Von Reichenau's World War II

The Second World War finally broke out in 1939 (see Battle of Poland). Reichenau was under the jurisdiction of General Rundstedt's Army Group South and commanded the Tenth Army, which had a large number of tanks and motorized corps, to carry out the main assault. On September 1, it broke through the Polish border fortress, forcing the Polish army to abandon the solid fortress position on the Midavka River, and then wedged into the Polish army deployment area east of Opelun. After its advance troops arrived at the Warta River north of Czestochowa, the corps quickly advanced toward Warsaw and Radom. On September 7, the Tenth Army crossed the middle reaches of the Pilica River on a wide front, and its advance troops The detachment has reached the area between Tomaszow-Mazowiecki and Lodz, 60 kilometers southwest of Warsaw. After the army crossed the Warta River, it divided into two groups. After the armies of the southern wing (right wing) crossed the Pilica River, they circled the Visica Peak from the east and west and formed the first major attack in the entire battle towards Radom. Enclosed circle. The Polish army was surrounded on September 13 during the battle here. A few days later, the remaining 65,000 men and 145 artillery pieces of the five Polish divisions fell into the hands of the Germans. On September 11, the left-wing regiments of the Tenth Army continued to advance toward Warsaw. A prominent tank regiment reached the outskirts of Warsaw, but was repelled by a fierce counterattack by the Polish army. Several strong attacks by this tank regiment failed to bear fruit. Reichenau reorganized his troops, first cutting off the Polish "Poznan" Army Group's retreat to Warsaw from the east, and cooperating with other German army groups to outflank the Polish Army and force them to surrender. Then he joined forces with the German Guderian's Rapid Corps in W?odawa to encircle Warsaw. Warsaw finally surrendered after stubborn resistance and heavy losses.

After the victory in the Polish Campaign, Reichenau was promoted to general. At this time, Hitler began to deploy the Western Front offensive. The generals of the German Wehrmacht were very disgusted with this. They advocated reaching an agreement with Britain and France to end the war. Therefore, Reichenau was sent to dissuade Hitler from his actions, thinking that Reichenau's words would make Hitler listen. But even the favored general could not shake Hitler's resolve. On May 10, 1940, the German army launched an offensive on the western border. General Reichenau commanded the Sixth Army, which had 14 infantry divisions and two tank divisions, and launched an offensive with brave actions within General Bock's Army Group B. The task he received was to advance towards the narrow corridor between Rotterdam and Liege, overcome obstacles such as the Maas River and the well-fortified Albert Canal, and quickly seize the Eben-Eben at the southern end of the Albert Canal with the cooperation of the airborne troops. Fortress of Mar, where the canal was forcibly crossed. Break through the front between Maastricht and Liege and open the road to Brussels. Hepner's tank corps within the Sixth Army should advance quickly to meet the enemy troops in the area north of the Meuse and Sambre rivers as soon as possible, blockade the north of the Liege Fortress, and cover the flanks of the German westward advancing group. Safety. Reichenau's mission was of decisive significance to the victory of the entire campaign. Whether the forces of the Belgian and Allied armies could be resolutely restrained so that they would soon lose their freedom of movement depended on the speed of the German Sixth Army's actions.

Reichenau led his troops to be fully qualified for this task. The German Sixth Army completed its first breakthrough with rapid advancement, crossing the Lower Maas River and the southern section of the Albert Canal west of the river. Although the Dutch army promptly blew up an important bridge in the Maastricht area, German paratroopers used a sudden airborne attack to capture several equally important bridges on the Albert Canal. After careful preparation, the German airborne troops successfully completed the operation to capture the Eben-Emaar fortress. On the day they broke through the front line, at 5:32, when 78 specially selected and trained German airborne troops landed quietly in the fortress by glider, the defenders were simply stunned. Only a few machine guns had time to fire. The observation post, the exit of the concealed fort, and the artillery in the Steel Cap Fort were all immediately blown up by explosives. Since the explosives stuffed into the vents by the Germans were in danger of exploding at any time, the defenders' fighting spirit was shattered. As a result, this solid fortress built in 1935 could no longer provide any support to the defenders of the Albert Canal. The defenders of the fortress ceased their final resistance the next afternoon. Nearly 10 German paratroopers were also killed.

