The decisive battle against the Third Reich

Because Vatutin was very confident in the 5th Guards Tank Corps, and the Soviet army was also very confident in the 5th Guards Tank Corps, there was basically no defensive preparations in the direction of the Butovo Highway... To be precise, the defensive preparations were It was done very early, but what was lacking was the defensive mentality.

On the other hand, it was the emergence of this new type of German equipment that panicked the Soviet army... Even the commander of the tank brigade Yegovic thought it was magic, and word of mouth among the soldiers was even more confusing. They soon Just associate this with or extend it to bullets and cannonballs.

This association is indeed very reasonable.

If rockets can adjust their trajectory to hit their target, why can't artillery shells and bullets? !

Then a more terrifying question arises. If the German artillery shells and bullets can adjust their trajectory and hit the target accurately, is it necessary to continue this war?

As a result, a wider panic quickly spread among the Soviet army, which left the Soviet soldiers with no courage to resist the German army.

On the other hand, there are actually difficulties in the Soviet army's decision-making.

After hearing reports in this regard, Vatutin didn't believe it at first... cannonballs that can automatically track targets are simply incredible.

Vatutin took it for granted that this was an excuse for his failure by the officers on the battlefield, or that the soldiers were frightened.

So Vatutin’s first order was: “Control all these people!”

"Yes, Comrade Vatutin!" Lieutenant General Kazakov understood what this order meant. He just couldn't let "rumors" continue to spread and affect the morale and morale of the military.

The second thing Vatutin did was to interrogate the controlled soldiers and officers separately... He hoped to find something different in this to break this "rumor".

But the result disappointed him. The confessions and reports of the soldiers and officers were perfect. There were no loopholes in the situation they described, and it didn't look like they were made up.

At this time, Vatugin began to believe it.

Then, similar rumors came from the front lines... The enemy had bombs that could turn and hit tanks accurately.

Only then did Vatutin realize that the Germans might actually have some new equipment.

This idea was quickly confirmed, because a Soviet reconnaissance aircraft recorded the entire process of adjusting the trajectory of the new German equipment by taking quick photos... The Army does not have such equipment, and it is difficult to have the opportunity to take photos at a life-and-death moment. Such photos.

Lieutenant General Kazakov, the chief of staff, sent a stack of photos to Vatutin. Observing the stack of photos continuously, it can be clearly seen that the launched rocket is not moving along the trajectory it should be. Instead, it was constantly fine-tuning itself, sometimes to the left and sometimes to the right, and then accurately hit the target.

Lieutenant General Kazakov even asked his assistant to draw its trajectory based on these photos, and even calculated its distance and other data based on the speed of camera exposure.

"The target is about 830 meters away!" Lieutenant General Kazakov said: "The running speed is about 66 meters per second. It hit the target after 12 seconds, during which about 8 trajectory adjustments were made!"

Vatutin stared at the photos and trajectory maps for a long time, and then said to Lieutenant General Kazakov: "Give these to Comrade Stalin!"

"Yes, Comrade Vatutin!"

After Lieutenant General Kazakov left, Vatutin fell into deep thought.

Although sending photos and documents to Stalin can well explain the reasons for the Soviet army's failure, war is cruel, and it will not evade responsibility just because it finds a good reason.

Therefore, Vatutin needs to find a way to solve the current crisis...

But what can be done now?

Vatutin faced an extremely embarrassing choice:

If you send tank troops up, you will face the fate of being destroyed by the enemy's new weapons.

But if tanks are not sent up... the frontline troops will be massacred by enemy tanks.

The military is like a complete system. The air force, army, tanks, etc. are combined to form a whole. If one of the links is completely suppressed by the enemy, it may lead to the collapse of the entire system.

The previous Soviet army was because they lost air superiority, but the current Soviet army... is because the tanks will be suppressed by the enemy.

"Comrade Vatutin!" Lieutenant General Kazakov replied at this time: "The information has been sent to Comrade Stalin!"

Vatutin said "hmm" and didn't ask any more questions.

He knew that Stalin also needed time to digest, or Stalin would do what he did at the beginning, not believing it was true, thinking that some generals on the front line were frightened by the Germans and looking for some excuse for the failure. .

Vatutin's guess was correct. Stalin did think so when he received the telegram.

Because Stalin considered one thing, if the Germans had this new weapon in the direction of Butovo, why not in the direction of Tomarovka?

But then I thought about it, there were German all-conquering "Elephant" tanks in the direction of Tomarovka, but not in the direction of Butovo.

So, the Germans used a new type of equipment on both sides?

Thinking of this, Stalin asked the intelligence agency to get in touch with the British Intelligence Agency with the intention of giving it a try.

After getting in touch, the results came as a surprise to Stalin.

Because the United Kingdom or the United States also suspects that the Germans possess some kind of weapon that automatically tracks targets... The reason is that several American B17 bombers in Africa were destroyed by strange-looking "aircraft". The reason why they did not communicate with the Soviet Union It is uncertain whether these "planes" are manned or unmanned.

Looking at this telegram, Stalin looked at the map and smoked his pipe.

The worries about this battle from the beginning came to mind again... If this battle failed, then the Soviet Union would no longer be able to counterattack.

However, Stalin also knew that there seemed to be no turning back after the war. He seemed to have no choice but to carry out Zhukov's offensive plan to the end.

After a moment of silence, Stalin gave the order: "Order Comrade Vatutin and the Voronezh Front to defend the third line of defense at all costs. Under no circumstances can the two German armored armies meet on the Yakovlevo Highway!"

"Yes, Comrade Stalin!" The staff officer turned around and conveyed the order.

Stalin's judgment was correct. If the two German armored armies were to meet on the Yakovlevo Highway, it would mean that at least one Soviet army was surrounded by the German army.

In addition, the German army will successfully drive a wedge behind the Kursk salient, which may not only cut off the retreat of the central front of the Kursk salient, but also pose a threat to the rear of the two fronts attacking Orel.