Bismarck

"Make way, make way! Everyone, get out of the way and let the tank pass first!"

"Comrades, let me tell you the key points of the battle. The artillery will switch to a slow-moving barrage of fire, and then the tanks will take the lead. Our infantry's mission is to follow the tanks, suppress the enemy's firepower points with anti-tank guns and machine guns, and cover the tanks as they rush through this open area. When the tanks reach their front line and stabilize their position, we will rush up and occupy the position. Do you understand?"

"Understood, Captain!"

Several camouflage lines were erected behind the trenches at the front line, and the tank column changed its formation after arriving here. According to the attack sequence finalized at the previous combat meeting, the 1st Guards Tank Brigade formed an attack formation.

The planned width of the breakthrough was 1,500 meters. The three tank battalions were arranged in an inverted V-shaped formation, two in front and one behind, to ensure the width of the frontal attack and to defend the two wings. The engineering detachment, as the support, rode on three newly equipped half-track vehicles, followed the two tanks and two command vehicles of the brigade headquarters, and mixed in the middle of the second echelon tank battalion. As for the three companies of the brigade infantry battalion, they were also divided into different categories: the submachine gun company was professionally acting as "tank knights", and the other infantry company, together with the anti-tank guns and anti-tank guns of the anti-tank company, followed directly behind the tanks to provide support at any time.

At the same time, around the tank brigade, there was a field anti-aircraft artillery battalion with fifteen anti-aircraft guns covering the sky.

As for the organization and coordination of these firepower? Whether it is the anti-aircraft artillery battalion command post, the front-line ground command post of the front-line aviation, or even the command observation team of the rear heavy artillery cluster, they are all with the brigade headquarters to ensure that they can directly coordinate the forces and firepower at any time and any place, and maximize the efficiency of the combat organization system.

To the left of the 1st Guards Tank Brigade was the 49th Tank Brigade, which was advancing in tandem with them and breaking through the enemy's positions. Behind the two tank brigades and their 93 tanks was the main force of the superior unit, the 8th Guards Mechanized Army - three mechanized infantry brigades with a total of 3,700 people, 55 tanks and self-propelled artillery, led by the Army Engineer Battalion and covered by the Army Anti-aircraft Artillery Regiment.

This is the Eighth Guards Mechanized Army, which has made great achievements in the war. The most elite troops act as the spearhead of the entire front's attack! Behind them, the 600,000 main forces of the Voronezh Front, commanded by General Vatutin, follow up! The entire army has three combined armies with heavy tank support and suitable for attacking, as well as two tank armies that are mainly used for tank battles and interspersed with outflanking.

As soon as the frontal breakthrough was made, the 600,000-man army would rush in: the combined forces would attack Poltava, the core town of the enemy's defense line, from the front, and the two tank armies on the right would break through from the flanks and penetrate directly into the 200-kilometer deep area between Poltava and the Dnieper River. Like a sharp knight's lance, it would pierce the back of the German Fourth Panzer Army in one fell swoop!

The judgment may be late, but it will never be absent - now is exactly one quarter past three after the judgment when sin will be put to death!

Sitting on the hatch on top of the turret, Yang Yongfu, the commander of the 3rd Company of the 1st Guards Tank Brigade, was wearing a stuffy synthetic rubber tank cap. Even though he was hiding under the shade of the tree that covered the entire tank and enjoying the slightly cool autumn breeze, he was still sweating profusely. But Yang Yongfu didn't care about that at all. He just covered the headphones attached to his tank cap carefully and waited attentively for the order to set off.

Soon, the long-awaited order to attack came through the headset:

"The air force begins to block the battlefield! The heavy artillery units extend their fire! The divisional artillery slowly advances the barrage! The anti-tank guns and mortars of each brigade accompany the infantry in the attack! ... Finally, the tank units, all attack!"

At the same time as the orders were being given on the radio, several flares were slowly rising behind the tank unit to prompt the troops under its jurisdiction to advance, trailing bright red flames and colorful smoke in the sky.

"Everyone, our superiors have ordered us to attack! Comrades, follow me and move forward!"

