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Volume 1 The Setting Sun of the Empire Chapter 83 The Miracle of Emden

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    Emden is a port city located in the northwest corner of Germany. It is located on the right bank of the Doralt Bay in the North Sea, near the mouth of the Ems River, across the river from Winschoten in the Netherlands.  Although it is small in size, with only 30 to 40 thousand permanent residents, Emden is a busy and important port, focusing on shipping trade, shipbuilding, fish food processing and other industries.  In German history, there were two famous cruisers named after "Emden". One was the "Oriental Swan" belonging to Graf Spee's fleet during the Second Empire. Its elusive attacks once frightened the Indian Ocean shipping of the Allied Powers.  His chivalrous demeanor of never killing any captured ship crew in his life even won the heartfelt admiration of his opponents; one was the first surface warship built and commissioned by the German Navy during the Weimar era. During World War II, it participated in the Weser exercise attacking Norway, and later  It served as a training ship until it was sunk by British bombers in 1945.

    In late October 1950, more than a thousand officers and soldiers belonging to the 51st Infantry Regiment of the German Army retreated from the Bremen front to Emden and began to expand and strengthen the city defenses originally built by local paramilitary organizations.  As ports such as Hamburg, Bremen, Kukes, and Wilhelm were successively occupied by the Soviet army, ships from Norway, the United Kingdom, Spain, and American countries had no choice but to transfer to Emden or go to Western European countries for unloading and transit.  In terms of geographical location, Emden is undoubtedly a shortcut for Germany to receive external aid, but it may be attacked by Soviet air attacks at any time during the day. Only at night can it barely guarantee safety, and it is not prone to political risks - whether it is unloading goods in the Netherlands or France.  During transit, the host country may be criticized or even retaliated by the Soviet Union. Everything can only be operated in an extremely secretive state. The efficiency of the transportation of military supplies can be imagined.  However, by the end of October, the Soviet ground forces, which crossed Bremen and continued to advance westward, successively captured Grossefen and Ilo. The frontline was only 10 kilometers away from Emden. Soviet howitzers had directly threatened the port channel.  The defenders of Mden faced the important decision of holding on or retreating.  At this time, their defensive strength had been strengthened several times compared to when the 51st Infantry Regiment first arrived. Many army and imperial troops who had retreated from the Bremen front were resting and gathering here.  They are unified under the command of General Maximilian de Anglis, a veteran German general who has served in the army for many years and whose frontline career lasted throughout World War II. He also led his troops to assist the Allied forces in the late stages of World War III.  Although the Soviet army quickly cut off Emden's land connection with the German hinterland, the main armored force of the Baltic Front suffered heavy losses in the Battle of Hamburg-Bremen and was in urgent need of rest. The Soviet troops attacking westward were mainly infantry and  artillery.  Since the German officers, soldiers and auxiliary personnel have built a defense system that meets the requirements, Helgoland Bay is also under the effective control of the German navy, and Emden still has sea connections with the outside world, General Anglis then reported to the German Joint Staff  The ministry requested to hold on to Emden, which was approved.

    When the Soviet army launched its first attack on Emden, General Angliss had already led his headquarters to camp in Emden. The garrison under his personal command included more than 9,000 army officers and soldiers and more than 2,000 soldiers.  Imperial warrior.  There are also nearly a thousand auxiliary personnel.  Under the heroic blocking of these Germans, the Soviet army's exploratory attack lasted only four hours and came to an end. However, what the Emden defenders received was not a chance to breathe, but a suffocating and terrifying bombardment.  From noon to dusk, the powerful Soviet artillery poured thousands of tons of artillery shells into the small Emden. The Lower Saxony port city, which has a history of more than 1,100 years and was lucky enough to survive two world wars, finally suffered a heavy blow.  After escaping, the entire city and the port were shrouded in soaring flames and billowing smoke. The German defenders' fortifications were the focus of Soviet artillery fire.  Under the bleak sunset.  The scorched earth without any vegetation protected the ruined city. It was as if time had gone back thirty-four years. People at that time could see such a scene in Verdun.

