"Rumble" A dull roar sounded from the position of the tank engine, and the exhaust pipe at the rear of the tank immediately spit out a string of black smoke. The tank body, which weighed dozens of tons, began to tremble slightly as the engine roared.
When the tank began to slowly increase its horsepower, a noisier roar sounded from the location of the engine. The behemoth hidden in the Tibetan Soldier Cave gradually began to move slowly due to the rotation of its tracks.
As the tracks rub against the gears, the ¡®squeaking¡squeaking¡¡¯ sound becomes more and more intensive. In the Tibetan Soldier Cave, which is dozens of meters long, the tanks are traveling faster and faster.
In the blink of an eye, the thick-skinned Soviet-made heavy tank suddenly burst out of the entrance of the Tibetan Soldier Cave like a cheetah ready to go.
At the same time, the other thirty-five heavy tanks scattered in this area also rushed out of the Tibetan Soldier Cave.
With the roar and the "squeaking" sound of the tank tracks, thirty-six Soviet-made heavy tanks quickly crossed the front-line position that had just been abandoned by the 012 Regiment at their fastest charging speed and rushed towards the Soviet offensive troops.
When the tank charged rapidly, a vehicle-mounted heavy machine gun facing the tank and a high-level dual-purpose machine gun on the top of the turret were not idle either. Standing from a high position, he poured bullets at the Soviet attacking troops at his fastest rate of fire.
As for the thirty-six tank guns that were several meters long, they rotated the barrels at the same time and aimed the black muzzles one hundred and fifty meters away. Before they could react to the accident, they were like targets. Several Soviet tanks.
A series of dull shelling sounds rang out from the tank gun turret, and thirty-six armor-piercing rounds quickly spewed out from the muzzle. With an ear-piercing whistling sound that broke through the air, it flew towards the Soviet tanks that were just around the corner.
Because all the thirty-six tanks that launched the counterattack were in motion, the hit rate of the artillery shells was only half of the usual level. When balls of orange-red fireballs rose from the location of the Soviet tanks, violent explosions sounded one after another and reached everyone's ears. Of the thirty-six Soviet tanks lined up, 18 turned into scrap metal and billowing black smoke began to rise.
After two rounds of tank artillery fire, all thirty-six Soviet tanks were turned into scrap metal.
After destroying the only Soviet tank on the ground that could pose a threat to itself, the thirty-six heavy tanks that ran rampant in the position directly turned into a giant with powerful firepower.
Even so, the two machine gunners scattered in each tank did not dare to neglect.
Because they all know it. Under the dual threat of the Soviet air force and artillery, the longer one stayed on the surface, the greater the danger to oneself and the tanks.
There are a total of 72 machine guns of two calibers. Under the control of 72 machine gunners, they have no time to replace the barrels that have begun to turn red. They focus on using their fastest fire rate to tilt ammunition at the Soviet Red Army that has begun to retreat.
¡°Whatever you are afraid of, it will come again¡¡±
Hundreds of tank crews pulled the triggers of their machine guns while silently praying in their hearts that the Soviet counterattack would come later. A rapid and sharp whistling sound broke through the air from far to near. Suddenly it reached everyone's ears.
"At the moment when the expressions of the dozens of machine gunners with half of their bodies exposed on the top of the turret changed, the sound of earth-shaking explosions sounded around everyone.
A heavy aerial bomb weighing 500 kilograms directly blasted a huge crater on the ground that was five meters deep and more than 20 meters in diameter.
A Soviet-made heavy tank located within the crater had its two tracks blown off. The heavy turret, which emitted bursts of cold light, was also separated from the vehicle body amidst the explosion. It landed in the center of the crater less than ten meters away from the car body.
Of course, except for this heavy tank that bore the brunt. Although the two tanks closest to the impact point were parked motionless, there appeared to be no damage on the surface. However, the tank crew inside had been killed by the shock wave of the bomb explosion.
The explosion of the first aerial bomb means that the second aerial bomb is not far away from the explosion.
As a comrade-in-arms, a layer of chill quickly fell over the faces of other tank crews, and at the same time, they continued to shoot rain of bullets at the retreating Soviet troops, preparing themselves before they were about to retreat. Inflict maximum damage to the Soviet offensive forces.
