On the Soviet front, the Germans were on the offensive in the direction of Minsk. Yesterday evening, they were only a short distance away from Minsk.

The closer they got to Minsk, the more stubborn the resistance of the Soviets became. If you want to stay close, you have to rely on attacks.

The 505th Armored Battalion, which was tasked with spearheading the attack, was carefully arranging an attack in the early morning to seize a small village near Minsk.

"Karjus! And Kent! Your two crews are responsible for covering the company commander's tanks and following his tanks to attack the villages on the side of the road, where the Russians may have set up defensive positions, so you have to cover the Panzergrenadiers to capture there. ”

"Air reconnaissance shows that Russian forces are strengthening their border defenses, so you have to be quick to attack the village! No enemy tanks have been spotted for the time being, and this is all we have information. After pointing to the map and introducing the basic tasks, the battalion commander summarized while folding his map.

The mission of the attack conveyed by the superiors was very simple, they had to attack the small village and ensure that the road was unimpeded.

"Sir!" As the commander of tank No. 112, Kent raised his hand and asked: "How many infantry are following us?" How far do we stop after we take the village? ”

The battalion commander laughed after hearing Captain Kent's question, and patted the dust on his pants with the map in his hand: "Two companies of a battalion of the 1st Mechanized Infantry Division will follow you to attack!" ”

As he climbed into his barrel cart, he continued: "After taking the village, I will leave some infantry to garrison, and as for us, I have been given the simple task of pushing forward as far as possible. ”

The German campaign objective was very simple, they had broken through the Soviets' defensive lines, and the goal was set near Minsk.

If the temporary line of defense of the Soviets collapses, as in Brest, all the troops will bypass the city and surround all the Soviet troops stationed there.

On the side of the pincer offensive was the 1st Panzer Division under Guderian's Panzer Corps; On the other side is the mechanized infantry division, as well as the 505 separate heavy tank destroyer battalion.

Receiving his assignment, Karjus rushed back to his No. 111 tank, where he saw German mechanized infantry reloading their rifles and some jumping out of their trucks.

"Joseph! You sort out the ammo! Including those three submachine guns! As soon as he got back into his tank, Karyus began to give his own order: "Also, check the radio station one more time!" This time we are responsible for supporting the infantry attack. ”

"Tyr, the intelligence is not very accurate, we don't know if the Soviets have tanks, this situation is complicated, pay attention to the search!" While sling his headphones around his neck, Karyus reminded himself of the gunner.

Then he called out to the driver of his tank: "Erich! Start your engines when you're ready! Test everyone's throat talker! I need you all to hear me. ”

Inside the Leopard tank, which was not wide, the engine began to flutter. Everyone felt their tanks come to life, and the machines roared regularly.

The tail of the tank began to spew out black exhaust gases, and the huge body of the Leopard tank was ready to go.

The mottled bullet marks on the armor represent its battle-hardened past. These marks are like military medals, and they also represent the members of the tank's crew, who have a wealth of combat experience.

As the tank's engine turned, Karjus commanded William, the tall loader beside him, "William! Pick a high-explosive grenade! ”

Seeing William pull out a high-explosive warhead from the shell rack, Karjus reminded again: "Our mission this time is to support the infantry attack, and we have not detected the threat of enemy tanks for the time being. But you'd better find an armor-piercing bullet and put it in a handy place! Just in case. ”

Hearing his commander's order, William nodded and pushed a grenade into the chamber and closed the bolt.

Seeing that the members of his crew were ready, Karyus leaned his upper body out of the car and looked at the location of his company's long-seat car.

Over there, the infantry accompanying the tank attack was already in position, and Tank 112 Kent was ready.

Like Karyus, the other party leaned out of the tank and waited for the order to leave.

"1Even gentlemen, can you hear me? All right! Let's go! The company commander's voice came from the headset, and the battle began at this moment.

"Onward! Keep up the speed! Let the infantry follow us! Pressing the throat intercom, Karyus gave the order to move forward.

The Leopard soon drove forward slowly, its tracks running over the ruts, eventually pushing away the sprouted bushes and onto the dirt road not far away.

Before he could hit the road, Calyus raised the telescope hanging on his chest and looked in the direction of the attack, hoping to see his target.