On the evening of the first day of the offensive, after Reichenau's Sixth Army forcibly crossed the Maas River and the Albert Canal on a wide front, the Belgian army withdrew all its occupied positions in front of Liege to Maas. Across the river, one of the divisions was sent to Louvain. In the afternoon of the next day, these armies retreated to the Dale River and were deployed between Liège and Hasselt.

The Heppner Tank Corps formed in the German Sixth Army bypassed Liege and entered the area north of Namur. On May 13, it met two French mechanized divisions near Gembloux. A fierce battle ensued. On the 14th, the French army was driven back. At the same time, the German Sixth Army crossed the Meuse River and advanced separately on the left, center, and right sides, which contained the British and French armies, creating the illusion that this was the main direction of the German attack, and forced the Allied left-wing troops to carry out an attack that the Germans had not expected. of detours. The German high command decided that the Sixth Army would continue to implement diversionary operations, and the Eighteenth Army, which had been freed up after the surrender of the Netherlands, moved closer to the right wing of the Sixth Army. Withdraw the tank troops from the Sixth Army zone and use it for the zone of Army Group A, which will determine the outcome of the war.

On the 25th, the German Sixth Army forcibly crossed the Scheldt River and began to attack the Leith River, cutting off the connection between the Belgian army and the British army.

Reichenau implemented a series of enveloping assault tactics to compress the Belgian army to the narrow coast and plunge it into a desperate situation. On the evening of the 27th, Belgium signed the instrument of surrender, and the next day, Reichenau accepted the surrender of the Belgian king and army.

The left wing of the German Sixth Army advanced to the Lille area, where it defeated the stronger French army.

After the German right wing changed its deployment, Reichenau commanded the powerful forces of the Sixth Army to break through another line of defense re-established by the French army on June 5 and attack Compiègne along both banks of the Oise River. , its left wing troops marched out to the Aisne River in front of the Soissons area. A heavy blow to the French army. In mid-June, the German Sixth Army reached the Loire River, and the battle ended on the 24th.

Reichenau's commanding art in this battle was extremely outstanding, flexible, decisive, and very smooth. The offensive is fierce, the combined attack is swift and fierce, the troops are divided in time, and the pursuit is fast and ruthless. In particular, the battle to seize the Eben-Emaar fortress, with close coordination between ground and air, and perfect surprise and attack, can be called a miracle in military history and set the first such example in World War II (Germany The military quality of the soldiers was fully demonstrated in this battle).

Reichenau also performed very bravely in the battle. He personally directed the assault team to advance and took the lead in crossing the wall under a hail of bullets, which greatly boosted morale. Of course, this is also related to his love of sports in his youth, his abundant physical strength, and his love of self-expression, which prompted him to be brave on the battlefield.

Due to his outstanding military exploits, Reichenau was awarded the rank of Field Marshal by Hitler on July 19. The Soviet-German war broke out on June 22, 1941. Reichenau's Sixth Army was the left northern flank of Field Marshal Rundstedt's Army Group South. Deployed to the north of the Seventeenth Army, be prepared to launch an attack and break through the defenses on both sides of Lutsk. The task assigned was to protect the northern flank of the Army Group from possible Soviet assaults from the Pripyat swamp area and to advance towards Zhytomir with the largest possible force.

