In just five hours, the Soviet troops attacking the village of Kozvo lost most of their ...... The 27th Tank Brigade had only 31 tanks left, and the two regiments of the 44th Cavalry Division, numbering nearly 2,000 cavalry, fell on the open ground for several kilometers, and then even to the point where the corpses of horses and the wreckage of tanks blocked the way, making it impossible for the cavalry to advance and had to stop charging.

The 4th Tank Brigade in the direction of the village of Skirmaovo would have had the same fate, as they were ordered to let the tanks abandon the infantry and attack with the cavalry, as the 27th Tank Brigade did.

But Colonel Katukov resisted pressure and did not agree to do so.

He reported to his superiors: "I promise to take the village of Skirmanovo within the required time, but I ask my superiors to allow me to do my own thing!" ”

Perhaps because of the previous achievements of the 4th Tank Brigade, the superiors agreed to Katukov's request.

Katukov did not attack from the front, as the 27th tank brigade did, and did not attack along roads and railways.

Because Katukov knew very well that the Germans were organizing troops and equipment in this area, intending to break through the second line of Soviet defense and attack Moscow from here...... Volokolamsk, like Klin, has a direct road and railway to Moscow.

In fact, the road and rail lines around Moscow are like a spider web, with Moscow in the center and a series of important nodes stuck on the road and rail on the periphery, which are difficult or difficult to get around, because they are surrounded by impassable muddy fields, swamps, rivers, etc.

Kling in the north is one, and to the south is Volokolamsk, Mozhaisky, Obninsk, etc., these nodes are the pillars of the second line of defense, and the Soviet and German armies are mainly fighting on these nodes, once the German army breaks through and fails to fill the gap in time, the consequences will be unimaginable.

Katukov believed that since the enemy intended to attack from here, they must have prepared a large amount of artillery fire and tanks here, which could easily block the offensive line of the 4th Tank Brigade, even if they found an open area suitable for attacking.

Katukov's idea turned out to be correct, as evidenced by the defeat of the 27th Tank Brigade and the 44th Cavalry Division in the direction of the village of Kozvo.

Even if the 4th Tank Brigade succeeds in capturing the target in the end due to the number of T34s and the ability to coordinate infantry and tanks, the price paid is unacceptable.

So, Katukov's troops were divided into two parts...... One part feints on the front, while the other goes around from the side.

"It's almost impossible!" Major Zakhakavich, commander of the 4th Tank Regiment, objected: "A detour from the south side means that our tanks have to cross a muddy field!" ”

"That's what the Germans think too!" "So they wouldn't have thought that we would attack from this direction!" Katukov said. ”

"But if our tanks get stuck in the mud......"

"Have you forgotten that we have self-help wood, Comrade Zakhakavich?" "We are trained to provide cover for the infantry as long as a few tanks can break into the enemy's line of defense, and then ...... The other tanks will have enough time to follow up! ”

Zahakavich could only nod his head in agreement, which seemed to be a viable plan, as the tank commander was only habitually afraid of the mud.

So, the preparation of artillery fire in the direction of the village of Skirmaovo was accompanied by smoke grenades to the shells.

The 2nd Tank Battalion made a feint on the frontal road, railway, and an open field in between, and more than 40 tanks of the 1st Tank Battalion took the 333rd Infantry Regiment in a roundabout.

Shulka was one of them, but instead of being drawn to the enemy, he was looking at the propaganda vehicle that followed the troops.

"Comrades!" An impassioned voice came from the loudspeaker: "Our country is experiencing an invasion by the enemy, and it has reached a critical point of life and death. But these aggressors miscalculated, our brave warriors are not afraid of sacrifice, the great people are going forward, our cause is just, we will never take a step back, and all enemies will perish......"

"What's the matter, Comrade Shulka?" The instructor asked.

"We're roundabout!" Shulka said: "In a detour without the enemy noticing, is it going to keep shouting like this? ”

The instructor suddenly understood something, and then turned and walked towards the propaganda vehicle.

Later, it is said that the instructor had to make a lot of effort to convince the propaganda vehicle to turn off the horn...... The reason was that it was an order from the Supreme Commander-in-Chief, and they did not dare to easily disobey it.

In the end, the instructor could only yell at them angrily: "Do you know what you are doing? I have reason to believe that you are spies for the enemy, and you are exposing the direction of our attack in this way so that they can prepare for it and hit us with shells! ”

No one dared to bear the consequences of espionage lightly, so they gave up.

The offense went more smoothly than expected.

It was thought that a small stream in front of the village would be a big obstacle, but the local fighters, who were familiar with the terrain, knew which section of the river could be passed through by tanks.

"Five hundred meters downstream, there was originally a boulder in that part! It blocked the way of the stream and made it turn around, causing the stream to overflow into the village, and two years ago we used explosives to flatten the boulder and let the stream pass. That is, the bottom of the river there is hard stone! ”

As they said, T34 crossed the creek without any problems.

If anything, the stones are smooth under the wash of the stream and the green moss makes the tracks slippery, but only need to pass slowly without problems.

Immediately after that, it was muddy and it took two kilometers to reach the village of Skirmanovo.

As Katukov thought, the Germans must have thought that no tanks would be able to pass through this muddy field, and certainly no infantry would be willing to attack from here...... The reason was that the mud made it impossible for the infantry to run and jump quickly, and the area was empty except for a few bushes.

If someone were to attack from here, it would only take a few machine guns to stop it.

The problem was that the Soviets were tanks and infantry advances, and soldiers who are familiar with the terrain know which areas are hard and which are veritable wetlands.

It is easy to tell that in the summer the hard ground becomes a path for the common people, and they are only covered with mud on the surface when the rainy season comes, while the wetlands are soft even at the bottom, and may even be a large pit.

On the other hand, the tanks carried enough logs, and each tank had a dozen logs tied to the side and rear of each tank, and even a few trucks were transported by car to be ready to replenish at any time.

They are not recycled when they are filled in the pits, which means that they are actually paved with logs to create a fast passage.

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