USSR 1941

Of course, it was impossible for Major Duden to reply to Colonel Doppler, but Captain Erich, the infantry commander in charge of covering the tank attack, made an emergency call to the headquarters:

"Colonel, we were blocked by the enemy and suffered heavy losses!" Captain Erich shouted into the walkie-talkie: "Obviously, we have fallen into the enemy's trap!"

"Heavy losses? You mean the Panzer Six?" Colonel Doppler couldn't believe it, because he didn't think the Russians had anything that could destroy the Panzer Six.

"Yes, Colonel!" Captain Erich replied, "I'm not sure what it is, maybe a tank or an assault gun, but for sure our tanks are vulnerable to them and I think we should Withdraw, Colonel!"

The Germans were much better at this than the Soviets.

If it is a Soviet officer who makes a request to retreat on the battlefield, the first reaction of the command is "these cowards" and "cowards who are greedy for life and fear of death"...so they usually refuse, so the grassroots officers fighting on the front line Generally, they would not request to retreat, because they knew that not only would the result of such a statement not be accepted by the headquarters, but they might also be convicted if they went back.

This directly caused the Soviet army to rush forward like fools in battle... It wasn't that the soldiers were willing, nor that the grassroots officers didn't want to live, but the situation and the environment forced it.

In contrast, the German army was much better in this regard. At least the commander immediately thought that the frontline officers and soldiers were all excellent imperial soldiers, and they would not easily request to retreat if the military situation was not urgent.

Therefore, the trust of superiors and subordinates is very important. In the same situation, different armies often make opposite judgments or decisions.

After hearing Captain Erich's report, Doppler decisively ordered all troops to retreat, otherwise the German army was likely to be surrounded and wiped out.

But in fact, this kind of worry is superfluous, and the situation is actually not as bad as the German army thought.

This is mainly due to the insufficient preparation of the Soviet army, and the poor coordination between the infantry and the self-propelled artillery battalion. To be precise, the Soviet army never expected that the German army would launch such a fierce counterattack, and it was still at night, so the infantry was really After being defeated by the German army, they simply did not have the ability to encircle the German army.

On the other hand, the Soviet army had only thirteen self-propelled artillery, and it was able to gain the upper hand at the beginning because it was able to defeat the German army when it was unprepared, and at the same time it still had two or three to deal with the German army's "Tiger".

If the German army does not retreat but continues to attack, then with the excellent performance of the "Tiger" and the advantages of tanks over self-propelled artillery plus the quality of the German army... the remaining "Tiger" tanks are likely to come back.

In fact, this is what Shulka is worried about. Standing on a high place and observing with a telescope, he can clearly see the German "Tigers" approaching the agricultural machinery station in an orderly manner. Some parts are still blank for self-propelled artillery defense. .

Once the dozens of "Tiger" swarmed in, the self-propelled artillery battalion would only end in annihilation.

Just when Shulka was having a headache, the German army suddenly retreated like a tide.

Shulka couldn't help heaving a sigh of relief. This can be regarded as a lost opportunity for the German army, a chance to defeat the self-propelled artillery battalion, and it may be the only chance, because there will definitely be more and more self-propelled artillery in the future, and it is not difficult to imagine , and its growth rate is far from that of the "Tiger"... The production of self-propelled artillery is very simple, and its chassis even comes from obsolete light tanks and KV tanks.

On the other hand, the "Tiger Type" is still being produced at a slow speed at this time, and there is no time to make up for its failures and battle damage.

In fact, the most important thing is that the battlefield at this time is Stalingrad, which is an urban street battle... Tank battles in urban street battles are more about hiding somewhere and then suddenly attacking and destroying the target. This kind of battle is especially suitable for mobility and flexibility. Otherwise, if it is fighting in the wilderness, the self-propelled artillery may not be able to aim at the galloping "Tiger".

In any case, if the German army missed it, it was a missed one. The Soviet soldiers cheered unanimously, and some soldiers even took off their hats excitedly and waved in the direction of the German army's retreat, shouting loudly: "A few more times, Franz, we haven't fought yet!" Enough!"

...

Captain Alinsimovich approached Shulka with lingering fear, and said, "Have we lost our lives, Comrade Shulka?"

These words made Shulka look at Alinsimovic with admiration, because he knew the danger of the battle just now and was not as blind and arrogant as others.

Shulka didn't answer, he just patted Alinsimovich on the shoulder and said: "If you want to avoid such a situation from happening again, hurry up and train your soldiers, they will be the ones to defend Stalingrad." A key force!"

"Yes, Comrade Shulka!" Alinsimovich nodded solemnly. He also knew that this victory and even their survival had a lot of luck.

Shulka is right. The self-propelled artillery battalion has indeed become a key force. The reason is as mentioned before. It can be used as a howitzer to provide artillery support for infantry, and it can also be used as an assault against enemy tanks. gun.

As the former, it is much more flexible than the towed artillery, and it can evade enemy artillery counterattacks faster when it is attacked and withdrawn, so its combat effectiveness and vitality are improved.

As the latter, although it cannot be as flexible as a tank, at least it can move, at least it can destroy the enemy "Tiger". up.

More importantly, because it has basic armor protection, it can also be used as an assault gun to provide fire cover for infantry when it is not facing enemy tanks. air power to destroy.

After returning to the headquarters, everyone cheered for the victory, and even the officers and soldiers of the headquarters welcomed Shulka with warm applause under the leadership of Golikov.

But Shulka was not at all happy.

"What's the matter, Comrade Shulka?" Golikov asked: "Are you frustrated because you failed to wipe out the enemy's new tanks? Don't worry, they will all fall under our guns one day! "

There was laughter from everyone in the headquarters.

"No, Comrade Golikov!" Shulka replied: "I don't care about those tanks. We blocked the attack of those tanks, but only prevented the enemy from quickly penetrating and dividing us. The danger of Stalingrad remains the same. Not lifted!"