After the offensive began, Reichenau led the Sixth Army to forcefully cross the Strie River, but encountered stubborn resistance from the Soviet army. The troops under the command of Marshal Budyonny of the Soviet Union launched a fierce counterattack against the German army from the south and then from the north. Tanks from both sides participated in the battle, and the battle was very difficult. Reichenau took full advantage of the fast speed and fierce firepower of the armored forces and rushed towards the Soviet army. During the continuous fierce fighting, the Soviet army slowly retreated eastward under the pressure of German tanks, and launched fierce and continuous attacks on the German tank units. On July 3, the Soviet army retreated to the east of the Sluchi River. On the 4th, the German army entered the area west of the river. The Sixth Army continued to pursue the Soviet troops retreating in front of them. On the 5th, the Sixth Army and the First Tank Group commanded by Reichenau began to attack the Soviet "Stalin Defense Line" in Volynsky New Town and the area south of it on the northern flank of Army Group South, with fierce fighting. Breakthrough successful. A few days later, tank troops arrived at Berdichev and Zhitomir. Seeing that the German tank group had rushed into the battle area, preparing to implement the plan assigned by Army Group South to capture Uman, unexpectedly the weather suddenly changed and it rained heavily (this often happened in many parts of the Soviet Union in the summer). The tanks could not move at all for several days. Do not drive along washed out roads. However, the Soviet army took the opportunity to launch an active counterattack against the two wings of the German tank cluster, causing heavy losses to the German tanks. It took more than a week for the first German tank group to advance to Baikalkovi with the support of the Sixth Army. However, when the tank group subsequently planned to turn southeast, it encountered a strong counterattack by Soviet troops on its left flank, forcing it to defend with part of its strength. Reichenau had to once again support the tank group from the south so that it could continue its attack to the southeast.

After the first German tank group attacked Uman with the support of the Sixth Army, the central force of the Sixth Army gradually replaced its mission. Reichenau led his army into Kiev despite suffering heavy casualties.

As the German First Tank Group's heavy task of covering the left flank of the Army Group was assumed by Reichenau's Sixth Army, its assault power was greatly enhanced. To the southwest of Boguslav, the Uman encirclement was suddenly formed with the German 17th Army that was detouring from the south. Although the Soviet army launched repeated attacks in an attempt to break through, they were all repelled by the German army. On August 2, the German forces joined forces and the encirclement was completed. On the 8th, the Soviet troops in the encirclement were annihilated.

In addition to some units of Reichenau's Sixth Army participating in the encirclement and annihilation battle of Uman, the battle between its central and northern flank units was also particularly fierce. When the Sixth Army Center advanced towards the Dnieper River in Kiev and the area south of it, the Soviet army mobilized a huge force, crossed the Dnieper River from Cherkasy and its north, and violently counterattacked Reichenau's troops until they reached Bok Although the Slavic region failed to relieve the siege of Uman, it seriously threatened the German army's lines of communication. Reichenau tried his best to stop the Soviet counterattack with the support of the 17th Army emerging from the Uman area, and forced the Soviet army to retreat across the Dnieper River again with repeated attacks. The Kremenchug region reaches the river. At this time, Reichenau experienced the tenacity of his opponent. His Sixth Army launched several powerful offensives, but failed to clear the powerful Soviet base in the Kiev area.

By August 24, the entire Dnieper River Basin to its mouth was in German hands.

The northern wing of the Sixth Army had been engaged in fierce battles with the Soviet troops holding their positions between the Sluch River and the Dnieper River since the beginning of July. On the 16th, the German army spent a lot of effort to move from the front lines of Zhytomir and Volynsky New Town. Break into the Korosten area. It was not until the end of August, after the southern flank of the German Army Group Center cleared the Soviet troops in Mozyr and Gomel, that the Soviet troops who were threatened in the rear retreated from the northern flank of the German Sixth Army to the other side of the Dnieper River.

On August 22, the German High Command issued an order to eliminate the enemies of Kiev’s regional defense. Prior to this, Reichenau's Sixth Army had been deployed near the Dnieper River and formed an encirclement situation against the Soviet army's strong base in the Kiev area. On the 25th, the German offensive began. Reichenau commanded the Sixth Army to cross the Dnieper River and launch assaults on both sides of Kiev. The German Army Group South, with powerful forces such as the 6th, 2nd, 17th and 11th armies and the 1st and 2nd tank groups, supported by aviation, surrounded the areas located in Kiev, Cherkasy and Lochvita. Hundreds of thousands of Soviet troops captured Kiev on September 19, and the battle ended on the 26th. Seven Soviet armies were annihilated in this encirclement battle, and more than 500,000 Soviet troops were captured (see Battle of Kiev). .

