The Caucasus Mountains have contained the main force of Germany's most elite and powerful Army Group South. In addition, Tito's guerrillas and the British in the Balkans have also held back a large number of German troops, making the mobile forces available to the German invaders almost exhausted.
The Soviet high command keenly discovered this fighter opportunity and decisively launched the Battle of Kursk that shocked the world.
Due to the rapid increase in U.S. aid, the Soviet Union's losses in technical equipment were quickly recovered. What is particularly worth mentioning is that historically, the U.S. was only willing to assist second-rate aircraft like the P39 "Flying Snake" fighter jet, which the U.S. military itself despised.
Different types, the difficult situation faced by allies in this time and space, and the current self-defense of the US military
The embarrassment of not being able to go into battle made the Americans hold back. They even gave away the P51, their most advanced fighter jet that they had just begun to equip. This was the best fighter jet during World War II in history, which made the commanders and fighters of the Soviet Air Force unhappy.
Self-victory also further strengthened the Soviet high command's confidence in launching a massive counterattack.
Although the performance of the M4 Sherman tank assisted by the US military is slightly inferior to that of the T3485 (provided that the T3485 is not crudely manufactured), let alone the medium-sized tank T-44 that the Soviet Union has just begun to equip its troops, its huge number makes it
Of
The severely damaged Soviet armored forces were quickly rebuilt, and it is worth mentioning that the Americans also thoughtfully replaced these M4 tanks with diesel engines and Soviet-caliber artillery, allowing Soviet commanders and fighters to quickly master this imported product and
Reduces logistical pressure.
In addition to these war weapons supported by the United States, many new weapons developed by the Soviet Union were also unveiled in this war. In addition to the T-44 medium tank mentioned above, the more powerful Stalin-3 heavy tank is also more powerful than the historical one.
be finalized for service earlier. In the air
On the military side, the Soviet Union's latest fighter jet La-7 has entered active service, which has also made up for the shortage of P51 fighter jets to a certain extent. The Il-10 attack aircraft, which was also finalized in advance and entered service, has also greatly strengthened the Soviet Air Force's ground attack capabilities.
Attack capabilities, especially anti-tank capabilities
The reason why so many new weapons were put into the battlefield at the same time was that the Soviets also learned from the successful experience of the German army, hoping to gain an overwhelming advantage on the Kursk battlefield. In the eyes of Stalin and Zhukov,
So many new weapons, plus
The million-strong army mobilized by the Soviet Union with all its strength was definitely not something that the German Army Group Center, which had been depleted of a large number of troops, could withstand. But what they did not expect was that the Germans also had secret weapons that they had not taken out yet, waiting for them.
He was about to deliver a fatal blow to the main force of the Soviet army!
The Soviet offensive went very smoothly in the early stage. Under the guarantee of its air superiority, the Soviet Union's regrouped armored torrent dealt a heavy blow to the enemy. They recaptured Orel, an important transportation hub, with almost no effort. More than 10,000 German soldiers were killed and captured.
people, more than 30,000 servant troops and more than 20,000 puppet troops. After a good start,
The Soviet troops were heading directly towards Kursk, but what they didn't know was that Manstein, the commander of Army Group South, had secretly returned to Kharkov and was appointed as the supreme commander of the Kursk counterattack.
, unified command of the main force of Army Group Center and some of the troops of Army Group South remaining in Ukraine.
The first thing Manstein did after taking office was to ask Mustache to use the three secret weapons that had been hidden for at least several months. Mustache also saw that this battle was likely to determine the final outcome of the Soviet-German war.
, immediately agreed
The first to arrive were more than a hundred me262 jet fighters that transitioned very quickly. Due to the influence of secret cooperation between China and Germany, the me262 in this time and space was finalized and entered service almost half a year later than the model of the same name in history, but its performance
However, there has been a significant improvement, and it is already quite close to the first post-war jet fighters of the United States and the Soviet Union (such as the MiG-1
5 prototype and f-84), and the reliability is far from comparable to that of the historical me262. At the same time, because it had been hidden for several months, the German pilots had more time to strengthen training, so they
This is the first mass-produced jet fighter in human history and we are more familiar with it, so its strengths and advantages can naturally be brought into full play in actual combat.
Therefore, when the me262 jet fighter appeared on the battlefield, it quickly gave the Soviet Red Army a head-on attack. On the first day alone, more than 500 Soviet aircraft were shot down (most of which were the results of the me262, but there were also 200 left-wing aircraft).
On the right are the results of other aircraft types and ground air defense forces.) More than 200 pilots died, including 7 "Heroes of the Soviet Union". Even the Soviet Army's number one air combat ace Rechkarov was shot down.
Fortunately, this "nine-lived cat demon" is relatively lucky [
Such amazing results were achieved, but less than ten me262 jet fighters were lost. The exchange ratio was as high as over 1:30, which shocked the whole world. According to common sense, how good a fighter jet is in terms of its performance.
Advanced, but as long as both sides have the same attack weapons, the exchange ratio will never reach such a disparity. What is going on?
After listening to Lechkarov's report, Pokryshkin quickly realized the key to the problem. Because the level flight speed of the new German fighter planes was even faster than the dive speed of Soviet aircraft, and the ceiling was far higher than that of Soviet aircraft.
any kind of Soviet aircraft, so once it is targeted, the theory of Soviet aircraft
You can't get rid of it no matter how you do it. Instead, you will be beaten by the enemy because of the French counterattack. On the contrary, those Soviet pilots who fight the enemy desperately may be able to shoot down the enemy plane. Although it is still very difficult, but
It is always better than having your enemy squander your record at no cost.
After receiving Pokryshkin's report, Stalin immediately personally signed an important order, requiring Soviet pilots to rush to fight for their lives when encountering the enemy's new aircraft. If they run away to avoid fighting (and
discovered) will be punished for surrender.
In addition, Stalin also listened to Pokryshkin's proposal and increased the caliber of the cannons on several major fighter jets to 30mm at the expense of reduced aircraft body stability, in order to obtain a better firing rate than the German aircraft cannons.
The advantages in range and power were used to balance the huge disadvantages in aircraft performance; at the same time, the Soviet Air Force also began to recruit a large number of aircraft from the army field forces.
Veterans who are brave in battle and accurate in shooting are assault trained as pilots. Their flying skills may be difficult to match those of pilots with a professional background in a short period of time, but under the "bayonet fight in the air" tactic that will become mainstream in the future, they will
The courage and shooting accuracy are difficult to match those pilots trained under the traditional model (to be continued...)