Chapter 233 Katyusha
The tank advanced for about one kilometer before hitting the German defense line.
The scout reported to Major Gavrilov: "Five hundred meters ahead, the German line of defense, sandbag fortifications!"
Sandbag fortifications are a common way to build trenches near muddy land and swamps. The reason is that if you build field fortifications here, you will face a serious difficulty... accumulated water will seep into the trenches.
This might be acceptable if it was summer, but now, no one can hide in that water-soaked trench for more than ten minutes.
Major Gavrilov nodded.
The weakness of the sandbag fortification is that it is easier to break through because it is on the ground, which is very beneficial to the Soviet army with tanks... Tanks can easily find and destroy targets without the guidance of infantry.
So Major Gavrilov asked the troops to wait nearby, let more tanks come up and let them start an offensive formation.
"Are you ready?" Major Gavrilov asked.
"Yes, Major!" The soldiers answered one by one.
Shulka didn't speak. There is no need to ask this question. There is no time for war to be "ready" at any time.
"Forward!" Major Gavrilov ordered loudly, the orderly waved the signal flag to signal the tank, and the follower behind the tank immediately communicated the order to the tank by phone.
So there was a "long", the huge noise of the tank engine rang, and the tanks drove out from their invisible bushes to expose them to the enemy's sight.
Shuerka led his subordinates to follow behind the tanks... In the past, a company should have three tanks in coordination, that is, one in each row.
But right now, it's obviously impossible to have too many tanks advancing at the same time in the mud, which would put a heavy burden on the infantry and prevent them from attacking.
So it was reduced to a company with only one tank to coordinate.
Gunshots and cannons rang out very quickly. When the bullet hit the armor of the tank, there was a crisp sound, and at the same time sparks were wiped out, like arcs flashing on high-voltage wires.
The sound of the bullet is not obvious because it is covered by the noise of the T34 engine, but the sound of the shell of the anti-tank gun is a solid "clang", and sometimes you can even feel a vibration on the ground, like a big gun The hammer smashed hard into the mud... it was actually just an anti-tank shell that bounced off and drove into the ground.
This kind of situation is rare. The armor of the T34 tank is inclined upwards, so the shells of the anti-tank guns bounce more towards the top of the head.
Then, the Soviet artillery opened fire.
When the "Katyusha" rockets fired a salvo, they made a unique screaming sound above the head. The rockets hit the enemy line directly, and then rose thick black smoke and crimson flames.
Of course, Shulka is no stranger to the "Katyusha", and it can even be said to be well-known, but it was a novelty for Soviet soldiers in this period... It was urgently put into use after a few days after the German army launched a full-scale offensive Mass production, up to now, there are only more than 200 guns in the whole army, and there is a rocket launcher regiment with 36 guns assigned to the 16th Army.
(Note: In 1941, the establishment of the Rocket Artillery Battalion was 3 battalions per regiment, 3 companies per battalion, and 4 units per company)
It can also be seen from this that the Supreme Command attached great importance to this counterattack, or it can also be said that the Supreme Command took its own face into account... If the battle they commanded failed and the failure was ugly, it would definitely be in front of the Soviet officers and soldiers No face left.
Considering this aspect, it is only natural that the Supreme Command will equip this operation with more artillery and even the scarce "Katyusha".
This is also good for the 4th Tank Brigade, as it is now, a rocket launcher battalion fires 12 rockets at the same time... Although the accuracy of this thing is not high, the disadvantage is that the launch volume is large, and each rocket launcher can fire 16 rockets , and finished within 10 seconds, if necessary and sufficient ammunition, ten minutes of reload time can enter the next launch.
That is to say, at that moment, nearly 200 rockets hit the German defense line, and the entire German defense line immediately became a sea of fire and fell into smoke. The German firepower instantly weakened and almost disappeared.
Even the officers and soldiers of the Soviet army were stunned by this scene... It was the first time that the 4th Tank Brigade cooperated with the "Katyusha" rocket launcher. Many people didn't even know what kind of gun it was making that would have such a bombing effect.
Then, Major Gavrilov shouted, and the soldiers rushed towards the German defense line cheering.
The German defense line simply couldn't withstand such a charge.
First of all, they are not prepared for defense in this direction, and there are only two infantry companies deployed in this area.
Secondly, no one can withstand the short-term, high-density indiscriminate bombing of the rocket launcher. Even if the defending German soldiers were not killed by the bombing, they were too shocked to react for a long time.
Again, their sandbag fortifications were vulnerable to Soviet tanks. A T34 shell can blow a gap in its fortifications, but they have nothing to do with the T34's armor.
So, the T34 moved forward and stopped shooting from time to time. The tank guns and machine guns easily suppressed the German machine guns and mortars and made them unable to move. Then the infantry of the 333rd regiment launched a charge with a superior force...even the gods could not save them.
There are sandbags blown up and corpses strewn all over the place, as well as German soldiers kneeling on the ground and raising their hands to surrender, as well as craters made by rocket bombs.
Shulka rushed past them and ignored them. Naturally, follow-up troops took over the prisoners.
The situation of the Soviet army killing prisoners has been much better since the battle.
First of all, the Soviet army at this time did not go deep alone like the Kyiv anti-siege war, and had the conditions to receive prisoners.
Secondly, when the Fourth Tank Brigade was formed, Colonel Katukov strictly prohibited killing prisoners, especially on the battlefield.
The reason is very simple. Although killing prisoners relieves hatred, the direct consequence is to make the enemy stubbornly resist and refuse to surrender. Especially on the battlefield, in the eyes of the follow-up German army, it is easy to feel the same hatred and unite, which is obviously asking for trouble for oneself.
But Soviet soldiers usually don't think so far.
So, the most important thing is... Siberia needs captives.
After continuing to rush forward for a while, the road conditions gradually improved, and then Shulka and the others saw the village, one country house after another.
There are also teams of German troops and several tanks.
The reaction speed of the German army was fast. It took less than ten minutes from the start of the attack until the Soviet army broke through its defense line, and they transferred a force to organize another line of defense using buildings on the edge of the village.
(end of this chapter)
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