In fact, this is not a new invention, because the Germans have done it before...... IN 1939, GERMANY MOUNTED THE HIGH-PERFORMANCE 47MM ANTI-TANK GUN CAPTURED FROM THE CZECH REPUBLIC ON THE CHASSIS OF THE "NO. 1" TANK, THUS MAKING THE WORLD'S FIRST SELF-PROPELLED ANTI-TANK GUN.

It's actually quite easy to understand.

If the "One" tank had a rotating turret like a tank, it would only have two machine guns.

This is obviously only against enemy infantry on the battlefield, and can only wait for death in the face of enemy tanks and even light tanks.

But if you don't need a rotating turret, or even a closed protective space, then you can mount a highly penetrating anti-tank gun.

This, apparently, to a considerable extent, increased the combat capabilities of anti-tank guns.

Anti-tank guns usually need to be towed by a car, so problems such as weak cross-country ability and too large targets will occur.

To make matters worse, it takes too long to react: if it encounters an enemy, the first thing the anti-tank has to do is to stop, then turn around and find a suitable position to set it up, then prepare the shells, and so on.

As a result, anti-tank guns can usually only be used for defense and not for offense, that is, anti-tank gun positions are built in advance to hide the anti-tank guns, and wait for enemy tanks to pass or attack and shoot at the target.

This method of combat is very passive, but there is nothing to be done, because no one will use a car to tow an anti-tank gun to attack the enemy's armored forces, which is no different from looking for death.

Self-propelled anti-tank solves these problems.

It has a very fast reaction time, as the anti-tank gun is always forward and ready to fire. At the same time, there is no need for car traction.

Even in some respects, it has many advantages over tanks, such as anti-tank guns with better range, penetration, field of view, and external perception than tanks.

The more important advantage is that it is cheap: it is only necessary to weld the tank gun to the chassis of the tank, and there is almost no technical difficulty.

Manstein's approach turned out to be correct, and the 11th Army broke through the Kiev line in just two hours.

Shulka also got the news from Mehris.

Knowing that the Germans began to attack the Kyiv line, Mehris's command quickly got busy.

But don't think he's directing the battle...... Rzhev is 108,000 miles away from Kiev, and there is even the German 9th Army in the middle, and it is not Mehris's turn to command at all.

Mehris is taking advantage of this time to show off to others, of course, implicitly.

For example, he sent a telegram to Admiral Kirponos, asking: "Are you ready?" Now that I have accurately judged the enemy's intentions and warned you in time, you should be ready to fight the enemy back! ”

In addition, he sent a telegram to the High Command: "Things turned out as I thought, the Germans attacked!" However, because we have prepared in advance, I am sure that we will be able to thwart their attack! ”

On the other side, Stalin and a group of staff officers who received the telegram could not help but be stunned, because it was indeed as Mehris said, and the Germans turned the direction of the main attack to the Kiev line.

However, the situation was not as rosy as Mehris said, because the Soviet forces were concentrated in the Moscow area to launch a counteroffensive, and at the same time, the German army bombed the Russian railway line to the south and even the Caucasus, so that the Soviet army could not rush to the aid quickly.

"When did this Mehris learn to analyze the enemy?" Stalin said to himself.

Mehris danced excitedly at the headquarters of Rzhev, sometimes crossing his waist like a commander in command of thousands of troops to lecture his subordinates, and sometimes ordering his subordinates to keep up to date with the latest battle situation, as if he could grasp everything on the battlefield.

This allowed Shulka to learn about the state of the Kyiv defense line at the first time.

"Their air force is divided into two parts!" Pointing to the map, Mehlis said to Shulka: "Part of it is used to bomb the railway line south of Gerlovka, which is obviously preventing us from reinforcing the Crimean region!" ”

Gerlovka was at the intersection of the Crimean railway network deep in the Soviet Union, and the bombing of its southern railways was certainly intended in this regard.

"The other part is for offense!" Pointing to the Kyiv line, Mekhlis said: "They destroyed our tanks with warplanes, and then broke through the line and crossed the Dnieper River to the depth!" ”

"They didn't attack Odessa?" Shulka was a little surprised.

"Absolutely!" Mehris replied: "But they are encircling Odessa with the Romanian 3rd Army, and their main forces, the 11th Army and the Italian Expeditionary Force, are only playing Limu!" ”

Manstein's bold approach surprised Schulka.

Because as I said before, for the German army's plan, Odessa will be a more important place than Kiev, because it is backed by the Black Sea and practically cannot be encircled.

Unless Germany has a navy to enter the Black Sea, the Soviets in Odessa can be attacked, retreated, and defended.

On the other hand, the main force of the German 11th Army penetrated deeply, and once there was another interspersed between Kiev and Odessa, as Shurka had done before, the German 11th Army would be divided and surrounded.

But Shulka knew that Manstein wouldn't be that simple, and that he would do it with his own thoughts.

Shulka was right, and Manstein did take this into account, and was even opposed by his staff officers.

"General, we will capture at least one of Kyiv or Odessa!" "Otherwise, our rear will be exposed to the enemy's flanking attacks," said the staff officer...... We can break through their defenses, but they can make up for it again! ”

"No, Eric!" Manstein replied: "We don't have that much time!" ”

After a pause, Manstein continued: "How long will it take to capture Kyiv?" Or how long will it take to take Odessa? A week? One month? Even if we did it and continued to bomb the enemy's railways, the Russians would still be ready for the Crimea, and it would be difficult for us to even capture the Crimea, let alone march into the Caucasus and target the Baku oil fields! ”

"But now......" The staff officer looked at the map worriedly.

"It's all about time, you know?" Pointing to the map, Manstein said: "Time, as long as we take the Crimea in a short time, then the Russians will not be able to supply Odessa from the Crimea, if we quickly march into the Caucasus and occupy the ports there...... The Black Sea Fleet of the Russians will be pushed farther and farther away by us, and then our danger will not exist! ”

The staff officer couldn't help but nod when he heard this, this is a "blitzkrieg", and it is also a dangerous move.