USSR 1941

Similar problems also exist in the direction of Volokolamsk.

The 16th Army attacked the villages of Skirmanovo and Kozvo at the same time. Among them, the 4th Tank Brigade and the 50th Cavalry Division were responsible for attacking Skirmano Village, while the 27th Tank Brigade and the 44th Cavalry Division were in charge. Attack Kozwo Village.

The tragedy happened in the direction of Kozwo Village.

In front of the village of Kozwo, there was a hill more than 100 meters high. The German army had an observation post of a heavy artillery battalion on this hill. Three kilometers in front of it was an open field, and further east was the edge of a forest.

The judgment made by the Supreme Command on this terrain is...the woods are suitable for cavalry and tanks to ambush, and the open area is suitable for their charge. As long as the artillery fire passes, the cavalry and tanks can quickly rush through the German positions like a tide and submerge them .

If this idea could still be established in World War I, the cavalry could quickly penetrate the defense when the enemy's firepower density was insufficient, but in World War II, when artillery, machine guns, and tanks were already very common, the opponent was the German army with good coordination ability... it is A very dangerous and even suicidal tactic.

After a burst of heavy shelling, Major Leohard, the commander of the German 30th Infantry Battalion, realized that the Russians would attack his line of defense, so he immediately ordered the soldiers to prepare for battle, and at the same time let the adjutant and the heavy battalion get in touch.

"Russian tanks!" Someone shouted, and the Russian shelling had not stopped at this time.

Major Leohard raised his binoculars and looked in the direction of the forest, and sure enough, he saw several tanks slowly coming out from the edge of the forest.

"It's a T34!" Major Leohard couldn't help being taken aback. He knew that this kind of tank was difficult to deal with, and the anti-tank guns in their hands could only penetrate it at close range.

But then he let go of half of his hanging heart... Only the five tanks in front were T34s, and the large number of tanks following were all T26s.

Strangely, these tanks were not accompanied by infantry.

"What's going on here?" Major Leohard asked the adjutant.

"Look there, Major!" The adjutant who was also holding a binoculars pointed to the right wing: "The right side of the forest, cavalry!"

"Cavalry?" Major Leohard was puzzled for a while, he had never seen this kind of tactic, and it was not infantry but cavalry that coordinated with the tanks.

It is said that this is an attempt by the Soviet Supreme Command,

They believed that infantry could not keep up with the speed of tanks when charging, but cavalry could, so cavalry and tanks could rush towards the enemy's line of defense at high speed.

What they didn't consider is...the coordination between infantry and tanks will indeed slow down the overall attack speed, but tanks can provide infantry with protection and firepower, and infantry can provide tanks with information and clear roadblocks, etc. This is the synergy that complements each other.

On the contrary, cavalry and tanks can indeed synchronize in speed, but they are actually different arms that are difficult to coordinate with each other, and they actually fight independently.

The Soviet cavalry is on the right side of the woods.

At the front came the scouts, and then an outpost of fifty cavalrymen, excellent riders, for Major Leohard had discovered that they could hold their horses and shoot at the same time.

In a short while, there were more and more cavalry, and the number increased to thousands of people. They rushed out of the woods along a wide front, one team after another, and then charged towards the German defense line with strange screams in their mouths.

"Regiment-level cavalry charge!" Leohard immediately reported the situation to the artillery: "The distance is 2,500 yards!"

"2000 yards away!"

...

When Major Leohard reported to 1,500 yards, the whistle of shells rang in the air, and then the Russian cavalry unit, which was still majestic just now, immediately became a mess... In 1941, the German army had 30 cavalry troops. A heavy artillery battalion equipped with 210MM caliber howitzers. This large-caliber howitzer is usually used to attack the Soviet defense line, because it has 6.57 tons and is not easy to maneuver. At the same time, the weight of the shells will also bring great pressure to logistics.

Of course, the German army at this time certainly can't care so much.

A round of shells exploded in the cavalry team. While the shells blasted a hole in the ground and stirred up a piece of mud, they also threw the horses and cavalry into the air and fell back to the ground heavily.

There were screams, neighing of horses, gunshots and cannons.

But the Soviet cavalry did not stop charging. They galloped towards the German defense line one after another, braving artillery fire and bullet rain, but as round after round of shells exploded in the ranks, the cavalry and horses fell into pieces. Piece fell on the formation...

Cavalry is actually not suitable for modern warfare.

The reason is that they are too fragile, especially when the cavalry is still riding high on the horseback. The shrapnel exploded by the shells fly high in a radial pattern, which will multiply the casualty rate of the cavalry. They will be torn by the shrapnel on the horse. into pieces.

Even if it wasn't the rider who was hit by shrapnel but the horse, or the horse was frightened or injured by the shock wave of the shell... the rider could be injured by it, and it was often fatal, even if they were cavalry who grew up riding horses.

Occasionally, a few cavalrymen were lucky enough to break through the German artillery blockade, but soon they fell into the mud under the fire of German machine guns.

In a blink of an eye, the corpses of horses and riders were everywhere in front of the position, some were torn to pieces, and some were trampled on each other, wounded and killed. Some surviving horses were scattered in the field, and they fled back to the woods or other directions away from the battlefield by virtue of their survival instincts. The wounded cavalry could only howl, struggle or try to escape on the battlefield.

Major Leohard's use of artillery to deal with the cavalry was very wise, because the cavalry was completely out of coordination when the tank was defeated.

In fact, even if there is cavalry, there is no coordination. To be exact, the tank will expose its right wing, that is, the side armor, to the German defense line. They were destroyed one by one. Even the first few T34s are no exception.

"The enemy's firepower is very fierce, and we can't break through their defense!" Colonel Abram, commander of the 27th Tank Brigade, reported to his superiors. He was not timid, but thought that another way should be used to attack.

But he was quickly disappointed.

A firm and stern tone came from the walkie-talkie: "You must break through and execute the order at all costs, otherwise you will be judged by the people!"

Therefore, Colonel Abram could only continue to order the tanks and cavalry to continue to charge forward.

It took less than a week for the 27th Tank Brigade to enter the war from its formation, and there were very few T34 tanks assigned to it. The T26 tanks were simply unable to withstand the fire of German anti-tank guns and heavy artillery.

In fact, even the T34 cannot do much without infantry coordination.

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