Therefore, the battlefield is not only about planes and artillery, but also about open and covert battles between commanders on both sides in addition to the smoke of gunfire...... For example, this battle is more about the battle of wits between Kleist and Shulka.

Major Gavrilov immediately relayed Shulka's idea to Admiral Kirponos.

Admiral Kirponos, who was nervous, felt that Shulka was right, so he immediately ordered the transfer of a tank unit from the east bank, a tank unit disguised as the 9th Army.

This is not difficult, because the mechanized 9th Army itself is a patchwork of units, and to disguise themselves as them, you only need to mix various tanks together and hide their numbers.

Then, Admiral Kirponos gritted his teeth and ordered: "Order the 5th Airborne Brigade to be ready for battle!" ”

"Yes, Comrade General!" The staff officer answered, and the order was relayed.

The 5th Airborne Brigade is an elite unit directly under the Southwestern Front, although they are said to be "airborne brigades", but the airborne operations at this time are not mature, and the airborne troops are generally used as elite infantry. Admiral Kirponos had originally wanted to keep them as a reserve for the defense of Kyiv, but now he had to put this force into battle in advance.

At 9 o'clock that night, several red signal flares suddenly rose over the Kyiv defense line, followed by a roar of artillery fire, and rows of shells hit the German offensive line on the periphery from the city.

Ten minutes after the artillery fire was prepared, the Soviet 5th Airborne Brigade launched a counteroffensive against the Germans.

Of course, the counteroffensive should be carried out at night, especially when the infantry is against the enemy's mechanized units, because this can weaken the advantage of the enemy's tanks to the greatest extent.

This Soviet counteroffensive caught the Germans by surprise, including Kleist, commander of the 1st Panzer Group.

At this time, Kleist was resting in his command car, which was a British command car that the Germans had captured from the British in the North African battlefield and then worked tirelessly to transport several of them to the Eastern Front for the use of senior German officers.

Admiral Kleist was lucky enough to get one.

However, Admiral Kleist rarely chooses to command or rest in the command vehicle if it is not necessary, because it is too conspicuous to the enemy, as if it is a clear signal that the enemy has a senior officer inside, and then ask them to send troops to sneak up or direct artillery bombardment.

But tonight, the 60-year-old Admiral Kleist felt that he could not hold on, and he had contracted the wind chill from the heavy rain after days of exertion, and he had to ask his subordinates to drive the command car behind the bunker and disguise it, intending to rest in it for the night.

The luxury of the command vehicle made Admiral Kleist feel like home...... In fact, the British command car is a motorhome, with a small headquarters and work area in the middle and a living area in the back, equipped with beds, desks, lamps, etc., and even a wine cabinet.

If it weren't for his illness, Admiral Kleist would have wanted to open a bottle of wine and take a few sips.

Just as Admiral Kleist was hiding in the warm, dry quilt and lamenting the enjoyment of the British general, the adjutant, Colonel Davy, came in from outside the door and reported: "Your Excellency, General, I think you should take a look at this, ten minutes ago, the Russians launched a counterattack!" ”

"Counterattack?" Hearing this, Admiral Kleist sat up from the bed.

"Yes, counterattack!" The adjutant handed the telegram and reported: "Their attack is fierce, and we are retreating!" ”

The second half of the sentence was said in a small voice, but it still made Admiral Kleist look up in shock.

After a while, Admiral Kleist asked: "How many tanks do they have?" ”

"No, Your Excellency, General!" The adjutant replied: "They don't have tanks!" ”

To the surprise of Admiral Kleist, he was not able to push back his armoured forces by relying solely on infantry, even though it was difficult for tanks to function at night.

"But I have good news, Your Excellency!" The adjutant said: "Colonel William thinks that the Russians who attacked them are pilots!" ”

Admiral Kleist looked up again, and he couldn't believe what he heard: "Pilot? ”

"Yes, pilot!" The adjutant pointed to the map and replied: "Our intelligence indicates that this force is from the airport in Junea and then attacks from the north to the south. Moreover, they wore pilots' military uniforms, as well as flight helmets......"

(Note: The Soviet Airborne Forces use similar uniforms to pilots)

Admiral Kleist was silent for a moment, and then said: "Stupid Russians, they actually use the pilots as infantry. But it doesn't seem to make a difference, because they don't have any planes available! ”

"Your Excellency, General!" The adjutant then asked, "Does this tell us that they did withdraw their mechanized troops to the east bank?" ”

Admiral Kleist nodded slightly.

The Russians urgently called back the tank units, and now even the pilots are sent into battle, which is enough to prove that their forces are insufficient and the command is confused.

That is, Admiral Kleist has already got the answer he wants.

Then there is no need for him to let his armored forces storm the Kyiv line and cause unnecessary casualties.

"Tell the Air Force to blow up the Kyiv bridge no matter what!" Admiral Kleist said: "Leave the Kyiv offensive to the 6th Army, we should free up our hands to attack other places!" ”

"Yes, Your Excellency!"

As soon as the adjutant stepped out of the command car, Admiral Kleist turned his gaze to the map, then took out his pen and drew a circle at a point on the east bank of the Dnieper, and said to himself: "Kremenchuk, this will be a place where history will be made!" ”

Admiral Kleist was right, Kremenchuk, a little-known town on the east bank of the Dnieper River, was recorded in history because the German 1st Panzer Group successfully smuggled in here and finally completed the encirclement, resulting in the total annihilation of the entire Soviet Southwestern Front.

As soon as it was dark the next day, the German 1st Panzer Cluster, under the cover of infantry, withdrew from the sequence of attacking Kyiv.

Of course, this was done in secret, and the Germans, in order not to let the Soviets find out about the withdrawal of armored units, even made some fake tanks with camouflages and hid them in the trenches...... Rommel used this method to deceive the British in Africa.

In addition, the Luftwaffe also deployed a large number of bombers to bomb the Kiev bridge indiscriminately.

Everything seemed to be moving in a favorable direction for the Germans.

But what Admiral Kleist did not know was that all his plans were in the hands of the Soviet army.

To be exact, it was "guessed" by the "escape hero".