After hearing the radio command and seeing the signal flare, Yang Yongfu confirmed the order from his superiors, shouted to his subordinates through the laryngeal microphone, and jumped into the turret. Immediately, the 36-ton tank began to move with a creaking sound, emitting black smoke from its rear end.

The company commander's vehicle rushed out first, and the remaining seven tanks carrying forty or fifty "Tank Knights Company" also rumbled out of the sheltered grove and drove to the position of the entire company in the brigade's offensive formation - the right front where it was most likely to encounter an enemy flank counterattack.

The left wing of the brigade's assault formation was the 3th Brigade, a brother unit that was advancing in parallel, and its safety was fully guaranteed. However, the right side was a river ditch filled with floodwaters and silt, and there was no cover from other units. The few ZIS- field guns pushed and pulled by people and horses in the rear could not keep up with the speed of the tanks.

After a long period of fighting, this most dangerous position was finally snatched away by Yang Yongfu, who vowed to take revenge.

Wherever there are difficulties, we will stand up and take up the responsibility!

The beauty of the red flag is not due to dye, but to the common aspirations and awareness of all people.

"Everyone from the third company! Right echelon of the formation, attack forward! - Shura, you are on the right, be alert to the enemy on the flank!"

"Got it. Got it. Oh, Sergey, remember to pay me back! You're such a deadbeat that you haven't paid the five ruble newspaper fee for several times."

Listening to Shula's half-accepting, half-complaining mumbling in the headphones, Yang Laolai's face turned awkward, and he didn't know whether to laugh or cry: "Get lost!"

Chapter 899: The Five Cents That Can Never Be Repaid

"Führer, we just received an urgent report from the front. The Russians have dispatched a large number of troops and are now launching a large-scale attack on Poltava."

"What? Poltava? I remember that wasn't it the main outpost fortress on the Dnieper 'Black Panther' line of defense?"

After hearing the latest battle report, the mustache man with reading glasses who was lying on the map table in the "Wolf's Lair" combat command room put down the trembling magnifying glass in his hand, wiped his dry and turbid eyes, and turned to look at the Chief of General Staff Zeitzler.

Although his somewhat cloudy grey eyes showed signs of old age and fatigue, his gaze was still as sharp as that of an eagle when he was serious.

Facing the scrutinizing gaze of the mustache man, Zeitzler's neck couldn't help but shorten by three points.

"Yes, Führer, that city is very important... As long as we control this salient, the Russians' attempt to attack the Panther Line will be split in two and they will not be able to form a combined force. However, the Russians will definitely focus their attack on this place..."

Zeitzler answered cautiously while pointing out the location of Poltava on the map.

"How did Kruger deal with it?" Hitler's face darkened.

"When the Russians started bombarding a few hours ago, Balck had already led the 48th Armored Corps to the front. But the opposite side should be a full-scale offensive by the Russians, and the 48th Armored Corps alone may not be enough..." Zeitzler secretly glanced at the mustache and continued to tell the bad news: "Moreover, the 48th Armored Corps is one of the only two fists of the Fourth Armored Army. After they go up, Hausser's nd SS Panzer Corps alone is not enough to launch a strategic counterattack..."

The severe pressure of war and Hitler's increasingly erratic temper made him look a little broken - based on the mustache's temper, he would most likely have another outburst when he heard that a key position was under attack... ?

Come to think of it, I have suffered enough of this kind of inexplicable pressure since I took office a year ago...

As expected, upon hearing the news, the mustache man's voice instantly rose again:

"What? No more soldiers? Don't we have six or seven divisions in reserve on the southern front, in addition to the Fourth Armored Army?"

The mustache man slapped the pointer in his hand on the map table with a crisp sound. The generals around frowned and looked at the place on the map where the pointer hit. If the maps used by the headquarters were not very demanding, so they were all printed on the best and strongest special paper, the force of the pointer would have been enough to make a hole.

Facing the mustache directly, Zeitzler felt even more psychological pressure. If it weren't for his military demeanor, he would have taken out a handkerchief to wipe his forehead - not only to wipe off the mustache's saliva, but also to wipe off the cold sweat on his head.

But come to think of it, it’s no wonder that the mustache guy got so angry.

