Chapter 409 Frozen Soil (3)

Carius's reconnaissance intelligence and solution ideas were quickly passed on. Major Weilin, the commander of the 506th Battalion, couldn't help but murmur, because the solution Carius gave him was completely incredible, but it seemed reasonable. After thinking for 20 seconds, he immediately reported the plan.

History has changed beyond recognition with the stirring of Hoffman, the time traveler. In the real time and space, Carius was assigned to the 502nd Heavy Armored Battalion after graduating as a candidate officer, and the 506th Heavy Armored Battalion was not established until July of that year. But now not only has the 506th Armored Battalion been established ahead of schedule, but Carius himself has also graduated ahead of schedule and been assigned to the battalion as a platoon leader. In history, the Wehrmacht's move to expand the armored division was decisively stopped by Hoffman, but the expansion of the heavy armored battalion was much faster than in history due to the increase in the production of Tigers, and the personnel reserves were also ready. Those independent assault gun battalions that were supposed to be equipped with the No. 3 assault gun did not appear in the end and entered the heavy armored battalion with other armored soldiers.

In addition to the 12 heavy armored battalions planned by the Wehrmacht, the 6 heavy armored battalions organized by the SS are also being prepared and planned. The numbers will start with SS, starting from 601 to 606. In addition to the standard establishment of 51 Tiger tanks, each battalion will also receive an additional company of 16 Sdk251 self-propelled rocket launchers (Himmler Organ). Under Hoffman's vigorous promotion and military industry adjustment, the monthly output of Himmler Organ has increased rapidly and has gradually increased to 200. If the Tiger tank is a restraining weapon against the enemy's armored forces, this kind of rocket launcher with wide coverage and great power is the best weapon to deal with infantry, and it can complement the Tiger tank.

In Carius's plan, Himmler Organ will play a major role.

At 6:45, when darkness had completely enveloped the earth, Colonel Bubnov quickly issued an order to prepare for retreat, and all personnel immediately took action to make various preparations. According to the order, the towed anti-tank artillery will retreat first, followed by the infantry and other general artillery deployed around, and then the KV-3 tanks. These tanks will provide reliable fire cover for the entire unit. Of course, it is not long before sunset, and the enemy on the opposite side is still staring at this place. It is far from a good time to retreat. He plans to retreat after midnight when the German army's attention is reduced.

In today's battle, the 11th Guards Heavy Tank Brigade has achieved fruitful results. It only paid the price of a few tanks and a few anti-tank guns to defeat the enemy with air superiority. The cumulative number of enemy troops killed and wounded has exceeded one battalion, and more than 30 No. 4 tanks, assault guns and tank destroyers have been destroyed. In addition, there are more than 20 half-track armored vehicles of various models. It can be regarded as a significant achievement in the recent battles in which the Persian Army has been retreating step by step. If he can lead his troops to retreat to Baku safely, he believes that a Red Star Medal will definitely be in his grasp. The only regret is that he did not attract the enemy's Tiger heavy armored battalion in the first place today, otherwise he would like to compete with it to see if his KV-3 tank can match the enemy.

At 8 o'clock, Carius, who was lurking in the distance, heard the noisy sound of the enemy's retreat, but the support force of his side had not arrived yet. Only the long-range artillery was firing sporadically. The shooting effect without precise guidance was very poor. Although some comrades could not help but want to attack, he calmly stopped them: in the current dark situation, the slow-moving and large-sized Tiger tanks are easy to be used as targets (this idea is very correct. Although the mobility of KV-3 is not good, it is at least better than the Tiger). What's more, the biggest threat to tanks in the dark is not the enemy tanks, but the anti-tank guns and infantry with good concealment. Even if it is as thick as the Tiger, the side armor can still be penetrated by the Red Army's anti-tank guns.

The battalion commander, Major Weilin, told them through the radio not to worry. The other two tank companies of the battalion had been deployed, and another heavy armored battalion, the 508th Battalion, was also on its way. The army chief of staff, Major General Gauss, took the situation on the front line and the strategy reported by Carius very seriously and was mobilizing troops from all directions. He believed that the chief of staff would give him all the support he needed.

At 8:45, the Red Army artillerymen, who had not yet realized the danger was approaching, put their anti-tank guns on the back of trucks and prepared to evacuate. Suddenly, they heard a series of planes approaching from the sky.

"It's an enemy air raid! Everyone, please take cover."

"Is the enemy stupid? Dropping bombs at night is a waste of ammunition. Can they find us?"

"Can they find their way back after dropping bombs? They won't fall to the ground, will they?"

