Guderian guessed wrong this time, the reinforcements of the Red Army were not halfway, but had already arrived. The first to arrive at Kursk were two armies, the 47th Tank Division of the 58th Mechanized Corps of the Red Army, and the second the 76th Division of the 197th Infantry Corps. Of course, we are not going to talk about these two divisions in this chapter, because in front of them, the air assault brigade of the KGB was the first to arrive on the battlefield.

Due to range and load limitations, the helicopter group of the Red Army could not fly directly from Priluki to Kursk in one go. And to be safe, the fleet had to avoid German-occupied Konotop and Sumy, so the last route was to fly west to Kharkiv and then from Kharkiv to Kursk.

Along the way, a gas station was set up every 150 kilometers, and the way of leapfrogging in the air was used to get closer to Kursk step by step. In particular, it is worth mentioning that during an operation of this scale, there was not a single serious accident in the helicopter group of the Red Army, and except for a little delay due to a snowstorm during the period, the entire air assault force flew from Priluki to Kursk at great speed.

Moreover, unlike the paratroopers who are airdropped, it takes a lot of time for them to assemble and gather their equipment, while the air assault brigade can be put into battle almost immediately after getting off the helicopter, which is really much more efficient.

It is precisely because of the high efficiency of the air assault brigade that the top generals such as Tukhachevsky, Yegorov and Ubolevich have made up their minds - each army group should have an air assault brigade!

This scale is not small, you must know that the Red Army now has more than 40 group armies, if each group army is equipped with an air assault brigade. That's more than forty air assault brigades. It's just scaring people!

Fortunately, Li Xiaofeng has not been carried away yet. It is inevitable that the number of helicopters in the army will increase, but this does not mean that the Red Army needs so many air assault forces. In his opinion, it was enough for the Red Army to keep an air assault brigade in each military district. This will be a rapid reaction force of the military district. Of course, it is also possible to set up one or two more air assault units in some key construction military regions.

In Li Xiaofeng's view, the Red Army does not need too many specialized air assault troops, and it is very urgent to add enough helicopters and establish an army aviation regiment in each army. Especially the mechanized army, I am afraid that there are not enough army aviation regiments, and they have to go to the brigade.

After some research and discussion, the General Staff proposed that in the next five years each infantry corps be universalized one army aviation regiment (32 helicopters, including three transport helicopter squadrons and one armed reconnaissance helicopter squadron), while the mechanized corps should be universalized with two army aviation regiments, and the composition of the army aviation regiment equipped with mechanized corps would be different (48 helicopters, including 24 transport helicopters and 24 armed reconnaissance helicopters).

In fact, this requirement was a bit beyond the production capacity of the Red Army's equipment, at which time the Red Army's infantry corps number could be ranked to 100 (excluding troop losses and disbanded units, it was actually close to 80). And the serial number of the mechanized army can also be ranked to 50 (in fact, there are only more than 30), you calculate. How many helicopters are needed for this?

The scale of nearly 3,000 helicopters determined that the Red Army had to produce nearly 600 helicopters every year, and you must also see that the Red Army was still expanding, and the original helicopters would continue to be lost in battle. Let's put it this way, in the next few years, the Red Army will have to produce at least 1000 helicopters a year to meet demand.

This is probably quite a lot of pressure on the Soviet Union, which was already very tight on its industrial capacity during the war. And this is just a helicopter for the army, does the navy want it? Air Force or not? You must know that the Air Force's interest in helicopters now is not ordinarily large, and the demand is leveraged.

Fortunately, Lao Tuo, as the chairman of the People's Committee and the chief steward of the Soviet Union, is fully responsible for these problems, and Li Xiaofeng's pressure is still less.

Leaving aside these boring economic problems for the time being, returning to the battlefield, when the KGB air assault brigade arrived in Kursk, it immediately played a significant role, of course, it was not the soldiers of the assault brigade who brilliant, but the helicopter gunships.

