Chapter 4 Assault on Oreka

As the high-spirited slogan sounded loudly from outside the car, the sound of footsteps like thousands of horses galloping began to mix with the passionate fighting slogans and the roar of the tank engine, which echoed in Lin Jie's ears for a long time.

Lin Jie was the first to recover from his shock and realized that the situation on the battlefield he was on might have changed drastically. He immediately lifted the turret roof above his head and leaned his entire upper body out of the vehicle.

As far as the eye can see, countless Red Army soldiers with high morale are clutching Mosin-Nagant rifles and DP light machine guns in their hands, accompanied by BT series fast tanks and early models of Soviet tanks such as T26, heading towards the enemy. German troops launched a fierce attack.

Different from the various anti-Soviet rumors spread by Western countries in later generations for the sake of blackmail, at this moment, within Lin Jie's sight, there were quite a number of political commissars of the Soviet army's grassroots troops holding Tokarev 33 pistols in their hands. They took the lead and led the Red Army soldiers in their respective organizations to launch a counterattack against the Japanese invaders.

These young political commissars of the Soviet grassroots units may have serious dogmatism and many unpopular shortcomings, but the vast majority of these young officers who play the mainstay role in the political education and morale of the Red Army grassroots units are undoubtedly All have the courage to match their positions and beliefs.

Just like the last straw that broke the half-dead camel's back, the German army, which originally had few tanks left and was suddenly attacked during the repair process, faced such an overwhelming offensive from such a massive Soviet counterattack force. Finally I couldn't hold it any longer.

The remaining German tanks stopped charging forward and immediately switched the transmission gear to reverse, and then began to retreat toward the rear, embracing the already chaotic German infantry behind them.

The principle of killing you while you are sick is not only a wise saying in China, it is also true for the Soviet troops who are pursuing victory and defeating the invaders.

"Stop, stop, stop! Hold the starting position, we can't let those Soviets overwhelm our defenses, repel them quickly!"

The starting position mentioned by the German commander was a small Soviet village near Oreka. It was the first part of the 13th Armored Division of the German Wehrmacht that had earlier captured this place and was stationed and temporarily repaired here.

After a brutal attack earlier, this assault detachment belonging to the German 13th Armored Division had been caught off guard by the leading troops of the Soviet 20th Tank Division who launched a counterattack at dawn.

Although the German commander in the village reacted immediately, he immediately commanded the armored troops and accompanying infantry to launch an armored attack against the Soviet troops who launched a counterattack, and achieved the goal of destroying more than ten T26, BT5 and BT7 light tanks of the Soviet vanguard. Not bad results.

But only the T34 tank, which looked like a Soviet offensive force command vehicle, remained standing like a rock in the sea under the impact of various German anti-tank weapons.

Whether it is the short-barreled 75mm artillery in the German army's current armor series, the most advanced Type IV C tank, or the PAK36 37mm infantry anti-tank, the anti-armor weapon that the German army has always relied on in its previous blitzkrieg offensives. gun.

These artifacts, which had been invincible in the early German blitzkrieg offensives in Europe, almost all turned into scraps like stepping stones after encountering the abnormal sloping armor defense of the Soviet T34 medium tank.

Worse things soon followed.

Just as the German army deployed various anti-armor weapons and used dozens of armor-piercing rounds to repeatedly attack with concentrated fire, it seemed that it had finally caused some internal damage to the troublesome T34 medium tank, causing it to stop charging.

Before the overjoyed German commander could wait, he led the remaining armored troops under his command and rushed forward to completely destroy and even capture this extremely powerful enemy tank. In the eyes of the German army, this tank had already been completely destroyed after its armor was penetrated. The Soviet T34 tank, which was completely exposed, turned its terrifying turret again as if it was resurrected on the spot, pointing its black muzzle directly at the German troops attacking from the front.

Seeing that this new Soviet tank, which was about to be completely captured by our own side, rejoined the offensive and entered the battle with the arrival of subsequent Soviet reinforcements. The Soviet BT series light tanks completed the roundabout outflank, and had no choice but to command the remaining troops under their command to return to their starting positions in the village like a tide and enter a defensive posture.

Lin Jie stood with his upper body outside the turret and watched the friendly tanks and infantry rumbling past him. They were launching a fierce attack on the German troops who were gradually retreating to the village with an overwhelming offensive attitude. Lin Jie sighed inwardly that he was finally saved. I also know very clearly in my heart what I should do at this moment.

Lin Jie, who had leaned out of the turret to observe the surroundings, retracted his upper body into the turret and closed the integrated heavy hatch that was unique to the early T34 tanks. Without any hesitation in his words, Lin Jie then walked toward the seat he remembered. The driver's name gave the order.

"Seryozha, let's go! Let's completely tear up those crispy fahis!"

"Yes! Comrade Lieutenant!"

The four-stroke V-type 12-cylinder water-cooled diesel engine equipped in the engine compartment at the rear of the T34 tank surged into action again with the rapid operation of the driver Seryosha. The powerful diesel engine with a rated maximum output of 500 horsepower immediately started to drive. The T3476 medium tank, with a total combat weight of just over 28 tons, rushed straight towards the German defense line in the village at a cross-country speed of more than 30 kilometers per hour.

The bright green 92mm tracer machine gun barrage accompanied by 75mm armor-piercing bullets poured out the maximum firepower they could towards the rumbling Soviet infantry and tank coordination troops. The cruel and fierce white-hot battle made the people who had just retreated to the village The German troops at the starting position did not even have time to reorganize their troops and set up defense lines in the face of the Soviet army's rapid interspersed offensive.

"One o'clock, the Soviets are coming! Fire quickly, fire!"

"Ammunition, I'm out of ammunition! I need a secondary shooter, where is the secondary shooter!?"

"Left, right! Direction of 12 o'clock, ah, the Soviets are everywhere! Tanks, repel their tanks quickly!"

"Damn it, this Sanqi stepping stone has no effect on Ivan's tank! Who invented this kind of rag!!!"

Although the defense forces of the German 13th Armored Division guarding the house bunkers and infantry trenches at the entrance of the village were waiting for work in terms of the overall strategic posture, the Soviet counterattack forces that launched the attack with absolutely superior strength and high morale were not inferior in comparison.

The German MG34 machine gun team, which kept firing continuously, was finally crushed into a pile of "iron meat pieces" by the rolling Soviet BT7 fast tanks with men and guns. Like trapped animals, only a few remaining German troops were entrenched in the village and resisted to the death. In the end, the Panzer III and Panzer IV tanks were named one by one by Lin Jie's leading T34 tank, and turned into piles of burning steel crematoriums.

That evening, the Soviet 9th Mechanized Army, led by Major General Rokossovsky, finally completed its scheduled combat objective after a day of fighting.

The 9th Mechanized Corps, with its absolute superior strength after the main forces of the 35th Tank Division and the leading troops of the 20th Tank Division were combined in one place, severely damaged the 13th Panzer, the elite force of the German Wehrmacht, entrenched in the southwest corner of the Klevan area and near Oreka. division and achieved the Soviet army's first tactical victory since Germany launched Operation Barbarossa.