Korobkov was counting on the 1st Tank Army, but the 1st Tank Army was "crossing the river with mud tanks" at this time, and it was difficult to protect itself.
The trouble they had was not with German tanks on the ground, but with flying tanks HS129 attack aircraft in the sky The purpose of this clumsy, sturdy, and powerful twin-engine ground attack aircraft is very simple, according to the design, it cannot carry bombs, but it has two 20 cannons and one 3750 cannon, which can fire high-speed armor-piercing shells from tens of meters in the air to hit the weak top and rear of the tank.
Since the outbreak of the world revolution on June 1, these clumsy twin-engine aircraft have been a lingering shadow in the minds of the Soviet mechanized troops, and as long as the weather permits, they will occasionally appear above the heads of the long convoys of Soviet mechanized troops heading west, and only after the ammunition of the Fokker Zero and F guns and 50 cannons has been exhausted, leaving behind a pile of smoking and burning wreckage.
Although the number of these odious "flying tanks" was too small to inflict too heavy losses on the Soviet troops on the march, the frequent bombardment still greatly slowed down the advance of the troops and slightly reduced the high morale of the revolutionary fighters of the world.
But on June 11, most of the internationalist fighters marching on the land of Poland and Ukraine were pleasantly surprised to find that the "flying tank" that had tormented them for a long time did not appear today, not only did the "flying tank" not come, but even the ju87, which often partners with HS129, did not appear.
It was as if overnight the sky was back in the hands of the people And just when the vast majority of the Red Army commanders and fighters were happily striding on foot, imagining what miracle the Soviet Red Air Force had done last night to paralyze the powerful German Air Force.
Hundreds of HS129 attacks and the same number of JU87s are frantically attacking the main force of the 1st Tank Army of the Soviet Army, which is advancing towards Legiononovo, and lacks the 1st Tank Brigade.
Corporal Erich Hartmann, who had just been promoted to captain plane, was promoted for shooting down seven Soviet planes in 10 days, and at close to noon on June 11, he also flew his own FW190A4 fighter and followed the captain of the 4th Stanbaz Squadron, who had just become a second lieutenant, to participate in the aerial combat over the Soviet 1st Tank Army convoy.
Looking down from an altitude of 4,000 meters, the long queue of Soviet tanks, troop carriers, wheeled armored vehicles, trucks or tracked vehicles towing cannons, and various tracked or wheeled auxiliary armored vehicles is completely immobilized, and there are burning vehicles or metal wreckage that has been blown into strange shapes.
The anti-aircraft fire of the Soviet army was also unprecedentedly fierce, and countless tongues of fire were intertwined together, forming a network of fire at low altitudes, but the ugly twin-engine planes that had been flying very slowly were fearless in the fire net, and from time to time they fired a series of red-hot shells, blasting the T34, KV1 or other armored vehicles on the ground from the top and back At 2,000 meters and 3,000 meters in the air, the JU87 bombers were screaming and constantly launching dive attacks on the Soviet convoy on the ground.
Bombs rained down, creating one fireball after another rising high in the long line of Soviet convoys.
"MiG-3 found MiG-3 altitude 3800, 11 o'clock direction."
Ensign Steinbazz's voice came from Erich Hartman's headphones: "There are 4 planes, let's go and beat them down."
Beware, beware of the Russians' ramming" Although the Soviet Red Air Force had been at a disadvantage in the last 10 days of desperate battles, the German pilots had to admit the bravery of the Soviet pilots, because these Bolshevik pilots had a crazy tactical mid-air ramming It is an aircraft whose pilot is injured or intact and collides with an enemy aircraft Although this kind of fighting did not knock down many German planes, it caused a certain psychological shadow on the German pilots.
Many German pilots were somewhat intimidated when they collided head-on with Soviet aircraft, especially those who had seen or been hit by the Soviets.
However, Sergeant Erich Hartmann was an unbelieving fellow, and he did not hesitate to meet the MiG-3 in the face of a menacing MiG-3, and then pulled the trigger and fired a violent rain of bullets, enveloping the MiG-3.
It may have been a shell that hit the cockpit of the MiG-3, and the high-speed plane suddenly lost its air, rolled in the air a few times, and then fell headlong, becoming the eighth result in Erich Hartmann's credit book.
"Comrade Volokh, the 1st Tank Army cannot be beaten on the road like this, it must be deployed as soon as possible."
The commander of the 4th Army, Korobkov, finally found the headquarters of the commander of the 1st Tank Army, Major General Voloch, in a wooded area next to the road full of destroyed vehicles.
