Transmigrated as the Crown Prince

Soon, German supporting artillery fire came.

Densely packed rockets landed on the open space 200 meters in front of the Soviet position, ravaging the area. Those unlucky "death squads" failed to wait until the German tanks approached, and suffered heavy casualties from the raging shock waves and fragments. Some of the demolition crews even had their explosives detonated, leaving nothing behind!

A round of shelling almost wiped out the Soviet "Death Squad".

At this time, the screams of fighter planes came from the sky, and several German attack planes swooped in. Machine gun bullets poured like raindrops into the Soviet trenches, and a bloody storm and screams broke out in the trenches.

Under the almost perfect coordinated attack by the German ground and air forces, the heavy firepower on the Soviet position was completely suppressed by German tanks and aircraft, while the scattered light firepower posed no threat to the German army at all. The Soviet army's situation became increasingly severe.

"Da da da!"

The German tanks advanced slowly and unhurriedly, and the machine guns on the tanks violently fired at the Soviet defense lines. The surviving Soviet soldiers could only huddle in the trenches in embarrassment, not even daring to raise their heads.

Soon, the tracks of a Jackal tank rushing at the front ran over the Soviet trenches. The trenches that were not spacious were not anti-tank trenches and could easily be crossed by German tanks. A Soviet soldier holding a cluster grenade jumped up suddenly, but before he could pull off the fuse, he was beaten into pieces by the infantry following the tank, and he fell helplessly in the trench.

Although the tank is a powerful weapon, it still needs the cooperation of infantry in combat. The tank provides protection for the infantry with its powerful defense, and at the same time uses its sharp tank gun to clear obstacles for the infantry's attack. At the same time, the infantry provides close protection for the tank to prevent the tank from being attacked by local infantry. It can be said that the German Army has become very proficient in the tactics of infantry and tank coordination, which makes the German army invincible on the battlefield and can easily defeat those powerful enemies.

Grenades were thrown into the Soviet trenches one after another. After the violent explosion, the German soldiers jumped into the Soviet trenches one after another, neatly clearing away those Soviet soldiers who could still breathe.

Breaking through the Soviet defense line in one fell swoop, the German infantry, with the assistance of tanks and armored vehicles, began to clear out the remaining Soviet troops in the defense line. Although many Soviet soldiers still resisted tenaciously after being broken through, it was a pity that their bravery could not change the situation. The German tanks ruthlessly ran over these enemies.

"Commander, the defense lines in the southern and western suburbs of Smolensk have completely collapsed. These defenders are simply vulnerable." In the German command post in the rear, a staff officer reported the battle situation to Commander Fedor von Bock. Under the powerful attack of the German army, the Soviet army's resistance was like a mantis using its arms as a chariot. There was no other result at all except being completely crushed to pieces. "According to feedback from frontline soldiers, the combat effectiveness of these peripheral defenders is very poor. Not only are their weapons and equipment old, but their combat literacy is also similar to that of new recruits."

"It seems that the Soviets have stationed all their elites in the city of Smolensk." Commander Bock had long expected such an outcome. He had received relevant information before, although the Soviet troops were gathering on the defensive line on the outskirts of Smolensk. Nearly 200,000 to 300,000 troops were recruited, but these troops were just rubbish troops with poor equipment and insufficient training; the real elite troops were all in the city.

Commander Shaposhnikov, the Smolensk garrison, was determined to fight them in street battles. How could he put his elite on these peripheral defense lines? The defenders in the city not only have many large-caliber anti-tank guns, anti-tank rocket launchers, machine guns, mortars and other heavy weapons, but also a large number of tanks of various types. It can be seen that the Soviet army clearly pinned all its hopes on the troops in the city. What Commander Bock didn't know was that Commander Shaposhnikov originally planned to make a large number of Molotov cocktails. It would be better if everyone had one bottle to use against the German armored tanks. Unfortunately, the Soviet army was seriously short of fuel at this time and there was no excess. Fuel for them to make Molotov cocktails.

Commander Bock sneered. "These Soviets have a good plan. They defend the city and use elite troops to make us pay the price. Unfortunately, most of Smolensk has been bombed into rubble. I don't see how they can resist our army." Now that the suburban defense lines have been completely captured, German artillery can approach and fire. Artillery can follow the street fighting troops to advance step by step, and infantry will never take risks that can be solved with artillery. Relying on powerful firepower, it directly destroyed the Soviet resistance. Of course, such tactics will undoubtedly put considerable pressure on the German logistics supply line. However, in Yannick's opinion, it can reduce soldier casualties, and the logistical pressure is nothing at all.

At this time, on the Soviet position on the front line, a group of German soldiers were surrounding several corpses and pointing.

This is an old man wearing a Soviet military uniform, without leggings or a helmet. Judging from his face, which was distorted by the pain before death, he must have been at least 60 years old. This is not the age to be a soldier at all, and it is almost enough for his grandson to be a soldier. What is even more surprising is that the rifle he is holding tightly in his hand is not the Mosin Nagant, the current Soviet Army standard rifle, but an old-fashioned unfamiliar rifle.

A German squad leader opened the old man's fingers, picked up the rifle, and looked up and down. "Interesting, this is the standard rifle of the Russian army during the Tsarist period, a Berdan single-shot rifle."

The inventor of the Berdan rifle was American General Hiram Berdan, an American professional soldier and a famous inventor. He invented the Bertin primer and the Bertin rifle, especially the Bertin primer whose influence continues to this day. Since the cartridge case of the Berdan primer has its own fire platform (already manufactured when stamping the cartridge case), mainstream military rifle bullets are widely used. This is also one of Berdan's main inventions.

The Bertin rifle designed by General Bertin. Although this rifle was designed for Tsarist Russia, it fully absorbed the experience of the American Civil War. Although this gun was designed by an American, this weapon has a full Russian feel, just like the later Same as Mosin Nagasaki. I and II were finalized in 1869 and 1870 respectively. They were Russia's first standard breech-loading rifles. They were the standard guns of the Russian army in the 1877 Russo-Turkish War. Their performance was slightly better than the Snyder-Enfield and better than the Martini-Henry. It is worse than Lei Mingden, firing 2-wire bullets, which is about the same caliber as 75mm.

"It would be really unlucky to be beaten to death by this thing." Looking at the old gun with its rifling almost flattened, the squad leader sighed.

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