Chapter 278 Mission
Due to time constraints, the troops quickly entered the retreat phase.
Although the Soviet army has recovered Tver at this time, Tver is obviously untenable for the Soviet army... surrounded by enemies, there will be no advantage at dawn, and even the supply line will be cut off.
So although the Supreme Command did have a suggestion to let Zhukov stick to Tver, Zhukov refused without any hesitation.
"Either Tver or Moscow!" Zhukov replied to the Supreme Command: "My ability is only to choose one of the two. I want to know which one do you want me to defend?!"
The answer, of course, would not be Tver.
Zhukov is correct, although Tver's strategic position is very important, both for the German army and the Soviet army.
The problem is that the Soviet defense line at this time has been compressed to the Mozhaisk area, which is the second line of defense.
Occupying Tver will form an assault department outside the line of defense that is easily surrounded by the enemy. It cannot be protected by friendly forces on both wings. The so-called restored railway line from Leningrad to Moscow is also very vulnerable without air supremacy.
Especially... At this time, the Soviet army is short of troops, and the troops occupying Tver are the last reserve force of the second line of defense.
So, the battle situation is indeed as Zhukov said: either Tver or Moscow.
If there is any problem with this sentence, it is that if you choose Tver, you will lose Moscow because of the capture of the German army.
Perhaps it was because the Supreme Command had just made a mistake and left the mess to Zhukov, so this time they did not insist on their own opinion by removing Zhukov's command as last time, and they chose to support Zhukov's idea.
So the troops quickly entered the retreat procedure:
The 4th Tank Brigade continued to chase and drive the German army back... This kind of pursuit is necessary, especially when retreating.
Otherwise, as soon as the troops stop, the enemy may reorganize and launch a counterattack against the Soviet army. At this time, the retreating Soviet army will be in trouble.
This is also one of the reasons why troops in actual combat often have to launch an attack before retreating, and even have to drive the enemy back even a few tens of meters before they dare to retreat... Otherwise, they are likely to be chased by the enemy, and the retreat can easily turn into a rout.
Shuerka and others did not return to the team.
The reason is that on the one hand, the battle of chasing the enemy on the front line is not tense, and there is not much difference between one more company and one less company.
On the other hand, the armored train cannot leave the rails, so it is naturally not suitable for chasing the enemy.
Shulka has a new mission: to protect the railway line.
The task was ordered by Katukov, who took over the command of the Fourth Tank Brigade when the two armies joined forces.
"Congratulations, Comrade Shulka!" After Katukov answered the phone, the first thing he said was not the mission but chatting with Shulka, which is rare for a well-trained commander like Katukov.
"You successfully rescued me!" Katukov said: "Of course there are others! I heard that you captured an armored train and used it to cross Tver?"
"Yes, Comrade Katukov!" Shulka replied.
"I also heard...you didn't die at the hands of the enemy, but you almost died at the hands of your own people?"
It seems that the cavalry reported this incident to Katukov. Shulka and the others didn't say anything at all. After all, the battle was still going on, and they knew that it was not the time to pursue responsibility.
"Yes, Comrade Katukov!"
Katukov on the other end of the phone laughed: "Don't worry, Comrade Shulka. We will punish that careless lieutenant, but now I need you to complete a new task!"
"Yes, Comrade Katukov!"
"Drive the armored train and protect the safety of the railway!" Katukov said, "You know, we have just captured the railway and repaired it. There are many German stragglers near the railway. They even have mortars in their hands." Cannons and howitzers, your mission is to keep the railway running and trains safe, understand?"
"Understood!" Shulka replied.
This is the best use of everything. The armored train is originally suitable for dealing with guerrillas and stragglers to protect the safety of the railway. Now it will be used immediately.
So this became the easiest task Shulka has ever had.
First, they drove the armored train to the railway station to contact the logistics department... The armored train needs to be dispatched in a unified manner, otherwise it will cause the paralysis of the entire railway if they drive randomly on the rails with their own temper.
Then, they also went to the quartermaster to replenish some ammunition.
The battle just now almost exhausted the ammunition on the armored train.
This seems to be ironic, the Germans didn't use much ammunition when using armored trains...they used more 88MM anti-aircraft guns, and the machine guns, small-caliber anti-aircraft guns and the like hardly moved.
On the contrary, after being in the hands of Shulka and others, no matter what equipment the bullets and shells poured out like running water, the ammunition reserves used to replenish the carriages in the whole section soon ran out, and even the 12.7MM anti-aircraft machine gun The bullet has been broken.
In actual combat, the 12.7MM anti-aircraft machine gun is actually more useful, because it can deal with all targets except tanks, and it can even deal with "No. 1" and "No. 2" tanks at close range or with side and rear armor.
(Note: "No. 1" tank armor thickness is 13MM, "No. 2" tank armor thickness is 10 to 30MM)
It also has the advantages of fast fire rate and high damage.
So it is natural to load 12.7MM high-speed bullets in large quantities when replenishing ammunition.
Finally, a radio station was added to the car, and two wrecker carriages were attached to replenish some engineers, and a mission like traveling began.
The wrecker compartments are distributed at both ends of the armored train, generally only have a flat plate, and the front end has a low and hard iron setback.
The low height can make it sink under the center of gravity so that it can be easily derailed, and the tight head can knock the obstacles on the rails into two parts from the middle and then sweep them out of the rails, not to mention the mines and the like. Little damage will be done to it.
Originally, Shulka thought that this thing would have no effect, but soon found out that he was wrong.
Within ten minutes after the armored train set off from Tver, it split a carriage in two and ruthlessly knocked it out.
The carriage was set at the bend of the track, so the armored train couldn't hold back at all, and then detonated several mines... It seemed to be anti-tank mines, so the armored train stopped quickly and retreated for a while.
If the rails are blown off, it is easy to cause the train to derail.
Then the German stragglers ambushing on both sides of the railroad tracks suffered. They thought they were waiting for the enemy train, but they didn't expect it to be a big guy full of weapons and armor!
(end of this chapter)
