Chapter 130: Flesh Grinder (Part 2)

Compared to Buckman's lucky escape, the German anti-tank gun team that deployed the PAK38 50mm anti-tank gun in the backyard of the store under the cover of the small store was obviously not so lucky.

The two wide tracks of the KV1 heavy tank, which had its engine output at maximum, were like a meat grinder, grinding forward at full speed.

All the broken bricks and obstacles along the road could not stop this 47-ton steel behemoth. The KV1 heavy tank, which crushed all the things that dared to stop the car, crashed into the backyard of the small store without any suspense. The wide body of the car, which had no intention of stopping, immediately hit the German anti-tank gun like a battering ram.

The petite PAK38 50mm anti-tank gun could not withstand the tossing of a steel behemoth like the KV1.

The entire gun carriage, which was assembled with a welded structure, was completely disintegrated under the violent impact of the KV1 heavy tank. The KV1 heavy tank that rolled over the anti-tank gun parts still had no intention of stopping. The tracks that continued to speed forward immediately involved several German anti-tank gun crews who were unable to dodge behind the gun shield.

The screams and cries that were even more miserable than the pig slaughter during the Chinese New Year lasted only for a moment. The physical pain soon turned into the death of several German soldiers, leaving behind a pile of human tissue and mottled meat on the tracks of the KV1, which continued to seep into the ground with a trace of blood.

After destroying the German anti-tank gun team in the most direct and passionate way, the KV1 heavy tank immediately began to reverse at full speed in reverse gear and drove away.

After witnessing this scene in his tank commander's periscope, Malashenko raised his mouth. In his eyes, such a passionate Soviet man's fighting style is quite in line with the bravery of Lavrinenko, the Soviet Army's top tank ace in the future.

"Well done, Lavrine. Those Hans have been crushed into Mussolini's buttocks by you! To deal with these unscrupulous guys, you have to use such special methods to make them feel scared, always!"

Facing the praise from Malashenko that filled the entire battalion-level communication channel, Lavrinenko, who was immersed in the pleasure of crushing the enemy, also smiled happily.

"Now, let's go face those Nazi invaders! Comrade Battalion Commander."

The fierce and cruel street fighting started from this.

With the personal order from General Guderian, the commander of the German 2nd Panzer Group, the SS Imperial Division support troops and the main forces of the Grossdeutschland Infantry Regiment fought in the buildings on both sides of the street, and did not give up a step in the face of the Soviet army's crazy offensive counterattack.

The German MG34 machine gun teams deployed in the windows of the basements on both sides of the street and the commanding heights of the small buildings in a criss-crossed crossfire network would always wait until the Soviet infantry approached close enough, and then suddenly open fire from the dark to inflict maximum damage to the Soviet army.

Since the beginning of Operation Barbarossa, the German troops, who have repeatedly fought with the Soviet front-line troops, have almost figured out the specific combat methods and weaknesses of the Soviet infantry-tank coordinated tactics.

The KV1 heavy tank was clumsy and slow in street fighting due to limited vision and a transmission system that did not support the vehicle body turning on the spot. Its heavy turret weighing 7 tons caused the steering machine to be overloaded, the rotation speed was slow, and the reaction time to fire was long. These shortcomings were fully exposed in the current close-range exchange of fire and were seen by the German side.

The German MG34 machine gun team that suddenly opened fire from a secret and unexpected position would never stay in the same bunker for more than 30 seconds.

The Soviet infantry-tank coordinated forces, which lacked an effective communication method such as walkie-talkies between infantry and tanks, could basically only rely on shouting and "being beaten to search for the enemy" in an extremely passive way to deal with the secret attacks of the German machine gun team.

When the KV1 heavy tank, whose turret rotation speed was relatively slow and clumsy in close-range exchanges such as street fighting, aimed the black muzzle at the house building where the German machine gun team was hiding.

The German machine gun teams, who would move from one place to another and never sit and wait for death, had basically moved their positions in time. When dealing with brick-concrete town houses, the 76mm high-explosive grenades, which had limited power and killing range, could hardly hurt the German machine gun teams that had already gone downstairs and left for the next shooting position.

The German machine gun teams, which were running around like groundhogs and difficult to catch and wipe out in a short time, certainly brought great casualties to the Soviet siege troops.

But compared with the losses of the infantry, the German anti-tank gun teams hiding in houses, corners of intersections, and even in the wreckage of vehicles were truly omnipresent and the most threatening.

Thanks to the complex layout of urban streets, the Soviet infantry-tank coordinated column, which had no way of predicting where the German anti-tank gun teams were hiding, had to bite the bullet and keep moving forward as the attacking party.

The German anti-tank artillery teams, who used ambush tactics and hid in shadows, buildings, and wreckage, would often only open fire when they reached a shooting distance and angle that they believed was absolutely certain.

The KV1 heavy tank's proud heavy frontal armor is often useless in this situation. Knowing that the small water-tube anti-tank guns in their hands are difficult to penetrate the KV1 heavy tank from the front, the German anti-tank gun teams almost all chose to ambush and fire at the weak side of the body and turret.

No matter how powerful a heavy tank is, it definitely has its Achilles heel and is not invincible. The German anti-tank gun teams, which were ambushed by arrows, repeatedly fired at the KV1 heavy tanks with weak side armor, and began to be destroyed one after another, and casualties increased sharply.

The extremely cunning German army often deployed the precious and only 88 guns in their hands at the corners of the roads on both sides of the key intersections and T-junctions to cover the cross-anti-tank firepower.

Once the Soviet army's leading heavy tanks intended to show their heads through the intersection, the 88 guns that had already aimed the black muzzle at the intersection and were waiting for the Soviet tanks to appear would immediately open fire.

The KV1 heavy tank that just poked its head out of the road and drove to the center of the intersection would be destroyed by the tank's side armor without any suspense.

The burning 47-ton tank wreckage often lay in the middle of the road, delaying the Soviet army's follow-up troops from advancing.

The German soldiers who turned almost every building and small building on the street into a battle fortress were always holding various light weapons and firing from a high position.

The Soviet infantry-tank coordinated forces, which could neither advance nor retreat, often became rats in a bellows, being attacked from both sides.

The brutal street fighting that would have taken place in Stalingrad a year later according to the original historical trajectory had already taken place in advance. The Soviet and German armies, whose positions had been swapped, still fought hard as they would a year later. The brutal street fighting in the city of modern warfare had already begun to show signs and became more and more ferocious.