Transmigrated as the Crown Prince

Chapter 936 Decisive Battle (6)

Nomanov, commander of the 104th Guards Tank Division, was going crazy. Although many self-propelled artillery in his division were modified from anti-aircraft guns, they were all modified to deal with German tank armor and had lost their anti-aircraft capabilities. Not to mention that there are no fuzes dedicated to air defense. It is impossible to stand them up and point them at the sky.

"Support, we need air support!" Now we can only count on our own air support to drive away these damn German attack aircraft groups. But when they contacted the frontline headquarters, they learned that their own air power had been completely wiped out, and it was impossible to provide him with any air support.

There were continuous explosions all around. Commander Nomanov, who was almost collapsed, suddenly opened the hatch cover, leaned out half of his body, pulled out his Tokarev TT-30 pistol and repeatedly pulled the trigger towards the attack aircraft group in the sky, mouthing. Yelling like crazy.

"Hey, there's someone down there who's not afraid of death." The pilot of an Il-10 in the sky discovered this crazy guy and swooped down without ceremony. The aiming ring firmly caught the IS-2 heavy-duty vehicle. Tank, pull the trigger lightly.

Boo! Boo! Boo!

Three 40mm machine gun shells were sprayed out, and the first one hit the division commander Nomanov accurately. The powerful impact instantly tore half of his body into pieces, and most of the car body was stained. Blood red, the second and third shells easily tore through the top armor and penetrated, and the tank exploded immediately.

An entire division of nearly 300 tanks and self-propelled artillery was ravaged by 16 attack aircraft. When the attack aircraft group used up all the 40 mm shells, there were only more than 100 Guards tanks left on the ground in the 104th Division, which were then attacked by 57 mm The rockets were bombarded indiscriminately. In the end, less than 100 vehicles escaped into the woods, which can be said to be a heavy loss.

However, the captain of the IL-10 attack aircraft squadron had no intention of letting them go just like that. "These idiots think they will be safe if they escape into the woods?" He immediately contacted the dispatch center to call for support, and soon two squadrons of JU-88 bombers arrived.

"Those guys are hiding in the woods below." The attack squadron leader used the radio to indicate the target to the JU-88 bomber formation.

"Start dropping bombs." These 32 JU-88 bombers carried a total of 1,152 50-kilogram bombs, half of which were high-explosive bombs and the other half were terrifying napalm bombs. As the bombing order was issued, one bomb after another left the bomb bay and crashed towards the ground.

The bomb fell on the ground and exploded. The ground suddenly trembled. Several fireballs rose into the sky from the woods. The trees fell to the ground in the powerful shock wave. The broken trunks gave out a burst of sadness. There was a "squeaking" sound, and the raging fire enveloped the large forest in an instant.

Looking at the woods below that were burned into a sea of ​​flames, the attack aircraft pilots sighed. "If it's burned like this, even the mice won't be able to survive. If there are any survivors, let them be dealt with by the tank troops."

The attack squadron leader ordered. "Return and replenish ammunition."

"Haha, this battle was so exciting! I destroyed at least ten tanks!"

"Looks like we can take a collective vacation."

"..." When this matter was mentioned, everyone was a little unhappy. Because like fighter pilots, German attack aircraft pilots also served as instructors at the rear flight school after destroying a certain number of ground targets, teaching combat experience to the students for ten days. Although you can get a lot of points as an instructor, it's not as satisfying as fighting the enemy on the battlefield.

"Tsk, wouldn't Moscow have surrendered before we got back?"

"Don't worry, Smolensk will still be fought for several months. How can Moscow be defeated in ten days?"

Just as the attack aircraft formation returned happily, the chief of staff reported to Zhukov in the Soviet frontline headquarters. "Comrade Commander, the 104th Guards Tank Division...has lost contact."

"..." In fact, when the 104th Guards Tank Division requested air support, Zhukov had a premonition that this tank division would be in danger, a whole division of tanks! The entire army was wiped out just like that!

The impact of losing air superiority was far beyond his expectation!

The Soviet army in the original time and space did not have much air superiority in the early stage, but the resistance of the Soviet ground forces at that time was still very tenacious. Moreover, even if the German army once had control of the air, its air power was not very strong. Because of fuel production issues, the size of the German Air Force has always been small. It can be said that the German Air Force at that time was a tactical air force. The number of aircraft invested on the front line had always been around 2,000, which seemed like a lot, but when allocated to the vast Soviet battlefield, it seemed insignificant.

Therefore, the Luftwaffe can only provide air support in important offensive and defensive operations at most, and will not provide support in general ground operations. Moreover, the German Air Force did not have the capability of strategic strikes and could not cut off the transportation network in the Soviet rear area, thus limiting the concentration and mobilization of Soviet troops and supplies.

In the later stages of the war, strategic bombing by the United States and Britain on the Western Front caused the main force of the German army to shift. In 1941, 61% of the Luftwaffe's aircraft were used on the Soviet-German battlefield, while in 1943 less than 20% remained. A large number of light bombers, including light bombers, were also transferred back to the country to serve as night fighters. This further reduced the efficiency of destroying Soviet aircraft and gradually lost air superiority.

At this time, Germany did not have any battlefields on the western front. The United States on the other side of the Atlantic Ocean could not threaten Europe at all. The German army deployed more than 30,000 fighter planes on the eastern front in one breath, which can be said to have complete control of the air.

Just when Zhukov sighed, the chief of staff suggested in a low voice. "Comrade Commander, how about we simply deploy the tanks in the city and use them as a defensive force." If sneak attack tactics are used in street fighting in the city, their various tanks and self-propelled artillery will still have a chance to destroy the German tanks. The infantry are even more powerful weapons for killing enemies.

Zhukov shook his head. "But we can't let the Germans rush into Moscow unimpeded!" Comrade Stalin would definitely not agree to abandon these defense lines that cost a lot of manpower and material resources to build. Not to mention Comrade Stalin, even he couldn't accept it. We must use these lines of defense to inflict enough damage on the enemy.

The chief of staff sighed, so what can be done? Our own defense line cannot stop the German attack at all. "Comrade Commander, we still underestimate the combat effectiveness of the German army. In the field, even if our army relies on these lines of defense to fight, it is no match for the German armored forces (even infantry is no match for infantry). If we continue to stick to these lines of defense, It will only make more soldiers die in vain."

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