Just as the Red Army officers and soldiers were discussing, the ground attack aircraft group modified from the Stuka began to do its old job - bombing. Now more and more dive bombing operations are being carried out by He-218 on the Eastern Front, and Stukas have basically changed their careers to ground attack aircraft, but in some special areas, Stukas have unexpected effects. For example, the characteristics of slow speed, large bomb load, and thick defense are suitable for today's battlefield.

Following the direction and target indicated by the 506th Armored Battalion, 24 Stukas began to drop bombs intensively. The bombs they dropped soon exploded. The bombs burst as soon as they landed, but it was not the kind of earth-shattering violent explosion, but a very dull "puff" sound. Colonel Bubnov didn't care at first, but after a closer look, he was scared to death, because the German planes dropped not ordinary bombs but incendiary bombs.

The weight of a standard German incendiary bomb is 250 kilograms, filled with 85 kilograms of a fuel colloid mixture with napalm as the main combustion medium. The killing diameter of a single bomb exceeds 30 meters, and the bomb load of a Stuka at close range exceeds 3.5 tons. Each Stuka carrying out the mission today is equipped with 15 incendiary bombs, and 24 Stukas are a total of 360 incendiary bombs. Karius, who is 2,500 meters away from Mazari Village, can see it clearly. After the plane dropped the bomb, the entire village and the surrounding woods quickly burned, one piece at a time, and then one piece at a time. When the fire reached its peak, the entire area was engulfed in flames.

German technical experts' research on incendiary bombs is not inferior to that of their British and American counterparts, but Germany is limited by fuel shortages and is reluctant to use precious gasoline to produce solidified gasoline-oil bombs, so there is only technical reserve but no large inventory. However, after the acquisition of the Middle East oil base, the production process of incendiary bombs was accelerated at once. Due to inertial thinking, they are rarely used on the front line at ordinary times. After using them all at once today, everyone feels that the effect is extraordinary.

The howling, screaming, roar of the engine, and the sound of the ammunition explosion are all connected, which makes people's scalp numb.

"Sir, we are ready to attack."

"Won't you wait? The fire is very fierce now."

"No." Carius smiled, "We have to take advantage of now."

"Okay, be careful..." Weilin encouraged him, "I believe you can succeed."

"Brothers, attack!" Carius issued an order in his vehicle, the standard 48-ton Tiger tank.

"Sir, the fire is very fierce, I'm afraid we can't rush through it?"

"No need to rush through it." Carius showed a sly smile and issued an order on the radio, "Attention, all crews, approach the line of fire, but don't rush in rashly, use our range and accuracy to deal with the enemy."

"Long live!" Everyone understood the entire tactical details and cheered forward.

This incredible tactic was thought up by Carius on a whim. Before there was an infrared night vision system, it was almost unimaginable for tanks to fight at night, so the armored forces of both sides basically did not engage in battle after dark. The 11th Guards Heavy Tank Brigade did find a good place to hide during the day. With the cover of villages and woods, they achieved the greatest hiding effect and achieved ideal results. They could not be found by ordinary means, and could only watch the enemy slip away.

But after the 360 ​​incendiary bombs were dropped in the dark, the situation was reversed: the burning trees and villages illuminated all the hiding places of the Red Army tanks like bright torches. After all, only a few were unlucky enough to be directly hit by incendiary bombs, but everyone, including the KV-3 tanks, could not ignore the scorching air and burning. Staying in place would only turn into a pile of charcoal or barbecue. Once they started moving, the Tiger Heavy Armored Battalion would have an opportunity to take advantage of it - the swaying shadows under the firelight were the hiding places of enemy tanks or other vehicles, and they just had to use the 88mm/L56 artillery converted from anti-aircraft guns to fire at them.

Carius knew his strengths: the Tiger's reliable sighting and shooting system could guarantee hitting enemy targets 2,000 meters away. He led the second row of tanks to approach only 700 meters from the line of fire, and then began to carefully look for the target swaying under the fire shadow.

"3 o'clock, 1,500 meters..."

"Ready, fire." A shell was quickly fired.

"Too high, a little lower."

"Clang", another 88mm shell completed the shooting, this time hitting the target perfectly, hitting the side armor of a KV-3 tank hard. Until it was hit, the members of this tank were still wondering where the Germans fired the shells from.

"We hit one!"

"The No. 4 crew hit one!"

Carius smiled and issued an order: "Don't worry, there are still 9 hours before dawn, enough time for us to fight well."

When tank after tank was destroyed by armor-piercing shells flying from a distance, Colonel Bubnov decisively realized that something was wrong and ordered other tanks or anti-tank guns that were not affected by incendiary shells to fight back, but it was pitch black outside and they could only see the muzzle flames of the Germans but could not accurately locate them.