The Rise of the Third Reich

When Second Lieutenant Hermann Graf and his ace wingman Erich Hartmann flew their respective Fw-190A-4 fighter jets over Wowoming, a fierce battle was just beginning on the ground. Looking down from the air at 2,000 meters or 3,000 meters, we can see that the two warring parties have drawn out a four- to five-kilometer-long line of fire on a green plain with no horizon and only dotted with small woods and scattered villages and towns. German and Soviet tanks used artillery fire at each other several hundred meters apart, and the infantry of both sides also used various firearms and light artillery to attack each other. There were artillery positions on both sides farther away, roaring from time to time, and the artillery shells were tilted on the battlefield as if they were free.

Explosions, burning, steel wreckage, human corpses, tanks and infantry fighting each other, and rising fireballs formed the most terrifying and magnificent scene in the world.

"Second Lieutenant, can you see who has the upper hand?" Erich Hartmann's voice came from the earphones. At this time, Second Lieutenant Graf was no longer interested in looking for the GC fighters in the sky. He was fully focused on All concentrated on the ground.

Looking down from a height of 2,000 meters or 3,000 meters, it is very difficult to figure out the situation of the two warring parties below. However, as an old pilot, Graf could still see the clues. The rear of many German tanks were covered with swastika flags, while the Soviet side was covered with sickle and hammer flags. Moreover, there must be more people on the Soviet side. They are a sea of ​​tanks and a sea of ​​people!

"We have the upper hand!" Graf shouted. "The Soviets suffered greater losses than we did. Most of the destroyed tanks belonged to the Soviets!"

"Enemy plane! Enemy plane!" Erich Hartmann's urgent cry suddenly came from the earphones, "There are 4 Yak-1s, we must increase them!"

The Yak-1 is a very flexible aircraft with its advantage at low altitudes. Except for the Fokker Zero, other German aircraft would not fare well when encountering the Yak-1 at an altitude of two to three thousand meters.

Second Lieutenant Graf was very fond of his "ace wingman" (in less than 10 days of combat, Hartmann had already achieved 6 victories, and also cooperated with Graf to shoot down 3 enemy planes, so he had the reputation of being an "ace wingman"). He was very trusting. After hearing his prompts, he immediately raised his altitude and jumped to the mid-to-high altitude above 5,000 meters without even thinking about it.

"Comrade Deputy Captain, two enemy Fw-190s are coming up!"

Just as Graf and Hartmann were piloting the plane to climb upward, two MiG-3 fighters had discovered them at an altitude of less than 6,000 meters. The two aircraft were piloted by Captain Pokryshkin, a deputy commander of the Soviet 55th Fighter Aviation Regiment, and his wingman Utkin.

The 55th Fighter Aviation Regiment is equipped with MiG-3s and MiG-5s. It is a fighter aviation group that focuses on medium and high altitudes. In the past few days, the regiment has undertaken extremely heavy combat tasks. It not only supports the Western Front's combat missions in Poland, but is also responsible for the air defense of Minsk. The latter is an almost impossible task. No matter how much weight is reduced, the MiG-3 and MiG-5 cannot fly above 11,000 meters to deal with the Ju288.

And they will also encounter the "mosquito killer" He-219 at high altitudes. If it is at a slightly lower altitude, such as about 8,000 meters, the MiG-3 is not afraid of twin-engine aircraft like the He-219. But above 10,000 meters, the He-219 high-altitude version with a turbocharged engine can simply beat the MiG-3. However, no one in the 55th Fighter Aviation Regiment dared to be "fearful of battle". In the past few days, they had gone up to beat the He-219. Therefore, casualties were high. Almost all pilots had records of being shot down. Even the future hero of the Soviet Union, Captain Pokryshkin, was no exception. He just jumped out of parachute yesterday evening and broke his ankle. Today he is limping. He flew a plane into battle.

"Two MiG-3s, at 6 o'clock, at an altitude of 6,000 meters, are diving towards us!" Hartman, who was sharp-eyed again, discovered the MiG-3s diving in the air, and when he discovered it, he already had Countermeasures. "Second Lieutenant, turn on the afterburner and charge towards them! Fight with them with firepower!"

"Okay! Let's do it!"

The MiG-3 has good performance at extremely high altitudes, but now it is at medium and high altitudes, which is the airspace where the Fw-190A-4 plays its role. Moreover, the Fw-190A-4 driven by Graf and Hartmann was an enhanced firepower version, with four 20mm cannons and two 7.92mm machine guns. The MiG-3 only has three machine guns, so you can imagine the consequences of a face-to-face firefight.

But what happened next shocked the two Nazi pilots. The hail of bullets they fired quickly reduced the two MiG-3s to smoke, but one of the two Soviet planes (wingman Utkin) rolled and fell, and another pilot parachuted to escape. But the plane piloted by Pokryshkin slammed into Graf's plane!

