Chapter 1015 Father, We Have Tried Our Best
On the night of May 7, Marshal Rotmistrov of the Soviet Armored Tank Corps personally arrived at the village of Ostashovo in the upper reaches of the Ruza River. He had temporarily handed over the command of the Southern Front Group to Deputy Commander-in-Chief Biliu. Zov himself commanded a tank group consisting of the main force of a tank corps and a mechanized corps, preparing for a decisive battle with the German army in the upper reaches of the Ruza River.
The German front line seven or eight kilometers north of the village of Ostashovo has been turned into a fire dragon, with rising black smoke and the harsh sound of rockets roaring everywhere. For tonight's decisive battle, Rotmistrov did his best to mobilize artillery. They even risked mobilizing rocket launchers and towed artillery in the evening when the sky was not completely shrouded in darkness. Although some were blown up by German planes, valuable time was still gained.
Rotmistrov was standing on the roof of the warehouse of a damaged collective farm. His gentle face, like a scholar, showed a dignified and determined expression, just like a martyr who was about to be martyred. His military uniform was covered with medals, his chest heaved violently, and he sang "The Internationale" loudly.
A huge JS-2 tank was parked next to the warehouse. This was prepared by Rotmistrov for himself - his family personally drove this tank to participate in the final battle!
If he cannot win, he will use his life and blood to fulfill his oath to communism!
"...The young soldier stationed at the border misses the distant girl in his heart; he fights bravely to defend the motherland, and Katyusha's love will always belong to him.
Fight bravely to defend the motherland, Katyusha's love will always belong to him.
Just as pear blossoms are blooming all over the world, soft gauze floats on the river; Katyusha stands on the steep bank, singing like the bright spring light.
Katyusha stood on the steep bank, singing like bright spring light. "
Just as Marshal Rotmistrov of the Armored Tank Corps sang "The Internationale", Sergeant Shura Kosmodeyanskov and his comrades were singing "Katyusha" and drove a A captured "Oliga" tank destroyer launched a desperate attack on the German tank cluster!
The 18th Guards Tank Brigade, where Sergeant Shura Kosmodeyanskov belongs, still has one battalion left - by German standards, it's probably a tank destroyer company, right?
The BT-7 tanks originally equipped with the 18th Guards Tank Brigade have been lost in the bloody battles from April 5 to the present. The BT-7 in which Shura and his company commander Captain Valennikov were riding was also destroyed by the German "Little Leopard" during the battle. However, the two of them were very lucky and got out of the damaged tank intact. And not long after, he received new equipment - a repaired "Oliga" tank destroyer!
In the Soviet army's establishment, the official name of this weapon is the SU-57/50 tank destroyer. Captain Varennikov's company is now equipped with 4 SU-57/50s, and the entire Guards tank The 18th Brigade has 4 SU-57/50, 8 ordinary SU-57 and 4 BT-7 tanks... This is all the tanks/assault artillery of the brigade!
After tonight's fierce battle, the 18th Guards Tank Brigade will most likely cease to exist.
However, Shura's morale is still high, because on the afternoon of May 6, he solemnly swore to a bright red party flag and is now a glorious probationary member of the Bolshevik Party.
While dying singing "Katyusha", Shura once again thought of her sister Zoya: If she knew that I had also joined the Bolshevik Party, wouldn't she be very happy?
"Captain, the Bolsheviks are coming!"
When Captain Ribbentrop heard the shouting, he immediately put his eyes on the eyepiece of an FG-1250 night vision telescope. 1,500 meters away, Soviet tanks/assault artillery and infantry that should have been shrouded in darkness, All appeared under the influence of infrared rays.
"It looks like SU-57 and BT-7," little Ribbentrop whispered to himself, "it seems like their power is about to be exhausted."
From the night of May 6 to now, for almost 28 hours, fierce fighting has been going on on the west bank of the Mara River. The Soviet Katuzov Group on the Northern Front suffered great losses. The group lost more than 400 tanks/assault artillery before dawn on the 7th - because they were repelled by the German counterattack after dawn on the 7th, so After losing control of the battlefield, all the more than 400 tanks lost could not be recovered for repairs, so the losses were real!
