Korobkov was counting on the 1st Tank Army, but the 1st Tank Army was "crossing the river with mud tanks" at this time, and it was difficult to protect itself. Pen? Interesting? Pavilion wWw. ｂiquge。 info The trouble they have is not with German tanks on the ground, but with tanks that can fly in the sky - the HS129 attack aircraft!

The clumsy, sturdy, and powerful twin-engine ground attack aircraft is designed to be bomb-mounted, but it has two 20mm cannons and one 37mm/50mm cannon, which can fire high-velocity armor-piercing shells from tens of meters in the air to hit the weak top and rear of the tank.

Since the outbreak of the world revolution on June 1, these clumsy twin-engine aircraft have become a lingering shadow in the minds of the Soviet mechanized troops, and as long as the weather permits, they will occasionally appear above the heads of the long convoys of Soviet mechanized troops heading westward, under the protection of the Fokker Zero and FW-190, launching wave after wave of attacks, until the ammunition for the 20mm, 37mm and 50mm guns is exhausted, leaving a pile of smoking and burning wreckage. Although the number of these odious "flying tanks" was too small to inflict too heavy losses on the Soviet troops on the march, the frequent bombardment still greatly slowed down the advance of the troops and slightly reduced the high morale of the revolutionary fighters of the world.

But on June 11, most of the internationalist fighters marching on Polish and Ukrainian soil were pleasantly surprised to find that the "flying tanks" that had tormented them for a long time did not appear today! Not only did the "flying tank" not come, but even the JU87, which often partnered with the HS-129, did not appear. It seems that the sky has returned to the hands of the people overnight!

And just when the vast majority of the Red Army commanders and fighters were happily striding on foot, imagining what miracle the Soviet Red Air Force had done last night to paralyze the powerful German Air Force. Hundreds of HS-129s and the same number of JU87s were frantically attacking the main force of the Soviet 1st Tank Army (missing the 1st Tank Brigade) advancing towards Legionovo.

Erich, who has just been upgraded to a long plane. Corporal Hartmann (who was promoted for shooting down seven Soviet planes in 10 days) flew his own FW-190A-4 fighter near noon on June 11 and followed Steinbaz (the leader of the 4th Squadron) to the skirmish over the Soviet 1st Tank Army convoy.

Looking down from an altitude of 4,000 meters, the long queue of Soviet tanks, troop carriers, wheeled armored vehicles, trucks or tracked vehicles towing cannons, and various tracked or wheeled auxiliary armored vehicles is completely immobilized, and there are burning vehicles or metal wreckage that has been blown into strange shapes.

The anti-aircraft fire of the Soviet army was also unprecedentedly fierce, and countless tongues of fire were intertwined together, forming a network of fire at low altitudes, but the ugly twin-engine planes that had been flying slowly were fearless in the fire net, and from time to time they fired strings of red-hot shells, bursting the T-34, KV-1 or other armored vehicles on the ground from the top and back!

At 2,000 meters and 3,000 meters in the air, the JU87 bombers were screaming and constantly launching dive attacks on the Soviet convoy on the ground. Bombs rained down, creating one fireball after another rising high in the long line of Soviet convoys.

"MiG-3! Discover the MiG-3! Height 3800, 11 o'clock direction. ”

Erich. Ensign Stanbaz's voice came from Hartman's headphones: "There are 4 planes, let's go and beat them down." Beware, watch out for the Russo's ramming! ”

In the past ten days of desperate battles, although the Soviet Red Air Force has been at a disadvantage, the German pilots have to admit the bravery and fearlessness of the Soviet pilots, because these Bolshevik pilots have a crazy tactic - ramming in the air!

It's a plane with a wounded or intact pilot, and it collides with an enemy plane!

Although this kind of fighting did not knock down many German planes, it caused a certain psychological shadow on the German pilots. Many German pilots were somewhat intimidated when they collided head-on with Soviet aircraft, especially those who had seen or been hit by the Soviets.

But Erich. Sergeant Hartmann was an unbelieving fellow, and he did not hesitate to meet the MiG-3 in the face of a fierce MiG-3, and then pulled the trigger and fired a violent rain of bullets, enveloping the MiG-3. It may have been a shell that hit the cockpit of the MiG-3, and the high-speed plane suddenly lost its air, rolled in the air a few times, and then fell headlong and became Erich. The 8th result in Hartman's book of merit.

"Comrade Volokh, the 1st Tank Army cannot be beaten on the road like this, it must be deployed as soon as possible." The commander of the 4th Army, Korobkov, finally found the headquarters of the commander of the 1st Tank Army, Major General Voloch, in a wooded area next to the road full of destroyed vehicles.

