench coat,
hat and earmuffs askew, and one hand tucked inside the flap of his coat to keep
it warm in the chilly dawn.

“A good
fight for a change,” he said.

“Yet
here we are,” said Samohin, “still heading north, and they’ll take Mtsensk this
morning. Bondar’s group got the worst of it.”

“Raftopoullo
came in with his second battalion this morning. Chemelki didn’t make it with
the first…”

“They
fought well, but they’re still clattering around in those old BT-7s.” said
Lavrinenko. “This one here,” he thumbed his T-34, “this is the way to build a
good tank. Did you see those Panzers go up? One damn shot was all it took! Give
us enough of these, and we’ll win this war, and I’ll get a hundred enemy tanks
to prove it.”

“I’ll
get a hundred too,” said Samohin. “Let us see who gets there first.”

They
would each get their chance again that day, as Katukov had been ordered to hold
Chern to try and delay any further enemy advance on Tula until the defense
could be organized there. Too slow to foot it the 20 kilometers north on the
main road, the 6th Guards Division, and what was left of the two para brigades,
withdrew east of Mtsensk toward higher ground near Hill 873 and the village of
Bobriki. They had learned a new Soviet Rifle Corps of three new divisions had
arrived to the south of that position, facing the German 267th Infantry was
positioned to screen the road back to Orel.

The
“incident” at Mtsensk would soon take on far more gravity than it seemed. The
movement of 3rd Panzer Division around the town had started a flow of men and
machines north on the road to Tula, and so the supply columns would have to
follow, and as it so often happened in war, one thing would lead to another.
The brief battle took on a certain momentum in Guderian’s mind as well as he
thought about the road ahead, for that was obviously where those enemy units
had come from—Tula, an important enemy arms manufacturing center. Soon this
action would figure prominently in the discussion being held at OKW, and
Guderian would take key thoughts to that meeting when he hastened south in a plane
to attend.

The
first was that the enemy tanks were now better than anything he had, and they
were learning how to use them. The second was that Tula should be taken, and
quickly, before the already deteriorating weather conditions made the roads
impassable.

After
Orel was secured, the planners at OKW met with Hitler to
determine the next move. Halder was full of energy that day, for he had not
spent the long hours on the road, fighting from one hamlet and village to
another, and slowly seeing the gradual deterioration of the men and machines.
His great worry had been lack of fuel, but thus far, supplies had held up well
enough. Now the taking of Orel marked the decision point for the question on
whether or not to drive on Moscow. Guderian called it the most important
decision OKW would have to make in the war, and Halder appeared with a heavy
briefcase containing plans for his new operation, well prepared to argue that
Moscow should be taken before the roads became impossible. At the same time, Manstein
countered by suggesting Guderian should instead turn east to form the northern
pincer of a major operation aimed at Voronezh.

With
Hitler unable to decide himself, Guderian was ordered to give his mind on the matter,
and deliver a firsthand assessment from the field. After a long flight back to
Germany, he gave them an earful, sobering in every respect, telling them that
the supply situation was far more tenuous than OKW might believe, and that the
condition of vehicles, tanks and prime movers was deteriorating rapidly due to
the wear and tear of 10 days continuous heavy fighting.

“There
was an incident at Mtsensk that I found very disturbing,” he said. “4th Panzer
Division was ordered to push up the road north of Orel, and they ran into some
very tough units. The Russians have deployed a new tank. Thus far we have had
our way with their older mechanized corps, and they have largely been destroyed
or withdrawn from the battlefield by now. The enemy has been holding on with
Rifle Divisions, but no longer. These new Russian tanks were superior to all
our Panzer III designs, and even better than our Panzer IV.”

“We
have seen the report,” said Halder.

“Yes? Well
that was not the whole story. I had a close look at one of these new Russian
tanks, and it is very impressive—good sloped frontal armor, a gun that
outclasses anything on our tanks, and wide treads for excellent traction and
cross country performance. That capability was never in the Russian Armored
Corps before, and now they are learning how to maneuver. From all reports, the
tactics they adopted were just as worrisome as the tanks they used.”

“Do
not be overly concerned, General, we have known about this formation of these
new enemy tank brigades for some time.”

Guderian
frowned. “Then you might have given us fair warning!”

“We
were not sure just how soon the Russians would field these units,” said Halder,
“but don’t worry, Ivan Volkov sent us the plans for this tank nine months ago.
We know all about it.”

“Nine
months?” Guderian was very surprised to hear this.

“Correct,”
said Halder dryly, “and we have not been merely sitting on our thumbs since
then, General. Damlier Benz developed a new prototype vehicle from the
information we obtained.”

