Chapter 644 Heavy Thunderstorm 32

"Hold on to the end, and don't take a step back!?"

The commander of the 4th Army, Korobkov, the political commissar, Terekin, and the commander of the 1st Tank Army, Volokh, were all dumbfounded.

The 1st Tank Army was almost paralyzed on the road by the German planes, and there was no time to deploy. How could it resist the attack of the German armored group? And is it necessary for the 1st Tank Army to be buried here?

It was just a German division-level armored group, and it didn't even attack the 28th Infantry Army that retreated to Wovomin. This was clearly a short assault. The 1st Tank Army should avoid the sharp edge, and drive the vehicles blocking the road to the wheat fields on both sides of the road to cross-country march, and it should be able to escape. Because the Germans' Type 4H tanks also have "Tigers" and "Leopards", they can definitely beat the Soviet T-34 and KV-1 tanks in terms of firepower and armor, but their mobility is a bit weak. Road mobility is generally about 30 to 40 kilometers (the Panther runs a little faster), and cross-country mobility is generally more than ten kilometers. It is a bit difficult to chase the KV-1, let alone the T-34.

So the 1st Tank Army only needs to leave a few rear guard troops to delay the pace of the German armored group, and basically withdraw the main force. Maybe the loss of equipment will be a bit large, but most of the personnel should be able to be saved. This is the 1st Tank Army. You can tell from the number that it is an old unit. Those experienced officers and soldiers are the sparks of the world revolution. As long as the people are still there, they can go to the battlefield to liberate all mankind again by replenishing some tanks, vehicles, and artillery.

But now the order of General Pavlov, the commander of the front, is to stick to the end!

This means that the 1st Tank Army must fight the German armored group in a chaotic situation!

Is General Pavlov confused? Why would he issue such an order?

Major General Volokh, the commander of the 1st Tank Army, suddenly thought of something and stamped his feet: "Comrade Korobkov, you just told the Western Front Command that there were three German armored divisions... This is a lie! The Western Front Command made a wrong decision based on the wrong military information! Our 1st Tank Army was destroyed by you!"

Major General Korobkov's face turned pale when he was reminded by Volokh. He reported the enemy situation more seriously just to reduce his "guilt of losing the war", but he didn't expect Pavlov, an honest man, to be deceived. He thought there was really a German armored army-level cluster to encircle the Soviet right wing, so he was ready to sacrifice the 1st Tank Army to buy time to adjust the deployment to avoid the 9th Army and the 37th Army from being annihilated.

"Follow the order!" Major General Korobkov gritted his teeth, "Follow the order of the front headquarters! For the victory of the GCist cause, the 1st Tank Army must hold on to the end!"

Under normal circumstances, the battlefield is not transparent, and the number of enemies is often just a number in the mouths of front-line commanders-exaggerating the number of enemies to reduce the guilt of defeat is originally an unspoken rule in the army.

Since General Pavlov believed that it was three German armored divisions that defeated the 4th Army, it is also a way out for Korobkov!

In case the 1st Tank Army can block the impact of the German armored group-this is possible, the Germans' short-term assault has won a great victory, and there is no need to risk a decisive battle with a Soviet tank army-then Korobkov can claim that his army blocked three German armored divisions!

Of course, the organization will conduct an investigation afterwards, but the question of how many enemies there are is not a matter of conscience?

As long as they can hold on, from General Pavlov to an ordinary soldier in the 1st Tank Army, who doesn't want a key blocking battle victory?

"Execute the order! The 1st Tank Army will be deployed immediately and prepare to block the German armored group!" Major General Korobkov was like a gambler who had lost all his money. He gritted his teeth and gave the order, and at the same time put his last chip on the gambling table.

"What? An army-level armored group... is being deployed?"

When General Steiner, the commander of the 5th SS "Viking" Division, received the news from the Air Force, the armored group he commanded was fighting with the Soviet 28th Infantry Army and the 16th Mechanized Army around the town of Wowomin.

The main force of the Soviet 28th Infantry Army retreated to the town of Wowomin. Steiner did not take action to attack, but only let two armored grenadier regiments and two assault gun battalions guard, and at the same time used the artillery group (towed howitzers) assigned to him to fire and bombard. However, there are still many battalion-level and company-level groups of the 28th Infantry Army and the 16th Mechanized Army scattered around Wowomin, which are resisting stubbornly-these troops were spontaneously assembled to fight after being dispersed by Steiner's armored group!