Just when the third aerial bomb exploded, the number of remaining tanks on the battlefield quickly dropped to 25. A more intensive whistling sound suddenly came from the direction of the Soviet attacking troops.
So, an exclamation full of panic and despair quickly reached the ears of all tank crews through the on-board radio.
"No, the Lao Maozi artillery group has begun to counterattack. There are two large-caliber artillery pieces from the heavy artillery division"
??????????????????????????????????????????????????????????????????????????????????????????????????????????????????????????????? The tank battalion commander¡¯s solemn order came to everyone¡¯s ears immediately: "The tanks that can still move will retreat immediately Can't"Suddenly, all tank crews quickly abandoned their tanks and retreated to their positions on foot. hurry up¡"
More than 20 tanks had just begun to turn around with roaring sounds. More than 200 heavy artillery shells rained down and exploded around the tank group
After various explosions sounded continuously on the battlefield, all kinds of gunpowder smoke generated by the explosions quickly covered the battlefield. As Wu Keren of the new first division waited anxiously, a tank finally rushed out from the edge of the battlefield that was completely shrouded in gunpowder smoke.
¡°Within less than a second of waiting, the second, third, and more tanks rushed out of the smoke and rushed back to the nearest soldier cave.
The new Chief of Staff of the First Division walked up to Wu Keren with a smile on his face. He reported in a relaxed tone: "Master, the tank attack worked After a blocking battle, the entire 012 regiment only lost more than 500 people, and only more than 350 people were directly sacrificed and lost combat effectiveness. Just. A tank battalion participating in the counterattack almost lost its combat effectiveness, and only six tanks came back"
Wu Keren waved his hand and said: "As I just said, as long as a person is alive, he is better than anything else."
"As for the thirty tanks lost. As far as I know, these tanks were captured by Lao Maozi. Even if they are all blown into scrap metal, we don't have to worry too much. It's just a pity for the tank crews who operate these tanks .¡±
Having said this, Wu Keren's eyes quickly flashed outward, and he asked in a deep voice to the Chief of Staff: "Chief of Staff, I want to know how many tank crews successfully retreated among the thirty tanks lost. . If this tactic is really effective, there will be at least hundreds of heavy tanks at our rear for us to consume. However, in order to activate these tanks, we must have sufficient tank crews, and our tank crews are already very insufficient¡."
"The tank crew's losses were also very heavy" the chief of staff did not hide anything and answered in a heavy tone.
"There were a total of 120 tank crews in thirty tanks, and only 28 of them successfully retreated to the Tibetan Soldier Cave. As for the others who did not come back, under such a fierce firepower attack, the chance of survival was very slim"
Speaking of this, the chief of staff seemed to have thought of something. He tentatively reminded Wu Keren: "Master, do you think this will work As far as I know from the tank regiment, in the tank battle that just took place, the role of our tanks was to inflict maximum damage on the enemy infantry. There is no need for high-intensity tank combat. In this case: I think we can completely lower the selection requirements for tankers.¡±
"Just drive the tank out of the position and rush towards the Soviet offensive troops. After simple training, a large number of car drivers in our division can meet the requirements. As for the remaining machine gunners and tank gunners, ordinary soldiers can be used to do it." Replacement. In this case, we will have a steady stream of tankers to operate the tanks, and we don¡¯t have to worry about a shortage of tankers"
Wu Keren's eyes lit up and he asked the chief of staff: "Have you ever asked the professionals in the tank regiment whether your idea is feasible"
The chief of staff affirmed: "Not only did I ask, but I also did an experiment last night. After only one hour of simple training, an ordinary driver can freely drive a tank towards the Soviet offensive troops and withdraw. As for the machine gunner and gunner, You don¡¯t even need training, you can directly get on the tank and operate it"
"Okay" Upon hearing this, the worried expression that enveloped Wu Keren's face due to the massive loss of tank crews quickly disappeared, replaced by heartfelt excitement.
