The decisive battle against the Third Reich

At eleven o'clock in the middle of the night, the soldiers of the 21st Armored Division were woken up one after another... They were supposed to use whistles, but the 21st Armored Division tried to keep a low profile during this operation, although the sound of the tank engine could not be concealed. .

After twenty minutes of preparation, the armored division's tank units set off under the guidance of the fluorescent lights of the front engineers.

The troops first drove westward and then northward in the darkness. After five hours of marching, they arrived at the predetermined area, the defense area of ​​the 297th Infantry Division, at 4 o'clock in the morning.

Here, the 297th Infantry Division has made some preparations for the arrival of the 21st Armored Division, such as laying a road that can be passed by tanks directly to their position... There is a big difference in requirements between a road for tanks and a road for cars. The difference is determined by how many times the tank is heavier than the car.

Of course, the preparations were not limited to this. The German army had also done some strategic deception on the Soviet army before this.

The first was the artillery bombardment and attack on the Soviet frontal defense line.

The main direction of attack is of course the two armored divisions on the right wing.

When the Soviet army reacted nervously, there was suddenly a loud sound of artillery along the Don River defense line on the flanks, and many fighter planes even bombed the Karachi Port with flares.

Lieutenant General Lopatin of the Soviet 62nd Army was shocked when he saw this situation, because he once suspected that the Germans would force a crossing from the flank, that is, the Don River, because he had already detected that the main force of the German 6th Army was gathering on the other side of the Don River.

"The attack in the south is a strategic deception by the enemy!" Lieutenant General Lopatin immediately made this judgment: "Their attack in the direction of the Don River is real!"

"Comrade Lopatin!" Political Commissar Schumiets looked at the time and expressed doubts: "It is now four o'clock in the morning, and it will be dawn in one hour. It seems inappropriate for the Germans to launch a forced crossing at this time! "

Schumiec is right, the most suitable time for crossing the river is at night. If it is during the day, the German ships used to cross the river will be clearly visible on the wide river. On the other hand, the quality of German soldiers is generally higher. They will use tactics such as armed swimming to sneak past some small units and infiltrate the Soviet shore defense forces. It is easy for Soviet soldiers with poor quality to use this tactic. The confusion gave the Germans an opportunity to take advantage.

The Soviet army had already suffered losses in the battle to cross the lower Don River.

"They may think they can successfully cross the river within an hour!" Lopatin replied: "We can't make any mistakes, the Germans always surprise!"

Lopatin was right about this. The German army's tactics were ever-changing, but in comparison, the Soviet army's tactics seemed rigid and single.

But what Lopatin didn't expect was that he would once again be deceived by the German army's "ever-changing" tactics.

Lopatin immediately transferred the 169th Tank Brigade originally deployed on the southern defense line to the direction of Karachi... This was the only Soviet force on the Don River that could block the German 21st Armored Division.

At 4:45 in the morning, the sun rises slowly from the east.

The sunrise time was calculated, which is why the Germans set the attack time at five in the morning.

For the Germans, they had air superiority, and if they attacked the enemy's defense line with the superiority of armor on the left wing, it would be more suitable during the day.

On the other hand, the Soviet army could not be allowed to discover that the German army had moved a large number of armored units to the left wing and prepare them.

Therefore, the most suitable time to attack is at dawn when the sky lights up.

With a few pops, several red signal flares slowly rose into the sky, and suddenly there was a loud sound of artillery. More than a dozen bombers and reconnaissance planes also flew past the 21st Armored Armor and flew towards the Soviet army with howling sounds... Bombers are used for Bombing possible artillery or tanks of the Soviet army. On the one hand, the reconnaissance aircraft corrected the trajectory of the artillery; on the other hand, it also scouted the Soviet defense situation and reported to the German army, which became the basis for the German commander to control the war situation.

This is the benefit of having air supremacy. It can always learn more about the situation on the battlefield so that the army can be prepared to respond or strike key targets first. They are like a multiplier for the army's combat effectiveness. The Soviet army that loses air supremacy will inevitably Some are like headless flies confused about the situation. This was one of the reasons why the Soviet army was always defeated by the German army with fewer troops on the battlefield.

The bombardment lasted ten minutes... The German army could not carry out bombing for too long, because as mentioned before, the German army was not as fast as the Soviet army in terms of supplies and troop replenishment from the beginning. This was due to the long logistics supply line of the German army and the Soviet Union's There are definitely reasons such as poor railway and road conditions, so the German army always needs to carefully plan every bit of ammunition they have.

For example, now, the German army must consider an attack on Stalingrad in the near future.

General Strike waved his hand, and the German tank crews started the tanks one after another, and then one tank after another drove out from the hidden woods, occasionally knocking down a few calf-thick birch trees, making a harsh crunch. There was a loud sound, and the camouflage net covering the tank was torn off by the soldiers as quickly as possible.

The Soviet army on the opposite side was stunned when they saw this scene.

After receiving the report, a captain got out of the command post, lay down in front of the trench and looked across with a telescope, and then hurriedly said to the correspondent beside him: "Receive the command post immediately!"

"Yes, Comrade Captain!"

After the command was connected, the captain reported to the commander of the Soviet 35th Infantry Division at a roaring volume amidst the sound of artillery: "Comrade Grotov, we are in a regiment. A large number of enemy tanks are attacking our defense line. Please support us. Please support us." !”

(Note: The regimental leader is usually a major, but the rank will gradually decrease when officers suffer a large number of casualties. During the most tragic Battle of Stalingrad, soldiers even survived for a few days and were promoted to battalion commanders.)

"Tanks?" Major General Grotov asked in confusion: "How come there are enemy tanks on your defense line? How did they come here? Have the Germans already built the road in front of your defense line?"

Only then did the captain realize that the mud in front of his position was indeed not suitable for a tank charge, so with doubts, he grabbed the microphone and slowly stretched his head out to check.

The scene he saw shocked the captain: "Comrade Grotov, they have a kind of tank that is laying steel plates on the ground as they advance. They are only more than 800 meters away from our defense line!"

Grotov couldn't help but open his mouth after hearing this. He had heard that the Germans used this method to attack, which was what happened when Kerch Port was captured not long ago, but he did not expect that the Germans would use this method on him. on the troops.

"No matter what method you use!" Grotov shouted: "We must stop them, even at the cost of our lives, do you understand?"

"Yes, Comrade Grotov!" the captain responded, and then realized that for them... the last moment had arrived.