Mustache rushed to Kiev from Berlin to attend a military meeting chaired by Marshal Busch, commander of Army Group Center.

Marshal Manstein and Guderian, commander of Army Group South, also participated in the military meeting.

The theme of the meeting was to discuss how to defend against the large-scale counterattack launched by the Soviet Army and the Central and Western Expeditionary Army in winter.

Manstein insisted on his opinion and believed that the best way was to defend and counterattack.

After thwarting the enemy's first wave of attacks, Army Group Center and Army Group South quickly launched attacks to retake the front before the enemy could react.

Only a handful of people agreed with Manstein's plan.

Both Mustache and Marshal Busch, commander of Army Group Center, believe that steady and steady positional warfare is the safest.

Senior generals participating in the meeting also included Field Marshal Kluge, commander of the Fourth Army, Field Marshal Model, commander of the Ninth Army, and Armored Corps General Huth, commander of the Third Armored Army.

The situation of each army is not optimistic, and there is a lack of winter supplies.

It's not like you don't want to defend and counterattack, it's just that they don't have the strength.

Some people have even begun to plan to lead their troops to retreat to the Dnieper River defense line when the real severe cold arrives.

After the military meeting, Mustache secretly went to the front line to inspect.

It was only when he walked into the frontline trenches that he truly felt the difficulties of the frontline troops.

Wherever the Führer passed, cheers and shouts arose, even though the soldiers of the Third Reich looked ragged and disheveled.

Throughout the inspection process, the mustache maintained its due dignity.

But his heart sank a little bit.

I remember that during the military parade in Berlin, the German Army looked neat and majestic. It was completely different from what I saw before me.

He also understood why Marshal Busch, Marshal Model and others did not agree with Manstein's defensive counterattack plan.

Mustache stayed on the front line for a whole day, and then took a plane back to Kiev to wait for the outbreak of the war.

Based on all intelligence, the Central Army Group Headquarters believes that the Bolsheviks and the Central Xia Western Expeditionary Army will launch an attack sometime between the 8th and the 10th.

The troops have entered the highest state of combat readiness and are always vigilant.

But both the 8th and 9th passed safely, and the German soldiers endured the cold wind for two days in vain.

Mustache's mood became more and more unstable, and he became a little anxious.

Under the personal supervision of Mustache, Marshal Busch was under tremendous pressure.

Troops cannot remain at the highest level of combat readiness for a long time.

After dark on October 9, Marshal Busch gave an order to the frontline troops, asking the commandos and reconnaissance battalions to take the initiative to penetrate to the front of the front, grab tongues, and spy on intelligence.

The weather department predicts that there will be a snowstorm after October 10.

There is still no possibility of snowfall, but the north wind is getting colder.

After receiving the order from the Army Group Headquarters, the frontline troops began to release a large number of scouts.

...

On the afternoon of October 10, the Central Xia Western Expedition Army Headquarters held its last military meeting, which clarified the time when the campaign to liberate Ukraine would be launched and the attack paths of each unit.

The Young Guards, the 18th Group Army, the 19th Group Army, the 20th Group Army, the 30th Armored Group Army, and the 31st Armored Group Army began to move towards the front line and made all preparations for the attack in the early morning.

Zhukov is the commander-in-chief of the campaign to liberate Ukraine. The Soviet troops participating in the war include the Central Front, the Don Front, the Voronezh Front, the Steppe Front, and the Moscow Reserve Front.

The total strength of the Soviet army is close to 2 million, and it will be divided into three lines to attack Smolensk, Bryansk, Kursk and Kharkov.

In the early morning of October 10, the weather was unusually cold, but the actions of the Red Army soldiers were not greatly disturbed.

The tanks were filled with fuel and slowly drove to the front of the attack queue; the Red Army soldiers in blood-stained clothes were nibbling dry food while waiting for the attack order; behind the assault force was an artillery position composed of thousands of cannons.

The total number of anti-tank guns, howitzers, infantry guns and Katyusha rocket launchers exceeds 15,000.

2100 T34/85 tanks and self-propelled artillery.

Behind these Red Army soldiers and massive equipment, there are at least 600,000 reserve troops.

As time passed by, perhaps because I was too nervous, the howling wind seemed to become more urgent.

The lights of the Mao Xiong Supreme Command were brightly lit, and Stalin and Marshal Vasilevsky sat quietly in front of the huge battle sand table.

