Chapter 648 Deception

Intensive gunfire rang out, and the German soldiers behind each tank consciously split into two groups. One group leaned out and fired a burst of bullets and then immediately retreated, while the other group leaned out again to continue shooting.

This tactic, coupled with the firing rate and penetration of the MP43, caused the Soviet troops who were charging to fall in groups in front of the tank team... This is also the reason why there is basically no group charge in modern wars. The firepower provided by two automatic rifles is basically equivalent to or even greater than that of a light machine gun, so this is equivalent to countless light machine guns firing at the charging Soviet army. The bullet density is enough to keep the Soviet army at a safe distance, especially since the German soldiers would occasionally throw out a few grenades.

(Note: The theoretical firing rate of automatic rifles is similar to that of light machine guns, both of which are about 600 rounds per minute. The actual firing rate of light machine guns is faster because the bullet capacity is larger)

Finally, after leaving behind a large number of corpses, the Soviet charge collapsed.

This shows that there is still a big difference between theory and practice... Theoretically, these Soviet soldiers cannot retreat, not even a step. But when they really charge on the battlefield, when dense bullets fly past their ears, or when their comrades in front are knocked down one by one like mowing the grass, the fear in their hearts is still insurmountable.

Their performance is to flee back to the trenches in panic and screaming.

But fleeing back to the trenches has no effect.

The road-paving tanks continue to move forward slowly, laying steel plates on the road piece by piece as they move. Although the road is already full of Soviet soldiers' corpses, the next second the tracks roll heavily on them... Blood immediately bursts out like a burst balloon, accompanied by a crisp sound like dry wood breaking when bones are crushed, and the surrounding ground immediately turns bright red.

Qin Chuan couldn't help but flash the image of squeezing watermelon juice in his mind, but what floated in his nose was not the fragrance of watermelon juice, but the strong smell of blood. What was left around was not the discarded melon peel, but the arms, thighs, and heads that were crushed flatly at various angles. The most terrifying thing was the upper body, because the lower body was crushed, and the squeezed blood seeped out from the eyes, nose, ears, etc., and the seven orifices were bleeding, which was as terrifying as a ghost.

But the German soldiers did not show any mercy. They followed the tanks while preparing grenades, and then with a sharp whistle, they leaned out and threw grenades at the Soviet trenches under the cover of several riflemen.

There was a burst of "boom", and a smoke exploded in the Soviet trenches, and then the soldiers rushed up with MP43s, and there was another burst of gunfire, and the trenches were cleared in a short while.

The tanks easily crossed the trenches and continued to advance, followed by the infantry... They could not be considered to have broken through the Soviet line of defense, because there were second and third trenches behind this trench.

But it was obvious that the Soviet forces were mainly concentrated on the first line of defense. The second and third lines of defense could not withstand the impact of the 21st Armored Division without preparation, so the German army quickly drove onto the road behind the Soviet line of defense and advanced northward along the Don River.

Hearing the news that the line of defense was broken, the most panicked was not the 64th Army but the 62nd Army.

The reason was that the 62nd Army was the coastal defense force responsible for guarding the Don River defense line. All its troops were deployed along the Don River to confront the German 6th Army across the river. At this time, a German army suddenly rushed out from the flank... This almost surrounded the 62nd Army from the rear.

Lieutenant General Lopatin immediately reported this intelligence to the commander of the front, General Yelyomenko.

"Comrade Yelyomenko!" Lieutenant General Lopatin reported in panic: "The Germans broke through the 64th Army's defense line, and the flanks and rear of the Don River defense line are under serious threat!"

"I know, Comrade Lopatin!" Yelyomenko replied: "We are trying to drive this team of Germans back, hold your defense line and stay calm!"

"Yes, Comrade Yelyomenko!" Lieutenant General Lopatin hung up the phone and felt relieved, because he heard what General Yelyomenko said and thought that the front had enough strength to plug the gap.

General Yelyomenko did think so, but in fact Yelyomenko was deceived by Qin Chuan again.

After breaking through the Soviet 64th Army, the German 21st Armored Division had two choices:

One was to advance eastward to the rear of the Soviet 64th Army and completely defeat it.

The other was to advance northward to the rear of the Soviet 62nd Army and cooperate with the German 6th Armored Army to land.

Originally, General Yelyomenko thought that the Germans would choose the former, because the German army launched a fierce attack on the defense line of the 64th Army, while the 6th Army in the Don River direction had stopped without any movement... The 64th Army was of course an option that Yelyomenko had to save, because once the 64th Army was destroyed, the south of Stalingrad would be directly exposed to the German artillery, and at this time Stalingrad was not well prepared and the manpower was not sufficient.

On the other hand, through the reconnaissance of the front line, Yelyomenko also learned that the German army moved northeast as soon as it broke through the defense line, with the intention of encircling the 64th Army, so General Yelyomenko did not think much about it and immediately sent reinforcements to the 64th Army... This was also the reason why Yelyomenko had no reaction to Lieutenant General Lopatin's report, he thought that the focus of the German attack was the 64th Army.

This is easy to understand. After all, the German troops that broke through the defense line were under the command of Hoth's 4th Panzer Army, and their best target should be the enemy in front of the 4th Panzer Army rather than the Don River defense line.

But soon Yelyomenko found that he was fooled by the Germans, because an hour later, the German army suddenly turned around and marched north at full speed to the rear of the 62nd Army. At the same time, there was another fierce artillery sound on the Don River defense line... The battle of the German 6th Army to force a crossing of the Don River started at this time.

Looking at the entire opening, the Soviet army not only failed tactically, but was also repeatedly deceived and fooled by the German army in strategy. It was a miracle that this battle could be fought well.

After Yelyomenko discovered this, he immediately ordered Lieutenant General Lopatin to transfer the tank troops to the flank.

But everything was too late.

The Soviet tanks were bombed by waves of German bombers during the mobilization process, and nearly half of the more than 80 tanks of the entire tank brigade were lost.

Then, they met the 21st Armored Division halfway, and were beaten by the 21st Armored Division with artillery and rocket launchers, leaving them almost completely annihilated. Only three light tanks escaped back to Stalingrad with injuries.

The 21st Armored Division once again rushed towards the Soviet port of Karachi at full speed.