Anti-Japanese War: My equipment is infinitely refreshed

On the war-torn Soviet-German battlefield, the situation was developing rapidly in a direction that was extremely unfavorable to the German army.

The atmosphere in the German High Command was as heavy as the dead silence before a storm.

"Marshal Brauchitsch, what's the situation now?" Keitel asked worriedly with his brows twisted into a "川" shape.

His eyes were fixed on Marshal Brauchitsch, as if he wanted to find a sign of improvement in the war situation on the other's face.

Marshal Brauchitsch had a sad face and deep worry in his eyes. He said slowly: "It's not good. The Soviet counterattack is too fierce. It's like an overwhelming force. The defense line stretching for hundreds of kilometers is suffering from the Soviet army's strong impact everywhere. The troops have suffered heavy losses. This is the telegram just sent by Marshal Model." As he said, he handed a telegram to Keitel.

Keitel took the telegram and quickly scanned the words on it, his brows furrowed tighter and tighter, as if the words on the telegram were sharp knives cutting his heart.

After reading it, he raised his head, looked at Marshal Brauchitsch, and asked again: "The battle situation is very unfavorable to us now, what do you think, Marshal Brauchitsch?"

"Retreat, we must retreat immediately!" Marshal Brauchitsch answered without hesitation, "In addition, we must send a large number of air forces to cover the evacuation. Otherwise, if we continue to fight like this, Army Group Center will definitely suffer heavy losses even if it is not completely wiped out."

Marshal Brauchitsch knew that the Soviet army was too powerful.

The Soviet army alone had more than three million troops, like a vast ocean of people with no end in sight.

There are more than 50,000 artillery pieces of various types. The densely packed artillery pieces are like a steel jungle, and each one can spew out deadly flames.

There are more than 30,000 tanks and armored vehicles, and the steel torrent they form is enough to crush anything that stands in their way.

More than 10,000 fighter jets roared through the sky, like dark clouds covering the sky.

Such a terrifying force was definitely not something the Central Army Group could withstand at that time.

What's more, the German army is now extremely short of logistics and the supply of materials is almost cut off.

In this situation, it is simply a fantasy to want to hold the defense line.

What's worse, the newly formed armored division was still struggling to get to the front line and would take at least half a month to arrive.

Moreover, the critical fuel is in serious shortage. Those armored vehicles may break down and stall due to lack of oil in the middle of the journey, becoming a pile of scrap metal on the battlefield.

"How many fighter jets can the Air Force mobilize?" Keitel turned his head and looked at Field Marshal Goering and asked anxiously.

Marshal Goering narrowed his eyes slightly, calculated in his mind for a while, gritted his teeth and said: "At most 1,500 planes. The fuel consumption is too fast recently. If there is enough fuel, I can take off 3,000 fighters and deal a head-on blow to the Soviet army!" There was a hint of helplessness and unwillingness in his words, as if he was upset that he could not send out more fighters.

This is already the limit of the German Air Force. If there are more, the planes will not be able to take off due to lack of fuel.

However, Keitel ignored Goering's complaints and was nervously considering the situation himself.

At this time, the German Empire's oil reserves were indeed running low.

Whether it is the large number of tanks and armored vehicles of the Army or the numerous fighter jets of the Air Force, they are all big consumers of fuel.

We have done our best to gather the fuel needed for so many fighter jets.

Although Germany extracted a lot of oil in the occupied areas, many oil wells and storage facilities were destroyed in the war.

Not to mention, various battlefields are frantically consuming precious oil resources, and every drop is extremely precious.

Besides this, the Luftwaffe could no longer sustain too many losses.

According to statistics from last month, there are only about 16,000 Imperial pilots.

This figure is far lower than the average of other countries.

Training an excellent pilot takes a lot of time, energy and resources, and in the brutal war, pilot casualties are extremely rapid. Every loss of a pilot greatly reduces the strength of the German Air Force.

"We must retreat. Don't worry about the gains and losses of a city or a pond." Keitel thought for a while, sorted out his thoughts, and said slowly, "The Soviet territory is too large. It is impossible to occupy it completely. If you can't win, retreat quickly, and don't fight the enemy to the end. We must find a way to lure the enemy deep into our territory, split the enemy's forces, and then destroy the enemy in the process of movement."

Keitel's words surprised many people present.

In their previous impression, Keitel was not someone who could easily compromise or talk to others.

Unexpectedly, in the face of such a grim reality, he had to make the decision to give up some positions.

"Don't be surprised. The situation is very unfavorable to us now." Keitel saw the expressions of the crowd and continued nonchalantly, "I can't think of a better way except to retreat. Look, the gap in strength between the two sides is so huge. If we still insist on fighting the enemy to the end, wouldn't that be courting death? Do we really think that the enemy is a piglet waiting for us to kill?"

The Soviet army had nearly 30 million troops, a shocking number that seemed like an endless source of power.

As for the German army, its total number was only over 10 million.

Moreover, the German army had to face the dilemma of fighting on two fronts. On the Western Front, it had to guard against the Allied attacks, and on the Eastern Front, it had to resist the powerful Soviet offensive.

Such a vast territory requires the deployment of troops to garrison, and the troops that can be withdrawn and deployed to key battlefields are very limited.

If Army Group Center suffered heavy losses again, it might be pushed back by the Soviet army, leading to the collapse of the entire battle situation.

"How is the training of the vassal army going?" In order to make up for the huge gap in manpower, Keitel had previously recruited a million vassal troops from various countries. He looked at the officer in charge of training and asked.

"We're still in training. Judging from the current progress, it will take at least two months to reach a certain scale and have a certain level of combat effectiveness." The officer in charge of training replied hurriedly, with a hint of nervousness in his voice.

"It will take too long. We simply cannot wait that long." Keitel shook his head decisively and said, "Draw 500,000 vassal troops and form a new Second Armored Group with Manstein's armored forces. Order them to rush to the assistance of Army Group Center immediately. There can be no delay!" Keitel was thinking in his mind that five newly formed armored divisions, plus 500,000 vassal troops, would be a huge force.

He believes that this fist force, which is given high hopes, will definitely play an important role at the critical moment, achieve proud results, and reverse the current unfavorable situation.

"Yes!" The officer responsible for conveying the order answered loudly, then quickly turned around and walked away to carry out this urgent troop mobilization task.

"The Air Force should be dispatched immediately to cover the retreat of Army Group Center. Tell the pilots that this is a life-and-death mission and they must ensure the safe evacuation of the ground forces!" Keitel immediately issued an order to the Air Force.

However, just as the German High Command was busy deploying retreat and reinforcement operations, the Soviet offensive on the front became increasingly fierce.

The Soviet Air Force dispatched 6,000 sorties of fighter planes in one day, and like a swarm of locusts, they launched a massive bombing campaign on the front-line battlefields of Army Group Center that were still resisting.

One after another, heavy bombs fell rapidly from the sky with a sharp whistle, landing accurately on the German positions.

Instantly, flames shot up into the sky, explosions were deafening, and the battle lines were littered with bodies torn to pieces by the explosions, as well as cars that were overturned and smashed by the shock waves.

Even many of the German army's sturdy tanks were hit in the bombing, caught fire and turned into piles of scrap metal.

After the air raid, millions of Soviet troops, under the cover of tanks, passed through the bombed positions like a black tide and advanced deep into the German defense line. Their steps were firm and powerful, and their shouts of killing shook the earth.

Before long, a large-scale offensive and defensive battle broke out in the area led by Collinge.

Marshal Model knew very well that in order to retreat safely, a troop must be left behind to cover the rear. Otherwise, if the retreat was not organized properly, it would easily lead to a total defeat.

By then, the German army's losses would be even more severe and the consequences would be unimaginable.

In this brutal and fierce battle, both sides paid a huge price.

The Soviet army, which was originally in high spirits, well-equipped and large in number, thought it could easily break through the German defense line in this area, but ended up suffering a bloody defeat here.

Marshal Model carefully arranged a large number of fortifications in the Colinch area.

The trenches crisscrossed like a huge spider web, protecting the German soldiers. There were also dense barbed wires, flashing cold light in the sun, blocking the Soviet army's advance.

In addition, he also set up large minefields in key areas. Those mines hidden underground were like lurking poisonous snakes, ready to deal a fatal blow to the enemy at any time.

Model even mobilized the 6th Mountain Infantry Division, which had just completed its equipment replacement.

This force is equipped with advanced weapons and its soldiers are well-trained and their combat effectiveness should not be underestimated.

It was precisely thanks to these meticulous arrangements and heroic troops that the Soviet army's wave after wave of fierce counterattacks were repelled time and time again.

However, even so, the situation of the German army was still not optimistic.

The situation on the battlefield changes rapidly. If reinforcements do not arrive in time or if the German army cannot retreat immediately and in an orderly manner, it is still possible that the German army will be surrounded by the Soviet army and fall into a desperate situation.

"Damn it, is Zhukov crazy? He actually deployed so many troops!" Marshal Model was shocked after learning the details of the Soviet offensive forces and immediately roared angrily.

On the map in front of him, the Soviet offensive arrows were densely packed, with millions of troops pressing in from the front alone. Even more terrifying was that there were more than two million reserve troops behind them, like surging waves, one after another, seemingly endless.

"What are the losses on the front line?" Marshal Model suppressed his anxiety, looked at the combat staff officer next to him and asked.

"Very large. The battle is still going on fiercely, so it is impossible to make an accurate statistics for the time being. But judging from the situation on the battlefield, the estimated losses are definitely not low. However, the Soviet army's casualty rate is also very high due to our tenacious resistance." The combat staff replied with a worried look on his face.

"They have more people, so a few losses don't matter at all. But it's different for us. Every loss of a soldier is a huge loss. Our troops are already stretched thin, and we can no longer withstand such consumption." Marshal Model said with great annoyance, his face full of fatigue and helplessness.

"Has the High Command received a telegram? Has it agreed to allow us to retreat?" Marshal Model asked again with a glimmer of expectation.

"Not yet, but based on my understanding of the people in the headquarters, I don't think there is much hope of retreating. You know, they have always been reluctant to give up their positions easily and choose to retreat." The operations staff said in a low voice, with a hint of uncertainty and worry in his tone.

"Alas..." Marshal Model sighed deeply, as if he wanted to let out all the helplessness in his heart with this breath.

Immediately, he said decisively: "Wait another five minutes. If we still haven't received an order from the headquarters, we will retreat according to the predetermined plan. We can't wait blindly like this, otherwise the entire army will be in danger."

At this moment, the communications staff ran over breathlessly and said, "Marshal, there's a call from the High Command! The High Command has ordered us to retreat immediately. At the same time, Manstein is leading the newly formed Second Panzer Group to help us. The High Command hopes that the two of us will cooperate with each other and strive to launch a beautiful counterattack during the retreat!"

After hearing this, Marshal Model's tense face finally showed a hint of relief.

He immediately turned around and shouted to the officers in the operations room: "Convey the command from the High Command immediately. All units should prepare to retreat in an orderly manner! At the same time, do a good job of liaison with General Manstein's troops. We must seize this opportunity to show the might of the German army!"

On the battlefield, the German army began a tense and orderly retreat.

1,500 Air Force fighter planes circled in the sky, engaging in fierce air battles with Soviet fighter planes to provide cover for the evacuation of ground forces.

On the ground, German soldiers stubbornly resisted the Soviet pursuit while moving to the rear in an orderly manner.

On the other side, Manstein was leading the newly formed Second Panzer Group, galloping day and night towards the Center Army Group. A new battle was about to begin.

"Let all the troops on the front line speed up the pace of attack and never give the German army a chance to breathe." Marshal Zhukov took a look at the casualty report in his hand, then threw it aside and gave the order quickly.

For him now, he doesn't care about the number of casualties at all. What he wants is to defeat the enemy in front of him.

"Yes, Comrade Marshal." The subordinates responded quickly. They knew Zhukov's temper. He would do what he said. (End of this chapter)