When the battle in Brest broke out, the first Kiev defense battle had entered the most difficult and cruel stage. At the end of August, a unit of the German army crossed the Dnieper River, penetrated the rear of Kiev, and cut off the connection between Kiev, Kharkov and Moscow. In other words, Kiev was really surrounded by groups at this time!

However, Shaposhnikov did not pay much attention to this issue, because even if Kiev had not cut off its ties with Moscow, the Politburo and the Military Commission would not agree to him to give up Kiev's retreat. The responsibility of giving up Kiev was too great, and even Trotsky and Sverdlov had to weigh more.

What's more, it was too late to give up Kiev at this time. In front of the huge German Southern Army Group, the dozen regular divisions in Kiev that suffered heavy losses and half-baked militia divisions left the city to escape and had only one dead end. On the way to escape, they would be crushed into pieces by the German army. It would be better to rely on the city to fight street battles, which might be able to hold back the German army and buy time for the troops in the rear to reorganize the front.

So Shaposhnikov knew that he could not leave or leave, so he could only stay in Kiev and accompany the Germans to grind his teeth slowly. As for the problem of being surrounded, thanks to Tukhachevsky, who had previously hoarded a large amount of supplies in Kiev for the "Salefal River" operation. In addition, helicopters used the cover of night to transport supplies. Although the military and civilians in Kiev did not live well, they could finally persevere.

According to Temuxinge's estimate, food Kiev can last for one month and ammunition can last for half a month. The only thing that hurts is the lack of fuel, whether it is coal, gasoline, diesel and kerosene, they are in short supply.

The direct reason for this phenomenon is that for the "Salefal River" operation, most of the fuel was supplied to the front line. As for coal, it was also scarce. It was mainly because the population of Kiev was too large and the people had to consume a lot of coal to cook. After Kiev was surrounded, the coal naturally could not be transported in. You can't use helicopters as trucks!

Of course, lack of coal is not a big problem. It is only the end of August, and the climate in Kiev is still warm enough. If it were winter, it would be really frozen to death!

Therefore, Shaposhnikov did not agree with Zhukov's proposal to concentrate some armored troops to open up the supply line. The vitality is too precious. Defending Kiev is already in a difficult situation, so the precious power cannot be consumed in advance at this time.

"The German army's strength is more than three times that of our army. Even if we can open up the transportation line for a while, they will soon use their strong military strength advantages to encircle them again." Triandafilov also supported Shaposhnikov's opinion. "What's more, our army's armored forces are really limited, so it's still a little bit whether it can open up the transportation line. The problem of the transportation line is left to the Military Commission and the General Staff to solve. What we need to do now is to do everything possible to stabilize the defense!"

Let me put it this way, as of September 1, the periphery of Kiev had fallen to a considerable part of the periphery of Kiev. Relying on its military advantages and with the help of trains and cannons, the German army had crushed the periphery of the Red Army bit by bit. Now not only all soldiers must stay in their own positions, but Shaposhnikov was even forced to mobilize Kiev citizens to the battlefield again. Including some women, young military academy students and old soldiers between the ages of 50 and 55, it was this way that he raised tens of thousands of people, which would stabilize the precarious defense line.

"The enemy's train cannons are too threatening. Most of the permanent fortifications on which our army relies for survival are destroyed by these train cannons. If they cannot be destroyed, we will always be passively beaten!" Zhukov put forward a new suggestion: "It must be destroyed as soon as possible, the faster the better!"

Shaposhnikov and Triandafilov agreed with this suggestion, but believed that the German train guns were far from the depth of the German positions, and the Red Army artillery, even the 130mm and 203mm cannons were not reachable.

"This mission can only be undertaken by the Air Force," Triandafilov sighed. "Let the Air Force find out the location of the enemy's train cannon as soon as possible, and then destroy it as soon as possible!"

Can the Air Force complete this task? To be honest, it is very difficult. After three days of reconnaissance, the Air Force discovered the position of the German train gun, but it was very difficult to take down the opponent. Because the Germans built a solid position near the train gun and arranged a considerable number of anti-aircraft guns. During the last reconnaissance of the Air Force, they even found that the Germans arranged a pile of blocking balloons near the train gun. Except for the incoming bombing from the direction of the train gun muzzle, the other routes were dead ends.

On both sides of the train gun positions, the German army arranged a large number of anti-aircraft guns. If the Red Army fighter jets were to break in from this direction, it would inevitably be a life-threatening death. Anyway, the Air Force lacked confidence in this bombing and believed that the difficulty was too high.

Of course, high difficulty does not mean doing nothing. The Air Force gritted its teeth and took the initiative to eliminate the biggest threat to Kiev. On the morning of September 6, it organized 18 Su-2 multi-function bombers and 24 Il-2s to launch a strong attack.

