The commander of the German army on the Eastern Front was Karl. Friedrich. Feng. General Steinmetz, who commanded five armies of the German Army, a total of one million troops, served as a German reinforcement to Russia. The Germans knew very well that it would be difficult for the Russians alone to resist the attack of the Chinese Army, and even if the Russian Army had a huge superiority in strength, it was still impossible to resist the attack of the Chinese Army. Therefore, as long as the Germans did not want to see a quick defeat of Russia, they had to send troops into Russia to fight.

Sending up to a million troops to Russia was a matter that had long been decided by the German General Staff Headquarters. However, the traffic in Russia was so bad that when the German army entered Russia, the battle of Volgograd had already come to an end. The Chinese Army won more with less, which made the Russian army pay a huge price. As a result, Admiral Steinmetz abandoned his plan to continue the eastward advance and switched to defense in Moscow. He can be sure that the next target of the Chinese will definitely be Moscow. For the Russians, Moscow is too important. If Moscow falls, the consequences will be unimaginable. Instead of taking the initiative to attack and be defeated by the Chinese, it is better to build a strong defense line in Moscow, so that the Chinese will break their heads in front of their strong defense line.

The commander of the Russian army, Fyodor. Admiral Berg did not raise any objection to the German proposal. He also tended to spend time around Moscow, waiting for the Chinese to come to his door. In this way, it is much better than being defeated by the Chinese in a field battle. The previous crushing defeats of the Russian army in the battles of Volgograd and the Volga River have made the generals of the Russian army realize the gap between them and the Chinese* army. If you are engaged in a field battle, you will have an advantage in troops. But in the end, it will definitely be the Russian army that loses.

It's just that Tsar Alexander II was for such tactics. Obviously unacceptable. As the Chinese Army advanced, large swathes of Russian territory fell. Right now. The Chinese army has advanced into the hinterland of Russia, causing Russia to lose nearly half of its territory. Moreover, these territories are the most fertile lands in Russia. It's much better than the frozen ground in the north. If the Chinese do not leave these territories, then Russia will be miserable. It is foreseeable that there will definitely be a large-scale famine in Russia next year.

In addition, if a fierce battle breaks out in Moscow, Moscow will definitely be in ruins. Alexander II did not want to see the important city of Moscow reduced to ruins. Therefore, he hoped that the German-Russian coalition would take the initiative to defeat the Chinese. After all. The German-Russian army now has twice the strength advantage of the Chinese army. The tanks and planes that the Chinese have, and the Germans have the same. It's just that there are not as many as the Chinese. In the opinion of Alexander II, this was enough to ensure the victory of the German-Russian coalition.

However, Admiral Steinmetz was very tough and insisted on defensive measures. This made Alexander II helpless, although he was very angry in his heart, but he could only pinch his nose and admit it. Who made Russia too weak now and needed Germany to come to the rescue? If there was no help from the Germans. The end of Russia, I am afraid, is imminent.

On September 19, six armies and two armored corps of the Imperial Army began to advance in the direction of Moscow. Because the German-Russian coalition forces took the initiative to shrink the defensive line. As a result, the Imperial Army advanced very quickly, advancing 50 kilometers on the first day. This was because the infantry behind was about to be unable to keep up, so the armored forces had to stop. Of course. Tanks and armored vehicles that have been damaged by mechanical failures can also be repaired at this time. Sappers of the Imperial Army. This time is also being used to build field airfields. The Imperial Air Force is now equipped with fighters and bombers with a relatively short range. If you want to ensure full support for the battle of Moscow. It is better to have a field airfield no more than two hundred kilometers from Moscow. In this way, the Imperial Air Force will be able to spend more time in the air over Moscow. Of course, it would be better if a field airfield could be built less than a hundred kilometers from Moscow.

On September 21, the Imperial Army captured Ryazan, and the front was already just over 100 kilometers from Moscow. It took only three days to cover most of the distance, which shows how fast the Imperial Army is advancing. Of course, this was due to the fact that the main forces of the German-Russian coalition were shrinking. In the process of advancing, the Imperial Army encountered almost no resistance from the German-Russian forces. Along the way, almost all of them were on the march.

Upon arrival in Ryazan, the Imperial Army deliberately slowed down its advance. As Moscow gets closer and closer, it is clear that the German-Russian coalition will not sit idly by. In addition, it is also possible to use this time to further move the field airfield forward.

