Chapter 1002: What a Fierce Battle

April 25, 1944, Volokolamsk, northwest of Moscow Oblast.

Artillery fire roared, tanks rumbled.

Thousands of elite German armored grenadiers faced the morning light, under the cover of Grizzlie assault guns and Type 4H tanks, and attacked forward along the muddy road that had just been opened. The minefields laid by the Soviet army were first swept by rocket launchers, and combat engineers used mine rods to clean up and open up a road sufficient for armored and infantry clusters to attack.

The Red Army's resistance was still tenacious, with machine guns, rifles, and anti-tank guns firing intensively. Each anti-tank stronghold that survived the German artillery and air raid had a ZIS-3 76mm cannon firing crazily - although this artillery had insufficient penetration and could not hit Tiger H tanks and E-50A tanks, nor the front of the battle room of the Grizzlie assault gun. However, at a close distance of 300 meters, the armor-piercing shells fired by the ZIS-3 76mm cannon can still penetrate the front of the Grizzlie assault gun and the Type 4H tank.

Moreover, the ZIS-3 cannon has a maximum firing rate of 25 rounds per minute, which still poses a great threat to the armored vehicles of the German infantry. The muffled sound of the 76mm cannon's rapid firing rang out across the entire front line. The crossfire fired by the Soviet machine gun fire points also formed a fire net on the German army's path forward.

Bullets whizzed around the German combat engineers who were at the forefront, and brave officers and soldiers were shot and fell from time to time. However, the warriors behind followed closely and finally rushed into the anti-tank trenches that were more than three meters deep and more than five meters wide. These trenches had been blown into large and small gentle slopes during the previous German artillery and bombing. Now the German engineers placed explosives on the inner walls of the trenches that had been cut into vertical cliffs to create more gentle slopes for tanks to pass through.

The German Type 4H tanks and Grizzly assault guns flooded into these trenches with gentle slopes like a tide - this was just one of the many anti-tank trenches on the Soviet battlefield of Volokolamsk!

Because the German army in this time and space always avoided winter operations and reckless advances, the Soviet command had enough time to deploy defenses outside Moscow. Therefore, on the battlefield of Volokolamsk near Moscow, multiple anti-tank trenches with interlaced depths appeared at this time, greatly delaying the actions of the German tank troops.

Just as the German tanks rushed into the Soviet anti-tank trenches, the Soviet infantry counterattack also began. Dozens of assault teams launched a counterattack along the interlaced trenches, using the American-supported bazooka rocket launchers and the Soviets' own "Red Iron Fist" or the captured German Iron Fist to attack. At the same time, some Soviet warriors who had been hiding in the foxholes or shells inside the anti-tank trenches that had been broken through by the German army suddenly attacked, throwing RPG-43 anti-tank grenades at the German tanks and assault guns in the trenches like raindrops. In addition, the Soviets also buried many anti-infantry mines in the anti-tank trenches, and German infantry stepped on them from time to time.

Explosions sounded one after another, and suddenly more than a dozen tanks and assault guns were turned into fireballs. The Soviet howitzer firepower also exploded desperately outside the trenches, trying to cut off the follow-up of the German infantry.

At this moment, the firepower and fighting will of both sides reached the highest point. The Red Army was desperately resisting, and the German army was also insisting on attacking with the greatest strength!

The German infantry firepower became a decisive factor at this time. The power of the armored grenadiers' Mkb-42 automatic carbines (called assault rifles in another time and space) was similar to that of a light machine gun. In the hands of the veterans of the Wehrmacht, it was an absolute killing weapon. The Soviet commandos who launched a counterattack along the anti-tank trenches fell one after another, and only a small number of "Zubaka" and "Red Iron Fist" could exert their power.

At the same time, some machine gun groups and mortar groups that followed the tanks/assault guns also established firepower points on the outside of the broken anti-tank trenches. The piercing shooting sound of the MG42 machine guns tearing linen and the explosion of 80mm mortar shells continued to sound, and soon the Soviet suicide squads lurking in the foxholes and craters opposite the trenches were completely suppressed.

There were also some Tiger H tanks that slowly drove up on the muddy and soft land, but they did not rush into the anti-tank trenches immediately, but stopped outside the first anti-tank trench of the Soviet Army, acting as fixed firepower points, and used 88mm guns to call out the exposed Soviet anti-tank gun positions and machine gun firepower points one by one.

From the rear, the Soviet front line was like a group of volcanoes erupting together, with mud mixed with smoke and fire rising up continuously. Before the old smoke column fell, a new smoke column rose again. In the meantime, countless infantrymen from both sides rolled in the mud and rushed towards each other.

