Nine Hundred and Fourteen Circles

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A German armored vehicle was slowly advancing in the field, and the commander on the turret leaning against the hatch was observing the movement in the distance with binoculars. In fact, the German Army Group G had already collided with the Soviet Army heading south, but neither of them launched an attack immediately.

As a result, the reconnaissance forces of the German armored forces began to be active. They wanted to find out for their troops how many enemies were in front of them, what their serial numbers were, and whether they came from tanks or pure infantry. Or to put it another way: see if the opposite party is here to find trouble, or to die.

Of course, the method for the German reconnaissance troops to judge the opponent's strength is also very simple. They will attack once, and then use the result of this attack to intuitively reflect the opponent's strength: if they lose, the opponent will be more ruthless; if they win, the opponent will be stronger. Dishes - plain and simple.

This German sd. kfz. The Type 222 armored vehicle is a small four-wheeled armored vehicle, which is not very popular equipment in the reconnaissance troops. The real main force usually finds a way to equip their troops with six-wheeled SDs. kfz. Type 231 is much superior in terms of maneuverability and interior space.

But sd. kfz. The Type 222 armored vehicle also has many advantages. For example, the production process is relatively "material-saving", so it is mass-produced and equipped for temporarily expanded armored units and infantry division reconnaissance battalions. Moreover, in order to save costs and facilitate production, German armored vehicles have canceled many sharp-edged designs and directly replaced them with vertical welded steel plates.

"No Soviet armored troops were found. I suspect that the woods ahead are where they are stationed." The commander put down the binoculars in his hand and contacted the reconnaissance company and company headquarters behind by radio: "If necessary, you can provide me with some Support, launch a small-scale attack nearby to test the opponent."

The earbuds seemed to be a bit overwhelmed, and the voice even changed a bit: "Be careful of your position! About one kilometer from your left wing, the No. 4 car was ambushed by the Soviets, and the other party is no rookie!"

The commander was taken aback for a moment. When he came out, the battalion headquarters had already emphasized the strength of the enemy when he came out, so most of the scouting troops, including himself, were very cautious. However, some vehicles were still killed by the opponent, which made him more cautious.

"Reverse! Our position is too far ahead. This is not a good omen. Turn while reversing and pay attention to the surrounding situation." After cutting off the communication with the company headquarters, the commander hurriedly issued an order to retreat. It is one thing to be brave and fearless, but it is another thing to foolishly go up to die. In this case, there is no need to take risks. This is something he has already thought clearly in his mind.

Just when his armored vehicle started and just retreated a few meters away, a shell obviously flew towards them, but because of a problem with the aim, the shell hit it more than ten meters away from where they had just parked. On the ground, a piece of black soil was raised.

"God! We are under attack! We are under attack! The opponent has high-velocity anti-tank guns! Reverse! Reverse!" Before the commander could retract his head into the turret of the armored vehicle,

The mud kicked up by the shells splashed all over his head. While slapping the steel plate on the periphery of the turret of his armored vehicle, he shouted loudly to give the order to retreat.

So under his urging, or under the threat of the opponent's shells, the armored vehicle quickly reversed and retreated into the dense weeds. Soon the second shell arrived as expected and hit the straw field, kicking up a patch of weeds and soil. The black smoke blocked the armored vehicle's vision and seemed to block the opponent's vision, so there were no more shells in the woods. Flying out, the German armored vehicle quickly retreated from the other side of the weedy field to the bushes next to the road.

"The destructive power of the shells is not the 45mm artillery of the Soviet Union, so it is not the T-26 tank that is easy to deal with... It is not the 76mm artillery of the T-34 tank, it is the monster called Stalin." The commander wiped it. With cold sweat oozing from his forehead, he said to his driver in a trembling voice.

"Oh my god, they almost hit us just now." The driver also said with some fear: "Don't be dazed, what should we do next? They won't continue to fire when they cross the road, right?"

Just when the two of them were discussing how to run, a T-34 tank broke a small tree, and came out of the slightly green forest. Behind this tank was another t-34 tank, and then right next to them, another t-34 also rushed out of the woods.

"My God, let alone a battalion of tanks, this is definitely the main force of the Soviet Union!" The commander saw these steel monsters rushing out of the woods without using a telescope. After he exclaimed, he hurriedly continued to order: "Hurry over the road and return to the company headquarters as quickly as possible."

