Iron Cross

Ps: This chapter is an addition to the 400 monthly votes received last month. I urge book friends to continue to vote for it. Today this book ranks 15th on the list...

The attack on Voronezh was actually the focus of the battle on the southern flank of the Eastern Front in the summer of 1942, that is, between June and July. At that time, the Voronezh-Voroshilovgrad campaign was launched with the Vickers Group as the main force, and also achieved successes. Certain results were achieved, and Voronezh was captured. However, due to the later movement of the main force southward, most of the troops turned to the direction of the Caucasus and Stalingrad, and the front lines near Voronezh also fell silent.

By October, the silent front began to become active again. Before the Battle of Uranus began, Manstein had asked the Huth Group to conduct mobile operations to find weaknesses in the Red Army's defense line. The direction of Voronezh was an obvious weak link. Huth Targeting the weak spot at the junction of the Voronezh and Bryansk fronts, we launched a fierce attack, and the passage was opened in an instant. In addition to his ability to seize opportunities, this success is also closely related to the fact that the front's own strength is not too strong. The Voronezh Front was formed on July 7 from the left wing of the Bryansk Front. The purpose was to improve the combat command of the troops defending the Voronezh area (because Voronezh's location is relatively important, it can outflank the Moscow direction's flank to the north, and it can outflank the Moscow direction to the south. It can outflank Stalingrad's flanks and attack in depth to threaten the transportation hub of Saratov.) It has only three armies (i.e., the 6th, 40th, and 60th armies) and four tank armies (the 4th, 17th, and 18th). and 24th Army), among which the 6th Army was reorganized from the 6th Reserve Army, and the 60th Army was reorganized from the 3rd Reserve Army. They were originally substitutes for the second-line team. The personnel, equipment, and training were very poor. There were more than 40 soldiers everywhere. The 20-year-old bearded soldier ranks second in the Red Army in terms of combat effectiveness. However, the four tank corps deployed should not be underestimated. They have nearly 600 tanks and have considerable combat power.

"The Italians want to take the lead?" While discussing how to launch an attack on the flank of the Voronezh Front, General Hott suddenly received a request for war telegram from General Giovanni Messe, commander-in-chief of the Italian 8th Army. He responded to the telegram The content was very surprising and hesitant, because the other party said that they hoped that Italian and Romanian troops would serve as the main offensive force in the flank attack. The wording was of course very pleasant: First, the German army continued to fight all the way and charged at the front. They felt guilty and hoped that there would be secondly, after the reorganization and improvement in the summer, their combat capabilities and skills have been greatly improved, and their equipment has also been improved. I hope they can train the team; thirdly, from a deployment point of view, the Italian 8th Group Army and the Romanian 3rd Army have been greatly improved. The 3rd Army is closer to the flanking Red Army. If they turn around and attack, they can better exert their surprise advantage; the fourth is the last and most nonsense one - Italy is eager to contribute its own power to "eliminate the cannibal Bolshevik system and liberate the Russian people" All power.

"What is the attitude of the Romanians?" General Joerg Hans Reinhard asked. In the "dismantle the army and replenish the divisions" operation, General Reinhardt, who originally served as the commander of the 41st Armored Corps, also lost his position. However, as an excellent tank warfare commander, the Army General Staff obviously would not Arrange him at will, and with the approval of Hoffman (he is the commander-in-chief of the army), Reinhardt took over the position of deputy commander of the 4th Armored Group (newly established after September, and the German high-level command system generally rarely has deputy positions) , In fact, there is a division of labor between Huot and him. Huot is responsible for coordinating and commanding the entire group of 450,000 troops, while tank warfare expert Reinhardt is specifically responsible for commanding the 4th Armored Group Army, especially the armored division.

Shortly after the Italians' telegram, the Romanian 3rd Army also expressed its willingness to take the lead in the attack.

"It seems that the two families have made an agreement in advance. They are not satisfied with eating scraps and hope to have a big meal." Huoter joked.

"I think we can give them a try, and we can also let them have a good idea of ​​their combat effectiveness. General Messer is still a very thoughtful person." Reinhardt said with a smile, "The head of state gave them equipment and supplies, and also sent them We have replaced the officers, and we have helped them adjust and integrate the troops. They should have a new look. This not-too-strong Red Army should be a touchstone to see how good they are. "

"Well, the Italians and Romanians are closer to the Red Army's defense line. We can really let them try it out first." Holt agreed to the two countries' request for a battle, and at the same time ordered the 4th Armored Group Army to gather its forces to prepare for the second wave of attacks, just in case. The Italians and Romanians were weak on offense, but they were able to strike in time.