Poltava's geographical location is not an exaggeration to define it as a fortress-level defense position. As a central city 80 kilometers in front of the Dnieper Panther Line, the fortifications here made the Soviet Southern Theater divided into two parts, unable to form a joint force, and the threat to the German Dnieper Panther Line was weakened by 70% to 80%.

Moreover, the German troops stationed in the Poltava fortress area now are the Fourth Panzer Army and part of the Second Army that escaped from Sumy. One of these two forces has a strong armored attack force, and the other has infantry for defense. When the time comes, one army will hold the line, and the other army can drive tanks to break out of the Poltava fortress area at any time. No matter where the Soviets attack from, they will be in danger of being surrounded by the armored army that breaks out from here.

But in other words, if the Soviets want to continue their offensive to regain lost territory, they will definitely concentrate their forces and attack Poltava with all their might. However, this is too obvious and completely expected. In fact, this is the other side of the battle plan: use the solid Poltava fortress area to attract the main Soviet attack, and then the German armored forces will directly cross the Dnieper River and counterattack the Soviet offensive forces from the side and rear - if the troops are sufficient and conditions permit, they can even consider encircling them!

In order to achieve the campaign, the German army built a 200-kilometer defense line from Cherkasy to Poltava and then to Petropavlovsk, relying on rivers and flooded areas. The defense line formed a triangle with Poltava as the top. Because the base of the triangle was thick and it was a corner with the main defense line of the Dnieper River, even if one side was breached, there was enough capacity to counterattack or even kill.

The 48th Panzer Army was the general reserve for the Soviet Union's counterattack when it attacked the Dnieper River. It had two armored corps: Balck's 1th Panzer Corps and Hausser's 2nd SS Panzer Corps, a total of six armored divisions and three armored grenadiers. It included a large number of elite troops including the SS3 Mustache Guard, SS Imperial Division, SS Death's Head Division, and Grossdeutschland Mechanized Infantry Division.

Such a solid defense, such a sharp spearhead, in theory this is indeed a foolproof plan, however...

It is common sense that a long defense will lead to a loss, and it is also a taboo in military strategy. However, if you want to counterattack, you need soldiers, but now you don’t have enough soldiers, and you have to carry the line everywhere - the Fourth Armored Army was originally a strategic counterattack force, but now half of it has to be split up just to "put out fires."

What was supposed to be a campaign-level counterattack has now become at most a tactical counterattack - and after the disbanding of the Fourth Panzer Army, only the Second SS Panzer Army is left, and it is not certain whether it will be enough to put out the next fire!

It even seems that using the main armored force to "put out the fire" is just the beginning.

How to solve the problem of insufficient military strength? Urgent, waiting online...

"What's wrong? Zeitzler? Speak up! Where are our soldiers? We didn't suffer much loss when we retreated to the Dnieper River, did we? How come the reserve troops are gone now? Do we have to mobilize the Fourth Panzer Army? Huh?!"

The man with a mustache over there saw Zeitzler in a daze and became even more angry.

"But, Führer, haven't you already transferred those troops to Petropavlovsk to support the front line? In addition, the Central Group is also facing great pressure. The day before yesterday, you sent two infantry divisions and two armored divisions to reinforce the central line..."

Zeitzler had no choice but to grit his teeth and tell the truth.

With just one sentence, the mustache guy's temper was put on hold.

It seems... I was the one who gave this order two days ago...?

But he was a hero after all, so he was not willing to give up. "Okay, forget about these troops. But what about our twelve engineering divisions on the Black Panther Line? Can they hold the line?"

"That's impossible, my Führer. Those twelve engineering divisions are still building the third phase of the Black Panther Line!" Zeitzler's eyes widened on the spot. "Besides, the combat effectiveness of the engineering divisions is very poor. They can't even defeat an infantry regiment. Even if we really let those twelve engineering divisions go to the defense line to make up the numbers, they won't be of much use, right?"

The mustache looked at the map without comment, his face becoming more solemn. Looking at the location of Poltava and thinking that he had indeed issued an order for the transfer, Hitler's tone softened a little, but his tone was still a little impatient: "...Forget it, just tell me how many people we can spare now!"