On that day, the Germans organized a large-scale armored offensive, with sappers opening the way, infantry in the center, followed by groups of tanks No. 3 and No. 4. In particular, the No. 4 F2 tank was particularly annoying, its KWK40 tank gun had a long range and good accuracy, and the Germans used it to kill the Red Army's pillboxes and firing points at a long distance, causing considerable casualties.

Before, the Red Army did not have a very good way, at a distance of 1500 meters, the smoothbore guns of the T-35A were really not powerful, basically did not want to cause trouble for the Germans, and could only watch the German tanks wreak havoc.

There may be comrades who want to say, how can you be in a daze? Rush up! The Red Army tankmen did the same at first, rushing up without hesitation in the T-35A, ready to teach their dishonest German counterparts a lesson. But it didn't take long for them to realize that something was wrong. Germany was also prepared, and behind the No. 4 F2 tank, a considerable number of 88-mm anti-aircraft guns were also arranged. At a distance of 1,500 meters, the Flak36 can basically penetrate the turret of the T-35A, and at this time, the T-35A can still only fight mosquitoes.

I have to say that the Germans' fishing tactics are very good, take the No. 4 F2 to lure the T-35A out, and then use the Flak36 to snipe, really bullying the T-35A's main gun is not powerful!

After suffering several losses in a row, the Red Army also knew that unless the T-54 came, there was no way to deal with the enemy by relying on the T-35A alone. So part of the T-35A was simply placed in front-line positions and used as batteries and firing points. Anyway, your No. 4 F2 can't wear the T-35A, and you kind of gamble if you get close to within 600 meters.

Does this trick work? It has a certain effect, but it is not very significant, because the No. 4 F2 is helpless against the T-35A at a long distance, but this does not mean that the T-35A is safe, and the Germans concentrated a large number of heavy artillery of 150 mm and above caliber, focusing on bombarding the positions where the Red Army tanks were stationed. Although not every T-35A will be hit by heavy artillery, the shock wave and fragments generated by the explosion of large-caliber ammunition can still damage a lot of T-35A equipment, such as the more delicate observation equipment.

Moreover, the German infantry and artillery coordination or the coordination of infantry, armored troops and artillery tacit understanding. Under the cover of heavy artillery. Tank No. 4 could quite well go to a distance sufficient to destroy the T-35A. At this time, everyone just exploded each other. And the German tankmen were of higher quality and better sighting equipment, and the results were naturally greater.

Anyway, in order to break the tank superiority of the Red Army, the German army did everything possible to grasp every detail and make a fuss, and gave full play to its tactical superiority. Therefore, even if the officers and men of the 38th Group swore to resist to the death, they were still encroached on by the Germans step by step.

And this continued until the helicopter gunships arrived on the battlefield. There was always a saying in later generations: tanks are the best anti-tank weapons. This is actually incorrect, air power is the most efficient and cost-effective anti-tank weapon. Whether it is the Il-2 or the helicopter gunship, its anti-tank effectiveness is much higher than that of the tank.

The main reason why the Red Army was bullied so badly before was that the number of Il-2 was not enough, and the Germans deployed a large number of fighters to suppress the Red Army's fighters, making it difficult for the Il-2 to play. Unlike helicopters, this kind of aircraft operating at ultra-low altitudes is a very troublesome target for the vast majority of fighters, and not many fighter pilots dare to dive to an altitude of 100 meters to maneuver around the helicopter. And helicopters are naturally more agile than fighter jets because of the rotors, and when the fighter pilot carefully twists his body clumsily at ultra-low altitude in an attempt to aim the cannon at those damn iron dragonflies, the helicopter pilot only needs to gently push the joystick. The tail rotor makes it extremely easy to adjust the nose of the aircraft.

All in all, at ultra-low altitudes. Fighter jets don't dare to play dog fights with helicopters, they are really looking for death. At this time, the German pilots also experienced this feeling, when they carefully lowered the altitude and adjusted the nose pointing, the opponent flew up and down lightly, and its nose could also point to their landline at all times, constantly greeting with the machine gun under the nose.

