Chapter 429 Inertness
Major General Vladimir's estimate is very accurate, the 1st Guards Tank Brigade landed under the tense 16-hour busy schedule...one of the tanks was damaged.
At that time, the tank was being hoisted, and the staff turned on the lights for a while because the position of the barge was a bit wrong.
The BF110 of the German army immediately swooped down with the light, and then there was a string of bullets and shells.
Unfortunately, several steel cables of the crane were hit and broken. The tank lost its balance and fell heavily from mid-air, smashing the barge below into a big hole. The barge quickly sank in water, and a dozen soldiers He fell into the water, and although he was shivering when he was picked up, fortunately, his life was not in danger.
Then the 1st Guards Tank Brigade was ready for battle in Feodosia.
Katukov pointed to the map and said: "They occupied the No. 3, No. 5, and No. 6 heights along the road, and deployed anti-tank gun positions on the heights, including several PAK40..."
Shuerka knew what this meant. With the armor-piercing ability of the PAK40, if these high grounds were not captured, it meant that the Soviet tank troops would not be able to pass along the road at all, so of course they could not raid Zhankoy.
"Let them take the lead!" Lieutenant Colonel Zahakavic said with some regret.
Indeed.
If the German army is one step behind, even if it is a few hours late, it will be the Soviet army, not the German army, that will occupy those high grounds.
Highlands, especially the highlands by the roadside, have always been a battleground for military strategists, and often only a small amount of troops need to be deployed to cause headaches for the enemy.
The same is true for the Soviet army now, especially the German troops stationed on the highlands. Some deployed a reinforced company, and some deployed a battalion in stages, and their main force was deployed in depth to build a line of defense.
It is conceivable that once the Soviet tank troops attack the German army along the road, they will immediately be surrounded by the German army on three sides.
"It seems that we can only attack the enemy's high ground!" Katukov said: "Only by taking these high grounds one by one, can we continue to attack!"
"But Colonel..." Lieutenant Colonel Gavrilov said: "This means that we will be in a panic with the enemy, and then the enemy's reinforcements will arrive in batches, and our chances of attacking Zhankoy and encircling them lost!"
"Don't think about Zhankoi anymore!" Katukov shook his head and replied: "When the enemy's 46th Division returned to defend Feodosia, we had already lost the opportunity to raid Zhankoi. Now, we should consider it more. How to consolidate the immediate results, that is, to regain the Kerch Peninsula!"
Katukov is right. The German 46th Division used the terrain to block it, and it was basically impossible to break through in a short time.
What can be done now is to recover the Kerch Peninsula abandoned by the German army.
This can already be regarded as a great success, and the Soviet army, including the Supreme Command, will cheer for this victory.
On the one hand, this is because the Soviet army was defeated all the way in the battle on the southern front, but now it has reversed.
On the other hand, the situation of the Soviet army is very good at this time.
As I said before, the Soviet army has the strong fortress of Sevastopol in the south and the Kerch Peninsula in the east, which is easy to defend and difficult to attack. Coupled with the absolute superiority of its troops, it can form a double-sided attack on the German army entering the Crimea. Potential.
In particular, there is a crisis. Any time the Soviet army breaks through the defense of the German 46th Division, it may block the German army in the Crimea with nowhere to escape.
So, the German offensive in the Crimea can almost be said to be defeated.
But Shulka knew that was not the case.
Because historically the Soviet Army did regain the Kerch Peninsula as it is now and transferred several army groups from the Caucasus to station in the Kerch Peninsula to support Sevastopol.
But the cunning Manstein drew the Soviet army stationed in Kerch out by "leading the snake out of the hole"... He pretended to attack with all his strength and blockaded Sevastopol, allowing the Soviet army to take the initiative to move from the Kerch Peninsula wave after wave. Bo launched an attack on the high ground where the German army was stationed in order to achieve the purpose of depleting its strength and morale, and then unexpectedly launched a counterattack with armored forces to recapture the Kerch Peninsula.
Ironically, the commander who was tricked by Manstein and finally lost the Kerch Peninsula was precisely Mehlis.
To be precise, it was not Mehlis, but Lieutenant General Kozlov, commander of the Crimean Front Army.
But everyone knows that Lieutenant General Kozlov is a person who is responsible for the blame, and the person who actually commanded the battle is the representative of the Supreme Command, Mechlis.
However, when Mechlis reported to Stalin, he shamelessly put himself out of the matter, blindly complaining that the commander was not effective in command, and the soldiers were cowardly and cowardly... The fact is that the soldiers under the command of Mehlis made meaningless wave after wave. Waves rushed to the enemy's muzzle.
Stalin's criticism of Mekhlis was: "You have adopted a strange, irresponsible spectator's position on the affairs of the Crimean Front. This position is convenient, but utterly corrupt. In the Crimean Front, You are not a bystander, but a responsible representative of the Supreme Command, responsible for all successes and failures of the front army, and correcting the mistakes of the front army leadership on the spot!"
So, it’s not that Stalin didn’t know the facts, it’s just that he was not objective in employing people, just like he was with Kulik.
Mechlis was demoted because of this, but was promoted again not long after.
Of course, Shulka won't let that happen.
At this time, Shulka has two choices:
One is to take a breath first and let the Soviet army gain a firm foothold on the Kerch Peninsula before making plans.
The other is to raid Zhankoy now with lightning speed, completely defeating the German offensive against the Crimea.
The former may be easier, that is, you can take your time.
And with Shulka, of course, the Soviet army will not be allowed to launch a brain-dead suicide charge against the German army under the command of Mechlis like in history.
The problem is that Shulka is a little worried about Manstein...Manstein was born as a staff officer, and he is also a commander who is good at strategy.
Now is the time when Manstein is eager to fight the "blitzkrieg" hoping to quickly raid the Caucasus, that is, when he made a mistake in his haste.
Shulka was worried that if he missed this moment and waited for the battle to stabilize, that is, when Manstein calmed down, it would be difficult to defeat him.
So Shulka thinks it is more reasonable to choose the latter, that is, give Manstein a hard time when he is not in the state, although the latter will be more difficult... Sometimes people have such inertia, and they can do it later Do it later, especially in combat, fight as late as you can, because it might mean dying later.
Shuerka also has this idea, especially now that he can stop and enjoy the joy of victory first.
But Shulka knew he had to overcome this inertia.
In other words, it is to quickly break through the German 46th Division's defense line and occupy Zhankoy when the German 46th Division occupies the high ground.
How can this be done? !
(end of this chapter)
