While the gunner of Bolt's car roared angrily because he failed to hit the target, several other German Panzer III and Panzer IV tanks, which were charging forward a few meters away, also began to open fire and attack in the same manner.
Before the epoch-making equipment such as two-way stabilizers were used, the tank main gun was as difficult as a running person trying to accurately hit a long-distance target with a single-shot bolt-action rifle.
Even if they maintained the first combat gear and moved forward at a low speed and at a constant speed to minimize the shaking of the vehicle body, the gunners of the German tank crews aimed their gunners' scopes within the field of view, but they still felt as if they were suffering from Parkinson's syndrome due to the rugged off-road road.
And the shooting accuracy in this state of shaking and shaking is not an exaggeration even if it is described in the metaphysical way of "predicted by half".
Fully half of the armor-piercing shells fired after a moving salvo missed the target on the spot, and the remaining armor-piercing shells that hit the frontal armor of the Soviet tank did not fare much better.
It was a fluke to be able to hit a moving target while on the move. The German tank gunners who had tried their best to target the weak points of the Soviet tanks did not get a good report. One tank was unfortunately interrupted by an oncoming armor-piercing projectile.
The T4 tank, whose tracks were paralyzed on the spot, was the only gain from this round of firing by the German tanks.
Quite the opposite of the dire situation faced by German tank crews.
With the excellent quality of tanks with strong armor and sharp guns, it has been able to penetrate all types of German tanks while ensuring accuracy at a shooting distance of 600 meters. It is familiar with the armor thickness and defense of all types of German tanks in 1941.
The powerful Malashenko immediately ordered to stop advancing.
"All the crews of the first company stopped advancing and immediately opened fire on those German tanks! Stop their intentions and we cannot let them surround us!"
After receiving the order, the Soviet tanks that stopped one after another immediately began to turn their turrets and fire. The Soviet KV1 heavy tanks and T4 medium tanks, both equipped with 76 mm main guns, were destroyed at a shooting distance of less than 600 meters.
German tanks using vertical armor are more than enough.
As the Soviet tanks that had stopped and turned their muzzles for precise shooting continued to fire, the German anti-armor main Panzer III tank, which had only 50 mm of vertically rolled homogeneous steel armor on the turret and body front armor, was
It could not withstand the ferocious attack of Soviet tanks.
It was still able to penetrate 80 mm thick vertical armor at a distance of 600 meters. The 76 mm BR50B hooded armor-piercing grenade that continued to fire easily penetrated the fragile vertical armor defense of the German tanks.
The 76mm armor-piercing grenade detonates inside the vehicle body or in the turret, releasing astonishing power in the narrow tank space.
Most of the German tank crews whose armor was penetrated from the front without any suspense were completely destroyed on the spot as their ammunition exploded. Few German tank crews managed to survive after being shot and abandoned their vehicles to escape.
The explosive yield of the armor-piercing grenade TNT, which is 94 grams, is obviously unbearable by the fragile human body, not to mention the additional damage caused by the projectile fragments exploded by the warhead charge and bounced around inside the tank.
In his commander's periscope, he watched the German tanks facing the enemy being hit three times in a row and then exploded and burned. Malashenko, who was gradually regaining his numerical disadvantage, quickly realized a new problem.
Although the KV1 heavy tank equipped with the first ready-to-fire ammunition rack in the turret has improved the loading speed to a certain extent, under the operation of a skilled loader, it only takes about five seconds from firing the main gun, removing the breech shell, and then completing the loading.
However, after the target is destroyed, the re-detection of the enemy and the adjustment of the turret steering gear and the height of the main gun cannot keep up with such a fast rate of fire. It takes at least half a minute from the detection of the enemy to the destruction of a German tank and locking on the next target.
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There is also a certain degree of ricochet and miss-missing probability caused by too small an angle of incidence. This is definitely not good news for the 10 Soviet tanks led by Malashenko who are at an absolute numerical disadvantage.
Just as Malashenko was thinking about countermeasures, the German armored forces, which had paid the price of several tanks being destroyed, had already switched to a high-speed advance and advanced to the final distance where they could use the outflanking and roundabout tactics.
The German army, which was divided into two groups like a branch of a large river, instantly divided into two armored battle groups of equal numbers and began to outflank the enemy from left to right at the same time.
Several fast and flexible 8t light tanks rushed to the front of the German armored forces. These compact little guys had excellent high-speed mobility in 1941.
Although the KK8 7mm tank gun it is equipped with can hardly cause any substantial damage to the rough-skinned and thick-skinned KV1 heavy tank's front armor or even its sides.
But if he was successfully bypassed by these small German tanks that ran faster than rabbits, he felt that Malashenko knew the disastrous consequences even if he thought about it with his feet.
After seeing this situation, Malashenko was forced to make another compromise on dividing his forces. Dealing with these 8t light tanks that were like rats rushing towards his back was undoubtedly the first priority at the moment.
"No. 104105108 T4 immediately went to eliminate those German light tanks. We can't let them outflank us and come back behind us! The heavy tanks covered them and focused their fire on the German tanks that fired at T4!"
As the saying goes, the only martial arts in the world that cannot be broken is fast.
Faced with these 8t light tanks that have excellent maneuverability and are difficult to hit while running wildly on the undulating cross-country terrain, the kv1 heavy tank with a combat weight of nearly fifty tons is too bulky and obviously not good at dealing with these brisk opponents. Using
The T4, which has good maneuverability and is basically close to the maneuverability of an 8t light tank, is obviously the best choice at the moment to use it to quickly control the enemy.
After receiving Malashenko's order, the three T4 tanks immediately started to move, and from behind the cover of the heavy tanks' huge bodies, they intercepted the German 8t light tanks that were quickly outflanking the roundabout on both wings.
Realizing that the Soviet tanks in front of them had reacted, the German tank force also did not sit idly by. The T4 tank, which had its entire body and turret sides exposed due to its sideways interception of the 8t tank, became one of these slightly slower tanks.
A large number of German tanks focused fire on the target.
"Stop those t4s, don't let them intercept the 8t! Fire, quick!"
The loud orders echoing in the headset urged Bolt to reach out and pat the gunner in front of him on the back. The gunner who felt an obvious force on his shoulder then shook the turret steering gear in his hand frantically, turning the black hole.
The muzzles of the guns were aimed at the T4 tanks that were galloping around.