Chapter 302 Major Paul
But Major Paul only hesitated for a moment, and then ordered: "Attention all companies, attack! Go forward at full speed!"
The company commanders of each company couldn't help being stunned when they heard this order, and then quickly passed the order down:
"Full speed ahead!"
"Full speed ahead!"
…
The German tanks rushed towards the Soviet tanks like crazy, they didn't even fire, only the coaxial machine guns and directional machine guns were pouring bullets towards the Soviets.
German tank soldiers actually understand why their superiors issued such orders... This is one of the reasons why German troops can maintain their morale in combat. After their superiors give an order, they often understand why such an order is made and what its purpose is.
The Soviet army, more often than not, simply executed the order without knowing the core and goal of the order.
Just like now, if the Soviet army got the order to attack at full speed, I'm afraid they would rush forward excitedly, firing cannons while charging.
However, the German tank soldiers with higher military quality and more experience know that the attack at this time is to be able to rush into a distance of 100 meters... because only in this way can the German tanks possibly penetrate the armor of the T34; It is possible to find a bit of the enemy's side armor; only then will your own armor-piercing shells make sense!
Therefore, although they have shells in their gun chambers, they all choose not to fire.
However, this does not mean that they can turn defeat into victory because of this. Amidst the explosion of landmines, the German tanks were blown off one by one and paralyzed in place.
Soviet tanks pointed their barrels at targets that were lucky enough to pass through the minefield by driving fast, and then destroyed them with a "boom".
However, there were still a few tanks that slipped through the net, especially one of the "No. 4" tanks, which went straight at full speed without any evasive actions... This may be one of the reasons why it was able to rush into the T34 tank group smoothly. Going straight means the shortest distance traveled, and the shortest distance traveled also means the fewest mines.
In addition, most of the "No. 4" tanks at this time used the new 40 cm wide track (38 cm before the D-type in 1939). The wider track means a larger contact surface, and it can be used more on slippery snow. fast forward.
So this "No. 4" tank rushed into the Soviet camp before the other T34 tanks had time to react.
With a "boom", its short-barreled cannon had an unexpected effect at this time. It can aim quickly at close range and has a good pass rate. On the spot, a T34 was penetrated by it and popped up. Black smoke, another T34 was aiming its gun barrel at it, but it turned the corner and knocked the gun barrel crookedly.
Then it was loaded again, and it flexibly turned left and right between the T34 along the several passages rolled out by the demining tank. It fired randomly while driving. The T34 tank couldn't do anything about it for a while, until the No. 239 tank hit it from the side severely. Go up and stop it.
There will be this kind of phenomenon. On the one hand, the quality of the German tank soldiers is good, and on the other hand, the opponent who mixes with the enemy tanks in the night battle has a natural advantage... This is a bit like infiltration warfare. A few people wear enemy tanks at night. The military uniform mixed with the enemy will cause chaos.
The penetration of tanks is also somewhat similar. A German tank is mixed into the T34. As a result, the T34 dare not fire easily, because if it fails to hit the target, it may accidentally injure its own tank.
The German "No. 4" tank had no scruples in this regard at all. The short-barreled artillery fired at the fastest speed, and fired when it saw the shadow of the tank. At the same time, the machine gun also fired "cracking".
This directly caused the Soviet army to lose three T34s, and more than a dozen soldiers fell in a pool of blood.
If it weren’t for the Soviet army’s tank calls and coordination with infantry, the loss of T34 would be more than that.
Of course, this "No. 4" didn't end well soon...
Shulka believed that the Panzer IV was about to surrender, because it had opened the hatch and stretched out two hands from inside, while shouting something.
Although he couldn't hear his yelling clearly from the sound of the tank motor, he could guess that he was surrendering even if he guessed it.
But the angry Soviet tank soldiers didn't give it a chance to surrender at all. A tank drove up, aimed the barrel at the tail of the "No. 4" tank at close range, and then blasted it into a ball with a "boom". fireball.
Several German tank soldiers jumped out of the tank covered in flames, screaming and rolling in the snow, but even this could not save them... Soon the shouting gradually weakened, and the people slowly not moving.
War has its own unspoken rules. Although at this time the Soviet Army, especially the 4th Tank Brigade, has been ordered not to kill prisoners, this is also conditional.
For example, if you offend the enemy before surrendering, neither the German army nor the Soviet army will accept the opponent's surrender.
It is said that Fedosiev was so angry that he yelled... He hit the "Phase Four" tank with his tank, and they hadn't even broken contact with each other. If he was not careful, the flames might even burn on his tank.
"Tell that fool!" Fedosiev yelled over the tank phone. "He should at least wait for me to move away a little bit before firing!"
If, at this moment, Fedosiev's tank fails to start due to a collision, it may become the funeral of the "No. 4" tank.
But fortunately, it was safe and sound, retreating a little distance and leaving the danger zone.
Other German tanks were even paralyzed on the way to the charge, including Major Paul's command vehicle.
It was paralyzed on the road by a landmine blown off track, Major Paul ordered the tank crew to stop firing and shut down the engine.
This order made his subordinates a little puzzled, but soon found that the major's order was correct, because those T34s destroyed the tanks that were still moving or firing one by one, but turned a blind eye to the command vehicle.
"They'll think we're knocked out!" Major Paul said, "Now, keep it up!"
"Major!" The subordinate asked: "We can't hide there, they will come up to clean up the battlefield soon..."
"No, they won't!" Major Paul replied: "They will go after the retreating 3rd Battalion!"
Sure enough, after the battle, the T34 tank continued to advance in depth.
At this time, Major Paul and others hiding in the tank were all in a cold sweat. Sometimes the distance between life and death is so close, as long as there is a shell, they are likely to be blown into the sky like everyone else.
But in the end, Major Paul and his party failed to escape from this battlefield. They penetrated too far into the Soviet defense line, about 70 kilometers away from Tula, which made it very difficult for them to escape back.
A few days later, someone found their frozen bodies in the grass in the wild, only a dozen kilometers away from Tula. The documents found on them made the Soviet army know that Major Paul was the commander of the battle.
(end of this chapter)