The Third Reich: I Became Emperor

Marshal Zhukov received the farewell message from Lieutenant General Rebalko at the rear headquarters of the Russian army. He was silent for a long time. He tried to protect him at that time because he thought he was a talent in armor.

Moreover, the last defeat had little to do with him. If anyone else encountered a sudden attack by rocket launchers, they could only watch helplessly.

"Why bother?"Zhukov could only sigh helplessly after seeing the end.

In fact, if Rebalko retreated, he could still survive. Although he might be wiped out after the war, at least he could save his life.

Unfortunately, he chose to die on the battlefield in the end. Zhukov could only sigh.

Seeing the telegram that thousands of tanks were blown up, especially the lingering smoke on the battlefield, his brows frowned even deeper.

He thought the battle would be fierce, but the final result would definitely end in a disastrous defeat for the German army. He never thought he would lose. After all, he dispatched three million troops this time. If he couldn't win, he could really commit suicide.

Originally, he wanted to surround the Third Armored Group and destroy the Central Group first. An arm of the army group, in that case, the next battle will be much easier.

Who knew that the arrival of Guderian's armored forces meant that his plan would fail.

In fact, the plan was very good, at least no one could find fault with it, even the bearded man thought it was perfect, and it was very strong to be able to achieve this level in a large-scale military operation.

First of all, the Third Guards Panzer Army broke through the enemy's defense line on the front, and then cooperated with large-scale artillery coverage, the Air Force dispatched fighter jets to attack, and infantry and tanks cooperated to severely damage the German Third Panzer Army, or even wiped it out.

But after only a few days of fighting, many unexpected situations occurred to him.

First of all, the German army on the front was not going to fight him head-on Fight, and even while fighting, shrink the front line, and fight flexible defenses, and occasionally concentrate superior forces to eat up his advancing troops.

Zhukov didn't care about the troops that were eaten up. After all, he had almost three million troops, and this loss was still within his tolerance.

In addition, the German army seemed to have changed its style of play. Once the situation was unfavorable, it would retreat immediately and never drag it out.

This gave him a headache, because it was impossible to capture the opponent's main force. It was not easy to surround the Third Panzer Army Group, but the German air force that had not appeared before suddenly appeared in large numbers out of nowhere.

And they were all jet fighters with excellent performance. The Germans advanced past and beyond, crushing his air force fighters in all directions.

Faced with this sudden situation, Zhukov was deeply shocked and furious.

You must know that the Russians at this time are no longer the passive fighters of two years ago.

In a rage, they immediately issued an order for a general offensive.

Especially after the bearded man learned of the results of the battle, he personally ordered Zhukov to launch a general offensive, not to care about sacrifices, and to teach the Germans a lesson.

He even promulgated a tactic that anyone who retreated would be killed on the spot.

Faced with the murderous order for a general offensive, all commanders were extremely alert.

However, the effect was still very good.

The Russian soldiers on the front line charged desperately one by one, and soon broke through many German positions, and annihilated the Germans on a large scale.

"Marshal, should we turn our attention to Model's Fourth Army?" Marshal Vasilev next to him suggested.

"Why?" Zhukov asked in confusion.

"Since the Third Armored Group cannot be annihilated in a short time, it is better to turn the main force to the Fourth Army, which is a pure infantry army with not very strong combat effectiveness."Marshal Vasilev expressed his opinion.

Hearing this, Zhukov nodded. According to the current situation, it is impossible to completely annihilate the Hoth Group. The only breakthrough point is to find a soft persimmon to squeeze.

"You are right, this is indeed a good choice, and using the Fourth Army as a breakthrough point can not only recapture Smolensk, but also suppress Minsk, which is a great victory from a strategic point of view."

As if convincing himself, Zhukov asked again;"Have the troops, weapons and ammunition of the Steppe Front been replenished?"

"All the military supplies needed for the battle have been prepared. Marshal Vasilev responded quickly.

"In this case, we can try to have the Fifth and Sixth Guards Armies, the Fourth Guards Tank Army, and the First Guards Tank Army immediately launch an attack on the Yar area."

"After the Steppe Front was assembled, it began to move to the north of Smolensk. In addition, the Southwestern Front must hold back the Manstein Group and never give them a chance to reinforce."Marshal Zhukov said a lot in one breath.

At this time, the Russians no longer had to worry about the northern front, because the German troops on the northern front had retreated to the three Baltic countries and could only passively defend and did not dare to launch an attack.

Therefore, Zhukov's battle plan had a great chance of success. The only thing he was worried about was whether the Manstein Group would support. However, he was not very worried about this, because there was not only the newly formed Southwestern Army Group, but also the Don Army Group. The combat effectiveness might not be as good as the Manstein Army Group, but there would be no problem in holding back the opponent.

"Is this equivalent to a full-scale counterattack?"Marshal Vasilev said with some concern

"Do you think this battle can end easily if you don't appease the anger of the Supreme Leader?" Zhukov said meaningfully.

"I always feel that this is not a good time to counterattack. We should wait for another two months. By then, we will be stronger. Marshal Vasilev said worriedly.

"But the German army will also be stronger."Zhukov said helplessly.

He also knew that after waiting for another two months, more tanks, artillery, and soldiers would be added to the front line, and morale would be improved.

But now that a tank armored corps has been lost, he must show his attitude to calm the anger of the bearded man.

……

On the other side, Timoshenko still served as the commander of the newly formed Southwest Army Group of the Russian Bear, but this time Timoshenko's face was even gloomier. After returning from Moscow, he became more silent and spoke very concisely.

As a result, everyone in the command center was terrified and dared not say much. They could only work silently.

At this time, a communications staff came over with a telegram and said:"Your Excellency the Commander, Marshal Zhukov sent an urgent telegram, ordering your troops to counterattack immediately. You must delay the German army and not give them the opportunity to support." Hearing this

, Timoshenko nodded lightly, his eyes flashed a trace of bloodthirstiness, and a cruel smile appeared at the corner of his mouth:"Finally I have waited for this day."

He remembered what the supreme leader said to him. If he failed again this time, he would not have to come back.

Soon, the Southwestern Front, which had been prepared for a long time, began to launch a large-scale attack on the German army opposite.

"Another attack?"

Manstein was stunned for a long time after receiving the news. It had only been less than a month since the last stop. His troops had been resting and replenishing, but due to logistical reasons, the supply speed could not keep up. Many troops were still not fully staffed and their weapons had not been replaced.

So facing the large-scale attack of the Russian bear, Manstein was very distressed. He originally thought that he could rest for a while, but now it seems that he can't think about it.

"Send a telegram to the headquarters and report the situation here." After thinking for a while, Manstein said:"Order all troops to hold their positions and not to take the initiative to attack."

"yes!"