The Rise of the Third Reich

April 25, 1944, Volokolamsk, northwest Moscow Region.

Cannon fire roared and tanks rumbled.

Thousands of elite German armored grenadiers faced the morning light, and under the cover of the Grizzly assault gun and No. 4 H tank, attacked forward along the newly opened mud road. The minefields laid out by the Soviet army were first swept through rocket launchers, and then combat engineers used demining rods to clear them, opening up a path sufficient for armor and infantry groups to attack.

The resistance of the Red Army remained tenacious, with machine guns, rifles, and anti-tank guns firing intensively. Each anti-tank stronghold that survived the German artillery bombardment and air raids had a ZIS-3 76mm cannon firing wildly - although the penetration depth of this gun was insufficient and it could not hit the Tiger H tanks and E- The 50A tank cannot hit the front of the fighting room of the Grizzly assault gun. However, at a close range of 300 meters, the armor-piercing projectiles fired by the ZIS-3 76mm cannon can still penetrate the front of the Grizzly assault gun and No. 4 H tank.

Moreover, the ZIS-3 cannon has a maximum rate of fire of 25 rounds/minute, which still poses a great threat to the German infantry and armored vehicles. The muffled sound of the 76mm cannon's rapid fire echoed throughout the entire front. The crossfire from various machine gun fire points of the Soviet army also formed a fire net on the path of the German army's advance.

Bullets whizzed around the German combat engineers who were rushing at the front. From time to time, heroic officers and soldiers were shot and fell. However, the warriors behind them followed closely and finally rushed into the anti-tank trench that was more than three meters deep and five meters wide. These trenches had been blown out of large and small gentle slopes by previous German shelling and bombing. Now the German engineers are placing explosives on the inner walls of the trenches that have been cut into vertical cliffs for blasting, creating more gentle slopes for tanks to pass through.

The German Type 4 H tanks and Grizzly assault guns flooded into these trenches that had been blasted out with gentle slopes like a tide - this was just one of the many anti-tank trenches on the Soviet Volokolamsk battlefield. !

Because the German army in this time and space always avoided winter operations and aggressive advances, the Soviet command had enough time to deploy defenses outside Moscow. Therefore, on the battlefield of Volokolamsk, close to Moscow, multiple anti-tank trenches crisscrossed in depth appeared, which greatly delayed the actions of the German tank troops.

Just as the German tanks rushed into the Soviet anti-tank trenches, the Soviet infantry counterattack also began. Dozens of assault teams launched counterattacks along the interlaced trenches, using bazookas supported by the United States and the Soviets' own copycat "Red Iron Fist" or captured German Iron Fist. At the same time, some Soviet warriors who had been hiding in foxholes or shells inside the anti-tank trenches that were breached by the Germans suddenly attacked, raining down RPG-43 anti-tank grenades on the German tanks and assault guns in the trenches. . In addition, the Soviets also buried many anti-infantry mines in the anti-tank trenches, and German infantry stepped on them from time to time.

Explosions sounded one after another, and more than a dozen tanks and assault guns were immediately turned into balls of fire. The Soviet howitzer fire also exploded desperately outside the trench, trying to cut off the follow-up of the German infantry.

At this moment, the firepower and fighting will of both sides reached their highest point. The Red Army is resisting desperately, and the German army is also insisting on attacking with maximum strength!

The German infantry firepower became the decisive factor at this time. The Panzer Grenadier's Mkb-42 automatic carbine (called an assault rifle in another time and space) was as powerful as a light machine gun. In the hands of battle-hardened veterans of the National Defense Forces, it is an out-and-out murderous weapon. The Soviet commando officers and soldiers who launched a counterattack along the anti-tank trench fell one by one. Only a small number of "Zubaka" and "Red Iron Fist" could exert their power.

At the same time, some machine gun teams and mortar teams advancing with the tanks/assault guns also established firepower points on the outside of the breached anti-tank trench. The MG42 machine gun made a harsh firing sound like tearing linen and 80mm mortar shells. The explosions continued to sound, and soon the Soviet death squads lurking in the foxholes and bomb craters on the opposite side of the trench were completely suppressed.

There were also some Tiger H-type tanks that slowly drove up on the muddy and soft ground. However, they did not rush into the anti-tank trench immediately. Instead, they stopped outside the Soviet army's first anti-tank trench and acted as Fixed fire points, and used the 88mm gun to name the exposed Soviet anti-tank gun positions and machine gun fire points one by one.

Viewed from the rear, the Soviet frontline looked like groups of volcanoes erupting together, with mud mixed with gunpowder smoke and fire rising constantly. Before the old smoke column fell, a new smoke column rose again. During this period, there were countless infantrymen from both sides rolling in the mud and charging toward each other.

