Chapter 1518: Death of Viking (Part 2)

The first to fire at the Soviet tanks was the Panzer IV tank destroyer known as "Guderian's Duck". Comrade Lao Ma is used to calling this already scarce thing "Sister IV".

Of course, it is just a pun of "Four Destroyers", which does not mean that Comrade Lao Ma has any special and inappropriate ideas about this thing.

It is worth mentioning that this batch of Panzer IV tank destroyers is not a "complete" version in the true sense, but a "castrated version" with its strength weakened.

The production of the PAK 42 type 70-caliber 75mm gun of the same model as the Panther planned to be installed at the beginning of the design was insufficient, and the scrap rate of the slender gun barrel was too high during the drilling process. Not only that, it had to be supplied to the more important Panther tank as a KWK tank gun, so the first few batches of Sister IV did not get the complete main gun without exception.

They were equipped with the same 48-caliber 75mm main gun as the later-model Panzer IV. Some of the Panzer IVs were even worse, equipped with the earlier 43-caliber 75mm main gun, and the armor penetration depth was further reduced on the basis of the later-model Panzer IV.

These two 75mm main guns were still acceptable when dealing with the T34 medium tanks, but they were completely useless when facing the Red Army's heavy tanks with thick skin and flesh, and the effect was similar to that of the 37-inch stepping stone against the T34 in 1941.

For this reason, the Panzer IVs, who knew their own weight, did not choose the Russian heavy steel monsters that were farther away and could not be chewed by even the Tiger King and the Panther as their targets. Instead, they chose the T34, which was already thin in armor protection in 1944, as the target of attack. These medium tank troops of the Red Army were now rushing to the front as breakthrough hands.

"Target, Russian T34! Load armor-piercing shells!"

"Armor-piercing shells are good!"

"Aim!"

"Fire!"

Boom——

The noise when the main gun of the same model as the No. 4 is fired is really not that loud. The muzzle fire, smoke and the noise of the gun are far from being compared with the huge caliber Red Army 122 heirloom, not to mention the 152, which is simply the younger brother among the younger brothers.

Facts have proved that the tactical thinking adopted by these four sisters is correct. Knowing that attacking heavy tanks is useless and a waste of effort, picking medium tanks is indeed the only option that can cause damage to the Red Army at the moment, and it can only be done this way.

The thinly armored T34 body simply could not withstand the bombardment from these 75mm main guns. Whether it was the 48-caliber or 43-caliber 75mm main gun, it was originally designed to deal with the T34. Naturally, it had the firepower to easily take away the T34 at the entire battle distance. The Germans at least did a good job in the armor-piercing performance of the guns.

Boom——

The hood was deformed, the cap was broken, and then the armor was torn apart along the trajectory and crashed into it.

The T34 hull front armor with a physical thickness of only 45mm was useless at a 500-meter exchange distance. The Germans who had fought against this most common Red Army medium tank countless times knew it. Using the capped hood armor-piercing projectile with the cap-turning effect to attack the T34 front was the safest way with the highest success rate.

The turret not only has a small frontal projection area, but also has an irregular shape and a semi-arc turret front edge with a large ricochet angle. The most likely result of a shot is either a miss or a ricochet. There are even cases where the lower half of the turret front edge is hit and then bounces off the front of the vehicle just below, so the success rate is really higher when hitting the front of the vehicle.

The four T34s were destroyed on the spot after being penetrated by a shot through the front armor of the vehicle, but because the German 75mm gun projectile had a small amount of warhead and insufficient damage effect, only one of the four destroyed T34s had a momentary ammunition explosion, and the turret was lifted high from the seat ring, like a rocket, and fell heavily to the ground after rushing into the air.

Although the remaining three T34s could no longer continue to fight, the crew members inside the vehicles were more or less alive. Although they were devastated and bleeding, they were still able to climb out of the tanks and abandon the vehicles with the support of their tenacious willpower.

"Hey! Comrade, give me your hand! Quick!"