Lyudmira, a pilot who participated in this attack, recalled: "This was a death assault. In order to accurately destroy the enemy's train cannons, we tried to lower the altitude and enter the attack route. The ground was covered with German anti-aircraft cannons. You could hear the explosions of dongdong and dong constantly ringing around... I grabbed the joystick tightly and shuttled through the enemy's bomb rain. Suddenly, the fuselage suddenly shook, and I was bounced up and hit the canopy hood... At that moment, I thought I was hit, and there was no time to parachute at this altitude. At that time, I made up my mind that if I really couldn't fly back, I immediately aimed at the enemy's anti-aircraft cannon position and rushed down, killing these dog gods!"

Speaking of this, Lyudmira took a heavy breath: "I looked at the engine and propeller, both working, and then turned my head to look at the back of the cockpit. The tail seemed normal. At this moment, the exclamation of the bomber Alexey came from the headphones: "And Liusha is dead, he was shot!" I was a little confused at that time. Ander Liusha is my good comrade and brother. As a radio and a back machine gunner, we have performed dozens of tasks together. Suddenly I heard that he died, and I couldn't accept it for a while..."

"But at that time, I didn't care about Andrewsha for the time being, because the enemy's firepower was too fierce, and the front of our route was almost covered with shells. Soon, a friend plane was shot down or directly torn apart by 88mm anti-aircraft guns. When we finally crossed this death corridor, there were only a dozen fighter planes left."

"For those of us who were lucky enough to break out of the corridor of death, the subsequent actions were still full of risks. The German train cannon positions had already begun to release a large amount of smoke, and from a distance, they were covered by white smoke within a radius of one kilometer. They could not see clearly where the enemy's cannon was located."

"Just when we were at a loss, the command from the squadron leader came from the headphones: 'Reduce the altitude, conduct an ultra-low-altitude search, be sure to find the enemy's position and destroy it!' As soon as the words were finished, the squadron leader took the lead in lowering the nose. In a white smoke, we flew almost at the height of the treetops. This was quite dangerous. Because in the next second, you might be able to find the enemy's train cannon, or you might hit a tree or a ground head-on."

"My face was almost against the windshield, in order to see as clearly as possible, but this was not very useful, because soon the screams of my comrades came from the headphones: 'Vidicen crashed, Gavrier was finished. Be careful, Grasim, there is a large wood in front of me...'. All I heard in my ears were bad news. And the shadow of the enemy's train cannon could not be seen, and I felt quite frustrated for a moment... At this moment, Alexey in the back seat suddenly shouted: "I saw it! I saw it. It's under us!"

"Suddenly, I was shocked and quickly turned around and returned. At the same time, I widened my eyes and tried to find the damn train cannon. I flew back and forth twice in a row. On the third time, I discovered the enemy. These damn German guys were too good at disguising. From the air, it was a thatched hut, but if your eyes were good and careful enough, you could find it. The surrounding area of ​​this hut was very abnormal, and the shadow of the enemy could be vaguely seen. After entering the third time, I finally felt that the fuselage was lighter, needless to say, Alexey finally dropped a bomb!"

"Two ab-500s roared and landed. I could see that the hut was blown up in an instant, and the shock wave blew away the camouflage net, revealing the long tube of the train gun. Without saying a word, I transferred over again and fired hard until all the shells were shot before returning."

"Compared with the difficult entry, the return flight was much easier. At least I no longer had to lower the altitude. Moreover, the giant cannon that could destroy the enemy made me feel better. However, after I landed, all of this good mood disappeared... The entire squadron, only two Su-2s, including me, flew back, and even the squadron leader was sacrificed..."

This time the bombing of the Red Army can be said to have suffered heavy losses. Only nine planes returned to the airport, and three of them were seriously injured. Of course, it would be worth it if Germany's train cannons could be completely destroyed, but the result was not the case.

The next day, after aerial reconnaissance, it was revealed that only one of the six K5 train guns involved in the shelling of Kiev was completely destroyed and the other one was seriously injured. The remaining K5s basically maintained their combat effectiveness, which means that the Air Force paid a heavy price but only scratched the enemy.

This result naturally cannot satisfy Shaposhnikov and Triandafilov, but they realized that it was not that the air force was not strong, but that the enemy's defense was indeed too strict. Continuing to let the air force bomb was probably an egg hitting a stone.

"Is there any other way to destroy these damn train cannons?" Shaposhnikov asked almost gritted his teeth.

However, after he asked the question, the conference room was silent, the artillery was not reaching and the air force could not fight. What other tricks could it do? After all, the train cannon position was deep behind enemy lines, and there was nothing we could do!

"Or, give up the outer positions and shrink again to fight street battles with the enemy? At that time, their train cannons would be useless..."

This suggestion was flatly rejected by Shaposhnikov. He believed that the peripheral positions should never be easily given to the enemy. At that time, the Red Army had almost no room for turning, and Triandafilov also believed that it was not very meaningful to take the initiative to shrink again, and he felt that destroying the enemy's train cannons was not impossible.

"I have read the air force's reconnaissance reports these days. The enemy's defense around the train cannon positions is indeed very tight. It is both anti-aircraft cannons and anti-air balloons, which looks solid. But I don't think it is really impeccable!"

