The German army retreated on a large scale in the second half of 1916, ceding more than 100 kilometers of the defense line of the entire Eastern Front and pulling the entire Russian army to its side by more than 100 kilometers. From the eastern part of the Bode Plain to the middle of the Dnieper River, nearly a million square kilometers of land have long been dilapidated because of the many comings and goings between the two sides, and the area that has not been productive for many years has long been empty at this moment, and the chance of finding something to eat from these ruins is even smaller than the chance of encountering the German army.

The long defense line of the Russian army has more than 2 million people, and the daily eating, drinking, and Lazar make Brusilov, as the commander-in-chief, an enemy more dangerous than the German army. A gun without bullets can still fight the enemy with a bayonet, and a bayonet can still fight the Germans with its body, but there is no food, let alone let them charge, and if they don't mutiny, they will already burn high incense.

The reason why Brusilov happily agreed to the Tsar's attack this time was actually part of the meaning of reducing supply losses, although it was cruel, but for the sake of the overall situation, this was a choice he had to make.

Just when Brusilov thought that the attack would end with too many casualties on both sides, the Germans launched a counter-charge in more than a dozen sections of the line. Brusilov also received a telegram from the front, but he did not worry too much, even if the Germans broke through the defensive line, it would only be a gain or loss of one place and one city, and it would not be able to break his entire defensive line.

Nicholas II, the current Tsar of Russia, did not feel the slightest relief when he heard of the outbreak of war on the Eastern Front in Europe, and the telegram from King George of England was still lying on his desk, and if he was given a choice, he would rather not have a war break out, or that Russia would not have been involved. Hoping to end the war, he repeatedly sent peace telegrams to his other cousin, the German Emperor Kaiser Billy, that is, Kaiser Wilhelm II, but each time in exchange for cynicism and extremely harsh terms, he did not speak ill of him, but chose to tell George about these circumstances, in exchange for George's contempt and suspicion. With the frequent victories of the new Russian commander-in-chief on the front line, the anti-war voice at home has gradually bowed its head, but he is not easy, and the still stalemate of the war situation is confusing with Germany's large-scale action again.

Beginning in the north from the Baltic city of Danzig, the Germans deployed more than 650,000 troops along this long defensive line, which completely contradicted the idea of the Western Front in the original Schlieffen Plan. The original 13 armies were reorganized into three larger army groups, with the 9th, 10th, and 23rd armies under the command of Field Marshal August von Falkensen, totaling 250,000 men. Army Group East, with a total of 220,000 troops, was under the command of Hermann von François, the newly promoted field marshal recommended by Adrian, who had secretly transferred from the Western Front to the Eastern Front. Army Group South consisted of a coalition of German and Austro-Hungarian armies totaling 180,000 men, commanded by Adrian himself, and actually commanded by Max Hoffmann, chief of the General Staff of the Eastern Front.

At the beginning of the Russian offensive, the German troops deployed according to the original plan had already begun a counter-charge, and this style of play directly turned the battlefield into a place of hand-to-hand combat. The artillery of both sides would choose to cease fire for fear of casualties, so as not to blow up their own people. And this is also the effect that Hoffman wants, and he is well aware of the weaknesses of the armed transporter after actually directing and observing the tactical exercises. In the absence of artillery fire, armed transport vehicles will play a better role, as long as they can reach the front line of the Russian army before the Russian artillery fire has time to support, it can greatly reduce casualties and losses.

A few days had passed, and Vance was still alive, which made it strange to those who had stopped in the rear to command, and it stands to reason that very few could come back after launching a charge, and even a company of men would no longer have this formation after going out. But Vance's company lost only a few men after a dozen consecutive charges.

I don't know if Vance's commander is strange, and Vance himself is also puzzled. The Germans who had also charged immediately after their charge did not dwell on them too much, but after a brief contact they retreated the same way with a distinctive whistle, and although there were casualties each time, they were not few. The effect of the Russian army, which was blocked from the offensive, to continue to charge was greatly reduced, and a metal storm blocked them in place, and the front-line commander saw that the charge was ineffective, and also blew the whistle to retreat. As the days went on, Brusilov, who had expected to suffer huge losses, found that the number of casualties was very small, only a little more than the usual long-distance firefights. He had some flashes of thought, but he couldn't get to the point.

This bizarre style of play is not without meaning, but rather a way that Eric Adrian came up with based on the accurate barrage of bullets in the Battle of Brusilov without destroying the advancing battlefield, which would have caused the troops that should have been shelled to give up firing against friendly forces. Of course, the battlefield without destruction will be easier for the armed transport vehicles to exert their due speed, and the time for the assault will be shorter, and the time for the Russian army to react will be shorter.

However, this strange situation is not an exercise on the entire Eastern Front, but only a combination of Army Group North and Army Group South, and Army Group East in the center is still the same way of fighting on weekdays. Brusilov, who did not grasp the key point, wanted to go to the front for himself to see what was going on, and while he was still on the way, the German offensive finally began.

Major Erwin Rommel, who was awarded the Iron Cross twice for his many meritorious services, and was promoted to commander of the 1st Armored Brigade under Army Group North for his participation in the design of the battle plan, his deputy was Ferdinand Schellner, one of the same designers, who had been promoted to captain and deputy commander of the armored brigade.

These original design participants have been delegated to each unit to serve as the commander of the main offensive force, which Adrian promised and is inevitable, and knowing the content of the plan is a very key factor. Another point is that they have personally commanded these tactics in the rear, and not only them, but also those high-level leaders who have inexplicably stepped down and retreated to the rear have participated in these secret exercises and mastered the methods and essentials of using these assault forces.

On February 16, 1917, the German offensive began in the evening, and at this time, the Russian army planned to rest and fight again the next day because of the charge launched during the day, but did not want the German charge to start suddenly. I thought it was another hastily ended charge, but it was not as the Russian army thought, a group of German troops under black pressure were rapidly approaching the Russian defense line, and some people poked their heads out to see the German troops on the battlefield who were set off by the afterglow rushing towards them at an unprecedented speed, and then a metal storm knocked the Russian defense line into mud. The dense bullets are particularly dazzling in the evening, like a flowing silk. Brusilov, who had already arrived at the front line, was standing behind with a telescope in his hand and watching what the other Russian soldiers saw, but he was speechless in surprise. At this time, the accompanying messenger also handed him the telegram sent by the commanders in various places, and looking at the contents of the telegram, it is not difficult to imagine that other places are like this.

The first to reach the Russian lines for the exchange of fire were the soldiers who crossed the battlefield quickly in armed transport vehicles, and these soldiers were among the best of the German army. Each armored transporter is an assault squad, with one out of ten men holding an MG-16H machine gun that can be operated by one man, and the rest each with an MP14 or an improved MP16 submachine gun. In Adrian's vision, the task of these people is not to be the main export force, but to play the role of suppressing the liquidation and occupying key points with absolute firepower. The output is given to the infantry who follow quickly, and they are the ones who really take on the main force of the next combatants. After all, the number of armed transporters is limited, and with the attrition of combat and non-combat, this already small stock will become less and less.

After receiving the telegram, Brusilov rushed back to his headquarters without stopping, intending to sit in the rear and stabilize the current situation as soon as possible, but what he never imagined was that the Germans gave him insufficient time to react. By the time he returned to headquarters, the fighting at the north and south ends had ended, and with the loss of the defensive line, so did the intelligence. Having memorized the map by heart, he only needed to go through it in his mind a little, and found that the main direction of the German attack was East Prussia and the Carpathian Mountains.

The vanguard of the German army, which broke through the defensive line, did not stop and, under the cover of night, continued its advance towards the depths of the plain.