在1943年库尔斯克会战失败之后，希特勒意识到东线德军已经失去了大规模进攻的能力，接下来德军需要做的是顶住苏军疯狂的反击，可以预料的是苏军一定会在乌克兰地区发动反击，因为乌克兰丰富的资源是苏联急缺的东西。 At this time, the German army was also urgently building a defensive line, which was built along the Dnieper River, taking advantage of the natural superiority of Ukraine on the right bank over the Ukraine on the left bank to build fortifications and artillery positions, and the Dnieper River was the last lifeline of the German army.
第聂伯河堡垒
In August 1943, the Germans suffered a defeat at the Battle of Kursk, and the offensive and defensive positions of the Soviet and German sides were exchanged, and after the heavy losses of the German armored forces, the Germans were forced to enter the defensive phase. In order to hold the territory of the Germans after several years of fighting, Hitler ordered the construction of fortifications on the Eastern Front around rivers and foothills.
Especially in the Ukrainian region, this place can be said to be the common lifeblood of the Soviet Union and Germany, Ukraine is known as the granary of Europe, with vast black soil, endless cultivated fields and metal resources such as coal, manganese ore, nickel ore, iron ore, etc., it can be said that Germany's industrial production is inseparable from Ukraine.
Hitler ordered the construction of fortifications on the main rivers in eastern Ukraine, including the Narva, Sozh, Dnieper, and Molochia rivers, a series of defensive strips collectively known as the "Eastern Barrier" strategic defensive line. Although the plan was grandiose, the Germans did not have much time to complete the construction of the defensive line, and the Soviets would not give the Germans a chance to breathe.
德军撤退至第聂伯河防线
At this time, the commander of the German Army Group South was the prestigious Field Marshal Manstein, but Manstein had a bad reputation in history compared to other German marshals, and one of the big reasons was his scorched-earth policy in the Ukrainian region. In August 1943, just after the defeat of the German army in the Battle of Kursk, the Soviet army gathered five fronts, namely the Central Front, the Voronezh Front, the Steppe Front, the Southwestern Front and the Southern Front, totaling 2.63 million people.
Since the eastern barrier in the rear will not be completed for two months to be completed, Manstein can only lead the 1.24 million soldiers of Army Group South to conduct dynamic defensive operations in the eastern region of Ukraine, as much as possible to provide time for the construction of the rear defense line. However, under the attack of the five fronts of the Soviet army, Manstein could only retreat step by step, but on the way to retreat, he ordered the Germans to take all valuable things with them and destroy everything that could not be taken away, including people.
After the liberation of Ukraine, the Soviet Union will definitely use Ukraine's rich resources and Ukrainian population, so Manstein signed an order to carry out scorched earth measures in the Ukrainian region, requiring horses, food, metals, gold and silver treasures and other useful materials to be packed and brought on the train, in addition, Ukraine's sturdy men also need to be taken away, and the remaining population that is not of much value is all shot on the spot, Manstein's hands are stained with the blood of hundreds of thousands of Ukrainian people.
It takes only 60 minutes to destroy a power plant that takes years to build, and it took only three hours for Moder to destroy a city in the Scorched Earth policy in the Rzhev salient. Everything Manstein did turned into hatred for the Soviets, who desperately wanted to cross the Dnieper and drive the Germans out of their country.