Time was passing little by little, and a few gunshots rang out from time to time outside the headquarters, which was a cold gun and cold artillery demonstration between the enemy and us.

The sound of gunfire seemed to have a certain rhythm urging the officers to tell them that time was running out, and that if enemy reinforcements were allowed to arrive, the chances of occupying Dzhankoy would be reduced by a single step.

"We might be able to attack in a different direction!" Lieutenant Colonel Gavrilov said: "If that is a new type of tank of the enemy, I don't think they have a lot of equipment!" ”

"Maybe they don't have a lot of equipment!" Lieutenant Colonel Zakhakavich agreed: "Because if they were armed with a lot of such tanks, they would even be able to launch a counteroffensive without any scruples!" ”

This is just like the reason that the T34 tank was against the German "No. 3" and "No. 4" tanks...... If the "No. 3" and "No. 4" tanks can only penetrate the front of the T34 at a distance of 100 meters, then on the battlefield it is often not a problem that can be solved by numbers.

In particular, there is another point that the Germans are strong in, and the Soviets are weak: coordination.

This weakness allowed the Germans to outwit or even defeat the Soviets with their tanks at a disadvantage.

Now, with the strength of the German army in coordination and the advantage of the "Tiger", it is safe to say that the Germans should launch a counteroffensive in any way, if not completely disproportionate in numbers.

Katukov agreed, but was not optimistic about this approach.

"But that's a tank!" "They can move with the diversion of our offensive, and besides, they don't need many tanks to block our offensive in this way!" Katukov said. ”

Shulka did not speak.

He knew that Zahakavich and others were right, and the number of "Tigers" was indeed very small when they first came into battle, and even Shulka knew that the "Tigers" at this time should still have a high failure rate...... For the first time in history, three of the four vehicles were unable to move and had to be blown up with explosives.

However, this problem can be avoided as much as possible in defensive battles, such as when the Germans let them shoot in tank bunkers instead of driving on rough snow.

Of course, Shulka at this time did not know that Spinek even used rails to compensate for the high failure rate of the "Tiger" tank.

So, in fact, they can really do as Katukov said, even if the number is insufficient, they can adjust the direction of defense as needed.

On the other hand, because Dzhankoy was in the center of the circle and the Soviets were on the periphery, the Germans would have to adjust the distance much shorter than the Soviets, so they would have more time to react.

Command fell silent again.

"Maybe we should attack from several sides at once!" Shulka said.

Katukov laughed: "Shulka, we have only one tank brigade, and now there are only a hundred tanks left, and we do not have enough strength to attack from several sides at once!" ”

A hundred tanks, even if they are divided into three directions, there are only thirty tanks in each direction, the impact of this attack is too small, and the tanks will fight less and less, and in the end they will not even have the ability to attack.

"They don't know how many tanks we have!" Shulka said.

"No, they know!" Lieutenant Colonel Zahakavich said: "They may even know our number!" ”

"Don't underestimate enemy spies, Shulka!" said Lieutenant Colonel Gavrilov.

"That's not what I'm talking about!" Shulka explained: "What I'm saying is that they don't know in which direction we are preparing for the offensive to be true! ”

Katukov couldn't help but raise his head when he heard this, then nodded slightly, and said, "I know what you mean, Shulka, it's a good idea!" Why don't we play a guessing game with the enemy? ”

So the plan was quickly launched, and the 1st Guards Tank Brigade was divided into three parts and attacked Zhankoy from three directions.

Information soon reached Lieutenant General Sponek's command.

The adjutant's first reaction was that these Russians were crazy.

"They're just bluffing, General!" The adjutant said: "We know that they only have one tank brigade, they only have the ability to attack in one direction, and they actually think that they can fool us in this way!" ”

Lieutenant General Sponek disagreed.

"Do you think it's that simple?" Lieutenant General Sponek said: "Yes, they do only have the ability to attack in one direction. But...... Can you tell me which direction it is? ”

The adjutant's smile froze on his face.

"We basically rely on those 'Tiger' tanks to hold the defensive line!" Lieutenant General Sponek continued: "If they only attack in one direction, then the problem is easy to solve, now ...... Do we need to choose one of the three directions, or spread them out? ”

Although the "Tigers" reinforced to Zhankoy had a heavily armored battalion, there were actually only four "Tigers".

But Lieutenant General Sponech was not a good man, he whispered a few words to the adjutant, and then asked him to make arrangements.

On the other hand, Shulka and Katukov were in the trenches with binoculars and looking at the positions ahead.

This was an opportunity for them, in fact there were many Soviet scouts at the front of the position, observing the front of the position, and from time to time they would fire a few flares.

This was due to the fact that the Soviets had at least now determined that the enemy's "new tanks" were in tank bunkers in the forward positions, and that if the Germans were to move them in other directions, they would have to be dragged out of the bunkers and moved in other directions.

However, at this moment, a burst of artillery shells came from the direction of the Germans, followed by several smoke bombs into the center of the position, and suddenly a cloud of smoke and dust rose in front of the position, and even the light of the flares could not see what was going on in the enemy's position.

Then, there was a faint "rumble" of tanks in the smoke.

"They've been fooled!" Katukov happily said: "They have transferred the new tank to other directions!" ”

Shulka, however, felt that something was wrong.

"No, Colonel, I don't think they transferred new tanks! They're still here! ”

"You mean ......"

"I think it's a hoax!" "They could have covered up the tank's motor with the sound of the shells, but they didn't, or they deliberately exposed the flaw for us to discover," Shulka said. ”

Katukov half-opened his mouth, and then nodded: "If we attack with all our might, I'm afraid that we will lose another dozen tanks!" ”

"Yes!" "So, I think we need to shift the main forces to the flanks, and I don't think we're going to run into 'new tanks' on either flank," Shulka said. ”