The track chain of the 81_81266 tank left deep rut marks on the grass, but this was nothing on the flat plain flanks of Route 9, because it was already full of tank track marks.

During the attack, a full 300 Soviet tanks passed by here, and now, these tanks have returned here in a huge way. This is the 2nd Tank Division under the 1st Guards Tank Army of the Soviet Red Army, and the original 1st Tank Division has been abandoned in the center of the encirclement due to excessive offensive losses.

"The reconnaissance force has lost contact, and here and here, Mr. Commissar. An officer pointed to a map that was not detailed and gave his superiors a description of the battlefield: "I think we should cover this place with artillery and ...... here."

"There is no time! Colonel Popov, our artillery is short of ammunition, and now is not the time to wait for those artillerymen. The middle-aged political commissar stared at the map with a frown, and pointed to the location where the reconnaissance force had lost contact: "Since the enemy is here, we just need to attack." ”

A good reconnaissance unit was turned into a substitute for "stepping on thunder" by a group of clumsy commanders, and if the German armored units, which were good at using reconnaissance troops, knew that the scouts of the Soviet Red Army were used in this way, they would probably laugh off their big teeth.

"A frontal breakthrough? That would be a relatively large loss, and it is uncertain whether it will be able to break through the opponent's defensive position. The colonel, Popov, was strongly opposed to a frontal assault, preferring that his troops would be able to cross the battlefield with relatively difficult terrain and start their own attack on the other side of the plain.

Joke, what is the difference between exchanging fire with German armored troops in places such as chaotic terrain woods and highway embankments, and sending them to death? On this day, when the attack was fought, Colonel Bobosha found that the Soviet tankers under his command were all about to fall into the root of the disease: wherever the terrain was complicated, the Soviet troops had to worry about being ambushed by the German tanks, and after several battles, the Germans stripped the Soviet armored troops with almost zero casualties.

So the Soviet Panzers wanted to be able to engage the German tanks in the vast plains, so that at least they could know how they died, and at least they could see what their enemies were like - this is not alarmist, because many times the Soviet attacks were fought back without even seeing the appearance of the opponent.

"In this case, let your 2nd Tank Regiment spread out on that plain and carry out a flank attack! Leave it to the 1st Tank Regiment in charge!" The political commissar was very skillful in drawing up the battle plan this time, and he also felt that he let the troops attack the front of the opponent's position every time, which was a little too unkind.

So he thought about it and came up with this battle plan of dividing troops and attacking from a flank, which is also the "art of command" from which history book it seems, but apparently he himself felt that his exquisite command ability could be better reflected than a frontal attack.

"Mr. Political Commissar, since the other side has arranged a defensive position near Route 9, the woodland and the nearby roadbed are very dangerous, and we can let both regiments spread out in the open field, so that it will be easier to give full play to the numerical superiority of our army. "Colonel Popov was eager for the follow-up troops to also enter the battle in the direction of the plains, so he spoke out and admonished.

"Colonel Popov! I have to remind you very solemnly! We, the Communist Party of the Soviet Union, are not afraid of sacrifice or the enemy! A frontal attack must be carried out! We must let those damned Germans know that we, the Soviet Red Army, have no cowards!" the middle-aged political commissar banged on the table and roared. He hated it most than anything when people questioned his command, so even if Colonel Popov was humble to the extreme, he still made him angry.

"I'm sorry! Mr. Commissar! The frontal offensive will begin at the same time! Long live the Soviet Union! Long live Comrade Stalin, the great leader of the Soviet Union!" Popov hurriedly stood up and saluted, which made the already angry Mr. Commissar a little more relaxed.

Now that the offensive strategy of attacking from both sides and simultaneously was determined, and the Soviet armored forces on the front line began to prepare, the 2nd Tank Regiment assigned to the plains was naturally overjoyed, and the 1st Regiment, which was responsible for attacking Highway 9 and woodland, was extremely frustrated. However, with the roar of the tank engine, the battle began.

Buckle the hatch of the tank, a KV-1 tank followed behind the two T-26 tanks, slowly rushed up to the flat area, the radio intercom was noisy, and many people were complaining about the messy formation and the lack of ammunition.

Colonel Popov sat in the captain's seat of this tank, wearing a headset while repeating his command: "Keep the distance between the tanks, all tanks are on standby with armor-piercing shells! Keep the distance between the tanks!"

