The news that the German army had captured the northern town of Lelingrador quickly spread throughout the world.
In this era where telegrams and telephone communication were used, as long as there was a radio station, even if it was half a world away, it would be able to know what was happening thousands of miles away!
The news that Hadson received was from Yingjian.
As for the news on Yingjiang's side, it was obtained from the Northern Europe region.
The Northern Europe region was close to the battlefield, and there were many intelligence personnel from various countries stationed here. All kinds of news flew in like snowflakes, and the news spread very quickly.
In addition, Manstein made a shocking move on the day of the siege, which accelerated the speed of the news!
Back on the day of the siege, when the German army broke into the city center of Lelingrador, Manstein finally did not hold back. He immediately threw the rest of his troops into the city and quickly attacked along the gap that the German army had torn open.
The Soviets were already used to the rhythm of the German divisions taking turns to fight. When they were suddenly attacked by the German army in all directions, they immediately couldn't resist.
At this time, the two German armies responsible for containing the Soviet forces in the south surrounded the 55th Army and left a portion of their forces to contain them. The remaining troops immediately launched a fierce attack on Lelingrador from the south.
As a result, the Soviets in the city immediately faced the dilemma of being attacked from both sides.
Just the attack from Manstein was already too much for them to withstand. Now that they were attacked by the German army from the south, they could not hold on any longer!
As a result, the positions of the Soviets began to fall rapidly. The German army did not give the Soviets a chance to breathe and continuously sent fresh troops to attack them.
This kind of crazy attack method made the Soviets have no time to adjust. The defeated troops had no time to reorganize and were pulled back to the battlefield. Without a complete organization, their combat effectiveness was very low and they could not resist the German attack.
As a result, the German army's offensive became increasingly unstoppable!
By the evening, the Soviets 'defensive positions had been reduced to a small area around the Winter Palace.
The German army had not invested heavy artillery in this area, so it still had relatively complete buildings. The Soviets relied on these buildings for their final resistance.
The reason why Marshal Leeb wanted to keep the Winter Palace was because it was the imperial palace of the Tsar during the Russian period. The flames of the October Revolution started here!
Therefore, this place had great political significance to Mao Xiong. Now that the outcome had been decided, he needed to consider not only military victory, but also political victory.
Therefore, he planned to keep a complete Winter Palace and invite the head of state to the north to inspect the troops. He also planned to hold a grand military parade to boost morale and deal a blow to the morale of Mao Xiong's side!
Although Lelingrador was not the capital of Furious Bears, and its political status was not as good as Mosco's, it was still the largest city of Furious Bears. Taking down this city was worth celebrating!
At a time like this, with the Ruler's style, he would very likely fly over personally to inspect the troops and award a group of generals who had performed well in battle!
And that kind of ritual naturally needed some suitable occasion!
For example, if Germany conquered Mosco, the capital of the Bear Empire, one day, but Mosco was completely reduced to ruins, and even the Crimson Square was blown up, wouldn't the head of state lose face when he came?
Precisely because of this consideration, Marshal Leeb issued such a strange order.
However, Manstein expressed his firm opposition to this approach.
"Marshal, war is not an act. Our army has not yet achieved complete victory. There are still millions of Soviets outside who are sending reinforcements here. I don't think we should waste time here.”
"I understand what you said, but if the Winter Palace is destroyed by artillery fire, then we will only get ruins if we take down this city!”
Marshal Leeb was also a marshal who loved his soldiers like his own children. He knew what Manstein was thinking.
However, he hesitated.
When he couldn't think from the perspective of a pure soldier, he inevitably became infected with the various calculations of politicians.
"Marshal Leeb, you and I are on the same level. As the commander of the southern army group, I don't have to obey your order. Therefore, I was just suggesting to you, not asking for your permission. I could use the heavy artillery of the army group to deal with the enemies in the Winter Palace without your approval!”
Manstein saw that the other party had not made up his mind, so he changed his tone and took a tough stance!
Marshal Leeb knew that the opponent was telling the truth. The 11th army had Gustav cannons. With such cannons, what kind of palace could they not destroy?
Seeing that the other party was speechless, Manstein softened his tone and said,
" Besides, we don't necessarily have to keep the Winter Palace intact to build a political momentum. We can play some other tricks!”
"Oh, what trick?"
"You'll know later!"
……
Without the ban on destroying the Winter Palace, the German attack was obviously much easier!
The enemies hiding in the Winter Palace were quickly annihilated by the German army's heavy artillery combined with explosive barrels.
After the German army captured Leringlass, under Manstein's instructions, the soldiers rushed into the Winter Palace and raised the Black Eagle flag of the Third Reich on the roof of the Winter Palace!
This scene was a response to the red flag planted on the parliament building by the Soviets after they invaded Bolin City!
Compared to the swastika flag and the iron cross flag, the black eagle flag represented a deeper meaning!
The eagle flag was a symbol passed down from the Roman Empire!
Hanging this flag was a declaration of the empire's ambition and determination to become or even replace the Roman Empire!
And this was the best declaration to the world!
Seeing this scene, Marshal Leeb and the generals of the northern army group were so shocked that they couldn't speak!
"Hmph, this guy really knows how to attract hatred!”
Mannerheim, who had stopped in the north outside Lelingrador, snorted coldly.
He had killed all the way from the north to the city of Leningrador, thinking that if the German army could not take it for a long time, he might be able to help them as a surprise soldier!
Unexpectedly, by the time they arrived, the city had already changed hands.
While they were both shocked and excited, Mannerheim and countless soldiers of Finlan saw the black eagle flag hanging over the Winter Palace!
As an experienced veteran, Mannerheim immediately understood the other party's intention.
Although he expressed his disdain for Manstein's actions, he was actually very envious of him!
Unfortunately, he was old, and his ambition and ambition were not as good as before!
If he was twenty years younger, he might be as excited as the others!
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