Before Graf could understand what was going on, he heard a muffled sound of the "canopy", and then the plane trembled violently, lost control, rolled and fell.

"Oh God! Second Lieutenant! Second Lieutenant! Second Lieutenant...hurry up and parachute!"

His head was hit somewhere, and Lieutenant Graf was in a semi-conscious and semi-conscious state for a moment. He was about to sit in a damaged (actually just a scratch) plane and fall to pieces. mud. But Hartman's screams came to mind in the earphones, which finally brought him back to his senses. He quickly opened the cabin cover, loosened the seat belt, and then fell out of the cockpit. After more than ten seconds, he opened the parachute again.

Only then did he come back to his senses a little. He recalled what had just happened and felt that it was unlikely to be a traffic accident, but probably a deliberate mid-air collision!

The pilot of the MiG-3 fighter that was damaged by him deliberately flew the aircraft into his Fw-190!

They are looking for themselves to die together. Are these communist fighters crazy?

…

"Ula! Ula! Ula..."

Captain Gustav Schwarzenegger had just pushed open the hatch on the top of the tank and leaned out half of his body with difficulty, when a cry of "Ula! Ula!" came from his ears. This is thousands of Soviet Red Army soldiers launching a general offensive!

"Comrade, come out quickly!"

When a Nordic superman warrior of the "Viking" division saw Captain Schwarzenegger emerging from the burning tank, he fired at the attacking Soviet army with an automatic carbine while shouting at him.

Yes, Captain Schwarzenegger's Panzer 4 was damaged!

Although in the battle on the morning of June 10, 88 No. 4 H tanks of the 5th SS "Wiking" Division showed their prowess, defeating more than 160 T-34 tanks and KVs of the 16th Mechanized Army of the Soviet Union. -1 tanks suffered heavy losses. A small number of KV-2 tanks belonging to the 16th Mechanized Corps were used as self-propelled artillery and did not participate in the assault, so most of them were intact.

However, a tank brigade from the 1st Tank Army of the Soviet Red Army rushed to the battlefield near noon and joined the battle. The number of Soviet tanks still fighting on the battlefield suddenly reached more than 230! At that time, the number of No. 4 tanks and No. 3 assault guns still operational on the German side was less than 90.

The Soviets, who had an absolute advantage in the number of tanks, began to outflank the left wing of the German armored group. At this time, the T-34's speed advantage began to show. These tanks quickly outflanked the German left side, using their main guns to bombard the thin flanks of the No. 4 tank and the No. 3 assault gun.

Under this circumstance, the German army began to retreat to Legionovo as planned - there were still 110 Tiger tanks and 110 Panther tanks there!

The tank Gustav Schwarzenegger was riding in was hit in the butt by a pursuing T-34 at the beginning of the retreat. Fortunately, he climbed out of the vehicle in time.

…

"Comrade Commander, we must pursue and we must not let the hateful Nazis escape!"

Telekin, political commissar of the 4th Army of the Soviet Red Army, seemed very excited. Although the losses of the 4th Army were very heavy, more than 150 tanks were damaged, more than 200 artillery pieces were lost, and many Red Army soldiers were killed or seriously injured. Thousands of people, but the Germans fled with their tail between their legs!

This is the first time the German army has suffered a defeat since the beginning of the world revolution, no, since the rise of the Third Reich. The German army's retreat in Ireland in May was not really a failure, because it was just a small number of paratroopers who were defeated. The British, who were far outnumbered by them, were repulsed, and the Germans eventually held Dublin.

"Comrade Commander, we have just defeated a German armored division!" Telekin stood on the seat of an open-top GAZ 61 car and pointed at the fleeing German armored group. "This is the first time in history that a German armored division has suffered a defeat! It was still defeated by our Soviet Red Army! Are we going to let the Germans run away like this? Are we going to watch those evil Nazis continue to do evil? "

Major General Korobkov, commander of the 4th Group Army, and Major General Sokarov, commander of the 16th Mechanized Army, looked at each other and both felt a little numb!

Because the two of them knew that what they finally defeated was not an armored division, but a German tank battalion, two assault gun battalions, two armored grenadier regiments and a rocket artillery brigade... with almost this small number of troops, it was said that it was a A division-level cluster is fine, but it's definitely not a serious armored division.

If it is an armored division, there will be at least 2 tank battalions. The number of No. 4 tanks is not more than 80, but more than 170. In addition, the number of No. 3 assault guns will be increased several times! Then the 16th Mechanized Army will not be able to wait until the troops of the 1st Tank Army arrive, and it will be defeated!

The combat effectiveness of the German armored forces is so strong that it is beyond the imagination of the two senior Red Army commanders Korobkov and Sokarov.