In the breeze of dawn, the bright battle flags of the units of the 1st Corps of the Empire appeared for the first time in the German positions on the outskirts of Essen. Here, the German soldiers who had fought for many days were as exhausted as the enemy on the other side. The officers and soldiers on both sides were insisting on fighting with their tenacious will. (Let's read the novel.) After the powerful reinforcements arrived, the German company with severe reductions could finally withdraw from the position. On the way to retreat to the rear to rest, they missed the German 7th, 11th, 17th and 20th Infantry Divisions who were heading to the battlefield.

By then, the mighty and majestic force of our own troops made them feel confident. Behind these troops that were about to be attacked, various types of rocket cars and towed artillery have been deployed. The launch seats of ground-to-air guided rockets can be seen everywhere between the positions, and small and medium-caliber anti-aircraft cannons proudly held the gun barrel. For all this, the ragged and stained retreating officers and soldiers speculated about it. When they passed through the outermost artillery position, the officers there happened to walk out of the command post and shouted in a loud voice:

"Please pay attention to all gun positions... open fire!"

The signal soldiers on the artillery positions waved small flags with powerful movements, and the deafening roar suddenly appeared. People seemed to be in the middle of a violent storm. The flames leaped in their sight, and the smoke scattered. Countless rockets and artillery shells flew away with deadly roars. For a long time, the German soldiers on the front line had always endured the rampage of the other party's artillery fire. This scene made the soldiers very relieved. They stopped by the road and watched their artillery exert their might. Before the first ray of sunrise came, another sound had already sounded in the sky. Two teams of jet fighters drove the thunderous roar to the east. They were not many, but their strong figure left a deep impression on every German soldier.

"Long live Germany! Long live artillery! Long live the air force!"

A burly soldier raised his arms and shouted. His voice could not exceed the sound of artillery fire and the sound of planes, but it still attracted the soldiers around him to follow suit. The cheers of hope echoed in people's hearts for a long time!

The Soviet army was not unaware of the German counterattack and artillery attacks, but they really did not want to see the battlefield proceed at the rhythm of the Germans' hope. [*you] In the Essen region, two infantry troops who had just been transferred from the Far East were extremely fierce. The day before yesterday captured many German positions. The officers and soldiers were full of confidence in the follow-up offensive after dawn, facing the sudden attack of German artillery. These well-trained Soviet soldiers tried their best to rely on the trench bunker to carry out concealment. The Soviet artillery deployed in the rear also carried out short artillery counterattacks under the observation and guidance of the front personnel. German fighters followed the artillery fire and effectively suppressed the Soviet artillery. The Soviet fighters who arrived first rushed into the enemy without fear. In just a few minutes, they arrived at the battle first.

None of the 21 Jacques-9s and MiG-3s in the field airspace survived, and they also fought four German jet fighters with their tenacious spirit. Immediately afterwards, the Soviet MiG-9 joined the battlefield with the unique roar of jet fighters, and the competition between the two sides returned to the same technical level. The "Black Ghost" (me-262 improved) and the American F-84 "Ghost" equipped with advanced guided rockets were even better in terms of technical content, while the Soviet pilots and their MiG-9 were not outdone. The two sides fought a needle-point battle over Essen. In order to compete for battlefield air supremacy, the two sides also invested a large number of piston fighters, Mustangs, Spitfire, and the collective collision between Folk and Jacques, MiG-Il once again interpreted the magnificent battlefield wonders of the Eastern and Western camps!

Their artillery and air force curbed the Soviet army's usual advantage, and the German soldiers who were engaged in counterattack were more confident to move forward. In the Essen city, the 1st Imperial Corps, which had a tacit cooperation with the tacit understanding, broke into the Soviet position unstoppable. [*you] One city stronghold after another that both sides repeatedly competed for was planted with German battle flags, and this time the German offensive frenzy did not give the Soviet army a chance to breathe or even counterattack. Within two hours of the ground battle, the imperial team had separated and surrounded several Soviet troops that were too late to retreat in the eastern and northern parts of the city. The German team, which surrounded and supported the city from outside, also conquered many Soviet defense lines without stopping, and the Soviet troops with disadvantaged forces began to retreat.

The Battle of Essen sounded the horn of the German counterattack on the entire front. At noon that day, the German teams who were scheduled to be attacked crossed the Rhine and advanced forward. The two main armored forces of the German team, the Imperial Armored Battle Group dominated by German Armored Chariots and the 1st Armored Army Army, set out from Cologne to the west of Essen, bypassed Vupertal to the east of Dortmund, directly threatening the retreat of more than 200,000 Soviet troops around Essen. It was impossible to avoid the nightmare of the Austrian army reappearing. The Soviet Command forced all units to stabilize their positions and initiate counterattacks, and several ace armored troops of the Soviet army also rushed to Dortmund from the front areas of Munster, Bonn, Koblenz and other front lines. However, under the organized destruction and harassment of the German people, only Munster's Soviet army was second.

