For General Jenek, the head of state's order was no less than a bolt from the blue, but even if he was reluctant, he could only accept the order.pbtt needs to point out that Constanta is one of the most important military ports in Romania, and its defense level is still very high, at least much higher than the half-baked Yakrman.

However, Jenek did not feel relaxed, because the troops he had on hand were too limited, and most of the troops escaped from being dismantled all the way, and they were seriously lacking in heavy weapons. They hoped to use a light infantry to resist the attack of the Red Army, which was mechanized and armed to the teeth, were so panicked no matter how they looked.

What's worse is that Vasilevsky's movements were too fast. He almost never stopped chasing the Germans and arrived in Constanta, and did not give much time to build positions between the Germans and the Romanians. This forced Jenek to order the troops outside Constanta to engage in a fierce fire with the Red Army's vanguard, and it took great effort to repel the Red Army's vanguard.

As of May 1, when the main force of the 37th Army of Huasilevsky began to bombard Constanta with artillery fire, the German and Romanian troops in Constanta had a total of 124 people (including a considerable number of second-line troops), while the 37th Army of the Red Army arrived in Constanta with about 100,000 troops.

It seems that Huasilevsky created a miracle, surrounded the majority with a few people. Of course, in terms of quantity, it can be said that the number of German and Romanian troops is indeed more than that of the Red Army, but wars are never only about quantity. In terms of quality, the German and Romanian coalition forces are far from Huasilevsky's troops.

Let’s briefly compare it. The Dros coalition in the encirclement has only 7 tanks, most of which are Czech 35t tanks and old No. 2 and No. 3 tanks, and the only No. 4 tanks are still early models. The 37th Army has hundreds of T-34 and T-35, and the two sides are not on the same order of magnitude.

Looking at the morale and physical strength of the army, most of the German and Romanian troops were defeated soldiers who fled all the way. Their previous escape careers were exhausted, and most of their heavy weapons were lost, and they were not worthy of the Red Army carrying shoes in terms of firepower density.

It must also be noted that about 6% of these 120,000 people were Romanian troops. The German army actually had only about 50,000, and from the previous series of battles, it can be seen that the Romanians are really cheating. Jenek could only pray to God, hoping that the Romanians would not be so stupid.

After a day of rest, Huasilevsky's 37th Army began to attack on May 19. In the early morning, fierce battles broke out between the two sides on the 3-kilometer front. The Red Army still used its usual tactics, that is, with the accompanying infantry, tanks carried out powerful raids and interspers.

However, on this day, the young men of Huasilevsky made little progress. The wonderful performance of the 336th Infantry Division of the German Army made it difficult for them to find opportunities to take advantage of. The group of forgings made Russian men feel a headache.

The fierce battle continued until sunset, and the Red Army was the first to give up. The reason was also surprising that the shells were exhausted!

Don't be surprised, this is not an excuse or nonsense. The fact is that the main attacking troops of the 37th Army consumed all available shells in the first day of the battle. Uh, what are available shells? Are there any unavailable shells?

Yes, about 3% of the shells are unusable. The main reason is that Romania is too wet in spring, and a considerable number of shells are damp and unusable. And it is also necessary to see that during this period of pursuit, the 37th Army's advancement speed was too fast, far exceeding the Red Army's logistics supply capacity. The last reason is that the German resistance was extremely fierce, which aggravated the consumption of the Red Army's ammunition, and the natural ammunition was not enough to cover the investment.

It is obviously impossible to take down the fortifications that the enemy is heavily guarded by heavy troops without strong artillery support. Huasilevsky soon discovered the problem and immediately stopped the offensive. It can be said that the failure of the Red Army's first round of attacks was not because the Red Army soldiers were unfavorable to fight. The blame could only be that the superiors were too optimistic.

The defeat in the first battle did not dampen Wassilevsky's aura. He quickly set the next round of attacks five days later, May 25. However, the plan could never catch up with the changes. Just when Wassilevsky was preparing to take down Constanta in one go, the situation on the Ukrainian battlefield changed significantly. Manstein's sudden escape caused an avalanche effect, and the entire German Southern Army group fell into a circle of scrambling to escape. He almost fled to the border between Ukraine and Poland in one breath.

Such changes were somewhat beyond the military. The Commission expected that in order to catch up with the German army as soon as possible, the logistics priority of the Ukrainian First and Ukrainian Second Front Army was mentioned to the highest, and all supplies would be given priority to these two fronts, which naturally made Huasilevsky's side stare.

However, Huasilevsky was not particularly disappointed. He believed that with the strength of his troops, the problem of taking down the enemy should not be particularly great. Moreover, as the Red Flag Black Sea Fleet arrived on the battlefield, he could also obtain artillery fire support from the sea.

