"Sir, I have just received the latest information that the two armies of the Red Army have been besieging Rostov for three days, and the command believes that the time has come for our army to assault. Pen × fun × Pavilion www. ｂｉｑｕｇｅ。 ｉｎｆｏ”

"What are the specific tactical objectives?"

"Cut off the enemy's troops besieging Rostov from the follow-up forces of Dontsk on the Volga, and cooperate in annihilating them."

Hausser nodded, this task is not too difficult, but the next order makes people flutter for a moment: "Marshal Hort asked that it is best to use 1 armored division, no more than 2, so as not to scare the Russians." ”

"Well, that's a strange request...... "Hauser didn't mean to disobey it in the slightest. Marshal Hult is known as the commander of the 14-nation coalition, and it is not possible to play with so many troops, especially to manage the Italian 8th Army well without a real skill, Guderian, Rommel and others have big heads when they talk about the Italians, but Marshal Hult has done it, and this real ability Hausser has never underestimated. In Manstein's absence, it was by no means unreasonable to order that all affairs of the Eastern Front should be managed by Field Marshal Hult.

Soon he recruited Theodor Wiesch, commander of the Guards Flag Division, and Fritz Witt, commander of the Youth Division, two divisions that were strictly brother divisions, and the Youth Division, with a large number of officers transferred from the Guard Flag Division, and the armbands bearing the name of Adolf Hitler, were very remarkable.

"Judging from the intelligence, at present, the 24th Army of the Red Army and the 1st Guards Army are attacking Rostov-on-Don, and the 5th Tank Army is holding on to the Volga Dontsk with the intention of maintaining a continuous front, what do you think about this?"

The attack on Rostov was carried out by the Don Front, led by Rokossovsky, directly opposite Army Group South. The front had the 1st Guards Army, the 21st, 24th, 63rd, 66th Army and the 4th Tank Army before the Battle of the Great River Curve, after the Battle of the Great River Curve, the 21st Army suffered heavy losses and was almost completely annihilated, and the 24th Army suffered a medium wound and lost half of its troops, making it the weakest of the three front armies on the southern flank (Southwest, Don, Stalingrad).

In order to strengthen the strength of the Don Front, the Soviet army made every effort to replenish its strength: the number of the 21st Army was revoked, and the remaining forces plus newly recruited recruits were enriched to the 24th Army; The new 69th Army was formed and joined the Don Front by using the troops drawn from the Steppe Military District, Central Asia, the Far East and other directions, and at the same time, the 1st Guards Army, the 63rd and 66th Armies and the 4th Tank Army were supplemented, and the strength was restored to about 400,000. In the three battles of Spring Awakening, Castle, and Summer Thunder, the Front Army once again lost most of the strength of the 66th Army and the 4th Tank Army, forcing the reinforcements to be replenished again.

After entering the winter of 1943, because the main force of the German offensive was always in the center and the attack on the southern flank was less, the front army maintained its original size unchanged and increased its total number slightly, the total strength increased to more than 500,000 men, and the combat effectiveness was also improved after hard training. Later, however, the 69th Army was transferred to reinforce Malinovsky's Independent Army, and the total strength dropped again to more than 400,000, and nearly 200,000 men from two armies were drawn to participate in the southern flank offensive.

The strength structure of Vatutin's Southwestern Front was almost the same as that of Rokossovsky, but because his troops had to cover the right flank and upper reaches of Stalingrad, and had to face the main force suppression of Army Group South, he only drew out one tank 5th Army to fight together.

Marshal Hoth's first sword was ready to cut at this tank army, as long as he took down this army group with the strongest mobility of the Red Army and blocked the retreat of the two Red Army groups under the city of Rostov, these infantry would not be able to run anywhere no matter how fast they were.

"In that case, shouldn't all the armor of the cluster be used? This is the fastest way to solve the problem. "It's not that I'm worried that our two divisions won't be able to defeat the Russians, but I think that four divisions will definitely solve the problem faster than two divisions." ”

This is really not Wei Shi complacent, due to the difference in the idea of building the army, the Red Army division level has been very small (note: after the so-called purge in China, the captain was suddenly promoted to be the commander of the division, which is actually equivalent to the German major suddenly promoted to be the commander of the brigade-level battle group, although it is exceptional, but it is not particularly excessive), the size of the army is about the same as the strength of the German division, and a tank army cannot beat the German armored division most of the time, let alone the reinforced division of the 1944 type.

A standard Red Army tank army has about 2 tank corps and 1 mechanized corps, which is relatively close to the original German armored corps, about 50,000 troops, 350-400 tanks. However, the 5th Tank Army drawn out by Vatutin is a strengthened alternative, with 3 tank corps, 1 mechanized corps, 1 independent tank brigade and 1 anti-aircraft artillery division, and even incorporated into a light bomber aviation 994th Regiment (mainly equipped with Il-2 attack aircraft), with a total strength of more than 80,000 troops, with 600-650 tanks, and the overall tank ownership accounts for about half of the Southwestern Front where Vatutin is located.

