Chapter 367: Molotov cocktail
This is a prerequisite for armored forces to operate... tanks have the advantages of firepower, protection and mobility, but at the same time they also have the disadvantage of clumsy target response, which makes them very good targets for enemy aircraft, and it is not an exaggeration to say that they are targets .
This is also one of the reasons why the German army attaches great importance to the development of the air force. Air supremacy is a prerequisite for "blitzkrieg".
Therefore, the German "Blitzkrieg" could not be played in the latter part of World War II, not only because of the heavy losses of the German army and the decline in quality, but also because the German Air Force had lost air supremacy due to the large-scale investment of American fighter jets, bombers, and transport aircraft.
Once the air supremacy is lost, the mobility of the armored forces is a joke. They are always blown up more than half of them on the way to the target, and when they arrive at the destination, they are already defeated and unable to fight.
At this time, the Soviet Air Force had the advantage, and the Supreme Command also valued Tver’s willingness to provide air assistance to the 1st Guards Tank Brigade. Of course, Katukov would not give up this opportunity.
More than 20 Soviet fighter planes provided cover over Tver and even to the west, and about 100 fighter planes were on standby. Once the German fighter planes were dispatched, they would be intercepted by Soviet fighter planes.
On this basis, the 1st Guards Tank Brigade immediately launched an artillery attack on the railway.
In fact, the Soviet army has always been able to bomb the German railways.
Such as long-range artillery fire, bomber bombing and so on.
The helplessness is that the nights in Moscow are long and the days are short at this time, and 15 hours a day is night.
Moreover, the German army organized a large number of Soviet civilians to do labor, and the railway was repaired as it was bombed, so the blockade with artillery fire and bombers was not effective, especially the German Air Force, which was at a disadvantage, but had a single quality advantage... The German Air Force was at a disadvantage because Factors such as cold weather and insufficient fuel have greatly reduced the lift-off rate, but they still have advantages in fighter performance and pilot quality.
But not now.
The railway is only two hundred meters away from Tver, and it is still under the Tver Bridge... The railway was built on the river.
Soviet tanks and even light mortars can easily blow it up.
What's worse is that the German army cannot repair it. Anyone sent to repair it will undoubtedly be suppressed by Soviet firepower.
So, the transportation of the German army was simply cut off.
The most tragic ones are actually those German troops who were deployed in the tunnel of the Tver Bridge.
Most of them are machine gunners and snipers, as well as anti-tank artillery. When they went down, they were hoisted into the bridge hole by ropes.
But the occupation of the bridge means that they have no escape route, and the distance between the bridge hole and the river is tens of meters. If there is river water in the river, it is fine, and they can escape by jumping down, but it is frozen. Ice.
As a result, the German army in the bridge hole was caught in a dilemma.
The actor poked his head out and looked down. With a "bang", a bullet flew up and knocked his hat away. It bounced off the bridge and rolled in the opposite direction for a certain distance before falling to the bridge. Down.
The soldiers around laughed coaxingly.
"Go after your hat, Okunev!"
"I heard that you used to hide horse packs in your hat?
…
This is indeed the actor’s habit. The reason is that the temperature is too low. If you put the horse box in the iron box and put it in the jacket pocket as usual, the result is usually too cold to open.
This is intolerable for an actor.
So he put the tobacco in a small cloth bag and put it in the top of the hat.
In his words, this can keep you warm and you can always feel the smell of tobacco. More importantly, you don’t have to worry about the shredded tobacco being frozen into powder like ice cubes whenever you want to smoke.
At this time, the actor regretted it too much, and watched helplessly as the hat with shredded tobacco flew under the bridge and disappeared without a trace.
"These sons of bitches!" The actor gritted his teeth in hatred.
He hesitated for a while, and then quickly ran to the carriage... The carriage is the standard configuration of the 1st Guards Tank Brigade, and each company is equipped with one or several vehicles to transport supplies.
Horse-drawn carriages may be a low-level configuration elsewhere, but this is not the case in the Soviet winter.
The reason is that the car needs fuel, it will freeze in low temperature and it will be difficult to start, and the wheels will get stuck in the thick snow and cannot move, etc.
At this time, the carriage is more convenient, because it only needs to replace the wheels with sleds, and then it can run fast under the drag of the horses, and even because of the use of sleds, the load capacity is not low.
The actor took out a Molotov cocktail from the carriage, lit it with a "bullet lighter", and then quickly leaned out and threw it into the bridge hole below. With a sound of "Peng", a big fire ignited in the bridge hole.
Screams followed, and the German soldiers in the bridge hole had no way to escape... At first they could hide on the other side of the bridge hole, but the fire would spread between the ammunition boxes.
In fact, the more important thing is those German soldiers who were set on fire. Surrounded by the flames, they had already lost their minds in the extreme pain. At that time, people always ran to their comrades in reflex, hoping to get help, so they quickly lost their minds. There were fires everywhere, and there was the sound of ammunition exploding.
Some German soldiers couldn't bear the pain, so they simply jumped down from the bridge hole, and then fell onto the ice of the river with a bang.
Shuerka couldn't see how they fell to death, because the flames on their bodies were still burning, and all they could see were clouds of black smoke.
This is a wake-up call to others.
Before that, it was not easy for the Soviet army to attack the enemies in the bridge hole, because it would be like the actors before, and they would be shot by the enemy below as soon as they aimed their probes... Especially it was not easy for the target directly below. Take aim, because if you are not careful, you will fall under the bridge.
But it's much easier if you throw Molotov cocktails like an actor.
So without saying a word, the others took the Molotov cocktails from the carriage and lit them, then threw them one after another down the bridge hole below.
During this period, some German soldiers shouted anxiously: "No, no, don't do this, we surrender!"
But this is of no avail. The Soviet army who performed interspersed missions did not keep prisoners. They had no energy and conditions to accommodate prisoners. Captives would not only distract the soldiers' energy, but also present many uncertain dangers, such as when it gets dark, and for example when the Germans attacked.
So, one by one Molotov cocktails were thrown down, screams rang out, and soon the whole bridge was full of flames and thick smoke, and German soldiers with burning heads jumped from the bridge hole one by one.
This cruel scene made the nearby German soldiers tremble with fear.
"They deserve it!" The instructor said beside Shulka: "This is what happens to the invaders!"
(end of this chapter)