After losing these tanks, the number of tanks/assault artillery available to the Soviet Katuzov cluster was less than 1,100 (the number on paper was much higher, but in reality these were the only ones that could be operated). During the day on May 7, more than 600 German tanks/assault artillery fought fierce battles with these Soviet tanks/assault artillery on the plains west of the Mara River.
Relying on powerful air superiority, the group commanded by Major General Marx launched wave after wave of tank group attacks throughout the day!
The Soviet army fought smarter. Instead of fighting head-on with the Germans, they fought and retreated, constantly attacking German ambushes, and also arranged a large number of false targets to attract the opponent's attention. However, Katuzov's clever tactics met the powerful strength of the Marx cluster, and ultimately resulted in heavy losses.
The two sides fought until sunset, and the Soviet tank group on the northern line lost nearly 400 tanks. The entire west bank of the Mara River was full of Soviet tank/assault artillery wreckage.
The German army lost less than 100 tanks/assault artillery in a daytime battle, most of which were repairable equipment.
In addition, Major General Marx's group was reinforced again at around 4 pm that day. The reinforcements were a regiment-level heavy armored group drawn by General Hoth from the 19th Armored Corps west of the Ruza River, with 51 Tiger H tanks, 18 "Rhino" tank destroyers, 28 Type 4 H tanks and 12 "Hunter" tank destroyers, a total of 109 tanks/assault artillery.
After receiving reinforcements, Major General Marx's strength returned to its peak, so after nightfall, he continued to attack the Soviet army.
The Soviet army in front of him also received reinforcements in the evening - troops such as the 18th Guards Tank Brigade, which were light tanks and tank destroyers drawn from the 7th and 8th Guards Tank Armies that suffered heavy losses in previous battles.
Katuzov is now putting these tanks into battle, and he is really doing his best!
The shells rumbled and exploded in the assault formation of the Soviet armored tank cluster that was counterattacking. The ones firing were big guys like E-50A and Tiger H. The 88mm armor-piercing/armor-piercing shells were too powerful for SU-57 and BT-7. As long as they hit, they could immediately turn the Soviet tanks into a ball of fire.
Shura, who was driving the tank destroyer to charge, soon found that something was wrong, but he did not mean to retreat at all, and still drove the vehicle forward at full speed. A British-made armor-piercing shell has been loaded into the gun barrel. Now Shura only needs to drive the vehicle to a distance of 500 meters from the German tanks, and he should be able to destroy a Tiger tank or an E-50 tank.
If that doesn't work, collision is the only way!
At this time, the Soviet flares also fell like raindrops, illuminating the battlefield where the German tank clusters were arrayed below as if it were daytime.
"Stop! Stop!" Captain Valennikov's voice came from Shura's headset. He quickly pulled the joystick and stopped the "Olga's Hammer" steadily more than 400 meters in front of the German tank cluster.
"There is only one chance! You must hit it!" Shura muttered in his heart, while pushing open the hatch and sticking his head out (for the 88mm gun, the SU-57 can be done with one shot, whether the hatch is closed or not), staring at an E-50A tank 400 meters ahead.
The E-50A tank obviously also found the SU-57/50 that Shura was riding. The turret turned and the terrible 88mm gun was already aimed.
"Boom!"
Shura only felt the body of the tank vibrate violently, and then there was a ball of fire and a loud noise. The fire flashed from the front of the E-50A tank, and the 6-pound armor-piercing shell hit accurately.
But the E-50 just retreated slightly, waiting for the smoke to clear, and Shura found that the front of the tank was not penetrated!
Now it was the turn of the E-50 tank to fire. At a distance of 400 meters, it was impossible to miss...
"Father leader, we have tried our best!" Shura Kosmodeyanskov shouted with all his strength, "Mom, I love you! Sister, I love you too! Long live GCism! Long live the Soviet Union!"
...
"Please tell Comrade Stalin that I have tried my best!" Katukov got into a T-34/85 tank while talking to his adjutant.
He saw that the counterattack he organized was easily crushed by the German army again, and he already knew the outcome of this battle.
Moreover, he also knew that Moscow would inevitably fall!
However, he did not intend to flee the battlefield, let alone surrender to Empress Olga. Because he still believed in GCism, and believed that the red flag would one day be planted all over the world.
So like Marshal Rotmistrov, he also prepared a tank for himself, a T-34/85. He would drive this tank and personally go into battle, fight the final battle, and sacrifice like a GCism martyr!