Nine Hundred and Sixty-Two Failed

The white ceiling looks clean and unusual, and the chirping of birds outside the window gives it a sense of vitality. When Ren opened his eyes, everything in front of him lost the smell of gunpowder, as if the world had restored peace and ended the terrible war.

However, he knew that the war would not end, at least not so easily for now. The piercing pain from the wound on his body declared that he had not been injured for a long time, which also meant that he was not in a coma. long time.

The bed he was lying on was brand new, with an unpleasant and weird smell of disinfectant. The wooden bed has a soft bedding, and the quilt looks soft and has a good texture. There is even a bedside table with a vase next to the hospital bed. He has a clean and tidy room by himself, and there is a small window beside him.

"Captain Wren, are you awake?" A female nurse walked into Wren's ward with a notebook in her hand, saw Wren opened his eyes, and asked with a smile: "It's really nice to be able to take care of you." It's an honor. My name is Ivana, Ivana Rita."

"I... where is this?" Ryan said with difficulty, he found that his voice was a little out of tune, and anyone who had been in a coma for a long time would feel that his voice was a little strange. He was puzzled by his own strange voice for a moment, then looked at the other person waiting for an answer.

The female nurse smiled, and then replied: "This is the best hospital in Kiev. You are sent here as an officer wounded, and generally only officers are accepted here. I was transferred from a hospital in Berlin, here The head nurse. I've heard about you, and you're almost a hero to the whole of Germany now... at least one of them."

Ryan shyly squeezed out a smile. He thought the nurse was talking about preventing the Soviets from outflanking the rear of the Imperial Division, but it was a pity that he was not able to complete the important task of saving the world.

Although the Soviet Union's outflanking troops collapsed, their frenzied assaults in other places dealt a heavy blow to the German army. Group G finally gave up the line of defense, and the Soviet Red Army entered Belgorod State across the board. The German army lost almost 150,000 people in this battle, of which 70,000 were recruits from the rear, and the other 80,000 were the elite of the G Army.

The G Group Army, which suffered heavy losses, not only finally gave up a large area of ​​the occupied area, but also sent about 30,000 Romanian prisoners and 10,000 Italian prisoners before stabilizing the line of defense. In other words, even excluding the losses of the German army near Stalingrad, only in the area south of Kursk, the G Army lost almost 200,000 soldiers.

At the same time, in order to annihilate these 200,000 Axis soldiers, the Soviet Union lost more than 500,000 elite soldiers. These soldiers are not conscripts in Stalingrad, nor are they recruits who have just been added, but veterans who have experienced several large-scale battles.

The strategic deployment of the German army going north was completely paralyzed by the Soviet army.

The plan to attack Moscow was completely bankrupt. Some newly formed armored units and some rear troops rushed towards the G Group Army, barely taking advantage of the weak Soviet offensive to block the hole behind Guderian.

On May 12, the Soviet Union first recaptured the important town of Belgorod on the frontal battlefield, and this city became the first city on the Soviet battlefield to be recaptured by the Soviet counterattack. Although the Soviet Red Army took the initiative to stop its southward offensive after that, it also excited all the forces hostile to Germany.

The head of state, Akado, had to deliver the famous speech "The banner of victory is destined to be stained red with blood" in his mansion. In order to motivate the people not to be afraid of great sacrifices. According to official German statistical records, the German army and its vassals have lost a total of 730,000 soldiers since the beginning of the Soviet-German War. Although the whole of Germany is not a piece of plain, the actual situation is almost the same. More and more people fell in the war, and the front line became more and more difficult and bloody.

Germany's strategy was frustrated, and the plan to siege Moscow was completely suspended. Instead, it had to passively strengthen the defense force in the direction of Kharkov. The newly formed and incomplete Army Group O was barely filled to this line of defense. The commander, General Reichenau, tried his best to prevent the Soviets from continuing to attack.

If it weren't for the Soviets' lack of heavy weapons, the loss of armored forces was too staggering, and they took the initiative to stop going south, and the German army might be in danger of collapsing in the entire southern theater.

Guderian's role in fighting Zhukov at all costs in the area south of Kursk to the last moment was finally manifested ten days later. The Soviet Red Army lost its counterattack force and stopped completely after capturing Belgorod. attack.

Not only did Guderian's Group G army shed its own blood during the counterattack, but Zhukov's southward offensive group also suffered unprecedented losses during the counterattack. How big is this loss? Just look at the wreckage of the tanks that are scattered here and there across the vast land south of Kursk.

