This shows that time and power are two opposing factors. The attack, which had concentrated a large number of troops, was comparatively less in weight because it was too late, and in terms of the outcome of the campaign, it was not as good as a timely attack, because it would have the effect of a surprise attack.

Therefore, if the Germans had only focused on the Vukursk salient and launched a rapid and limited-purpose offensive in early May, it would still have a good chance of achieving favorable results.

In fact, by mid-April, Marshal Limer and many other senior commanders had already seen that Britain and the United States were likely to take advantage of the stalemate between the German and Soviet armies to suddenly send troops to attack Germany, but the German army now had to fight the Battle of Kursk, otherwise the main forces of the German army would all fall into the vast territory of the Soviet Union, and the only hope that everyone could hope that Limer, the former commander-in-chief of the enemy on the Eastern Front, would quickly win a comprehensive victory in the Battle of Kursk as before. As a result, the Germans set a date for the attack on May 4.

By the end of April, the German high command had realized that this was a battle that could not be lost, because they had already committed their last reserves to such a desperate adventure.

After 3 months of military preparations, the Germans already had a stronger military force. In the south, Limer's attacking forces, Hort's 4th and 5th Panzer Armies, were under the command of: Ott's 52nd Army, deployed on the left flank, with 6 infantry divisions; Knobelsdorff's 48th Panzer Corps was deployed in the center with one infantry division, two panzer divisions and the Greater German Panzer Escort Division; Hausser's SS 2nd Panzer Corps with one infantry division and three SS Panzer Guards divisions.

The Greater German Panzer Guards Division had a special formation, with more tanks than Panzer Divisions. South of Belgorod, that is, to the right of the 4th Panzer Army, was the Kempf cluster, which had three corps, namely: Bright's 3rd Panzer Army. There is an infantry division and three armored divisions; Rouse had a corps with two infantry divisions; Martenklot's 42nd Army, with three infantry divisions. 24th Panzer Corps in Neilin. was the reserve of Army Group with the 15th Panzer Division and the SS Norman Panzer Escort Division.

Total. Army Group South consisted of thirty-two divisions, of which twelve were armored divisions, five were armored escort divisions, and all of the remaining fourteen infantry divisions participated in the operation. The Southern Assault Group had more than 1,500 tanks and 1,500 artillery pieces suitable for combat.

In the north, the 9th and 10th armies of Moder deployed in the Orel salient were organized into the 23rd Army on the left flank and the 41st, 45th, and 46th Panzer Corps on the right flank, as well as the 20th Army. The Ezebek cluster, with one armored convoy division and two armored divisions, was organized as a reserve for army groups. There were thirty-one divisions in Moder. Of these, twelve were armored divisions and one was armored escort divisions, with a total of more than 1,900 tanks. The rest of his fourteen infantry divisions all took part in this campaign.

The German 2nd Army, with seven infantry divisions, occupied the area west of the Kursk salient. The rear of Moder, north of Orel, was covered by the infantry divisions of the 2nd Panzer Army. Historically, it was unprecedented for the German army to gather such a strong assault force in one area.

At this time, the Soviet army also made careful defensive preparations in the entire Kursk salient, and they used a total of five fronts: the Western Front, the Bryansk Front, the Central Front, the Voronezh Front, the Steppe Front and the Southwestern Front.

Among them, the Central Front, which defended the northern part of the Kursk salient, the Voronezh Front, which defended the southern part of the salient, and the Steppe Front, which served as a reserve, were directly engaged in the defense of Kursk, and the rest of the Soviet troops were put into the Soviet counteroffensive after the German offensive was defeated.

The Steppe Front under Konev's command consisted of five armies (including one tank army), one tank army, one mechanized army and three cavalry armies. The Central Front consisted of six army groups (one of which was a tank army) and two ** tank armies. Four army groups were deployed at the front of the Voronezh Front. An infantry army and a tank army were retained as reserves, in addition to two tank armies and an infantry corps.

In total, the Soviet army had more than 7,000 tanks and more than 30,000 artillery pieces of various kinds. There are more than 2,000 planes and more than 3.8 million troops, which is almost all the elite forces of the Soviet army, although the total strength of the Soviet Union at this time is 10.2 million, but this battle has exhausted all these elite forces, and Stalin is a rabbit's tail can not grow.

Malenkov, a member of the State Defense Council, as well as Vasilevsky and Zhukov, who were both marshals of the Soviet Union at that time, were sent as representatives of the Supreme High Command to the various armies. The adjacent Bryansk Front and the Western Front surrounded the German 9th Army stationed on the Orel salient in parts of the area. The two fronts were ordered to prepare for an offensive on Moder's rear. The rear of Moder was covered by infantry units from the 2nd Panzer Army.

The defense of the Soviet army in the Kursk salient was based on a number of parallel trenches and consisted of the unique civil fortifications of the Soviet army. This is reminiscent of the fortifications used on the Western Front during the First World War. The main defensive zone ahead was three miles deep, with five trenches, and in some places more than five. All trenches are connected by communication trenches and have foxholes and shelter fortifications. These trenches were constructed with the help of migrant workers.

The second defensive zone is about seven miles from the first defensive zone. Its engineering structure is similar to that of the first defense zone. The third defensive zone is twenty miles from the second defensive zone. Front reserves were deployed in the rear, about forty miles from the defensive front, and miles of linear trenches were also constructed. Therefore. The trenches are hundreds of miles long. [,！ ] Through farmland, villages to the gentle slopes of the steppe hills.

There are a large number of anti-tank means in each defensive zone. A large number of mines were laid throughout the area and many anti-tank support points were constructed. It is said that the Central Front alone laid about half a million mines, the density of which reached 2,400 anti-tank mines and 2,700 anti-infantry mines per mile of frontage. The support artillery assigned to the Central Front and the Voronezh Front was mostly the reserve artillery of the Supreme Command.

The 13th Army alone was supported by 700 artillery pieces and mortars of the 4th Breakthrough Artillery Corps. The two main fronts, the Central Front and the Voronezh Front, had about 13,000 guns, 6,000 anti-tank guns and 1,000 rocket guns, far more than the artillery of those three fronts in the attack on the Don and Volga, and more than the Germans used to support the intrusion troops.

…… (To be continued)

ps: No monthly pass, no reward, no gift to thank ah! R752