Iron Cross

Chapter 906 Soviet Counterattack (7)

"The enemy is about to attack..." This was the unanimous thought of everyone in the Red Army headquarters.

"Do you have accurate information about the enemy?"

"Except for knowing that the enemy has dispatched tank troops, the rest of the situation is temporarily unknown."

"How is the deployment of frontline troops? Can they control the Don River?"

Vatutin shook his head: "We can't control it. The enemy's air firepower is too fierce. The area along the Don River is bare, making it the best target for aircraft bombing. The frontline position of the troops is about 20 kilometers away from the east bank of the river, but observation posts are deployed along the river... "

Vatutin didn't know yet that the river mouth observation post he relied on had been killed by the Romanian F-class escort boat traveling upriver from Rostov. Speaking of which, the F-class is really a failed product. It has a small body with a weight of 1,000 tons and has to be installed with this and that. It also has to provide a test site for new engines. In the end, it was reduced to providing imaginary enemy services for U-boats.

Historically, the German Navy, with its poor financial resources, was reluctant to take out these junks. However, after Hoffmann took power, he built up the navy and put new ships into service one after another. The navy was displeased with this kind of stuff. It is necessary to free up sailors for the new capital ship - although a frigate only has more than 100 people, many ships put together can gather a sizable sailor team. Half of the eliminated frigates were sold to the Romanians and the Iranians. The two countries happily used them. The Romanians used them as destroyers, and the Iranians used them to build a navy in the Persian Gulf.

In addition to the F-class frigates, there were also various auxiliary ships and gunboats of the German Navy, as well as gunboats collected from France, all of which were sent to the Black Sea and the Azov Sea to serve as transport ship escorts. Since the Red Navy's Black Sea Fleet had been defeated long ago, With nothing left to lose, an old-fashioned gunboat can now run rampant in the Black Sea and dominate.

"The troops have deployed three lines of defense. The first line has barbed wire and minefields; the second line has deployed infantry suppression artillery, towed anti-tank guns, Katyusha rocket launchers and tank destroyers; and the third line is composed of tank brigades. "Mobile defense force." Vatutin explained to the map, "Comrade Commander Rotmistrov (General of the Tank Corps) has reported to me the general layout of the defense system. Overall, there is no big problem. . The only flaw is that due to the short time, the density and scope of minefield deployment and the digging of anti-tank trenches may not be enough. In addition, the troops lack new heavy equipment such as IS-2\SU-100.”

Zhukov sighed: There are not many IS-2s. After the rear has tried its best to make up for the losses in the early battles, it has only managed to produce 8 brigades until now. Comrade Stalin left 2 brigades for Moscow, and all the others were allocated to the southern flank. Ernyakhovsky had 4 in his hand. Malinovsky, who cooperated with him in fighting and was closest to the Ural River, took 2. The remaining three fronts did not get any. They were only the best. Several Guards tank armies obtained some IS-1 tank brigades, which was not enough to meet the needs of the front line.

The 5th Guards Army deployed in Dontsk on the Volga River is doing pretty well. It is finally equipped with relatively advanced T-43, T-43/85, and American Sherman tanks. Many tank units are still using old-fashioned and extremely high-quality tanks. Poor T-34/76 tank - Now the Red Army has changed its concept and no longer blindly pursues more. Instead, it advocates the production of less but better weapons and equipment. Similar to the original installation of paper armor in the blind pursuit of quantity, it has never happened again. Pass.

"It seems that our frontline aviation force is at a clear disadvantage and we need you to think of ways to mobilize some more fighter jets."

Zhukov nodded. Although Vatutin sometimes likes to complain or be in the limelight, he is unambiguous in looking at problems, judging situations and carrying out tasks. The 5th Guards Tank Army is the most elite force of the Southwest Front. He brought Blocking the most important mouth is also good in terms of operational judgment. This is better than Yereomenko who is eager to show off and grab credit.

"Actually, I think capturing Rostov is not the focus of this battle." Rokossovsky explained, "The key issue is to cut out the Kleist cluster and eliminate it, otherwise Chernyakhovsky Comrade’s most elite offensive spearheads are always stuck there and cannot penetrate, and this battle in the Caucasus will be very difficult.”

Zhukov looked at the enemy situation signs on the map and felt very embarrassed. The most important mobile force in the Kleist Group was the 1st Armored Group Army, which had the 9th, 11th, 13th, and 24th standard 1943 armored divisions and the 1943th Armored Division. 1 Panzer Grenadier Division, in addition to 2 Tiger heavy armor battalions, with a total of more than 1,500 tanks (tank destroyers), which is a force that cannot be underestimated. In the past two weeks, taking advantage of the Red Army's eagerness to attack, several armored raids of varying sizes were fought in succession, and each time the Red Army ended in defeat. Simply because there are currently IS-1\2 tank brigades to assist, the battle damage ratio is not as shocking as before, but the statistics are not optimistic - Chernyakhovsky does not have as many tanks as his opponents.