If it were the British, French, or even American armies, they would have retreated and fled after this. However, the Soviet Red Army's fighting spirit was much stronger. Many officers and soldiers still gathered into battalion-level clusters, relying on the terrain that was not very favorable, and used weapons such as anti-tank guns and anti-tank grenades to fight desperately. Although it did not cause much damage to the German army, it delayed their actions.

If the Soviet First Tank Army ran away now, Steiner's armored group could only watch.

The chief of staff of the "Viking" division immediately suggested: "General, this is a rare opportunity. That army-level cluster was just bombed by our Hs-129 and Ju87. The lost vehicles were lined up on the road for at least 10 kilometers. Their vehicle integrity rate is estimated to have fallen below 50%."

"Yes, this is indeed an opportunity!" Steiner squinted his eyes and glanced at the town of Wovomin, which was being bombarded not far away. A large centaur of the Soviet infantry army was crowded there now, but they couldn't be allowed to do so. His own armored group rushed out during the battle with the Soviet tank army.

"Order the rocket launcher cluster to repeatedly bombard Wowomin." Steiner began to give the order, "The SS 'Wallonia' brigade stayed around Wowomin, responsible for guarding and suppressing the Soviet troops outside Wowomin, the 50th Division The divisional assault gun battalion of the 62nd Division also remained to cooperate with the SS 'Wallonia' Brigade."

A SS "Wallonia" brigade of four to five thousand men and more than 30 No. 3 assault guns from two assault gun battalions could not actually stop the Soviet 28th Infantry Army, but three rocket launcher regiments (smoke) The volley of 162 rocket launchers of the Launcher Regiment was too loud, so the Soviet commanders would definitely think that they were the targets of the German army's main attack, and would only strengthen defense at all costs, and would not risk their lives to launch a counterattack.

There is no need to deceive these Soviet Red Army for too long. Half a day is enough for the "Steiner Armored Group" to deal with the 1st Soviet Tank Army.

After arranging the suppression of the Soviet infantry around Wovomin, Steiner ordered all tank battalions, assault gun battalions and panzer grenadier regiments now under his command to assemble. However, due to time constraints, Steiner did not wait for all the vehicles that could be driven to arrive. After gathering enough 200 tanks/assault guns/self-propelled artillery (including 56 No. 4 tanks, 48 ​​No. 3 assault guns, and Tiger After receiving 40 tanks, 38 Panther tanks, and 18 Wasp self-propelled guns), they immediately formed an attack formation and rolled over the Soviet 1st Tank Corps in a mighty manner.

"What? What? The Germans have a large 50-ton tank? It also has an 88mm main gun and sloped armor!?"

Just when the German armored group rushed over, Major General Voloch, commander of the Soviet 1st Tank Corps, met several officers of the 1st Tank Brigade who had escaped from the front line and listened to their report on the encounter with German Tiger tanks. .

"Comrade Commander, our T-34 and KV-1 are no match for these German tanks. Even if the T-34 rushes within 500 meters of their flanks, it will not be able to penetrate their armor..."

Not even 500 meters from the flank? How thick should this armor be?

Voloch thought desperately: "What should I use to deal with this kind of German tanks? There is absolutely no way! Is the glorious 1st Tank Army going to be destroyed in my hands? Now I will become a sinner of the world revolution. "

"boom……"

A deafening loud noise interrupted Voloch's thoughts, and then he heard someone shouting: "Shelter! Hurry and take cover!"

The 105mm caliber grenades fell very sparsely and exploded among various tracked or wheeled vehicles spread out randomly in the Polish farmland, raising clusters of smoke columns.

This is a battalion-level artillery group firing. It must be the German self-propelled artillery battalion! Major General Voloch immediately made a judgment. If it is a towed howitzer group or a rocket launcher group, it cannot only have this firepower density.

This shows that what fired was a self-propelled artillery accompanying the actions of the German armored forces! The German armored group is nearby!

Major General Voloch looked around in confusion, and all he saw was a chaotic scene.

The Germans came too fast, and their planes continued to attack from the air, which caused great difficulties to the actions of the 1st Tank Army, so that only a small part of it has been deployed so far.

But even if the 1st Tank Army is fully deployed, what tanks can be used to deal with the 50-ton German heavy tanks? It might be possible to use the ZIS-2 57mm anti-tank gun. But the number of this kind of artillery is too small, and the 1st Tank Army does not have it!

Just when Major General Woloch didn't know how to deal with the German Tiger tanks, his chief of staff suddenly shouted: "Comrade Commander, the security force reported that a German division was found about 5,000 meters to the west of us. There are about 200-300 tanks and assault guns, and a dozen self-propelled guns are firing! Comrade Commander, they are coming soon! What should we do?"