ps: This chapter is an update of the 4O monthly tickets last month. I beg my book friends to continue to vote vigorously to support it. Today, this book ranks 15th on the list...

The attack on Voronezh was actually the focus of the battle in the southern wing of the eastern front in the summer of 1942, that is, from June to July. At that time, the Voronezh-Voroshilovgrad battle was launched with the Weix cluster as the main force, and it also achieved certain results and occupied Voronezh. However, due to the main force moving south later, most of the troops turned to the direction of the Caucasus and Stalingrad, and the front lines near Voronezh also fell silent.`

In January, the silent front began to become active again. Before the Battle of Uranus, Manstein had asked the Hot cluster to conduct mobile combat in search of weaknesses in the Red Army's defense line. The direction of Voronezh was a significant weak link. Hot found the weakness of the junction of Voronezh and Bryansk Front and launched a fierce attack, opening the passage in an instant. In addition to his ability to seize opportunities, this smoothness was also closely related to the fact that the front itself was not too strong. The Voronezh Front was formed by some left-wing troops of the Bryansk Front on July 7, with the purpose of improving the combat command of the defensive Voronezh troops (because Voronezh's position is compared. Important, you can surround the flanks in the direction of Moscow to the north, and you can surround the flanks of Stalingrad to the south. Assaulting in depth can threaten the transportation hub of Saratov). There are only three armies (i.e., the 6th, 4o, 6o armies) and 4 tank armies (4, 17, 18th and 24th armies). Among them, the 6th armies were reorganized from the 6th reserve army, and the 6o armies were reorganized from the 3rd reserve army. They were originally substitutes for the second-tier teams, with poor personnel, equipment and training. You can see bearded soldiers over 4o in their 40s everywhere, and their combat effectiveness was platooned in the Red Army. However, the four tank armies that are equipped should not be underestimated. They have nearly 6oo tanks and have good combat power.

"The Italians demanded to take the lead?" Just as they were discussing how to launch an attack on the flanks of the Voronezh Front, General Hote suddenly received a telegram from the commander-in-chief of the Italian 8th Army, Giovanni Messe. He was very surprised and hesitant at the content of the telegram. Because the other party said that he hoped that the Italian and Romanian troops would be the main force of the attack during the flank attack, the wording was of course very pleasant: First, the German team fought continuously, and they were disgusted with the charge before, hoping to make a difference. ; Second. After summer rectification and improvement, their combat capabilities and skills have been greatly improved, and their equipment has been improved. I hope to train their teams; Third, from the perspective of deployment, the Italian 8th Army and the Romanian 3rd Army are closer to the flank Red Army, and if they turn around and attack, they can better exert their assault advantage; Fourth, the last and most nonsense - Italy urgently hopes to contribute all its strength to "eliminate the cannibalized Bolshevik system and liberate the Russian people."

"What is the attitude of the Romanians?" asked General Jorge Hans Reinhardt. During the "Demolition and Reinhardt" operation, General Reinhardt, who was originally the commander of the 41st Armored Army, also lost his position. However, as an excellent tank warfare commander, the General Staff of the 6th Army obviously would not place him at will. After Hoffman's Ken (he was the commander-in-chief of the 6th Army), Reinhardt took over the position of deputy commander of the 4th Armored Cluster (a new establishment after September, the German high-level command system generally has few deputy positions). In fact, Hort and him have division of labor. Hort is responsible for coordinating and commanding the entire cluster of 450,000 troops. Tank warfare expert Reinhardt is specifically responsible for commanding the 4th Armored Group Army, especially the armored divisions.

Shortly after the Italian telegram, the 3rd Romanian Army also expressed its willingness to take the lead in the attack.

"It seems that the two of them have agreed in advance that they are not satisfied with eating some leftovers and hope to try the big meal." Hort joked.

"I think it can be tried, or they can make them understand their combat effectiveness. General Messe is still a person with great ideas." Reinhardt laughed. "Yuan gave them equipment and supplies, and sent officers to them. We helped them adjust and integrate the troops. We should have a new look. This Red Army, which is not too strong, should be a touchstone, and we can see how good they are."

"Okay, the Italians and Romanians are closer to the Red Army's defense line. We can indeed let them try it first." Hort agreed to the request for battle between the two countries, and at the same time ordered the 4th Armored Army to gather its troops to prepare for the second wave of attack. If the Italians and Romanians are weak in attack, they can take action in time.

