When I saw that the front of a tank of our army was hit by a shell, I still had a bit of luck, and said in my heart that this was the most advanced T-34 tank of our army, and the turret had 60 mm frontal armor with a 32-degree oblique angle, and even the side armor was as thick as 45 mm.

But it backfired, and as soon as I thought so, the tank that had been hit exploded into a fireball, and the turret was even blown into the air by the detonated ammunition inside the body, and then smashed heavily on the ground.

"Hell, what's going on?" I was so anxious that I couldn't help but cry out: "At this distance, how can a German tank penetrate the frontal armor of the T-34?" ”

Gurdiev, who was leaning over the gunner to observe the battlefield, stood up straight and said to me with a stern expression: "Comrade commander, I found that the Germans seem to be using a new type of tank, and the barrel of the No. 4 tank has also improved compared with before. ”

"What, a new tank?" After hearing this word that made my heart beat when Gurdiev came out of his mouth, I hurriedly raised my binoculars again and carefully examined the German tank queue. Judging by my limited knowledge of tanks, this kind of square-headed tank should be the Tiger tank that the German army was famous for in World War II.

When I think of these tanks that are rushing towards our army's armored phalanx, the T-34's nemesis Tiger tank, my heart is half cold. The weapons and equipment of both sides are obviously not on the same level. How can this battle be fought? The T-34 is armed with a 76-mm tank gun. It is simply impossible to penetrate the 102 mm thick frontal armor of the Tiger tank, while the German Tiger tank's 56 times diameter 88 mm gun can easily punch a hole in the frontal armor of the T-34 tank at a distance of 1,000 meters or even more, like shooting a target on a shooting range. Thinking of this, I was so nervous that my palms were sweating in the cold weather.

With the dull sound of German tank guns, one tank after another of our army was destroyed in the snow. The turrets of some of these tanks, like the first tank that had been shot, were thrown into the air by the detonated ammunition and then smashed heavily into the ground. Seeing that the tanks of our army suffered a big loss, the infantry in the defensive positions could not hold their breath, they pulled the anti-tank guns out of the trenches, lined up in front of the positions, and opened heavy fire on the German tank ranks.

I took a closer look at our anti-tank guns and found that almost all of them were 45 mm guns, and I couldn't help but sigh secretly, knowing in my heart that these tank guns posed no threat to the German Tiger tanks. When the whistling shells fell in the ranks of German tanks and exploded. Except for a few shells that left a few dents in the thick armor of the Tiger tank, it simply could not stop the fast-advancing German tanks.

See here. Gurtiev nervously reminded me: "Comrade commander, the situation with friendly forces looks bad. As soon as the Germans broke through their positions, they could pounce directly on the position where the headquarters of the army group was located. As soon as the positions of our troops are broken through, the German advance will be very fast, and even if the army group command learns the news now, it will not have time to build fortifications, and they will suffer heavy casualties under the onslaught of German tank units. In order to prevent this from happening, we have to do something to help them. ”

"You're right, General Gurdiev." I know better than anyone else, fortunately, I transferred Colonel Bere's tank brigade last night, originally I wanted them to follow the back of the 25th Tank Army to check the cheapness, but now I can only let them be a "fire brigade".

Thinking of this, I walked quickly to the walkie-talkie and instructed the operator: "Comrade operator, immediately connect me to Colonel Berey of the tank brigade, I want to speak to him." ”

When I heard Colonel Bere's voice coming out of the headphones, I immediately asked bluntly: "Comrade Colonel, how is your tank brigade prepared?" ”

"Please rest assured, commander, my tank brigade is ready for battle and ready to fight." He may have heard something strange in my voice, and after answering my question, he asked tentatively: "Comrade commander, is it that the 25th Tank Army is not going well and needs our brigade to immediately enter the battle?" ”

"Yes, Comrade Colonel." In the current situation, I will not hide anything from him, I said straight to the point: "If there are no surprises, our tank 25th Army, under the blow of German tanks, will soon be completely annihilated." ”

"What, all annihilated?" Bere was taken aback by my statement, and he asked puzzledly: "Comrade commander, as far as I know, the 25th Tank Army has more than 100 tanks, and almost all of them are the latest T-34s. ”

