Karius's reconnaissance information and solution ideas were quickly passed on, and the commander of the 506th battalion, Major Verin, couldn't help but mutter, because the solution given to him by Karius was completely unbelievable, but it seemed reasonable, and after thinking about it for 20 seconds, he immediately reported the plan. Pen? Interesting? Pavilion wWw. ｂiquge。 ｉｎfo

History has changed beyond recognition with the agitation of Hoffmann the traverser, in real time and space, Karius was assigned to the 502nd Heavy Armored Battalion after the graduation of the alternate officer, and the 506 Heavy Armored Battalion was not established until July of that year, but now not only the 506 Armored Battalion was established ahead of schedule, but even Karius himself graduated early and was assigned to serve as a platoon commander in the battalion. Historically, the Wehrmacht's move to expand the armored division was decisively stopped by Hoffman, but the expansion of the heavy armored battalion was formed much faster than in history due to the increase in the production of the Tiger, and the personnel reserve was also readily available, and the independent assault gun battalion that was supposed to be equipped with the No. 3 assault gun did not appear and joined the heavy armored battalion with the rest of the armored corps.

In addition to the Wehrmacht's planned 12 heavy armored battalions, the SS 6 heavy armored battalions are also in intense preparation and planning, the number will start with SS, starting from 601 to 606, each battalion in addition to the standard establishment of 51 Tigers, will also get an additional company of 16 SDK251 self-propelled rocket artillery strengthened (Himmler organ), under Hoffman's vigorous promotion and military adjustment, the monthly output of Himmler pipe organ has risen rapidly, has gradually risen to 200 units. If the Tiger tank is a sharp weapon to restrain the enemy's armored forces, this kind of rocket artillery with wide coverage and great power is the best weapon against the infantry, and it can play a complementary effect with the Tiger type.

In Karius's plan, the Himmler organ was to play a major role.

At 6:45, just when the darkness had completely covered the land, Colonel Bubnov quickly gave the order to prepare for a retreat, and all personnel immediately moved into action to make all kinds of preparations. According to the instructions, towed anti-tank artillery was given priority to retreat, then infantry and other general artillery deployed around the perimeter, and then KV-3 tanks, which were broken off to provide reliable fire cover for the entire force. Of course, it was only a short time before sunset, and the enemy troops on the opposite side were still staring at this place, far from a good time to retreat, and he planned to retreat after the early hours of the morning, when the Germans lost their attention.

In today's battle, the 11th Guards Heavy Tank Brigade achieved a great success, defeating the enemy with air superiority at the cost of only a few tanks and a few anti-tank guns, killing and wounding more than one battalion of enemy troops, destroying more than 30 No. 4 tanks, assault guns and tank destroyers, and more than 20 half-track armored vehicles of various types. If he could retreat to Baku with his troops safe and sound, he believed that a single Order of the Red Star would not have been able to escape. The only regret is that he didn't attract the opponent's Tiger heavy armored battalion for the first time today, otherwise he would really want to compete with it and see if his KV-3 tank can match the opponent.

At 8 o'clock, Karius, who was lurking in the distance, heard the noise of the enemy's retreat, but the support forces of his side had not yet arrived, only the long-range artillery was firing without a hand, and the shooting effect without precise guidance was very bad, although some comrades could not bear to rush forward to attack, but he calmly stopped them: in the current situation of pitch black, the slow-moving, bulky Tiger tank is easy to be used as a target (this idea is very correct, although the mobility of the KV-3 is not good, But at least it's stronger than the Tiger pose). What's more, the greatest threat to tanks in the dark night is not the enemy tanks, but those anti-tank guns and infantry with good concealment. Even if it was as thick as a tiger, the side armor could still be penetrated by the Red Army anti-tank guns.

The battalion commander, Major Verin, told them not to rush through the radio, the other two tank companies of the battalion had been deployed in place, and the 507th Battalion, another heavy armored battalion, was also on the way one after another.

At 8:45, the Red Army artillerymen, who had not yet realized the approaching danger, were putting their anti-tank guns in the back of their trucks and preparing to evacuate, when suddenly they heard the sound of approaching planes from the air.

"It's an enemy air strike! Everyone, pay attention to concealment. ”

"Is the enemy stupid? Dropping bombs at night is not a waste of ammunition, can they find us? ”

"Will they be able to find their way back after dropping the bomb? You won't fall to the ground. ”

While the commanders and fighters of the Red Army were talking, the ground attack aircraft group converted from the Stuka began its old business - bombing. Now more and more He-218s are carrying out dive bombing operations on the Eastern Front, and Stuka has basically changed to a ground attack aircraft, but in some special areas, Stuka still has unexpected effects. For example, the characteristics of slow speed, large bomb load, and thick defense are suitable for today's battlefield.

