Chapter 1329: Unmatched in Combat Power

The No. 4 tank spiraled up and exploded into pieces on the spot, not because the German army, which was encircling the enemy, only had the No. 4 tank. It was just that the No. 4 tank with a higher power and weight and rushing in the front was shot out.

Following the No. 4 tank on the left and right and behind it were a large number of three bald men, black panthers, and an unknown number of heavy tanks at the end of the team.

Obviously, the German army, who were also trying to catch up with the progress, did not care too much about the attack formation. All armored vehicles were rushing forward at the fastest speed of their respective performance. The lighter medium tanks left the heavier medium tanks behind, and the medium tank troops as a whole left the heavy tank troops behind.

If Lavrinenko had not led his men to suddenly rush in halfway, it would obviously be possible to do so, just because of the absolute strength advantage.

The light tank troops would not threaten these German heavy armored units from the flanks at all, and the main German troops responsible for frontal suppression would not allow such a situation to happen, so the biggest unexpected variable was still the Lavrinenko support troops who suddenly rushed in halfway.

After realizing that there was a powerful enemy blocking the way on the way forward, the German tank echelons that rushed up immediately began to change their formation.

The originally sparse medium tank charge echelons began to slow down, and the distance between the heavy tank troops and the medium tank troops that followed the formation was visibly reduced rapidly.

The Black Panther, which had an absolute accuracy advantage with its ultra-long 75mm main gun, spoke first. At the moment, the 800-meter engagement distance was a piece of cake for the Black Panther, which could accurately hit tank-sized targets at a distance of one kilometer.

The rapidly shaking turret calibrated the main gun elevation and locked the target at the fastest speed. The black muzzle was entrenched behind the small earth slope, revealing only the upper body projection area of ​​the Red Army medium tank.

"Fire!"

Boom-boom-boom--

The 75mm capped armor-piercing shell that was ejected from the barrel had an extremely high muzzle velocity. From the burst of muzzle fire to the final hit of the target, it can be said that it was completely instantaneous.

The sharp armor-piercing projectile smashed the wind cap and pushed open the cap, first penetrating the armor on the front main armor belt of the turret of a T3485 medium tank.

The small shell penetration hole brought terrible lethality, and the armor-piercing projectile detonated inside the turret released death and destruction in a narrow space.

The three crew members in the turret, including the commander, gunner, and loader, died on the spot. It sounds bloody, but being blown into a pile of minced meat and debris on the spot is the only and inevitable outcome.

The main gun of the Black Panther is famous for its super armor penetration depth, but it is not perfect and flawless.

At least the low charge of the projectile warhead is the biggest flaw. It is enough to kill the three crew members in the narrow turret, but it is not enough to take away the two crew members at the front of the vehicle.

The T3485, which was hit by a bullet, tilted its head, and flames and smoke came out, and it could no longer continue to fight. Although the two surviving crew members barely saved their lives, they were obviously injured. It was extremely difficult to climb out of the tank.

The infantry accompanying them hurried forward to rescue them. As soon as they left the tank, they fainted and it was unknown whether they were dead or alive.

This T3485 that was hit by a bullet through the turret at a distance of 800 meters was not an isolated case. The second company responsible for restraining and blocking the left wing crescent had three tanks hit at the same time and all of them were penetrated by armor after only the first round of face-to-face shooting.

The result of one T43 and two T3485s being killed on the spot was not a small matter. The entire Second Company only had a total of 16 medium tanks. The first round of mutual firing directly cut off one-fifth of the Second Company's combat strength.

The remaining T3485 and T43 continued to fight and were not affected at all, but the result of the continuous firing was more or less disappointing.

The Panzer IV, a medium tank of pure German descent, was too easy to deal with after all. The square shoebox shape and completely vertical armor basically penetrated and killed the 85mm main gun.

But as I said just now, the German army did not only have the Panzer IV. There were also a large number of Panther tanks among the medium tanks that followed closely behind.

The full-caliber wind cap armor-piercing grenades fired by the 85mm main gun were completely different from the Panzer IV when dealing with these iron cans.

The entire frontal part of the vehicle, which occupies most of the frontal projection area, cannot be penetrated at all. The Black Panther's small head is even more difficult to be hit at a distance of 800 meters.

Moreover, even if it hits, it may not have a very good impact. The semi-arc gun shield with a physical thickness of 100 mm deflects a little, which can make the 85 gun armor-piercing shells with a penetration depth close to the critical value at a distance of 800 meters useless. They are either bounced off on the spot or cannot be penetrated.

Therefore, although the second company's blocking troops have a certain terrain advantage and use the ups and downs of the small earth slope to cover most of the vehicle body, they can basically pull out a turret. However, because of the overly powerful performance of the Black Panthers on the opposite side, whether it is the T3485 or the newer T43, it is difficult to gain any advantage in front of this thing.

Not being able to penetrate the enemy's armor is the most troublesome problem, but the Panther can easily penetrate its own armor protection. And the Germans also have a better optical sighting system and a longer main gun barrel, which gives them an advantage in hit rate and accuracy in long-range shooting.

So even if Lavrinenko has tried his best to create some possible terrain advantages and try to win back a city, the Panther, which is considered a heavy tank in terms of tonnage in the Red Army and even the Allied armored forces, is still extremely difficult to deal with.

This medium tank that integrates excellent frontal protection, high mobility and powerful firepower is really strong. In Malashenko's evaluation, it is even more threatening than the German Tiger heavy tank. At least the entire front of the latter can be easily penetrated by the 85 gun at a regular combat distance, but the Panther can't.

The battle is still going on. The Germans are trying to break through the blockade and continue to move forward to complete the task, while the second company that received Lavrinenko's task is holding its position and fighting to the death.

The losses in the battle continued to increase. Although some German Panthers were killed on the spot because their gun shields were penetrated, the Red Army's medium tank units, which were not superior in terms of quality and quantity, suffered greater losses.

The worst situation was far more than that. With the roaring German heavy tanks slowly arriving, the real nightmare had just begun.