The attack on the Kyiv line was launched by the 11th Army, commanded by Manstein, who is known as one of the three great German generals.

Until then, the 11th Army had been held back in front of the Kyiv line and could not advance, but this was a blessing in disguise...... This made the 11th Army the only unit of the attacking German army that had not suffered from the cold Soviet winter, and they were backed by Romanian supply lines, and clothing, food, etc., could be brought in without hindrance.

The problem was that the Germans locked the direction of their main attack on Moscow, and at the same time the main armored forces were intercepted on the east bank of the Dnieper, which left them without the necessary offensive equipment to break through the Kiev line.

But now it's different.

This offensive plan was proposed to Hitler by Manstein on his own initiative, and this winter he was almost isolated from the battlefield as a "secondary commander" west of the Kiev line, and he had long been somewhat unable to hold back.

It just so happened that Manstein heard that the Soviet Union's southern supplies were intercepted by the British, so he immediately flew to the wolf's den to meet Hitler.

"This is our chance, Your Excellency!" Manstein said to Hitler: "At a time when the British have cut off aid and all eyes are on Moscow, we should open up another battlefield!" ”

At this time, Hitler had already lost his sharpness because of the successive defeats at the front, and he replied with some hesitation: "But, my general...... Our army is retreating, we need to resist their attack with all our might, and we have no more troops to move to the south! ”

Hitler did not deceive Manstein, and even the four new Panzer Divisions that had been sent to the front were assigned to Moder's 9th Army, and if they were transferred back from the front to Manstein, Moder was afraid that it would be difficult for Moder to prevent the defeat of the German army.

"I only need the Air Force, Your Excellency!" Manstein said: "Let the 10th Air Force cooperate with our attack, and I can tear through their lines and launch a surprise attack into their weak depths!" ”

Hitler was silent.

Because the Germans were also nervous in the air force, the reason why the Germans were able to stabilize at this time, or Moder's 9th Army, was able to stabilize their positions was partly because the air force was relieved to regain some air supremacy.

If at this time the air force is transferred to the south to support the 11th Army......

Manstein seemed to see through Hitler's thoughts, and he pointed to the map and explained: "Your Excellency, if we can tear through the Kiev defense line of the Russians, we will be able to cross the Dnieper River while the river is still in a freezing period, which will directly threaten the flank of the Russian army and re-encircle Kyiv, which means that the Russians will have to respond, including the Russian air force!" ”

Hitler nodded in agreement.

In other words, the transfer of the air force will not actually affect the defense of the 9th Army in Moder, because the German army will transfer the air force to the direction of Kyiv, and the Russian army will also have to transfer the air force to the south to fight the German air force...... They're just a different battlefield.

As for the Moscow direction, the main forces of the air forces on both sides were transferred, so no one suffered, and certainly no one took advantage.

Thinking of this, Hitler no longer hesitated, he hugged Manstein tightly, and said: "You are right, my general, we should have done this a long time ago!" I believe in you, you are not the same kind of people as those cowards who only know how to retreat, you and your men will crush the Russians with an iron will, and we will win this war again, and then the whole world will cheer for our victory! ”

Manstein had a feeling of sadness when he heard this.

He knew the whole battle, and although he had been on the Kyiv Line, he had been following the situation at the front.

So Manstein knew very well that in fact the generals who suggested retreat were right, and in that case, even if he commanded his troops to fight on the front line, he could only choose to retreat.

But of course, Manstein would not say that, he just saluted Hitler and turned away.

After returning to the headquarters, Manstein made some preparations.

In fact, preparations had already begun before he went to meet Hitler.

The main problem of the 11th Army was the lack of tanks, especially the "No. 3" and "No. 4" tanks.

There was no shortage of light tanks for the Germans, and the 11th Army, although it had only one army, was actually three armies...... He also commanded the Romanian 3rd Army and the Italian Expeditionary Force.

It's just that because the combat effectiveness of these two armies is relatively weak, they usually do not enter the public's field of vision, and they are easy to ignore.

Manstein's solution was to cobble together two panzer divisions with a few light tanks from these client states and dozens of tanks urgently transported from Germany.

"We only have more than fifty tanks of 'No. 3' and 'No. 4'!" The staff officer said to Manstein with some concern: "The rest are all 'No. 1', 'No. 2' and '35T' and so on, and we even have Soviet-style tanks captured from the Russians, and we are afraid of ...... with these patchwork tanks to attack the enemy's defense."

"Enough!" Manstein replied: "You have to know one thing, Eric, the Russians are not prepared for our attack, their main forces are all in the direction of Moscow to launch a counteroffensive from the front, all we have to do is to break through the Kyiv line, and then all we need is speed!" ”

As for how to break through the Russian defense line with light tanks, Manstein also thought about this.

"We're attacking in the early hours of the morning!" Manstein said to Major General Gott, commander of the main armored division that carried out the breakthrough: "Don't try to go head-to-head with the Russians with your tanks, adjust your radios and use them to indicate the position of the enemy's tanks to the air force, they will destroy the enemy's tanks!" And your target is the enemy infantry, you know? ”

"Yes, General!" Major General Goth stepped forward to answer.

This can be a helpless move, or it can be said to be the only countermeasure, because the Russian army has heavy tanks such as KV1, KV2, and even the terrifying T34.

If you don't rely on the air force and force a breakthrough with these tanks cobbled together by the Germans, it is almost no different from sending you to death.

Of course, Manstein knew that he could not rely entirely on the air force, because the troops would always encounter some unexpected situations on the way, such as short days and long nights, and the German armored units would inevitably encounter enemy tanks at night.

So Manstein repeated his old tricks, just as he invented the assault gun, he simply welded more than 20 PAK40 anti-tanks urgently transferred from Germany to the tank chassis, and then incorporated them into the armored forces as anti-tank weapons.