The focus of the battlefield, when the guns and artillery around the city of Kirovgrad were in the sky, forty kilometers east of the city, in the city of Alexandria, forty kilometers east of the city, in the headquarters of the 12th Army under the Southwestern Front of the Soviet Union, Major General Garanin was staring at the map in a daze. Pen | fun | pavilion www. ｂｉｑｕｇｅ。 ｉｎｆｏ

Major General Galanin's expression was calm, and he did not seem to be upset by the fact that it was Guderian who was playing against.

It's just that on his right hand, his thumb, index finger, and middle finger keep moving a red and blue pencil.

The pencil turned counterclockwise, and on the right hand side of Major General Galanin, the eyes of the chief of staff of the group army, Negerin, fell on the pencil from time to time, and he knew that Major General Galanin had always been paralyzed, and his lack of expression was his biggest expression, and the only external manifestation of his inner anxiety was to turn the pencil, judging from the speed of the pencil's rotation, the pressure faced by Comrade Major General this time was not ordinarily great.

As Chief of Staff of the Army Group, Lieutenant Colonel Nederin knew exactly what Comrade Major General was worried about.

At the outbreak of the war, the 12th Army, as the first unit to enter the war, followed the main forces of the Southwestern Front into Romania and Hungary, and then was driven out in disgrace.

After nearly 300 kilometers of galloping, the 12th Army successfully moved from the Carpathians to the Dnieper River basin, and defended itself with its back to the Dnieper, with the cities of Kafbas and Kirovgrad at the core of the front.

In the previous battles, the 13th and 17th Infantry Corps under the group army suffered heavy losses, all six divisions were reduced by more than a third, and two divisions were even reduced by nearly 50 percent.

Having launched a defense on the Kavbass and Kirovgrad fronts, the command of the South-Western Front replenished the XII Army with two full-fledged infantry divisions, the 270 and 274 Infantry Divisions, and subsequently a powerful force, the 15th Mechanized Corps.

According to Major General Culpezo, commander of the 15th Mechanized Corps, the 15th Mechanized Corps suffered some losses during the retreat, but its combat strength was still about 85 percent of its full strength, and the total number of light, medium, and heavy tanks exceeded 700.

After being strengthened by the new troops, when Major General Garanin was thinking about the battle plan, the speed of the pencil in his hand was a little slower, but he was still worried: The 15 th Mechanized Corps would inevitably be placed behind the defense line as a reserve, and the front line's 150-kilometer-wide territory would have to be defended by six broken and two complete infantry divisions, and the pressure was still unprecedentedly strong.

After thinking for a while, Major General Kalanin said: "What is the situation in the direction of Kafbas?" ”

"The Seventeenth Army was calm there, and the Germans showed no signs of attacking." Nederin said.

"Only attack Kirovgrad, not Kavbas, what do the Germans want to do?" Major General Kalanin asked suspiciously.

"We don't have time to think so much, the XIII Army in Kirovgrad is waiting for us to send reinforcements."

"When will General Sokolov arrive?"

"I've arrived." A gentle voice came from behind Major General Garanin.

Major General Garanin pinched the pencil in his hand, turned to look, and saw Major General Sokolov taking off his military cap and handing it to a captain.

Major General Kalanin's gaze fell irrepressibly on the head of Major General Sokolov.

Ice rink in the middle, next to barbed wire.

Major General Sokolov's typical young Xie hairstyle, which Major General Kalanin remembered at their first meeting three days ago.

"Comrade Major General, did you call me here to make an attack?" Sokolov asked.

"Yes, the Germans have launched an offensive on Kirovgrad, and your vacation is over." Major-General Garanin said.

"It's okay, three days is enough." Sokolov said.

Major General Sokolov was the commander of the XVI Mechanized Corps, and three days earlier, Guderian learned that the unit that had crossed the Dnieper and was hiding near the city of Alexandria was none other than the XVI Mechanized Corps under the command of Sokolov.

Pointing to the map, Major General Kalanin said: "Guderian's troops have launched an offensive on Kirovgrad, and the enemy number found so far is four divisions, and the 13th Infantry Corps is in urgent need of reinforcements. The 15th Mechanized Corps is far from Kirovgrad, so this support mission will be completed by your 16th Mechanized Corps. ”

"I'm ready to go." Sokolov said calmly, as if it was an easy task to complete.

"Dear General Sokolov, I know that your forces are still strong, but I must remind you that we are facing Guderian, the second worst scoundrel in Germany, after Hitler."

"I know him, I met him more than ten years ago when he visited our Kazan Academy of Armored Forces. He was famous, and he was just right to experiment with our new tactics. Sokolov said.

"If only you knew him. The order given to us by the command of the Front was that the Dnieper was our last line of defense and that we were not allowed to take a step back. The comrades of the Thirteenth Infantry Corps are also waiting for you, and every minute you arrive in the morning, you can save the lives of countless young men. ”

"Okay, I'll go right away, but I need you to contact the comrades in the Air Force and ask them to protect the top of our heads as much as possible, and not let those German crows on top of our heads, I hate them." Sokolov said.

"I will, don't worry." Galanin said.

Lieutenant Colonel Nederin suddenly asked, "Comrade Commander, what is the new tactic you just said?" ”

Major General Galanin also looked at Major General Sokolov curiously.

Major General Sokolov touched the top of his shiny head and said vaguely: "You should have heard that the Germans have a very powerful heavy tank, called the E-40, and in a one-on-one situation, none of our tanks are its opponents, and in the previous battles, we suffered a lot from it. Before I arrived, our superiors had given our armourers a new manual for dealing with E-40 tanks, which could also be used to break through the German defenses. This tactic can be described in two sentences, adjusting the positions of the various types of tanks in the tank formation and trying to create opportunities for our KV-2 tanks to fire. ”

Ignoring the expectant gazes of Major General Garanin and Lieutenant Colonel Nederin, Major General Sokolov threw down this vague explanation and left.

"I don't understand what this new tactic is, but judging by General Sokolov's expression, this tactic doesn't look very powerful." Nederin said.

"There's nothing we can do but look forward to it." Major-General Garanin said.

Shortly after the departure of Major General Sokolov, troops of various sizes were dispatched in Alexandria, as well as in the villages and towns outside the city.

As the pioneer of the 16th Mechanized Corps, the troops of the 15th Tank Division passed through the city of Alexandria, along the road, and rushed mightily towards the battle-torn Kirovgrad. (To be continued.) )