The preparation status of each unit is displayed on the sand table.

The faces of all the senior staff officers were full of solemnity before the war. In three hours, the liberation battle would begin. This was a crucial step for the great Soviet Red Army to march towards Western Europe.

"Comrade Stalin, please rest for a while. If anything happens, I will find someone to inform you." Marshal Vasilevsky said.

Stalin shook his head and just asked someone to fetch his cigar without intending to rest.

..

2:03 in the morning, Orel front line.

A small commotion suddenly occurred in the frontline positions of the 31st Infantry Division of the 12th Army, which belonged to the Fourth Army Group Center of the Third Reich.

Major General Karl, deputy commander of the 31st Infantry Division, frowned slightly. He saw the soldiers in the trenches raising their guns and pointing forward with great vigilance.

After giving the command, five or six black figures walked neatly through the minefield, passed through the barbed wire, and fell into the trench while rolling and crawling.

The riot quickly subsided, and the soldiers squatted in the trenches and shivered.

During the previous battle, Karl's troops were reorganized.

The unit had a new designation, and he was promoted to major general due to his outstanding performance on the battlefield.

The Twelfth Army is stationed in Orel, at the forefront of the entire defense line, and is a conspicuous protrusion.

Around 2:20 in the morning, Major General Carr was woken up by his adjutant as he was about to close his eyes and squint for a while.

"General, soldiers from the division's reconnaissance battalion captured a sergeant from the enemy's 67th Guards Division. After a surprise interrogation, they obtained surprising information."

Because the weather was too cold, the adjutant's lips trembled a little.

"According to the enemy's sergeant, they will launch an attack at 4 o'clock in the morning."

"I think you should know this information!"

Karl's mind suddenly became clear, and he raised his wrist to glance at the time.

There's only an hour and a half until 4 a.m.

Karl quickly left the residence and took a personal look at the enemy sergeant.

When he reported the situation to the 12th Army Headquarters, the time had already reached 2:30.

General Walter Schroeder, commander of the 12th Army, received two reports one after another, both saying that the enemy would launch an attack at four o'clock in the morning.

After thinking for a long time, General Schroeder ordered the entire army to step up alert and reported the obtained intelligence to the Fourth Army Headquarters.

News from the front line was reported layer by layer, and was finally reported to the Central Army Group Headquarters around three o'clock in the morning.

"We received at least five reports from various armies, and the enemy's attack time was from 3:30 to 4:30 in the morning."

Chief of Staff Lieutenant General Heitz said:

"These news should be credible, the enemy will attack immediately!"

The atmosphere at the Army Group headquarters suddenly became tense.

Lieutenant General Heitz asked:

"The head of state has just laid down. Do you want to wake him up?"

If you delay for even a second, the battle situation may change unpredictably. Marshal Busch had no extra time to hesitate and said:

"The head of state should know!"

"Order all troops to prepare for battle!"

"Pull out all the artillery and bombard these areas at 3:30 in the morning!"

Marshal Busch marked multiple circles on the map.

Some of these areas are areas where enemy infantry groups or armored groups gather as reported by the prisoners, while others are enemy heavy artillery positions calculated by professional staff from the Army Group Headquarters.

It was obvious that Marshal Busch was preparing for an unexpected artillery counterattack before the Bolsheviks launched their attack.

The so-called artillery counter-preparation refers to an organized and planned intensive artillery fire assault on the enemy's main groups that are launched for attack and prepared for impact.

Its purpose is to disrupt the enemy's attack or weaken its offensive power.

It is a means of using artillery groups in defensive warfare.

At this moment, Marshal Busch felt lucky that he had issued an order for the scouts to penetrate the front line in the evening.

Without this order, it would have been impossible for him to grasp the exact time of the Bolsheviks' attack.

It is also impossible to launch artillery counter-preparations.

When the enemy has gained complete control of the air, it is a rare opportunity to pull out all the artillery and launch a vigorous artillery counterattack.

After daybreak, in order to avoid the collapse of the artillery group due to enemy air strikes, the large-caliber howitzers must be hidden again and not used until critical moments.

At 3:30 in the morning, the Central Front Army, Voronezh Front Army, Steppe Front Army and other troops participating in the campaign to liberate Ukraine were all ready to attack.
To be continued...