The reconnaissance unit of the 12th Tank Division was ambushed, and the remnants of the unit hid in the dim light on the north bank of the Sura River and did not reappear until dawn. Pen & Fun & Pavilion www.biquge.info

As the eastern sky turned white, a heavy shelling suddenly fell on the south bank of the Sura River.

Raindrops of cannonballs roared and fell, and the earth trembled, swayed, and undulated.

Tall trees were uprooted and tossed into the air.

The red-hot shrapnel severed the branches and leaves, scattered and flew in all directions, and then crackled and fell to the ground.

Soon after the shelling, wounded people appeared on the road leading to Lokhvica by the river. The less lightly wounded staggered to the armoured vehicle at the edge of the woods, while the seriously wounded were carried on their backs or on stretchers and carried onto the armoured vehicle on rainproof silk cloth, which was then activated and driven towards Lokhvica.

Perhaps out of concern for the civilians of Lokhvica, the Soviet shelling did not visit the city.

Rommel stood at the intersection south of the city, looking at the sky.

Two FI-167 White Stork reconnaissance planes approached slowly from the sky north of Lokhvica.

Rommel waved at Helmut behind him, and Helmut and one of the heralds raised their arms.

Two white flares flew into the sky side by side, and in the language of the German flares, white meant that we were here.

After confirming Lochvica's location, the two White Stork reconnaissance planes circled around, as if to salute Rommel, and then turned around and flew north.

Under the guidance of two White Stork reconnaissance planes, patches of black spots appeared in the northern sky.

The dexterous ME-109 was the first to enter the battlefield, rushing to the Soviet fighters who arrived on the battlefield first.

The ME-110, which was following behind, rushed to the ground and pounced on the marching convoy.

The road connecting Romny and Lokhvica is not the only road connecting the two cities, but it is the most important.

The 2nd Mechanized Corps and the 8th Mechanized Corps each rushed frantically towards Lochvica, and long convoys crowded the roads to deliver a feast for the ME-110 fleet.

The SD-2 Demon Egg bomb fell to the ground like a wasp swarm, and tens of thousands of shrapnel sent a bloody storm through the convoy.

The infantry marching in the gas truck was killed in pieces by shrapnel scattered by the air explosion in the compartment and next to the truck.

The soldiers, who were lucky enough to escape the baptism of shrapnel, found themselves lying on the ground around them with bombs with bat-shaped wings.

After throwing the Demon Egg, the ME-110 squadron swooped down and swept soft targets on the road with its guns.

The Gass trucks, used by the infantry and artillerymen, were once again the biggest casualties of the air raids.

The ME-110 avoided targets such as tanks and armored vehicles, and attacked the fragile gas trucks, where the guns and shells swept through, the gas trucks, the fragile windshield, crawled with cobweb-like cracks and bullet holes, billowing black smoke out of the hood, and the drivers' blood stained the cockpit red.

Sixteen ME-110s ravaged the battlefield, paying the price of two being shot down and two damaged, seriously delaying the Soviet army's schedule.

However, the most serious thing was the massive loss of the gas trucks, and a large number of motorized infantry turned into pure infantry.

The artillerymen also looked behind the wreckage of the truck, and the staggered artillery was in a daze.

The M-30 Type 122 howitzer weighs two tons, and the 152 howitzer is heavier, do you want them to push and walk and turn these big guys into "fully automatic" howitzers?

After a scramble to rescue them, the infantrymen hurriedly jumped into their tanks and moved away from the scene of the murder.

The artillerymen waited in horror for the arrival of new trucks.

However, it didn't take long for them to guard against a new round of air strikes in addition to the demonic eggs on the ground that were equipped with time-delay fuses that could explode at any time.

Göring's brain was hot, and he teamed up with Hitler to develop a central flowering tactic, and as a result, a steppe front was launched.

In order to prevent someone from coming back to trouble him, Goering gave an order to the Second Air Force to support Rommel's breakthrough at all costs, and to transfer reserves from the country to strengthen the Second Air Force.

The Second Air Force had already learned that the next few days would be a critical moment for Rommel to lead his troops to break through the Dnieper defense line.

Even in Lochvica, Rommel could see the sky in the distance, the heroic posture of German fighters swooping up during air raids.

Returning to the temporary headquarters in Lochvica, Rommel had just looked at the map when a communications staff officer walked up to him.

"Report, the bridge in the village of Irest has been blown up."

Rommel nodded approvingly, proud of the efficiency of the sappers.

