Iron Cross

Zeitzler's estimate was still a bit optimistic. Even with the assistance of the 4th Air Force, the supplies of the 2nd and 4th Armored Groups continued until 10 a.m. before they were all completed. This supply was completely unprecedented. The entire battlefield gathered more than 2,600 tanks/tank destroyers, and more than 1,400 armored vehicles of various types. If these forces were measured at the beginning of Operation Barbarossa, they would be almost half the total. The size of the armored forces on the eastern front is actually concentrated in the main breakthrough direction with a length of less than 300 kilometers and a width of less than 200 kilometers. The combat effectiveness of the assembled hedgehogs is naturally extremely powerful.

If 10 bases of oil had not been reserved before the war and tens of thousands of oil tankers built based on standard truck specifications were accompanying the army, the oil supply alone would have driven the logistics supply department crazy. Even so, part of the transportation capacity was still It needs to rely on the air force to complete the support. The Army General Staff has finally learned the "power" of advancing much faster than planned. Thirty years earlier, this advancement speed would have been enough for a World War I-standard force to fight for several months.

Precisely because of such outstanding advantages, the two Red Army armies with nearly 200,000 men could not hold out for even one day. In the battle that lasted for nearly 30 hours, the total number of Red Army casualties (killed, wounded, and captured) exceeded 180,000, while during the same period The German losses were less than 10,000 (including the losses of the air force), and the results were particularly exciting in comparison.

However, when they continued to attack the Michurinsk and Tambov left defense lines, the troops felt that the enemy's resistance began to increase significantly. Tanks and tank destroyers appeared more and more frequently, and those Su-85 and Su-122 destroyers rumbled forward. The German armored forces caused a lot of trouble. At the same time, the Red Army Il-2 attack aircraft also risked their lives and attacked armored targets on the plains at all costs. More than a dozen tanks, including Tigers, were poisoned. They didn't give up until the Bf-219 quickly arrived to shoot down these attack aircraft.

As the Red Army's resistance increased, the German advance slowed down and casualties began to increase. At 4 o'clock in the afternoon, the campaign headquarters in Smolensk received less than ideal news: the results of aerial reconnaissance. It shows that the enemy's Central Front troops are gathering, estimated to include 2 infantry armies and 1 tank army, and are preparing to enter the battlefield, but the direction is not as expected in the original battle plan. They are heading north to try to open up the connection with Tambov. It seems more Like heading west.

"Judging from this momentum, they are going to play Karachi." Zeitzler said with a frown, "It's a bit unexpected, but it shouldn't be a big problem."

"Karachi?" Hoffman was stunned, "Who is defending there?"

"General Huot's Army Group B, to be precise, is the Italian Eighth Army."

Hearing the word "Italy", Hoffman's head began to hurt - every time the Red Army couldn't defeat the Germans in person, they would take it out on the Italians or Romanians. Although these multinational forces with streamlined personnel and optimized equipment have been continuously The record is good, but the Russians always have a psychological advantage over the Italians or Romanians, and their combat effectiveness can also be exceeded. Another issue that cannot be ignored is that the reason why the Axis Allies have performed well recently is basically because there are other German units in the theater serving as the backbone. There is a question mark over their performance when facing the Red Army independently.

"Are there any of our people there?"

"There are 2 infantry divisions, no armored divisions, oh... there is 1 Italian armored division - the Ram Division. It is said that the combat effectiveness is not bad. There are nearly 200 tanks, half of them are No. 4, half are No. 3, and there may be more A battalion of No. 3 assault guns." Zeitzler knew what the head of state was worried about. "This equipment level is quite good for the Italians. The overall anti-tank firepower of the Eighth Army is not bad. They were given more than 130 guns not long ago. 50mm anti-tank gun."

Although Zeitzler's tone was very relaxed, Hoffmann still had vivid memories of the Romanian army's collapse first, which led to the destruction of Paulus's army. He summoned Model and Jodel to listen to their battle on the battlefield. Regarding the change of opinion, I originally wanted to call Marshal Weikes, but in order to carry out the tactical confusion to the end, the latter went to Orel yesterday to take charge of the front line.

Model looked at the map for a long time and thought carefully, and finally said: "The Italians are definitely stronger than before, there is no doubt about it! But Karachi's location is also very important and cannot be lost. The Russians' thinking is the same as ours. The same thing - attacking the north-south junction, I think we can consider adjusting the campaign in advance. After encircling Tambov's southern flank, General Reinhard's 4th Armored Group turned south to attack the enemy's central front flank. The wing rotation will be temporarily taken over by the 2nd Armored Army on the northern flank. After Marshal Weikes's Army Group Eastern is in place, the Tambov encirclement will be handed over to the Army Group."