He said to the Chief of Staff in a good mood: "Chief of Staff, in this case, we will have a steady stream of tanks that can go to the battlefield. Although letting tanks participate in the battle cannot really block the Soviet attack, at least it can reduce the number of tanks as much as possible during the battle. Army casualties Just do this, you will immediately send all the car drivers, machine gunners, and gunners scattered among the logistics troops to the tank regiment, and let the tank regiment train them"
Finished. The excited Wu Keren continued to order: "For the last order, you immediately put our thoughts into words and send them to the former enemy headquarters in the form of a telegram. Please read it. At the same time, ask the headquarters for help in the shortest possible time. Send at least 150 Soviet-made heavy tanks to the front line"
"I want to turn all these tanks into the nemesis of the Soviet offensive forces, and let the Soviet offensive forces have a good taste of what it feels like to be attacked by tanks produced in their own country"
The one minute it took for the tank battalion to counterattack was calculated based on the fact that one tank and two machine guns killed fifty Soviet attacking troops. All the more than thirty heavy tanks added up, and almost two thousand old men were eliminated.
Of course, on a real battlefield where bullets are flying, the number of enemies killed by the tank-mounted heavy machine gun and the anti-aircraft machine gun on the top of the turret is far more than fifty. Especially large-caliber anti-aircraft machine guns, because they are far more powerful thanDue to the initial firing speed of the machine gun, a bullet flew through the Soviet attacking troops and killed at least two Soviet soldiers before losing its lethality.
In this round of attack launched by the Soviet army, more than 4,000 people followed the tanks in the attack, plus another 2,000 people who were added later. A total of 6,000 attacking troops lost more than 2,000 people due to the blocking of the 012th Regiment. In addition, the sudden counterattack of the Wehrmacht tank battalion caused losses to these Soviet troops.
Not only did the 6,000 Soviet offensive troops fail to achieve any results, but they suffered heavy losses. Less than 1,500 of them successfully evacuated the battlefield. More importantly, a heavy tank battalion accompanying the infantry in the attack was all blown into scrap metal.
Seeing more than a thousand remnant soldiers withdrawing from the battlefield in embarrassment a few kilometers away, the face of Soviet Chief of General Staff Tukhachevsky was quickly covered with heartfelt anger.
Of course, Tukhachevsky's anger was not because the troops did not occupy the opponent's position, but because his men were facing the Wehrmacht's tanks that suddenly launched a counterattack. They did not even carry out a counterattack and collapsed immediately. There was absolutely nothing that the Soviet Red Army should have. courage and fighting spirit.
More importantly, Tukhachevsky clearly saw that the tanks the Wehrmacht launched a counterattack were not new heavy tanks produced by the Wehrmacht themselves, but Soviet-made tanks entirely produced by the Soviet government and captured by the Wehrmacht on the battlefield.
You must be clear that despite the heavy losses of soldiers, you launched attacks against the National Defense Forces positions on the opposite side again and again. The ultimate purpose is to consume the National Defense Forces equipment and various reserves, so that the consumption rate of various National Defense Forces equipment exceeds the replenishment rate. Only then, as time goes by. The comprehensive strength of the National Defense Force standing in front of him will become weaker and weaker, and will eventually be eliminated by him.
¡°But in front of us, the shameful Wehrmacht actually used the tanks captured by the Soviet Red Army for its own use and sent them to the battlefield to be destroyed by themselves. This also means that his plan to weaken the strength of the Wehrmacht tank force through artillery fire and air strikes has failed.
According to intelligence, the Wehrmacht has at least 500 Soviet-made heavy tanks in its hands. Wait until you use as much artillery shells and aerial bombs as possible to exhaust these Soviet-made heavy tanks. The tank force of the National Defense Force, which already has performance advantages in all aspects, will definitely become stronger due to the additions during this period. This is obviously not in line with my original strategic intention.
Angry to anger, during two consecutive days of fighting, something happened that made Tukhachevsky very satisfied.
Facing the Soviet Red Army¡¯s air fighter group with absolute superiority. The Wehrmacht Air Force has completely withdrawn from the battlefield. Not only that, the artillery of the National Defense Force has gradually been unable to keep up with the replenishment due to the continuous consumption of its own artillery cluster. Otherwise, the Wehrmacht artillery units would not watch their own infantry being ravaged by Soviet artillery groups and remain indifferent.
