The decisive battle against the Third Reich

The German army did not launch a counterattack in the end because the Air Force did not gain final air superiority... At this time, the German Air Force was actually divided into two parts. One part was used to support the 48th Armored Corps in the attack on Prokhorovka, and the other part It was used to support the 2nd SS Panzer Corps in breaking through the Soviet defense line.

It should be said that this was intentional by the Soviet army. They used the numerical advantage of the air force to divide the air combat battlefield into two parts, and the German air force had to divide its forces to respond.

The reason is simple. If there is no air force cover in any direction, the armored forces will be massacred by the Soviet air force.

But the result was that the Luftwaffe was unable to gain air superiority in both directions, and the 48th Panzer Corps was unable to cross the plain and attack the Soviet army on the other side.

Another reason is that the 48th Armored Corps is already somewhat exhausted... The final statistical result is that there are only 85 tanks left in the entire army, which means that the German soldiers are unwilling to do so, both in terms of equipment and psychology. Continue to move forward.

After a discussion between General Hoth and Mansch Tank, they decided to take the next best option and send a force to achieve the original strategic purpose...to outflank the Soviet army in the middle and rescue the 2nd SS Panzer Army.

This decision was correct. Now it is possible to continue to advance only if the 2nd SS Panzer Corps rushes to Prokhorovka and launches an attack on the opposite side with the 48th Panzer Corps.

The only unit of the 48th Armored Corps that is still capable of combat is the 21st Armored Division... The 21st Armored Division, which lost one tank battalion, still has 51 tanks, and the 3rd Armored Division has only 22 tanks left.

As a result, the 21st Armored Division embarked on the journey again.

But in this regard, the 21st Armored Division underestimated the enemy.

This cannot be blamed on the 21st Armored Division, because they had just defeated the most powerful enemy on the battlefield...an elite Guards Tank Army.

But the task at this time is to encircle a defeated army that is escaping. This defeated army is not an elite force and does not have many tanks... There are only more than 300 tanks in the middle zone. According to the situation, one of these tanks Some of them had escaped from the encirclement during the fierce battle between the 48th Armored Corps and the Soviet army.

On the other hand, because it was eager to encircle this part of the Soviet army, the 21st Armored Division moved at full speed along the road towards the 2nd SS Panzer Corps.

Qinchuan led a battalion of troops in a car and followed the 3rd Tank Battalion as the vanguard... In fact, it was the vanguard. This 3rd Tank Battalion was already almost a quarter of the armored division's strength, because it It has 13 tanks, of which 8 are "Type IV" tanks, three are "Type III" tanks, and two are "38T" tanks used for reconnaissance.

Two "Type IV" tanks and two "38T" tanks were walking in front of the road under the leadership of Bian Sanlun.

This is the standard configuration when marching in dangerous areas such as enemy-controlled areas. The "38T" tank is used to a certain extent to clear the way for the "Plank IV" tank. To put it bluntly, it is stepping on mines...Anti-tank mines are needed It takes a certain weight to crush it, which is difficult for tricycles and cars to do.

The "Plank 4" tank is designed to deal with the possible T34 tank... The "Plank 3" tank is unable to deal with the T34. Once the leading force encounters an enemy tank, the entire team will be unable to deal with the T34 tank. .

Therefore, the best configuration is to use "No. 4" and "38T".

When the forward troops marched to a village called Malivo, five kilometers north of Bekovka, the forward troops encountered a large number of Soviet infantry who fled across the village to the northeast.

The forward immediately reported the situation to the commander of the tank battalion, Major Freire. Major Freire ordered without thinking: "Go forward at full speed and stop them!"

Then a dozen tanks rumbled towards the village of Maliwo at full speed. Qin Chuan and other infantrymen could only follow closely behind.

This order should be said to be normal. When a tank unit encounters the fleeing Soviet troops, it will of course rush to intercept them and reap the victory... And it is expected that this process will be easy and happy, because the Soviet infantry Lacking powerful anti-tank equipment, they often need to attack with cluster grenades and explosive packs.

Regarding this point, after German soldiers are equipped with STG44, they basically don’t have to worry. Their firepower can provide good cover for the tanks.

This is indeed the case. After a burst of artillery and machine gunfire, German tanks rushed into the village and started a massacre. The retreating Soviet soldiers were knocked to the ground in pieces, and the team soon became chaotic. The regiment looked for cover.

But the Germans, including Qinchuan, ignored one point: it was only five kilometers away from the Second SS Armored Division.

A distance of five kilometers can be covered by a tank in less than half an hour.

Retreating so close to the front line, the Soviet army would of course be prepared or could provide cover... The Soviet army's cover was the thirty-five T34 tanks in the open space south of the village.

These tanks were originally facing the south, in the direction of the 2nd SS Armored Division, in case they suddenly made a surprise attack here. Suddenly they received reports that enemy tanks had broken into from behind, so they quickly turned around and surrounded the village of Malivo.

The German army had no idea when the Soviet tanks were doing these actions. It wasn't until a 38T tank passed through the village and suddenly saw rows of T34 tanks outside that they realized something was wrong, but by then it was already too late...

With a "boom" sound, the 38T tank was hit by several shells at the same time at that moment, and a violent explosion occurred in an instant and turned into a pile of flames.

The German tanks hurriedly organized a defense, but the problem was that there were still many Soviet skirmishers hiding in corners inside the village, causing trouble for the Germans from time to time. However, the outside was surrounded by several times the number of T34 tanks. For a time, the situation was very embarrassing. .

Then the situation worsened... Soviet tanks fired at the village. The armor-piercing shells easily penetrated the wooden boards and hit the armor of the German tanks, making a terrifying "clang" sound. The grenades blew the entire wooden layer into pieces. The Soviet soldiers hiding inside screamed and cursed during the explosion.

Qinchuan was used to this. If it could cause a blow to the German army, the Soviet army would not care about these casualties, or it could be said to be necessary.

On the contrary, the German army was in a very disadvantageous situation.

Although the German "Penzer IV" tanks had stronger firepower and more flexible command, they were surrounded by surrounding houses. These houses not only blocked the tank gunner's sight but also prevented the tank from deploying a battle formation to fight.

If this continues, Qinchuan and this vanguard force will probably be wiped out in this village in a daze.