On October 2, Reichenau commanded the victorious army after occupying Kiev to advance towards Kharkov and Kursk, and captured Kharkov from October 24 to November 2 respectively. The rapid advance and strong attack power of cities such as Kokov, Belgorod and Kursk made it difficult for the Soviet army to deal with them. During this period, Reichenau, who was loyal to Hitler, issued the order "Army Operations in the Eastern Theater" to his troops. In the order, he fully followed the National Socialist Party's propaganda method, requiring officers and soldiers to "ruthlessly eradicate the enemy's conspiracies and atrocities" and "thoroughly purge the Bolshevik ideology and eliminate the Soviet state." This propaganda operation was unprecedented in the tradition of the Prussian army. This method and wording of propaganda orders issued by a front-line combat general should be regarded as Reichenau's initiative. According to this order, the German army's wanton killing of innocent people not only aroused condemnation from world public opinion, but also caused dissatisfaction among some generals in the German army. They believed that this would affect the consolidation of the occupied areas.

The German offensive was blocked by weather changes in early November. The cold and mud made it impossible for the Germans to move on the destroyed roads. At this time, the Soviet army, under the command of Soviet Marshal Timoshenko, launched a sudden and violent counterattack against the German army (see the Battle of Rostov), ??forcing Marshal Rundstedt, commander-in-chief of the German Army Group South, to suffer casualties. With more than 20,000 men and the loss of more than 200 tanks and a large number of artillery, the 17th and 6th Army were ordered to withdraw across the Northern Donets River. Reichenau was ordered to lead the Sixth Army to withdraw across the river in order to defend Kharkov and join the Second Army southeast of Kursk. The latter was here to protect the flanks of Army Group Center, which was attacking Moscow.

On November 30, Reichenau replaced Marshal Rundstedt, who resigned because he disobeyed Hitler's order prohibiting retreat and suffered from a heart disease, and became commander-in-chief of Army Group South. Hitler ordered Reichenau to hold the line at all costs. Although Reichenau wanted to carry out Hitler's orders, the front was broken again in the face of the powerful Soviet offensive, forcing Reichenau to withdraw his troops behind the Mias River. It took a lot of effort for him to hold most of Donbass and barely stabilize the front.

The Army Group South commanded by Reichenau faced many crises during the winter. Especially on December 29, the Soviet army landed in Feodosia under the cover of powerful firepower from its naval forces in an attempt to recapture Kerry. mia. A division of the German 42nd Army commanded by General Schonnecke was responsible for the defense of the Kerch Peninsula. Due to the interruption of communication with the Army Group, General Schonnecke ordered this division to withdraw from the Kerch Peninsula. For this reason, Reichenau was very angry. He ordered a ban on all rewards for future combat for all officers and soldiers of the 42nd Army, the withdrawn division, as a punishment.

Reichenau carried out repeated raids on all Ukrainian residential areas behind Army Group South, and did not hesitate to use bloody and cruel means to eliminate the guerrillas.

On January 5, 1942, Reichenau transferred several divisions from the German Eleventh Army that was besieging Sevastopol to attack the Soviet troops north of Feodosia. Prevent the Soviet army from expanding the landing field westward. At the same time, the Soviet troops that landed in the Yevpatoria area northwest of Sevastopol were repulsed.

The situation in the Kharkov area in January was also very serious. In order to capture Kharkov, the Soviet army invaded the Belgorod and Volchansk areas in the north. The army advanced to the Dnieper River in the south and opened a deep and wide gap near the North Donets River on both sides of Izyum. In order to close the gap, Reichenau mobilized troops from five corps to fight. The two sides fought fiercely. The fierce fighting never stopped. Due to insufficient troops, Reichenau was unable to cope with the war situation and was very anxious and tired. On January 12, 1942, he died of a sudden heart attack.