"Luckily!" Katukov continued: "According to the information from the 39th Army, the Germans had only a small number of tanks in the Rzhev direction, and it is said that they recruited many horse-drawn sleds from the civilian population for battle! ”

"They are going to use horse-drawn sleds against our tanks?" Lieutenant Colonel Gavrilov joked: "What a surprise, they learned our tactics!" ”

The officers burst into laughter, but only Shulka was still frowning.

"Any questions?" Seeing this, Katukov cast a puzzled look at Shulka.

"Comrade Colonel, I think this is a good tactic!" Shulka replied.

"You mean horse-drawn sleds against our tanks?" Katukov spread his hands: "I don't see anything good about this tactic!" ”

Shulka walked to the map and said: "The 9th Army of the Germans can now be said to be the mainstay of the Germans to stabilize the defensive line, so I have reason to believe it...... The air power of the Germans was mainly used to cover the 9th Army! ”

As he spoke, Shulka turned his gaze to Katukov, which was just his guess, but a reasonable guess.

"Yes!" Katukov nodded: "That's true, the Germans concentrated the air force in the Rzhev area!" ”

"So, the Germans occupied at least partial air supremacy in the Rzhev area!"

Katukov nodded again.

Although the Luftwaffe was at a disadvantage as a whole, it was just as it had previously concentrated on seizing air supremacy over Tver...... They still have the ability to occupy partial air supremacy.

"That's the problem, Colonel!" "Our tanks are slow, and the enemy horse-drawn sled is the opposite," Shulka said. So, although we have thick armor and much more firepower than them, we can't catch up with them! The Germans just had to run away on the sled, and then call for air support with the radio......"

The rest doesn't need to be said by Shulkado.

The blow of the Luftwaffe to the Soviet tank units as soon as it came was fatal.

Even if the German Air Force did not come for a while, it was entirely possible that the Soviet Army would not be able to catch up and fight the German Army, so the heavy armored defense and powerful firepower could not be used at all...... Tanks were originally fast mobile units, but in this particular battlefield, after the horse-drawn sled achieved an absolute speed advantage, it turned the tank into a heavy infantry chasing cavalry, and the end result was that tired could also exhaust heavy infantry to death.

The laughter in the command was immediately gone.

"But Comrade Captain!" Lieutenant Colonel Zakhakavich said: "Our mission this time is to open a gap in the enemy's line to rescue the trapped friendly troops, if they escape...... It means that we can open the gap smoothly! ”

"No, Comrade Zahakavich!" Lieutenant Colonel Gavrilov replied: "If we open the gap, it means that they let us in." So, we can't save them, we'll be another brigade surrounded! ”

Katukov couldn't help but be silent.

Because he knew that Shulka was right, the advantage of the horse-drawn sleds was here, they would quickly dodge the frontal attack of the 1st Guards Tank Brigade under the cover of air power, and then attack its flank and rear Guards 1st Tank Brigade to cut off the follow-up troops.

At that time, the 1st Guards Brigade, which was driving clumsy British and American tanks, would be helpless and could only watch the enemy surround and even cut and annihilate itself.

After a pause, Katukov continued: "The Germans put the main armored forces in the line of defense, as well as anti-tank equipment, if we are deep in their encirclement...... The consequences will be unimaginable! ”

Of course, the speed of the "Matilda" tank is less than 10 kilometers per hour, and even if it is released to let the Soviet troops escape, they will not be able to escape.

"We are not fit for this rescue operation, Comrade Colonel!" "This is determined by the tanks we have equipped, and their low speed makes us very passive in rescue operations!" Shulka said. ”

"Yes, I agree!" Lieutenant Colonel Gavrilov said: "Besides, we are equipped with bazookas, which are also suitable for close combat, so they should send us to attack the fortifications, like the attack on Tver...... Because a strategic point that needs to be attacked will not move! ”

"The problem is that the superiors think that only we can save those 9 divisions!" "Now the situation is very critical, the 39th and 29th armies have repeatedly launched attacks on the Germans to try to open the gap, but they have been defeated, they need tank support," Katukov said...... Most of their tanks were incorporated into the 9 divisions that broke through the German lines, and they were surrounded by the enemy! ”

This is the embarrassment of the Soviet army, which is caused by the immaturity of the Soviet army in command and the underestimation of the enemy...... They thought that the German army at this time was only beaten, so the elite of the 9 divisions in the vanguard were far away from the follow-up troops to break into the enemy's defense line to outflank its rear, who would have thought that the Germans would kill a horse gun and surround their elite, so the Soviet army inside could not fight out because of lack of ammunition, and the Soviet army outside could not fight because of lack of equipment.

"Even if you ignore the orders of your superiors!" Katukov said: "If the enemy encircles and annihilates these 9 divisions, it means that the German 9th Army will be able to gain a foothold in the Rzhev area, which will pose a threat to the flank of our entire army!" ”

After thinking about it, Shulka replied: "Comrade Colonel, I don't think we should blindly try to tear through the enemy's line of defense and rescue our troops from the besieged troops!" ”

"What do you mean?" Katukov asked.

"The enemy is already prepared in the area around Solomino!" Shulka pointed to the map and said: "Because we have once torn a hole in it, the enemy will definitely strengthen the defense in this area, and it is also a key area of attention for the air force." If we still break through from this point, I'm afraid we won't be able to change the tide of battle! ”

"You're saying we're going to change the direction of the attack?" Katukov asked.

"Yes!" Shulka nodded and said: "As Comrade Gavrilov said, our equipment determines that we are more suitable for attacking fortifications, if we do not try to tear through the enemy's defense, but take an important support point on the enemy's defense line and hold it...... Then the entire line of defense of the Germans will be affected by this! ”

Katukov searched the map for a while, then raised his head and said: "Rzhev! ”

It is not difficult to see this, because Rzhev was a salient in the German line, and at the same time a turning point in the German line, like a corner of a rectangle.

If the Soviets could capture this corner, they would be able to threaten both flanks of the German line from both sides, thus shaking the entire line of defense rather than just rescuing.