Orel is located on the banks of the Oka River, with convenient transportation and only 380 kilometers from Moscow. The famous Soviet Volonzhi Tank School was once here. Of course, due to the German occupation, it has been moved to Moscow.

Orel is also an important node in Manstein's defense plan.

Because Manstein hoped to block the throat of the Kursk protrusion with Orel and Belgorod so that the Soviet army could not attack or could not feel at ease.

This is the most commonly used defense method by the German army... give full play to the role of the German mechanized troops to attack instead of defense. Rommel also did this in Africa. In the later period, a large number of landmines were laid out, and roadblocks were built to build a line of defense called the "Devil's Garden". This was also because of the serious lack of fuel and supplies, it was necessary to do so.

Manstein deployed two armies in Orel: the 2nd Armored Army and the 9th Army.

The main force among them is of course the 2nd Armored Army, which builds a defensive position along the line from Kirov to Zmijovka.

However, it is said that it is to build a defensive position, but actually to make offensive preparations... The meaning of attack instead of defense is not defense but attack, and the armored army has always been used for offense rather than defense.

Therefore, after the commander of the Second Armored Army, General Rudolph Schmidt, had been working with his staff on the map to study how to launch an attack with his staff at the command center.

To be precise, it should be deduced over and over again, once the Soviet army launched an attack from Kursk, the Second Armored Army's offensive plan.

The offensive plan is: use two weaker armored troops, namely the 41st and 46th Armored Armored Armored Armored Armored Armored Armored Armored Armored Armored Armored Armored Armored Armored Armored Armored Armored Armored Armored Armored Armored Armored Armored Armored Armored Armored Armored Armored Armored Armored Armored Armored Armored Armored Armored Armored Armored Armored Armored Armored Armored Armored Armored Armored Armored Armored Armored Armored Armored Armored Armored Armored Armored Armored Armored Armored Armored Armored Armored Armored Armored Armored Armored Armored Armored Armored Armored Armored Armored Armored Armored Armored Armored Armored Armored Armored Armored Armored Armored Armored Armored Armored Armored Armored Armored Armored Armored Armored Armored Armored Armored Armored Armored Armored Armored Armored Armored Armored Armored Armored Armored Armored Armored Armored Armored Armored Armored Armored Armored Armored Armored Armored Armored Armored Armored Armored Armored Armored Armored Armored Armored Armored Armored Armored Armored Armored Armored Armored Armored Armored Armored Armored Armored Armored Armored Armored Armored Armored Armored Armored Armored Armored Armored Armored Armored Armored Armored Armored Armored Armored Armored Armored Armored Armored Armored Armored Armored Armored Armored Armored Armored Ar

This offense is very reasonable.

Among the three armored armies under the 2nd Armored Army, 3 of the four divisions under the 41st and 46th Armored Army are infantry divisions with only one armored division.

They are suitable for opening roads, breaking barriers or consuming part of the enemy's strength.

The 47th Armored Army is different from other Armored Army. It is composed of three armored divisions and only one infantry division.

In other words, the 47th Panzer Army has more tanks than the 41st and 46th Panzer Army combined.

In particular, the 47th Armored Army is also equipped with 30 "Tiger" tanks... As mentioned earlier, although the "Tiger" tank has advantages in defense and firepower, it has problems with maneuverability, which also determines that it requires other troops to open the way for it in the front.

Then, the "Tiger" tanks can pass through the gap opened by other armored forces and advance to the most important place in the battlefield... eastern Kursk.

Admiral Schmidt, like Marshal Kruger, was very confident in the "Tiger" tank. He even told the staff: "Even if the "Tiger" engine and transmission are prone to failure, what can this happen? Its rear armor is 82MM, and it is difficult for the enemy to penetrate it from any direction. We just need to take it to the most important place. Even if it cannot move, it can be used as a bunker!"

In some ways, Admiral Schmidt was right, because this attack was a little different...their mission was to occupy the eastern part of Kursk and hold there to cut off Kursk's ties with the Soviet Union.

Therefore, the German army needed some "bunkers", even if these "bunkers" could not be moved.

But what Admiral Schmidt did not expect was that his offensive plans were not useful at all...

Admiral Schmidt argued with the staff whether the "Tiger" should be turned towards Kursk or the Soviet Union.

This is also a difficult decision, because some people believe that the Soviet Union has deployed its main force in Kursk, so once the 2nd Armored Army is inserted into the eastern part of Kursk, the enemy's counterattack should come from Kursk.

Admiral Schmidt believed that the main force of the Soviets should be in the direction of the Soviet Union, so the direction should be east.

While the two factions were arguing, a whistling sound of shells suddenly came from the sky, followed by a "rumbling" bomb explosion. One wave passed, and several shells even fell near the command center, shaking the dust on the roof down.

After a while, the staff and the correspondents reported one after another:

"The 29th Artillery Regiment was attacked by enemy artillery!"

"The 81st Artillery Regiment was attacked by enemy artillery and suffered heavy losses!"

"The 7th Flight Squadron reported the loss of 21 fighter jets and the airport was bombed!"

"Radar warfare was attacked!"

"I discovered the enemy aircraft group and was flying towards us!"

...

At this moment, Schmidt suddenly realized that his troops, Orel, were the main attack direction of the Soviet army.

Schmidt guessed correctly, Zhukov's main attack direction was Orel.

The first and most direct point is that... the troops located in Orel belong to the German Central Army Group.

This is the secret in Zhukov's heart. Since the Battle of Stalingrad and the Battle of Caucasus, Zhukov has intentionally avoided the German-South Army Group.

To be precise, Zhukov wanted to avoid Qin Chuan... because Zhukov had done his best in these two battles. But even so, he was still beaten to the point of being embarrassed by the enemy.

There is a saying that "the higher you climb, the harder you fall." Zhukov was almost like a "military god" in the Soviet Union, but this "military god" was repeatedly defeated by an unknown pawn on the other side... Of course, Qin Chuan was definitely not an unknown pawn. What we describe here is the difference in military rank between the two: one is the marshal and the highest deputy commander, and the other is just a lieutenant colonel.

Therefore, even if others don't think it is, Zhukov himself will regard it as a shame.

He urgently hoped to get a victory and prove himself, even if this victory was avoiding the Southern Army Group.

Secondly, Orel is indeed suitable as a breakthrough for the Soviet army.

Orel does not have a large number of defense lines, mines and fortifications on the front of Kursk. At the same time, the Central Army Group has not launched a large-scale battle for a long time since the defeat of the Battle of Moscow. At the same time, most of this army group are recruits with no combat experience.

The 4th Army stationed on the other side from Belgorod to Kharkov is exactly the opposite... It belongs to the Southern Army Group and has just won several victories in the direction of Stalingrad and the Caucasus, and its morale is in full swing.
Chapter completed!