But because of the roadbed and the bushes on both sides, he couldn't see anything.

"The reconnaissance report was yesterday evening, and God knows if the Russians will adjust their lines overnight." Inside the radio headset, Kent's grumbling was heard.

Yesterday evening, in order to consolidate the security of the flank line, most of the tanks of the 1st company and the 2nd company had been transferred to the flank line.

After all, the troops are divided into two ways, and while creating pressure on the enemy's flank, their own defense line is actually constantly expanding.

In this case, if you want to stabilize your defense, you must disperse your forces. What's more, the territory of the Soviet Union was so huge that it seemed that no matter how much the forces were dispersed, it would not be too much.

As a result, the current situation was that when the Germans attacked, there were only 3 Leopard tanks and 2 No. 3 assault guns equipped with the 1st Mechanized Infantry Division.

The good news was that they had quite a bit of infantry cover, and in the reconnaissance before nightfall yesterday, there was no sign of the Soviets having tanks in the front village.

The bad news was that as the site of the battle moved more and more into the heart of the Soviet Union, German reconnaissance and intelligence became increasingly inaccurate.

The maps they had were starting to lose their accuracy, and the information provided by the scouts was sloppy. Sometimes it's accurate, other times it's blurry.

In many cases, the maps prepared by the German army, especially the atlases in the hands of the grassroots troops, were outdated.

Many of the maps in the hands of the army are even reproductions of tourist maps printed by the Soviets a year ago.

Under such circumstances, it is somewhat whimsical to expect the grassroots troops to have a good grasp of the location and terrain of their own troops.

In the process of advancing, the troops could only rely on the captured Soviet maps to constantly correct the maps in their hands and obtain accurate terrain judgments.

The bad thing is that most of the time, the Soviets' own maps are also sloppy, and they simply can't be used as a military-level reference.

If the map is still like this, the efficiency of the reconnaissance force can be imagined. It's not uncommon to find that they run into villages that can't be found on the map, or that they can't find the villages marked on the map – and there are always mistakes that go wrong.

Therefore, more often than not, the German grassroots commanders will draw a map on a blank piece of paper according to the description of the reconnaissance unit to carry out combat deployment......

Not far away, Kent's No. 112 tank had crossed the small dirt road, and the company commander's tank had already driven there.

Karjus's tank rushed into the roadbed, a puff of black smoke from the rear of the vehicle, and the tracks were taut, and the whole tank tilted slightly upward.

Then, his tank rushed onto the road, and Karjus, with his binoculars, saw the quiet Soviet village in the eyepiece.

The offensive began in the early hours of the morning, and at this time there was some morning fog that made it impossible to see the Soviet villages in the distance.

"I can't see anything! You can't see the Russians, you can't see what's in the village! Damn it! The company commander of the 1st Company also looked a little agitated.

This was the most torturous stage, the battle had not yet begun, and there was no movement at all in the opposing position.

If they're lucky, they'll be able to drive all the way and find out that the Soviets have long since abandoned the place, and the fighting won't break out at all.

If you're unlucky, the Soviets will suddenly open fire, and then enemy bullets and shells will come from all directions, and the moment is like being in purgatory.

"I didn't find a target either! If the Soviets were still there, I think we might be in a little bit of trouble! Karjus put down the binoculars and said helplessly.

The Soviet troops, who would endure not firing at a long distance, were clearly not second-rate players. In the face of such an elite Soviet Union, the German army also had a headache.

The battle would be quite fierce, and the losses of the Germans would be very large. No one will like such a fight, and everyone tenses their nerves.

"Yes! I think we're going to have some trouble too! Kent said gloomily, and when he heard about his mission in the morning, he knew that it must not be a good day.

The infantry, who were closely followed by the German tanks, bent over the road and ran quickly across the road, they climbed over the bushes next to the road, and left a machine gun there.

"The location on our side is not so good! There is no other cover for the lack of bushes! I think if the Russians were there, they would have seen us! Kent frowned and said to Caljus over the radio.

"Call the Infantry Liaison Group! Let's keep the speed and start attacking! Start attacking! Inside the headset, the company commander's order came.

"Erich, let's go! Keep up with the company commander's car! Calyus pressed his hand to the throat intercom and gave the order to follow.