On 23 September, the forward units of the 1st Army of the Imperial Army arrived at Stupino, just over fifty kilometers from Moscow. It's just that this time, the German-Russian coalition did not back down again. Here, the 1st Panzer Brigade and the 1st Infantry Corps encountered the German 12th Panzer Division, the 19th Infantry Corps and the Russian 45th Infantry Corps.

The German 12th Panzer Division was armed with more than 300 tanks No. 1 and No. 2, while the 1st Panzer Brigade of the Reichsburg Army had just over 200 tanks. In terms of the number of tanks, the 1st Panzer Brigade of the Imperial Army was completely at a disadvantage. However, most of the more than 300 tanks armored by the German army were No. 1 tanks, and No. 2 tanks had only a little hundred or so tanks. The more than 200 tanks equipped by the 1st Armored Brigade of the Imperial Army were all 'Wild Wolf' light tanks. Tank No. 1 was not equipped with a cannon, but only a heavy machine gun, and this tank, more like an armored vehicle, was mainly used to support infantry operations. Only tank No. 2 was armed with a tank gun.

On the outskirts of Stupino on both sides, fierce battles broke out. Hundreds of tanks fought on this plain.

"Boom!" A moving Wolf light tank came to a halt, and the tank gun aimed at a German No. 2 tank before opening fire. At a distance of less than 200 meters, the weak armor of the German No. 2 tank could not withstand the 37-mm tank gun.

After the shell hit, the No. 2 tank was smashed into a ball of fire. In fact, the tank is more like a mobile battery filled with ammunition and gasoline. Once the armor is penetrated, the fuel will ignite and burn, and the ammunition will detonate at worst. Therefore, the defense of the tank is very important. However, because of the design of the tank and the constraints of materials, especially the engine, the defensive performance of the tanks in this period was not very strong. The Wild Wolf light tank had only 25 mm of frontal armor and 15 mm of flank armor, which could only withstand heavy machine gun fire. If you are hit by a shell, you will often be hit into a fireball.

The Leopard medium tank was a little more defensive, with 57 mm frontal armor and 37 mm thick side armor. In this way, it can basically withstand the shelling of the German No. 2 tank. Of course, if the engagement is too close, it will often be penetrated. Therefore, the 'Leopard' tank often chooses to rely on the 57mm tank gun to destroy the enemy at a long distance, so that the enemy cannot get close to the threat distance.

It's just that the 1st Armored Brigade of the 1st Army of the Imperial Army is equipped with more than 200 tanks that are 'Wild Wolf' light tanks. Although the Wolf light tank can have a chance to be destroyed by the German tank No. 2, it also has a high chance of being destroyed by the No. 2 tank. Therefore, after the battle broke out, the fighting was very fierce.

One after another, German tanks No. 1 and No. 2 were destroyed, but similarly, there were Reichs' 'Wolves' light tanks destroyed. Of course, there will inevitably be casualties in war.

The news of the opening of the battle between the armored forces of both sides in Stupino was immediately known to the commanders of both sides.

"Did the Germans and Russians finally stop flinching? Could it be that they are going to fight us in Stupino? But that's exactly what we mean. Send a telegram to the 1st Panzer Corps and ask them to quickly rush to Stupino and annihilate the German panzer forces. Admiral Zhang Wei immediately ordered. On the Eastern Front, the Germans had only about 300 tanks. If one armored division can be eliminated, then only two armored divisions remain, and the next battle will be much easier to fight.

Similarly, the German Admiral Steinmetz was first to retreat the 12th Panzer Division when he heard the news of the encounter at Stupino. However, when he learned that there were no other Chinese army armoured units near Stupino, he immediately changed his strategy. Since there is only one armored brigade of the Chinese Army, why can't you concentrate your forces to eat this armored brigade? In this way, there will be less threat in the follow-up battle.

After all, in terms of the number of tanks, the Germans could not be compared with the Reichs. Qualitatively, Tanks 1 and 2 were no match for the Wolf Light Tank and the Leopard Medium Tank. The only thing the Germans could do was to defeat an armored brigade of the Chinese Army in one fell swoop with the help of the superiority of troops. In this way, they can reduce some of the threats.

Immediately, General Steinmetz ordered the German 10th Panzer Division and the 11th Panzer Division to go to Stupino to assist the 12th Panzer Division in destroying the 1st Armored Brigade and the 1st Infantry Corps of the Chinese Army, intending to annihilate this Chinese* army of more than 40,000 people in one fell swoop.

However, at this time, the 1st Panzer Corps of the Imperial Army had already advanced towards Stupino again. The armored forces of both sides will start a large-scale battle in Stupino. (To be continued......)

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