"Why didn't they retreat?" Shulka asked: "Haven't they realized that this counteroffensive was wrong?" ”

The instructor spread his hands and replied, "At least not yet, we have been winning!" ”

Shulka choked on this.

What the instructor said was indeed that the 16th Army regained Volokolamsk and hit Tver, and then taught the Germans a hard lesson in the Volokolamsk area...... This chain is a success.

In other words, Katukov risked disobedience to orders and defeated the Germans by ambushing troops under Volokolamsk, and the credit went to the Supreme Command in a blink of an eye.

"At the very least, they should know that it's dangerous!" Shulka said: "After the counteroffensive we have no reserves, and the enemy will not easily relax the offensive on Volokolamsk!" ”

"Of course!" The instructor replied, "But you have held on, and they believe you can keep it!" ”

It's ironic, in other words, that Shulka and others have to fail to make them understand how serious the problem is.

Sure enough, before Shulka and the instructor's discussion was over, the Germans attacked.

Although Shulka and the others were on the second line, the roar of artillery shells in front of them and the whistling and dive bombardment of fighter planes were right in front of them, and even a few fighter planes swooped down and strafed them from time to time.

As for the direction of continuing the offensive, there were actually disagreements within the German army.

The commander of the Fourth Army, Kruger, believed that Volokolamsk should be bypassed, which was the most common tactic used by the Germans...... Bypassing and encircling from the rear when they hit a hard nail, the Soviets were often surrounded again and again due to lack of mobility or flexibility.

But this time von. Bock rejects this approach.

"We can't get around!" Feng. Bock said to Kruger on the phone: "Because our main enemy is the 4th tank brigade, those T34...... Even if we succeed in getting around, we will eventually come face to face with this force. So, we have to move forward! ”

From this point of view, Feng. Bock was still right.

Although the counteroffensive strategy of the Soviet High Command was wrong, if one day the German army somewhere broke through the second line of defense of the Soviet army and pointed at Moscow, then the Soviet High Command would not be stupid enough to let the 4th Tank Brigade sit in Volokolamsk and insist on attacking Tver.

They would use everything they could, such as trains or the tanks' own mobility, to fill the gap that had been broken by the Germans.

So, one day the Germans will have to face the tough T34 tanks of the 4th Tank Brigade.

That is, it did not make much sense for the Germans to bypass Volokolamsk, it was just a waste of precious gasoline to change places and start a decisive battle with the 4th Tank Brigade.

In conversation with Kruger, von . Bock also said very seriously: "We all thought that the last barrier of the Russians was the Mozhaisky Line, and that our greatest difficulty was mud and cold...... I don't think so, the last barrier and the biggest difficulty is the 4th tank brigade, as long as this unit is dealt with, our road to Moscow will be clear! ”

"But what are we going to do with those T34s?" Kruger asked rhetorically: "Our tanks and anti-tank guns simply cannot penetrate them!" ”

"That's what you need to think about!" Feng. Bock hung up the phone after saying that.

This is not von. Bock was running away from the problem, but he thought it was up to them to think about such tactical issues.

As a result, the remnants of the German 2nd Panzer Division, as well as the 5th Panzer Division and the 35th Infantry Division, which arrived later, launched a fierce attack on the defense line of the Soviet 316th Division.

Shulka carefully observed the German fighters and found that they were hovering in the sky more often than diving and strafing and bombing.

It is clear that they are searching for the 4th tank brigade of the Soviet army.

Shulka thought that this was the tactics of the German army...... Use of warplanes against the 4th Tank Brigade or to separate the 4th Tank Brigade from the front line.

Looking at the sky again, as the temperature drops, the rain has completely stopped, and all that will fall are snowflakes, which have even begun to deposit on the ground, and even see sunlight in the sky.

The drop in temperature was a good thing for the Soviets, but it was also a bad thing, because it increased visibility exponentially, and the German air power began to play its role again.

"It's a big problem!" The instructor was also aware of this, saying: "Our tanks may have to stay in bunkers and not move!" ”

"Comrade Shulka!" At this time, a communications soldier shouted to Shulka who was hiding in the bunker: "Comrade Major asked you to go to the headquarters!" ”

Shulka answered, handed over the affairs of the position to Pukarev, and then followed the signal corps all the way to the regimental headquarters.

When he arrived at the headquarters, Shulka couldn't help but be stunned, and in the narrow space of the basement, which was the regimental headquarters, a large number of officers were crowded, including Major Zakhakavich, the commander of the 4th Tank Regiment, whom Shulka knew, and several other officers he did not know, including two major generals.

Shulka stepped forward and saluted.

Major Gavrilov nodded, and then introduced: "This is Comrade Shulka!" ”

A major general stepped forward and warmly shook Shulka's hand and said: "It's a pleasure to meet you, Comrade Shulka, I am Rokossovsky, commander of the 16th Army!" ”

Rokossovsky?

Shulka couldn't help but be stunned when he heard this...... Another legend, although he was still a major general at this time, he would soon become a man of the hour on a par with Zhukov.

"This is Major General Panfilov, commander of the 316th Division!"

"It's a pleasure to meet you, Comrade Shulka!" Major General Panfilov also shook Shulka politely.

It was clear that it was a regimental meeting, and they seemed to be interested in having Shulka attend.

Sure enough, Rokossovsky continued: "We have heard a lot about you, Comrade Shulka! ”

"If nothing else, the ambush of the 4th Tank Brigade in Volokolamsk surprised us all!" ”

"Especially the Germans!" Panfilov said.

The officers of the command laughed in unison.

"Yes, especially the Germans!" Rokossovsky said: "It was a beautiful victory, at that time I even thought that the enemy would break through Volokolamsk, but I did not expect you to give them a hard blow!" ”

Shulka at this time was eager to say...... We should have withdrawn Tver's forces, but in the end we held back and didn't say anything.

Because he knew it didn't make sense, they couldn't make that decision.

"Now!" Rokossovsky continued: "We seem to be in trouble! ”