Following the direction and target indicated by the 506th Armored Battalion, 24 Stuka began to drop bombs intensively, and the bombs they dropped quickly exploded, and as soon as the bombs landed, they burst open, but not the earth-shattering and violent explosions, but a very dull "poof" sound. Colonel Bubnov was unimpressed at first, but after a closer look, he was terrified, because the German planes dropped not ordinary bombs but incendiary bombs.

The weight of the German standard incendiary bomb is 250 kilograms, which is filled with 85 kilograms of fuel colloidal mixture with napalm as the main combustion medium, and the diameter of a single kill is more than 30 meters, while the Stuka has a bomb load of more than 3.5 tons when it is fully loaded at close range, and each Stuka on duty today is carrying 15 incendiary bombs, and 24 Stuka are a full 360 incendiary bombs. Karius, who was 2,500 meters away from the village of Mazari, could see clearly that after the plane dropped the bomb, the whole village and the surrounding woods quickly burst into flames, first one by one, then one by one, and by the time the fire reached its peak, the whole area was in flames.

German technical experts on the study of incendiary bombs is not weaker than the British and American counterparts, but Germany is limited by the lack of fuel, reluctant to take the precious gasoline for the production of napalm-oil bombs, so there are only technical reserves and no large inventory, but after the Middle East oil base is obtained, the production process of incendiary bombs has been accelerated all of a sudden, out of inertial thinking, the front line is rarely used in peacetime, and after it is used all at once today, everyone feels that the effect is extraordinary.

The howls, screams, the roar of the engines, and the explosion of ammunition all made people's scalps tingle to hear.

"Sir, we're ready to attack."

"Won't you wait? Now the fire is very strong. ”

"Nope." Karius laughed, "It's time to do now." ”

"Okay, be careful...... Verin encouraged him, "I'm sure you can make it." ”

"Brethren, attack!" Karius gave the order in his own car, the standard 48-ton Tiger tank

"Sir, this fire is very fierce, I'm afraid I can't rush through, right?"

"No need to rush over." Karius smiled slyly and issued an order on the radio, "Attention all car crews, close to the line of fire, but do not rush in, use our range and accuracy to deal with the enemy." ”

"Hooray!" The crowd understood the entire tactical detail and marched forward with cheers.

This bizarre tactic was conceived by Karius on a whim, and it was almost unthinkable for tanks to engage in night combat without an infrared night vision system, so the armored forces of both sides basically did not engage after dark. The 11th Guards Heavy Tank Brigade did find a good place to hide during the day, and with the cover of villages and woods, they achieved the maximum concealment effect and achieved the desired results.

But after the 360 incendiary bombs were dropped in the dark night, the situation was reversed: the burning trees and villages lit up all the hiding places of the Red Army tanks like bright torches, and the unlucky ones who were directly hit by the incendiary bombs were a few after all, but everyone, including the KV-3 tanks, could not ignore the scorching air and burning, and staying still would only turn into a pile of charcoal or barbecue. And once they are in motion, the Tiger Heavy Armored Battalion has a chance to take advantage of it - the shadows that flicker in the light of the fire are the hiding places of enemy tanks or other vehicles, and they can be fired with 88mm/L56 guns converted from anti-aircraft guns.

Knowing his strengths: the Tiger's reliable sighting and firing system was guaranteed to hit enemy targets up to 2,000 meters away, and he led the second platoon of tanks to a distance of only 700 meters from the line of fire, and then began to carefully search for targets dangling in the shadow of the Ho.

"3 o'clock, 1500 m......"

"Ready, shoot." A shell was quickly fired.

"Higher, lower."

With a "clang", another 88mm shell completed the shot, this time hitting the target perfectly, hitting the side armor of a KV-3 tank so hard that until the time it was hit, the crew of this tank was still wondering where the Germans were getting the shells.

"We hit one!"

"Team 4 hits one!"

Karius smiled and issued an order: "Don't worry, everyone, there are still 9 hours before dawn, enough for us to fight well." ”

When one tank after another was destroyed by armor-piercing shells flying in the distance, Colonel Bubnov decisively sensed that something was wrong and ordered other tanks or anti-tank guns that were not affected by the incendiary shells to return fire, but it was pitch black outside, and they could only see the German muzzle flame and could not pinpoint it. (To be continued.) )