Chapter 166

After the Soviet siege forces adopted systematic and integrated street fighting tactics from the future, the German army, which could not find any effective countermeasures and seriously lacked anti-armor technical equipment, had to fight and retreat. Many urban areas The battle in which the main fronts were lost one after another soon pushed the artillery-fired front into the center of Yelniya City.

Compared with the temporary positions and firepower points set up in residential buildings and street-front buildings on the main streets outside the city, the open squares and some iconic landmarks in the center of Yelniya City are the current German urban warfare defense strongholds. The key is the core.

In the previous first phase of the Yelnya battle, the Grossdeutschland Infantry Regiment, which firmly defended the entire city and paid a heavy price of casualties and fought to the end with the attacking Soviet troops, once transformed the government building in the center of the city into A solid defensive stronghold that combines command and powerful firepower.

This five-story building made of bricks and stones stands out among Yelnya City, where the houses are generally relatively short.

All windows facing the outside on the first to fifth floors of the building were reinforced by German engineers and sealed, leaving only basic holes and observation openings to serve as firepower points.

The large conference room on the top floor of the building that was originally used for important meetings was also directly cleared and evacuated by the ingenious German army. The large conference room space and solid and reliable building structure made it possible to install heavy firepower.

The Grossdeutschland Infantry Regiment, which was prepared for the worst and prepared to fight to the end, had nine PAK38 50mm anti-tank guns in the conference room to block three possible Soviet attack directions other than the salient.

The German engineers who tried their best even dismantled two FLAK36 88mm anti-aircraft guns into parts, packed them and transported them in batches to the conference room on the fifth floor for assembly. At the same time, the redundant and somewhat useless huge artillery shield was dismantled and the ground was reinforced. Finally, the fifth-floor conference room of the entire building was transformed into a powerful and commanding anti-tank gun stronghold.

Although the Grossdeutschland Infantry Regiment worked hard to build this strong fire support point, it was ultimately useless because the reinforcements arrived in time and repelled the Soviet troops approaching the nearby neighborhood.

However, in view of the inevitability of the second phase of the battle in the Yelniya theater, after communicating and coordinating with each other, the Grossdeutschland Infantry Regiment withdrew from the theater to prepare for a change of defense and rest in the rear. However, it did not take away the equipment that belonged to its own troops. Instead, it chose It was retained to meet possible subsequent war situation needs.

At present, this strong firepower stronghold that the Grossdeutschland Infantry Regiment had painstakingly built during the first phase of the Battle of Yelnya finally came into use as the battle situation continued to deteriorate and the German army retreated. Hold on to this stronghold An entire battalion of German infantry inside the building had made final preparations.

The Pioneer KV1 heavy tank, which was advancing with the roar of its tracks, effortlessly crushed the two German 37mm anti-tank guns that were useless at the intersection of the block into parts.

The panicked German infantry was once again overwhelmed by the Soviet army and retreated one after another. Driven by a mixture of electric steering gear and hand steering gear, the KV1 heavy tank that was slowly turning its heavy turret had not had time to respond. The retreating German infantry opened fire, and a super-high-speed artillery shell that came from nowhere accurately hit the wide turret of the KV1 heavy tank in this flash of lightning.

boom--

call out--

The huge tank explosion sounded almost at the same time as the air-piercing scream that came after the supersonic armor-piercing projectile hit the target. The KV1 heavy tank, which had no chance of reacting and evading in time, was like a bottle after being shaken violently. Coca-Cola suddenly opened. The explosive flames that shot straight into the sky were accompanied by a loud noise, and even lifted the heavy 7-ton turret of the KV1 heavy tank more than ten meters into the air.

The powerful force of the explosion of the first ammunition rack in the turret and the ammunition rack on the chassis of the vehicle directly tore the KV1 heavy tank into pieces.

This sudden death storm swept everything around, carrying shrapnel and tank armor fragments. A dozen Soviet soldiers who were following the KV1 heavy tank and had no time to escape were instantly swept into a human sieve. , broken limbs, arms and legs, together with various human organ fragments and even a whole good human head, splashed directly onto other Soviet tanks and infantry in the surroundings, which was shocking.

The huge and strong explosion sound was accompanied by the flames soaring into the sky and the turret flying into the air. Even Malashenko, who was in the center of the siege column and was responsible for commanding the battle, could see it clearly in his commander's periscope. .

It can kill instantly from the 90mm thick curved gun mantlet of the KV1 heavy tank and the outer edge of the 75mm thick turret front armor, and it also comes with the first ammunition rack inside the turret, destroying the entire 47-ton steel The behemoth exploded into pieces. There was obviously only one such powerful anti-armor power in the German equipment sequence in 1941.

"Forward troops report the situation! Find the enemy's firing position, immediately!"

The screamed order echoed throughout the battalion-level vehicle communication channel. Not long after, another KV1 heavy tank at the forefront of the siege column reported a reply to Malashenko.

"Comrade Battalion Commander, the Germans have deployed a heavy anti-tank gun in a building on the square in the two o'clock direction. It should be their 88 gun! It is still about 500 meters away from that building. The entire square It’s very empty, what should we do?”

Before the voice of the report from the vehicle-mounted radio had finished, another 88 mm armor-piercing round whizzing at high speed followed closely at this moment.

call out--

Ding-ding——

Although the 88 gun in the hands of the German army had strong anti-armor power that could defy everything in 1941, the ever-changing battlefield did not give the 88 gun the best aiming angle under all circumstances.

Sensing the existence of the German heavy anti-armor firepower, he immediately started to switch to reverse gear and reverse the vehicle. The 88mm armor-piercing round that hit the moving target unfortunately created a spark on the side of the KV1 heavy tank turret and jumped directly. The bullet flies away.

With the whistling of artillery shells echoing in his ears, Malashenko immediately realized that the battle could no longer be delayed. If he continued to hesitate like this, he would only become a target of anti-tank firepower from the German stronghold and be passively beaten.

"Keep the current formation and retreat immediately. The Germans' anti-tank firepower cannot cover the entire block! Retreat to their blind spot, quickly!"