USSR 1941

The Tver offensive was fought for two full days.

What I have to admit is that the German army fought very tenaciously, and their tactics were used very well.

They first used infantry to disperse to various residential houses for defense, and occasionally set up a few traps for the Soviet army to drill in...

It is easy to set traps in street fighting, such as reserving a certain wall hole in some houses, or leaving some soldiers in the basement that is not easy to find.

German soldiers resisting at the front would then put a Soviet attacking force into the line and then attack suddenly from the flanks and rear.

The second battalion of tanks was once trapped by the Germans.

This tactic is impossible to defend against, because the Soviet army cannot carefully inspect every house and every house, and even if it does, it will not help, some things cannot be found no matter how they are inspected.

For example, when the German army besieged the second battalion of tanks, they buried explosives under the load-bearing walls of the two buildings. When the Soviet army passed by and detonated suddenly, the collapsed two buildings instantly collapsed and blocked the retreat of the Soviet army...Infantry It may be possible to return from the ruins, but the tanks cannot get through.

Therefore, tanks are often cumbersome in street fighting, but they are indispensable in street fighting.

Katukov urgently dispatched Shulka's 1st Infantry Battalion for reinforcements.

Under the cover of the tank, Shulka led his men to smash another channel with tank guns and bazookas, and rescued the second tank.

It's just that the second battalion of tanks at this time has lost more than a dozen tanks... "Matilda" may have thick frontal armor, but it still cannot withstand the attack of anti-tank grenades.

Especially when it gets dark, the battle cannot be fought... Tanks do not have the ability to fight at night. In the wild, they can rely on flares and "tank phones" to make up for it. All hiding in the shadows, the flares are basically useless.

What's worse is that Moscow's winter nights are long and the days are short. The sun doesn't come out until 9:00 in the morning, and it sets at around 4:00 pm. The daytime only lasts for more than seven hours.

As a result, the Soviet offensive stalled for a while.

"Comrade Captain, have you ever been afraid?" Timka asked Shulka, adding wood to the fire.

This is a patent of the Soviet army, because the Germans lacked supplies and artillery was at a disadvantage, so the Soviet army could burn fires to keep warm, but the German army could not... because if the German artillery dared to fire at night, the Soviet artillery would immediately knock it down. .

certainly,

This is the case only for this brief period.

"Of course!" Shulka replied, "Why do you ask?"

"You don't look scared!" said Timka. "They say you're a hero, and heroes don't get scared!"

Shulka shook his head and replied: "No, Comrade Timka! I just... don't spend too much energy on things I can't change! So what if I'm afraid? So what if I'm not afraid? If you are so scared that your feet tremble and you can't pull the trigger, it will kill you instead. In other words, being afraid will kill you, but not being afraid is often the enemy's life. So, I can only 'look' not afraid! "

The soldiers "coaxed" and laughed.

"The captain is right, we are too!" the veteran replied, "Being terribly afraid, but acting 'not afraid'...because, if we are afraid, the things we fear will happen!"

The soldiers all agreed.

"I thought I wouldn't be afraid!" Timka said: "My father is a soldier. He taught me to be brave since I was a child. I also said the same to my subordinates. Let them face the enemy bravely and use the word 'fear' Throw it to the enemy. They believed my words and rushed to the enemy bravely. However, only fifteen people came back..."

The soldiers couldn't help being silent when they heard the words.

"Comrade Captain!" Timka's voice choked up when he said this, and he looked at Shulka with tears in his eyes: "I don't know what I did wrong? At the same time, I also want to know why you can bring The subordinates have been fighting here from the Brest Fortress... sorry, I have no other meaning, I just want to know, comrade captain, how can this be done!"

Obviously, this is not a problem that can be solved by "not being afraid", because too many "not afraid" soldiers died on the battlefield, and their death rate was even much higher than that of "fearful" soldiers.

Shulka didn't know how to answer for a while. Could it be that he told Timka because he had more information, knew what would happen and what was right, so he could avoid evil?

"I know why!" At this moment, the instructor interjected: "Although I didn't follow the captain here from the Brest Fortress, I know every battle the captain has participated in!"

No one doubts this because he is the instructor.

"I think!" said the instructor, "Comrade Captain has been able to lead his subordinates to the present, not by relying on 'bravery', that is to say, it has nothing to do with being afraid or not, but relying on 'wisdom'!"

The soldiers nodded in agreement.

"Yes!" The veteran said, "When encountering a difficult problem, Comrade Captain did not order us to go forward bravely, but to find a solution. Then... the enemy will die!"

"You won't believe how we escaped!" the actor said to Timka: "We even walked out in front of the Germans in this uniform!"

"I've heard of it!" said Timka. "You're pretending to be German Branfenburg troops. Is that true? I thought they made it up!"

"No, Comrade Timka!" the actor laughed: "That was absolutely true, at that moment... we really did what the captain said, our feet trembled with fear and our fingers trembled, but we succeeded in the end !"

Timka nodded, and then heaved a long sigh: "So... I was wrong, I will only let them go forward bravely!"

Timka fell into a deep self-blame.

The soldiers didn't know how to comfort him.

"It's not your fault, Comrade Timka!" Shulka said: "Not every battle can find a solution, just like now...Tver has become an obstacle for us!"

"I may not be a good company commander, Comrade Captain!" said Timka. "I hope you can replace me with someone else!"

Shulka understood Timka's words.

Some people regard subordinates as a sign of their own power, as a stepping stone to promotion, or as a kind of honor.

But some, like Timka, saw it as a burden, and he was responsible for the lives of his men.

"No!" Shulka replied: "Comrade Timka, it can be seen from this sentence that you are very suitable to be a company commander!"

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