The first and second Soviet anti-tank trenches were broken through by the Germans one after another, and most of the firepower points behind the two anti-tank trenches were destroyed by the Tiger tank's 88mm gun. Fierce fighting ensued in front of the trenches where the Soviet infantry was guarding. After a burst of intensive explosions of 150mm grenades and 80mm mortar shells fired by the Grizzly Assault Cannon, the trenches were filled with Soviet corpses. But the surviving Soviet soldiers still shot and dropped bombs desperately next to the corpses of their comrades.

The grenades currently thrown out by the Soviet army are all RPG-43. This type of grenade is very heavy so it cannot be thrown far (usually about 20 meters), and the explosive power is very amazing (the charge is as much as 612 grams). , and therefore a very dangerous weapon to both the enemy and the bombardier. If the soldiers fail to take cover after dropping the bomb, they will be killed and injured by the grenades thrown by themselves. This design is also Soviet. However, throwing it out from the trench does not have this problem. Just pull out the safety and sell it out. Just throw it away. Even if it can't blow up German tanks and armored vehicles, it can blow up a large area of ​​infantry!

Among the weapons used by the German army to retaliate against the Soviet army, there were also hand grenades, but they were not PWM anti-tank grenades (similar to the Soviet RPG-43, but slightly less powerful), but M43 anti-infantry grenades, which were wooden-handled grenades. It is much lighter than the Soviet RPG-43, so it can be thrown accurately and far. In the hands of German veterans, it is definitely as powerful a trench warfare weapon as the 80mm mortar.

However, the trench warfare weapons in the hands of the Germans that frightened the Soviet infantry the most were not the M24 grenades and 80mm mortars, but the No. 3 Spitfire Tank. This special tank modified from the No. 3 tank is now an independent unit composed of battalion units under the direct control of the army or army group, and will only be assigned to the armored division or armored grenadier division when necessary.

And when these fire-breathing tanks join the battlefield, it often means the end of the trench battle. 45 No. 3 fire-breathing tanks lined up, stretched out a front of nearly 500 meters, and under the cover of No. 4 tanks, advanced to 30 meters away from the Soviet infantry trenches. At the same time, they sprayed out scorching flames, and the flames swept across. Groups of Soviet officers and soldiers were burned all over, screaming and rolling in the mud. Some officers and soldiers were defeated by their own fear and fled to the rear along the communication trenches. Subsequently, some Soviet fortresses that still persisted in firing became targets of fire-breathing tanks, and the damage was reduced to a sea of ​​flames. The raging flames were so high that the Soviet soldiers who could not stand the thick smoke and high temperature ran out of the bunker, either raised their hands and surrendered, or were killed by German infantry with machine guns and Mkb42 carbines.

The Soviet defense is once again on the verge of collapse!

Around 4 pm on the 25th, signal flares symbolizing the successful capture of positions were raised on the trench lines outside Volokolamsk. This means that the German 3rd Armored Division and the 6th Armored Grenadier Division's attack on the main positions of Volokolamsk's outer defense line has been successful across the board!

Now, the offensive path to Volokolamsk city is completely open. As long as the German army surrounded or captured this small city northwest of Moscow, their next stop would be Klin on the Red October Railway, 58 kilometers away.

At this moment, on a high ground near the city of Volokolamsk, Marshal Zhukov, Chief of General Staff of the Soviet Red Army and Commander of the Central Front, was looking through a telescope at the hellish battlefield ahead. The German artillery fire there was so dense that it seemed like high walls of flames were rising and falling, while the Soviet artillery fire was only sporadic.

The battle has clearly been decided. The Soviet artillery group is now withdrawing from the battlefield, leaving only a small number of artillery firing. The remnants of the Soviet infantry, which had fought hard with the Germans all day, now began an orderly retreat. Only a small number of rear-end troops stood on the reserve position and were bombarded.

Zhukov put down his telescope at this time and said to Marshal Konev, commander of the Red Army Reserve Front who was watching the battle with him: "Ivan Stepanovich, what do you think?"

"Very strong! Really strong!" Konev said, "But we can still defeat them, because they are now running headlong into the trap we set for them. As long as they fall into the trap, no matter how ferocious the beast is, they will die. "

"Then can your reserve front troops continue to fight?" Zhukov asked, "Can the high command hand over to you the defensive operations west of the Red October Railway between Kalinin and Moscow?"

The reserve front army was really beaten badly by General Hoth's 4th Armored Group in the fierce battles from the 20th to the present. All three armies suffered heavy losses, with their total strength reduced from more than 500,000 to less than 300,000, and heavy equipment was also lost heavily.

"Yes!" Konev replied, "but we can't hold it."

Zhukov laughed: "No problem, you don't need to defend... I just need you to lure the enemy into a trap. In the process, you should also consume their strength as much as possible."