Chapter 664: The Empire Strikes Back Part 3
When Comrade Popov was ready to fulfill his oath to the party flag with his blood and life, outside a small town called Izbica on the north bank of the Vistula River, Major General Hasso-Eckard von Manteuffel, the commander-in-chief of the "Manteuffel Cavalry Group", was calculating the strength of the armored forces in their hands with his two deputies, the new commander of the 8th Cavalry Division of the SS, Fegelein, and Lieutenant General Demai Stoya, the commander of the Hungarian Mechanized Army.
They still have some strength. In this time and space, because they control the Middle East and North Africa, and barely open up sea transportation with Japan and South America, the industries of the European Community countries led by Germany are no longer troubled by resource bottlenecks and have been fully utilized.
Therefore, all German army units have very substantial armored vehicle establishments, and the 1st Cavalry Division of the Wehrmacht and the 8th Cavalry Division of the SS are no exception. The two divisions have a total of 12 companies equipped with No. 3 assault guns, with a total of 72 powerful No. 3 assault guns.
In addition, the two German cavalry divisions also have 12 anti-tank companies, with 96 75mm anti-tank guns towed by Sd.kfz.251 half-track light armored vehicles. Although these anti-tank guns are towed, because the half-track vehicles towing them have certain armor and good off-road performance, they also have certain mobility on the front line.
In addition, the 1st Hungarian "Maria Theresa" Tank Brigade, commanded by Lieutenant General Demai Stojaj of the Royal Army of the Croatian-Hungarian United Kingdom, is now temporarily under the command of the "Manteufel Cavalry Group".
In this time and space, because Otto von Habsburg of the Habsburg dynasty became the king of the Croatian-Hungarian United Kingdom, he also brought many Austrian capitalists to invest in Hungary. Croatia also formed a union with Hungary. The financial, material and industrial strength of the Croatian-Hungarian United Kingdom naturally greatly exceeded the original Hungary.
Therefore, the organization of this "Maria Theresa" tank brigade is also very sufficient. It has the 1st and 2nd Hungarian tank battalions that imitate the organization of the German tank battalions, equipped with 88 Turan 1 medium tanks and 88 Torti light tanks.
Although the strength of these two tanks is somewhat insufficient and cannot beat the Soviet T-34 and KV-2 at all, the Turan 1 is not small, with a combat weight of 18.2 tons, and looks very powerful. Moreover, the paint of these Hungarian tanks is very similar to that of German tanks. The emblem on the tank is a black and white cross, which looks like the German Iron Cross from a distance.
"We now have 70 operational Type 3 tanks, 78 operational Turan 1 tanks and 80 Torti tanks. A total of 228 tanks/assault guns, almost the strength of an armored division, so we should not just defend."
Manteuffel held a temporary combat meeting with Hitler's future brother-in-law Colonel Fegelein and Hungarian Demai Stoya on his half-track armored vehicle.
"No defense? Are we going to attack?" The Hungarian general Demai Stojayi was originally an officer of the Austro-Hungarian Empire. He spoke fluent German and had no difficulty communicating with the two Germans. After hearing what Manteuffel said, he immediately shook his head and said, "General, our Turan 1 tanks and Torti light tanks are not strong enough and cannot be used as Type 4 tanks."
"That's no problem," Manteuffel shook his head and said with a smile, "Type 4 has its own way of fighting, and Torti light tanks have their own way of fighting. And we still have 70 Type 3 tanks (two of which broke down) and anti-tank guns, which are enough to destroy the entire Soviet tank army!"
"General, do you mean... to lure the enemy with Torti light tanks?" The Hungarian lieutenant general had already understood what Manteuffel meant, "But the Soviet T-34 tanks and KV-1 tanks will destroy all our Torti light tanks!"
"Oh, in fact, they are unlikely to destroy too many Torti light tanks." Fegelein, the commander of the 8th SS Cavalry Division, smiled contemptuously and took over the question, saying, "We captured a lot of T-34 and KV-1 in the last Legionovo-Wolomin battle, and tested them. Test, have mastered the performance of these two tanks. Their speed is not as fast as the Torti light tank, and although the firepower is strong, the accuracy of the artillery used is not enough.
Moreover, the artillery of the Soviet tank is difficult to operate, and there is no good sighting device. It is difficult to hit the target at a distance of 1,000 meters. So your tank only needs to keep a distance of more than 1,000 meters from the Soviet tank cluster to lead them into our ambush circle. And our No. 3 assault gun and PAK40 75mm gun are very low in height and easy to hide, both of which are good for ambushes!
In addition, the Soviet tank has a fatal weakness. Only the command tank has a radio, and most tanks do not have a radio, so they cannot get orders from their superiors in time. This weakness is quite fatal when encountering an ambush. "
...
