USSR 1941

Due to time constraints, the troops quickly entered the retreat phase.

Although the Soviet army had recovered Tver at this time, Tver was obviously undefendable to the Soviet army... surrounded by enemies, there would be no advantage at dawn and even the supply line would be cut off.

So although the Supreme Command did have a suggestion to let Zhukov stick to Tver, Zhukov refused without any hesitation.

"Either Tver or Moscow!" Zhukov replied to the Supreme Command: "My ability is only to choose one of the two. I want to know which one do you want me to defend?!"

The answer, of course, would not be Tver.

Zhukov is correct, although Tver's strategic position is very important, both for the Germans and the Soviets.

The problem is that the Soviet defense line at this time has been compressed to the Mozhaisk area, which is the second line of defense.

Occupying Tver would create a shock headquarters that could easily be surrounded by the enemy without the protection of friendly forces on both flanks. The so-called restored railway line from Leningrad to Moscow was also very vulnerable without air supremacy.

Especially... At this time, the Soviet army is short of troops, and the troops occupying Tver are the last reserve force of the second line of defense.

Thus, the battle situation was indeed as Zhukov said: either Tver or Moscow.

If there is any problem with this statement, it is that if Tver is chosen, it will eventually be lost because Moscow is captured by the Germans.

Perhaps it was because the Supreme Command had just made a mistake and left the mess to Zhukov, so this time they did not insist on removing Zhukov's command as last time, and they chose to support Zhukov's idea.

So the troops quickly entered the retreat procedure:

The 4th Tank Brigade continued to chase and drive the rout of the German army... This kind of pursuit is necessary, especially when retreating.

Otherwise, as soon as the troops stop, the enemy may reorganize and launch a counterattack against the Soviet army. At this time, the retreating Soviet army will be in trouble.

This is also one of the reasons why troops in actual combat often have to launch an attack before retreating, and even have to drive the enemy back even a few tens of meters before they dare to retreat... Otherwise, they are likely to be chased by the enemy, and the retreat can easily turn into a rout.

Shulka and others did not return to the team.

On the one hand, the reason is that the battle of chasing the enemy on the front line is not tense, and there is not much difference between one more company and one less company.

On the other hand, the armored train cannot leave the rails, so it is naturally not suitable for chasing the enemy.

Shulka has a new mission: to protect the railway line.

The task was given by Katukov, who took over the command of the Fourth Tank Brigade when the two armies joined forces.

"Congratulations, Comrade Shulka!" After answering the phone, the first thing Katukov said was not the mission but chatting with Shulka, which is rare for a well-trained commander like Katukov.

"You managed to free me!" Katukov said. "Of course there are others! I heard that you captured an armored train and used it to cross Tver?"

"Yes, Comrade Katukov!" Shulka replied.

"I also heard...you didn't die at the hands of the enemy, but you almost died at the hands of your own people?"

It seems that the cavalry reported the incident to Katukov, and Shulka and the others didn't say anything at all. After all, the battle was still going on, and they knew that it was not the time to pursue responsibility.

"Yes, Comrade Katukov!"

Katukov on the other end of the phone laughed: "Don't worry, Comrade Shulka. We will punish that careless lieutenant, but now I need you to complete a new task!"

"Yes, Comrade Katukov!"

"Drive the armored train and protect the safety of the railway!" Katukov said, "You know, we have just captured the railway and repaired it. There are many German stragglers near the railway. They even have mortars in their hands." Cannons and howitzers, your mission is to keep the railway running and trains safe, understand?"

"Understood!" Shulka replied.

This is the best use of everything. The armored train is originally suitable for dealing with guerrillas and stragglers to protect the safety of the railway. Now it will be used immediately.

So this became the easiest task Shulka has ever had.

First of all, they drove the armored train to the railway station to contact the logistics department... The armored train needs to be dispatched in a unified manner, otherwise it will paralyze the entire railway if it drives randomly on the rails with its own temper.

Then, they went to the quartermaster to replenish some ammunition.

The battle just now had almost exhausted the ammunition on the armored train.

It seems ironic that the Germans didn't use much ammunition when using armored trains...they used more 88MM anti-aircraft guns, and the machine guns, small-caliber anti-aircraft guns and the like hardly moved.

On the contrary, after being in the hands of Shulka and others, no matter what equipment the bullets and shells poured out like running water, the ammunition reserves used to replenish the carriages in the whole section soon ran out, and even the 12.7MM anti-aircraft machine gun The bullet has been broken.

In actual combat, the 12.7MM anti-aircraft machine gun is actually easy to use, because it can deal with all targets except tanks, and even close-range or side armor can deal with "No. 1" and "No. 2" tanks.

(Note: The armor thickness of the "No. 1" tank is 13MM, and the armor thickness of the "No. 2" tank is 10 to 30MM)

It also has the advantage of fast fire rate and high damage.

So naturally, when replenishing ammunition, a large number of 12.7MM high-speed bullets were loaded.

Finally, a radio station was moved to the car, and two wrecker carriages were added to replenish some engineers, and a mission like traveling began.

The wrecker compartments are distributed at both ends of the armored train, and generally only have a flat plate, with a low and hard iron setback at the front end.

The low height can make it sink under the center of gravity so that it is easy to derail. The tight head can knock the obstacles on the rails into two parts from the middle and then sweep them out of the rails. Not to mention the mines and the like. There is little damage to it.

Originally, Shulka thought that this thing would have no effect, but soon realized that he was wrong.

Ten minutes after the armored train set off from Tver, it split a carriage in two and ruthlessly knocked it out.

The carriage was set at the bend of the track, so the armored train couldn't hold back at all, and then detonated several mines... It seemed to be anti-tank mines, so the armored train stopped quickly and retreated for a while.

If the rails are blown off, it is easy to cause the train to derail.

Then the German stragglers ambushing on both sides of the railway tracks suffered. They thought they were waiting for an enemy train, but they didn't expect it to be a big guy full of weapons and armor!