Shulka did not guess wrong, the German army was indeed delaying time, otherwise the German army stationed in Tver only had more than 2,000 troops, and it was obviously unwise to divide the troops and go out to fight the Soviet army outside Tver when the troops were insufficient.

This was done because the 5th Engineer Battalion, which Kruger used to reinforce Tver, needed time to prepare.

There is no doubt that this 5th Engineer Battalion is not an ordinary engineer battalion, it is actually an armored train unit......

After the German attack, four armored trains were formed from captured armored trains, namely armored trains No. 10, 11, 21 and 22.

Among them, armored trains No. 10 and 11 were Polish armored train cars captured from the Soviet army...... THE POLISH ARMORED TRAIN WAS CHARACTERIZED BY ITS THIN ARMOR, ONLY 5MM, WHICH WAS BARELY ENOUGH TO BLOCK THE SHOT OF A BULLET.

The Germans mainly used these armored trains against the partisans.

This is actually true, because the armored train is heavily dependent on the railway, and if the railway is blown up, it can almost be said to be ineffective...... With the exception of Polish lightly armored trains.

The Polish lightly armored train is a strange existence, it is nothing more than a bunch of tanks loaded on a flatbed, and it is used as an armored train to maneuver on the railway, and if there is a need or the railroad is blown up, these tanks can all be driven off the flatbed to fight.

It is clear that this armored train was still useful against the partisans, so it was also called the "railway legend".

The reason why armored trains are equipped by engineer battalions is mainly due to the fact that they are responsible for the safety of the railway...... After owning an armored train, you can basically be afraid of any armed forces in the rear, and it is impossible for the guerrillas to have equipment that can threaten the armored train, so even the engineer battalion can easily complete the task.

Another advantage of the equipment of the engineer battalion is that they can get off the train at any time to repair the road and the tracks, which is beneficial to ensure the smooth operation of the railway...... What the German army needed most at this time was the smooth opening of the railway.

However, the German 5th Engineer Battalion is a little different.

THE 5TH ENGINEER BATTALION WAS EQUIPPED WITH ARMORED TRAIN NO. 22, WHICH WAS COBBLED TOGETHER AND MODIFIED FROM CAPTURED SOVIET ARMORED TRAIN CARS, THE MOST IMPORTANT OF WHICH WAS FOUR 88MM ANTI-AIRCRAFT GUNS...... This is clearly not intended to deal with the partisans.

This is Manstein's idea.

The 88MM anti-aircraft gun has proven its value in actual combat, it is not only an anti-aircraft weapon, but more importantly, it also has excellent armor-piercing ability. At this time, the German army was experiencing the "T34 crisis", and there was almost no equipment capable of dealing with the T34 tank.

ON THE OTHER HAND, THE 88MM ANTI-AIRCRAFT GUN WAS INCONVENIENT FOR MANEUVERING...... The weight of this thing when maneuvering reached 5,000 kilograms, and a single shell was about 10 kilograms, which was an absolute nightmare on the muddy roads of the Soviet Union and the tight logistics of the German army.

SO, WHY NOT PUT THE 88MM ANTI-AIRCRAFT GUNS ON ARMORED TRAINS AND USE RAILWAY MANEUVERS AS REINFORCEMENTS TO THE FRONT-LINE TROOPS?

Thus, armored train No. 22 was born.

IT SHOULD BE SAID THAT IT IS A KIND OF MIXED EQUIPMENT USED BY THE GERMAN ARMY FOR EMERGENCY SITUATIONS, AND THE GERMANS WHO ADVOCATE MOBILITY EVENTUALLY ABANDONED THIS THINKING AND MOUNTED THE 88MM ANTI-AIRCRAFT GUN ON THE "TIGER" TANK...... The benefits of the tank are obvious, it is not limited by railways.

Armored train No. 22 was even in the testing stage, and Manstein wanted to replace the engineer battalion with better and more professional infantry and artillery, but before he could change it urgently, Kruger urgently sent it to Tver.

The commander of the 5th Engineer Battalion was Major Michael, a young man from Magdeburg, whose father was a construction worker and he himself had worked in construction for several years, so it was not surprising that he was assigned to the engineering unit.

Major Michael proved to be a good fit for this profession, and his knowledge of construction made him stand out as a major in the engineering corps.

But Michael has always been dissatisfied with his class.

He always complained to his subordinates: "What I want is to fight the enemy face to face on the battlefield, and not to build roads and bridges with shovels in the rear!" ”

"Sir!" The adjutant persuaded Major Michael: "In fact, we are also face to face with the enemy......"

"Oh, really?" Major Michael retorted: "What are the guerrillas you referring to? Please, if only we knew how to shoot them back! ”

"You're right, sir!" The adjutant said, "But you know, any position is ......."

"Someone needs to work, right?" Major Michael impatiently interrupted the adjutant: "Yes, I know! I've heard that a hundred times, Deem...... Next, I think what you have to say is that the sapper is just as important, it guarantees that the soldiers on the front line have enough ammunition, so what we do is just as great......"

The adjutant was momentarily speechless, for that was exactly what he wanted to say.

However, Major Michael did not expect him to have such luck that his dream of going to the battlefield to fight the enemy face to face finally came true.

On this day, Major Michael and his men, as usual, patrolled between the trains on an armored train, and Major Michael sat in the command car drinking coffee and watching the snowflakes out the window, as well as groups of civilians who were building roads and German soldiers who were stamping their feet in the cold.

Life in an armored train was indeed wonderful, but it made Major Michael feel like he was doing nothing, like the infantry's sarcastic words: "Poor worm in a shell".

At this time, a communications soldier hurriedly ran from the telecommunications room to Major Michael, and then stepped forward and reported: "Sir, urgent order! ”

"Partisans?" Major Michael asked nonchalantly, he was numb to such an emergency order, which to him was nothing more than the sound of gunfire and cannons, and then the corpse outside the train.

"No, Major!" The signal soldier replied: "It's Tver, the higher authorities ordered us to reinforce Tver!" ”

"Tver?" Major Michael was stunned when he heard that it was being attacked by Russian troops.

Major Michael couldn't believe that there was such a good thing, he took the telegram and looked at it, and sure enough, as the signal corps said, reinforcement Tver.

"Didn't they say they were going to make a change?" Michael asked casually.

"No, no!" The communications officer replied.

"Let's make sure!" Major Michael stood up with some excitement, he was worried that all his superiors needed was an armored train, and that the 5th Engineer Battalion would be replaced with combat units when they arrived at their destination.

But the order soon came down: "Prepare for battle, you are going to face the enemy's elite tank troops!" ”

This choice was sensible, as the combat unit was not necessarily as skilled at maneuvering armored trains as the 5th Engineer Battalion.