Chapter 160 Breaking into the restricted area

When the thundering Soviet artillery bombardment amidst the roaring mountains and tsunami finally gradually stopped, the surviving German soldiers who had been bathed in the Soviet field artillery group's indiscriminate bombardment for nearly an hour were just standing unsteadily, holding the weapons in their hands and shouting Staggering like a drunken man, he walked out of the shell-proof hole, and the roaring steel beast came again full of "tank knights" to kill them.

As the second wave of formal Soviet group charges kicked off, what the German commanders were most worried about inevitably hit their heads.

None of the 88 artillery pieces that were specially placed on the second preset defensive position for the sake of caution were spared. These heavy anti-aircraft guns, which were heavy and did not have the ability to maneuver on their own, had no time to dodge when the Soviet artillery fire fell, and they were all bombed. It became a pile of twisted and deformed burning steel debris and parts and the entire army was annihilated.

Although they knew that the 88 guns in their hands were the only effective weapon against the torrent of steel from the Soviet heavy tanks, the Germans still refused to give up hope for victory despite having lost all the positions behind the 88 guns to defend themselves.

The German anti-tank gun team used manpower to push them out of the anti-gun holes, but these 37mm and 50mm anti-tank guns, which are the basic anti-armor weapons of the frontline infantry, were really difficult to do.

You can naturally imagine the consequences of a small water pipe anti-tank gun that cannot even effectively threaten the T34 medium tank when it hits the KV1 heavy tank, which is known for its thick armor.

The substantive killing power of the Soviet KV1 heavy tanks was limited to the sound of a sound after being hit. The small water pipe anti-tank guns were unable to stop the KV1 heavy tank cluster coming at full speed. This one was created by Malashenko It didn't take long for the coordinated mixed force of light infantry and heavy armor to roar and roll over the German position.

"Stop the advance! Suppress the German infantry, and keep the machine gun firepower of all vehicle groups at maximum! Each vehicle group is loaded with high-explosive bombs, and the German anti-tank gun group is hit first, followed by the machine gun fire points. Don't let the German assault group Get close to our tanks!"

The second preset defensive position is followed by the main urban area of ​​Yelniya City. The Germans who fought against the odds knew that once this last position was lost, bloody street fighting would be as brutal as a meat grinder.

The loss of a large amount of technical equipment and heavy anti-tank equipment made it impossible for these two Wehrmacht infantry divisions to be able to fight the Soviet siege forces in street battles like the previous Grossdeutschland Infantry Regiment. burden.

A Wehrmacht unit with an honorary title such as the Grossdeutschland Infantry Regiment, not to mention the extremely large-scale establishment of 14 combat battalions, the Grossdeutschland Infantry Regiment alone enjoys high-quality troop supply and priority supply of equipment among the German Wehrmacht. These two major privileges are enough to overwhelm these two ordinary National Defense Force infantry divisions.

Knowing that even if these two ordinary infantry divisions of their own were tied together, they might not be able to match the combat strength of the Grossdeutschland Infantry Regiment, the two German division commanders could only go ahead with their scalps.

The last remaining reserve force in their hands was thrown into the position not long after the war started, in order to drive this Soviet heavy tank leader out of the position before the Soviet army's subsequent large forces completely overwhelmed the position defense. .

The German assault teams carrying technical grenades and Molotov cocktails were like moles scurrying back and forth in the communication trenches of the position. The German assault teams, all hunched over and only showing the corner of their helmets, tried their best to get closer. How could Malashenko, who had already suffered a big loss with the SS Imperial Division, make the same mistake again?

In order to prevent the German anti-tank assault team from approaching, the already red-eyed Soviet tank crew even turned the turret after dealing with the German anti-tank gun, and fired the 76mm high-explosive shells loaded in the gun barrel directly at these Flesh-and-blood and defenseless German infantry.

The vehicle body's directional machine gun, the turret's coaxial machine gun, the 76mm tank main gun, and even the turret's top cover was directly lifted out and the fierce automatic firepower of the Somi submachine gun was used to close in and strafe the German infantry who were trying to get closer.

The desperate and crazy firepower projection of the 1st Heavy Tank Breakthrough Battalion caused huge casualties to the German infantry assault teams who tried to approach and destroy the Soviet tanks.

The German soldiers who can be beaten into a hornet's nest by the 62mm vehicle-mounted DT light machine gun and Somi submachine gun can at least leave a whole corpse. With the fast loading bonus brought by the first ammunition rack built into the turret, a five-second burst can occur. The 76mm main gun of the KV1 heavy tank with an astonishing rate of fire is even more ruthless.

If a 76mm high-explosive round hits directly, it can instantly wipe out a five-person German infantry anti-tank assault team.

Although the German infantry, which was covered by positional communication trenches and tunnel transfers, had tried to keep their figures as low as possible, the 76mm high-explosive bombs with a surface-wide killing radius often did not need to hit accurately at all. Even an explosion twenty meters away was enough to destroy these The flesh and blood German infantry completely wiped out the scene.

The German army that constantly launched counterattacks ended in failure time and time again. The first heavy tank breakthrough battalion standing on the German position was like a copper wall that could not be overturned or smashed. Once again, the German infantry who were unwilling to admit defeat came back with a broken head and a bloody defeat.

The 88-gun army was wiped out, the small water pipe anti-tank guns were ineffective, air support was blocked, and the infantry anti-tank assault team was beaten to death again and again.

Inadequate preparation for Barbarossa's invasion due to eagerness for success, as well as a miscalculation of the specific strength of the Soviet armored forces, now finally led to irreparable catastrophic consequences.

At present, the two German infantry divisions are at a loss when facing Soviet heavy tanks. This is actually a partial microcosm of the entire Soviet-German War in 1941. The German army, which had an advantage in the overall strategy, encountered serious constraints in terms of equipment quality and local tactics. After losing the two magic weapons of air support and 88 artillery, the German infantry was really helpless in the face of the Soviet steel torrent.

The German commander who failed to wait for his own reserves to drive the Soviet heavy tank group out of the position finally received the disastrous news that the Soviet follow-up infantry group had begun to pour in crazily from the gap in the position.

One wave after another, the German infantry, which had been hit hard, was powerless in the face of the group charge of the Soviet infantry, which had an absolute numerical advantage. A close-quarters battle for position is unavoidable, and in this case the ultimate winner will almost undoubtedly be the side with an absolute advantage in the number of troops.