Chapter 209 Accident
The 333rd Infantry Regiment was ordered to build a fortification north of Lobnia, which is 70 kilometers away from Moscow. It is expected that the tanks of the two tank battalions will arrive before dark and join the infantry regiment... This is also the defect of mechanized infantry without cars One, infantry and tanks advance separately, so there must be some sort of asynchrony between the two.
You must know that tanks cannot be separated from infantry, and infantry cannot be separated from tanks. This undoubtedly adds a lot of artificial difficulties and dangers to the Fourth Tank Brigade.
But at this time, Zhukov was probably in a hurry because of the establishment of a new line of defense, so he didn't consider this at all, at least he didn't consider it at this time.
Perhaps, Zhukov thinks that there will be no problem with using trains to maneuver in this way. Soon the tanks can catch up from the rear and advance together with the infantry, and then the tanks and infantry can cooperate to continue northward to meet the enemy after it gets dark... Once the sky gets dark When it gets dark, the speed of tanks will also slow down dramatically and may even be slower than infantry.
But things on the battlefield are always unexpected... The German fleet attacked the train returning to Moscow and very occasionally blew up a railway bridge, which blocked the tank units of the 4th Tank Brigade.
"Pick up your shovels!" Major Gavrilov shouted to the soldiers who had just finished building field fortifications: "We need to build an anti-tank trench ahead!"
Anti-tank trenches?
As soon as Shulka heard this order, he felt something was wrong.
In this battle, the Soviet army did not intend to block the enemy, but hoped to use the advantages of the T34 tank to repel the enemy or even drive the enemy back and fill the gap that was torn by the German army.
As I said before, this is what the mobile defense should do, launching a counterattack when the enemy breaks through.
In other words, the purpose of the Soviet army is to recapture Klin.
If this is the case, you should not build anti-tank trenches, otherwise your own tanks will also be blocked by anti-tank.
"What happened, Comrade Major?" Shulka asked.
"They won't be able to arrive at the scheduled time!" Major Gavrilov replied: "The railway bridge was bombed, they may be five hours behind!"
"Five hours?"
"Yes, five hours!" Major Gavrilov said, "This is just an estimate. It may be faster or slower. Who knows?"
Then Shulka understood.
If your own tanks are five hours behind, it means that the first to reach the 333rd Infantry Regiment is likely to be enemy tanks, and at this time the 333rd Infantry Regiment doesn't even have basic anti-tank equipment...they are all counting on With T34 tanks.
There is a saying in this period, "The best weapon against tanks is the tank", so there is nothing wrong with counting on the T34.
The problem is...without the T34, the 333rd Regiment would be slaughtered against enemy tanks.
Therefore, it is necessary to build an anti-tank trench in front of the trench.
"Major!" Shulka walked up to Gavrilov and asked, "If this is the case, how should we counterattack next?"
When anti-tank trenches are dug, not only are German tanks difficult to find, but Soviet tanks are also difficult to fight through.
Of course Major Gavrilov knew this truth. He looked at the surrounding terrain, then shook his head slightly, and said, "We can only take one step at a time, otherwise we will not be able to hold this place, we will be surrounded by the Germans and count them all." Annihilate those here!"
"I don't know if the light infantry company can play a role?"
"Light infantry company?" Major Gavrilov said: "You mean the mine dogs? Don't make fun of Shulka..."
"Why don't we try?" Shulka said: "If we can succeed, we can create a very favorable offensive situation for our T34, otherwise, even if we block the Germans... the result is very likely to be a failure!"
This is a question of strategy and tactics.
Strategically, the fourth tank brigade was required to attack, and the 333rd regiment's construction of anti-tank trenches was contrary to the offensive strategy.
So, even if the 333rd regiment defeated the Germans, this tactical victory could not make up for the strategic failure. In the end, the Fourth Tank Brigade might not be able to quickly counterattack the Kling because of the anti-tank trenches, causing the entire defense line to collapse.
Major Gavrilov was stunned for a while, and then said to the staff: "Go and call the commander of the light infantry company!"
After a while, a young valet stood in front of Shulka and Major Gavrilov.
"Comrade Major!" The maestro stood up and saluted Major Gavrilov.
"What's your name?" asked Major Gavrilov.
"Tarasik, Comrade Major!" replied the Maestro.
"Tell me about your troops!" Major Gavrilov asked. "Have they fought before this?"
"No, no, Comrade Major!" Tarasik replied: "This is our first time participating in battle!"
"Where are the dogs?"
"Of course, they are also the first time!"
After asking this question, Major Gavrilov realized that the question was stupid. If those dogs had participated in the battle, they would not have survived to this day.
Tarasik also noticed this, so he wanted to laugh, but he stopped right away.
"Laugh if you want, my lord!" Major Gavrilov said, "Otherwise you may not have a chance to laugh!"
After Major Gavrilov said this, Tarasik couldn't laugh anymore.
"We are going to participate in the battle, isn't it?" Tarasik's eyes showed a bit of fear.
Major Gavrilov did not answer, but continued to ask: "They...I mean those dogs, can they really blow up tanks?"
"I'm not sure, Comrade Major!" Tarasik replied, "We haven't tried!"
Major Gavrilov was a little disappointed by Tarasik's answer. After thinking for a while, he turned his attention to Shulka and said: "Even if they can explode, but there are only 108 dogs, we may have to pin our hopes on Each dog can blow up a tank or a car!"
"No, Major!" Shulka said: "The problem is that the Germans don't know we have only 108 dogs, and it may be dark when they get here!"
"You mean, we scare them?"
"Yes, Major!"
After a pause, Shulka continued: "At least we have another advantage, that is, we don't have to worry about these dogs getting under our tank chassis!"
There are no Soviet tanks on this line, so of course don't worry about that.
Major Gavrilov nodded, and then asked: "Shuerka, do you know what it means if you fail to frighten them?"
"Yes, I know!" Shulka replied: "But we have no other choice!"
"I hope you're right!" said Major Gavrilov.
(end of this chapter)
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