"Now on the southern front, there is only the 4th Panzer Army as the general reserve - or to be more precise, there is only Hausser's 2nd SS Panzer Army..."

"This small number of troops is my last reserve force on the southern front..."

Hitler raised his head, his face silent. As soon as he thought about it, he felt a thump in his heart.

"How about we let the Fourth Armored Army act as a fire brigade and maneuver to hold the line?" a general suggested.

"This..." Zeitzler secretly glanced at the mustache man's face and considered his words: "It's possible, but what if we lose it if we defend it for too long?"

After listening to Zeitzler's explanation, the man with the mustache looked very interested: "It's fine to mobilize some troops for counterattack, and then use the reserve troops to replenish them when the time comes?"

"But, my Führer, where do we have any reserve troops..." Zeitzler smiled bitterly and shook his head, shrugged his shoulders and spread his hands. "Now we can mobilize less than nine divisions in our homeland and Europe, of which there are only two armored divisions. They are all disabled and need to be repaired and trained with new soldiers. It will take at least three months before we can fight again - this also includes transportation time, but the Russians will definitely not 'wait' for us that long."

"I'll go to Speer about this and ask him to produce more tanks. What you need to do now is to use the existing forces to withstand the Russian attack - including splitting up the Fourth Panzer Army!" Halfway through his speech, the mustache man's voice rose eight octaves, as if he had hope in sight: "As long as you can hold on for three months, maybe the situation will change drastically?"

"Three months???...Okay, I'll do my best."

Zeitzler felt bitter in his heart: Could this be the legendary rain that would stop, the sky would clear up, and the Führer would think he could do it... ?

To be honest, he didn't know whether the Führer was capable or not, but as the Chief of the General Staff, he had begun to wonder if he was not so capable.

————————The cruel war is still going on————————

"Heavy artillery? There is a German support point! Coordinates ****.****, request to fire! Request to fire immediately!..."

"...Your call request is being transferred to the front artillery command post. Please wait patiently..."

"Wait? Our attack has been blocked!"

"It's like this, Comrade Brigade Commander, the heavy artillery is now being transferred and we can't get in touch with them. Sorry..."

"Sorry? Sorry is useless! I... Hello? Hello?!"

"Beep...beep...beep..."

Listening to the dead tone on the phone, the commander of the 4th Guards Tank Brigade, Gorelov, slammed the table in anger, and then looked at the town in front of him that was occupied by the German army and had not been taken down for a long time. He couldn't help but curse:

"Damn, the artillery are a bunch of idiots!"

The sun was setting at four in the afternoon, but outside the towns of Zhukv and Takvtaulove, the German bunkers were still baring their fangs and spewing flames unscrupulously!

This is the last outer position north of Poltava.

The plain less than 7,000 meters long, sandwiched between water networks on both sides, is the main attack direction of their 8th Guards Mechanized Army.

The two towns stood side by side, guarding the national highway from Poltava to Sumy and the six or seven kilometers wide open land on the west side of the highway. On the east side of the highway was the Poltava River Valley, which was flooded with mud and water and impassable. The two towns were further west, and the Yellow River flooded area was also formed by the flooding of low-lying irrigation channels. Before conquering Zhukov Town, there was no way around it.

Although this is an open area, in theory such terrain should be more suitable for the defender to exert firepower.

but……

This is the German army’s third line of defense, behind which is the city of Poltava.

But it took several hours of hard fighting from this morning to break through the first two lines of defense, and the troops suffered heavy losses.

In order to ensure the safety of Poltava, the Germans had obviously put a lot of effort into the layout of their positions here. In addition to digging up the area in front of the positions where there should have been trees, leaving only tree stumps and wrapping them with barbed wire and mines, the felled trees also blocked the river channel, completely turning the flooded area into a water barrier.

When the Soviet Red Army was forced to squeeze into the embankment less than 7,000 meters wide in front, the German artillery command post in the town directed the artillery groups in Poltava in the rear, and launched "precision strikes" on the Soviet Red Army's advance routes and assembly positions every now and then.

Not to mention that although the German Air Force was at a disadvantage in air power throughout the entire battlefield, under the cover of jet forces, it was still able to organize air strikes of a certain scale, causing considerable trouble to the Soviet Red Army.

