Headquarters of the 1st Armored Army.

Kleist listened dumbfounded as the staff reported the miserable situation of the Third Army.

"In less than two hours of fighting, most of the tanks of the 13th, 14th and 25th Armored Divisions were destroyed."

"The enemy's tanks can penetrate the frontal armor of our tanks at a distance of about 1,000 kilometers, and the hit rate is very high."

"General Mackensen mixed the remaining tanks of the three armored armies with the enemy's tank army to avoid the strikes of fighter jets in the sky!"

"The second echelon of the 9th Armored Division and the 5th "Viking" Armored Division were attacked condescendingly by enemy jet fighters and were unable to support the Third Army in time."

Kleist's right eyelid twitched wildly, and he subconsciously asked:

"Where is our air force? Didn't I order the Fourth Air Force to provide air cover?"

As soon as the staff officer opened his mouth, a muffled voice came from outside the headquarters:

"All the fighter planes were shot down by the enemy, and our pilots also fell into the enemy's war zone, and their life or death is uncertain!"

Kleist looked up and saw that the commander of the Fourth Air Force, Air Force General Lehr, had come in.

The Air Force also realized the importance of this battle. Although General Lehr was distressed, he still allowed the capable aircraft of the Fourth Air Force to take off one hour before the battle.

However, none of the fighters of the Fourth Air Force that took off flew back, and countless calls for long live the Führer were heard on the radio.

Admiral Leer was depressed and sad at first, but when he arrived at Kleist's headquarters, his sadness turned into helplessness and sighs.

After learning about the situation in the Air Force, Kleist felt a little confused.

'So, the invincible Panzer Army is going to be defeated?'

He was unwilling to accept this result and placed his hope on the two armored divisions of the 48th Army that were outflanking.

………

At 9 a.m. on June 5, the east bank of the Don River.

On the plains, beside the mountains, and along the nameless river, the remains of tanks can be seen everywhere. Some have been burned into empty frames, and soldiers from both sides can be seen repairing some tanks beside them.

"boom!"

Occasionally, violent explosions can be heard in the debris pile, which is when the ammunition loaded in the tanks exploded.

Thick black smoke obscured half of the sky, and the air was filled with the pungent smell of gasoline.

Under the attack and interception of Air Force jet fighters, several armored divisions of the 14th Army failed to successfully join the three armored divisions of the Third Army.

General Mackensen of the Third Army hoped that his tanks could be mixed with Chinese tanks to shorten the distance between the two sides and strive to exchange one for one.

However, Jin Dayin, the frontline commander of the Chinese Armored Group Army, saw Mackensen's intention. He ordered all units to keep their distance and use the performance advantages of the Flying Leopard tanks to attack enemy tanks at a distance of 500 to 1 kilometers.

Mackensen's attempt failed. In the back-and-forth battle, there were fewer and fewer tanks belonging to the Third Army on the battlefield, and in the end they were even completely crushed.

The combat weight of the Flying Leopard tank is 36 tons, which is eight tons lighter than the German No. 5 Panther tank and 20 tons lighter than the No. 6 Tiger tank.

The Feibao is a medium tank and the Tiger is a heavy tank.

There are huge differences in a lot of data between the two sides, and their performance is also an era apart.

The Flying Leopard tank is known as the Aka rifle among tanks, and it is the most popular tank in the third world countries after the World War.

It is simple to manufacture, easy to repair and maintain, and most importantly, it has nearly unlimited potential for upgrading and modification.

The maximum road journey is 500 kilometers.

In comparison, the bulky Tiger tank is simply the oil tiger among oil tigers.

A Tiger tank can only run more than 100 kilometers on the road with a full tank of fuel, let alone off-road.

The maximum range of the Panther tank is more than 200 kilometers.

The gaps in all aspects were too great, and there was no suspense. The three armored divisions of the First Armored Group and the Third Army failed.

When the infantry regiments of the Chinese Armored Group Army began to advance, the German soldiers who were repairing their tanks and preparing to fight again were all captured.

In the previous two hours of fighting, the battlefield was dominated by tanks, and infantry could not get in at all.

Now, the infantry regiments began to capture prisoners and rescue the wounded across the mountains and plains.

On the other side, the 16th and 11th Armored Divisions commanded by General Kempf were making detours. Before they entered their scheduled combat positions, news came over the radio that the Third Army had failed.

Kleist, commander of the First Armored Army, handed over the decision to Kempf, commander of the 48th Army.

The Third Army failed, and the Fourteenth Army was beaten by the Chinese air force and fled in panic.

Kempf needed to decide whether the two armored divisions responsible for the outflank attack should continue to advance and attack the enemy according to the original plan, or whether to retreat immediately to preserve the main force.

The time came to 9:20 in the morning. The two armored divisions that were circuitous temporarily stopped advancing.

The roof compartments of all tank turrets were opened, and the commanders waited for the final orders.

Kempf was troubled.

He believed that the roundabout part must not be exposed, and attacking at this moment can catch the enemy by surprise.

But at the same time, he hesitated. The Chinese not only had tanks with excellent performance, but also had air superiority.

Can you successfully retreat after a successful sneak attack?

In the midst of hesitation, another ten minutes passed.

As the saying goes, not making a decision is more fatal than a wrong decision!

More than 20 minutes later, when Kempf directed the two armored divisions to retreat toward the way they came, there was huge noise from the sky and the earth.

The retreating tank commanders hurriedly looked behind them with their telescopes, and saw a black line in the sky behind them, and beneath the black line was a swirl of smoke and dust.

The smoke and dust are getting closer and closer, and the line connecting the black dots is gradually becoming clearer.

That's the enemy's tank group and armed helicopter formation!

General Kempf regretted it too late!

The maximum off-road speed of Tiger tanks is 20 kilometers per hour, which limits them from being able to go fast when making detours, making them unable to move quickly.

The Chinese Air Force controlled the air, and when Kempf hesitated, the Air Force reconnaissance plane discovered the tank.

After receiving the news, Xiao Jiang immediately ordered the 109th and 110th Armored Divisions to come and intercept the enemy.

The Third Army of the First Armored Group was close to being completely wiped out. The Fourteenth Army was defeated, leaving only the 48th Army. Xiao Jiang wanted to eat all the tanks in this group.

Therefore, he also dispatched three army aviation regiments and 180 armed helicopters to assist the two armored divisions in combat.

These two sneaky armored divisions are bound to be eaten.

After the advent of armed helicopters, many armored soldiers realized that this thing was the nemesis of tanks!

The 14.7mm heavy machine gun bullet can break the track and penetrate the weak points of the armor.

70mm rockets can attack the top, sides, etc. of the tank. Except for the belly, all aspects of the tank are exposed to the armed helicopters.

The smoke on the ground and the armed helicopters competed with each other, as if they were worried about being overtaken by the other party.

General Kempf, commander of the 48th Army, was trembling in front of the enemy's "race".
Chapter completed!