Chapter 434 Trap
In the early morning of the next day, when the sky was just dim, the whistling of shells rang out over Feodosia.
The artillery shells smashed into the buildings in the city in pieces. At the same time, German fighter planes and bombers also flew over the city and dropped bombs and gasoline barrels downward. In a short while, Feodosia was full of smoke and flames.
The bombing lasted for half an hour, and Agapia ordered into the walkie-talkie: "Attack!"
Then a regiment of troops advanced towards Feodosia under the cover of several light tanks.
Major General Agapia was a little worried, because his troops were better at fighting in the wild and in the mountains than in urban combat.
From this point of view, the Romanian army should switch defenses with the German 46th Infantry Division and let the 46th Infantry Division launch an attack... The German 46th Infantry Division still has at least "3" tanks, while the Romanian Mountain Brigade only has a few R2 and FT light Tanks, these tanks can be said to be vulnerable to Russian anti-tank equipment.
Agapia also made this suggestion to Manstein.
"General!" Agapia said, "I don't know if you would consider exchanging us with the 46th Infantry Division? I think it would be more appropriate for them to attack!"
"I've said it!" Manstein ordered: "Initiate an attack immediately, we will have a lot of reinforcements in the future, don't worry about equipment and strength!"
"Yes, General!" Agapia felt helpless.
It's not that Manstein has never thought about this plan, but as long as Manstein contacts Sponek to talk about it, Lieutenant General Sponek's objections and remonstrance with protests will immediately be on the phone. head ringing.
"General, I don't think this is irrational! We don't have enough strength to drive the Russians to sea!"
"I think they have completed at least part of the heavy equipment landing, and the information you got is probably just a false impression!"
"We should wait for more reinforcements to make more preparations, otherwise the enemy will have an opportunity!"
…
Manstein has reason to believe that if Sponek is forced to attack Feodosia, Sponek is likely to disobey again.
So Manstein has only two choices: either immediately relieve Spenneck of command, or let Spenneck be temporarily accommodated and let the 46th Division stand on the defense line.
In the end Manstein chose the latter.
The reason is that it is a taboo for military strategists to change generals before the battle, even if Sponek defies military orders.
Another reason is that Manstein is worried that if, as Sponek said, the Russian army has already landed enough equipment in Feodosia, a rash attack is not just a matter of failure, but the defense line may be in danger .
However, if the 46th Division is stationed on the defense line, Manstein will feel more at ease... Although Sponek disobeyed the order, Manstein believed in the combat effectiveness of the 46th Division.
So, it was the Romanian army that finally launched the attack. This may also be said to be Manstein's test of the strength of the Russian army in Feodosia.
Manstein certainly did not expect that the Soviet troops stationed in Feodosia were waiting for this moment.
Major General Agapia raised his binoculars and looked forward. His soldiers were attacking Feodosia against the rising sun... This can be said to be a weak point of the attacking force. Target the enemy on the dark side, but you are clearly exposed to the enemy's sight under the sunlight.
But this cannot be avoided, because they need the support of the air force and artillery, so they must attack during the day.
But soon, Major General Agapia realized that something was wrong, because in the aperture of his telescope, a row of black shadows appeared in the distant sky, like a group of wild geese flying together.
But of course it won't be a wild goose, but an airplane.
"Russian plane!" Major General Agapia turned to the staff and said, "Tell the Luftwaffe immediately!"
"Yes, General!"
Then Agapia was taken aback for a moment, and soon realized that it was not the German Air Force that had to be careful, but himself.
The Luftwaffe has always had the upper hand, even though they are smaller in number... It's a well-known fact.
So, why did the Russians dispatch the air force to fight when the German Air Force clearly had the upper hand? They will not do this unless it is a last resort or under special circumstances, because it often means the loss of a considerable number of fighters!
In other words, now is a special situation. The appearance of these Russian planes means that the Russians have taken action!
What action will there be?
No need to think too much, counterattack, the Russians will counterattack!
They have the strength to counterattack!
It was even planned!
Thinking of this, Agapia hurriedly yelled at the staff officer who was on the phone: "Retreat, let them retreat! Immediately!"
But it was too late.
Suddenly there was a whistling sound of artillery shells in the air, as well as the creepy "whoosh" sound of rocket launchers. In the blink of an eye, several German artillery positions were destroyed... The reason for saying "several" is because the artillery often fired immediately after firing. Shifted positions so many shells missed their targets.
The most frightening thing is the opponent's large-caliber naval gun. A few shells came over and exploded like an earthquake, shaking the ground.
During the artillery bombardment, the fighter planes of the enemy and us in the air also launched a fierce battle... The speed of the air battle was much faster than expected. As soon as the fighter planes of the two sides came into contact, one after another planes fell from the sky with black smoke. , some still caught fire in the air and then exploded and disintegrated.
Major General Agapia didn't pay attention to these things. The casualties of the air force and artillery had nothing to do with him. To put it bluntly, most of them were Germans.
He crawled on the ground and walked a certain distance, then leaned out from behind a rock and raised his binoculars again to look at the battlefield ahead.
A horrific thing appeared in his sight. He saw a Russian tank smashed through the wall and "drilled" out of the building. It was a "T34".
Then another, and another.
"Damn!" Major General Agapia yelled: "We fell into the trap of the Russians!"
Major General Agapia was right, they did fall into the trap of the Russians, but they should feel fortunate, because the purpose of the Russians was not to annihilate them, they just wanted to defeat them.
"Forward!" Shulka ordered, and then led his subordinates to follow the tank and drove out of the city.
The first thing I encountered was a Romanian light tank.
These tanks are like toys in front of the "T34". It has to be penetrated at close range.
(end of this chapter)