With a few German pilots who were not afraid of death either crashing to the ground in a single mistake or being riddled with bullet holes by their more nimble opponents, they soon gave up chasing these pesky dragonflies and said, "Let the anti-aircraft guns teach the Russian dragonflies a lesson!" ”

So was the German anti-aircraft guns a threat to helicopter gunships? Objectively speaking, there is a real threat, and even anti-aircraft guns are not needed, anti-aircraft machine guns can threaten the safety of helicopters. HOWEVER, HELICOPTERS ARE NOT PARTICULARLY EASY TARGETS, ESPECIALLY FOR THOSE BULKY FLAK36 ANTI-AIRCRAFT GUNS, AND IT IS DIFFICULT TO POSE MUCH OF A THREAT TO HELICOPTERS.

One is that the helicopter flies at too low an altitude, and most of the anti-aircraft gunners are not trained to strike such low-altitude targets. The second is that these helicopters are too flexible, unlike attack aircraft and bombers that have to go along a fixed attack route. They can hide behind the woods one moment, then suddenly jump up the next second, and after a brief aiming, immediately pour fire, after which the pilot presses the lever and hides back behind the woods. Not only the woods, but also the hills and houses on the battlefield can be their shelter, and for the gunner, it is a nightmare to find the helicopter in these many shelters. Even if they find it, there is not enough time left for them to calculate the shooting elements, and often, they have just finished measuring the range, and the gunship has already fired the ammunition and slipped away.

In the words of the German gunner Wilhelm: "The bulky 88 gun is not suitable for dealing with helicopters, the maneuver and pitch rate are too low, on the battlefield we prefer to use 20-mm anti-aircraft guns against those pesky flies, and even the MG-34 with an anti-aircraft gun mount is more effective than the 88 gun!" ”

And for the helicopter pilots of the Red Army, they were also more afraid of the nimble small-caliber anti-aircraft guns, so in order to ensure the survival rate, they would keep a sufficient distance, after all, the range of small-caliber anti-aircraft guns was relatively short and their power was limited. Their most common tactic was to approach the German tank group under the cover of shelter, then suddenly jump up and launch all the rockets in one breath, and then quickly retreat or reduce the altitude to hide again.

In order to cooperate with the helicopter operation, the artillery of the Red Army also joined in, and once the No. 4 tank was discovered, it immediately concentrated its firepower to bombard the German position behind the No. 4 tank, suppressed the German anti-aircraft artillery and anti-aircraft machine guns, and won the opportunity for the gunships to open fire.

It should be said that this tactic was still very effective, and soon the Germans found that there was no point in continuing the fishing tactics. Because the No. 4 tank, which they released as bait, suffered heavy losses. Under the rain of rockets ploughed by enemy helicopter gunships. There is really no survivability.

The outcome of this battle also deeply affected the armored corps of the German army and the Red Army, and the German army once again strongly demanded that the tanks be equipped with anti-aircraft machine guns or small-caliber anti-aircraft guns, otherwise they would only be beaten in the face of helicopter gunships. And Ubolevich, after personally watching the implementation of this set of tactics, immediately suggested to the Military Commission: "The project of self-propelled anti-aircraft guns on the chassis of MB-LT-36 tracked infantry carriers should be immediately resumed." In future large-depth operations, the enemy's air power will be a serious danger to our army's armored assault clusters. The survivability of armored clusters without anti-aircraft fire to accompany cover is in doubt! ”

Ubolevich's proposal was naturally full of weight, and only Li Xiaofeng had previously attached importance to the field air defense of armored clusters, and other senior generals thought that it would be enough to have the cover of front-line aviation, but now it seems. This is not enough.

Soon the relevant design bureaus in Leningrad received the task of developing self-propelled anti-aircraft guns based on the MB-LT territory within a month, specifically with the ability to accompany a tank battalion or a mechanized infantry battalion in a forward assault.

Speaking of which, the wartime efficiency is high, especially this project has attracted great attention from Kotin, who personally came out and came up with three plans in three weeks.

The simplest solution is to install a quadruple 14.5 mm anti-aircraft machine gun on the chassis of the MB-LT, which is quite simple and even rudimentary. Naturally, this too-rudimentary solution was quickly phased out.

