Chapter 591 Pavement Tank

In a way, Manstein's idea was correct... The German army was in danger and had to break through the Kerch Line as soon as possible, otherwise the Soviet army, especially the three armies behind it, would slowly recover their combat effectiveness and finally annihilate the German army, including Manstein, the First Infantry Regiment, and of course Qin Chuan.

Therefore, at this critical moment, it was time to use the First Infantry Regiment

On the other hand, the First Infantry Regiment seemed to be suitable for such a battle... Most Soviet soldiers used bolt-action rifles. With the Soviet army occupying the terrain, the German army could not break through their defenses and could only fall in batches in front of the defenses.

But the First Infantry Regiment was equipped with a large number of MP43s. As long as the First Infantry Regiment cooperated well, two or three MP43s could suppress an enemy machine gun by alternating firing, and the bolt-action rifles in the enemy's hands could be ignored.

Therefore, even if the road was muddy and difficult to move forward, the First Infantry Regiment still had a great chance of breaking through the Soviet defenses and winning the final victory.

But it is conceivable that the First Infantry Regiment would also pay a heavy price for this.

Colonel Slaine was also unwilling to let the First Infantry Regiment suffer such casualties, so he said with some hesitation: "General..."

"I know, Colonel!" Manstein said: "But now we have no other choice, we can only do this!"

Manstein looked at his watch and continued: "There are still five hours before dark, and you know what will happen after dark!"

Qin Chuan certainly knew that once it got dark, the German Air Force would be unable to play a role, and then the Soviet army would take this time to replenish tanks, troops, etc. After all, the Taman Peninsula and Kerch are only separated by a few kilometers wide Kerch Strait, and it is not difficult for them to do this.

Then, tomorrow's attack will have to start all over again or even more difficult.

After thinking for a while, Qin Chuan asked, "General, you mean...if we can break through the enemy's defense line before dark, there will be no problem, right?"

"You can say that!" Manstein replied, "Because our air force will blockade the Kerch Strait and the Black Sea, the Soviets in front and behind us will not be able to get supplies!"

"Then..." Qin Chuan said, "I suggest that we wait until dark to launch the attack!"

"What's the difference, Captain?" Manstein asked back with some displeasure.

Qin Chuan understood Manstein's attitude. The battlefield is often changing rapidly, so if there is a chance to win as soon as possible, you should make a decisive move.

But Qin Chuan had other ideas.

"There is a difference, General!" Qin Chuan replied, "Because in the evening, our tanks can advance towards the enemy's defense line, and then we can break through the defense line at a very small cost, even if there are any accidents in the meantime, it cannot change the result!"

"You mean to use engineers to fill the road?" Manstein said, "But you also saw that the enemy will not let us do this!"

"No, General!" Qin Chuan replied, "Of course not to let engineers fill the road!"

"What is that?" Manstein looked at Qin Chuan in confusion.

"General!" Qin Chuan moved closer to Manstein, and then said, "Our tanks can't move forward because the road is muddy, right?"

"Are you kidding me, Captain?" Manstein showed some anger in his eyes, and he obviously lost some patience.

"Sorry, General!" Qin Chuan replied, "Because this is the point. What if we keep stuffing logs under the tank tracks?"

Manstein was stunned, then laughed: "I thought it was a good idea, Captain... Don't you think this method is stupid? The logs will roll, and the tank can't control it at all. The tank will even run around with the logs..."

"No, General!" Qin Chuan said, "We can string the logs together with steel cables. When the tank tracks roll, the logs will be rolled into the mud due to gravity. In other words, it is to quickly lay a channel on the ground that tanks can pass through... In fact, there is not just one, if time permits, there may be many!"

"You think the problem is too simple, Captain!" Manstein objected: "If we do it as you said, that is, string the logs together with steel cables, then how can we lay it on the position? Will the enemy allow us to do this?"

"We use tanks to lay it!" Qin Chuan replied.

"But the tanks can't go up there at all, Captain!" Manstein suppressed his anger. If it weren't for Qin Chuan's previous suggestions that were very useful and meritorious, Manstein would have ended the conversation directly.

Qin Chuan didn't explain either. He took the notebook and pen from Colonel Slain, and explained to Manstein while drawing: "General, some things are not as difficult as we think. We just need to make some small changes to them, and then..."

As he said that, Qin Chuan added a few more strokes and handed the notebook over.

Manstein took the notebook and glanced at it, and then his eyes lit up immediately. He looked at the sketch carefully again, and then nodded and said: "Good idea, Captain, this is tailor-made for our current situation."

After a pause, Manstein said to Qin Chuan with apology: "I should say sorry to you, Captain! I thought you were looking for an excuse to avoid fighting!"

"You don't need to apologize, General!" Qin Chuan replied: "Because you guessed right, I did want to avoid fighting!"

Manstein didn't expect Qin Chuan to answer like this. He looked at Qin Chuan, and then laughed at the same time as Qin Chuan.

They all understood one thing. If they could win the battle with fewer casualties, why would they do what the Soviets did?

Colonel Slain asked puzzledly: "Can I know what it is?"

"Of course, Colonel!" Manstein handed over the notebook.

Colonel Slain took the notebook and saw that there was a tank vaguely drawn on the sketch... The reason why I said "vaguely" was because the so-called tank was just two crooked rectangles. The only feature that could identify the tank was the ugly road wheels below.

This tank was a bit strange. There was a roller on top, and then a string of logs would roll from the car behind it from the roller to the front of the tank...

"It's really a good idea!" Colonel Slain looked at it and couldn't help shouting: "In this way, the tank will lay the logs wherever it goes. As long as we prepare enough strings of logs...it can actually go anywhere it wants!"