Just as a few people were discussing the enemy's situation, in front of the 5th Guards Armored Group Army, a large-scale German attack was about to begin.

"Tanks, attack!" Joachim Pipe, commander of the Armored Regiment of the Guards Division, and Kurt Meyer (Armored Meyer), commander of the Armored Regiment of the Youth Division, gave the order at the same time.

Compared with the depressed mental state in history because they could not save the fate of failure despite their best efforts, both Pipe and Meyer are now at their most prosperous moments. They are only about 30 years old (Piper is 29 years old and Meyer is 31 years old). ) worked until the SS colonel also took control of the most elite armored regiment. He was at the pinnacle of a man's glorious career, so that Hausser would exclaim every time he saw the two of them: "I am as big as you." At that time, I was in charge of only one platoon!”

Although young, the two men's understanding and attainments in armored warfare are obviously extraordinary. These military ranks and honors have been achieved step by step in the blood and fire competition in the past few years. The two originally served together in the SS Division and were promoted at almost the same rate. They were known as the armored twins of the SS. When Meyer was transferred to serve as the commander of the armored regiment of the Youth Division, the title was upgraded to the SS armored twin. male.

Everyone cherishes this opportunity. Depending on their age and rank, unless there are any major accidents, it will be difficult for them to get major promotions in the next 1-2 years - it is very difficult for a regiment commander to be promoted to a division commander under the current system! In their opinion, there will be no large-scale armored warfare after the Eastern Front is over. American? Humph, wait until they can climb onto the beach on the European continent! So this time Operation Quake is when the two of them are most eager to prove themselves.

After thinking about it, the war cannot be done carelessly. After long discussions, the two chose a standard wedge tactic for the assault force:

The center is used as the main force to penetrate the defense, led by the most powerful Tiger 2 tanks, and the flanks are supported in depth. The left and right wings are deployed in a wild goose shape. The flanks are started by Tiger tanks from the division's heavy armor battalion, and the Panther tanks in the center are protected. Column (Panther has thin side armor and needs cover). After breaking through the enemy's position, the Leopard tanks with better maneuverability immediately cross-replace with the two wings to expand the results. The next step is to wait for the armored grenadiers to come up to control the battlefield and finally control the situation and launch a deep pursuit.

Taking into account that the enemy was well-prepared and said to be famous, the two decided to invest 5 armored battalions after discussion: at the front was the most elite Tiger 2 heavy armored battalion, and each of them took out a heavy armored battalion from the armored regiment. A tank battalion (Tiger) and a medium tank battalion (Panther) formed the main force of the assault group.

Tactics are old tactics, but the quality of the equipment determines whether the tactics are effective. On a frontal assault width of about 1,200 meters, more than 300 Tiger and Leopard tanks lined up in a long steel queue of several kilometers, launching an impact on all enemy forces that dared to block their advance.

Little Ribbentrop originally served in the Guards Division. After the exchange of officers, he was transferred to the Youth Division as the commander of the heavy armor battalion. Fortunately for him, he was not injured for the fourth time, and the third time he was injured was much luckier than before. Historically the degree was much milder, so the recuperation period was short and the military rank and position were increased.

"beat!"

Seeing that the German offensive line was getting closer and closer, the Red Army artillery, especially the anti-tank guns, ambushed in various hidden corners, or the 90mm anti-tank guns aided by the United States, began to make key statements. The Red Army positions have been ravaged many times by artillery, Himmler organs, dive bombers, and Fw-190F attack aircraft, but everyone thought that there must be enemy counterattacks here, and it turned out to be true.

With a "boom", the first Tiger 2 tank hit the mine, and its tracks were immediately blown up. The rest of the tanks were undamaged. The other tanks quickly bypassed this obstacle, and the tank crew of the damaged tank did not give up on their duties. , still using the 88mm/L71 tank gun to bombard the Red Army firepower points that had just exposed the target from a long distance.

With a bang, a shell from afar hit the front of the tank. Everyone felt a shock all over their bodies, and within a few seconds they started shouting happily: "God bless him, he didn't penetrate us."

"Direction 11 o'clock!"

With a "bang", the Red Army artillery crew member closed his eyes unwillingly. He didn't understand why the 85mm anti-tank gun in his hand could not penetrate the armor of the German tank even though the distance was only 1,200 meters?

Thick smoke, dust, burnt...

Anti-tank guns and German tanks roared at each other, and the flames and steel torrents fired by both sides were clashing. The roaring flames and howling shrapnel swept everyone into it like a boundless ocean. Even with steel protection, under the power of the shells, Down here, life is still as short and short-lived as a moth.

After 20 minutes, the German army successfully opened the gap, and all the Red Army officers and soldiers fled. The crew of the Tiger 2 tank whose tracks were cut off by the mines came down to repair the tracks with lingering fear.

In the battle just now, they had received at least 8 shells, and the front and turrets had hard-hit marks, but they were not penetrated.

"This is our lucky day!"

Chapter 914/1109
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