However, the occupation of Klin was not as smooth as expected because the German army deployed an air defense force in Klin.
The German army focuses on air supremacy... In fact, if you want to successfully carry out the "Blitzkrieg", you must pay attention to air supremacy, because air supremacy is the basis for the rapid advancement of armored forces and is also one of the main sources of intelligence.
On this basis, the German air defense forces will deploy closely following the advance of the advancing troops. Then the German army can push the airport forward step by step and shorten the attack distance of fighters and bombers as much as possible to shorten the reaction time.
Stationed in Klin is the 97th Anti-aircraft Artillery Battalion, which belongs to the German 8th Air Force...The vast majority of the German air defense forces are under the command of the Air Force.
The commander is Captain Marcus, who knows a lot about the situation of the Klin Defense Line as a German soldier who escaped from the front line.
"Klin is finished!" the German soldier said: "They broke into the defense line disguised as our troops, and they broke through the defense line! They have a large number of T34 tanks!"
Some German soldiers reminded: "There are still our tanks, that may not be our tanks!"
Captain Marcus only knew so much.
At this time, he should have withdrawn immediately with his anti-aircraft artillery battalion, but Captain Marcus did not do so because he knew that the result of doing so was more likely to be chased by the Russians and lose most of the men and equipment.
...The anti-aircraft guns of the anti-aircraft artillery battalion are scattered in every corner of the city, and they need time.
After thinking about it, Captain Marcus immediately ordered the first heavy air defense company to move closer to him.
The first heavy anti-aircraft company has two 88mm caliber anti-aircraft guns. This anti-aircraft gun has been proven to be very effective against the thick armor of tanks in North Africa. Captain Marcus plans to try it.
So two 88mm anti-aircraft guns were deployed on two straight main roads.
Shulka and others didn't know this yet, so they continued to push forward along the street behind the T34 tank.
At this time, they no longer dared to use German tanks and armored vehicles. After all, this was a city, and if they encountered enemy tanks or armored vehicles, they would fall into a melee where it would be difficult to distinguish between ourselves and the enemy.
Melee combat is of no benefit to the T34, which has a long-range advantage.
This is also one of the reasons why T34 advances along the main road. The wide field of view makes T34 more advantageous when encountering enemy tanks.
But Shulka didn't expect that what they had to face was not enemy tanks, but anti-aircraft guns...
With a "boom" sound, T34 had just turned the corner when there was a loud bang.
Shurka, who was following behind the tank, clearly felt a strong wind and shock wave, as if he had been pushed hard and fell to the ground.
There was a "buzzing" sound in my head, and it took a few seconds for my hearing to slowly recover.
During this time, Shulka saw that the T34 in front was on fire, so he quickly waved his hands to tell his subordinates who were also knocked to the ground to retreat.
Leonev was even dragged back, because at that moment he seemed to be frightened... To be precise, he lost his ability to judge after being shocked, just like a person who had just woken up in a daze.
It's a state where consciousness is absent. The eyes are watching and you know what is happening, but you just can't connect it with yourself and don't know what to do.
As for the following infantrymen who were lying on the rear armor of the tank... they were all shocked to the point of bleeding, their eyes wide open, and died in a horrifying state.
"What happened?" the instructor came up from behind and asked.
"I don't know!" Shulka replied: "But they destroyed the T34!"
"Anti-tank gun?" the instructor asked.
It seems that this is only possible with close-range anti-tank.
The way to deal with it is very simple, that is to suppress it with light mortars.
But Shulka soon discovered that things were not as simple as he thought.
Shulka quickly poked his head and then retracted. At a glance, he discovered that there was no enemy at close range, but a big guy at the end of the street...
"No!" Shulka stopped the light shooter who was called up by the instructor.
"It's not an anti-tank gun!" Shulka said, "It's an anti-aircraft gun!"
"Anti-aircraft guns?" The instructor couldn't help but widen his eyes.
"Yes, anti-aircraft guns!" Shulka replied: "The distance is about 700 meters!"
"Seven hundred meters? It can penetrate our tanks at seven hundred meters?" The instructor felt a little incredible about this.
But Shulka knew that there was nothing strange about this. On the North African battlefield, the Germans even used this kind of gun to punch a hole the size of a blue ball in the heavy armor of the British "Matilda" tank at a distance of one thousand meters.
In the near future, this gun will also be modified by the German army and installed on "Tiger" tanks as the main gun.
"What should we do?" the instructor asked, "Shall we rush forward?"
"No……"
While Shulka was saying this, another T34 rumbled up.
Shulka tried to stop it but failed.
This is not because the T34 motor is so loud that it is difficult to hear. The soldiers behind the armor can clearly see the infantry's gestures and inform the tank crew of the meaning.
Shulka believed that this was another tank crew trying to be a hero... There were many such situations among the Soviet troops, and this was related to the education they usually received.
Then as expected, there was another "boom", and the T34 turned into a ball of fire again in the blink of an eye.
The straight streets gave the German anti-aircraft guns a very favorable shooting position... The tanks could only advance along this street that was dozens of meters wide. The buildings on both sides even allowed the gunners to accurately calculate the distance between the tanks and the anti-aircraft guns.
distance.
"Maybe we can use infantry charge instead!" the instructor said.
This idea makes sense. After all, there is only one anti-aircraft gun. It is difficult for it to deal with tanks and infantry at the same time. If the infantry and tanks disperse and cover each other to launch a charge, it may indeed be successful.
But Shulka quickly dismissed the idea.
"They will deploy firepower on the buildings on both sides!" Shurka said: "And it will be crossfire from a high position on the street."
When Shulka said this, the instructor stopped talking.
Because if this is the case, only two machine guns, one on the left and one on the right, can block the charging infantry.
At this time, another tank came up from the rear. It stopped under the obstruction of the infantry. Then Kalashnikov stuck his head out and asked Shulka: "What happened in front?"
"We are blocked!" Shulka said: "The anti-aircraft guns, they can penetrate our tanks at a long distance!"
"But the colonel ordered us to keep moving forward!" Kalashnikov said with fear in his eyes: "We must occupy Klin quickly, otherwise street fighting may occur!"
Katukov is right. If the Germans are allowed to stabilize their position and deploy firepower on each building, it will be a very troublesome street battle!