Although the layers of defense and the lines of fire could not stop the Soviet Red Army from regaining lost territory, they did consume the Soviet Red Army's morale and strength layer by layer.

Although the 4th Guards Tank Brigade had reached the roadbed of a rural road one thousand meters outside the town, there was an open area with no protection at all a full thousand meters ahead.

There was also crossfire from the Poltava Fortress behind and the nearby town of Taktaolovo, with frequent and plague-like artillery bombardments.

Now, not only the entire brigade, but the entire army's troops have been squeezed here for nearly an hour!

Nighttime is not suitable for organizing large-scale breakthrough campaigns, but the German Air Force has the ability to fight at night. If they cannot rush into Poltava and gain a foothold before dark, not to mention their own brigade, even the main force of the army behind them will be exposed in the open. Then, at night, the German (with radar and night combat capabilities) disaster crows will cover the bomber troops and plow the land directly...

"Damn the heavy artillery, why haven't they moved away yet?"

Gorelov looked at the sun, then at his watch, and his nose was crooked with anger.

"Boom!"

A round of German artillery fire came from a distance.

Although Gorelov reacted quickly and laid on the ground with the guard's head before the guard fell on him, the blast still blew his hat crooked. With his hat and nose crooked by the blast, and his face covered with gunpowder, dirt, and wood chips, he looked really embarrassed.

The guard who stood up beside him ignored the dust on his body and said to Gorelov while brushing off the dust: "Brigade Commander, the army commander just called and the political commissar answered. The army commander ordered us to continue the attack and rush into Poltava before dark!"

"Know... huh?" Gorelov spat out a mouthful of saliva covered with mud and sand, but the next moment his face changed and he looked up at the sky!

Just as the sky above was already showing some red light from the setting sun, the sharp whistling sound of the jet could be heard again! Looking up, in the gaps between the clouds, the white smoke that was unique to jets and much denser than that of propeller fighters had interwoven into dozens of dense white lines in the sky, and they were still extending!

"Oops!"

As the commander of an elite tank brigade with rich combat experience, Gorelov's heart suddenly skipped a beat!

This is a large fleet! At least a squadron-level number!

With such a large group of fighter jets appearing at this time to fight for air supremacy, the Germans' next step must be a large-scale counterattack!

"You! Go back to the command post right now and report to the army commander immediately. The Germans are likely to launch a massive counterattack. By the way, tell the army commander that I will launch the next round of attack right now!"

The terrain here is flat, with Taktaolovo, also occupied by the Germans, on the left, and an open water barrier on the right! Gorelov knew very well that in such a terrain, his troops exposed in the open area had no support!

A large-scale counterattack requires air superiority. Now the German jet fighters have just entered the battlefield, and it is estimated that there is only one hour left. Now, only by rushing into the town first and letting the infantry of the follow-up troops follow in, can we rely on the town to withstand the enemy's counterattack!

Things like this should be handled personally by me, the brigade commander!

"Davarishi! ... Party members and league members, follow me and charge. We will liberate this place at the cost of our lives. For the Soviets, attack!"

After a brief speech, Gorelov put down the trumpet in his hand, jumped into the turret hatch of the command tank, commanded his tank, and rushed out first. Beside and behind him were the last 23 tanks of the tank brigade, and more than 70 "tank knights" sitting on the vehicles holding submachine guns and grasping the anti-aircraft machine guns on the top of the turret.

This is the core assault force of the general offensive organized by Gorelov!

The right wing of the battlefield was a flooded area. More than twenty tanks were arranged in two swallow-shaped formations, attacking from a position close to the flooded area.

Open ground is not suitable for large-scale infantry charge alone. Even if they follow behind tanks, infantry cannot catch up with the speed of tanks. Therefore, the regulations stipulate that infantry and artillery should concentrate all heavy machine guns, anti-tank guns and mortars to cover the tanks and "tank knights" to charge alone.

As long as they rush to the village entrance and find cover, the tanks can be transformed into firing points "on the spot", suppressing the enemy's firepower with their tank guns and heavy machine guns, and covering the infantry from the rear positions to rush into the town.