According to the initial campaign concept, once the encirclement and reinforcements are entered, the three armored armies will not be responsible for the Tambov encirclement. The Eastern Army Group will be responsible for the siege there. The goal of the armored group is to strive to annihilate the Red Army reinforcements and maneuvers based on their mobility advantages. Strength, according to Model's current dispatch, is equivalent to entering a state of encirclement and reinforcements in advance without considering solving the enemy in Tambov as soon as possible - and this reinforcement is not even sent to us by the enemy, but also requires the 4th Armored Group Army to advance at least 120 meters southward. Kilometers take the initiative to fight.

Zeitzler and Jodl nodded together. They thought that this adjustment was more in line with the logic of the battle. If Marshal Manstein's Panzer Army was sent out to rescue Karachi now, the Red Army's Southwestern Front, which was originally in direct confrontation with the Southern Army Group and commanded by Vatutin, would be liberated again - that would involve too much.

Hoffman thought seriously for a moment and decided to agree to the adjustment plan. For the sake of caution, the command not only notified General Laus's 3rd Panzer Army to prepare for battle as soon as possible, but also asked Father Hube's 6th Panzer Army to make corresponding preparations.

At 17:00 on May 26, the anxious Leiter finally received a clear order, but the words on it made him happy and sad: happy that Moscow finally agreed to let him gather his troops and hold Tambov, sad that the General Staff did not approve his idea of ​​building a double encirclement to achieve the central campaign, and no reinforcements would come directly. The Western Front would continue to focus on the Orel line, and the Central Front's mobile forces would attack Karachi to the west - trying to use this method to force the German army to focus on Tambov. He suddenly felt a little bit amused.

The telegram required him to hold on to Tambov for three weeks, but there was no mention of reinforcements, which made him frown: with the current strength in hand, let alone three weeks, it would be very difficult to hold on for a week. After thinking for a while, he decided to send another telegram to request reinforcements - the crying child gets the milk, and he didn't believe that Meretskov couldn't spare a single soldier.

Almost at the same time, Baghramyan also received a clear order to take Karachi as quickly as possible and at all costs and annihilate the Italian troops.

The situation was indeed consistent with Zhukov's expectations. Baghramyan divided the 500,000 troops of the front into three parts: 150,000 troops were arranged for the right side for cover, but most of them were newly recruited divisions added this year, with low combat effectiveness. Only 4 divisions and about 20,000 troops were transferred from the Far East, which were considered the core backbone of the right-wing cluster; he prepared more than 250,000 people for the assault cluster, with the 13th and 70th Infantry Corps and the 2nd Guards Tank Army. Except for the tank army that has been fighting on the Eastern Front, most of the divisions in the infantry army are Far Eastern troops, with a veteran rate of more than 70%, and some troops are even veterans who participated in the Battle of Nomonhan; after the assault cluster, he left another 100,000 troops as a reserve. As for the left wing of the front, he had completely handed it over to Vatutin, believing that the Southwestern Front would be responsible for the cover and there was no need to worry.

At 10 o'clock in the evening of the 26th, Marshal Weichs, with a majestic face, issued an order at the Eastern Army Group Headquarters. All officers above the division level participated in the meeting. When they heard that the troops would be transferred overnight and would not attack the Tula direction northeast of Orel at dawn tomorrow, but would be transferred to Tambov, more than 400 kilometers away, everyone was in an uproar. Several people stood up excitedly and asked why the original plan was changed.

"The battlefield situation is changing. Our army has broken through the Tambov defense line and is ready to encircle the enemy's Bryansk Front. The General Staff is determined to take Tambov and then attack Ryazan in the northwest, bypassing the Tula line where the Russian army is tightly defended..." Marshal Weichs said calmly, "The task of encircling and annihilating the front will be completed by our army group!"

He did not forget to throw a smoke bomb at this time-the Eastern Army Group was not given the task of attacking the Ryazan line in the Castle Battle.

"Long live!..." The generals of the Ukrainian Defense Forces cheered first, and then all the generals stood up and cheered.

The old marshal smiled slightly, his eyes behind the glasses projected a terrifying light, and he ordered in a strong tone: "In order to keep secrets, the troops will set off for transfer in 2 hours. All officers and soldiers are not allowed to leave the troops for any reason. Those who violate the order will be treated as spies!"

"Yes!"

The troops set out overnight, and the scene was heavily guarded. Hearing the completely different combat mission, some people were so anxious that they scratched their heads and wanted to leak the news, but it was too late. The military police and counterintelligence agencies had already deployed a dragnet on the periphery. All personnel who left the troops were arrested and locked up. Although they were bound to be wronged, the military order was like a mountain, and it had been repeatedly reiterated in advance. No one had anything to say. The spies mixed in were either caught together or had no chance to report the news.

Before dawn on the 27th, Meretskov, who was stationed in Tula, believed that the Germans were about to launch an attack based on prior intelligence, so he ordered the front-line troops to prepare for anti-artillery fire in advance. However, his strategy was completely in vain. More than 100,000 precious shells exploded with a deafening roar, but no valuable targets were hit. Seeing the empty front line illuminated by the artillery fire, the always serious Marshal Weichs was also amused...