Thinking of the success that his carefully conceived strategy had achieved in the air force and artillery, Tukhachevsky's face finally turned from gloomy to sunny, revealing a smile from the heart.
Tukhachevsky is confident in his strategy. At this time, he self-righteously refuted his concerns about the tank troops just now.
Even if the Wehrmacht used the captured tanks of the Soviet Red Army to offset its own tank losses, the number of tanks captured by the Wehrmacht was limited after all. After the captured tanks were used up, the Wehrmacht would have to expose its tank units with absolute performance advantages to the Soviet Air Force and the Soviet Air Force. Under artillery fire.
Tukhachevsky's mood suddenly improved, and he ordered to the Chief of Staff of the Far East Military Region who was waiting for orders: "Send the order to the attacking troops: Don't worry about troop casualties, I promise here. All troops participating in the offensive , I will replenish whatever is lost on the battlefield."
"Follow the attack method just now and continue to attack the National Defense Forces positions until dark"
At the former enemy headquarters of the National Defense Forces, Li Guosheng's face was covered with worry after receiving the huge battle damage report of the 092 Division that had been on the battlefield for a day.
In Li Guosheng¡¯s eyes, the battle-hardened main field divisions of the National Defense Forces paid such a huge price in just one day. What's more, the newly formed First Division had never experienced such a tragic battle.
While Li Guosheng was waiting anxiously. The battle report from the newly formed First Division was finally sent to Li Guosheng.
"Finally there is news about Wu Keren" After receiving the telegram, Li Guosheng subconsciously breathed a sigh of relief and quickly turned his attention to the telegram in his hand.
After reading the telegram, Li Guosheng's facial expression quickly became complicated, ranging from worry to relief.
After passing the telegram to Li Shaoqing in front of him, he asked Li Shaoqing: "Director Li, what do you think of the contents of the telegram?"
"General, if the content of the telegram is true, then Commander Wu's idea can indeed reduce the casualties of the troops to a certain extent, and inflict maximum damage to the Soviet offensive troops" Brief silenceLi Shaoqing answered from behind.
Li Guosheng nodded in agreement. Quickly fell into thought.
At this moment, a battle scene that he had experienced suddenly appeared in Li Guosheng's mind.
On the Shandong battlefield, there was no air force, no heavy weapons, and even no anti-tank weapons. Under the attack of the powerful Japanese army, whenever the position was in danger, there would be a few dead soldiers covered with grenades and explosive packets. perish together.
One dead soldier can blow up a large area, and up to ten dead soldiers can wipe out hundreds of Japanese attacking troops in just a few seconds.
The solution that Commander Wu Keren came up with was to turn the dead soldiers into tanks, and use the tanks to clash with the Soviet offensive troops. Using the powerful firepower carried by the tanks, they caused an unprecedented large number of casualties to the Soviet offensive troops in a short period of time, crushing the Soviet Red Army's offensive in one fell swoop.
Compared with the previous dead soldiers, tank hedging caused greater losses to the Soviet offensive forces. More importantly, on the Sino-Soviet battlefield where bullets were flying everywhere, only tanks with rough skin and thick flesh could face the rain of bullets fired by the Soviet army, rush out of their positions, and rush towards the Soviet attacking troops
Of course, Li Guosheng also had the same idea in his mind as Wu Keren: all the tanks about to launch suicide attacks were captured. Even if all the hundreds of captured heavy tanks were consumed, the National Defense Force would only pay a limited number of tankers. There was no loss in equipment, and infantry losses were reduced to a certain extent. Judging from the overall battle situation, this style of play is definitely a profitable business
Thinking of this, Li Guosheng immediately made up his mind and ordered Li Shaoqing in front of him with a firm tone: "Deputy Director Li, notify the Logistics Department immediately. I don't care what method they use, they must give the new number one to the first officer within twelve hours." The division sent two hundred captured heavy tanks of the Soviet Red Army"
"In addition, the remaining Soviet-made heavy tanks are also transported to the front line in regiment units every two days."