“Very
much like this new enemy tank,” said Hitler. “I found it acceptable, but I was
convinced otherwise.”

“We
also decided to use our own design methods in a competing version, and
Maschinenfabrik
Augsburg-Nürnberg
produced a prototype that seemed more promising.”

“The
Damlier–Benz version looked too much like this new Russian tank you are worried
about,” said Hitler, “and the issue of friendly fire was raised. The plans are
there on the table. You can have a look for yourself. Note the forward
deployment of the gun turret. I was convinced that might also cause
difficulties when traversing a steep slope.”

“So the
turret was moved further back in the MAN design,” said Halder. “It also has
wider tracks for better ground pressure, a larger fuel tank for the diesel
engines to deliver better range, and excellent twin torsion bar suspension.
Here is the schematic.” He shifted a document under the overhanging light, and
Guderian nodded.

“We are
calling this one the
Panzerkampfwagen
VK-30, the Leopard, the first of
the Big Cats. That tank is 35 tons, about ten tons heavier than our best Mark
IV tanks. It will have 60mm frontal armor, but note the slope. That will
increase resistance to penetration considerably. I am told it is the equivalent
of 90mm in vertically mounted armor. Your Panzer divisions will soon be
supported by this new design, which is still being modified and improved. At
the Fuhrer’s request, the next version will have even better protection, up to
80mm sloped armor, with stopping power equivalent to 120mm of vertical armor.
We will call that one the Panther, about 45 tons in total weight. They are
coming, Herr General. The first brigades are already on the prowl, so you must
be patient.”

“Yes,
yes, they are coming, but they will not be with me on the road to Tula!”

“I beg
to differ,” said Halder. “The first will arrive in a special heavy brigade
formations as medium scout tanks.”

“A 35
ton tank for reconnaissance?” Guderian looked up, quite surprised.

“Yes,”
said Halder, “it is fast enough to do the job. But wait until you see what
follows it.” Halder reached for a leather brief on the table, opening it to
reveal another set of plans. “Here we have yet another new design. We call it
the Löwe, a real Lion, though this one is just the beginning—the
Panzerkampfwagen
VK-55L. That number designates its weight—55 tons.”

Guderian
was stunned. “That is twice the weight of our Mark IVs!”

“True,
and this is only the Leichter Löwe, the lightest version of this design. Even
heavier versions are in the works, one at 76 tons, and a third at 90 tons. Once
you see them, I do not believe you will have any further concerns.”

“That
is most encouraging,” said Guderian, “assuming we get the fuel and supplies to
keep those Lions hunting. And has it occurred to you that there probably isn’t
a bridge between my position and Moscow that can take that kind of weight? Such
a heavy vehicle will tear the roads to pieces. Is this the tank I was asked
about earlier?”

“Correct,”
said Halder. “We have been working night and day. Krupp had the plans on the drawing
board long ago, but development went into overdrive last February when Rommel
ran into trouble in North Africa. Our first brigades are only now ready for
field deployment. Therefore, the 101st Heavy Panzer Brigade has been assigned
to spearhead the second wave behind your Panzergruppe, under Hoth. His 3rd
Panzergruppe is coming up now, and it will strongly support your advance.”

With no
time for long development cycles, the Germans had moved heaven and earth to
bring this tank into production ready status. It would have 100mm sloped
frontal armor and twice the side armor of a Mark IV at 60mm, with a stronger
suspension to carry it in good balance. The turret was also well protected,
with 80mm of armor up front and 60mm on the sides, and it housed a new weapon, the
7.5cm KwK-L/70, which would also be used on the Mark V Panther, and become one
of the best guns in its class during the entire war. It could penetrate almost
90mm of armor at a very long range of 2000 meters, and up close, its maximum
penetration was 138mm.

The
heavier versions Halder had hinted at were now being designated the VK-76L, and
the VK-90L respectively, with those numbers standing for the designed weight of
the tank. They would be super heavy tanks by any measure, designed on all new
chassis, though for now, only this preliminary 55L model was ready for combat
trials. In effect, it was a design equivalent to yet another model under
development, the Tiger.

Best of
all, it was coming on the scene almost a full year early, as the real ‘tank
shock’ for the Germans had not come here, but much earlier in the deserts of
North Africa, when Brigadier Kinlan’s heavy tanks had completely stopped
Rommel’s advance on Egypt. German engineers had been busy ever since, and
though nothing they would design would ever match the Challenger II, the Big
Cats would come prowling much sooner than they otherwise might have, and it
would make a great difference on the Russian Front. The Leopard and Lion would
now join two other models that were already in limited production, with names
that would become famous in the history Fedorov knew, the Panther and Tiger.

