The Third Reich: I Became Emperor

After removing the threat of the Russian Air Force, it was the turn of the Russian ground forces to suffer the pain of bombing.

"Follow me." Hartmann glanced at the Soviet fighter planes that had long disappeared, then looked at the Soviet troops on the ground, thought about it, and gave up the idea of pursuit.

Their mission is to relieve the pressure on the ground forces. Now to repel the Soviet fighter planes, they have to start bombing the Soviets on the ground.

Although there is not much ammunition, the 23mm machine gun can still cause great damage to the tanks.

However, Lieutenant General Rebalko is also a decisive person. Seeing that his air force was repelled, he immediately ordered the armored forces to attack the German positions.

In his opinion, the two armies are in close combat, and the German fighter planes will definitely not dare to bomb at will. When their fuel is almost exhausted, they will leave on their own.

The idea is very good, but Hartmann is not a fool. He immediately led the J-5 squadron and began to attack the Soviets. Bombing the artillery positions behind the bear.

His idea was simple. Since attacking the troops in the battle zone would cause accidental injuries, then go to your rear.

For a time, a lot of Soviet artillery positions were destroyed, and the artillery coverage of the Soviet bear finally stopped.

The effect of the German fighter planes soon showed results. After seeing the bear's artillery fire stop, the morale of the Fifth Infantry Division increased sharply, and the intensity of the counterattack became more and more fierce.

With the help of the Air Force, at a heavy price, the bear in front of them was finally repelled. As some of the defense lines began to retreat, Zhukov decisively ordered the reserve to press on again and must hold on to the current results. At a command post somewhere in the rear, Admiral Hoth looked anxious. Seeing the communications staff come in, he hurriedly asked

"What about infantry losses?"

"The losses were not great. With the bazooka, they destroyed a lot of enemy tanks, almost hundreds of them. This time Zhukov suffered a big loss."The chief of staff said with a little excitement.

Normally, it is almost impossible for the infantry division to repel the attack of the armored division. Even if it is defeated, it will suffer heavy losses. Now, not only did they not lose too many troops, but they destroyed a lot of tanks. This is a good record.

"It is indeed a good thing, but the number is too small. If there are tens of thousands of them, we don't have to be afraid of the Russian tanks at all." Admiral Hoth also said with emotion

"Yes, it's just that the number is small. If there were more, it would be enough for the Russian bear to drink a pot. I think Lieutenant General Rebalko is probably feeling distressed now."The combat staff on the side joked

"It must be painful, after all, they were annihilated not long ago, and this time they lost so many tanks, they probably doubted whether they were leading troops to fight." Admiral Hoth, who was in a good mood, also joined in the joke

"Where is Guderian's Second Panzer Group?"After a while of teasing, Admiral Hoth seemed to remember something and asked

"The vanguard will probably take several hours. The operations staff immediately replied.

"It's going to take so long? It's been so long since we sent out our request for help." Admiral Hoth said with some dissatisfaction.

"There is no way. There are too many guerrillas in the rear who constantly harass the railway lines, causing many railway lines to be destroyed, so there are delays."The combat staff was also helpless. These guerrillas were elusive. If they were determined to wipe them out, it would delay the front-line operations. It would be difficult to complete the task successfully by relying on the third-line troops in the rear.

Hearing this, Admiral Hoth's face looked even uglier:"These useless people in the rear can't even deal with a group of guerrillas. What are they for?"

The guerrillas are indeed a headache, but since the establishment of the Free Army, the guerrillas have restrained themselves a lot. In addition, August ordered the Brandenburg Special Forces to start clearing out the guerrillas. At least they are not as rampant as before.

"They haven't fought in a war for too long, and they don't know how to fight anymore. We should send them to the front line to train them for a while, and then they will be able to fight when they return."The operations staff casually said

"This is a good suggestion. I will report it to the Supreme Command and ask them to be transferred to the front line in rotation so that they can be tempered by the flames of war. Admiral Hoth nodded.

"In addition, a telegram was sent to the front-line units, telling them to stop the attack of the Russian bear and that reinforcements were about to arrive."

"Yes!"

The front line had just rested for a while when the Russians launched another charge. Seeing the Russian tanks attacking again, the officers and soldiers of the Fifth Infantry Division said helplessly:

"Can't people just take a break?"

"It's them again. Aren't they afraid of being beaten?"

"These bastards, we must teach them a lesson this time."

The battle soon entered a fierce state, but this time was different,

Lieutenant General Rebalko was angry. It should have been easy for the armored division to attack the infantry division's position, but not only did it fail to take the position, but nearly 200 tanks were destroyed by the enemy.

If this got out, he would have to quit his job as the commander of the Guards Armored Corps and go home to hug his children. This was no joke.

If Zhukov hadn't tried to protect him in the last disastrous defeat, he would have been court-martialed, and at the very least he would have been sent to Siberia to feed the wolves. If he failed miserably this time, he would definitely be demoted to the bottom, and even lose his life. lose their lives.

So in order to capture the position as quickly as possible, he got angry and ordered all the tanks in his hands to rush forward. He didn't believe that with so many tanks, they couldn't break through the enemy's position?

Nearly 1,500 tanks were lined up in a row, without any tactical formation, just rushing forward, crushing all enemies in front of them.

Seeing the aggressive Soviet armored forces, the commander of the 5th Infantry Division, Major General Berents, had a terribly gloomy face, and immediately said:"There are too many of them. We can't stop them this time. Send a telegram to the army group headquarters and request a retreat." There were less than 4,000 people left in his division. Facing thousands of tanks, they would definitely be wiped out if they continued to fight.

Soon, General Hoth received a telegram. When he learned that the Soviets had dispatched more than a thousand tanks, he was also shocked.

"Is Rebalco crazy? Go all in on the attack?"

""General, we should mobilize the reserve forces, otherwise the frontline troops will not be able to hold on." The chief of staff advised hurriedly. Admiral

Hoth still had the 12th and 19th Armored Divisions in his hands, with nearly 500 tanks and only enough fuel for one charge. He was originally planning to launch a counterattack after the reinforcements arrived.

But now, the situation is very critical and they must be mobilized in advance, otherwise the frontline positions will definitely not be able to be held.

Moreover, retreat is not that simple. Without cover and rearguard, infantry cannot outrun tanks.

"Send a telegram to the Air Force for help. Admiral Hoth said with a frown.

"The Air Force has returned to the airport to refuel and is temporarily unable to provide support."The operations staff reminded

"All right, then we will deploy all the reserves and order the 12th and 19th Armored Divisions to join the battle immediately. No matter what the cost, we must inflict heavy damage on the 3rd Guards Tank Army and let Rebalko know who is the king of tanks."Admiral Hoth said with a cold look in his eyes.

"yes!"

"Urge Guderian again and tell them that I have played all my cards. If he doesn't arrive, he will be the one to collect my body." Admiral Hoth turned his head and said to the communications staff.

"Just do as I say."

Major General Ziegler of the 12th Armored Division, who had been waiting impatiently for a long time, received the order and immediately shouted:"All troops attack, target the Russian Third Guards Tank Army!""

"yes!"

"Boom!"Two hundred Leopard tanks roared in unison and rushed towards the enemy tanks in the distance.