Major General Basarab is the commander of the Romanian 1st Armored Division.
Although this is the first time that the Romanian army has participated in combat, it does not mean that Major General Basarab has no combat experience... He is a veteran of World War I. The only difference is that at that time he commanded a cavalry regiment.
Major General Basarab believed that this was not a very suitable time to attack, because the artillery of the 1st Armored Division did not even have time to catch up.
As mentioned before, most of Romania's logistical supplies use mules and horses, including artillery, which is also dragged by mules and horses... The few cars are allocated to tank regiments to transport gasoline, so the artillery has almost no cars to use.
This is almost a nightmare for artillerymen.
Because cars can not only be used to tow cannons, but also carry a certain number of artillery shells.
The absence of cars means that all of this must rely on human and animal power.
What's worse is that it's raining heavily at this time, and the Soviet Union's originally under-maintained roads are being run over by tanks and cars in front, so the Romanian artillerymen who are following behind have a helpless scene: horses in front.
The cannon was dragged with difficulty, while the coachman whipped the horse's back hard beside him. The artillerymen shouted slogans in the rain and pushed the cannon wheel. They finally pushed the cannon out of one mud pit, but in the blink of an eye it fell into another pit...
As a result, the artillery fell more than a hundred kilometers behind the tank regiment.
"Your Excellency, General!" Major General Basarab reported to Shobert: "Our artillery failed to keep up. Without the cover of artillery, it is difficult for us to launch an effective surprise attack on the Russians!"
What Major General Basarab said makes sense, especially when the speed of Romanian tanks is so impressive, it is even more necessary to prepare artillery fire to cause the enemy a first blow and make it unable to deal with it calmly.
"To hell with the artillery, Major General!" Shobert said: "By the time they arrive, I'm afraid the Russians will have hit the Black Sea coast!"
What Schobert said makes sense. More than 100 kilometers would take at least five days for the Romanian artillery, which only advanced 20 to 30 kilometers per day.
"Use your tanks, Major General!" After a while, Schobert added: "Rush towards them as fast as you can, understand? They even have fewer tanks than you. As long as you rush forward, they will be very fast."
It will collapse!"
"Yes, General!" Major General Basarab replied helplessly.
There is actually a misunderstanding in this.
The Soviet armored forces were indeed vulnerable in the eyes of General Schobert, because the German armored forces once defeated 1,000 tanks with 100 tanks.
But now the Romanian 1st Armored Division is using 200 tanks against 100 tanks of a Soviet motorized division.
In addition, the Romanian army was well prepared but not prepared for a fight, so General Schobert believed that at least this battle was a sure win.
General Schobert hoped that victory in this battle would slow down the Soviet advance and give the German infantry divisions defending at the front more time to prepare... The German infantry divisions were digging nervously thirty kilometers ahead.
Mines are laid in anti-tank trenches.
But that's not the case when it comes to fighting.
"Fire!"
As Captain Veniakov shouted, the battlefield became lively as if a pot had exploded, and sheets of bullets and artillery shells poured in the direction of the Romanian army.
The Soviet soldiers didn't even see the target clearly. All they could see was a shadow in the rain curtain, and the same was true for Shulka.
But at this time, I didn’t care about so much anymore. Anyway, there was nothing wrong with shooting in the direction of the enemy.
If it were just a comparison of tanks, neither the enemy nor we would take advantage.
The tanks equipped by Romania are slightly lacking in firepower, because both the R2 and R35 are 37mm tank guns, and the R35 is a short-barreled 37mm gun with insufficient armor penetration. (Note: The French R35 was replaced with a long-barreled gun in the 1940s.
Cannons, the Romanian Army did not replace them)
But at this time, they were close enough to each other to penetrate each other, so the advantage of the Soviet 45mm gun was weakened.
As a result, tanks on both sides suffered casualties, and soon the battlefield was filled with flames from burning tanks and the screams of soldiers ignited by the flames.
But Shurka knew that this actually meant that the Romanian army had failed.
The reason is very simple. What is lined up on the road is just a tank battalion and an infantry battalion of the 131st Motorized Division, but the Romanian army is the main two tank regiments... The Romanian army is blocked and cannot break through, which means that
Their flanks were exposed to the Soviet follow-up troops.
In fact, this is the inevitable result, the tank is too slow.
Slow speed means that you cannot break through quickly, it means that you cannot respond in time, and it means that you are passively beaten.
Sure enough, ten minutes later, a round of artillery shells slammed into the Romanian army's position. The smoke and water vapor caused by the shells were like a big hand covering the Romanian army... The Soviet artillery was maneuvered by cars.
Yes, they took the time just now to set up the cannon and complete the test firing, and then fired the cannonballs into pieces at the enemy.
The artillery shells fired for ten minutes, and then a tank unit shot out from the side and went straight into the smoke.
Shulka couldn't see what was happening because the battlefield had long been shrouded in "white mist."
All he could see was a bright light flashing from time to time in the "white mist" and screams.
But even so, everyone knew that the enemy's defeat was certain, because no one was charging towards the highway defense line anymore.
Captain Venyakov did not order a charge, which was correct, because in this case a charge could easily lead to friendly casualties among his own people.
After waiting for another ten minutes, the sound of gunfire slowly subsided and faded away.
"Is this the end?" Leonev asked in surprise: "We won?"
"I think so!" the veteran continued. This battle was won so easily that even he couldn't believe it.
"It's easier than you think, isn't it?" Shulka seized this opportunity to promote to the new recruits: "As long as you follow the orders, you can defeat the enemy and survive!"
"That's right!" the recruits replied: "We have defeated the enemy twice!"
"The casualties this time are much smaller than last time!"
"And the enemies are no less than last time!"
…
The actor wanted to say something, but Shulka stopped him with a look.
The veterans all know that there is a reason for the small losses this time. The enemy is the Romanian army with weaker combat capabilities. This may even be their first battle. Of course, it is different from the German troops who fought all the way from Europe.
However, Shulka believes that it is better not to say these words. It can at least make the recruits more relaxed, or give them a little more hope.