The first and second anti-tank trenches of the Soviet army were broken through by the German army one after another, and most of the firepower points behind the two anti-tank trenches were also destroyed by the 88mm guns of the Tiger tanks. Fierce fighting then broke out in front of the trenches occupied by the Soviet infantry. After a burst of intensive explosions of 150mm grenades and 80mm mortar shells fired by the Grizzly assault guns, the trenches were already full of Soviet corpses. But the living Soviet soldiers were still desperately shooting and throwing bombs next to the corpses of their companions.

The grenades thrown by the Soviet army are all RPG-43 type. This kind of grenade is very heavy, so it can't be thrown far (usually only about 20 meters), and the explosive power is very amazing (up to 612 grams of explosives), so it is a very dangerous weapon for both the enemy and the grenade thrower. If the soldier fails to hide after throwing the grenade, he will be killed or injured by the grenade he threw - this design is only the Soviets - but there is no problem when throwing it out from the trench. Just pull out the safety pin and throw it out. Even if it can't hit the German tanks and armored vehicles, it can hit infantry and blow up a large area!

The weapons used by the German army to fight back against the Soviet army also have grenades, but they are not PWM anti-tank grenades (similar to the Soviet RPG-43, but slightly less powerful), but M43 anti-infantry grenades. This wooden handle grenade is much lighter than the Soviet RPG-43, so it can be thrown accurately and far. In the hands of German veterans, it is definitely a trench warfare weapon that is no less powerful than the 80mm mortar.

However, the trench warfare weapon in the hands of the German army that scares the Soviet infantry the most is not the M24 grenade and the 80mm mortar, but the No. 3 flamethrower tank. This special tank modified from the No. 3 tank is now an independent unit composed of battalions and directly under the command of the army or army group. It will be assigned to the armored division or armored grenadier division when needed.

When these flamethrower tanks join the battlefield, it often means the end of the trench battle. 45 No. 3 flamethrower tanks lined up, pulling out a front of nearly 500 meters, and under the cover of the No. 4 tank, they advanced to 30 meters away from the Soviet infantry trench, spraying scorching flames at the same time. The flames swept over, and groups of Soviet officers and soldiers were burned all over, screaming and rolling in the mud. Some officers and soldiers were defeated by their own fear and fled to the rear along the communication trench. Afterwards, some Soviet fortresses that were still firing also became targets of flamethrower tanks, and the losses were burned into a sea of ​​fire. The raging flames soared high, and the Soviet soldiers who could not bear the thick smoke and high temperature ran out of the bunkers, either surrendering or being killed by German infantry with machine guns and Mkb42 carbines.

The Soviet defense was once again on the verge of collapse!

At around 4 pm on the 25th, a signal flare symbolizing the successful capture of the position rose on the trench lines outside Volokolamsk. This means that the German 3rd Armored Division and the 6th Armored Grenadier Division have succeeded in their attack on the main position of the Volokolamsk outer defense line!

Now, the offensive road to the urban area of ​​Volokolamsk has been completely opened. As long as the German army encircles or captures this small town northwest of Moscow, their next stop is Klin on the Red October Railway Line 58 kilometers away.

At this moment, on a high ground near the city of Volokolamsk, Marshal Zhukov, Chief of the General Staff of the Soviet Red Army and Commander of the Central Front, was looking at the hellish battlefield ahead with a telescope. The German artillery fire there was so dense that it was impossible to count, as if a wall of flames was constantly rising and falling, while the Soviet artillery fire was only sporadic.

The battle had obviously been decided, and the Soviet artillery group was now withdrawing from the battlefield, with only a small number of artillery still firing. The remnants of the Soviet infantry, who had fought hard with the Germans for a day, now began to retreat in an orderly manner, with only a small number of rear guard troops holding on to the reserve position and being bombarded.

Zhukov put down his telescope and said to Marshal Konev, the commander of the Red Army Reserve Front who was watching the battle with him: "Ivan Stepanovich, what do you think?"

"Very strong! Really strong!" Konev said, "But we can still defeat them, because they are now running headlong into the trap we set for them. Once they fall into the trap, even the most ferocious beasts will die."

"Then can your reserve front continue to fight?" Zhukov asked, "Can the command hand over the defensive operations west of the Red October Railway between Kalinin and Moscow to you?"

The reserve front was really beaten badly by General Hoth's 4th Panzer Army in the fierce battle from the 20th to now. All three armies suffered heavy losses, with the total force reduced from more than 500,000 to less than 300,000, and heavy equipment was also lost in large quantities.

"Yes!" Konev replied, "But we can't hold it."

Zhukov laughed: "No problem, you don't need to hold it... You just need to lure the enemy into the trap. In the process, you should also consume their strength as much as possible."