Chapter 801 Nightmare Moment
As a qualified army general, Chuikov knew very well how devastating a top-down air strike from the sky could be to troops on the ground.
There is a military truth in the distant future: Defend against air and air, and defend against nine out of ten.
A systematic anti-aircraft missile system that can easily start at speeds of Mach 5 or 6 can do this even against Mach 2 and upper-lower fighters that are much slower. Although the air defense battles in World War II that relied purely on sight and experience cannot be directly applied to the air defense concepts of later generations, there is still not much difference in essence. Just thinking about it, you will know how effective it is for ground forces to completely defend against large-scale air attacks. How unrealistic.
In the final analysis, the battle for air supremacy in a theater will always rely on a showdown between fighter jets to determine the final outcome. At most, anti-aircraft guns can only provide psychological comfort that is better than nothing.
In any war from World War II to the 21st century, there has never been a situation where the party with air supremacy did not dare to launch an air strike because it was intimidated by the enemy's anti-aircraft firepower. The war eagles and reapers from the sky have always been on the ground. The only thing that the troops are powerless to resist is this truth that has remained unchanged from the development of propellers to the jet age.
Air support from fighter jets could not be counted on at all. In desperation, Chuikov finally picked up the microphone again after dealing with some urgent matters at hand. The bad news that came to his lips was quite vague until now. Unexportable taste.
"Commissar Petrov? I have a very bad news to tell you. I hope you, Malashenko and the entire Guards 1st Heavy Tank Breakthrough Regiment can be mentally prepared."
Good news never lasts long, but bad news, no matter how short it lasts, will make people feel that the flow of time becomes like days and years.
After Chuikov hung up the phone on the other end, he put down the phone in his hand. Political Commissar Petrov, standing in the regimental tent, seemed to have selectively ignored the roar of engines and bombs falling in his ears.
Since the invasion of Stalingrad, such bad news has never happened to the 1st Guards Heavy Tank Breakthrough Regiment. Even the last defense battle of the tractor factory cannot compare with this. At this moment, Political Commissar Petrov really felt a moment of unusual and rare moment of confusion.
"Is it true that the First Guards Heavy Tank Breakthrough Regiment will all be sacrificed here? Will this be the final result?"
The dense air raid explosions and engine roars continued to ring in my ears, and the crawler grinding and diesel engine roars that were relatively far away outside the tent were gradually receding and approaching.
Political Commissar Petrov was not afraid of sacrifice for his country. Falling on the battlefield to defend the motherland was regarded as a supreme honor by this old party member and political commissar with firm faith.
What exactly is disappearing? Petrov himself felt as if a piece was missing in an instant and was unwilling to do so. Petrov himself could not explain clearly, and at the same time, he had no extra time to think about these things that were no longer important at the moment.
The Bobosha submachine gun placed on the table was placed in the hand of Commissar Petrov. Commissar Petrov, who had tried to operate it with one hand several times before, found that his body could still barely operate it with one hand if he used the waist shooting posture. Can handle this fully automatic weapon.
Both Malashenko and Lavrinenko led their troops to the front line. Among the remaining personnel remaining at the regiment headquarters, only Political Commissar Petrov was the highest-ranking commander.
Political Commissar Petrov, who secretly estimated that the final critical moment was not far away, summoned all the personnel of the regiment. These non-combatants in the regiment, who had almost never directly participated in the battle and accounted for the vast majority, had already guessed that Comrade Comrade Political Commissar What is the purpose of summoning them at this time?
It is impossible to say that one is not afraid. No matter how determined a person is, when facing foreseeable death, he or she will have some unavoidable timidity.
Malashenko is like this, Lavrinenko is like this, Commissar Petrov is like this, the crews of the 1st Guards Heavy Tank Breakthrough Regiment are like this, and the non-combatants at the regiment are naturally like this. Everything can be traced back to the human heart. This is the inviolable law and the so-called hint.
The only difference lies in whether the resolute soul can overcome this cowardly control consciousness in the heart to control the body.
"Malashenko! Be careful, the Germans are coming at your 10 o'clock!"
At this point in the war, the 1st Guards Heavy Tank Breakthrough Regiment had very few crews still equipped with vehicle-mounted radios. The commanders and deputy commanders of Malashenko and Lavrinenko each occupied one vehicle.
Lavrinenko, who was taking care of his own battle and taking care of each other from time to time, was holding a microphone in his hand and yelling at Malashenko at the top of his lungs.
Fortunately, Malashenko, who was holding the commander's periscope to search for the target, heard the familiar roar of the Hedong lion, and reacted in time, pointing the commander's periscope in the direction described by Lavrinenko. They spoke loudly almost simultaneously.
"Iushkin! 10 o'clock, left, 10 o'clock direction! The German No. 4 is aiming at us, kill it quickly!"
The reaction speed of the human brain plus the speed of hand operation take time.
Malashenko, who had already reacted very quickly, took no more than 5 seconds from the time Lavrinenko's words were heard to the time he gave the order to Iushkin, but even so, compared to the car on the opposite side, which had already struck first. After all, it was still a step too slow for the stronger German No. 4.
"Go meet your Lenin! Russians!"
boom--
Amidst the muzzle fire that shot straight out of the long and narrow main gun barrel, a 75mm full-caliber hooded armor-piercing projectile shot straight towards Malashenko's car. The scream that broke through the air was far from human. The brain's reaction speed can keep up.
Malashenko, who was forced back by the German army, was actually in a very bad fighting posture. A large projected area on the side of the entire tank was exposed to the German Panzer IV tank that was deliberately outflanking. The 75mm full-caliber hooded armor-piercing projectile fired from the main gun is fully capable of delivering a fatal blow.
jingle——
Click, click, click—
The harsh sound of grinding metal and the terrifying sound of armor being penetrated echoed in the fighting room of the car body.
The terrible sound echoing in his ears made Malashenko realize the worst situation. For a moment, time seemed to stop, but there was no explosion or the severe pain of his body being surrounded by flames. He glared. Malashenko, whose big eyes were stunned for almost a second, immediately turned around and yelled at the same time.
