The decisive battle against the Third Reich

Because time was not on the German side, even though Manstein was helpless against the Kerch defense line, he still formulated an offensive plan.

The first thing to start was of course the air battle.

Manstein's arrangement was very successful in this regard. He estimated that if the Soviet army received reinforcements in tanks, its air power would also be strengthened.

Therefore, Manstein dispatched bombers first, while fifty BF109s and FW190s hid in the clouds later to ambush.

The focus of the Stuka bombers when they came up was to bombard the Soviet KV tanks indiscriminately... This was the Soviet army's mistake in placing the tanks on the front line. The tanks were so big, especially the KV tanks and a towering tower. The terrifying turret made it immediately exposed to the sight of the German army.

Then, Manstein asked the communications troops to indicate the positions of these tanks to the pilots... The German army did a good job in coordination, or it can be said that due to the needs of the blitzkrieg, the communication and coordination between air and infantry have always been Very tight.

Although the front and side armor of the KV tank are very thick, even the Germans had to use tungsten armor-piercing bullets at a distance of 30 meters to penetrate the back armor... It is said that during the Battle of Leningrad, some German infantry risked their lives to get close The KV tank then used twice the amount of explosives to blow it up. As a result, it was still intact except for the broken track, which scared the Germans and ran away.

But no matter how thick the armor on all sides of this KV tank is, the 30MM armor thickness on the top is still its weakness. Especially the Stuka bomber is a high-speed dive bomber. When it rolls in the sky, it almost dives down at a high angle of 90 degrees. ...The bombs dropped were both accurate and surprisingly large. Not only could they easily penetrate the top armor of the KV, even if they could not penetrate the shock, they would kill the Soviet members in the KV tank.

So without any suspense, several KVs were blown into a ball of fire without having any effect. The "Stuka" bombers then attacked other tanks, artillery and cars that could be found.

Of course, the Soviet army would not let the German bombers destroy its tanks one after another, and immediately called in a large number of "Seagull" fighters to support them.

But this had long been in Manstein's plan. When he saw the Soviet fleet approaching from a distance, the German bombers turned around and left the battlefield.

If Kozlov or Mekhlis were smart commanders, they would have ordered the fleet to abandon the pursuit and instead bomb and straf the Germans and then return.

The reason is very simple. The "Seagull" fighter plane has a top speed of 442 kilometers per hour, and the German "Stuka" bomber has a top speed of 410 kilometers per hour. The two speeds are almost the same. By the time the Soviet fleet catches up with the "Stuka", they will probably run out of fuel. Dharma returned.

But Mehlis shouted hysterically and ordered: "Catch them and destroy them all!"

The only thing in Mehlis' mind was that if he continued to avoid fighting, wouldn't the German bombers be able to wipe out all the tanks on the defense line by just going back and forth? !

What he didn't expect was that the reason why the German army still had scruples was simply because they knew that the Soviet army still had a considerable air force. Once these air forces were eliminated, the German bombers could do whatever they wanted.

Needless to say, there was no need to say more about the ensuing air battle: Fifty German fighter planes, which had been prepared for a long time, suddenly swooped down from the clouds, and then there was a fierce sound of machine gunfire... "Seagull" fighter planes one after another came out of the sky with black smoke. It fell down in the air.

The maximum flight speeds of the German BF109 and FW190 fighter jets are 710 kilometers per hour and 760 kilometers per hour respectively. Attacking the "Seagull" fighter jet with a speed of only 442 kilometers per hour at this speed is simply killing a chicken with a knife... The speed of fighter aircraft is extremely important in air combat, because this This means that the faster one can attack the opponent in any posture and direction at will, but the opponent does not even have a chance to aim. He can only stare blankly in the cabin for a while before the target suddenly rushes to the rear.

The result of the air battle was undoubtedly the defeat of the Soviet army. Although the Soviet army had as many as 150 fighter planes, there was no problem of "fighting with more to defeat fewer" in air combat... Fighters with generation differences often connected with each other. The hair was completely wiped out without even being touched.

The same was true this time. Only 18 of the 150 Soviet fighter planes were able to return, and all of them were injured. Only one German fighter plane was injured by a stray bullet and the pilot bailed out and was successfully rescued.

Manstein was satisfied with the aerial battle, and the first phase of his offensive plan was successfully completed.

Then, when the "Stuka" fighter jets returned to the base and were reloaded with bombs and flew over Kerch again, Manstein's second phase of the attack was launched.

The first thing to hit was the rows of artillery shells.

The irony is that most of these artillery shells were captured from the Soviet army... The German army adhered to the principle of using Soviet artillery shells first and then using their own artillery shells. After all, carpet bombing did not require high accuracy, and it was difficult to shoot captured artillery shells. I don’t feel it’s a pity.

The combination of artillery shells and bombing by "Stuka" bombers only caused the Soviet positions to be filled with flames and thick smoke everywhere.

Then, following Manstein's order, the infantry's charge began with the artillery fire extending back.

This is a little different from the previous charges of the German army... usually tanks cover infantry charges.

But now, if you do this on such a muddy battlefield, you are obviously causing trouble for yourself.

The infantry was followed by groups of engineers. As the infantry charged, they began to use stones, logs, sandbags, etc. in the hope of filling a path for the tanks to attack.

Manstein's offensive strategy is certainly correct:

The infantry attacking behind the artillery fire may be able to break through the enemy's defense line. If not, the engineers will guide the tanks step by step in the rear and prepare for the next attack.

But all this seems to be in vain.

When the German soldiers approached the Soviet defense line 500 meters away, the Soviet army opened fire. Heavy bullets were flying everywhere on the battlefield. The German soldiers who had no cover to hide fell in pieces... although they lay on the ground from time to time. They dodged bullets and then suddenly jumped up and forward, but it was still to no avail. The muddy ground made their tactical movements as clumsy as new recruits. In a short time, the muddy ground was full of blood and corpses.

In desperation, Manstein had to withdraw them.

"Colonel!" After thinking about it, Manstein shouted to Colonel Slain: "I'm wondering whether the firepower of the 1st Infantry Regiment can suppress them?"

Hearing this, Qin Chuan couldn't help but be stunned. Manstein was going to send the First Infantry Regiment to such a battlefield.