Based on the regular establishment of the Soviet army in the late 40s and early 50s, a tank army usually has 2 to 3 tank brigades, 1 mechanized or motorized brigade, plus some reconnaissance, logistics, and engineering units, with a number of tanks of about 200, as well as a certain number of self-propelled guns and wheeled vehicles. In the Red Soviets, the first armored units to be equipped with the new main battle tank T-54 were not only sharp blades on the battlefield, but also a model for the country to show its force to the outside world, and the quality of officers and soldiers could basically represent the highest level of the Soviet army, and the allocation and maintenance of combat equipment, and the calibration and supply of troop supplies naturally took precedence over ordinary troops. At the beginning of the war, the Soviet top brass had high hopes for these elite armored units, intending to use them to deter the enemy in the West, but the 11th Guards Tank Army, equipped with T-54s, suffered heavy losses at Vanderlitz, and some tank brigades even suffered devastating blows, which immediately blackened the majestic image of the Soviet army, and the enraged Soviet rulers changed a group of generals for this. In order to avoid a similar situation, the Soviet command strengthened the battlefield of the elite units equipped with the T-54, that is, they were equipped with more covering forces and strictly ordered them not to go alone.

After the reinforcement of 3 mechanized infantry regiments and 1 self-propelled artillery regiment, the number of Soviet 2nd Guards Tank Corps was expanded by 40%, and the mobility of field warfare was not significantly affected. In the latter part of the Hamburg-Bremen campaign, the frontal assault of the 2nd Guards Tank Army made an important contribution to opening the way, while in Bavaria, the 5th Guards Tank Army also put heavy pressure on the Germans, being the vanguard of the second Soviet offensive and the capture of Munich.

On the German side, even after the arrival of a large number of American aids, the German iron cavalry, which once dominated the European continent, was still in a difficult situation. The Imperial Armored Battle Group, which is composed of tank brigades directly under the Imperial Guards and independent tank battalions and tank destroyer battalions, has a total of just over 120 combat vehicles. Most of the tanks left over from the Second World War were overwhelmed, and now the Panthers, which were produced in Spanish and Argentine factories and assembled in factories in northern Norway, are more mature and stable than their earlier models, but the ruthless time has relegated them from the top to the second. Excluding the wrath of man and the environment, two "Panthers" can compete with one T-54; The 1st Panzer Corps, formed by the 1st and 2nd Panzer Divisions and separate heavy tank battalions of the German Army, had more than 200 tanks, which was twice the size of the Reich Panzer Battle Group, but the German officers and men had not been in contact with American-made equipment for a long time, and they were not yet able to control the "Patton" and "Pershing" with ease, and many of the officers and soldiers in these hastily formed units were novices. There is still a lack of run-in between them, and the real combat effectiveness may not be as good as the Imperial armored battle group. The German armored troops were able to enter the war stage with high morale, thanks to the prestige created by the German armored forces during World War II, thanks to the inheritance of this excellent quality, thanks to the indomitable infantry cover, thanks to the unstoppable combat helicopter support, thanks to the immortal legends of Guderian, Mandolfel, Sauken, Mayer and so on.

In Rast, north of Dortmund, a night encounter between the Imperial Guards Tank Brigade and the Soviet 4th Guards Tank Brigade kicked off this exciting contest. One after another, the flares turn the fields at night into a gorgeous stage. Soldiers from both sides showed their military skills on this stage full of accidental factors. On the German side, the accompanying combat infantry and night commandos fought with astonishing courage on the front line, and their "Iron Fist", "Bazooka" and wired guided rockets became more deterrent weapons than 75mm tank guns. Their MG-42 and MP44 slaughtered the equally brave Soviet infantry; The Panthers, equipped with infrared night vision devices, tried their best to avoid head-on confrontation with Soviet tanks, and they used the terrain and night cover to maneuver boldly, and their shells were able to effectively penetrate the side and rear armor of the T-54 even from a distance of a thousand meters; After long flights and refueling, the battle helicopters from Duisburg arrived on the battlefield at the height of the battle, and under the guidance of ground troops, they were like longbowmen hiding in the treetops, hunting down enemy heavy cavalry with precision. …,

On the Soviet side, the tank crews took advantage of the T-54's strong frontal armor and strong main gun firepower, and their cluster charges could always easily tear through the German armored front. and shoot those Panther tanks like a chicken and a sheep, completely subverting the situation that many Soviet tanks on the battlefield of World War II can overturn a German heavy tank, and the hearty feeling is comparable to the most delicious spirits; The infantry learned many new tactics from their German counterparts, and they did their best to protect their tanks from attack, but the ubiquitous German infantry left them with a lot of nerves, and infantry and infantry battles were everywhere. When it comes to skill, will, and even luck, the Germans always seem to come out on top.