It can be seen from this that although the Red Army had problems with its combat effectiveness, it was only because of the helplessness that emerged after the sharp loss of soldiers, weapons, and technical equipment, and it did not lag behind in certain tactical concepts (such as large-depth operations, and the armored units were equipped with aviation equipped with Il-2 attack aircraft). And such a tank army group in the Red Army had a total of 6 of them. The biggest challenge of the Type 1944 Panzer Division was to suppress or even defeat this reinforced tank army in a 1vs1 situation - this was still difficult, so Marshal Hult proposed two Panzer Divisions to operate

"This is a major concern of the command, and after discussion with Marshal Manstein, Marshal Hoth, and some of the staff officers, it is believed that the enemy must have arranged other reinforcements on the flanks and rear of the 5th Tank Army, and if it advances directly with a large army, it will frighten the Russians and force them to quickly retract, if they only maintain a lot of pressure, and make them think that they can hold on to the top and grit their teeth and try, our strategy will be successful." Hauser smiled, "The goal of the command is not only to eat the 300,000 people of these three armies, but to kill all the rats that have crawled out of the rat holes in the southern flank!" ”

The two division commanders glanced at each other, indicating that they knew what to expect.

"If this happens, we must cut off the connection between the enemy's three armies and cooperate with friendly forces to destroy the tank armies in them first." After thinking for a while, Witt said, "At the same time, we must be prepared for the worse, the enemy may also know that we are coming, maybe there will be other forces and three army groups to surround and find a way to eat us." ”

Although everyone knew that the establishment in 1944 was very good, but the theory is the theory, the reality is the reality, and Hausser was still very cautious, taking into account the factors mentioned by Werther, and was ready to send other forces in addition to the two armored divisions.

"I will send you the national leader division again." He thought for a moment, "I'll give you another Tiger 2 heavy armored battalion." This was the first battle of the SS after changing its uniforms, and it could only be fought well, not badly! The Führer is watching us...... At such a decisive moment when the fate of the two countries is at stake, we, as the pro-guard of the Party and the Führer, cannot be distracted by the Führer. ”

The two saluted together: "Understood! ”

"If there is indeed an enemy ambush, I will let the other troops follow the reinforcements as soon as possible." Hauser explained, "Be careful, the Air Force will clear the way for you first." ”

Just as the Germans were sharpening their knives and preparing to strike hard, the Red Army also felt an unusual atmosphere, and after the battlefield expanded to the entire Caucasus, Zhukov no longer sat in Central Asia, but directly moved his headquarters to Stalingrad, trying to dominate the overall situation.

"Judging from the intelligence we intercepted and the movements of the aircraft, enemy reinforcements have come up."

"Can you find out which part it is?"

"Panzer Army of the SS."

"How many troops?"

"There are famous and numbered, and the ones that can be played especially are in it." Rokossovsky sighed, "The Southern Front has not smelled the SS for more than half a year, and it is a little tricky to come so many at once." ”

Zhukov was silent, the SS division was the most dangerous enemy of the Red Army, in the Battle of the Don Meander, the Guard Flag Division made the Red Army miserable, and dragged down 2 group armies, and the follow-up campaign was not ideal every time it bumped into the SS, this time in Central Asia it bumped into the SS troops, I thought that it was not an armored division that would be easier to deal with, but I didn't expect the mountain division to be a headache, at least a third of the losses of the Chuikov blockage troops were done by Prince Eugen's division, It's a hell of a ghost that even the Americans, who were tortured to death by the Germans in Cape Verde, turned into a critic of the SS skins and were able to fight.

After several years of fighting for life and death, everyone has long figured out the law: wherever the SS troops, especially the SS Panzer Divisions, appear, may be the key targets of the German army, so this information is very important.

"My judgment was that the Germans were bound to come and fight for Dontsk on the Volga, where I arranged the 5th Tank Army." Vatutin explained, "There are also 2 separate tank corps hidden behind, and I don't think it matters if you deal with the short-term onslaught of the SS, but in the final analysis, Comrade Rokossovsky's troops must quickly take Rostov, otherwise I will not be able to withstand a long-term impact." ”

Rokossovsky complained: "Rostov is very strong, it is not so easy to fight, and the other problem is that the Kleist cluster is not retreating, and the flanks of our troops are threatened, and it is not possible to storm the city with all its might." ”

"Didn't Comrade Yeremenko's 2 armies launch an attack in conjunction with Comrade Chernyakhovsky's offensive group?"

There was silence for a while, and after a long time, the fat man said, "He ran quite fast, and he put the least pressure on the Germans......

"This will not work, comrades, we are in a big counteroffensive, everyone must unite." Zhukov frowned and said, "You can't all put the blame on other comrades......

Halfway through the sentence, an urgent telegram came: the Germans launched a heavy bombardment of Dontsk on the Volga......