The Germans launched the offensive an hour later.

As usual, they used artillery shells to hit the Soviet positions for a while, and then dozens of tanks advanced towards the Soviet defense line in black pressure, row after row, menacing.

Shulka made a rough count, fifty tanks, followed by a large area of infantry.

To Shulka's surprise, among these tanks there were actually five T34s, which were driven in front, but they were painted with black "crosses" of German armored forces.

Obviously, these were captured tanks by the Germans, and because of the excellent performance of the T34, even if the Germans were not familiar with them and did not have communication equipment, it was difficult to coordinate with other tanks, and even these tanks could be mistaken for enemy tanks by the Air Force, but the 10th Army still used them.

It can also be seen from this that the Germans hoped to break through the Soviet defense line before dark.

Shulka was right, the Germans attacking head-on were the 7th Panzer Division, the 14th Motorized Rifle Division, and the 35th Infantry Division.

The first two were the 3rd Panzer Group, which was part of Hort, which was supposed to attack the lines of the Soviet 30th Army in the north.

But because Tver suffered heavy losses from the counteroffensive of the 4th tank brigade...... The main reason for this was the destruction of supplies stored in Tver and the blowing up of several bridges, which made it difficult for the Germans to resupply in the north and unable to support the armored attack.

So, Feng. Bock transferred Hoth's 3rd Panzer Group to the center to attack Volokolamsk.

At this time it was the 7th Panzer Division that took up the offensive duty.

This panzer division had participated in the French campaign to complete the encirclement of the Allied forces in Dunkelke and the encirclement of the French 9th and 10th armies, and under the command of Rommel, it almost crossed France all the way to the southwest of France, and its own casualties were only 2,624 and 42 tanks were lost.

Therefore, this armored division is also called the "devil's division".

At this time, it was Hans who commanded the force. Feng. Major General Funk.

Taking over this panzer division from Rommel, von . Major General Funk felt some pressure.

The reason is that Feng. As a Prussian nobleman, Major General Funk was highly expected by everyone, including the noble faction of Rundstedt, who wanted von to be a Prussian nobleman. The 7th Panzer Division, commanded by Funk, was able to surpass his predecessor, Rommel, the son of the schoolmaster.

This has always made Feng. Major General Funk was distressed because his record in Russia was not outstanding compared to Rommel's brilliant record.

Although it was a victory, and an impressive victory: the 7th Panzer Division completely wiped out the Russian 5th Tank Division, but the 7th Panzer Division also lost about half of its strength.

"It's not fair!" Feng. Major General Funk privately said to his adjutant: "When Rommel attacked France, the French fought him with their backs, and I had to face the enemy's T34!" ”

This is also the reason why the 7th Panzer Division has several T34s, which they captured from the Russian 5th Tank Division and immediately used it to replenish the troops.

Now, though, Maj. Gen. Funk thinks his chance has come.

Through several previous exploratory attacks, Major General Funk knew that the Russians were desperately short of anti-tank guns, and they even attacked German tanks with Molotov cocktails.

But despite this, Major General Funk still had a headache with such Molotov cocktails...... German tanks used gasoline engines, which were easily ignited by Molotov cocktails.

So Rear Admiral Funk gave an order to the infantry: "You must keep up with the tanks, and when the tanks cross the trenches, you must destroy the enemy in the trenches and craters, especially those with Molotov cocktails in their hands!" ”

Then Major General Funk ordered his troops to attack.

As Guderian said, they had to break through enemy lines during the day to maximize their gains, and then build fortifications before night to prevent the enemy from attacking.

But...... Maj. Gen. Funk didn't think so.

He held a telescope and looked at the depth of the Soviet army for a while, from here all the way to the east is suitable for the attack of armored forces, why not keep advancing towards Moscow?

Worried about a Russian counteroffensive?

That 4th tank brigade?

No!

Major General Funk said to himself: "Only a fool will stop, there is nothing to fear about the T34!" We even have a T34 in our hands! If the 4th Tank Brigade tries to stop, then it is time to prove the strength of the 7th Panzer Division! ”

To be more precise, Major General Funk thought that this was the time for himself to prove that he was stronger than Rommel: if the 7th Panzer Division could defeat the 4th Tank Brigade when the other Panzer Divisions were beaten by the Russian 4th Tank Brigade and lost heavy losses......

What Major General Funk did not know was that the 4th Tank Brigade was hidden right in front of him, even under the aperture of his telescope.

The tanks "rumbled" towards the Russian trenches, and the Soviets began to fire without moving.

"Shooting without moving" is a military term that uses howitzers to create a wall of fire at the front of a position to stop the enemy attack.

This is a common defense method used by the Russians, because the Russian army lacks communication equipment and it is difficult to carry out effective infantry and artillery coordination, and in addition, the quality of the Russian artillery is not good enough.

However, the "immovable blocking and firing" does not require high coordination and artillery quality for these two...... All the infantry needs to tell the artillery is to fire, while the artillery only needs to stuff the shell into the chamber and fire, and the elements are even adjusted in advance.

Major General Funk had been prepared for this, and he immediately ordered the artillery to suppress it, while the air force also engaged in precision strikes on the enemy's artillery positions.

Of course, there is also the coordination of reconnaissance aircraft and artillery to direct artillery fire into accurate positions.

These are what the Germans are good at.

After a while, the Soviet artillery fire weakened...... This was inevitable, and the Soviet army's implementation of "immovable blocking and firing" exposed the position of the artillery positions.

The German tanks then picked up speed again and rushed towards the enemy position, this time at full speed, knowing that the enemy was no longer capable of interdicting fire.

In the eyes of Major General Funk, this is a battle of flesh and steel of infantry.

The Russian army has only a limited number of anti-tank guns that can pose a threat to the Germans, but these anti-tank guns are also not able to pose a threat to the T34...... So the T34 driving in front blew up those anti-tank gun positions into the air one by one.

Major General Funk couldn't help but sigh in his heart, if the empire was equipped with such tanks, how good it would be that the troops were full of such tanks, so that they would be like a handful of steel into the heart of the enemy...... Moscow.

But now it doesn't seem to make a difference.

Funk put down the binoculars and ordered the adjutant: "Order, break through quickly!" ”

"Yes, General!" The adjutant turned around and passed the order: "Break through quickly!" ”