Chapter 2146: Destruction in Progress
Malashenko often did things like eating more with less or defeating the strong with the weak in the past, especially from 1941 to 1943 when the overall environment was unfavorable to the Soviet army. A common meal.
Although this kind of thing became rare after 1944, when the Soviet army entered the stage of strategic counterattack and began to push the German stick all the way, but this does not mean that Malashenko has lost his talent. ability.
If he wants to surround and eat a bunch of Germans who are of inferior quality, Malashenko will still be chopping melons and vegetables as usual. Even if the Germans have a slight advantage in quantity, it will still be no problem. No help.
"Assault formation, each vehicle crew should pay attention to the distance between vehicles. Wait until the German's broken vehicle approaches the infantry position and then outflank it from the right wing. Control the speed and don't scare the German away!"
In order to achieve the goal of surrounding and eating the Germans in front of the position, Malashenko must pay special attention to one thing: he must not scare these Germans away.
As for how not to scare away the Germans, it is very simple. It is like a magnet to attract the Germans to the position and not let them go. First, make the Germans not want to leave, and then make them unable to leave even if they want to. To be specific, It's just a fishing operation.
It may sound unfair, but the defensive position of the 267th Infantry Division is Malashenko's "bait".
Of course, Malashenko will not allow the Germans to swallow the bait, and let these bastards smell the fishy smell and come closer involuntarily, even if the goal is achieved. Keeping the 267th Infantry Division to assist in the defense is the task given to Malashenko by Vatutin, while eating the Germans who come to die is the task given by Malashenko himself. There is no conflict between the two tasks, Malashenko Rashenko has the confidence and ability to pull it off at the same time.
The Kurbalov Brigade is still some distance away from the 267th Infantry Division's defense area. It will take some time to bypass the friendly forces' defense area at high speed and complete the penetration behind the German side, and this time is in Marashen. In Co's opinion, it was enough for the German who was anxious to die to put himself in a situation of no return. There was almost no suspense.
"Reload! Reload quickly! The German tanks are coming up, take aim! Get ready to fire!"
The 267th Infantry Division, which is neither a guard nor an elite, is just an ordinary reserve infantry division that was newly formed in early 1944. It participated in the battle for the first time during Operation Bagration and slightly proved itself, withstanding the Germans' attack. They made a partial counterattack and defended their position. Although they were unable to pursue the enemy, they still completed the mission, but suffered a lot of losses.
After being replenished to full strength, the 267th Infantry Division has become a front-line force and is no longer a reserve infantry division. This can be regarded as an honorary upgrade. Perhaps a few more tough battles can earn the title of Guards. Maybe.
But this time, the 267th Infantry Division, which had high morale but average equipment and average-quality soldiers, clearly encountered a tough situation that was extremely difficult to deal with.
The Germans who rushed over like beasts from the cage were by no means ordinary people. Just look at the two black Panthers rushing at the front and you will know that they are an elite group with high-level equipment rights and excellent combat power. Let's talk about it if it's not elite, but at least this equipment is absolutely top-notch elite.
The Black Panthers 2 alone are not the end. The number 4s who charge together with these Black Panthers 2 cannot be said to be very stressful. The main reason is that the big guys behind these Mavericks are very uncomfortable. Simple.
As a limited-edition rarity with a pitifully small production quantity, the "Scrap Man" heavy tank destroyer, first called Ferdinand and later renamed the Elephant, is definitely one of the rare objects among the German armored forces. , also powerful in combat, is a completely terrifying steel monster, especially for ordinary Red Army troops, it is even more difficult to deal with.
Although the scrap metal men with less than ten cars are relatively scary, they are few in number after all. What really makes these huge scrap metal men appear more visually oppressive are the ones next to them that are more numerous and obviously different in appearance. Another giant of steel warfare: the Jaguar tank destroyer.
It's quite a coincidence. I don't know if it's luck or something that really arranged it. In short, in the battle so far, this is the first time that Malashenko has dealt with such a thing as a cheetah. See. Even though there are already witnessing precedents and combat records of other friendly forces on the battlefield, even the actual Cheetah vehicles were confiscated by the Red Army and transported back to the rear for study.
But every time Malashenko met, he was either a trifle like Santuzi, Fourth Sister, or Stalker, or someone with a fat head, big ears, and even fatter than the Tiger King, weighing more than 70 tons. Thing: Tiger hunting.
This is the first time Malashenko has seen and fought against the Cheetah, a turretless tank destroyer of moderate size and balanced performance, on the battlefield.
Let’s not mention for the moment how Malashenko, who captured and confirmed the specific model of his opponent’s car, felt as the distance got closer and the field of vision became clearer. Being attacked by such a hodgepodge of German monsters, the pressure first fell. When it comes to the 267th Infantry Division, which has poor equipment and personnel quality, but no high morale.
boom--
Even though the German tanks were still one kilometer away, the heavy anti-tank guns on the 267th Infantry Division position still spoke first and began to fire directly at the oncoming enemy armored units.
Well, it’s not quite right to call it a heavy anti-tank gun, because this is a 122mm divisional field cannon. The 267th Infantry Division, which lacks anti-armor firepower, simply brought this thing over to make up the numbers. The relatively low trajectory and the longer barrel than the howitzer give the projectile a higher muzzle velocity, so it’s okay to use this thing as an anti-tank gun.
The 122mm full-caliber projectile whistling out of the huge muzzle screamed through the wind, and after crossing a distance of more than a kilometer at high speed, it finally landed and hit the track of a Type 4 tank, obviously failing to accurately hit the target.
But if you think this does no harm, you are obviously wrong.
Because what was loaded in the barrel was not an armor-piercing shell at all, but a standard 122mm full-caliber high-explosive grenade.
The later-model Panzer IV was already overwhelmed by its weight gain, after all, who could have imagined that it would become so fat one day when the vehicle was first designed.
The more the Panzer IV was modified and upgraded, the more the average trouble-free hours, especially the average trouble-free time of the travel mechanism and power system, dropped rapidly, and the failure rate continued to soar, becoming more and more difficult to serve.
This 122mm high-explosive grenade that exploded at a very close distance in front of the track did not penetrate the armor of the Panzer IV nor cause any overpressure damage, but after a loud bang, it directly removed one of the Panzer IV's legs and broke the entire track of the track plate latch, and it slid out like a capstan with a chain off.
When the forward inertia could not stop the car, the unlucky Panzer IV drifted in place and swung its tail sideways.
The Type 4, which had been charging at full speed with its accelerator pedal pressed, had its running gear disabled and came to a halt on the spot, becoming a fixed turret that had strictly speaking lost its ability to continue fighting. Several panicked and shouting Wehrmacht armored soldiers quickly opened the hatch and jumped out of the vehicle to escape.