Although he could not stand the brutal practice of the armed SS who did not distinguish between black and white and killed everyone indiscriminately, Holth, as the commander of the Fourth Armored Group, had to admit it.
The actual combat effectiveness and tenacious fighting will displayed by this group of elite armed SS troops with a fanatical loyalty to the Führer that is almost incomprehensible to ordinary people on the battlefield is indeed far superior to that of ordinary Wehrmacht troops.
The Second SS Panzer Corps, which gathered the "Reich", "Skeleton" and "Legend Guard", the three top units of the armed SS, was sent to Prokhorovka. Holt believed that there was no reason for such a trump card to fail.
.
In other words, if failure is the final outcome, then throughout the entire Fourth Armored Group, there may be no other Wehrmacht unit that can do better than these fanatical SS lunatics.
In terms of their fearlessness of death and their ability to kill Russians in different ways, the three ace units of the Waffen-SS believe in second place, while the Wehrmacht dare not believe in first place. Now is the best time for them to maximize their role.
"The last attempt in the direction of Oboyan did not make any progress. All we received was that the attack was blocked, the Russians resisted desperately, and they continued to harass the flanks, causing the main force to be unable to concentrate on completing the breakthrough."
"I have no objection to your plan, but are you really determined to fight the Russians at Prokhorovka?"
The importance of Prokhorovka is no less than any key node in the front direction. It can be expected that as soon as it touches this place, the intelligent Russians will definitely mobilize a flood of reinforcements from all directions and rush towards it.
But a new battlefield also means new opportunities. No one knows what the final result will be until the real decisive battle.
Rather than wasting precious troops and little time on a frontal breakthrough in the direction of Oboyan, Holt, whose command style was bold and innovative but not rigid, was more willing to try unknown territories.
Only those who dare to explore can climb to the top. Holt, who understands this truth, firmly believes that there are unknown opportunities and gains waiting for him in Prokhorovka. The key lies in whether he can seize the opportunity and strike accurately at the Russians.
Based on the weak point, and then complete the feat of determining victory or defeat with one blow.
"Isn't it too late to say this now?"
"Our offensive in the direction of Prokhorovka has been going smoothly in the past two days. The expected Russian resistance was completely crushed and repelled by the Second SS Panzer Army. Everything was within our plan."
"Tomorrow will be the most critical day in the direction of Prokhorovka. Hausser called me and said that the reconnaissance force of the SS Division has detected a large-scale Russian main force moving over. He
I was asked to immediately send the main force of the Guards Division back to support, otherwise half the division might not even be able to defend the October State Farm. This is no longer news."
"This is no longer news." This was Holt's brief summary of the situation stated to him by Paul Hausser, commander of the Second SS Panzer Corps, on the phone. The words of the chief of staff immediately afterward also proved it.
at this point.
"We have followed what he requested. The main force of the Guards Standard Division in the direction of Oboyan, after the last group charge was repelled this morning, has given up trying and began to retreat one after another as required by the order.
Prepare to complete the rendezvous in the direction of Prokhorovka."
"The Skeleton Division, which acted earlier, has now arrived at its scheduled position. Hausser will soon get all the troops he requested and arrive on time. He no longer has to complain to us about the huge pressure the Imperial Division is under. Very soon
We will soon have sufficient troops to launch an attack."
Because of the relationship between the arrival of Malashenko, the time traveler, and the butterfly effect, the battle in the direction of Prokhorovka has many details that are different from the existing history.
But in any case, with the advantage of having sufficient numbers on hand and many more cutting-edge armored forces than in the existing historical timeline, Hausser still completed the order issued by Holt and pushed the front even when the strength was obviously insufficient.
When we reached the decisive battle position in Prokhorovka, we were only a stone's throw away from the final victory.
And now, the Second SS Panzer Corps, which has gathered back the dispersed troops whose last attempt failed, is about to return to its full glory.
The morning attack on Oboyan's front was a kind of strategic deception, and it was also the last attempt to achieve a breakthrough in this preferred direction.
The only difference was that Holt failed to predict that the large-scale and fierce air attack launched by his opponent, and the German Air Force, which was responsible for controlling air supremacy in the theater and providing cover, would be so completely defeated by the overwhelming offensive that they would flee directly.
As a result, the main force of the Guards Flagship Division, which should have given priority to preserving its strength, now seems to have suffered heavy losses. But from another perspective, it can also be said that the division commander who was eager for quick success underestimated his opponent and lost the battle.
If you act according to orders, the responsibility should not lie solely with Holt who made the decision, but now is not the time to discuss who should bear the main responsibility.
Thinking of this, Holt, who was holding his chin with one hand behind his desk, made a decision. He wanted to give Hauser, who was at risk of complaining because of what happened this morning, a final shot in the arm.
"How many tanks are there in the batch that started arriving this morning?"
The chief of staff was stunned when he heard this. He still couldn't understand the deeper meaning that Holt wanted to express for a while, but he still answered truthfully.
"There are 87 vehicles in total, all of which are the latest Panther tanks. This is the entire Panther production in the past two weeks. Man's engineers said that they urgently improved the power and transmission systems and replaced them with new more reliable parts, but there are still
They were rushed over without testing, and no one knows whether the actual performance is as claimed, and they are still waiting to be received."
After hearing this, Holt did not hesitate at all, and further orders were quickly blurted out.
"Hausser will test their performance and tell him whether he can use these newly arrived tanks tomorrow depends on how quickly he receives them."
Holt's order was firm, leaving no room for maneuver.
The chief of staff wanted to answer that these tanks were assigned to the armored forces of the National Defense Forces according to the original plan, but when he thought that the next battle in the direction of Prokhorovka would be crucial and affect the overall situation, he simply said the words directly to his lips.
Swallowing it back, Holt's order could indeed bring out the greater value of these Black Panthers.
Malashenko, who received the order from the front army headquarters late, was already leading his troops towards Prokhorovka overnight. But the Guards Flag Division, which took action earlier, could expect that Malashenko would
The Department of Science and Technology arrived at the combat position earlier.
A death-steel strangulation battle with many differences from the existing historical timeline has gradually taken shape.
The dark clouds in the eye of the storm hang over the sky of Prokhorovka. Everything that is coming will determine the direction of fate. The hell fight of blood and steel has slowly begun.