On the night of May 7, Marshal of the Soviet Panzer Tank Corps Rotmistrov personally arrived at the village of Ostashovo in the upper reaches of the Ruzha River, and he had temporarily handed over the command of the Southern Front cluster to the deputy commander-in-chief Biryuzov, and he himself personally commanded the tank cluster consisting of the main forces of the 1 tank corps and the 1 mechanized corps, preparing for a decisive battle with the Germans in the upper Ruzha River area. Pen? Interesting? Pavilion wWw. ｂiquge。 ｉｎfo

The German front line, seven or eight kilometers north of the village of Ostashovo, had been beaten into a fiery dragon, black smoke rising everywhere, and the screeching of rockets everywhere. For tonight's decisive battle, Rotmistrov did his best to mobilize artillery. It even ventured to mobilize rocket artillery and towed artillery in the evening when the sky was not completely covered in darkness. Although some were blown up by German planes, they still bought valuable time.

Rotmistrov was now standing on the top floor of the storehouse of a dilapidated collective farm, with a scholar-like face on his face solemn and resolute, like a martyr about to be martyred. His military uniform was covered with medals, his chest rose and fell violently, and he sang "The Internationale" loudly.

A huge JS-2 tank was parked right next to the storeroom, which Rotmistrov had prepared for himself - his family drove it for the final battle!

If he can't win, he will fulfill his oath to GCISM with his life and blood!

“…… The young warriors stationed on the frontier miss the distant girl in their hearts; Bravely fought to defend the Motherland, Katyusha love will always belong to him.

Bravely fought to defend the Motherland, Katyusha love will always belong to him.

Just as the pear blossoms are blooming all over the world, the river floats with a soft light veil; Katyusha stood on the steep shore, singing like a bright spring light.

Katyusha stood on the steep shore, singing like a bright spring light. ”

While Marshal Rotmistrov Panzer Tank Corps was singing "The Internationale", Shura. Sergeant Kosmodejanskov and his comrades are singing "Katyusha" and driving a captured "Olga" tank destroyer into a decisive assault on the German tank cluster!

Shura. Sergeant Kosmodejanskov's 18th Guards Tank Brigade now has one battalion of troops left - probably a tank destroyer company by German standards?

The BT-7 tanks, which were originally equipped with the 18th Guards Tank Brigade, have been completely lost in the bloody battle from April 5 to the present. The BT-7 in which Shura and his company commander, Captain Valennikov, were riding, was also destroyed by the German "Little Panthers" during the battle. However, the two of them were lucky enough to emerge from the damaged tank intact. And soon after, he received new equipment - a restored "Olga" tank destroyer!

In the establishment of the Soviet army, the official name of this weapon was the SU-57/50 tank destroyer, and now Captain Valennikov's company is equipped with 4 SU-57/50, while the entire 18th Guards Tank Brigade has 4 SU-57/50, 8 ordinary SU-57 and 4 BT-7 tanks...... That's all the tank/assault guns of the brigade!

And after tonight's fierce fighting, there is a high probability that the 18th Guards Tank Brigade will cease to exist.

But Shura's morale was still high, for he had taken a solemn oath to a bright red party flag on the afternoon of May 6 and was now a glorious reserve member of the Bolsheviks.

As she sang "Katyusha" to her death, Shura thought of her sister Zoya again: she would be very happy if she knew that I had joined the Bolshevik Party, right?

"Captain, the Bolsheviks are coming!"

Captain Ribbentrop heard the shout and immediately put his eyes on the eyepiece of an FG-1250 night vision telescope, and 1,500 meters away, the Soviet tanks/assault artillery and infantry, which were supposed to be shrouded in darkness, all appeared under the effect of infrared light.

"It looks like the SU-57 and BT-7," Ribbentrop Jr. whispered to himself, "and it looks like they're running out of power." ”

From the night of May 6 to now, almost 28 hours ago, fierce fighting on the west bank of the Mara River has been going on. The Katuzov cluster on the northern front of the Soviet army suffered great losses, the group lost more than 400 tanks/assault guns before dawn on the 7th - because they were repulsed by the German counterattack after dawn on the 7th, they lost control of the battlefield, and all the more than 400 tanks lost could not be recovered for repair, so the losses were real!