However, when he kept shouting to keep, he found that the Soviet tanks in the front row were firing, not only did they fire, but the commanders of these tanks shouted in the headphones, and the content of the shouting made Popov's mind buzz blank: "Germans! German tanks! They are rushing!"

After a day of fighting, the commanders of the Soviet tank units were accustomed to the phenomenon that every battle seemed to be won by the Germans, but because of the sheer number of Soviet tanks, these German armored units that were constantly winning were also constantly retreating. So in the eyes of most Soviet tankers, even with heavy losses, they still believed that they were the winners.

Today, this phenomenon has been completely broken, and the German tanks that have been retreating all this time have finally appeared, and they have launched a counterattack, which makes all the Soviet troops feel afraid, they do not know whether they have defeated the Germans in the past day, and they are not even sure whether the German counterattack in front of them is forced to meet or premeditated.

Unfortunately, there was not much time left for them to hesitate, and the 40 Tiger tanks of the German 502 Heavy Tank Destroyer Battalion were killed in a line of Soviet tank units with no end in sight.

As soon as the tanks appeared, they fired a salvo on a small hillside, destroying more than 30 Soviet tanks at the front in just a few seconds. The power of the 88mm cannon can be said to be incomparable, and at a distance of a kilometer, it is easy to beat those T-26 tanks on the periphery into a part state.

"Colonel! Colonel! Colonel Popov! It's the 502nd Tank Battalion! It's the German troops!" Inside the headset, a voice shouted in a rhythm that almost collapsed: "I see it! I see the No. 113 tank! It's him! It's him!"

502 Tank Battalion Popov almost reached out and lifted the hatch cover above his head, then jumped out of the car and fled. That terrible German tank battalion that crippled the 1st Regiment of the 1st Tank Division, which was responsible for the attack, on Route 9?

The Red Army knew that the tanks that were more difficult to deal with than the Leopard were known to the Germans, the Tiger was an even more terrifying supertank, and in actual combat they found that the opponent's tank was more powerful than the KV-1 tank, thicker armored, and faster.

"Hell, fire!!!

At the same time as his order was given, the Soviet tank units on the left flank were completely covered by the sudden and dense explosion, and Popov did not need to look, just listening to the explosion, he knew that it was the German Frederick rocket artillery, and it was because of this rocket attack a few hours earlier that they hurriedly began this retreat and breakout operation.

"Boom, boom!" With the sound of dense explosions, the tank units of the Soviet Red Army on the left flank immediately turned into a cloud of burning flames, and dozens of tanks rose into thick smoke after the explosion, and violently exploded near the still slightly warm shells. Many tanks have broken engines or tracks, and they are like a beast that has lost its soul, paralyzed on the ground and motionless.

While the rocket artillery was attacking, the German tanks stopped their advance and fired another round of shells not far away, which tore through the front armor plates of the Soviet tanks with a whistling sound that broke through the air, and easily smashed one brand new Soviet tank after another into twisted scrap metal.

"Hurry up, speed up, stick it on, or we'll be finished!" Popov ordered loudly, but suddenly he felt his tank shake violently, and then there was a loud explosion that could be heard through his headphones, and he didn't know what was going on, except that his head was pounded on the hatch cover, and he fainted.

"Colonel! Colonel Popov! Wake up!" When he heard the voice again, he found that the commander of his tank was staring at him anxiously.

Popov remembered the current situation of the troops under his command, quickly struggled to sit up, opened his dry and torn lips, and asked in a trembling voice: "...... Hit?"

"Yes, sir, our tank was hit by an aerial bomb on the track, which shattered the shock absorber and spring of one of the load wheels, and the engine was no longer working, and now it could not be started. ”

"Aerial bombs?" Popov found himself waking up, and his brain was a little insufficient.

"The German tanks did not continue the assault, they only lured us into formation on the plains, in fact, they intended to use the planes against us in the first place. 30 Stuka bombers, we're almost wiped out!"

Almost wiped out? What is the difference between that and total annihilation? This is an encirclement! This is an encirclement by the Germans! What is the difference between heavy losses here and defeat in battle? Children and old people at home will not be sent to Siberia because of their defeat, right? Popov kept thinking about these questions