    The heavy artillery fell silent.  Katyusha's rocket guide gradually cooled down, and Soviet officers and soldiers who launched the attack in battalion and company units appeared outside Emden. The tanks responsible for the lead formed a battle formation of alternating cover. War eagles with red star logos were constantly flying over the port.  Circling, the vigilance of the Soviets is enough to show that they attach great importance to and fear the enemy in front of them.  In the tense atmosphere, the Soviet tanks rolled over the first German line of defense unimpeded, and the Soviet infantry immediately passed through the dilapidated trench area. The German troops seemed to escape as dexterously as before. However, the officers and soldiers of both sides  It is clear that this must be a life-and-death struggle.  Before night falls completely.  The Soviet fighter planes found the target and launched a roaring attack. Countless artillery shells and rockets rose from the ground. The fierce exchange of fire ahead awakened the Soviet soldiers that a fierce battle was about to begin, and they soon encountered the German second line of defense.  A substantial obstruction.  On a front with a frontal width of less than 5 kilometers, a group of Soviet tanks was not enough to form a breakthrough force. Instead, they were hit one by one by the opponent's anti-tank guided weapons.  The Soviet self-propelled artillery and short-range rocket launchers that accompanied the attack were suppressed with all their strength. The brave Soviet infantry used assault tactics to carry out a strong attack. Dozens of IL-2 attack aircraft soon joined the support ranks. However, this was still unable to shake the German army.  The officers and soldiers resisted to the death.  Use machine guns and assaultWith the intensive firepower provided by rifles, the defenders calmly repelled wave after wave of Soviet charges. The front of the position was gradually filled with the remains of Soviet officers and soldiers, and the casualties of the German soldiers holding on to the trenches were also considerable, but  The reserve force they put into the front line in time was far stronger than the Soviet side expected.  In this bloody struggle, the German defenders gritted their teeth and persisted until the beginning of the counterattack. Under the cover of night, two thousand imperial elites suddenly launched an attack on the assembled Soviet troops southeast of Emden.  On the north bank of the Ems River, a half-division-sized Soviet infantry unit was repelled by this imperial army like a tiger descending the mountain. In the area of ??Papenburg, about 50 kilometers south of Emden, the Soviet army was closely pressed.  The German troops, who were forced to retreat step by step, also launched a counterattack at night, which gave the illusion that the Emden garrison was breaking through to the south.  The Soviet command quickly mobilized troops to reinforce the defense to the south. However, the Imperial Army, which attacked from Emden, did not cross the Ems River. Instead, it quickly rushed north and attacked the east of Emden before dawn.  The Soviet troops facing them destroyed several artillery positions of the opponent, and then returned to Emden across the battlefield.  This bold move of the German army not only shocked the Soviet officers and soldiers, but also successfully diverted their attention. When the Soviet army did not use long-range artillery to implement a night blockade, the German army organized ships to attack Em from the East Frisian Islands.  Emden transported more than 4,000 combat personnel and a large amount of ammunition and supplies, which greatly enriched Emden's defensive strength.  With the power of night counterattacks, the German army also retook the position north of Emden and widened the depth of the defense zone by two kilometers.

    After dawn, the Soviet army, whose offensive deployment was severely disrupted, was unable to immediately launch a new round of offensive. The German officers and soldiers determined to defend Emden raced against time to repair the fortifications, including two sets of fire control radars and 15 sets of ground-to-air guided rocket launchers.  Although the air defense system composed of nearly a hundred anti-aircraft guns could not completely resist Soviet aviation attacks, their high efficiency not only allowed Soviet pilots to use enemy weapons, but also constantly inspired the fighting spirit of the defenders.  At the same time, Germany's top leaders cleverly played the public opinion card and encouraged the Dutch government to protest to the Soviet Union over the Soviet artillery shells falling into the country and causing casualties. Western countries, led by the United States, took this opportunity to exert public opinion pressure on the Soviet Union.  On the battlefield, the Soviet Union had an absolute victory over the Western Allies, but in terms of economy and trade, the Soviet Union was always in a passive position, especially when its local industry was blown up by the Allies. The Red Alliance's self-sufficiency was at best limited to resources and manpower.  On the other hand, they urgently need to introduce machinery, equipment and advanced technology from the outside. If they rely entirely on their own strength to rebuild and recover, it will take a long time to get out of the predicament, and the economic and industrial gap with Western countries will continue to increase - given that the allies can always  Closing the trade channel with the Soviet Union, although Moscow responded bluntly to the Dutch government's protest, the scale of the front-line troops' shelling of Emden was significantly reduced. When a German high-altitude reconnaissance plane passed over this area, aerial photos  It clearly shows that the Soviets have withdrawn their heavy artillery and long-range rocket launchers.

    Intense artillery suppression has always been an important weapon for the Soviet army to win, and without sharp teeth, the tiger of the Soviet army will not lose its aggressiveness.  German intelligence agents lurking in Lower Saxony quickly observed a large-scale mobilization of Soviet armored forces. At least one tank corps was moving covertly from Bremen to the Emden area.  After receiving the information, the German army quickly used night ferries to send a large amount of anti-tank equipment to the Emden garrison. The garrison used this equipment to strengthen its defense forces and laid minefields in important areas of the defense line. The Soviet army also used bombing  and air mines to strengthen the blockade of Emden.  By November 7, the Soviet army sounded the clarion call for a new round of offensive. In order to kick off the last "stumbling block" in northern Germany, the Soviet army indeed invested heavily in the offensive.  Under the successive bombings of more than a dozen aviation regiments, the Emden area almost became a depression below sea level, while more than two hundred tanks, supported by a large number of support tanks and combat infantry, concentrated on attacking the northern defense line of Emden.  At the height of the fighting, the Soviet army resorted to a trick, using speedboats secretly transported overland to the Ems River to carry soldiers to attack the Emden port. The Soviet landing force once controlled the port area. At the critical moment, the German navy's speedboat troops risked  Enemy planes arrived at the mouth of the Ems River with bombing and strafing attacks and intercepted the Soviet speedboat transporting subsequent landing personnel. The Emden defenders then organized forces to retake the port area.  After two days and one night of fierce fighting, the German army repelled the Soviet attack with less than 20,000 troops. In this alluvial plain terrain that was not suitable for defense, it performed a tenacious defensive battle like the Upper Rhine Valley.

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