The Guard Tank Army rushed to Dortmund to support the retreating troops. Although they wanted to use a tank army to fight against the German two armed armored units, the Soviets would not feel desperate. The 2nd Guard Tank Army and the 5th and 11th Guard Tank Army were both the first armored units in the Soviet army equipped with T-54s. In the early combat operations, the 2nd Guard Tank Army, which was full of troops, had unstoppable power. However, they encountered the opponent's war strategy of avoiding the real and flawlessness. In addition to participating in the city attack twice, the officers and soldiers had not yet been challenged. Instead, they ran around and were busy as mobile forces. After finally meeting the opponent, the Germans still regarded the armored troops as treasures. When the Soviet soldiers of the 2nd Guard Tank Army heard the news, they were full of confidence and eager to make contributions.

In terms of tank performance, German "Black Panther" and American "Barton" are not opponents of T-54. The "Chetah" and "Pershing" have strong firepower, but not to mention the inferior balance, the number of equipment of the German army is not enough to affect the battle situation. The various anti-tank rocket weapons commonly used by German infantry are difficult to keep up with the fighting rhythm of armored troops. From the scene, the Soviet army has a high winning rate. However, one side of the German army also has another battlefield weapon, which is the two-person helicopter using guided rockets. Although the fi282 was exhausted in the early combat operations, the combat helicopters modified by the United States have been mass-produced and shipped to Europe. The bold style of the Americans in equipment and the exquisite and delicate Germans in weapon operation, this emerging force is destined to exert amazing energy on the battlefield!

With both sides preparing for the war, the first large-scale armored battle in the Second Soviet-German War began. In order to encircle and annihilate the Soviet troops in the Essen area, the German armored corps continued to detour northward as infantry attacked Dortmund. In the evening of the same day, the reconnaissance forces of the Imperial Armored Battle Group encountered Soviet tanks in the town of Rast, about 25 kilometers northeast of Dortmund. The German tank No. 4 and three assault guns were far from enough to fight against the Soviet T-54. As soon as the fire was exchanged, they quickly withdrew from the combat range. The Soviet army did not take the initiative to attack, and the German army did not completely evacuate. The two sides watched each other at a long distance. After about half an hour, a team of American-made "poisonous arrows" combat helicopters were scattered.

Flying to Rast, he tried to attack Soviet tanks with guided rockets, but was blocked by Soviet small-caliber anti-aircraft guns and vehicle-mounted anti-aircraft machine guns. With no advantage in range, the German helicopter did not launch a forceful attack, but quickly evacuated from the battlefield. Immediately afterwards, the Soviet Jacques fighter jet flew from the east, and fought against the German fighter jets near Rast. The "Bronco" piloted by the German pilot won the victory in the air battle. As darkness approached, the German "Black Panther" tank appeared east of the town under the cover of armored vehicles and combat infantry. The Soviet T-54 was still in place, and the two sides had not yet fought, but their respective aerial reconnaissance planes noticed the opponent's actions to increase troops to Rast.

After nightfall, the German armored troops aimed at repelling the Soviet army took the lead in showing their power. The Black Panther tanks equipped with infrared night vision instruments were supported by the night battle commando. Their encirclement and offensive effect was significant. The Soviet tank troops that used buildings and fortifications to carry out combat operations not only did not take advantage, but instead suffered losses from the opponent's attack. The German helicopters also took advantage of the opportunity of weak air defense firepower at night. The rockets they fired at mid- and long distances at night were not high, but still put a lot of pressure on the Soviet officers and soldiers. The Soviet army slowly withdrew from Rast. At this time, the main force of the 2nd Tank Brigade, which belonged to the 2nd Tank Army of the Guards, had arrived in the northern area of ​​the town. The commander was preparing to take advantage of the German army's entry to occupy La. At that time, Ser launched a sudden attack, but this powerful armored force had long been stared at by the German reconnaissance vehicles equipped with infrared night vision instruments. After receiving the reconnaissance report, the commander of the German armored force, the "blitzing hero", Guderian, decided to concentrate his elite troops to eat the enemy. He urgently transferred the 1st Armored Division of the German Army to ambush south of Rast, and then drew anti-tank combatants from various units into the ambush area. After the Soviet 2nd Guards Tank Brigade launched an attack on Rast, the German tank troops occupying the town pretended to be defeated, and retreated to the south. At this time, the main force of the tank brigade directly under the Imperial Guards Army marched in secret east of Rast under the order of Guderian, preparing to block the rear route of the Soviet 2nd Guards Tank Brigade.

After repelling the German army and re-occupied the town of Rast, the tank troops of the 2nd Guard Brigade of the Soviet Army did not pursue the retreating German tanks. Just as Guderian ordered the 1st Panzer Division to send a small number of troops to attack Rast to lure the enemy, the reconnaissance forces made another contribution: they found a considerable Soviet armored unit east of Rast. Judging from their marching route, they should have planned to copy the German offensive troops from the flanks. Coincidentally, the tank brigade directly under the Imperial Guards also detoured from this side. The two were so close that they could meet in the open fields at any time.
Chapter completed!