Chapter 465 Retreat across the board

His temper was vented, but the battle had to continue no matter what.

Although it could not be said that the entire army was annihilated after being covered by the fierce firepower of seven Soviet division artillery regiments, the German army, which had been repeatedly baptized by Soviet field artillery groups since the beginning of the war, had found some countermeasures, which could almost reduce casualties to At the very least, it is estimated that three-digit casualties are not a big deal for the large Grossdeutschland Infantry Regiment.

But continuing to be bombarded by the Soviet army was not an option. Colonel Horning just saw in the telescope that a large number of Soviet heavy tanks were rushing towards the position, and there were also many tanks of the same size larger than the German tanks mixed among them. Lots of T34 medium tanks.

There are three effective ways to deal with the Soviet infantry charge. Compared with the infantry, the Soviet armored forces are Colonel Horning's biggest headache.

The armor of these Soviet tanks is rough and difficult to penetrate because of its irregular design and easy ricochet. It is almost completely immune to all active German anti-tank guns below the 88mm gun.

The most efficient way to deal with these Soviet tanks is to call for air strikes. Only those Stukas are the first to stop the Soviet steel torrent. A 250kg aerial bomb hits your forehead, regardless of whether you are a KV1 or a T34. They all have to separate their heads.

Colonel Horning, who was full of resentment against the wrong reconnaissance information provided by the Air Force, now had to rely on the Air Force guys to come quickly to support him. Feeling that this was really annoying and helpless, Colonel Horning had to give in. to reality.

"I hope the air force will arrive soon."

At the moment when Colonel Horning was praying to himself, Colonel Horning's adjutant, who was constantly coordinating and communicating with the Air Force liaison officer at the radio station in the corner of the command post, finally got the result, but the answer he got was of great significance to Colonel Horning and even the entire army. For the German infantry regiments, it could not be worse.

"The Air Force is not able to support us for the time being. The Russians on multiple fronts are launching a full-scale counterattack. These Russian troops seem to have suddenly emerged from the snow overnight. The Air Force is now in chaos. You understand what this means."

""

He didn't expect that the final result he expected would be like this. Colonel Huoning, who thought about the overall situation based on the current situation, immediately condensed his eyes.

"No, if the Russians launch a full-scale counterattack, we, no, the entire Second Armored Group will be in great danger now! Come, look at the map!"

In his heart, he couldn't wait to prove his idea. He quickly came to the war zone map hanging on the wall. Colonel Horning immediately raised his right arm and pointed at a point and said repeatedly.

"Our regiment is now at this position, together with the Fourth Armored Division, twelve kilometers north of the city of Tula, guarding the Serpukhov Highway from Tula to Moscow."

"Behind us, the battle in Tula City has not ended. The Russian garrison troops entrenched in the city are fighting to the death, and General Guderian told me before that he has planned to abandon the battle to siege Tula City and move to Moscow’s deep offensive in Tula is a time bomb that has not yet been resolved.”

"Our left wing is the 4th Armored Group commanded by Hepner. The closest one is the 31st Infantry Division. The right wing is the 3rd Armored Division of our 2nd Armored Group. However, they are not in a defensive state. They just came from the siege map. During the battle in Lashi, we retreated to rest in place and prepared to advance towards Moscow. This means that the right wing of our defense line is almost certainly empty, at least from its current position."

Colonel Horning, who spoke very quickly and told everything in his heart, frowning, was very anxious about the current situation.

"Before, scattered Russian troops launched a counterattack. Their strength was as insufficient as ours. The counterattack troops of two or three divisions at most were not enough to threaten our flanks or surround us."

"But now if the Russians counterattack across the board, this will not be the case. Even if Hepner's Fourth Armored Group on the left wing can hold the defense line, the vacant right wing will pose a great threat. Once the Russians break through from here and launch an encirclement and suppression campaign against us, , we have to face both front and right defense directions at the same time, and we cannot retreat backwards. The city of Tula is still in the hands of the Russians. "

At this point, what Colonel Horning wanted to express was already very clear: the Grossdeutschland Infantry Regiment must retreat now! Otherwise, we will face the terrible situation of fighting on two sides and being blocked on one side. This is a predictable result.

After listening to Colonel Horning's summary, they all looked at each other. The staff officers, regimental officers and deputies who were undecided knew that what Colonel Horning said was true, but logically speaking, they had no right to retreat without authorization. The Serpukhov Highway from Moscow to Tula was an order personally issued by Guderian.

Once the defense lines of the Grossdeutschland Infantry Regiment and the 4th Armored Division collapse, the Soviet army will reconnect the north-south artery of the Serpukhov Highway from Moscow to Tula. It has wasted the efforts of nine cows and two tigers to reach the current situation of the war. Will return to the starting point.

"Maybe we should discuss it with General Guderian, or at least notify him for permission."

The words that suddenly appeared out of nowhere represent the true thoughts of the vast majority of people present. In the highly disciplined and hierarchical Wehrmacht system, it is extremely rare for someone to defeat someone like the Japanese, let alone the Grossdeutschland Infantry Regiment now. The ones stationed there are still key points related to the entire war situation in Tula City.

Different from Major Mueller, who is rigid and has low emotional intelligence, Colonel Horning, who was a master of flirting in college, is a very independent and independent person, although in most cases Colonel Horning will choose to be with everyone else. Wehrmacht soldiers stick to routine and resolutely execute orders, but the current situation is the time for him to make changes.

"It's too late! We have to do something now, first"

"Colonel Horning, I have your phone number, it's General Guderian!"

The palm that was hanging in mid-air and was about to give an order failed to fall down. Colonel Horning's face, who had never expected that Guderian would call at this time, instantly changed several versions, making it almost impossible to judge from his facial expressions. What on earth is going on in his mind.

After hesitating for a few seconds, he finally chose to turn around and answer Guderian's call. Colonel Horning, who grabbed the phone, still didn't know what to say to Guderian even now.