USSR 1941

  Chapter 60 Assault Gun

  Especially at this time the Germans also used a new equipment...the Stug III.

   The No. 3 assault gun was proposed by Manstein. After the German army attacked Poland, they found that their armored forces lacked a weapon to support infantry in attacking bunkers.

Tanks are indeed capable of this task at this time, but using tanks as infantry to attack the enemy's permanent fortifications is actually a serious waste... Attacking the enemy's fixed and immovable bunker fortifications actually does not require much quick maneuvering It only needs to move the artillery slowly to the forefront to support the infantry, and it does not require the artillery to have a full range of firing angles, because the bunker is there and it will not move.

   On the contrary, when attacking a bunker, thicker armor is needed to resist the enemy's anti-tank equipment attack in the bunker.

  From these aspects, the tank is not suitable for such tasks, because its high mobility and rotatable turret are completely wasted, and the thickness of the armor has to be sacrificed for high mobility and firing angle.

So the No. 3 assault gun came out. It almost used the chassis of the No. 3 tank and added a cannon... The assault gun is the category of artillery, and its cost is about four-fifths of the No. 3 tank. It can play a greater role in attacking bunkers, machine gun bunkers, trenches or enemy anti-tank gun positions, because it can thicken the armor more freely. (Note: The No. 3 assault gun thickened the front and side armor to 50MM, and even thickened to 80MM in the middle and late stages, and the gun body is lower and difficult to be hit)

   This kind of assault gun was put into the battle to attack the "Stalin Line of Defense". They relied on the advantage of armor to calmly drive to the Soviet bunker, and there was a burst of perforation according to the perforation of the Soviet bunker.

  Of course, it is still very difficult for the shell to directly hit the perforation. After all, it is a perforation with a depth of 1.5 meters. Any deviation or trajectory deviation will explode around the perforation.

  But the machine guns and artillery in the Soviet bunker will undoubtedly be suppressed. The German engineers took advantage of this time to rush forward, and then threw explosives, grenades, etc. into the perforations.

  Information quickly reached Colonel Ovich's headquarters.

"Comrade Colonel!" The staff officer reported to Colonel Ovich: "Our defense line has suffered heavy losses under the attack of enemy tanks, and the first layer of defense has been breached!" guns, so they are simply called tanks)

   Colonel Ovich couldn't help but sweat on his forehead when he heard this.

At this time, it was only more than an hour before the German army launched an offensive. They broke through the first layer of defense in such a short time. According to this speed, they will be able to break through the defense line and march towards Kyiv in more than ten hours, that is, before dark. According to Colonel Ovich's original estimate, it would take the Germans at least a month to do it.

  Actually, one month is what Colonel Ovich said when he asked his superiors for more equipment and troops. He knew that only by saying so could he get more people and things.

  Ovich’s real thought was that he thought it would be a trench warfare during the First World War, that is, the enemy and us were stalemate in front of the line of defense, and no one could do anything to the other.

   Obviously, Colonel Ovich's thinking is still stuck in World War I, which is one of the reasons why he disdains the use of "log cabin camouflage".

But now... Ovich thought about all kinds of possibilities, but he didn't expect this situation to happen. He didn't even know how to solve it, because all his defense ideas were based on the system with the fortifications as the support point, and now he is relying on it. The bunkers are vulnerable to the attack of the German army, and the entire human system will collapse.

   Seeing Colonel Ovich in a daze, the staff officer added: "Colonel...we have a position to block their attack!"

   "Which position?" Colonel Ovich's eyes regained some strength, because if someone can stop the German attack, it means that others can too.

  The staff officer hesitated for a while, and then replied: "It's the 333rd Regiment, Comrade Colonel!"

   "No, it's impossible!" Colonel Ovich said, "They're just putting some camouflage in front of the bunker..."

"Yes, Comrade Colonel!" the staff officer replied: "But it is this camouflage that makes it difficult for the Germans to tell which is a bunker and which is a wooden house. More importantly, they cannot see the perforations before attacking, so they cannot allocate firepower in advance." Make a plan of attack!"

   "No, that might just be a coincidence!" Colonel Ovich said: "Their position is not the main direction of the German attack!"

  The staff officer didn't answer wisely, he knew he shouldn't speak at this time, because it might directly affect his career.

   But in fact the staff is not smart enough, otherwise he should answer: "Yes, Colonel. That is obviously not the main force of the Germans!"

   It's just that the staff officer couldn't say anything contrary to the facts, so he chose to remain silent.

   Then Colonel Ovich understood the meaning of the silence.

  He looked at the staff officer with disbelief, and asked, "The Germans used their main force to attack the 333rd Regiment's defense area?"

"It can be said to be offensive, or it can be said not to be, Comrade Colonel!" The staff officer replied: "The Germans may regard it as a gap in the defense line, you know, all they see is a wooden house, even aerial reconnaissance, so ... they Launch a strong attack with two armored battalions of more than seventy tanks!"

   "And then?" Colonel Ovich asked.

"The Germans suffered heavy casualties!" The staff officer delivered a telegram to Colonel Ovich, saying, "This is a report from Major Gavrilov. They destroyed 25 tanks and killed and wounded more than 300 tanks." enemies!"

  Colonel Ovich looked at the staff in shock. This result was an astronomical figure for the Soviet army that was fleeing all the way at this time, but the 333rd regiment easily achieved it in one battle.

Immediately, Colonel Ovich regretted it too much. If he had done what Major Gavrilov said, then not only the defense zone of the 333rd Regiment had such results, but his 79th Division, and even the 79th Division. The 27th Army and even the entire defense line have achieved such results.

But Colonel Orvich changed his mind and said to the staff: "It's nothing, Comrade Futoriak, this is just an ambush by the 333rd regiment. They successfully ambushed the Germans. But this does not mean that Their tactics are right! Once the Germans realize it's an ambush, it's not an ambush, understand?"

   "Yes, Colonel!" The staff officer replied.

  Although the staff did not agree with Colonel Ovich's attitude, he felt that what he said made sense. It is impossible for a German to be fooled again after being fooled once.

  (end of this chapter)