On May 25, Huasilevsky started the attack as scheduled, and the 59th Tank Division, which was highly anticipated, was still on the front line to undertake the main attack mission. However, the intensity of the battle once again exceeded Huasilevsky's expectations. The 59th Tank Division, the 5th Tank Division and the 14th Mechanized Division, attacked fiercely for a day, and the farthest advanced less than 3 kilometers. Even the 59th Tank Division was blocked by the dense minefields on the road ahead early, and before they could unfold, they were warmly "entered" by the opponent's artillery, and they were unable to truly enter the battle for a whole day.

Reality forced Huasilevsky to give up his attempt to capture Constanta again. The problem lies in the supply. This time it was not only ammunition, but also the front-line attacking units did not even provide enough and timely supply of fuel. In addition, the coordination between various combat units of the 37th Army also needs to be improved. When attacking Silevsky's mechanized troops, infantry and artillery often attacked and attacked.

The two consecutive attack failures made Huasilevsky realize that underestimating the opponent in front of him was a difficult bone to crack!

There are a lot of problems facing Huasilevsky: the training of the troops, coordination and the most important ammunition and fuel supply, all of which require time to solve. This time Huasilevsky learned to be smart, and he set the next attack in early June, and used the word "depending on the situation" when reporting, leaving enough room for himself.

As time passed, Constanta's defenders also knew that time was precious. While Jenek was busy strengthening the front line and fortifications, he also withdrew the Romanian troops that he thought were unreliable from the front line and placed them in the city of Constanta. Hitler, who was extremely concerned about the war on the other side, issued two death orders in just three days: "You must keep Constanta! Until the last person!"

Not only verbally, the head of state also expressed his determination with his actual actions. Not only did he send a regiment of about 2,000 people to Constanta. Of course, the number was a little smaller, but the head of state still fully expressed his attitude with this action. However, these soldiers sent to Constanta were really cannon fodder, and their future would be dark.

In addition, in order to increase morale, Hitler also instructed to pay double salaries to the heroes fighting in Constanta, and promised that all those participating in defensive operations could obtain the first batch of Russian land after the victory of the war. Those who ran away and escaped at the last minute would be shot immediately!

But Jenek knew very well that Constanta's fall could be said to be a matter of time, and that was a matter of time. In the eyes of this old-fashioned German soldier, the lives of his soldiers were the most precious. If he did not want to lose this entire army (including the Romanian troops), he would have to undergo a large-scale retreat, which means that Hitler had to change his original intention.

Although he knew it was impossible, General Jenek was determined to make his final attempt. On May 2, he flew to the wolf's den himself, trying to use his three-inch tongue to convince Hitler that collapse was inevitable and retreat was the only way out for tens of thousands of soldiers.

Jenek obviously did not know his head of state enough. The particularity of Constanta determined that even if he had a whole army, Hitler would never retreat without fighting. What's more, Constanta's remnants of German troops were at best a reinforcement army, and even if he retreated, it would not have a decisive impact on the situation in Ukraine and Romania.

On the contrary, if you stay in Konstanta, you can restrain the two Red Army armies (after the Yakrman battle, the Red Flag Independent Coastal Army was strengthened to the direction of Huaseylevsky, while Tolbuhin's 41st Army went to reinforce Konev). Hitler would definitely not miss such a "favorable" deal. What's more, once Konstanta fell immediately, it would seriously hit the morale of the Romanians, and it is hard to say what's next.

Therefore, not only did Jenek's "generous speeches" not only failed to impress his head, but also made Hitler furious. He angrily removed all his posts and announced that Jenek would never be used, and replaced by Lieutenant General Almendingel.

The Germans replaced the generals. Vasilevsky learned a lot from the first two hasty attacks. In late May, he and Lieutenant General Xie Miao Ilyic Pogdanov, the newly appointed commander of the Red Flag Independent Coastal Army, jointly drafted a Constanta general offensive plan to the base camp to locate the date of launching the third round of attack on June 5.

As for this general attack date, it was actually controversial at the time. The main leaders of the Military Commission, such as Li Xiaofeng, believed that time was still too hasty. Given that Konstanta was a tough guy, it would be better to prepare more fully.

According to Li Xiaofeng's intention, the general attack on Constanta should not be earlier than June 15, but his proposal was firmly opposed by Trotsky. Lao Tor strongly demanded that the attack could only be advanced and not delayed, and it would be better to be faster.

From a military perspective, Lao Tuo is just a fool of himself. Logically speaking, Lao Tuo's level should not be so low, so why is Lao Tuo so anxious?

There are two reasons: one is military and the other is political. Let’s talk about the military reasons first. Lao Tau is so anxious to take down Constanta because he is still aiming at Bucharest! Lao Tau is eager to improve Huasilevsky’s position in the military. How can he do it? Naturally, the greater the military achievements, the better, and at this stage, Bucharest is undoubtedly the best copy to make military achievements.

Trotsky naturally hoped that Vasilevsky would resolve Konstanta as soon as possible and then turn west and go straight to Bucharest. He hoped that Vasilevsky would win the capital of Romania in front of Konev.