"Comrade commander, there is no way now, there are too many Nazi planes, there is no way to ......"

"There's no way to unfold!" Korobkov was in a hurry, "The German tank cluster is coming, and if it is not deployed, will the 1st Tank Army meet the enemy on the road in a marching formation?" ”

"What?" The commander of the 1st Tank Corps, Voloch, was shocked, "The armored clusters of the Germans? How is this possible...... The 16th Mechanized Corps and the 28th Corps are still ahead. ”

He did not know the situation of the 16th Mechanized Army and the 28th Army, but his army column had been bombed this morning, and the communication vehicle with the radio station was being blown up, so that timely communication with the group army headquarters had been cut off.

"Both the 16th Mechanized Army and the 28th Army have been defeated!" Major General Korobkov stomped his foot, "If the 1st Tank Army does not deploy immediately, our 4th Army will be finished!" ”

"Ah......" Volokh couldn't believe his ears, how could the troops of the 2 armies be defeated like this? How much time has it been? They are the Red Army of Workers and Peasants! Moreover, how is the 1st Tank Army going to unfold now?

Because in the 3 armies of the 4th Army, the main force of the 1st Tank Army was at the end, so in addition to being a marching army all the way, the team pulled out more than a dozen kilometers, and now it is still being bombed, how can the roads be blocked by the wreckage of vehicles, how can it be possible to gather and unfold with one order?

Moreover, how could it be possible to defeat a powerful German panzer group, even if some troops were barely deployed? Since they were able to defeat the 16th Mechanized Corps and the 28th Infantry Corps one after another, their strength must not be weak, how could the 1st Tank Army, which relied on only 3 brigades (2 tank brigades and 1 motorized infantry brigade), defeat them?

"Comrade Commander, now...... It should be a temporary retreat now. Voloch whispered the right advice.

Relying on the 1st tank army will not be able to save the situation, and a reluctant decisive battle can only cause greater losses, so it is better to retreat first. And a retreat now would not cause incalculable losses, because Warsaw was also threatened by the 16th Army (Vlasovna Road) and the 9th Army (infantry units attacking the Warsaw Forest) on the south route, and the main forces of the Workers' and Peasants' Red Army were constantly moving from east of the Bug River, so it was impossible for the Germans to extend their gains by pursuing the 1st Tank Army.

What they should have launched now was a short counterattack, and it was already good to push the 4th Army. If the 1st Tank Army had retreated, the Germans' armored clusters would have mostly returned victoriously.

"No, we can't retreat......"

The commander of the 4th Army, Korobkov, and the political commissar Terekin spoke out against it almost simultaneously.

"We have to hold the Germans back." Korobkov knew that he had already done something bad, and if he ran away with his tail between his legs, it would not be a labor reform, but a shot.

"The Front Command should be consulted." Political Commissar Terekin said, "After the front army ordered us to retreat, our army group must fight to the end!" ”

Terekin's words were much softer than Korobkov's, and he still had a way to live, but whether the 1st Tank Army could withdraw safely depended on whether Pavlov could give orders in time.

"Yes, yes, yes...... Immediately send a telegram to the command of the Front, "Korobkov came with a communication vehicle and can keep in touch with his superiors and subordinates at any time." "Let's just say that our army group encountered a counterattack by 3 German panzer divisions at Legiononovo......"

……

"Comrade Commander, the 4th Army was defeated with heavy losses...... Korobkov asked for instructions to retreat to the area of Minsk, Poland, to reorganize his troops. "The Chief of Staff of the Western Front, Major General Limowsk, rushed into Pavlov's office.

"What's going on?" Ponomarenko was also in his office, learning from Pavlov about the latest situation in the war. Hearing the words of Major General Rimowik, he stood up abruptly.

"Comrade Commissar, the 4th Army was counterattacked by German armored clusters...... There are at least 3 armored divisions! Moreover, the Germans also dispatched more than 2,000 sorties to bomb the 1st Tank Army, and suffered heavy losses! ”

"3 armored divisions?"

Both Pavlov and Ponomarenko breathed a sigh of relief, and if the 4th Army ran into 3 German panzer divisions, then it would be understandable that it would be defeated.

"Then let the 4th Army retreat quickly." Ponomarenko, like other political commissars of the Soviet Red Army, was not an unreasonable fool. Moreover, the Red Army is now fighting abroad, and there is no question of defending the people of the homeland at all.

"No way!" Pavlov's face was very ugly, "The 4th Army must hold out to the end!" He looked at Ponomarenko, who was full of puzzlement, and said, "Otherwise, the mechanized cluster of the German army may be inserted into the Minsk line in Poland and cut off the rear of the 9th Army and the 37th Army!" (To be continued.) )