Chapter 983 Shura and Panfilov
The reason why Model withdrew the armored forces was very simple. In fact, he was afraid that the armored forces would lose a lot of equipment when retreating in the muddy season. The Tiger H tank and the E-50A tank were both heavy vehicles, and they were most afraid of getting stuck in the mud and being unable to be dragged out.
If the Soviet army concentrated its forces to attack a certain section regardless of everything, then the German army would inevitably retreat. Facing the sea of tanks composed of JS-2 and T-34/85, even with the E-50A, it could not guarantee that an inch of position would not be lost. Moreover, the mechanized warfare of World War II was all mobile warfare. Fighting for every inch of land was the way of fighting in World War I, but there was no such thing in World War II.
However, the mobility of tanks such as the Tiger H and E-50A in the muddy season was a tragedy. Even if they could drive away, the wear and tear of the machine would require the equipment to be overhauled in advance. In short, it was very troublesome, so it was better to retreat 50-100 kilometers in advance. Leave all the frontline positions to the armored grenadiers. Their 88mm anti-tank guns and "Rhino" anti-tank destroyers can also severely damage JS-2 and T-34/85 as long as they are used properly.
As for the "Rhino" tank destroyers and the No. 4 tanks and Grizzly assault guns equipped by the German armored grenadiers, they are now common goods and there is no fear of loss. Moreover, the weight of the "Rhino" and No. 4 tanks is relatively light, and their mobility in the muddy season is relatively good, making them easy to move.
However, no matter how good Model's battlefield intuition is, he could not have guessed that the Soviet Red Army, which has always been clumsy on the battlefield, could actually perform a very exciting infiltration and surprise attack this time.
…
Moscow time, April 4, 1944. Now it is less than 24 hours before the planned Soviet Central Front launches a general offensive in the direction of Kalinin Oblast.
Comrade Otto Braun, wearing a well-tailored handsome Waffen-SS major uniform, was so nervous that he was shaking a little when he walked towards a Sdkfz.234 heavy wheeled armored reconnaissance vehicle.
Braun, 44 years old this year, participated in World War I, and later participated in the armed uprising in Bavaria in 1918. He was arrested once in 1926, so he was also tested.
However, compared with the previous tests, this mission was at least 10 times more dangerous - probably only going to Lubyanka No. 2 to explain the problem was more dangerous than pretending to be a German SS to infiltrate the enemy.
Although this mission was extremely dangerous, Braun and others did not have enough time to receive the necessary training - in just 10 days of special training, they only taught them to use German equipment, recognize some German Nazi leaders and sing a few German songs, and they were repeatedly warned: commit suicide when necessary!
If you face being captured, suicide is very necessary! Because Otto Braun is not eligible for prisoner of war treatment. Not only because he was wearing a German military uniform and did not have the status of a legal belligerent (according to the Geneva Convention), he was strictly considered a spy. And also because he was German, not Soviet.
Whether it was treason or espionage, he could be executed after trial by a military court.
So being captured meant certain death!
Therefore, General Rokossovsky, who was in charge of the "Red Star Operation", kindly prepared suicide poison for each Red Star commando. It was said that it could end life without pain, and now the poison was in Otto Braun's jacket pocket.
In addition to the reliability of the poison, Otto Braun knew that nothing else was reliable for this hastily prepared operation.
They did not know the number and reality of the garrison in the area to be infiltrated; they did not have any real documents or any enemy passwords; they did not know which German unit they "belonged to"...
Although the Red Star commandos were all Germans and Austrians, all of them had left their homeland for many years and had no idea about the situation in Germany and Austria. The enemy would reveal the truth as long as they asked a little questioning.
The most exaggerated thing is that Otto Braun, who played the role of the SS major, didn't even know how much salary the German SS major got, and what kind of "special supplies" he could eat - special supplies are special supply rights. The Soviet Union and all countries that implement rationing systems have similar regulations, and will provide people with a certain status with rationing standards higher than ordinary people.
On the Soviet side, Braun was a cadre who "ate special supplies". In his opinion, the SS major was equivalent to the major of the Soviet internal security department. The official rank was not low, and he should have a good special supply, right? But no one told him this information.
Braun thought: This kind of sloppy style must not be allowed in Nazi Germany.
"Hi! Hitler!"
Several fake Nazis standing next to the heavy wheeled armored reconnaissance vehicle saw Braun coming, and they all saluted him in a formal manner - although these people were all Red Germans, they were Germans after all, and they were much more serious than the Russians.