"Colonel Bere, do you know that the Germans are not only using a new type of tank today, but also the No. 4 tank that participated in the battle has also been improved, not only with a larger caliber barrel, but also with thicker armor." Although I guessed that it was the newly launched Tiger tanks that caused our army a big loss, at this moment I could only vaguely say to Colonel Bere: "Even at a distance of 400 meters, our tank guns cannot penetrate the frontal armor of these two tanks." ”

My words made Colonel Bere nervous, and he asked in embarrassment: "Comrade commander, since these two tanks can't even deal with more than a hundred tanks of the 25th Tank Army, can our brigade attack?" ”

"Comrade Colonel," I heard that he was a little anxious to retreat, and hurriedly said in an accentuated tone, "yes, yes; No, it has to be. At present, the defensive positions of friendly forces are in danger of being broken by the Germans at any time, so you must immediately attack from the flank, teach the German tanks a hard lesson, and even if the whole army is destroyed, you must find a way to slow down the German advance and buy more time for our army to consolidate the defense. Do you understand? ”

"Understood, Comrade Commander." The sound I came from the headphones. It was judged that Colonel Bere was gritting his back molars and saying these words: "Even if the whole brigade is exhausted." I also want to slow down the advance of the German army. ”

Hear such a tragic answer from Colonel Bere. I can't bear it, after all, this is my own subordinates, and I am also very sad to let them sacrifice in vain. At this time, I suddenly remembered that I had read an article summarized by the Soviet army itself before, in which they introduced in detail how to use anti-tank weapons to deal with the Tiger tank, and the weaknesses of the Tiger tank and the methods of attack were written in detail.

I quickly recalled the article in my head. Eliminated some content that was not needed for the time being, and began to teach Beray how to deal with the Tiger tank: "Comrade Colonel, don't worry, although the new German tank is powerful, it is not impossible to deal with. You also know that the maneuverability of a tank depends on the transmission mechanism - driving wheels, transmission wheels, load wheels and tracks. These parts can be destroyed by shells of any caliber, and the driving wheels are especially vulnerable and can become a preferred target for strike.

The new tank had two layers of armor plates on each side, and part of the lower layer of armor was covered by wheels, which protected the engine and gasoline at the rear of the hull just above the two rear wheels. You can use tank guns to attack the low armor plates, and when the gas is lit, the tank will catch fire. Another way to set the tank on fire was to shoot the side upper armor. This allows for an attack on the ammunition compartment to cause an explosion. The rear armor protects the tank's gasoline and engine, as long as a hit here by our armor-piercing projectiles is enough to disable the tank. ……”

Wait until I tell Sùberley what I know. Only then was the order to attack was given to him: "Comrade Colonel, since you already know how to deal with the new tanks of the German army, then immediately attack." Don't forget to keep in touch with me, and I'll give you new orders as the situation on the battlefield changes. ”

"Yes!" As soon as I finished speaking, Colonel Berey immediately replied loudly.

When I put down the headset and microphone, Gurtiev, who was standing next to me, couldn't help but ask strangely: "Comrade commander, I don't understand, how do you know these methods of dealing with the new German tanks?" ”

Gurdiev's words almost scared me out of a cold sweat again, just now I only thought about teaching Colonel Bere the experience of dealing with the Tiger tank, forgetting that the Soviet commanders and fighters at this moment had never seen this new German tank at all, let alone mastered how to deal with the tank.

I couldn't help but answer his question, so I had to cough and say in an official tone: "General Gurtiev, don't forget it, I am good friends with the tank general Comrade Katukov, and it is not a great thing to get along with him for a long time, and to learn a little about how to deal with German tanks." ”

After listening to my explanation, Gurtiev just sighed, and then walked back to the gunner with a puzzled face, and continued to observe the situation on the battlefield.

The plain is full of burning tanks, both our own and the Germans, but the only tanks that can still run around at the moment are the German Tiger tanks. German tank guns were firing, vehicle-mounted machine guns were also firing, and there were even individual arrogant tankmen who opened the roof of the turret, stood in the hatch, and fired with submachine guns at our tank members running in all directions.

Seeing this, I immediately became furious, and I wanted to find a few snipers to kill all these German tankmen. But our observation post is two or three kilometers from the battlefield, and even the best snipers are powerless against the enemy outside the range. Although snipers could not hit the enemy, the tank brigade of Colonel Berey could pose a threat to the Germans. At this moment, they have appeared in turn behind the trenches of the first line of defense of our army.