The second plan is a little more complicated, that is, the twin M1939L63 Type 37 guns are installed. This scheme seemed not bad, but the General Armament Department soon found out. This is a huge waste of the MB-LT chassis. Pairing the Double 37 with this expensive chassis is too extravagant.

So soon a new scheme was given to Kotin, who was ordered to continue research and development on the chassis of the T-26 and BT series tanks, which developed into the ZSU-37 self-propelled anti-aircraft gun. However, the production of this gun was not very large, due to the unsatisfactory chassis and limited performance of the T-26 and BT series.

In the end, the development of the ZSU-57 was the third plan, which was quite satisfactory to the Red Army by installing a twin 57-mm anti-aircraft gun on the chassis of the MB-LT, and even on some special occasions, the gun also undertook some urgent anti-tank tasks and fire sweeping tasks, which can be regarded as a multi-capable gun.

And by the end of the war, the Red Army developed the ZSU-57-57 field air defense system on the basis of the ZSU-2. Yes, experienced comrades can see the difference between the two at a glance, the ZSU-57 is, to put it bluntly, a self-propelled anti-aircraft gun, and quite a few times, the ZSU-57 fights alone, and to tell the truth the combat effectiveness is limited.

The ZSU-57 is completely different, not only anti-aircraft guns, but also supporting command vehicles, ammunition supply vehicles, radar vehicles, and logistics maintenance vehicles have all been tracked, this is a complete system, and the combat effectiveness has been greatly improved. Especially with the progress of the Soviet electronics industry, the 57-mm class anti-aircraft guns can also be equipped with radio proximity fuses, which is a great threat to a tree-tall helicopter.

Of course, that's all for later. Returning to the battlefield itself, when the Red Army's helicopter gunships were put into battle, the resistance of the German offensive was unprecedentedly great. On May 4, the day before Hitler's deadline, even Guderian threw in 400 tanks in one fell swoop, but failed to shake the Red Army's defenses. And the next day, when the vanguard of the 37th Army arrived in Kursk, the Germans could not advance half a step even if they committed more troops again.

"The enemy is much stronger than we expected," Guderian said at a meeting with Field Marshal Bock, commander of Army Group Center, "and our offensive has been repeatedly frustrated, and there is no point in continuing the offensive. In my opinion, for the time being it is time to move to the defensive, and it is better to be prepared for a retreat. ”

Bock was very painful, as a soldier and Guderian's superior, he thought that Guderian's analysis had some truth. But he also knew very well what the head meant, the Führer had already been very angry before, and he had given a death order, demanding that Kursk must be captured. Now that Guderian is bringing up the old story again, isn't it unpleasant?

So he could only reply: "I think your assault group should continue the offensive for the time being, at least to capture Kursk." It would be more appropriate to talk about the retreat after the capture of Kursk! ”

Bock's meaning is very simple, that is, to give Hitler a step down, take Kursk, and the Führer's order is completed, and no further retreat will not make the Führer too embarrassed. It should be said that Bock had a good intention, but undoubtedly it disappointed Guderian.

At this time, the sense of crisis in his heart was getting stronger and stronger, and if it was possible, he really didn't want to stay outside Kursk for an extra minute. However, the boss still insisted on continuing the attack, and he had to take Kursk, isn't this fatal?

Of course, Guderian knew why, it was nothing more than a face, and now no one dared to confront Hitler head-on, no one dared to argue with him, not even a marshal like Bock dared to tell the "truth".

But Guderian insisted on telling the truth, he believed that his assault cluster was already in great danger, how could he manage face at this time, the most important thing was to save his life, and only by preserving his strength could he turn the tables in the future.

So after leaving Bock's headquarters, Guderian did not immediately return to his front command, but immediately sent another earnest telegram to the General Staff and the Wolf's Lair, again recommending an immediate retreat.

After sending this telegram, Guderian immediately boarded the plane and flew to Ligov, but as soon as he landed in Ligov and stepped out of the cabin, the adjutant waiting on the runway brought him a telegram of dismissal from the General Staff and the wolf's den...... (To be continued......)

PS: Bow and thank you to the old students, remonslm, drunken maple and Comrade Juventus!