The Sura River suddenly turned northeast of Lokhvica and changed to a north-south direction, and after reconnaissance, a bridge across the river was discovered in the village of Ileste, southeast of Lochvica.

Rommel immediately ordered the bridge to be blown up and sent scouts to patrol to avoid being outflanked by the Soviets.

Hearing the news of the success of the sappers in blowing up the bridge, Rommel immediately turned his gaze to the northwest, where the Soviets were most likely to attack in a roundabout way, where there was a dirt road that allowed the Soviets to cross the Sula River far north.

To the south of Lokhvica, the main forces of the 10th Motorized Infantry Division, the 4th Panzer Division, and the 3rd Panzer Division are marching towards Lubne, and if the attack on Lubny does not go well, the blocking battle of Lokhvica will inevitably start a decisive battle in the northwest.

The Russians are a little slower than the British, but they are not fools, and they will not foolishly rush the impenetrable defense line of the Sura River to the north.

After Rommel counted his troops, he suddenly remembered the battle between the 3rd Panzer Division and the 16 Tank Division.

Rolling his eyes, Rommel crawled with his usual sly smile・・・・・・

In the village of Yasni, five kilometres northwest of Lochvica, Captain Jurgen von Heinrich walked quickly to the entrance to the village to the north.

A BMW R75 heavy motorcycle and a VW82 barrel truck rushed to the village one after the other.

"To the north, in the village of Luka, a large Russian force has crossed the Sura River and is approaching us."

"How many people? How many tanks? Captain Heinrich shouted.

"There are countless tanks, and infantry on them."

A group of BA-10 armored vehicles first appeared in the eyes of Captain Heinrich, and immediately fell under the ambush of PAK40 anti-tank guns, threw down the wreckage of four vehicles, and fled in confusion.

Less than a cigarette was struck, and Captain Heinrich saw black smoke rising from the ground in the distance.

As a veteran, Heinrich knew that it was black smoke from a large number of diesel engines, and it was obvious that a large number of tanks were approaching.

Looking at the No. 4 tank destroyer hiding on the north side of the village, crouching by the bushes and houses, and at the four big guys crouching in the village, Captain Heinrich felt more admiration than ever.

General Rommel was so understanding that he even sent reinforcements in advance.

With these nine tank destroyers No. 4, and those four big guys, their own company can withstand a regiment of Russians.

Mortar shells landed in the village of Yasnia, and Captain Heinrich's men returned fire with mortars.

PAK40 anti-tank guns and tank destroyer No. 4 followed suit, mercilessly hunting down the oncoming Soviet tanks.

As the ground trembled, four massive figures were revealed, and four Grizzly assault guns hid on the east and west sides of the village, using the No. 4 tank destroyer fighting in front of them as cover, turning the muzzle of the 150mm howitzer to the battlefield.

The two Grizzlies on the west side face northeast and the two on the east side face northwest, a standard crossfire, which is also a replica of the KV-2's tactics of using comrades as meat shields.

Under direct fire, 150mm high-explosive shells dominate the battlefield.

Under the crossover design, high-explosive shells were fired at the exposed sides of the Soviet tank, and each round of shells could set off a storm of flames near the tank.

Shrapnel mercilessly sliced through the bodies of Soviet infantry behind the tank, and each 150mm high-explosive shell could send hordes of Soviet infantry flesh and blood flying.

At the call of Captain Heinrich, when the 150-mm self-propelled howitzer in the rear turned its muzzle and joined the battle in the village of Yasni, it became the last straw that crushed the Soviet army.

Looking at the fleeing Soviet troops, Captain Heinrich looked at his watch, and the battle lasted less than thirty minutes.

At least one battalion of T-34 tanks was destroyed, and the wilderness north of the village of Yasni was littered with tank wreckage and dead bodies.

"I was lucky not to have met the KV-2."

Captain Heinrich immediately reported the results of the battle.

"In the first round of fighting, only one anti-tank gun was lost, two No. 4 tank destroyers were slightly wounded, infantry casualties were less than 20 people, and 30 enemy tanks were destroyed, which can be said to be a great victory."

The battle lasted all day, and Rommel took control of the front line in the city of Lochvica until 4:20 p.m., when an exciting news came to him.

General Schwebenburg said that the 24th Panzer Army occupies Lubny and is currently expanding the area of occupation to the perimeter according to the plan. He told us to go to the rendezvous in Lubny. ”

"Let General Moder send troops to meet us, we have a large number of wounded here, wait until it gets dark before leaving." (To be continued.) )