USSR 1941

The tank advanced about a kilometer before hitting the German defense line.

The scout reported to Major Gavrilov: "Five hundred meters ahead, the German line of defense, sandbag fortifications!"

Sandbag fortification is a common way to build trenches near muddy land and swamps, because if you build field fortifications here, you will face a serious difficulty... accumulated water will seep into the trench.

That might have been acceptable in the summer, but no one could hide in that flooded trench for more than ten minutes these days.

Major Gavrilov nodded.

The weakness of the sandbag fortification is that it is easier to break through because it is built on the ground, which is very beneficial to the Soviet army with tanks... Tanks can easily find and destroy targets without the guidance of infantry.

So Major Gavrilov told the troops to wait nearby, let more tanks come up and let them form an offensive formation.

"Ready?" asked Major Gavrilov.

"Yes, Major!" the soldiers answered one after the other.

Shulka did not speak, there was no need to ask this question, there was never a time when war was "ready".

"Forward!" Major Gavrilov ordered loudly, the orderly waved the signal flag to signal the tank, and the follower behind the tank immediately communicated the order to the tank by phone.

So with a "long", the huge noise of the tank engine rang out, and the tanks drove out from the bushes where they were invisible, and were exposed to the enemy's sight.

Shulka led his men to follow behind the tanks... In the past, a company should have three tanks in coordination, that is, one in each row.

But now, it is obviously impossible to have too many tanks advancing at the same time in the mud, which will cause a heavy burden on the infantry and prevent them from attacking.

So it was reduced to a company with only one tank to coordinate.

Gunshots and cannons rang out very quickly. When the bullet hit the armor of the tank, there was a crisp sound, and at the same time sparks were wiped out, like arcs flashing on high-voltage wires.

The sound of the bullet is not obvious, because it is covered by the noise of the T34 engine, but the sound of the shell of the anti-tank gun is a solid "clang\

,"Sometimes you can even feel a vibration on the ground, like a sledgehammer smashing hard into the mud... In fact, it was just an anti-tank shell that was bounced off and hit the ground.

This kind of situation is rare. The armor of the T34 tank is inclined upwards, so the shells of the anti-tank guns are more likely to bounce off the top of the head.

Then, Soviet artillery opened fire.

When the "Katyusha" rockets fired a volley, they made a unique screaming sound above their heads. The rockets hit the enemy line directly, and then rose thick black smoke and crimson flames.

Of course, Shulka is no stranger to the "Katyusha", and it can even be said to be very popular, but it was a new thing for the Soviet soldiers in this period...it came into emergency a few days after the German army fully launched an offensive Put into mass production, so far there are only more than 200 guns in the whole army, and there is a rocket launcher regiment with 36 guns assigned to the 16th Army.

(Note: In 1941, the organization of the Rocket Artillery Battalion was 3 battalions per regiment, 3 companies per battalion, and 4 units per company)

It can also be seen from this that the Supreme Command attaches great importance to this counterattack, or it can also be said that the Supreme Command takes its own face into account... If the battle they command fails and the failure is ugly, it will definitely be in the hands of the Soviet officers and soldiers. There is no face left in front of me.

Considering this aspect, it is only natural that the Supreme Command will equip this operation with more artillery and even the scarce "Katyusha".

This is also good for the 4th Tank Brigade, as it is now, a rocket launcher battalion fires 12 rockets at the same time... Although the accuracy of this thing is not high, the disadvantage is that the launch volume is large, and each rocket launcher can fire 16 rockets If necessary and the ammunition is sufficient, the reload time of ten minutes can enter the next launch.

That is to say, at that moment, nearly 200 rockets hit the German defense line, and the entire German defense line immediately turned into a sea of ​​​​fire and fell into smoke. The German firepower instantly weakened and almost disappeared.

Even the officers and soldiers of the Soviet army were stunned by this scene... It was the first time that the Fourth Tank Brigade cooperated with the "Katyusha" rocket launcher. Many people didn't even know what kind of artillery it was making that would have such a bombing effect.

Then, Major Gavrilov yelled, and the soldiers rushed to the German defense line cheering.

The German defenses simply could not withstand such a charge.

First of all, they have no defensive preparations in this direction, and there are only two infantry companies deployed in this area.

Secondly, no one can withstand the short-term, high-density indiscriminate bombing of the rockets. Even if the German soldiers on defense were not killed by the bombing, they were shocked for a long time without reacting.

Again, a 34 shell can blow up a gap in its fortifications, but they have nothing to do with the T34 armor.

As a result, the T34 moved forward from time to time and stopped shooting from time to time. The tank guns and machine guns easily suppressed the German machine guns and mortars so that they could not move. Then the infantry of the 333rd regiment launched a charge with a superior force...even the gods could not save them.

There are scattered sandbags and dead bodies everywhere, as well as German soldiers kneeling on the ground and raising their hands to surrender, and there are craters made by rocket bombs.

Shulka rushed past them and ignored them, and naturally there were follow-up troops to receive the prisoners.

The situation of the Soviet army killing prisoners has been much better since the battle.

First of all, the Soviet army at this time did not go deep alone like the Kyiv anti-encirclement war, and had the conditions to receive prisoners.

Secondly, when the Fourth Tank Brigade was formed, Colonel Katukov strictly prohibited killing prisoners, especially on the battlefield.

The reason is very simple. Although killing prisoners relieves hatred, the direct consequence is to make the enemy stubbornly resist and refuse to surrender. Especially on the battlefield, in the eyes of the follow-up German army, it is easy to feel the same hatred and unite, which is obviously asking for trouble for oneself.

But Soviet soldiers usually don't think so far.

So, the most important thing is... Siberia needs captives.

After continuing to rush forward for a while, the road conditions gradually improved, and then Shulka and the others saw the village, one country house after another.

There are also teams of German troops and a few tanks.

The reaction speed of the German army was fast. It took less than ten minutes from the start of the attack until the Soviet army broke through its defense line, and they mobilized a force to organize another line of defense with buildings on the edge of the village.