According to Manstein's formation and deployment, the left wing of the center group and following the 4th Armored Army were about 250,000 Axis brothers, including more than 90,000 Italian 8th Army and more than 110,000 Romanian troops. The 3rd Army, as well as one Croatian and Slovenian division (more than 30,000 people in total). After reorganization and replenishment in the summer, they have strictly improved their combat effectiveness - not only were German advisory officers sent to the battalion section, but at the request of Hoffman, all the heavy equipment of other troops that had withdrawn into the country were left behind and concentrated on these two troops. , for the Italians and Romanians who themselves lack heavy equipment, the level has been improved by at least two levels.

Different from history, as the German military industry began to explode in advance, while the German army's own equipment was optimized, the embarrassment that the Italians and Romanians had always complained about the lack of anti-tank firepower was also improved a lot. In October alone, these two armies were given More than 400 anti-tank guns and corresponding artillery shells were sent. Of course, most of them were 50mm, and a small number were captured Russian-made 76.2mm anti-tank guns (all eliminated by the German army themselves). As for the 88-gun logistics department, they were still Reluctant to take it out, Hoffman could only pretend not to see it. After all, he also had to take care of the emotions below. In addition, some 38T tanks eliminated by the German army were also given to these allies. The primary factor in the defeat of the Battle of Stalingrad in historical time and space was that the Red Army broke through the weak Romanian defense line, completely exposing the flanks of the 6th Army commanded by Paulus - at least this will never happen again.

The winter equipment of the Axis Allies has also been greatly improved this time. The Romanian soldiers, who were mostly poor farmers, were very satisfied and felt that they had a future with the Germans. As for the Italians, due to the demobilization and sharing of officers, they seemed more friendly. A little bit, the idle style has also improved a lot. The Croatian and Slovenian divisions had always followed the Germans' lead, and now that they had reaped the benefits, they were even more determined to follow. Strictly speaking, the reasons for the low combat effectiveness of Romanian and Italian troops are different. Romania is mainly constrained by insufficient equipment and strength. The soldiers have never seen the world and have always been afraid of the giant Red Army (otherwise they would not have As soon as Stalin glared, the Romanians obediently handed over Bessarabia), and the Italian army was more or less from the great powers, so it still had confidence (the Italians were not afraid of the Red Army, but they were afraid of the British, which is puzzling. ), the key reasons for low combat effectiveness are not taking things seriously and working hard, and having outdated combat ideas. Therefore, the prescriptions given by Hoffman to them were different, but very targeted. The Romanians mainly replenished supplies and equipment, while the Italians mainly replenished spirit and officers. After the integration of the German and Italian navy, air force and military industry, the Italian Army Group on the Eastern Front was almost completely controlled by the Germans. Now the two countries can truly be called iron allies.

Now the situation has begun to reverse: it has always been the Germans who have used their little brothers as cannon fodder to bear the first blow of the Red Army. They have to suffer first for poor equipment and low supplies. The complaints from top to bottom are not small. There is prevarication and perfunctory everywhere, but under Hoffman's education, those who endure the hardships in combat now become the Germans, and those who enjoy the latter become the Axis brothers. In this maneuver During the battle, they followed General Huot everywhere to pick up bargains. They enjoyed chasing down the remaining enemies, cleaning the battlefield, and protecting the logistics lines. They also occasionally wiped out the trapped Red Army infantry divisions in the encirclement. They felt better all of a sudden. Thinking that his combat effectiveness had been "reborn" after the summer transformation, he actually took the initiative to ask for a fight. This surprised General Holt and General Reinhardt. Considering that this fighting enthusiasm cannot be easily rejected and obliterated, They finally plan to use the opportunity of flank attack to let these little brothers try a different feeling.

The order was issued in the morning. Since the 4th Armored Army had not yet completely gathered up, by the afternoon, Holt and Reinhardt were still discussing the selection of subsequent march routes and targets. During the heated discussion, Holt Thinking of the Italian 8th Army that had requested an attack in the morning, he asked, "I wonder how the Italians are doing? Why hasn't the telegram been sent yet?"

"I guess he failed and was too embarrassed to ask for help." Reinhardt said with a smile, "We should take the initiative to send a telegram to ask. Although Italians like to brag, they are still very cute sometimes - at least their recent performance is better than before. Less, in the words of the head of state, we still have to focus on encouragement.”

The adjutant suddenly sent a report saying that he had just received the latest telegram. The Italians and Romanians had broken through the Red Army defenses in the direction of Svoboda and were expanding in depth. He hoped that the German army could quickly follow up and expand the results.

"What?" General Hott glanced at the map and exclaimed, "How is this possible? There are two armies of the Red Army opposite. After all, the second-line troops have hundreds of tanks attached to them. They should not be Italians or Romanians. Can it be dealt with easily? Are they lying about military information?"

"I feel strange too, maybe ask the liaison officer?" Another advantage of German officers sending Axis Brothers troops is that they can keep track of the dynamics at any time and are not afraid of them lying.