"What? Broken through? Zhukov's eyes widened in shock when he heard that his line had only held out for a few hours before being broken through by the German attack.

He had wanted to entangle with the Germans on the opposite side in Kursk for a while, and the Germans gave him time to arrange the entanglement - at least, that's what Zhukov thought when Vatutin left.

For about 10 days or so, the Germans did not launch a large-scale offensive, but only used bombing and artillery bombardment to interfere with Zhukov's construction of his fortifications.

But suddenly, just a few hours earlier, the German army had launched a frontal assault, and Zhukov suddenly realized that his forces seemed to be unable to stop the German advance.

"Command! The 6th Guards Tank Division immediately retreated! Retreat in the direction of Kharkov! Frowning, Zhukov had to give the order to retreat.

It was definitely too late to move the 4th Guards Tank Division, and Zhukov had been planning to return to the battle next month.

Now that it is forced to invest in the 4th Guards Tank Division, it is equivalent to using its own reserves in advance, and there is still no way to continue fighting.

The only thing that made Zhukov a little regretful was that it was not good, his infantry would be pursued by the German armored forces, and the slaughtered armor would not be left.

That's more than 100,000 troops, or more than 130,000 - these infantry can't be faster than Guderian's armored forces, they can't get back to Kharkov.

"General...... If you can't take these troops away, then Kharkov will also ......" Looking at his distressed boss, the staff officer reminded.

Zhukov knew that if he gave up the 100,000 infantry in front of him, even if the remnants of his defeated army retreated to Kharkov, he might not be able to hold out there.

As a qualified commander, as soon as he thought about it, he realized that only the 6th Guards Panzer Division and the 4th Guards Panzer Division could successfully retreat to Kharkov.

In addition, there was the 8th Guards Tank Division, which was holding its ground in Higray, and this unit could also be safely evacuated.

After all the calculations, the armored troops in his hands seem to be saved, but the infantry units are not easy to say.

"Of course I know what you're saying! Of course I do! Zhukov snorted hatefully, and then walked anxiously to the map.

The retreat he had discussed with Vatutin before was that he was afraid that this situation would suddenly appear! As a result, before Vatutin could go far, his position was broken through.

The most fatal thing happened after all, which also put the Soviet army in the Kursk region into a situation from which it could never recover.

"If it were according to my plan, we should have planned a retreat! Now it's a rout! It's really unwilling! Clenching his fists, Zhukov grumbled.

Transferring 30,000 men from the position to go first can take at least 30,000 more infantry, and if you don't do it, you can also create some trouble for the German army in the Kharkiv region.

It's good now, not a single infantry can't be taken away, so Kharkov will have to be handed over - if you send Kharkov, then how can you defend Ukraine?

"Ukraine probably can't hold it...... At most, they can only cause some trouble for the Germans in Sevastopol......" muttered quietly, Zhukov did not intend to waste his troops casually.

He weighed it, and the several Guards Infantry Divisions on the other side, which had been suffering heavy losses, would definitely not be able to escape.

He planned to stay behind these routs and throw them to the Germans as a stumbling block: "Let the three infantry divisions on the left flank hold the line in place!" Fight to the last soldier! ”

"Let the 16th Guards Infantry Division and the 14th Guards Infantry Division retreat as far back as possible...... Best...... It's better not to let the Germans bite in a field state! Zhukov considered the wording, but realized that if he said it, he didn't say it.

No Soviet unit wanted to be hunted down by the Germans in a field situation, and this was certainly something that the commanders tried to avoid happening.

Zhukov's troops under the territory of Kursk, these Guards Infantry Divisions are relatively high, so they can also be said to be the main forces.

How much can be taken away depends entirely on how high the pursuit efficiency of the German army is. Zhukov hoped that the decoy he dropped would slow down the German offensive.

"Pack your things! We can't wait for death in Kursk either! Get your car ready! Let's go back to Kharkov! Zhukov looked at his office, shook his head, and said.

It was one of the strongest buildings in the city, and they used the first floor, which was covered with sandbags and a single gap in the windows.

It was a pity that a command center that was finally built had to be abandoned after a long time.

But no one wanted to stay here, because to stay here would mean to be surrounded by the Germans, to be annihilated by artillery fire.

Zhukov decided to flee, and unlike marshals such as Timoshenko, who would rather die than retreat, he retreated with his main forces without hesitation.

The departure was still very embarrassing, and even the commanders of many units left their headquarters with people without informing them.

The 55th Guards Infantry Division, which was far away from Kursk, did not have much strength left, nor did it receive an order to retreat.

Now, this division is still guarding its own position, and there is no intention of leaving.

And next door to them, the 56th Guards Rifle Division of the Soviet Army, after hearing the news that the 6th Guards Tank Division on the flank had begun to retreat, followed and began to retreat.

Of course, they didn't have the speed of movement of the 6th Guards Tank Division, so in this run, they ran out of the shape of a crescent scimitar.

The 6th Guards Tank Division, which was in the center, and the 4th Guards Tank Division in the reserve, moved the fastest and received orders the earliest, so they went the farthest.

Next to them was the 8th Guards Tank Division near Higre at the farthest end, and they were also moving, just slightly slower.

Left flank of the 4th Guards Tank Division...... Originally, it was the right flank, but when it retreated, it became the left flank, and the 16th Guards Infantry Division and the 14th Guards Infantry Division had more cars and a lot of horses, so the movement speed was not slow.

The unlucky 56th Guards Infantry Division ran away, but it was the slowest - but they were definitely not the unlucky, the most unlucky were some city defense units and miscellaneous units, and they and the remnants of the 55th Guards Infantry Division were completely abandoned.

A chaotic retreat began, caused only by the easy breach of the frontal defensive positions by the Germans.