"Report, Commander, the 3rd Army Corps reports that they have broken through the Russian defensive line and are advancing on Vitebsk. They are expected to arrive this afternoon and launch an attack!"
General Guderian nodded. This offensive by Army Group B involved five army corps striking simultaneously along a front hundreds of kilometers long. Although the Russian Western Front Army was equally formidable in strength, the gap in combat effectiveness still allowed the German military to hold the upper hand in this battle. Next, they only needed to follow the established plan and eliminate the Russians' living forces. Then the first phase of the operation could be considered a victory.
"Tell General Fedor von Bock that Vitebsk must be taken within two days, after which he is to advance on Smolensk!" General Guderian ordered.
"Yes, General," the staff officer replied.
After that, more good news arrived one after another. The 13th, 14th, and 15th Infantry Army Corps under Army Group B had also successively broken through the Russian defensive lines and were attacking their designated targets.
Although these three army corps had only been urgently mobilized before the outbreak of war, and their soldiers were mainly veterans discharged over the past few years, their combat effectiveness might have fallen short of the German Army's Frontline Troops due to factors such as physical condition. But when facing the Russians, they still held every advantage. Not only were the soldiers generally of higher caliber than the Russians, but they also possessed weaponry far superior to the Russians'. That was why their offensive had gone so smoothly.
According to Operation Barbarossa, a vast net was spreading toward the Russian Western Front Army. Very soon, it would be time to draw in the net. When that happened, the entire Russian Western Front Army would