According to Manstein's marshalling deployment, the left wing of the middle group was formed, and following the 4th Armored Army was about 250,000 Axis Little Brothers, including the 8th Italian Army with more than 90,000 people, the 3rd Romanian Army with more than 11,000 people, and a division of Croatian and Slovenians (a total of more than 30,000 people). After summer reorganization and supplementation, they have strictly improved their combat effectiveness - not only were German consultants sent to the battalion, but also at Hoffman's request, all other troops withdrawn from the country were left and concentrated in these two troops. For the Italians and Romanians who lack heavy equipment themselves, the level has been increased by at least two levels.

Unlike in history, because Germans began to explode in advance, while the German army's own equipment was optimized, the Italians and Romanians had always complained that the lack of anti-tank firepower had improved a lot. In October alone, more than 4oo anti-tank guns and corresponding shells were sent to these two armies in one month. Of course, most of them were 5ommm, and a small number were captured Russian 762mm anti-tank guns (all eliminated by the German army themselves). As for the 88-air logistics department, they were still reluctant to take them out, and Hoffman could only pretend to be invisible. After all, he also had to take care of the emotions below. In addition, some of the 38t tanks eliminated by the German army themselves were also given to these allies. The main factor in the defeat of the Battle of Stalingrad in historical time and space was that the Red Army defeated the weak Romanian defense line, completely exposed the flanks of the 6th Army commanded by Paulus - at least this will not be repeated.

The winter equipment of the Axis Allied Forces has also been greatly improved this time, which made most of the Romanian soldiers who were poor peasants very satisfied and felt that there was a future with the Germans. As for the Italians, due to the same reason, they seemed more intimate and their careless style had improved a lot. The two divisions of Croatia and Slovenia were originally only Germans, but now they have gained benefits and follow them wholeheartedly. Strictly speaking, the reason for the low combat effectiveness of Romanian and Italian troops is different. Romania is mainly restricted by insufficient equipment and strength, and the soldiers have never seen the world and have always been afraid of the giant Red Army (or else they would not have been so much so).

When Stalin glared at him, the Romanians obediently handed over Bisarabia), while the Italian army was somewhat of a great power, and they still had confidence (the Italians were not afraid of the Red Army, but they were afraid of the British, which made people puzzled). The key reason for the low combat effectiveness was that they were not serious about doing things, did not work hard, and had outdated combat thoughts. So the prescriptions prescribed to them were different, but they were very targeted. The Romanians mainly replenish supplies and equipment, while the Italians mainly replenished spirits and officers. After the German-Italy Navy and Air Force and the military-industrial combination, the Italian army on the Eastern Front was almost completely controlled by the Germans, and now the two countries can really be called steel allies.

Now the situation has begun to turn around: the Germans have always made the little brothers use cannon fodder, and they have to bear the first round of attacks of the Red Army. They have poor equipment and few supplies, and they have to suffer first. There are many complaints from top to bottom, and there are excuses and perfunctory things that are not working hard everywhere. However, under Hoffman's education, the ones who are fighting hard at the front have become Germans, and the ones who enjoy the latter have become axis little brothers. In this mobile battle, they followed General Hot to pick up bargains everywhere, chased the enemy, and cleaned the battlefield.

I enjoyed the work of defending the logistics line. I occasionally cleared out the Red Army Infantry Division, which was still fighting in the encirclement. I felt that my combat effectiveness had been improved after summer transformation, and I even took the initiative to ask for battle. This surprised General Hort and General Reinhardt. Considering that this enthusiasm for combat cannot be easily refused and erased, they finally planned to take advantage of the opportunity of flanking attack to let these little brothers try different feelings.

The order was issued in the morning. Since the 4th Armored Army troops had not been fully collected, in the afternoon, Hort and Reinhardt were still discussing the subsequent march route and targets. While the heated discussion, Hort remembered the 8th Italian Army, who had taken the initiative to attack in the morning, and asked: "I don't know how the Italians fought? Why haven't the telegram been sent yet?"

"I guess it's a failure and I'm embarrassed to ask for assistance." Reinhardt laughed. "Let's just take the initiative to ask. Although Italians love bragging, they are still very cute sometimes - their performance has been much better than before recently. In terms of Yuan, they should still focus on encouragement."

The adjutant suddenly came to report that he had just received the latest telegram that the Italians and Romanians had defeated the Red Army's defense in the direction of Svoboda and were expanding in depth, hoping that the Germans could quickly keep up with the expansion of the war.

"What?" General Hot glanced at the map and exclaimed, "How is this possible? The Red Army opposite has two armies. No matter how many troops on the second line have hundreds of tanks. It should not be easy for Italians and Romanians to deal with it? Are they lied about military information?"

"I also find it strange, or ask the liaison officer?" Another advantage of sending the Axis Brothers troops is that they can keep track of the dynamics at any time and are not afraid of them lying.

...
Chapter completed!