The infantrymen following closely behind their own tanks were helping their tank comrades to evacuate. The tank soldier who had just half of his body out of the turret was immediately pulled out of the turret by the infantrymen who rushed behind the turret. They quickly left this dangerous place and quickly found a cover.

The scene of several T34s being destroyed on the spot came into view. This was only the first wave of attack by the Germans, which had already caused instant casualties that could not be ignored.

The Germans are now turning more anti-armor firepower to this side, although the total amount is not much, and the Tiger King and Panther combined are only a few in the single digit.

However, the Germans, with their small guns and high penetration, still had a huge advantage in reloading and firing speed. Even if these few broken vehicles were stable and fired at full power, they were still not something that the medium tanks with crispy skin and large fillings could withstand.

Malashenko originally prepared two action plans.

The medium tanks took the lead in entering the battlefield with their speed advantage to engage the enemy and attract the Germans' firepower so that they could not take care of the front and rear. If the Germans lacked anti-armor firepower, the medium tanks would just rush over and open up an attack path.

But these bastards like the Viking division are not just ordinary people after all, and they cannot be judged by their contemptuous attitude towards ordinary enemies.

Considering that the enemy may have more powerful anti-armor firepower, Malashenko also has a backup plan, that is, the heavy tank troops from the rear will take over the medium tanks to launch the attack. With the strong armor protection hard top, the Germans' anti-armor firepower rushed forward. Malashenko did not want to see the few medium tanks in his hands suffer too many casualties.

Malashenko, who had been able to clearly see the battlefield situation, held a telescope in his hand, leaned half of his upper body out of the turret, and took in everything in sight. He quickly pressed the button on the radio transmitter held tightly in his other hand.

"Kurbalov, let the medium tanks withdraw first and reverse immediately! Such a forceful charge will cause too much damage! Let the heavy tanks go up and use the IS6 under your hand to send all these Germans to the sky!"

In fact, there are some things that Malashenko does not need to say. Kulbalov, who had already exchanged opinions and ideas with Malashenko in advance and learned the entire tactical plan, already knew what to do when and how he should do it.

The order to use heavy tanks to replace medium tanks for charge duties has been issued. The IS6 heavy tanks, which are thick-skinned and have the maneuverability of medium tanks, quickly took over and passed by our own medium tanks that were reversing and firing at the German guns on the opposite side. Passed by and continued to charge forward furiously.

It was at this last moment when the war was raging and the situation was getting closer to its end, that the rising sun finally broke out from under the distant horizon, filling this cold and hot place with golden light that meant both victory and destruction at the same time. The land of coexistence.

??As for the issues related to the Soviet August Storm that will inevitably appear in future content, what Koki wants to say is that since I started writing this book, I have always written the content from a perspective of looking at history fairly and objectively.

?The merits of the Soviet Red Army have been eulogized and praised in the content. This is a group of people who grew up and fought in a special era, and they must have some attractive shining points.

?But regarding some misdeeds committed by the Soviet army when they went abroad to fight in the late period of the Great Patriotic War, including some misdeeds in the future Operation August Storm, I will not whitewash the Soviet army or confuse right and wrong. Facts are facts and are irrefutable. I have never deliberately fabricated facts to justify certain actions of the German or Soviet troops just because I favored which side I liked. The content will not disappoint everyone, just like these more than 300 Ten thousand words are the same as before.

? Let’s talk about Comrade Political Commissar. Political Commissar Petrov is the character that I wrote the most about and created with the most care in this book. To be honest, I even put more care into it than Comrade Ma.

?Commissar Petrov is a down-to-earth and hard-working idealist. This is his contradiction and at the same time his greatest advantage. The Red Army in his words is the true perfect form that he ideally should have. It is not that Corgi thinks that Maozi's army is so great and perfect. Please distinguish between the author's point of view and the character's point of view. Join the group and follow frequently. The readers I talked to all know Corgi’s character, and I will not praise him so highly or even turn the tables on him.

?There’s a lot of nonsense, I’ve explained the situation to everyone, above.

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