On May 12, the Soviet Red Army launched an attack on Kharkov.
Fafnir's Tiger No. 223 was still on the front line resisting the Soviet attack at first. "2 o'clock direction, T34, distance 800, armor-piercing bomb!" Now he was sitting in his commander's seat calmly.
He issued orders: advance, shoot, retreat, shoot... He looked completely calm and relaxed like a successful man, without any sense of urgency - this was fake! In fact, he was sweating profusely and shouting at the top of his lungs.
He roared and ordered the crew to fight. The Russian tanks came as always, like a tide, and the German defense line was riddled with holes and struggling to hold on.
It didn't last long, but on the night of the 12th, an order was issued: Fafnir's No. 223 and other Tigers retreated and were transferred to the southern front to assemble and stand by.
The Soviet army advanced rapidly after the Germans transferred their armored units. In just one week, they advanced to Zaporozhye and captured the city after two days of fierce fighting.
On May 22, the Russians were still advancing. Their morale was high but their personnel were exhausted. Their tanks and self-propelled artillery suffered serious losses along the way. As they captured the frontline headquarters opposite the German Army Group South, Red Army commanders and fighters at all levels were very optimistic.
It was thought that the Dnieper River would be reached soon. But at this time, the armored spearheads of the German Army were about to launch a pincer offensive on the exposed and vulnerable flanks of the Red Army...
Fafnir's Tiger No. 223 was quietly waiting for the assault order in the south. Next to him was Eckert. Now he had driven on the Panzer IV tank destroyer and was assigned to the French again after almost a year's absence.
The assault group where Funir belongs. The old colleagues are naturally very happy to meet each other. They are glad that they have not died on the battlefield... The low No. 4 will follow the tiger in the assault, providing the tiger with long-distance support firepower.
In the early morning of the 23rd, the German counterattack began. There was no firepower preparation in advance. The Tiger tanks took the lead directly, followed by the Panthers, Panzer IV tanks and assault guns, catching the Soviet Red Army by surprise. The attack went very smoothly.
, the first line of attack was not the second company of the 503rd Battalion where Fafnir was located, but the Tiger tank unit of the Waffen SS. Eckert despised these murderers as always, but out of his duty as a soldier,
He still provided fire support for them. Fafnir's No. 223 was not on the front line. He stayed on the second line, ready to carry out wave assaults at any time.
On the 23rd, the absolute superiority in the quality of the German tanks and their proper tactics enabled the German Army to achieve a one-sided victory. Their powerful armored wedge soon opened a gap in the position of the Red Army's 6th Group Army.
There was a large gap of more than 30 kilometers. Following this gap, the German SS "Reich" Division, which defeated the 4th Guards Army of the Red Army, advanced southward for more than 100 kilometers at an astonishing high speed. On May 24, the German 4th Guards Army
The other two armies of the Panzer Group Army, the 48th and 57th Panzer Corps, also launched an offensive. This German army quickly joined the SS Panzer Army in the Pavlograd area and cut off the 6th Army of the Red Army.
Line of communication. Immediately afterwards, the German 40th Armored Corps, which had 3 armored and armored infantry divisions, delivered a fatal blow to the Red Army's mercenary group that had run out of fuel.
But later on the 24th, when Fafnir's Tiger No. 223 was replenishing ammunition and fuel, Eckert, who was advancing first, was carried down from the front: he was hit in the chest by a Russian sniper -
- When he emerged to command the vehicle to drive in, he was shot in the lung by a hidden Soviet sniper. The Soviet soldier was immediately killed by artillery fire. Eckert was seriously injured and was sent to a field hospital in the rear.
Fafnir did not have time to visit his colleagues. His order for car No. 223 to attack had already been issued.
"This world is indeed a harsh documentary world... Unfortunately, the other worlds outside are too dangerous - who dares to go to Doraemon's world? Even Hongjun will be killed...
．．．Otherwise, it would be too easy to save these sensible guys. Let’s just take care of our destiny.” Fafnir thought while directing the car.
"Stop! 4 o'clock direction! So few Russian tanks?! They have finally exhausted their character! Comrade gunner, fire as you please..." Fafnir said.
Many tanks of the Soviet Red Army were lying down due to logistical pressure. A large number of tanks were unable to fight because they had no fuel and ammunition. However, the Red Army soldiers still fought bravely - they concentrated ammunition into the tanks in the best condition, even if they could not be started.
It can be used as a fixed firepower point, at least the turret can be fired by hand... But everything is useless. Tiger and Leopard, Panzer IV ignore the Soviet firepower from a long distance, slowly and accurately aim at one
Russian tanks that served as fixed firepower points were sent into the sky.
"There's no need to get any closer, just shoot at these fixed targets here." Fafnir gave the order out of boredom, while using his machine gun to shoot down the Soviet soldiers who were trying to engage in close combat.
After a fierce battle, the Germans claimed that in the counterattack against the Southwest Front of the Red Army, the German army defeated 8 armies and 10 infantry divisions composed of the 6th Army, the 1st Guards Army and the First Guards Army of the front.
and 5 special brigades, it is said that 23,000 Soviet troops were killed. But on the other hand, because the German troops who launched the attack did not constitute an absolute advantage, they were unable to form a tight encirclement. In addition, the cold weather
Due to the freezing ground, the German army's actions were mostly restricted to villages, so only about 9,000 Red Army soldiers were captured.
After suffering such heavy losses, the Southwest Front of the Red Army, under the strong pressure of the German troops rushing from three directions, had to retreat quickly backwards from February 27. By June 3, they had retreated through the North
On the Donets River, the thin ice on the river facilitated the passage of the Red Army. However, as a result, the Voronezh Front of the Red Army fighting in the Kharkov area was under the flank threat of the German armored forces.
Initially, neither the High Command of the Red Army in Moscow nor the Voronezh Front operating on the flank of the Southwest Front paid enough attention to the sudden German attack on the Southwest Front. They still stubbornly believed that the German counterattack
It was just to cover their retreat from the Dnieper River. Therefore, during this period, the Voronezh Front was still desperately advancing westward.
It was not until the Southwest Front was driven across the North Donets River by the Germans that the Voronezh Front commander General Golikov discovered that he was in a very dangerous situation: at this time, the German 4th Armored Group Army, which had just defeated the Southwest Front, was heading north.
Prepare to attack your own troops together with the German "Kempf" battle group. In this way, the three armies on the left wing of the Voronezh Front (3rd Tank Army, 40th and 69th Armies) will be attacked by 14 elite German divisions (including
4 armored divisions, 3 SS armored infantry divisions, 1 motorized infantry division, 3 infantry divisions). The Red Army could only use about 70 tanks in this direction, while the German army had no less than 350 tanks.
Faced with such a bad situation, General Golikov hurriedly ordered the Voronezh Front to stop all attacks on June 3 and switch to defense on the entire front. The Red Army general also urgently asked his superiors to provide for those of his soldiers and materials who were seriously depleted.
The troops provided reinforcements, but since the nearest supply base was 200 kilometers away, reinforcements were completely impossible.
Fafnir met two old friends again, Dick "The Clown" Carl and Junker Brother Carl who had completed the Northern Front assault and joined him. Carl proudly showed off the death circle he had just painted - he again
Destroyed 14 tanks, raising his record to 60, and it seemed that he was likely to get the Knight's Cross. But now, Karl could only drool looking at Fafnir's Knight's Cross... Juncker was also switching from a shotgun to a cannon.
, he is now the commander of the Panther D-type tank, and has also achieved fifteen battle results for himself. Like Karl, he is drooling when looking at the Knight's Cross, but Juncker must first fight for the first-class Iron Cross...