Sitting in the rickety armored car, the Iron Cross on Guderian's collar swayed slightly.

He held on to the cold iron handrail, feeling the temperature of the cool silk transmitted by the handrail. It's already July, and the temperature in the Kursk region is already very unpleasant.

Nestled inside an advancing armored car is not a comfortable thing. After all, there's a spinning engine in front of you that's dissipating heat.

Of course, Guderian was lucky, because the armored command vehicle he was in was an open-top vehicle, and the air movement could be felt overhead.

And those crew members who can only stay in the tank are really uncomfortable at this moment.

The Leopard tank unit of the 3rd Panzer Division, which was following Guderian, had already chosen the most comfortable way to follow up.

In addition to the driver, the radio operator and loader sat on either side of the tank, preferring to eat ash rather than get back inside the tank.

On most tanks, the commander and gun commander have half of their bodies exposed outside the hatch of the turret, enjoying the coolness of the occasional wind.

"Summer is coming!" Holding on to the handrail, Guderian had to sigh. The troops heading south were immense, but the appearance of the troops was indeed not neat.

Anyone who thinks that the image of the German army is that of a mighty phalanx, waiting for the Führer to review, is very mistaken.

Just looking at the troops in front of you is enough to disappoint fans who worship the German army.

On the ground, war horses dragged carts, pulling all kinds of supplies for the infantry company, including tents and extra ammunition, as well as personal belongings that everyone was allowed to carry, slowly moving forward on both sides of the road.

Soldiers carried their weapons and followed the carriage in a scattered manner. Some of the officers rode horses, some rode in cars, and from time to time they stopped to check the orders conveyed by their superiors.

The Germans on motorcycles basically hung their gas mask boxes on their chests, and the beautiful leather trench coats had long been put away, and now they were all sweating with their sleeves rolled.

The armored forces are even less impressive: all the tanks are filled with infantry or crews, and no one cares whether they are neatly dressed or not.

Most of the Germans did not have steel helmets with them, because it was hot to wear them. They hung their steel helmets behind their backs and enjoyed a rare moment of peace.

Many German logistics units wore only vests or simply worked naked. Many of them were covered in oil, and they couldn't match the neat and serious image at all.

In real history, after the battles on the front line full of crises, German soldiers would also find all kinds of fun to vent their pent-up uneasiness.

They will be lively and teasing with their comrades, smoking and drinking. Many people will arrange entertainment, and some armies will even have a piano for the soldiers to play themselves.

Entertainment such as playing ball and cards is even more popular, and many soldiers will bet on some valuable souvenirs they find.

Most of these souvenirs are from enemy corpses, but some are valuable items found in street fighting.

It is unrealistic to expect everyone to turn in everything they have picked up, at least not in the armies of Western countries.

Now, the commanders are also reluctant to restrain these soldiers who are about to enter the war zone, because this is their last leisure time.

When these troops enter the Kursk region, there will not be such an easy time. I heard that there were already some Soviet defenders ahead, but they were not very large.

Guderian used to act as the vanguard was the 4th Regiment of the 2nd Panzer Division under his command. Most of this unit is still using the No. 4 Modified Tank, and it has not had time to equip the Leopard tank.

The pace of modernization of the German army was rapid, but it was still not possible to mechanize the 5 million army and use the most advanced weaponry.

Therefore, although the troops of Guderian's group to the south are fully equipped with automobiles, some troops are still using war horses.

You must know that the so-called sufficiency of automobiles is calculated in the establishment of logistics supply automobile regiments and the like, and just talking about the front-line combat troops, in fact, the amount of automobile equipment is not enough.

"General! Just sent back a message from the front! The forward units of the 4th Panzer Division, which have established an forward base in Boneri......" said one of the radio mechanics who took off his headset and looked at Guderian.

In front of him was a codebook, as well as an Enigma cipher machine that had been improved at least 10 times. The Germans would often change the codebook, following the speed of the computer code decipherment at the University of Berlin.

Because of the frequent changes, many front-line troops would rather use the situation of clear code reporting than use those new codebooks with strange rules.

However, the intelligence that needs to be reported to the level of Guderian's cluster command must have been encrypted, and it is necessary to translate the cipher and check it clearly.

Just on the bumpy armored car, the skilled electromechanical officer easily translated the message and handed it to Guderian.

Guderian grabbed the telegram, glanced at it and put it aside: "Let the 4th Regiment of the 1st Division move closer to the 2nd Regiment!" We have to pretend to be well-armed! ”

He didn't have enough troops at his disposal right now, so he didn't bother Livne. The reconnaissance team confirmed that there were a number of Soviet troops stationed in Livny, and he gave up the idea of a surprise attack there.

Now, Guderian's G cluster, as the vanguard of the southbound troops, has rushed straight to the capital of the Kursk region, Kursk City!

"I heard from the forecast of the meteorological department, saying that it has been sunny for the past few days, and the Air Force has the ability to take off and suppress the ground forces of the Soviet army?" Poking his head out of the open-top armored car, Guderian asked the chief of staff beside him as he looked into the distance.

The chief of staff next to him replied loudly: "Yes! I have just received a call from the Air Force that Marshal Kesselring has just arrived at the front and that he will personally be in charge of the subsequent combat operations......"

With this reply, Guderian nodded. This can be said to be good news: the air force can be put into combat on a large scale, which can make up for the disadvantage of its lack of troops to a certain extent.

"Where is the position of the 1st Cavalry Division?" After determining that the air force could be dispatched, Guderian returned his attention to the ground.

He only had 4 divisions of troops at his disposal, and the 1st Cavalry Division on the flank was a surprise force he arranged.