USSR 1941

The 333rd Infantry Regiment was ordered to build a fortification north of Lobnia, which is 70 kilometers away from Moscow. It is expected that the tanks of the two tank battalions will arrive before dark and join the infantry regiment... This is also the mechanized infantry without cars One of the flaws is that infantry and tanks advance separately, so there must be some kind of asynchrony between the two.

We must know that tanks cannot be separated from infantry, and infantry cannot be separated from tanks. This undoubtedly adds a lot of artificial difficulties and dangers to the Fourth Tank Brigade.

But at this time, Zhukov was probably in a hurry because of the establishment of a new line of defense, so he didn't consider this at all, at least not at this time.

Perhaps, Zhukov thinks that there will be no problem with using trains to maneuver in this way. Soon the tanks can catch up from the rear and advance together with the infantry, and then the tanks and infantry can cooperate to continue northward to meet the enemy after it gets dark... Once When it gets dark, the speed of the tank will also slow down drastically and may even be slower than the infantry.

But things on the battlefield are always unexpected... When the German aircraft group attacked the train returning to Moscow, it accidentally blew up a railway bridge, which blocked the tank unit of the 4th Tank Brigade.

"Take your shovels!" Major Gavrilov shouted to the soldiers who had just finished building the field fortifications: "We need to build an anti-tank trench ahead!"

Anti-tank trenches?

Upon hearing this order, Shulka felt something was wrong.

In this battle, the Soviet army did not intend to block the enemy, but hoped to use the advantages of the T34 tank to repel the enemy or even drive the enemy back and fill the gap torn by the German army.

As I said before, this is what mobile defense does, launching a counterattack when the enemy breaks through.

In other words, the purpose of the Soviet army was to recapture Klin.

If this is the case, you should not build anti-tank trenches, otherwise your own tanks will also be blocked by anti-tank.

"What happened, Comrade Major?" Shulka asked.

"They won't be able to arrive at the scheduled time!" Major Gavrilov replied: "The railway bridge was bombed, and they may be five hours behind!"

"Five hours?"

"Yes, five hours!" Major Gavrilov said. "This is only an estimate. It may be faster or slower. Who knows?"

Then Shulka understood.

If your own tanks are five hours behind, it means that the first to reach the 333rd Infantry Regiment is likely to be the enemy's tanks, and at this time the 333rd Infantry Regiment doesn't even have basic anti-tank equipment... They all Count on the T34 tank.

There is a saying in this period that "the best weapon against tanks is the tank", so there is nothing wrong with counting on the T34.

The problem is... In the absence of T34, the 333rd regiment will be the target of massacres when facing enemy tanks.

Therefore, it is necessary to build an anti-tank trench in front of the trench.

"Major!" Shulka walked up to Gavrilov and asked, "If this is the case, how should we counterattack next?"

When anti-tank trenches are dug, not only are German tanks difficult to find, but Soviet tanks are also difficult to fight through.

Of course Major Gavrilov knew this truth. He looked at the surrounding terrain, then shook his head slightly, and said, "We can only take one step at a time, otherwise we will not be able to hold this place, we will be surrounded by the Germans and count them all." Annihilate those here!"

"I don't know if the light infantry company can play a role?"

"Light infantry company?" said Major Gavrilov. "You mean the mine dogs? Don't tease Shulka..."

"Why don't we try?" Shulka said: "If we can succeed, we can create a very favorable offensive situation for our T34, otherwise, even if we block the Germans... the result is very likely to be a failure! "

This is a question of strategy and tactics.

Strategically, the fourth tank brigade is required to attack, and the 333rd regiment's construction of anti-tank trenches is contrary to the offensive strategy.

Therefore, even if the 333rd regiment defeated the Germans, this tactical victory could not make up for the strategic failure. In the end, the Fourth Tank Brigade might not be able to quickly counterattack the Klin because of the anti-tank trenches, causing the entire defense line to collapse.

Major Gavrilov was stunned for a moment, and then said to the staff: "Go and call the commander of the light infantry company!"

After a while, a young gentleman stood before Shulka and Major Gavrilov.

"Comrade Major!" The maestro stood up and saluted Major Gavrilov.

"What's your name?" asked Major Gavrilov.

"Tarasik, Comrade Major!" replied the Maestro.

"Tell me about your troops!" Major Gavrilov asked. "Have they fought before?"

"No, no, Comrade Major!" Talasik replied, "This is the first time we have participated in battle!"

"Where are the dogs?"

"Of course, they are also the first time!"

After this question was asked, Major Gavrilov realized that the question was stupid. If those dogs had participated in the battle, they would not have survived to this day.

Tarasik also noticed this, so he wanted to laugh, but he stopped right away.

"Laugh if you want, my lord!" said Major Gavrilov. "Otherwise you may not have a chance to laugh!"

When Major Gavrilov said this, Tarasik couldn't laugh anymore.

"We're going to fight, aren't we?" Talasik's eyes showed a bit of fear.

Major Gavrilov did not answer, but continued to ask: "They... I mean those dogs, can they really blow up tanks?"

"I'm not sure, Comrade Major!" Talasik replied, "We haven't tried!"

Major Gavrilov was a little disappointed by Tarasik's answer. After thinking for a while, he turned his attention to Shulka and said: "Even if they can explode, but there are only 108 dogs, we may have to pin our hopes on Each dog can blow up a tank or a car!"

"No, Major!" Shulka said. "The problem is that the Germans don't know we have only 108 dogs, and it may be dark when they get here!"

"You mean we scare them?"

"Yes, Major!"

After a pause, Shulka continued: "At least we have another advantage, that is, we don't have to worry about these dogs getting under our tank chassis!"

There are no Soviet tanks on this line, so of course don't worry about that.

Major Gavrilov nodded, and then asked, "Shulka, do you know what it means if you fail to frighten them?"

"Yes, I know!" Shulka replied: "But we have no other choice!"

"I hope you're right!" said Major Gavrilov.

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