At this time, Konev and Tolbuhin's troops were attacking Buzeu, and it was only in the past few days to take down the city. Once Konev takes down Buzeu, he will be able to directly take Ploiesti to the north of Bucharest. I have said before that Ploiesti is really very close to Bucharest. Do you think Lao Tau can't be in a hurry?

Of course, Lao Tuo did not just think about the selfish interests of his small group. It is of great political significance to solve Constanta as soon as possible. Since the Red Army invaded Romania in May, the dominance of the Romanian fascist regime has suffered an unprecedented blow. With the Red Army advancing rapidly in Romania, its fascist regime has become shaky. Opponents within Romania have begun to secretly contact the Soviet Union, seeking ways to peacefully resolve the Romanian issue.

If a big city as important as Constanta can be taken at this time, it will hit the forces of Romanian fascists more heavily and force Romania to change their choices faster. If Romania can be forced to surrender without bloodshed, the Germans' southern line will open a huge skylight, and the chain reaction triggered will completely change the situation on the Soviet-German battlefield.

Naturally, for political reasons, Trotsky also hoped that the faster Vasilevsky, the better, and it would be better to be able to deal with Konstanta in just one and a half. In the Political Bureau and the Military Commission, there was a heated discussion on this issue. The final result was that the general offensive was neither postponed nor advanced, and it should be implemented according to the plan of Vasilevsky and Pogdanov.

After the time of the general attack was concluded, the only problem that plagued Vasilevsky was the supply issue. Vasilevsky had specifically asked Trotsky for help. After bargaining with the logistics department, the Hongqi Independent Coastal Army would obtain no less than 1.5 bases of artillery shells and mortar shells within two days before the attack began, while the main attacking 37th Army should obtain no less than 2.5 bases of artillery shells and mortar shells. In addition, the reserved fuel must be enough for the mechanized troops to use for half a month.

On June 4th, the day before the war began, the troops of Huasilevsky and Pogdanov had made sufficient preparations for the final decisive attack. The Red Flag Independent Coastal Army invested an infantry division, one cavalry division, and four military artillery regiments. The 37th Army of the Red Army invested six infantry divisions, two tank divisions and one mechanized division, as well as six military artillery regiments and two military artillery brigades, totaling about two divisions with a huge force of about 30,000 or more.

In sharp contrast to the careful preparation of the Red Army, although Hitler repeatedly claimed that Constanta was a fortress that could never be conquered, its garrison was only 120,000 people, and these 120,000 people were scattered in a huge area of ​​30 kilometers deep around Constanta, resulting in the spread of troops very thinly, so that the reserves that Lieutenant General Almendingel could use in the hands of the commander-in-chief, only three battalions were added, which was simply incredible.

Many comrades may not help asking: If this is the case, then where did Hitler get this confidence? To be honest, this is an unsolved mystery.

Time soon reached four o'clock in the morning on June 5, with more than 33 heavy artillery pieces, more than 4 rocket launchers and countless heavy mortars for several hours kicking off the Red Army's general offensive.

At 8:30 in the morning, the infantry of the Red Flag Independent Coastal Army jumped out of the trenches and rushed to the northern defense line of the Port of Constanta, guarded by the German 44th Mountain Army. It is worth mentioning that this mountain army is now commanded by Lieutenant General Hartmann, who only has one arm and one leg left. This is a very tough Prussian general.

Accompanied by the thick smoke around the battlefield, the four infantry divisions of the Red Army, which launched the first wave of offensives, quickly rushed to the frontier positions of the German army. But to the surprise and disappointment of the Red Army soldiers, the German grenadiers of the 336th Division did not collapse and could continue to jump out of the trenches to calmly respond.

On the other side, on the position of the 5th Infantry Division of the German Army, the Red Army, which had just reached a breakthrough, was immediately brutal counterattacked by the German reserve team. The Red Army commando officers and soldiers who finally broke through the two German trenches were almost killed in the fierce hand-to-hand combat.

It is obvious that the Red Army still underestimated the combat effectiveness of the German army. Although the Germans had a hard and embarrassed escape, they did not lack the courage to fight to the end.

However, the most important thing is the fire attack of the Red Army, which seemed fierce but actually had a very average effect. Looking at the bunkers kissed by the Red Army shells, they can still spray fire tongues, which shows that the Romanian fortifications did not cut corners and were quite powerful.

Since the infantry never broke a real hole in the enemy's defense line during this day's battle, the armored troops became spectators on the battlefield, which made Huasilevsky a little depressed and helpless. He could only hope that the Red Flag Independent Coastal Army would be more powerful in tomorrow's battle... (To be continued.)

ps: Bow to thank Fengyu for the past, Tiansha Evil Knife, the Glorious Charter and Comrade Juventus! Mobile phone users please visit http://m.piaotian.net
Chapter completed!