At midnight, on a stretch of railroad tracks north of Sorochinsk, a lighted-out armored train rests on top of its wagons, with huge cylindrical turrets rising and falling, reminiscent of medieval castles in the dim moonlight.

“…… The 24th, 35th, and 31st armies, which were stationed in Orenburg and the line east of it, were to withdraw north to Ufa via Sakmara, under the command of the 53rd Army Command, and to block the enemy's left army south of Ufa in coordination with friendly forces. ”

In an unarmed carriage in the center of the train, the commander of the Volga Front, General Nakasidze, was wiping the beads of sweat from his head while listening to a staff officer dictating a telegram that was about to be sent to the Moscow base camp.

"The 1st and 2nd Panzer Corps, the 3rd Cavalry Corps, and the 23rd and 30th Armies, which are stationed on the line west of Orenburg, will be under the command of the command of the 1st Panzer Army to block the enemy's right army in the Sorochinsk area."

"The 32nd Army directly under the Front will contain the enemy's Central Route Army in the Perevorodsky area, and after completing the task, disperse and withdraw into the northern mountains, and retreat to Ufa on a small road."

"The 1st Panzer Army will hold Sorochinsk at all costs until the main forces of the Ural Front have successfully withdrawn to the Volga line, until then, please send all available armored and anti-armor units to reinforce ......"

Hearing this, Nakasize waved the towel that was already soaked in his hand: "Very good, just like that." ”

Turning aside the staff officer, Nakasidze turned back and nodded to a hideous-looking old orderly, signaling that he could speak.

"I'm afraid the other side has also seen our movements clearly, and after clearing Perevorotsky's resistance, the Central Route Army should immediately move closer to Sorochinsk and concentrate on breaking through the defenses on this side."

The "old orderly's" obviously burned face could no longer show an expression that humans could understand, and only Nakasidze could understand the complex emotions of the old boss named Alexei Alekseev Brusilov at this moment.

Brusilov was in no mood to worry about the feelings of his old men. "Including the enemy tanks that were repaired after the capture of the last battle, our cobbled together so-called 1st Panzer Army has less than 250 usable tanks in total, and one-third of them are only equipped with machine guns and short-barreled guns - there is no anti-armor capability at all. ”

"And according to reliable intelligence, the enemy has long since transferred the main forces of the 1st Panzer Army from the Siberian side to the Central Asian side, and the number of tanks in this part alone exceeds 600. With an 80 percent intact rate, up to 480 tanks can actually be put into operation. Although the 2nd Panzer Army on the enemy's Central Asian side suffered heavy losses in the last battle, in view of the relatively good state of recovery of the communication lines on this side, after more than two months of replenishment, it is very likely that the intact rate will be restored to 60 percent, and the actual number of vehicles available should be more than 360. ”

"-- Together, the total number of tanks can be more than 840, which is more than three times that of our army, and the technical performance of the tanks is generally higher than that of our army."

"In terms of anti-tank capabilities, the various types of so-called anti-tank guns that our army has. All of them were simply modified from naval guns, and their performance was limited, and in many cases they had to divert divisional 76.2 mm field guns for anti-tank warfare, so that the suppressive firepower of the artillery of each division, which was not already superior, was further weakened. ”

"However, the 76.2-mm field gun was not equipped with specialized armor-piercing shells, and when using grenade direct fire, it was almost impossible to penetrate the enemy's newly equipped Leopard modified tank head-on."

"At present, the only one that can confront the enemy's new tank head-on is the French Saint-Chamont M1916 heavy tank, which is equipped with a 75mm cannon and concrete-destroying shells, but after the wear and tear of the last battle. It has not been replenished, and there are currently less than 20 vehicles left that are still functioning......"

Seeing that the expression on Nakasidaze's face became more and more solemn. Brusilov paused, and prophesied with a slight regret in his tone: "In short, I want to say that you must be mentally prepared to make a necessary sacrifice in order to save the entire Front, the entire Eastern Front, and thus the whole of Russia. This armored legion, which you created and grew with your own hands, is probably going to come to naught here. ”

"At that time, I will die with this legion."

Nakasidze's eyes didn't look like he was joking.

"No, you have to live, even if Russia really doesn't hold out on to the day of victory. There must be someone who will persist in fighting until the day of the country's liberation and rejuvenation, until this war is truly over, and the valuable knowledge and experience you have accumulated over the years must not be wasted in the coffin! ”

……

At the dawn of morning, Zhong Yi leaned half of his body out of the turret of his "Flying Wolf Change" light tank, and opened his eyes wide to check the ground in front of him, in case the tank suddenly fell into a ravine or crater.

The shells kept whistling overhead, the roar of the cannons on both sides was densely intertwined, and the smoke and fog were mixed with each other, and in Zhong Yi's opinion, the visibility was not much better than the night.

On the map in Zhong's mind, this is an unnamed valley west of Sorochinsk, and his chariot company is outflanking enemy lines with the 1st Janissaries Armored Cavalry Brigade, to which he belongs.

However, the current dense artillery fire proves one thing: the enemy has long been prepared, and today's battle will not be easy.

The whizzing sound of bullets flying past him reminded Zhong Yi that the enemy's position was not far away, and for safety, he should immediately return to the turret and close the hatch to direct the battle.

Zhong Yi didn't move.

Visibility was still low, and looking ahead, the outline of the enemy formation was blurred, and when you glanced back, the accompanying infantry and the "camel" armored vehicle were nowhere to be seen.

At this time, if you drill into the turret, you will not be able to eat guns for the time being, but it is more difficult to grasp the surrounding situation from the periscope with a narrow field of view, and the chance of eating shells will be greatly increased.

You can't die in vain.

The chariot continued to move forward, the terrible and deadly whooshing sound getting closer and closer, and even from time to time a stray bullet hit the steel plate no more than a centimeter thick, making a heart-wrenching sound, but Zhong Yi still stood tall on the turret, like a torch looking hard to find something through the smoke.

The front of the car suddenly lifted, and Zhong Yi realized that it was going uphill.

As far as the eye could see, the craters were getting denser and denser, and the chariot was jolting like a boat in the waves, and Zhong Yi had to lean down and grasp the handrail on the side of the hatch - it would be too humiliating to be thrown off the chariot before he could see the enemy.

Crushed over a remnant tree that had been cut off by shrapnel, the smoke and fog suddenly dissipated, and in the grove at the top of the slope, countless tongues of fire spewed wildly in the direction where Zhong Yi was!

…… (To be continued......)

PS: Thanks to the care of the four groups of editors, this book has finally passed the review and will be updated from now on.