Another significance of the 21st Panzer Division's encounter with the "Tiger" in the village of Malivo was that the Germans had completed the encirclement of the Middle Ground, and the 2nd SS Panzer Army had been freed from the entanglement of Soviet troops.

Stalin was so shocked by this situation that he immediately ordered Zhukov, who was directing the offensive in the Orel direction, to report to Moscow.

But even so, Stalin behaved with great composure...... He always comes across as unhurried, even if sometimes he's in a hurry.

"Comrade Zhukov!" Stalin asked: "Do you still intend to continue this campaign?" ”

"Yes, Comrade Stalin!" Zhukov replied: "We did suffer heavy losses in Prokhorovka, but I believe that the enemy was no less easy, as can be seen from their inability to launch a counteroffensive against the 5th Guards Panzer Army!" ”

"Maybe you're right!" Stalin said: "It may be true that the 48th Panzer Corps of the Germans is not capable of attacking, but have you considered the 2nd SS Panzer Corps?" Although they were once entangled in our 'fire pockets' and could not advance, they were not able to move forward because of the input of new heavy tanks...... We have not been able to do effective damage to it! That is, the 2nd SS Panzer Army had many tanks, and they were even much more numerous and much stronger than the 48th Panzer Army. ”

After a pause, Stalin continued: "What is more important is their 'homing rockets'. It is likely that the Germans tested the performance of these two new types of equipment, so they equipped them with two different units. Both of these types of equipment have proven to be very effective...... 'homing rockets' can easily penetrate the frontal armor of our tanks from a long distance, and the 'elephants' can withstand any of our artillery attacks. And now, they're going to form an army! Do you have the confidence to block them? ”

Zhukov couldn't help but be speechless, if he could stop them, it would definitely be a lie, as evidenced by the heavy casualties of the 5th Guards Tank Army. Although they seem to have found a tactic capable of suppressing "homing rockets", Zhukov knows best the dangers of this equipment...... Its heaviest thing is that it is simple and convenient, and it can be equipped in batches in infantry and quickly deployed, as long as there are enough of them, they cannot be suppressed at all.

To put it simply, the Soviet Union hoped to flood the enemy with a torrent of tanks, but this "tracking rocket" in the enemy's hands could form a torrent of rockets and an accurate torrent of rockets to destroy the Soviet tanks one by one.

After thinking about it, Zhukov said: "Comrade Stalin, we order the armored forces of the 5th Guards Tank Army south of the Germans, and at the same time we throw more troops in the Orel direction, and in a few days we will achieve victory!" ”

What Zhukov said actually makes sense.

Because the armored forces rely heavily on roads and railways, a large part of the reason why the 48th Panzer Division was allowed to fight all the way to Prokhorovka in a few days was that the Soviets did not expect that the 48th Panzer Army would have such a strong combat effectiveness to easily defeat the 5th Guards Tank Army that intercepted them.

So there was no destruction along the way.

But now, the German 48th Panzer Army and the 2nd SS Panzer Army are temporarily blocked south of Prokhorovka, so that the Soviet 5th Guards Tank Army can retreat and lay mines to break the road, just as the Germans withdrew from Stalingrad.

In this way, in fact, there was no need to fight at all, and the marching speed of the German 48th Panzer Army and the 2nd SS Panzer Army must have been greatly affected.

So the Soviets could continue their plans to outflank the Germans.

Stalin shook his head slightly and replied: "Comrade Zhukov, from the moment we knew that the Germans had 'homing rockets', this offensive of ours was doomed to failure, do you understand?" ”

"Comrade Stalin......"

"This is the material for the 'tracking rocket'!" As he spoke, Stalin put a document in front of Zhukov: "We estimate that its total weight is only about 20 pounds, which means that it can be quickly transported to any place by air, so that on the high ground, in the meadows, in the woods, there will be such 'tracking rockets' everywhere, and we hope to use a large number of tanks to cover the infantry to carry out a large penetration of the German logistics......"

Stalin shook his head: "Before our tank troops can penetrate to the destination, our tanks have already been destroyed by this 'tracking rocket' or lost most of them, and our interspersed troops will only be sent up to surround the Germans, because they will be slaughtered by the German armored forces, just when our tank units are lost!" ”

Zhukov could not help but break out in a cold sweat when he heard this, because he could not refute this deduction made by Stalin.

What Zhukov didn't know was that Stalin's deduction seemed to have no problem, the characteristics of the ME63 were here, and cheap and convenient rockets could be exchanged for much more expensive tanks, and if the ME63 was expanded indefinitely, then the war would inevitably go on and the side that used the tanks would eventually collapse because it could not afford to lose.

The problem is that the ME63 is not meant to be available to anyone, as I said before, its training is not simple, and without long-term, effective training, it is difficult to even control the ME63 to fly smoothly without crashing into the ground, let alone control it to hit the target.

However, neither Stalin nor Zhukov knew this, so they misjudged the so-called "tracking rockets".

"So ......" finally Stalin concluded: "It was necessary to delay the German armored forces to the south, but not for the sake of attacking, but for retreat!" ”

Although Zhukov was 120 percent reluctant in his heart, he still had to stand up and answer: "I obey unconditionally, Comrade Stalin!" ”

"We cannot allow the troops located in Kursk to suffer a fate like the Middle Ground!" Stalin said: "In the middle we are surrounded by just two divisions plus a tank regiment, and if the Germans take Kursk, our entire Army Group Center will fall into their encirclement." We can't afford to lose like this anymore! ”

"Yes, Comrade Stalin!"

After Zhukov left, Stalin took out his pipe and smoked it.

In fact, Stalin also struggled for a long time to give the order just now, because it meant admitting that the war had been lost, and even more so, it was like the whole world announcing that the Soviet Union had lost...... The inability to recapture the Baku oil fields meant that the Soviet Union was unable to succeed, and at the same time, it also meant that the Soviet Union would be absolutely passive strategically.

Now, what Stalin had to think about was how to persuade the United States and Britain to open a second battlefield as soon as possible.