"Bang, bang..."
Two loud noises reached the ears of Lieutenant Michel Wittmann, the platoon leader of the 1st Platoon of the 2nd Company of the 502nd Heavy Armored Battalion. Although he was wearing headphones, the sound still made his ears buzz. At the same time, the entire tank body shook violently twice. The experienced Lieutenant Wittmann quickly realized that his tank had been hit by an anti-tank gun!
"Ambush! There is an ambush! The No. 11 tank of the 2nd company was attacked!" He used the intercom to tell other vehicles that were chasing the Soviet T-34 tanks with him that his tank was attacked, and used the commander's periscope to search around.
He saw a large wheat field around him. The crops were growing well, but they still couldn't cover the tall bodies of the T-34 and KV-1. There was a small Polish village about 2,000 meters away. There might be Soviet troops stationed there, but it was impossible to fire shells to attack the Tiger tanks from there. The Soviet anti-tank guns were probably not that accurate, and their anti-tank guns were not powerful enough. They probably couldn't even penetrate the armor of the No. 3 tank at 2,000 meters. It must be crazy to use them to attack the Tiger.
"Bang!"
There was another loud noise, and Wittmann felt his tank shake again. Obviously, he was hit by another shell. This time, Wittmann saw the muzzle flame, which came from the wheat field more than 600 meters ahead.
Wittmann immediately understood what happened. Obviously, this is an anti-tank gun ambushed in the wheat field! The Soviets set a trap for their armored group. The T-34 tanks that retreated immediately after a slight contact 45 minutes ago were actually baits, the purpose of which was to lure the Tiger tanks into the ambush circle of the anti-tank guns.
However, the Soviets' strategy was obviously not completely successful. Their anti-tank guns could not penetrate the front armor of the Tiger tanks within 300 meters, but Wittmann still did not dare to take it lightly.
"Stop! Karl! Stop!" Wittmann shouted. He soon felt that his tank had stopped, so he gave an order to the gunner, "Adolf, 11 o'clock, 280 meters, anti-tank gun!"
"Boom!" Wittmann felt his tank shake slightly as soon as the order was issued, but his car did not fire. He quickly observed through the commander's mirror and found that a ball of fire rose in the wheat field at 2 o'clock in front of the right.
And this ball of fire actually rose from the top of a Tiger tank!
Obviously, a powerful Tiger tank was destroyed by the Soviets with an anti-tank gun!
Wittmann was immediately shocked and broke out in a cold sweat. The Tiger tank could actually be destroyed, and his car had just been hit by two shells, but for some reason it was not penetrated. After the battle, he learned that the one firing at his car was a 76.2mm cannon, and the one that destroyed the Tiger tank was a 57mm anti-tank gun with an extra-long barrel.
"Boom!" There was another loud noise, and Wittmann felt his tank vibrate violently. He knew that the tank was firing. He quickly observed through the periscope and found that a large pit appeared in the wheat field in front of him, with some metal fragments and human bodies scattered around.
Finally killed an anti-tank gun! Lieutenant Wittmann breathed a sigh of relief, and was about to push open the top hatch of the tank to find out if there were any other anti-tank guns in the surrounding wheat fields. The voice of Major Charlie Demark, the commander of the 502nd Battalion, came from the headset.
"Everyone, pay attention, the assault guns are about to open fire, all of the 502nd Battalion, reverse 500 meters, reverse immediately!"
...
Boom boom boom...
Looking forward from the village where Major General Popov, commander of the Soviet 10th Army, was, there was a column of fire and smoke in front of him. His face, which had originally shown some joy, became extremely solemn as these 105mm shells exploded.
The tactics of T-34 luring the enemy and anti-tank ambush that he designed were obviously successful. After paying the price of more than 20 T-34s being destroyed, he finally led the German tank cluster to the muzzle of the ZIS-2 anti-tank gun. At least 6 German heavy tanks were destroyed by the ZIS-2 anti-tank gun at a close distance of 300 meters!
However, there were too few ZIS-2 anti-tank guns, with only 16 guns in an army. As a last resort, Popov could only use some ZIS-3 cannons to make up the numbers and try his luck. Unexpectedly, this 76.2mm cannon could not do anything to the German heavy tanks at such a close distance.
The reaction speed of the German tank cluster was beyond Popov's expectations. Just as a few heavy tanks were destroyed, the rest of the tanks immediately reversed collectively, pulling away from the Soviet anti-tank guns. Almost at the same time, their self-propelled artillery and assault guns also started firing, and the Soviet anti-tank guns were all covered with a heavy bombardment.
This shows that all German tanks and assault guns are equipped with radios. The commander of the tank cluster can directly transmit orders to each tank, and the front-line tanks can also request fire support from assault guns and self-propelled artillery at any time through the radio...