The fierce armored battle lasted from midnight to dawn, with the arrival of reinforcements from both sides, the brigade-level tank battle then rose to the corps scale, the officers and men of the Soviet 2nd Guards Tank Army had the honor to fight against nearly 80% of the German tanks on this night, if it were not for the excessive number of combat helicopters invested by the enemy, they would not have fallen behind in this night battle, but the modern battlefield has turned from a plane to a three-dimensional, Inexpensive wire-controlled anti-tank rockets ruthlessly destroyed the new main battle tanks that the Red Soviets had invested enormous manpower and material resources to build. Because the accompanying infantry was firmly pinned down by the enemy's combat infantry, many Soviet tankers had no choice but to lean out and manipulate the 12.7mm anti-aircraft machine gun in the upper turret to fight the German helicopters, but their efforts could not change the technological gap - the three-year war between the East and the West had greatly reduced the national strength of the Red Soviets, and there was still a chance for the Red Soviets to catch up, and the forced deployment of force would only make the situation worse!

The first rays of the morning sun poured down on the ground, and hordes of Soviet warplanes flew into the battlefield, revealing only the scattered tank wreckage in the eyes of the pilots, the dejected T-54s, the distorted "Panthers", the gray painted "Patton", and countless dead in battle. After a night of fierce fighting, the Soviet 2nd Guards Tank Army was no longer as strong as it once was, and the production of 500 T-54s per month seemed to make up for the losses ahead, but the Soviet military and civilian efforts would soon be overshadowed by the re-energized American war machine.

On the fourth day after the German counterattack, the fighting in North Rhine-Westphalia was already clear, while in southern Germany, the German front in Baden-Württemberg remained rock solid, with partisans and resisters turning Germany into a burning furnace, with logistical constraints and the loss of most Soviet troops. Seeing that the fighters were ripe, the German troops assembled in the East Frisian Islands launched a landing operation on the northwestern coast of Germany, and with the enthusiastic response of the residents, they quickly recaptured Wilhelmsport, and then advanced east along the Kiel Canal, and in just two days, the German territory north of the Kiel Canal was returned to German control. In the face of the retreat of Soviet troops in the Hamburg and Bremen areas, the German landing force did not recklessly attack south, but built a defensive line in the Kiel Canal Zone. At the same time, the German recruits who had been trained and reorganized in northern France continued to go to the front by sea, and the pincers of the troops on the southern front also made it difficult for the Soviet troops in Hamburg and Bremen to launch a counterattack easily. A few days later, the main German forces ended their combat operations in the Dortmund area and moved north, and the German landing force steadily attacked the enemy in the Hamburg-Bremen area. By 6 February, the Germans had reoccupied Bremen, and three days later, the German tricolor flag had been raised again over the ruins of Hamburg.

The German victories in the west and northwest rejoiced the Germans and even the people in the West, and the Soviets repeatedly made evasive gestures in northern Germany, but the balance of power between the two sides has not yet reversed. After a series of fierce battles, the German troops were exhausted and the soldiers were exhausted, and after retaking Kiel and the area around Kiel Bay, the German army suspended its offensive along the Elbe River, and the divisions moved to rest and recuperate, and built fortifications along the Elbe. In central and southern Germany, the Germans on the defensive only took over some towns in Hesse and Thuringia after the Soviets withdrew on their own initiative, bringing the total area under German control back to 100,000 square kilometers.

With the victory of the first phase of the German counteroffensive, there was a brief lull on the German battlefield in February and March, and both sides adjusted their forces. Through the recruitment of local conscripts and overseas volunteers, the size of the German armed forces rapidly expanded to 3 million, and the strength of the air force was also multiplied. At the same time as the diplomatic negotiations with the GDR regime, the Soviet army also expanded the front-line strength by means of the Warning Reserve Force, and the Soviet army fighting in Central Europe also reached 3 million, although the degree of mechanization has been reduced, but the army is mostly officers and soldiers with combat experience, and cutting-edge jet fighters and main battle tanks have also continued to join the front-line troops. (To be continued.) If you like this work, you are welcome to vote for recommendation and monthly passes, and your support is my biggest motivation. )