Chapter 126: Strangulating Yelnia (8)

The brutal strangulation of the battlefield, which was like a meat grinder flying forward at full speed, almost completely exhausted the entire combat strength of both the Soviet Union and Germany in a short time.

Although the Soviet army, playing the role of the attacker, had an absolute numerical advantage in terms of strength, the Soviet army, which was far inferior to the German army in terms of individual combat experience and weapon quality, ultimately failed to achieve a miracle.

The desperate resistance of the Grossdeutschland Infantry Regiment of the Wehrmacht and the SS Imperial Division finally brought about the desired results. The brutal battle conditions in which grassroots officers suffered excessive casualties, many company- and battalion-level Soviet infantry and even the entire structure were wiped out, made it almost impossible for the Soviet army to Then organize a further effective offensive.

Although they were only a short distance away from breaking through the German field defense positions in the outer suburbs of Yelniya City, the unwilling Soviet army finally ended the July 24th battle on its own initiative with a tactical retreat out of desperation. This day's battle.

When the battle that lasted all day amid the roar of artillery fire came to a calm, both the Soviet and German sides, who had been fighting in the fierce fighting for a whole day, were licking their wounds and recuperating on their respective positions.

After a whole day of fighting today, the Grossdeutschland Infantry Regiment, which used a reinforced regiment to fight against the independent 1st heavy tank breakthrough battalion led by Malashenko, plus five Soviet infantry divisions to attack with concentrated fire, naturally suffered the most losses. heavy.

A total of 14 combat infantry battalions under its regiment-level structure suffered heavy losses, with nearly 40% of their strength including the wounded, killed and missing. More than half of the 88 guns used to effectively fight against the Soviet armored forces were lost and deployed. Almost all the various small-caliber anti-tank guns mixed in the hands of the front-line defense forces were scrapped.

In addition, the SS Reich Division support troops who came from the other direction of the Yelniya theater to assist the Grossdeutschland Infantry Regiment also suffered heavy losses.

A second-level SS assault group leader who was responsible for leading the rescue team was shot dead by the Soviet army in a close-quarters battle. More than half of the company, platoon, and squad combat soldiers temporarily transferred from the various regiment-level and battalion-level units under the Imperial Division were lost. , the death rate of junior SS officers who were responsible for front-line combat command tasks was as high as 70%.

But even so, the German army, which paid heavy casualties, still barely achieved today's planned combat goal.

The Soviet army, which mobilized many powerful weapons including the new secret weapon BM-13 Katyusha rocket launcher, the Moscow Aviation Destroyer Corps and the independent first heavy tank breakthrough battalion led by Malashenko, was eventually successfully resisted by the stubborn German army. Before reaching the field defense position outside Yelniya City, they were unable to enter the city.

Therefore, judging from the final result of today's battle alone, the German side, which suffered heavy casualties, undoubtedly won a difficult tactical victory. The Soviet army, which failed to achieve its set combat objectives, undoubtedly suffered the consequences of a tactical failure. The casualties were more severe than those of the German army. The failure was even worse for the Soviet army that defended its homeland and country.

After this battle, the First Independent Heavy Tank Breakthrough Battalion led by Malashenko lost a total of 23 KV1 heavy tanks and 6 T34 medium tanks.

Except for a very small number of crew members who abandoned their vehicles and escaped, the vast majority of the crew members were sacrificed in today's battle.

The SS Reich Division Assault Group, which knew that tank crews were a more valuable and high-tech unit, almost exclusively picked out Soviet tank crews who had abandoned their vehicles and escaped, and dealt them a ruthless blow. The Soviet tank crews, who were far from proficient in infantry combat skills and could only be qualified for self-defense at best, were killed inexplicably by the guns of the waiting SS.

It was precisely because the SS Imperial Division combat assault team organized and planned to target Soviet tank crews who had abandoned their vehicles to escape, that Malashenko was surprised when he was counting losses after the end of the First World War today. He was extremely annoyed to find that the ratio of lost vehicles to dead crews in his first heavy tank breakthrough battalion was almost one to one!

You must know that in most of the previous battles, Soviet tanks used diesel, which was relatively safe and not prone to fire and explosion, as fuel power for the tanks. A considerable number of Soviet tanks actually did not survive on the spot after being penetrated and damaged. Fire and explosion.

Half or all of the surviving Soviet tank crews have a high probability of abandoning the vehicle and escaping, and the Soviet infantry, which always accompanies its own tanks in coordinated attacks, is often ordered to cover and protect these high-tech tanks as much as possible. Friendly convoys are not killed by the Germans.

This was used to ensure that the Soviet army's new tanks, which were continuously transported from the rear production line to the front line, would be driven by people, so as to avoid the embarrassing situation of "vehicles waiting for people" due to the lack of corresponding crews to drive the tanks after they arrived at the front line.

In previous battles, the Wehrmacht, which focuses on frontal confrontation, has never used such targeted tactics to specifically defeat Soviet abandoned tank crews. The survival rate of Soviet abandoned tank crews has also remained at a relatively high level. It's quite satisfying and acceptable.

Coupled with the powerful hematopoietic output capabilities of the Soviet heavy industry, this is the secret why the Soviet tanks seem to be "endless" and even "the more they fight, the more they fight."

But in today's battle, the SS Imperial Division, which did everything possible and did not follow the rules of war at all, formed dozens of assault groups to specifically target Soviet tanks.

The premeditated assault team of the SS Imperial Division simply hid in a trench bunker not far away and waited quietly after throwing mixed rubber Molotov cocktails. When the Soviet tank crews, who were stunned by the toxic black smoke and unconscious, and almost lost the ability to resist, abandoned their vehicles, the Imperial Division assault team who was secretly observing decisively came out of the darkness and killed them on the spot.

Malashenko, who also witnessed this scene in today's battle, became furious when he recalled this situation.

Although there are no unwritten unwritten rules in ground operations in the Army like the Air Force that "forbids shooting parachuting pilots of opposing fighter planes", the SS's shameless and ruthless tactics of picking out third parties are undoubtedly Gave Malashenko an unexpected wake-up call.

There are still more than a dozen reserve KV1 heavy tanks parked in the field camp of the Independent First Heavy Tank Breakthrough Battalion. These are all new vehicles that have just been unloaded from the rear railway transportation hub and transported to the front line for backup today.

Malashenko, who had already expected that the German army would be difficult to deal with, naturally made plans in advance and was prepared to face heavy losses. After all, with these new vehicles, the loss of tanks was really not a big deal for the Soviet army, which always focused on steel torrent tactics. What a big deal.