"Comrade commander, there is no way now, there are too many Nazi planes, there is no way at all" "There is no way to unfold" Korobkov was in a hurry, "the German tank cluster is coming, if it is not deployed, will the 1st Tank Army meet the enemy on the highway in the form of a marching army" "What" Voloch, the commander of the 1st Tank Corps, was shocked, "how is it possible that the 16th Mechanized Corps and the 28th Army are still ahead of the armored cluster of the Germans." ” He did not know the situation of the 16th Mechanized Army and the 28th Army, but his army column had been bombed this morning, and the communication vehicle with the radio station was being blown up, so that timely communication with the group army headquarters had been cut off.
"Both the 16th Mechanized Army and the 28th Army have been defeated," Major General Korobkov stamped, "If the 1st Tank Army is not deployed immediately, our 4th Army will be finished."
"Ah" Volokh couldn't believe his ears, how could the troops of the 2 armies be defeated like this, how much time has it been, they are the Workers' and Peasants' Red Army, and besides, how is the 1st Tank Army going to unfold now Because the main force of the 1st Tank Army was at the end of the 3 armies of the 4th Army, in addition to being a marching army all the way, the team pulled out more than a dozen kilometers, and now it is still being bombed Moreover, even if they barely deployed some troops, how could they defeat the powerful German armored group, since they could defeat the 16th Mechanized Corps and the 28th Infantry Corps one after another, their strength must not be weak, how could the 1st Tank Army, which relied on only 3 brigades, 2 tank brigades, and 1 motorized infantry brigade, defeat them "Comrade Commander, it's time to retreat for the time being."
Voloch whispered the right advice.
Relying on the 1st tank army will not be able to save the situation, and a reluctant decisive battle can only cause greater losses, so it is better to retreat first.
And a retreat now would not cause incalculable losses, because Warsaw was also threatened by the infantry units of the 16th Army on the southern route, Vlasovna, and the 9th Army in the center, which were attacking the Warsaw Forest, and the main forces of the Workers' and Peasants' Red Army were constantly moving from the east of the Bug River, so that the Germans could not extend their gains by pursuing the 1st Tank Army.
What they should have launched now was a short counterattack, and it was already good to push the 4th Army.
If the 1st Tank Army had retreated, the Germans' armored clusters would have mostly returned victoriously.
"No, we can't retreat" The commander of the 4th Army, Korobkov, and the political commissar Terekin spoke out against it almost simultaneously.
"We have to hold the Germans back."
Korobkov knew that he had already done something bad, and if he ran away with his tail between his legs, it would not be a labor reform, but a shot.
"The Front Command should be consulted."
Political Commissar Terekin said, "After the front ordered us to retreat, our army group must fight to the end" Terekin's words were much softer than Korobkov's, and he still had a way to live, but whether the 1st Tank Army could withdraw safely depended on whether Pavlov could give orders in time.
"Yes, yes, send a telegram to the front command immediately," Korobkov came with a communication vehicle, which could keep in touch with his superiors and subordinates at any time.
"Let's just say that our army group encountered a counterattack by 3 German panzer divisions at Legionovo" "Comrade commander, the 4th Army has been defeated, suffered heavy losses, and Korobkov asked for instructions to retreat to the area of Minsk in Poland to reorganize the troops."
The Chief of Staff of the Western Front, Major General Rimowsk, rushed into Pavlov's office.
"What's going on" Ponomarenko was also in the office, learning from Pavlov about the latest situation in the war.
Hearing the words of Major General Rimowik, he stood up abruptly.
"Comrade Political Commissar, the 4th Army was counterattacked by the German armored group, there were at least 3 armored divisions, and the Germans also sent more than 2,000 sorties to bomb the 1st Tank Army, and suffered heavy losses." "3 Panzer Divisions" Both Pavlov and Ponomarenko breathed a sigh of relief, and if the 4th Army ran into 3 German panzer divisions, then it would be understandable that it would be defeated.
"Then let the 4th Army retreat quickly."
Ponomarenko, like other political commissars of the Soviet Red Army, was not an unreasonable fool.
Moreover, the Red Army is now fighting abroad, and there is no question of defending the people of the homeland at all.
"No," Pavlov's face was very ugly, "the 4th Army must hold on to the end," he looked at Ponomarenko, who was full of puzzlement, and said, "Otherwise, the German mechanized cluster may be inserted into the Minsk line in Poland and cut off the rear of the 9th Army and the 37th Army" t1706231537: