On June 3 and 4, all Allied air forces on the Eastern Front were dispatched to attack various positions of the Third Reich's Army Group South.

Bombers, jet fighters, propeller fighters, etc. appeared one after another, and the fleets of aircraft in the sky came one after another. During these two days, many troops of Army Group South could not even raise their heads and had to stay in the air raid shelters.

Koto brought no less than 500 jet fighters this time. Under the continuous attacks by jet fighters, the strength of the Third Reich Air Force was greatly reduced, and it was almost impossible to have a head-on confrontation.

This airspace became a stage for the Allied air force to exert its will, and the Third Reich's ground troops suffered as a result, feeling extremely aggrieved.

During these two days of fierce air strikes, the frontline troops of some armies of the Third Reich lost contact with the rear. The wounded could not be moved backwards, and logistical supplies could not be transported to the front lines.

The Allied air force, centered on Stalingrad, fully demonstrated what it means to be confident.

With the assistance of ground radar, once a Third Reich Air Force fighter is discovered, the ground will guide the jet fighter formation to rush over at an ultra-high flying speed close to the speed of sound.

The air battle happened suddenly and ended quickly.

Everyone feels that a big battle is coming.

………

At 11 o'clock in the evening on June 4, the 1st Army Headquarters of the 6th Corps.

Less than 6 hours before Operation Uranus, the 1st Army Headquarters was brightly lit and everyone was busy.

Qi Zhemao, commander of the group army, and Yang Fugui, deputy commander and commander of the first division, looked at a German major kneeling in front of them and frowned slightly.

Report from Staff Lieutenant Colonel Luo Xingxing:

"This person is a battalion commander of the 298th Infantry Division of the 17th Army of the Sixth Army. He was caught by the Hunter Brigade on the front line. The intelligence department has already reviewed it."

The Seventeenth Army's defense line is located in Turtsovka and other places north of Stalingrad. After Operation Uranus begins, the First Army will be the first to launch an attack on the Seventeenth Army.

"How much useful information is there?" Qi Zhemao asked.

Luo Xingxing waved to the guards to drag the prisoners out, and then said:

"Basically consistent with the intelligence we had before, the enemy has built three lines of defense from Turzoka to the Don River, which are stationed by the 17th Army and the 29th Army."

"There are a large number of anti-tank fortifications in the center of several lines of defense. However, according to prisoners, due to the hasty digging of anti-tank fortifications, many places are not completely connected."

"Here, here, and here, there are gaps more than 10 kilometers long."

Luo Xing drew several circles on the map with a red pencil.

Qi Zhemao and Yang Fugui looked at each other and said slightly excitedly:

"This is all something we don't know about. The hunter team is really capable!"

His tone turned solemn:

"Is it too late to adjust the direction of attack now?"

In the battle to defend Stalingrad, the heroic Mao Xiong people built hundreds of kilometers of anti-tank fortifications around the city.

After the fall of Stalingrad, these fortifications fell into the hands of Army Group South.

In order to better transport supplies and mobilize troops, the arrogant and confident soldiers of the Third Reich have filled in some anti-tank fortifications.

But when China's Western Expeditionary Army was heading towards Stalingrad, Rundstedt learned that the opponent had nearly 3,000 brand-new secret tank divisions, and ordered the frontline troops to re-excavate anti-tank fortifications.

Mustache's strategy is defensive.

With the northern industrial area already shattered, Stalingrad, especially the industrial area on the lower Volga River, where oil, grain, minerals, etc. were particularly important to the Third Reich.

As long as the enemy's counterattack intentions can be thwarted, the Third Reich will be able to continuously obtain resource supplies from these places and thus develop and strengthen itself.

Under the circumstances, the wooly bear will become weaker and weaker due to the lack of oil and food in the North Caucasus.

The generals were very dissatisfied with the Führer's strategy, but they had to obey it.

The entire Third Reich army on the Eastern Front has gone on the defensive.

Yang Fugui replied:

"There is enough time. These gaps are not far from our main attack direction. We can adjust them in three hours at most!"

"Okay, Lao Yang, go make arrangements immediately and report as soon as the troops are redeployed!"

Without any nonsense, Yang Fugui put on his military cap and walked out of the First Army Headquarters.

The 1st Group Army is the elite of the Chinese Army, and the 1st Division with Yang Fugui as the division commander is even more elite among the elite.

At 6:00 am on June 5, 1943, Yang Fugui's First Division will fire the first shot of Operation Uranus.

Chiang Kai-shek's Armored Group Army dispatched an armored division to assist the Sixth Corps in combat. In the Chinese establishment, an armored division had 280 tanks, namely two tank regiments, four tank battalions, two motorized infantry regiments, and one artillery regiment.

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The 101st Armored Division supports the 6th Corps, and the 102nd Armored Division supports the 8th Corps.

The remaining eight armored divisions formed a super-powerful assault force and attacked southward along the west bank of the Don River, targeting Kleist's First Armored Group.

After the battle begins, the First Army, under the cover of a battalion of 70 Flying Leopard tanks, will rush straight to the core of the enemy's 17th Army, Turtsovka!

After entering the army, Yang Fugui began to issue orders to change the direction of attack in an orderly manner.

The general attack direction remained unchanged, only some details were adjusted, and the troops were quickly deployed.

The time has entered June 5th.

In the headquarters of the Eighth Corps, Li Zhaoli and Jia Dalin sat silently next to the combat map.

The staff officers of the Corps were busy beside the two men, and there was a smell of tension in the air.

The Eighth Army will attack from the east of Stalingrad to the west, with the main goal of driving away the Third Reich troops on the east bank of the Volga River.

Drive them towards the city of Stalingrad, and then complete the siege with the Sixth Army.

The Third Reich had only three light divisions, three Romanian divisions and two Romanian cavalry brigades on the east bank of the Volga River.

As the commander-in-chief in the direction of Stalingrad, Paulus did not expect the troops on the west bank to be able to stop the enemy's offensive. He wanted to use these troops to test the enemy's offensive power.

When nothing could be done, Paulus would decisively order the West Bank troops to cross the Volga River and withdraw to the ruins of Stalingrad.

In order to capture this city, Paulus paid a high price.

Now that the offensive and defensive forces were different, Paulus decided to obey the orders of the Führer and nail him here like a nail.

It's just that all my previous preparations were aimed at the Bolsheviks, and I didn't understand the Chinese army's combat methods and combat style.
Chapter completed!