Chapter 1166 The Last Two Hours
Even though the SS had carried out a large-scale artillery preparation in advance and attacked the defensive positions outside the village.
But a huge problem in front of them was that the defensive positions jointly guarded by Stalin's First Guards Heavy Tank Brigade and the Ninth Guards Airborne Division were far from being as simple as the general Soviet infantry defense positions.
Ordinary Soviet infantry defense positions used anti-tank guns as anti-armor means. These bulky, huge and slow anti-armor weapons were not only extremely vulnerable to damage from the artillery preparations.
Even if they were lucky enough to survive the artillery barrage, they would definitely be the priority targets of enemy tanks and assault guns after the battle really started, so the efficiency of damaging enemy armored units in the actual combat was quite worrying.
But here, in this small village where no one lived and it had been completely bombed, the enemy positions faced by the SS were almost unprecedentedly abnormal.
The Soviet army, which had always used anti-tank guns and anti-tank cannons to defend its positions, replaced their muskets with cannons. The huge Stalin heavy tanks with outrageous armor became mobile anti-tank bunkers and terrible nightmares on the positions.
It was a pipe dream to want to kill such an opponent from a long distance. The probability was almost as low as a lottery!
Not only could they not penetrate the opponent's armor, but they were also in danger of being killed instantly by a backhand shot. Whether it was the proud Tiger or the newly launched Black Panther, they could not withstand the bombardment of the opponent's huge cannons. Even if they were pulled to a distance of one kilometer, there was still no substantial change.
The SS, who attacked frantically with fierce anti-armor firepower, paid a heavy price as expected. The No. 4 and Black Panther, whose armor was no different from that of the Panther, were blown off one after another. Every 122mm full-caliber wind cap armor-piercing shell that hit the target almost inevitably indicated that another SS tank would be killed on the spot.
The SS, who originally hoped to suppress firepower to achieve some miraculous effect, but found it increasingly difficult to attack, soon discovered that the opponent's IQ had not dropped. This simple tactical deception trick obviously did not succeed in dispersing the enemy's firepower. The commander of the Russians on the opposite side knew clearly what would be the priority target with the greatest threat in the near future.
But once the attack began, it was like an arrow on a string that had to be fired. Even if the expected containment tactics did not work at all, the only choice the SS could make was to continue the attack, no matter how heavy the casualties were, they would never stop. Once they stopped, it would mean unacceptable abandonment of all previous efforts! All casualties and losses would be lost in an instant.
The wreckage of the SS tanks that were destroyed one after another was scattered all over the grassland in front of the position. They were similar to the steel wreckage that had extinguished the flames and cooled down yesterday. It was difficult to count exactly how many of these two destroyed tanks were.
The SS, who ignored the continuous deaths of their comrades, continued to charge forward desperately. Malashenko, who had killed four leading vehicles in succession, smelled something unusual.
If the SS's attack yesterday was so crazy that it was desperate, then the SS, which had just started attacking today, was like a group of monsters running out of a lunatic asylum with their fangs and claws bared after the wall collapsed. The continuous losses that had never stopped seemed to have no effect on them at all.
"Damn, these bastards are really crazy! I'm afraid that the pig-like attack of the little Japanese is just like this."
Malashenko could probably guess the reason why the SS attacked so frantically without losing any money. Anyone who had a little insight into the overall situation could easily come to the conclusion that both sides of the Prokhorovka confrontation were racing against time.
However, what Malashenko did not know was that if the SS had any chance and extra time, they would not want to launch such a crazy offensive at all costs, because the current situation had really reached the most critical moment.
Just when the SS launched artillery preparations, the two armies of the Steppe Front, which had rushed over day and night, that is, the reinforcements that Vatutin had personally called his father Comrade Stalin to ask for, had already engaged in a firefight with the German blocking troops sent by Hoth to try to slow down the pace and delay time.
And this place quickly evolved into the outbreak site of a fierce encounter battle in a very short period of time. It was only 15 kilometers away from the defense line of the joint part of the Skull Division and the Imperial Division that surrounded Malashenko in the north of the village.
To put it bluntly, what the Germans feared the most was that as long as the two Soviet army groups that came to support them could gain a firm foothold and set up artillery positions, the Soviet field artillery clusters that had an absolute range advantage could even directly hit the SS outside the village with heavy firepower without any suspense, and directly launch long-range artillery fire support for the besieged Malashenko.
What was even more terrifying was that Hoth, who had used all his skills, faced a tense battle situation with fierce exchanges of fire everywhere, and in the end only dispatched two Wehrmacht infantry divisions to take on the task of blocking. And these were two ordinary non-elite Wehrmacht infantry divisions that had been fighting for more than half a week and had suffered some losses.
Using two infantry divisions in such a situation, trying to stop two Russian army groups that had already rushed over like crazy to save their comrades from the water and fire.
Holt knew that this was actually very outrageous from the beginning! Therefore, there is no hope of being able to push the enemy back or hold the front. We only ask the troops to buy a little more time before they can no longer hold it, and separate the SS of the three divisions from the Russians with the strength of the two armies. , avoid contact.
The rest depends on whether the SS of the three divisions can quickly deliver the good news.
"Continue the attack! Use all the tanks, put the artillery directly on the position, aim at the Russians, and wipe that village off the map! You must do it even if it is not allowed! Don't ask me for conditions! I am I need a division commander who can carry out the order! If you can't do it, get out of that position and I'll take your place and carry out the order!"
Snapped--
Hausser, the commander of the 2nd SS Panzer Army, who dropped the phone in his hand, felt a little nervous. I wonder if it was because he shouted too loudly or lacked oxygen. After taking two steps away from the table, he felt a little nervous. Above.
"The casualties are too great, Hausser, how can we deal with the next Russians if this continues? You must know that they have the strength of two armies, one of which is an armored army! We can't afford to lose so many tanks."
Hauser, who sat back on the chair, calmed down his nerves and felt that the question raised by the chief of staff was indeed a bit ridiculous, so he blurted out the words with no trace of sarcasm.
"We are still blocked in the first step, and you are actually starting to consider the third step! Maybe you think I am short-sighted, but I want to ask you, if we don't solve this nail before those Russian lunatics pounce, do you think we have any chance? What qualifications do we have to talk about how to resist the enemy? We will be attacked with our front and back or forced to retreat?"
"The battle requires us to pay huge casualties, which must be accepted! Convey the same order to the Guards Standard Division and the Imperial Division. I only give them two hours!"