Chapter 1436 Disastrous defeat

"Boom! Boom! Boom!"

Several T-34 tanks that were rushing furiously turned into a pile of burning scrap iron. More than a hundred "Black Panther" tanks from the 881st Tank Regiment of the 88th Armored Division of the German Army who rushed to the battlefield in time joined the battlefield.

Suddenly, the 179th Russian Tank Brigade, which was storming the heavy tank battalion of the German 88th Armored Division, suffered heavy losses. A dozen tanks were destroyed in less than two minutes. The rest of the tanks were also terrified, and almost scared the shit out of them.

"Comrade Brigadier, something is wrong, the German reinforcements are here. Hundreds of 'Black Panther' tanks are attacking us!" A staff officer reported to the brigade commander of the 179th Russian Tank Brigade.

"What? How did this happen?" The commander of the 179th Russian Tank Brigade was dumbfounded. It seemed that victory was about to be achieved, but now such an accident occurred. Although the entire 179th Russian tank brigade is equipped with seventy T-34 tanks. But as an officer of the tank unit of the Russian army, he certainly knows that although the performance of the T-34 tank is not bad, there is still a big gap compared with the "Black Panther" tank. Not to mention the more powerful 'Tiger' tank.

Encountering the attack of hundreds of "Black Panther" tanks from the German army, this was definitely a disaster for the 179th Russian Tank Brigade.

"Call for support quickly, we can't stop the Germans!" The brigade commander ordered immediately.

"Yes, Comrade Brigadier!"

It's just that the 12th and 15th Russian tank armies are also overwhelmed now. The 882nd Tank Regiment and the 883rd Mechanized Infantry Regiment under the German 88th Armored Division also rushed to the battlefield. More than 150 'Black Panther' tanks joined the battle. Together with the 'Tiger' tanks of the heavy tank battalion, the two tank armies suffered heavy losses.

Some T-26 tanks and BT-5 tanks had to retreat. Because, if they continue to move forward, they will only pay a greater loss. The burning tank wreckage seems to have verified this point.

The tank units of the German 88th Armored Division changed their previous defensive posture and began to advance step by step.

The speed of the German "Tiger" tank and "Black Panther" tank is not slow. Although the thick armor makes the tank heavy, the powerful engine enables the tank to have a greater speed.

The retreating T-26 tanks and BT-5 tanks, and even the KV-1 tanks and KV-2 tanks that arrived on the battlefield later, could not escape and were constantly destroyed by German tanks.

The entire 3rd Russian Tank Army suffered heavy losses under the attack of the German 88th Armored Division.

At this moment, a squadron of 12 dive bombers arrived on the battlefield. These fighters directly attacked the Russian tanks.

Accompanied by sharp and piercing whistles, dive bombers began to dive and drop bombs. The heavy aerial bombs are powerful, not to mention hitting those tanks directly, even if they explode near the tanks, the huge power is enough to destroy those tanks.

Under the attack of the German dive bombers, the Russian tanks suffered heavy losses. Many tanks even jumped the front of the car directly, facing the German tanks with their weak rear, trying to escape at the maximum speed.

In fact, as far as the German tanks are concerned, whether it is the 88mm tank gun of the "Tiger" tank or the 75mm tank gun of the "Black Panther" tank, they can easily defeat the Russian T-26 tank and BT-5 tank. destroy. Therefore, even if they face the enemy head-on, they will only be destroyed, let alone turn their backs on the enemy now.

"Comrade Commander, our troops are being routed. The German armored forces are too powerful. So far, we have lost nearly half of our tanks!" Major General Rybalco reported.

Lieutenant General Romanenko's face was as dark as the bottom of a pot. In less than an hour, the 3rd Russian Tank Army lost more than 300 tanks. In particular, the 179th Tank Brigade equipped with T-34 tanks was almost completely lost. This caused the 3rd Russian Tank Army to be fatally damaged.

"Damn it, what about the 4th Tank Army? If they don't join the battle, we will all die!" Lieutenant General Romanenko cursed.

Although the 3rd Tank Army still has a mechanized infantry division and two infantry divisions under its jurisdiction, once the tank units are lost, it is impossible for them to resist the attack of the armored units.

"Comrade Commander, I will contact the 4th Tank Army immediately!" Major General Rebalco said.

At this moment, the 4th Russian Tank Army is rushing to the battlefield. However, they were discovered by the Luftwaffe on the road. So, a large group of Stuka dive bombers and a large group of ground attack aircraft attacked them.

Dive bombers dropped bombs precisely around these tanks, and ground attack aircraft even directly attacked the weak tops of Russian tanks with cannons. Most of the Russian tanks have only a thin layer of steel on the top. The 20mm cannon equipped with a ground attack aircraft is enough to destroy it.

Under the massacre of the aircraft of the two brigades of the Luftwaffe, the 4th Russian Tank Army suffered heavy losses. The two tank armies under its jurisdiction, one tank brigade, one destroyer brigade and one infantry division, all suffered considerable losses. In particular, the tank unit suffered heavy losses, with more than 600 tanks and less than 400 left.

After finally waiting for them to rush to the battlefield, they discovered that the 3rd Russian Tank Army had been defeated. The battlefield is littered with the wreckage of leftover tanks. More than 70 percent of the tanks of the 3rd Tank Army were lost here. The rest of the tanks also fled in embarrassment.

That was because the 88th Armored Division took the initiative to stop the pursuit. Otherwise, the 3rd Russian Tank Army probably wouldn't have many tanks left at all.

The reason why the 88th Armored Division voluntarily gave up the 3rd Russian Tank Army was precisely for the 4th Russian Tank Army. Under the notification of the Air Force, the 8th Panzer Army learned that a large number of Russian tanks were turning to the flank of the 88th Panzer Division. Therefore, the 88th Armored Division was specially ordered to prepare to meet the enemy. At the same time, the 882nd Mechanized Infantry Division, which was closest to the 88th Armored Division, also rushed to reinforce it.

After the 4th Russian Tank Army arrived on the battlefield, it was hit head-on by the 88th Armored Division. Although the 4th Army of Russian tanks is also equipped with a lot of T-34 tanks. But when the German armored forces were already prepared, they were simply vulnerable, and one after another was smashed into scrap iron.

Major General Kryuchokin, commander of the 4th Tank Army of the Russian Army, issued an emergency retreat order, but was pursued by the German 88th Armored Division and intercepted by the German 882nd Mechanized Infantry Division. In the end, the tank army was wiped out.