After finishing speaking, he grabbed the radio microphone in the shaking armored vehicle and reported loudly: "The position of the No. 2 armored reconnaissance vehicle has at least one battalion of enemy armored troops. The main force is T-34 tanks. Stalin tanks are not ruled out, we are retreating! We are retreating!"

"Received! The positions of vehicles No. 1 and No. 4 are similar. The opponent has at least one armored division. I have already reported to the battalion headquarters. Now get rid of the enemy immediately and retreat to our position." In the headset, even The commander also noticed the huge offensive force of the Soviets, and ordered anxiously.

The German reconnaissance unit, which would not retreat easily in the face of several times the enemy, had to choose to retreat in front of the superior Soviet tanks. The news passed back from everywhere is similar, that is, the Soviet armored forces have started a large-scale attack from the southern part of Kursk, and the targets are the important towns of Gubkin and Old Oskol in the northern part of Belgorod Oblast occupied by the German army.

Once the Soviet army breaks through the small amount of German garrison here, it will directly face the Italian and Romanian troops behind. It seems that at least in the nearby reconnaissance operations, the Soviets have found the weakness of the German army and intend to find it from here. A chance to break through the German defenses.

"Yes! Just now, the ground reconnaissance troops discovered a new Soviet armored division, and they are going south." The chief of staff put down the phone in his hand, and then looked at the busy Guderian: "Your Excellency, our army The defense line is too long, under such circumstances, we have no way to organize forces to counterattack the Soviet army."

Guderian shook his head and said helplessly to his subordinates: "The purpose of our going north is not to encircle Moscow. That is just a slogan shouted to the outside world, but it is not the case."

He pointed to the German Central Theater troops in front of the Soviet Union, and then looked at his staff officer: "If you want to attack Moscow, wouldn't it be more time-saving to launch an attack from the nearest Smolensk? Why do you have to detour from us so far away?" What about outflanking?"

"I understand that outflanking is just an offensive plan that has been successfully completed. In fact, our main task is to buy time for the m and n armies, right?" The chief of staff obviously understood Guderian's meaning, so replied immediately.

Guderian nodded, and then drew his hand on the broad front of his army group: "We are the troops covering the flank of the southern group, and now we are just completing our most important task. Get ready, like General Lister's Like Army Group E, fight to the last moment."

"So? We have to be at the forefront now, and we will not be able to complete the mission until General Model's d-group army approaches?" The chief of staff smiled bitterly: "Then the tank troops that we have painstakingly accumulated over the years ,Would not it be……"

"Is there any way? Don't spend it here in the field with the Soviet armored forces, can't it be consumed in the ruins of Stalingrad?" Guderian seemed very bachelor: "Since the beginning, we are for field armor Prepared for the group battle, then this battle will be the last chapter of our g group army."

"Let the third armored division continue to move westward, and it is best to deploy your own defensive positions before the troops officially exchange fire." After Guderian sighed, he began to assign his own tasks: "The two light infantry divisions on the front line can Shrink the line of defense, let the Italians first help us test the depth of these Soviets."

"Yes! General!" The chief of staff obviously did not object to the plan of letting the Italians play the forward. He was worried about the logistical supplies of his troops and the fire support of the Romanians: "Although we have strengthened an infantry division to the west these days, But the troops there are still too thin.”

Guderian looked at the long west protrusion of his army on the map, and replied helplessly: "What can I do? I can only take one step at a time. If it doesn't work, I can only go to the Air Force. We need the support of paratroopers. Once the Soviets take back Belgorod, our logistical supply line will be farther away, and the advantage will be on the Soviet side."

Modern warfare is all about resources and consumption. The German army's supply bases are far away in Ukraine and Poland, while the Soviet army's supply line is more than half shorter than that of Germany. Therefore, the German army can no longer give up its supply line, and then there will be no need to continue fighting this battle.

"In order to compete for resources, this war is too aggrieved." The chief of staff complained: "We went all the way south from near Kharkov, then went all the way north, and now we are moving west—this is a circle at all! "

"Even if it is ten circles, as long as the war can be won, we are willing to circle around!" Guderian said firmly.