At 6 a.m. on June 5, 1943, the German positions in front of the eight armored divisions of the Chinese Armored Group Army were also covered by artillery fire.

A group of rocket launchers fired in unison, and a flowing red river of dazzling rockets appeared in the sky.

A sound like a death-seeking ghost filled the space between heaven and earth. The earth was trembling, the vegetation was shaking, and the air was roaring.

The flowing river of rockets accurately landed on the frontline positions of the German First Armored Group Army and the 11th Group Army.

At that moment, it was as if a hole had opened in the heavens, and countless thunderous forces poured down from the sky, turning everything on the ground into powder.

The thunder is endless and the fire is endless.

The German army has already discovered that in front of them are Mao Xiong's Don River Army and the Chinese Armored Group Army.

In order to block the first wave of enemy attacks, General Kleist, commander of the First Armored Army, deployed a large amount of anti-tank firepower on the front line.

Under the overwhelming firepower of Zhongkui's rocket launchers, the German position was plowed back and forth.

Rockets washed away the land, changing the plains and hills beyond recognition, and the terrain in some places was even reshaped.

The most notable feature of the Zhongkui rocket launcher is its instantaneous firepower and high density. Under such a powerful firepower attack, almost no firepower point can survive.

The chilling roar lasted for half an hour, and countless soldiers hid in the trenches and shivered.

Soldiers of the Third Reich already knew that Mao Xiong had a rocket launcher called the Katyusha, and some even experienced Katyusha strikes.

The scene when the Katyusha rocket launcher is launched is extremely spectacular, giving people a sense of shock that even exceeds its actual strike effectiveness.

It's just that the rocket attacks they encountered this time were completely different from those in the past.

Not only is the density high, the firepower is fierce, but it is also very durable.

Within half an hour, countless rockets fell on the position.

Even the heaven and earth cannot withstand such an intense blow, let alone weapons, equipment and the human body.

The whizzing sound of the rocket launcher has been lingering in the ears of Admiral Kleist, and even after the enemy's artillery fire preparations have ended, the sound seems to still linger in his mind.

Kleist, like many front-line officers of the German army, realized that the enemy's counterattack was unusual.

The defensive positions no longer existed, and some forward observation posts began to report sightings of large plumes of approaching smoke.

'Are the Chinese tanks coming?'

Kleist thought to himself.

After confirming that the enemy had come to kill him, he ordered without hesitation:

"Order the 13th, 14th, and 25th Armored Divisions to attack!"

Only tanks can restrain tanks, only steel can stop steel!

Under the command of General Mackensen of the Third Motorized Army, the tanks of the 13th, 14th, and 25th Armored Divisions rumbled into action.

Panzer No. 4, Panzer No. 5 Panther, and Panzer No. 6 Tiger tanks all roared in unison.

Along with the tanks were some self-propelled artillery pieces and tank destroyers.

Smoke and dust rose again from the ground.

Kleist also ordered the three armored divisions of the 14th Motorized Corps as the rearguard of the Third Army, requiring the 9th Armored Division and the 5th Viking Armored Division to follow closely behind the 13th, 14th and 25th Armored Divisions.

Armored division, as the second wave of attack force.

The 11th and 16th Armored Divisions commanded by General Kempf avoided the front of the battlefield, bypassed the battlefield where tanks from both sides collided, and attacked the Chinese Armored Group Army from the flanks.

At the same time, Kleist also requested aircraft from the Fourth Air Force to take off for support.

Although the Fourth Air Force did not have many operational aircraft, Kleist still insisted on air support.

Just because he had a premonition that the intensity and importance of this battle would exceed the expectations of the German generals before the war.

At 6:30 a.m., the Zhongkui rocket launcher stopped roaring, and the soul-stirring sound gradually disappeared.

At 6:35, the three armored divisions of the Third Motorized Corps began to advance towards the front.

In the earth-shattering bombing just now, all units of the First Armored Group Army were hit to a certain extent. In addition to the damage to the fortifications and anti-tank guns on the front line, various types of supply vehicles and supply bases in the rear were also hit by artillery fire.

, oil and other supplies were blown up.

The tanks of the Third Motorized Corps crossed the burning battle line, drove through the trenches whose original appearance was no longer visible, and pointed their muzzles at the center of the enemy's and our defense lines.

On the Eastern Front battlefield, the armored soldiers of the Armored Group Army were proud.

They believed that the great Third Reich was able to conquer the enemy's capital from far away in Western Europe, and the Armored Group played the most important role.

Armored soldiers are the sharp blade of the head of state, and tanks are the most effective weapon to break through the enemy's defense line.

Therefore, although the bombing of Zhongkui's rocket launcher destroyed the world and shocked people's hearts, after the rocket launcher, when the No. 4, No. 5 and No. 6 tanks rumbled into action, the armored soldiers regained their confidence and pride.

The sky was not completely bright yet, and the smoke from the previous bombings made the visibility on the battlefield not good.

On the German side, the relatively flexible Panther No. 5 tank was at the forefront.

Compared to the Tiger tank, the Panther tank is lighter and faster.

The turret hatch of the Panther tank was wide open, and almost all the commanders had their heads exposed, carefully observing the situation in the morning fog and gunpowder smoke.

After crossing the battle line, all tanks became cautious.

Due to the severe blow to the bear industry, the historical T34 flood did not appear on time.

There has never been a large-scale tank battle on the Eastern Front.

At this moment, the battle taking place on the west bank of the Don River will be the first decisive tank battle in the history of human warfare.

The enemy has 2,000 tanks, and the First Armored Army also has more than 2,000 tanks. The difference in numbers is not big.

While moving forward cautiously, the tank commanders of the 13th, 14th and 25th German Armored Divisions felt a little nervous and expectant.

Can the tanks of the Empire dominate the battlefield, or are the tanks of the Easterners better?

At 6:45 am, all 800 tanks of the Third Motorized Corps were ready for battle.

The tank commanders looked up and saw that there were tanks of their own in front, back, left and right, and their nervousness calmed down a little.

The sky is getting brighter and brighter, but because of the smoke, the scene 500 meters away is still not visible.

800 tanks were spread out on the ground, majestic and carrying a fierce wind.

The heroic spirit of the commanders had just risen when a bright light suddenly flashed in the smoke.

Immediately afterwards,

"boom!"

An armor-piercing projectile flew from an invisible distance and accurately hit the front armor of a Panther tank in the queue.

The silent atmosphere disappeared, and everyone was startled.

The commanders looked up again and saw that the unlucky tank was already emitting black smoke and was completely lying on its side.
Chapter completed!