T'anlidaflov pointed out confidently: "The enemy's defense measures are basically for air attacks, and the ground defense is not very good. This position only houses two companies of defenders, and the nearest friendly forces are also three kilometers away. Moreover, their attention is basically concentrated in the air and our front, and there are a large number of defensive blind spots in the north of them. We can completely use the enemy's negligence to do something!"

This is a fantasy to many of the generals attending the meeting. How can you make a fuss? Can the ground troops still fly behind enemy lines?

Zhukov blinked and asked, "You mean to carry out an airborne combat. Let the airborne parachute descend behind enemy lines and then raid the enemy's positions?"

The generals attending the meeting nodded repeatedly. They thought this method was good. The only problem was that there were no airborne troops in Kiev. As Tukhachevsky's heart, all the airborne troops of the Red Army were under the direct control of his chief of staff, and were basically located in the second line as a reserve.

"Or what if we can send a telegram to the General Staff immediately and ask them to organize a raid?" Timuxin suggested.

Shaposhnikov was about to nod, and noticed that Triandafilov's expression was wrong, as if he was a little disdainful and impatient, which showed that he did not agree with the airborne raid. So what was his attitude?

Triandafilov did not agree with the plan for the parachute parachute operation, because in his opinion, this was not small. First of all, in order to achieve suddenness and to avoid the attention of the German army, this raid could only be carried out at night. As we all know, the risk of parachute at night is quite large. Whether paratroopers can gather smoothly is a problem (the parachute in Operation Overlord proves this. Later, in the Market Garden, the Allied paratroopers chose to parachute during the day).

Secondly. This raid cannot be a one-time transaction, right? It is easy to throw the paratroopers down, but how do these brothers come back after completing the mission? You must know that the enemy's train and cannon positions are deep behind the enemy, so these paratroopers cannot cross the German defense line on foot, right?

Some comrades may have said that in order to defend Kiev, the necessary sacrifices are worth it, just act like a one-time deal!

However, Triandafilov could not agree with this statement. He believed that there was a better tactic, so why did he hang himself on the parachute tree? It is not better to use a helicopter to land a raid than a parachute?

When he made this suggestion, the Red Army generals, including Shaposhnikov, were stunned because they had always had a deep-rooted concept in their minds, which was to do odd jobs. They were to help transport small cargo, at most they were to go to the battlefield to be can openers for tanks and armored vehicles. As for the raids, can they do it?

"Why can't it?" Triandafilov asked, "We have enough helicopters, and in the previous stage of the siege, the role of the helicopter troops was obvious to all. Why can't they carry warriors and armed raids to carry?"

Before these gangsters could react, Triandafilov said again: "In my opinion, helicopter landing is much more convenient than parachute landing. Without the trouble of assembly, it will not be noticed by the enemy during the parachute. Even without professional paratroopers, they can land behind the enemy..."

Shaposhnikov thought about it and immediately agreed. Compared with parachute drops, the aircraft drop is almost all advantageous except for the small combat radius. If that is the case, why not try it?

Soon, with the help of Temuxingo and Zhukov, the specific combat plan was completed. Considering the suddenness of the aircraft landing and the lack of enemy defenders' forces, this raid only requires two companies. Of course, in order to be foolproof, it is best to find something for the enemy, such as letting the air force conduct a horizontal bombing of the enemy's anti-aircraft artillery positions to divert the German devils' attention from the ground.

Late at night on September 7, 12 Xi-6 helicopters and 4 Xi-4 helicopters for fire support left Kiev with soldiers and explosives in a row. After about an hour and a half of flight, the fleet flew around the back of the German train gun position without any danger.

At this time, the German positions were dead silent, and most of the German devils were sleeping soundly, and they didn't notice that at about one kilometer away from them, the Red Army's raid troops had completed their assembly and were quietly rushing towards them.

"Please note No. Zero, please note No. Zero, No. One has arrived at the reserved location. Repeat it, No. One has arrived at the reserved location!"

Shaposhnikov immediately gave an order to the bombers in the air: "Start bombing!"

More than 20 SB-2 bombers immediately began to enter the bombing route. After a rough aim, they poured A-100 bombs on the German anti-aircraft artillery position. Objectively speaking, the bombing was really not very powerful. The sky was too dark and the bomb drop height was too high, which caused most of the bombs to deviate from the target.

"The Russians are probably scared," said the German anti-aircraft artillery commander, looking at the sky, "This time they only dare to bomb at high altitudes." He shrugged and laughed contemptuously: "But is this useful?"

Just as the commander laughed, the Red Army's raiders had already touched the post of the German artillery position. When the deafening bomb exploded, they carried submachine guns and began to sweep the German defenders on the position.

"The first and second platoons are responsible for destroying the cannons, and the remaining troops suppress the enemy's counterattack, telling the helicopter to pick us up in fifteen minutes!" (To be continued)

ps: Bow to thank loneliness, jsky, schistosomia parasite, plane wanted criminals and comrade Juventus!
Chapter completed!