General
Guderian had been consulted, along with Rommel, on just what was to be desired
to improve the panzer force, and he was very pleased to hear of this
development, though still only cautiously optimistic.

“Very
well,” he said, “with Hoth behind us, I believe we can proceed, with or without
these new tanks.” He was more concerned about time and the conditions of the
roads than anything else now, and this thought dominated his mind as he
finished his report. “The troops will not be well prepared for foul weather,
let alone winter temperatures if we delay any further. And the roads will only
deteriorate if we get more rain, which will surely come. Whatever we do, it
must be done immediately, or you will find those nice new heavy tanks stuck in
three feet of mud.”

“Then
you advocate a strong drive on Moscow now?” said Halder, pushing the matter to
a head.

“At the
very least,” said Guderian, “we must take Tula as a preliminary move. There is
a decent road from Orel to Tula, and a rail line as well. If I turn east, I
have nothing but open terrain and very few good roads taking me to Voronezh. At
the moment we are still fighting to clear Orel and the lines of communication
from there to Tula will be essential if we are to keep our forces supplied.
Every effort must be made to convert that rail line for use before winter. That
failing, I will need the airfields at Tula for possible supply by the
Luftwaffe. Assuming, however, the order is given to turn east instead, I would
still advocate the capture of Tula at the earliest possible opportunity. It is
an important arms production center for the Russians, and a major rail hub like
Orel. We must take it before we turn east, or the Russians will use it to build
up behind our backs.”

That
was just what Halder wanted to hear, and he used it to flog his horse over the
finish line. “Both von Bock and Kesselring agree,” he said quickly. “They were
bold enough to get in a plane and overfly Moscow last we, and von Bock reports
the Russians are erecting several concentric defense lines around the capital.
He insists we must take it now, and before the winter sets in.

Hitler
had been listening closely, silent for some time, but then slowly nodded. “You are now ordered to take Tula,” he said, his eye firmly on Guderian. “In the
south, the SS Panzer Korps will assemble for an operation to be described by
General Manstein. We will use Steiner’s force to push east, but at Tula your
troops will simply be too far north to support this movement. I have therefore
decided that we can pursue both plans simultaneously.”

“On
divergent courses?” asked Guderian.

“We
have more than adequate means,” said Hitler. “Your task is now to first take
Tula, and then consolidate with Hoth for a major offensive towards Moscow.”

“And
what about Bryansk?”

“That
city is nearly cut off,” said Halder. “Army Group Center will continue its
kesselschlacht
operations against the salients at Smolensk, Byransk and finally Kirov, unless
the Russians come to their senses and give it to us first.”

“That
will take a lot of infantry,” said Guderian. “The two divisions I have are
already on my right flank, and I will need to secure the flank with my mobile
divisions if I drive north. May I remind you that my entire 47th Panzer Korps
is forming the northern pincer for the planned operation against Kursk, so it
will not be available. And remember, I never received the 46th Panzer Korps.”

That unit
had originally been comprised of the SS Reich Division, Grossdeutschland and
the 10th Panzer Division, but it had been parceled out before Barbarossa began.
Manstein had the two elite divisions operating in his newly established SS
Korps, the dark nemesis of the Russians in the south. And 10th Panzer Division had
been sent to North Africa, one small consolation for Rommel, who was still
mourning the loss of both Grossdeutschland and the Herman Goering Division that
had served him so well.

Hitler
gave Manstein a dismissive wave of his hand. “With Hoth behind you, there
should be sufficient forces available. As to the proposal put forward by
General Manstein,” the Führer turned slowly, his eyes seeking the General at
the other end of the table. “Is Kharkov secured?” That had been the precondition
Hitler had imposed on Manstein prior to authorizing the drive east.

“The
city is encircled,” said Manstein. “We estimate ten to twelve enemy divisions
are trapped in that pocket. It may be a week or more before we can reduce it,
but the city will fall in due course.”

“Then
if Steiner moves east, what is your plan?”

“I will
take Valuki first, my Führer, as the rail lines running into the Donbass pass
through that city. Once secured, Steiner will drive due east to Rossosh, about
110 kilometers. That cuts the rail line into Millerovo, which supports a good
part of the Southern and Trans-Caucasus Fronts. From there we drive along the
southern bank of the Don, through Boguchar, Veshenskaya, and eventually
Serafimovich, which is the stated objective of Volkov’s present offensive.”