"Hi, Hitler." Braun also saluted like a German SS major, and then an SS soldier carrying a Mkb42 automatic carbine (assault rifle) opened the car door for him.
Braun looked at the long line of vehicles behind the armored vehicle in front of him - there was a Sdkfz.234/2 Puma armored vehicle, a Sdkfz.222 armored communication vehicle, several half-track vehicles equipped with artillery or machine guns, and several motorcycles.
However, there is no "Little Leopard" reconnaissance tank that only appeared in the German armored scouts before the end of 1943 - this tank looks a bit like a "Tiger" (the Tiger in this time and space looks similar to a Black Panther), but it is smaller. There are many, they are very fast, and they are also equipped with a KWK3 tank gun, which can even threaten heavy tanks such as the KV-1 when using a special shell (discarding armor-piercing projectile).
"Let's go!" Otto Braun withdrew his gaze and gave the order to the communications soldier on the armored vehicle. Then he got into the carriage, sat down on a very comfortable seat, and closed his eyes. It’s time to recall your past happy life.
The vehicle was quickly started, and the sound of the motor was lighter than any Soviet-made vehicle Braun had ever ridden in. When the vehicle moved forward, Braun found that this large 8-wheel armored vehicle was very smooth and smooth. It’s almost time to catch up with the cars produced by the Soviet Union itself.
Braun, who was sitting in the carriage, couldn't help but sigh: It seems that Germany's industrial strength far exceeds that of the Soviet Union. No wonder the vigorous world revolution has reached this point...
…
"...The young soldier stationed at the border misses the distant girl in his heart; he fights bravely to defend the motherland, and Katyusha's love will always belong to him.
Fight bravely to defend the motherland, Katyusha's love will always belong to him.
Just as pear blossoms are blooming all over the world, soft gauze floats on the river; Katyusha stands on the steep bank, singing like the bright spring light.
Katyusha stood on the steep bank, singing like bright spring light. "
When Sergeant Shura Kosmodeyanskov heard the soldiers of the 8th Guards Infantry Division who were transferred from Kazakhstan singing "Katyusha" as they were passing by the highway, he was thinking of something better than My sister Zoya, who is 2 years older than me.
Zoya joined the guerrillas. After leaving her hometown of Moscow in the second half of 1942, there was no news. It is said that she had died heroically at the gunpoint of the evil Nazi gangsters. In fact, Zoya passed the exam in the autumn of 1943. I entered the Russian Language and Culture Department of Petrograd State University and am now eagerly learning knowledge in the most beautiful university in Russia, preparing to serve the reactionary Russian motherland in the future...
But her brother Shura didn't know this. Like Zoya in 1942, Shura is now a Soviet who firmly believes in communism.
After the world revolution turned into the Great Patriotic War, Shura, like most of the boys in his class, signed up to join the Red Army.
But what frustrated him was that he was not immediately sent to the front line to fight against the evil invaders. Instead, he was selected into the tank school to learn to drive a tank.
After graduating with honors, Shula did not get his wish to drive the mighty T-34 and KV-1 tanks. Instead, he was assigned to a light tank brigade transferred from the Far East to drive the BT-7 light tank.
Due to the BT-7's weak firepower and relatively thin armor, it would only result in death if it encountered any kind of German tank/assault gun on the battlefield. Therefore, Shula's tank brigade has not been sent to the front line, but has been stationed around Moscow. It was not until recently that he received the order to go to the front.
When he thought that he would soon be able to drive a BT-7 tank to crush the evil German infantry, Shula was so excited that he forgot about his "miserable" sister.
Shula's 18th Guards Tank Brigade is now under the jurisdiction of the 7th Guards Tank Army of the Red Army, and the 8th Guards Infantry Division passing by Shula's tank also belongs to the 7th Guards Tank Army.
The division commander is Major General Ivan Vasilyevich Panfilov. He is 51 years old and is one of the oldest division commanders in the Red Army. He enlisted in the army to participate in World War I in 1915, and in 1918 he joined the famous 25th Infantry Division of the Soviet Red Army (Khapayev-Shaboyang Division). His qualifications are not old. However, he did not become a major general until 1940, and he became a division commander only after the world revolution broke out. Only in April 1944 did we get the opportunity to go to the front line to compete with the invaders and Belarus.
The teacher, who was riding on a Kazakh horse, watched the Kazakh warriors under his command march forward while singing, and his originally gloomy mood suddenly felt relieved.
The Soviet Union is still very powerful and has endless fresh troops. It can definitely persevere!