I hurriedly walked over to the walkie-talkie again, contacted Colonel Bere, and I shouted loudly at the microphone: "Colonel Bere, immediately shell the German infantry with high-explosive shells, separating the enemy's tanks from the infantry!" ”

With the order given, the tanks of the tank brigade stopped, lined up behind the trenches and fired at the German infantry junction in the distance. The high-explosive shells fired by the tanks landed between the German tanks and the infantry, and the explosion of the shells kicked up mud and snow flying high, and several soldiers near the explosion site were blown into the air. This sudden shelling blinded the German infantry, and the soldiers sitting on motorcycles hurriedly jumped out and lay down on the spot, while the soldiers who had been advancing behind the tank units were lying on the spot and standing in a daze after the shelling!

The German infantry, having suffered continuous fire from tank brigades, began to fall into disarray. At this time, the tanks that had stopped firing moved, and the tankmen fired at full speed and decisively launched a surprise attack on the enemy's flank, straight into the junction of the German infantry and tanks.

"It's amazing, it's amazing!" Seeing that the tanks of our army rushed straight up from the flank of the German army, Gurdiev excitedly shouted: "Comrade commander, look, our tanks rush up. The German infantry had become disorganized after our shelling. ”

I held up my binoculars and stared intently at the tank units rushing towards the Germans, but there was not the slightest joy in my heart, because I saw that the infantry following the German tanks were not ordinary Wehrmacht, but SS soldiers in black uniforms. Their fighting capacity is much stronger than that of the Wehrmacht, and although they have been thrown into a brief confusion under our artillery fire, I believe that it will not be long before they come to their senses and organize an effective resistance. By that time, Colonel Bere's tank brigade would be less fortunate.

Because the German tanks were advancing rapidly, they did not expect such a tank unit to rush out of the diagonal spurs, and they were immediately caught off guard by the tank brigade. Several of the formidable Tiger tanks were shot in the side and stopped, and smoke billowed from the spot, and the tank crews inside fled from the tanks in a panic and ran away for their lives.

Colonel Berey was a very good tank commander, and his tank brigade was rampaging through the German tank and infantry junction, machine-gun fire on the running infantry, and tank guns destroying the German Tiger and Tank IV from the side or behind. Under their heroic blows, the German tanks and infantry were completely separated. And several German tanks that rushed to the positions of friendly defenses, after crushing a few anti-tank guns and flattening several trenches, were wiped out by our brave fighters with anti-tank grenades and Molotov cocktails.

Seeing that the German offensive was showing signs of collapse, I couldn't help but breathe a sigh of relief, and I secretly regretted in my heart: if Colonel Bere had led his troops earlier, maybe our 25th Tank Army would not have paid so much sacrifice. I walked over to the walkie-talkie and asked the operator to contact the army group command, and I needed to report the situation here to Khalidonov.

"Major General Oshanina, is that you?" Khalidonov's anxious voice came through the headphones: "How is the situation going there?" I heard that the 25th Tank Army was completely annihilated, and the Germans are now attacking the positions of the 4th Guards Infantry Corps? ”

"Yes, Comrade Commander." I replied respectfully: "Our tank 25th Army was taken by surprise due to the use of new tanks by the Germans, so it was quickly wiped out." I saw that the shape was critical, and I had sent Colonel Bere's tank brigade to attack from the flank of the German army. At the moment they have inflicted heavy damage on the German tank units and completely separated the remaining tanks from the infantry......"

As soon as I said this, I suddenly heard Gurdiev next to me exclaiming: "Hell, what a hell!" Comrade commander, come and see, enemy planes, there are enemy planes in the sky, they are attacking the tank brigade of Colonel Bere! ”

I tore off the headphones from my head, threw them at the operator with the microphone in tow, and hurried to the observation port, looking up at the sky. I saw that in the sky at this moment, there was a four-plane formation of the German army, hovering above the tank brigade. Soon an enemy plane dived down to the ground and dropped a bomb at the same time.

After the bomb landed and exploded, the smoke enveloped the two adjacent tanks. Before the smoke cleared, I saw another blaze rise, and then the turret of a tank was blown up in the air, spun and fell to the side, smashing an empty three-wheeled motorcycle to pieces. When the smoke cleared, I found that except for the body of a tank without a turret, the other one was no better, it had rolled on its side next to a large crater, and wisps of green smoke were emitting. (To be continued......)