The Soviet Union lost about 1700 main tanks in 40 days, and there were more than 900 other T-26 tanks. This shows that among the more than 1,700 tanks lost earlier, they were all elite kv-1 and kv-1b, as well as valuable t-34 tanks and Stalin tanks. The loss of these tanks cannot be replenished by the Soviet Union in a short period of time. Therefore, Zhukov's offensive group can only watch helplessly as the German troops strengthen the Kharkov defense line that is close at hand, but there is nothing they can do.

Of course, the loss of the elite German armored forces is absolutely unforgettable. The 1st Panzer Army lost 60% of its tank vehicles, more than 390 tanks were destroyed by the Soviet Red Army, and the Imperial Division was wiped out 4/5. The 502 Heavy Tank Destroyer Battalion serving as firefighters had only 7 of all 41 tanks left, and the so-called invincible German armored forces retreated in Kursk.

The German Air Force also lost more than 270 aircraft of various types in this defeat, which also became the battle with the largest loss of troops for the German Army and Air Force since the beginning of the war. Although more than two-thirds of these aircraft were shot down by Soviet ground artillery fire, the Soviet Air Force was also desperately fighting for local air supremacy, which put great pressure on the Luftwaffe.

Compared with the more than 700 aircraft lost by the Soviet Air Force, the Luftwaffe undoubtedly achieved a tactical victory. Compared with the Soviet air defense, which basically relied on ground artillery, most of the Soviet aircraft were wiped out by the Luftwaffe fighter units. This shows that Germany still firmly holds the air supremacy on the battlefield, and it also shows that the Soviet Air Force is recovering its own strength, and no longer allows a small number of German planes to run rampant in the front-line airspace.

In short, Rennes later learned that the Battle of Kursk actually ended with the retreat of the G Group Army and the defeat of the German Army. In the entire Battle of Kursk, both sides lost a total of 3,210 various tanks; almost exactly 1,000 aircraft were shot down; and more than 700,000 infantry were lost.

The battle with the largest scale and the largest number of mobilized tanks in human history ended with Zhukov defeating Guderian. The Soviet Red Army took the opportunity to counterattack and regain some of the lost ground, but in the end because of the huge losses, it was forced to give up the opportunity to expand the results of the battle, and completely lost the opportunity to encircle the southern cluster of the German army.

It is not surprising that the Soviet Union achieved this result with the last legacy, and it is not surprising that Zhukov took advantage of the local counterattack when the German army was most dispersed. Because after hyping up the great victory of regaining the important town, all the top Soviet leaders had to rethink a very important question: Once the frontal German Army Group A attacked Moscow, what would happen to the remaining old, weak and remnant soldiers in the Moscow theater?

"My crew... are they all okay?" Ren didn't care about the battlefield situation that he couldn't worry about coming, he cared more about the people he knew and the faces he was familiar with. He knew that at this time, if he could lie in the quiet rear instead of being nestled in a messy field hospital, then Germany's strategic situation would not be much worse.

Compared to how many positions Guderian lost, compared to how many German casualties, he was more concerned about what happened to Alice, and more concerned about Marcus, Andre, and Bruce...

Suddenly he thought of Bowman, the man who loved his car as much as his wife, the feeling of him driving the tank smoothly, and his tacit understanding to stop and shoot that made people feel at ease.

"Captain Wren, there was only one person when you were sent here, and I don't know what happened to the other people you mentioned." The female nurse replied gently: "Maybe they are receiving treatment in other field hospitals. You might have to look through a lot of documents and forms to find them."

They won't be left on the battlefield, will they? To be captured by those Soviets? Perhaps they were also safely taken back to the hospital? Andre and Bruce are still lying in the ruins of the tank, will they be found? Ren's mind was in a mess, obviously the current injury did not allow him to continue thinking like this.

"Can you do me a favor? Help me find out the whereabouts of my crew members. I really want to know what's going on with them now." Ren had no choice but to stop thinking, and directly threw this difficult question to female nurse. Since the higher ups sent her to take care of him, it was absolutely natural to use her appropriately.

"The survival rate of armored soldiers is not high, Captain Ren. If you insist on searching, I can help you submit an application, but don't hold out too much hope. After all, the greater the hope, the greater the disappointment." The female nurse said softly After finishing, he showed a forced smile.

Ren wanted to tell her that his tank didn't catch fire or explode, but finally he shook his head slightly and closed his eyes.