With the loss of these tanks, the number of tanks/assault guns available to the Soviet Katuzov cluster is less than 1,100 (a lot more on paper, but that's all there is to it). During the day on 7 May, more than 600 German tanks/assault guns fought with these Soviet tanks/assault guns on the plains west of the Mara River.

With strong air superiority, the cluster commanded by Major General Marx launched wave after wave of tank cluster onslaught throughout the day!

The Soviets fought more intelligently, did not fight hard with the Germans, but fought and retreated, constantly fighting German ambushes, and also arranged a large number of false targets to attract the attention of the other side. However, Katuzov's clever tactics, combined with the strong strength of Marx's cluster, eventually led to heavy losses.

The two sides fought until sunset, and the Soviet tank cluster on the northern front lost nearly 400 tanks, and the entire west bank of the Mara River was littered with the wreckage of Soviet tanks/assault guns.

The Germans lost less than 100 tanks/assault guns in a daytime battle, most of which were repairable.

In addition, Major General Marx's cluster was again reinforced at about 4 p.m. that day. The reinforcements were a regimental heavy armoured group drawn from the 19th Panzer Corps west of the Ruza River by General Hort, with 51 Tiger H tanks, 18 Rhino tank destroyers, 28 No. 4 H tanks, and 12 Stalker tank destroyers, for a total of 109 tanks/assault guns.

After receiving reinforcements, Major General Marx's strength returned to the top, so after nightfall, he continued to attack the Soviet troops.

The Soviets in front of him were also reinforced in the evening - units like the 18th Guards Tank Brigade, light tanks and tank destroyers drawn from the 7th and 8th Guards Tank Armies, which had suffered heavy losses in previous engagements.

Katuzov is now putting these tanks into battle, and he is really doing his best!

The shells rumbled and exploded in the assault formation of the armored tank cluster of the Soviet counterattack, and the big guys such as the E-50A and Tiger H were fired, and the 88mm armor-piercing/armor-piercing shells could be said to be overpowered for the SU-57 and BT-7, as long as they hit, they could immediately turn the Soviet tanks into a fireball.

Shura, who was manipulating the tank destroyer to charge, soon realized that something was wrong, but he didn't flinch at all, and still steered the vehicle forward at full speed. A British-made 6-pound (57mm) armor-piercing shell had been filled into the chamber, and now Shura only had to drive the vehicle to a distance of 500 meters from the German tank, which should be able to destroy a Tiger or E-50 tank.

If that doesn't work, impact is the only way!

At this time, the flares of the Soviet army also rained down in the air, illuminating the battlefield of the German tank clusters below as if it were daytime.

"Stop! Stop the car! The shouts of Captain Valennikov came from Shura's headphones, and he quickly pulled the lever and parked the "Olga Hammer" more than 400 meters in front of the German tank cluster.

"Only one chance! It's a must-hit! Shura thought silently in his heart, pushed open the hatch, poked his head out (for an 88mm gun, the SU-57 was all a one-shot shot, and it was the same whether the hatch was closed or not), and stared at an E-50A tank 400 meters in front of him.

That E-50A tank had apparently also spotted the SU-57/50 that Shura was riding, with the turret turned and the dreaded 88mm gun already on point.

"Boom!"

Shura only felt the body shake violently, and then there was a flash of fire and a loud bang. The fire flashed from the front of the E-50A tank, and the 6-pound armor-piercing shell hit accurately.

But the E-50 only stepped back a little, waiting for the smoke to clear, and Shura found that the front of the tank had not been penetrated!

Now it's the turn of the E-50 tank to fire, and at a distance of 400 meters, it is simply impossible to miss......

"Fatherly leader, we've done our best!" Shura. Cosmodejanskov shouted with all his strength, "Mom, I love you!" Sister, I love you too! GC-ism, hooray! USSR, hooray! ”

……

"Please tell Comrade Stalin that I have done my best!" Katukov spoke to his adjutant as he got into a T-34/85 tank.

He saw that the great counterattack he had organized was once again easily crushed by the Germans, and he was already fully aware of the outcome of this battle.

Moreover, he also knew the inevitable fall of Moscow!

However, he did not intend to flee the battlefield, let alone surrender to Empress Olga. Because he also believes in GCISM, and believes that the red flag will be planted all over the world one day.

So he, like Marshal Rotmistrov, also prepared a tank for himself, a T-34/85. He will drive this tank into battle in person, carry out the final battle, and die like a martyr of GCISM!