Chapter 35 One man is in charge

Regarding the powerful KV2 heavy tanks equipped by the Soviets, the German army, which had encountered this monster tank for the first time in the previous days of offensive operations, had already fully experienced its powerful single-vehicle combat performance.

In the Battle of Raseniai a few days ago, the German 6th Armored Division and the Soviet Red Army 2nd Tank Division on both sides of the offensive and defensive staged an epic and legendary asymmetrical tank battle near the bridgehead on the Dubisa River.

After a series of counterattacks launched by the Soviet 2nd Tank Division temporarily retreated due to running out of ammunition and fuel, a lone KV2 heavy tank accidentally broke away from the main force and was left behind at two German bridgeheads. between positions.

However, the crew members did not abandon the vehicle with the support of their firm faith. Instead, they chose to make a last-ditch effort to attack the German invaders and buy time for the transfer and retreat of the large forces.

In order to pull out this nail embedded in the road that must be passed by oneself, the German 6th Armored Division, which did not take it seriously because it knew little about the intelligence and data related to the KV2 heavy tank, quickly made preparations. Launched the first wave of attacks.

After a brief first wave of confrontation with this majestic giant, in order to not lag behind the main force in marching speed, the German main force tried to take a detour farther away from the KV2. Not only did they not succeed, but they also Under the continuous bombardment of the KV2's 152mm cannon, the troops were destroyed, and more than ten troop transport trucks and the Type 251 half-track troop carrier were lost.

Realizing that this seemingly bulky armored behemoth was actually far less easy to deal with than they imagined, the German army immediately called in for support. A German anti-tank gun battery equipped with six PAK38 50mm anti-tank guns was using manpower to conceal it. After advancing to a distance of about 500 meters, he opened fire one after another at the lonely KV2.

The most powerful anti-tank gun of the German army, which can easily destroy the Soviet T26 and BT series light tanks, hit the KV2's majestic figure like a scratch. The continuous attacks did not cause any damage to this Soviet heavy tank. Injured, the annoyed KV2 crew then turned the turret and used the 152 giant cannon to kill all these German small water pipe anti-tank guns.

The German army, which failed in another wave of attacks, naturally refused to give up. Various light and heavy weapons, including 35t, 38t, Panzer III and Panzer IV tanks, and even 75mm infantry guns, were put into battle. After playing table tennis for several hours, there was still no victory. It can't hurt this motionless armored behemoth at all.

The frustrated German commander, shocked by the power of his opponent's Soviet tanks, decided to use his own trump card - the 88mm FLAK36 anti-aircraft gun.

However, the 88mm anti-aircraft gun at this time was far less flexible than the 88mm gun later equipped on the Tiger tank. The huge gun mount and gun shield made it impossible for this heavy anti-aircraft gun to be pushed manually and needed to be propelled by a crawler. The tractor must be dragged to the designated location and then deployed before firing.

Well aware that the target of its own 88mm anti-aircraft gun was huge and difficult to maneuver, the German army, out of caution, initially deployed the 88mm gun only two thousand meters away from the KV2 heavy tank to fire.

Although the 88 gun, which was specially designed for air defense, has excellent accuracy and a very long range, it can accurately hit the huge KV2 heavy tank even at a distance of two thousand meters.

However, the 88mm armor-piercing projectile that flew two kilometers in the air had been severely reduced by air resistance when it hit the KV2 heavy tank. The remaining penetration depth could not penetrate the thick armor of the KV2 heavy tank. It was still equal to It's all in vain.

The unwilling German army decided to take a risk and remounted the 88 gun on a half-track tractor and continued to move covertly towards a suitable gun position closer to the KV2 heavy tank, in order to shorten the firing distance and try to destroy this terrifying steel giant. beast.

But this time, the goddess of luck obviously did not favor the German army again.

The direction of the German 88 gun was roughly determined based on the incoming trajectories of the unpenetrated armor-piercing projectiles that hit the car body. The KV2 heavy tank with a full-time commander advanced to a position less than 700 meters away from its own side after the German 88 gun tractor moved forward. The threat was discovered in time, and the gunner was notified to fire decisively, sending the 88 gun directly into the sky before it had time to get off the vehicle and deploy.

As time passed and night fell, the German army, which had been delayed by this armored behemoth of the Soviet Red Army for a whole day, had no choice but to withdraw its troops and temporarily withdrew the large troops to the starting position.

That night, the German engineers, who had no idea how thick the armor of their opponent's KV2 heavy tank was, took advantage of the cover of darkness to get close to the KV2 tank, and deployed all the TNT explosives that were enough to destroy a house. It targeted the sides of the chassis and tracks, which are generally more fragile, in the hope of completely wiping out this terrifying tank.

But the result after a loud detonation was still a huge disappointment to the German army. The comprehensive defensive design of the KV2 heavy tank made the side weaknesses of ordinary tanks non-existent. It was enough to destroy a two-story house. The TNT explosive only broke the KV2's tracks.

Annoyed by the explosion, the KV2 crew even operated machine guns in the vehicle to retaliate against the German engineers waiting nearby to confirm the results of the battle. These poor German engineers were so frightened that they immediately withdrew to their positions without looking back.

After daybreak, the KV2 tank, whose tracks were blown off, could no longer make any effective maneuvers. This obviously provided an excellent opportunity for the German army's encirclement tactics.

With several 35T light tanks continuously attracting guerrilla firepower from a long distance, the German tractor that circled the immobile KV2 tank finally carried another 88 gun to a place behind the KV2. On high ground and deployed.

This time, the 88 gun, which had a good output environment, finally showed its power. With its ultra-high rate of fire every 8 seconds, it fired 6 shots at the back of the KV2 tank's big head, finally destroying this indestructible Soviet tank. The armored behemoth of the army was destroyed on the spot.

The German engineers who were ordered to come forward to confirm the results of the battle and dispose of the wreckage were still frightened by the horrific scene they encountered last night. For fear that the KV2 tank had not been completely destroyed, the German engineers used the bullet holes penetrated by the 88-gun armor-piercing bullet to shoot into the turret. After stuffing a few M24 grenades, a few muffled bangs and bangs finally ended the undefeated myth of this KV2 tank.

Although the battle ended with the final victory of the German army, the shock brought to the German army by such a monster-level tank as the KV2 heavy tank was undoubtedly extremely huge.

An entire elite armored division's fully formed troops were blocked by the KV2 heavy tank Yifu Dangguan and were delayed for two days. Although the main reason for this result was traced back to the No. 3-4 tanks equipped by the German army during this period. The lack of strength of the No. 1 tanks and anti-tank guns was not due to any problem with the German army's own combat effectiveness or combat command.

But after this battle, the German front-line troops who were deeply impressed by the amazing combat effectiveness of the KV2 heavy tank no longer dared to underestimate this "toilet-head" monster in their eyes.

Once the Soviet KV2 heavy tank appears on the battlefield, it means that the time has come when the German army will use its full strength.