Chapter 223 Game of Life and Death

A rough count showed that there were still at least 30 German tanks trying to launch a flanking attack on their side in two directions. Malashenko, who had only 9 KV1 heavy tanks left, including his own vehicle, that could still fight, had no time to think too much. A seemingly stupid decision came out of his mouth immediately.

"Cars 101, 102, and 103, follow me to deal with the German tanks coming from the south. Alexi will take the remaining tanks to deal with the Germans coming from the north. We have our backs to each other! Don't leave weaknesses to the enemy!"

The order to divide the few remaining tanks in his hands into two again to deal with the two German tanks at the same time seemed to be exactly what the German commander wanted, just like the German army was forced to fight on the east and west fronts at the end of World War II because it failed to solve the hidden dangers left by the British.

But if the plan of focusing on dealing with the enemy in one direction and exposing all weaknesses to the German tanks in the other direction is even more hopeless in Malashenko's view.

The KV1 heavy tank, with its absolute quality advantage of strong armor and powerful guns, was certainly an unusually powerful existence on the Soviet-German battlefield in 1941.

But the truth that there is absolutely no invincible tank in this world is extremely clear to Malashenko, who is a time traveler from the future. No matter how powerful the armor of the KV1 heavy tank is, it can never withstand the attack of the German Type 40 tungsten core armor-piercing projectile with its relatively weak 75mm side vertical armor and the even weaker 50mm vertical armor at the chrysanthemum.

The armored combat concept of keeping the front facing the enemy is still regarded as the supreme truth by armored soldiers of various countries even in the 21st century. Malashenko's seemingly stupid decision is actually a correct order issued in accordance with the supreme principle of armored combat.

The Soviet tank soldiers, who have always been strict with their superiors' orders, have no time to consider whether Malashenko's order is correct or not. The KV1 heavy tanks, which are almost out of breath under the pressure of the high-speed German tank group, immediately start to roar their engines. In a clumsy way, one track locked and the other track turned forward, the heavy tank weighing 47 tons was aimed at the enemy in a low posture.

Seeing such a scene in the commander's periscope in his hand, Bolt was surprised that the Soviet tank commander could still make such a seemingly stupid but actually the best choice in such a disadvantageous state.

"This is the first time I have seen a Soviet tank commander of this level. He looks like a very powerful guy!"

Since the beginning of Operation Barbarossa, Bolt, who has fought all the way from the Soviet-German border, has used the short-barreled Type 4 tank in his hand, which was originally used as an infantry fire support tank, to win nearly 20 Soviet tanks in just a few months, winning great honor for his company and even the entire armored division.

The Soviet tank soldiers, who had an absolute advantage in the quality of the single vehicle, were seriously lacking in actual combat experience. They conquered the French and kicked the British back home. At this time, Bolt was already a master in armored tactics.

It was this flexible and well-used armored tactics, coupled with the skillful cooperation with friendly forces using vehicle-to-vehicle wireless communication radios, that allowed Bolt to win a series of seemingly difficult Soviet tank battles with his early Type 4 tanks, which were lagging behind his opponents.

But when Bolt, who had fought all the way to here, met this elite Soviet heavy tank unit led by Malashenko, and the opponent was also equipped with vehicle-to-vehicle wireless communication radios like himself.

The rich and skillful armored tactics brought by Malashenko from later generations and the Soviet tanks seemed to communicate and coordinate quickly and uniformly with their own side, instantly made Bolt, who had always regarded Soviet tank soldiers as rookies, soberly change his old and prejudiced views.

Raising his right hand and pressing the sounder at the Adam's apple position on his neck, Bolt spoke quietly and immediately gave advice to his immediate superior.

"Raquel, this Soviet heavy tank unit is not easy to deal with! The commander is obviously not the kind of rookie we encountered before. Our tactics have miscalculated! What are your plans?"

Listening to the hurried words coming from the headset, the German armored major called Raquel held the periscope in his hand and thought for a few seconds, and immediately made a decision without hesitation.

"There is no way, the Soviets will not be fooled! Immediately charge towards their position! Use close combat to attack their weak armored positions from the side. We have no way to deal with the frontal armor of these KV1 heavy tanks. We must create opportunities to attack!"

The 38T tank's circling tactics failed, and the tactic of dividing the troops into two groups to lure the Soviet heavy tanks to hit one of them, thereby exposing the weakness to the other German tanks, was aborted again.

Obviously, the shrewdness and battlefield reaction speed of the commanders of the small group of Soviet heavy tank troops in front of them have far exceeded Major Laquer's expectations.

All the fishing and flanking tactics that had been invincible against the Soviet rookie tank soldiers in the past were now useless. Major Laquer, who was at his wit's end, kept sweating from the brim of his hat on his face, but he had no way of knowing whether the temperature of the sweat was cold or hot, as he was a little panicked at the moment.

"We can't fail like this! How could the Soviets surpass us in armored tactics? Their stupid leaders carried out a purge and made their army so weak that they couldn't even beat the Finns. This must be just a temporary tactical advantage. Victory will only belong to us!"

Major Racker, whose heart was as violent as the raging sea, could only comfort himself with this Ah Q-like mentality. The death that seemed to be getting closer and closer to him was like a mountain that made the Wehrmacht major who had just celebrated his 30th birthday breathless.

But at this moment, Major Racker was completely unaware of what this indescribable strong sense of oppression meant to him.

"Damn smart Ivan! Load high-explosive bombs, aim at those Soviet tanks and fire to interfere with their attacks!"

After ending a brief conversation with his superior, Major Racker, Bolt, who flexibly used armored tactics, chose to order the loading of 75mm high-explosive bombs to try to interfere with the aiming attacks of Soviet tanks when armor-piercing shells could not pose any threat to the frontal armor of Soviet heavy tanks.

The flames from the high-explosive shells that accurately hit the armor of Soviet heavy tanks were enough to interfere with the Soviet gunners' aiming. Even if the shot missed, the dust and ash raised by the explosion could have a similar interference effect, which was undoubtedly crucial for the German tanks that were now speeding towards the Soviet heavy tanks.