Shulka didn't know how he returned to the team. He only knew that tears couldn't help but flow down. Although he knew that he shouldn't have been like this, he had thought that he would be indifferent or indifferent when he saw them.

It's embarrassing, but I never thought it would happen.

Fortunately, the sound of the tank motor and the predawn darkness obscured everything, and none of the surrounding soldiers noticed this.

At this time, Feng Bock, commander of Army Group Center, was staring at the map in the headquarters, feeling lost.

Although on the whole the German attack seemed to be going very smoothly, only von Bock knew that it was full of dangers.

First of all, the hundreds of thousands of Soviet troops in the Vyazma encirclement still need to be digested... Although the defeat of these Soviet troops has been determined, they still stick to their positions or try to break out.

Of course, the German army cannot let them escape, because every person who escapes means one more strength in Moscow.

Secondly, the weather has gradually turned colder, but the German soldiers did not have the necessary winter clothing.

At this time, the German army may be able to request cotton-padded clothes, but the problem is that the German army's logistics and transportation capabilities are limited. If cotton-padded clothes are transported, it means that ammunition will be reduced accordingly, which means that the pace of attacking Moscow will be slowed down, and this is

Berlin will never allow it.

So, one by one, the German soldiers put sheets, tents, animal skins, everything they could think of on themselves or stuffed them into their military uniforms. After every battle, the first thing the German soldiers did when cleaning the battlefield was

The first thing to do is to steal something from the enemy's body that can keep him warm.

But this is not the biggest headache for Bock, because he knows that as the weather gets colder, the muddy ground will improve due to freezing, and the visibility will also improve after the rain turns into snowflakes, which is very important to the German armored forces.

and air power are both beneficial.

In other words, in the future, at least for a short period of time, the temperature drop before the severe cold will be the best opportunity for the German army to attack Moscow.

but……

The Soviets seemed to have changed their tactics.

"They put T34 tanks together in one unit?" Von Bock asked the adjutant.

"Yes!" the adjutant replied: "The designation is the 4th Tank Brigade. They defeated the 79th Armored Division in the direction of Klin!"

Seeing Feng Bock's silence, the adjutant added: "Marshal, although the performance of T34 tanks is excellent, they only have about 80 tanks. As long as the weather permits, we can use air superiority to defeat them!"

What the adjutant said makes sense. The German army has air superiority. No matter how good the tank performance is, it cannot withstand the bombing of the air force. This has been proven in previous battles.

but……

Von Bock knew that things were not that simple.

This fourth tank brigade operated within the Soviet defense line, sometimes by train and sometimes by night maneuver.

Even more clever is that the Fourth Tank Brigade immediately retreated to Moscow after a successful attack. For example, they disappeared without a trace that night after Klin defeated the 79th Armored Division, which made it impossible for the Germans to grasp their movements.

and attack effectively.

"The Russians have changed their tactics!" Von Bock said to himself: "It seems they learned something during the war!"

The adjutant did not understand the meaning of the marshal's words, so he did not dare to speak.

Von Bock looked at the map and fell into deep thought:

This fourth tank brigade is by no means as simple as the adjutant thought... 80 tanks are indeed not many, but they are centered in Moscow and are ready to attack at any time. At this time, the German army has already closed within 100 kilometers of Moscow, and it is also

This means that the fourth tank brigade can appear at any point on the defense line at any time and deliver a fatal blow to the German penetration forces.

"Your Majesty Marshal!" At this time, a communications soldier handed a telegram to von Bock: "The Russians have launched a counterattack!"

"What?" Von Bock was confused for a while, thinking that he heard wrongly. He picked up the telegram and read it again, and then asked: "Are you sure they are a large-scale counterattack and not just a countercharge?"

Countercharge is a very common tactic on the battlefield. Von Bock wanted to find out whether the Russians were counterattacking at the strategic level or the tactical level.

"It's a counterattack, Your Majesty Marshal!" said the signal soldier: "They carried out artillery preparations for 20 minutes, and then launched a counterattack from two directions at the same time. The offensive was very fierce!"

Von Bock was stunned for a moment. He did not understand the significance of the Russians launching a counterattack at this time.

Moscow gets more reinforcements?

This is basically impossible. The reinforcements and supplies entering Moscow are under the surveillance of the German intelligence department. If a large number of reinforcements enter, he will get first-hand information immediately.

Then, there is only one possibility. The Russians are afraid. They are afraid that the German army will march straight into Moscow and are unwilling to continue to defend passively, so they launch a counterattack.

Feng Bock couldn't help but smile when he thought of this.

This is definitely a good opportunity for the German army, especially...if the Russians want to counterattack, the 4th Tank Brigade must be among them, because it is the key to the success of the Russian counterattack.

Von Bock was still worried about how to deal with it just now, but he didn't expect it to come to his door.

After thinking about it, von Bock ordered: "Immediately order the 10th Armored Division and the 4th Army to defend on the spot, and we must stop them!"

"Yes, Your Excellency Marshal!"

"Your Majesty Marshal!" the adjutant objected: "This is an opportunity for us, should we..."

"I know!" Von Bock interrupted the adjutant: "So I didn't want to block them, I just wanted to know which direction the fourth tank brigade is!"

The adjutant suddenly realized what he said.

Therefore, the order to "block them" is actually false. The enemy that can be blocked will certainly not be in the direction of the 4th Tank Brigade. Otherwise, it will be just the opposite. Then the German army can formulate the next battle plan.

Von Bock was right.

Because the 49th Group Army's counterattack in the direction of Serpukhov can be said to have achieved almost nothing.

Not only did they gain nothing, they also suffered heavy casualties...Zhukov was relieved of command, which meant that it was Stalin and the Supreme Command who directed the battle. The characteristic of their command is that once an order is given, it must be completed no matter what the cost.

.

A report submitted by a surviving platoon commander after the war can clearly illustrate this problem:

"The battalion received a clear order to seize the position of the *** on the high ground outside the village of Choploye. However, the enemy's firepower was too fierce and we were unable to move forward. However, the order from the superiors was: 'You must arrive at 20
Chapter completed!