Even though the SS had carried out considerable artillery fire preparations in advance, they quickly attacked the defensive positions outside the village.
But a huge problem before us is that the defensive positions jointly stationed by the Stalin Guards 1st Heavy Tank Brigade and the 9th Guards Airborne Division are far from as simple as the general Soviet infantry defensive positions.
Ordinary Soviet infantry defense positions used anti-tank guns as anti-armor means. These heavy, huge and slow anti-armor weapons were not only extremely vulnerable to damage from sudden artillery fire preparations.
Even if you are lucky enough to survive the artillery barrage, when the battle actually begins, you will definitely be the priority target of enemy tanks and assault guns, so the damage efficiency to enemy armored units in actual combat is quite worrying.
But here, in this barren little village that had been completely destroyed by bombs, the enemy's defense situation faced by the SS was almost abnormal and unprecedented.
The Soviet army, which had always used anti-tank guns and anti-tank guns to defend its positions, replaced shotguns with cannons. Those Stalin heavy tanks, which were huge in size and outrageously armored, became movable anti-tank bunkers and a terrible nightmare on the position.
Trying to kill such an opponent from a long distance is tantamount to wishful thinking, and the odds are as low as a lottery draw!
Besides being unable to penetrate the opponent's armor, there is also the risk of being killed instantly by a backhand shot. Neither the proud tiger nor the brand-new black panther can withstand the bombardment of the opponent's giant cannon.
Even if it is extended to a distance of one kilometer, there is still no substantial change.
The SS, who attacked like crazy with ferocious anti-armor firepower, deservedly paid a heavy price. The No. 4 and Panther, whose armor was no different, were blown off their heads one after another. Each shot had a 122mm full-caliber hood.
The armor-piercing projectile hitting the target almost inevitably indicates that another SS tank will be killed on the spot.
Originally expecting to use suppressive firepower to have some miraculous effect, the SS, who found it increasingly difficult to attack, soon discovered that the opponent's IQ had not dropped. This simple tactical deception obviously did not succeed in distracting the enemy's firepower.
The commander of the group of Russians clearly knows what is the priority target that will pose the greatest threat in the near future.
But once the attack started, it was like an arrow on the string that had to be fired. Even if the expected diversionary tactics did not have the slightest effect, the only choice the SS could make was to continue the attack. No matter how heavy the casualties were, they could never stop.
Once stopped, it means an unacceptable loss of all previous efforts! All casualties and battle losses will be wasted in an instant.
The wreckage of the SS tanks that were destroyed one after another are scattered on the grassland in front of the position. They are similar to the steel wreckage that has extinguished the flames and cooled down yesterday. It is difficult to count exactly which one was destroyed in the east and the two in the west.
How many tanks are there?
The SS, which ignored the constant deaths of their comrades in battle, continued to charge desperately, killing four cars at the front. Malashenko smelled something unusual.
If yesterday's SS attack wave was so crazy that it was so crazy that today's SS troops who just started attacking today are like a group of monsters running out of a lunatic asylum after the wall collapsed, claws and teeth bared.
The uninterrupted series of losses seemed to have no impact at all.
"Damn, these stupid bastards are really crazy! I'm afraid this is what little Japan's pig-like attack is all about."
Malashenko can probably guess the reason why the SS was so crazy about the onslaught. Anyone who has a little insight into the overall battle situation can easily figure out that both sides in the current Prokhorovka match are racing against time.
The conclusion of time.
But what Malashenko doesn't know is that the SS, who have even the slightest chance and extra time, don't want to take such a crazy offensive regardless of the cost, just because the current situation has really reached the most critical moment of burning buttocks.
.
At the last moment when the SS was preparing to launch artillery fire, the two armies of the Steppe Front that rushed over on a starry night march, that is, the reinforcements that Vatutin bravely called his kind father, Comrade Stalin, had already arrived.
The German blocking troops sent by Huoter and Huot to try to slow down the pace and delay took over the fire.
In a very short period of time, this place quickly evolved into the site of a fierce and violent encounter. It was only a 15-kilometer straight line from the joint defense line of the Skeleton Division and the Imperial Division that surrounded Malashenko just north of the village.
distance.
To put it bluntly, what the Germans fear most is that as long as the two Soviet armies that came to support can stand firm and set up artillery positions, the Soviet field artillery group that has an absolute advantage in range can even directly hit the heavy firepower without any suspense.
Outside the village, the SS troops directly launched long-range artillery fire support on the surrounded Malashenko.
What's even more frightening is that Huot, who tried his best to face the tense battle situation with fierce exchanges of fire everywhere, finally only deployed two Wehrmacht infantry divisions to take on the important task of blocking. And these were two teams that had been fighting fiercely for more than half a week.
, an ordinary non-elite Wehrmacht infantry division with reduced strength.
Use two infantry divisions in such a situation to try to block the two Russian armies that are rushing towards them like crazy, trying to save their comrades from danger.
Holt knew that this thing was actually very outrageous from the beginning! So he didn't expect to be able to hold the enemy back or hold the front. He only asked the troops to buy a little more time before they couldn't hold it anymore, and put the three divisions away.
The SS and Russian elements of the two armies were separated to avoid contact.
The rest depends on whether the three SS divisions can quickly deliver the good news.
"Continue the attack! Use all the tanks, put the artillery directly on the position, aim at the Russians, and wipe that village off the map! You must do it even if you don't allow it! Don't ask me for conditions! I am
I'm giving an order, and we need a division commander who can execute it! If you can't do it, get out of that position and I'll take your place and go into battle in person! Execute the order!"
Snapped--
Hausser, the commander of the Second SS Armored Corps, who dropped the phone in his hand, was a little nervous. I wonder if he yelled too loudly or because of lack of oxygen. After taking two steps away from the table, he felt a little nervous.
Above.
"The casualties are too great, Hausser, how can we deal with the next Russians if this continues? You must know that they have the strength of two armies, one of which is an armored army! We can't afford to lose so many tanks."
Hausser, who sat back on the chair again, after soothing his nerves, felt that the question raised by the chief of staff was indeed a bit ridiculous, and he blurted out the words without any concealment of ridicule.
"We are still blocked in the first step, and you are actually starting to consider the third step! Maybe you think I am short-sighted, but I want to ask you, if we don't solve this nail before those Russian lunatics pounce, do you think we have any chance?
Who are we to talk about how to withstand the enemy? Will we be attacked with our front and back or will we be forced to retreat?"
"The battle requires us to pay huge casualties, which must be accepted! Convey the same order to the Guards Standard Division and the Imperial Division, I only give them two hours!"