Similar problems also exist in the direction of Volokolamsk.
The 16th Army attacked the villages of Skirmanovo and Kozvo at the same time. The 4th Tank Brigade and the 50th Cavalry Division were responsible for attacking Skirmanovo Village, while the 27th Tank Brigade and the 44th Cavalry Division were responsible for attacking the village.
Attack the village of Kozvo.
The tragedy occurred in the direction of the village of Kozvo.
There is a hill more than 100 meters high in front of the village of Kozvo. The German army has an observation post of a heavy artillery battalion located on this hill. Three kilometers in front of it is an open land, and further east is the edge of a forest.
The Supreme Command's judgment on this terrain is that... the woods are suitable for cavalry and tanks to ambush, and the open areas are suitable for them to charge. After a burst of artillery fire, the cavalry and tanks can quickly surge through the German positions like a tide and submerge them.
.
This idea might still hold true in World War I. The cavalry could quickly break through when the enemy's firepower density was insufficient. However, in World War II when artillery, machine guns, and tanks were already very common, especially the opponent was the German army with good coordination capabilities... It is
A very dangerous and even suicidal tactic.
After a fierce bombardment, Major Leohard, the commander of the German 30th Infantry Battalion, realized that the Russians would launch an attack on the defense line he was stationed on, so he immediately ordered the soldiers to prepare for battle, and at the same time asked the adjutant and the heavy barracks
get in touch.
"Russian tanks!" someone shouted, and the Russian shelling had not stopped yet.
Major Leohard raised his binoculars and looked toward the forest, and sure enough, he saw several tanks slowly driving out from the edge of the forest.
"It's T34!" Major Leohard couldn't help being surprised. He knew that this kind of tank was difficult to deal with, and the anti-tank guns in their hands could only penetrate it at close range.
But then he was half relieved... Only the five tanks in front were T34, and the large number of tanks following behind were all T26.
Strangely, these tanks were not accompanied by infantry.
"What's going on?" Major Leohard asked the adjutant.
"Look there, Major!" The adjutant, who was also holding a telescope, pointed to the right wing: "On the right side of the woods, the cavalry!"
"Cavalry?" Major Leohard was confused for a moment. He had never seen this kind of tactic before. The cavalry was not infantry but cavalry in coordination with tanks.
It is said that this was an attempt by the Soviet Supreme Command. They believed that the infantry could not keep up with the speed of the tanks during the charge, but the cavalry could, so the cavalry and tanks could rush towards the enemy's defense line at high speed.
What they have not considered is... the coordination between infantry and tanks will indeed slow down the overall attack speed, but tanks can provide protection and firepower for infantry, and infantry can provide information for tanks, clear roadblocks, etc. This is mutually complementary coordination.
On the contrary, cavalry and tanks can indeed synchronize in speed, but they are actually different arms that are difficult to coordinate with each other. They actually fight independently.
The Soviet cavalry is on the right side of the woods.
At the front was the reconnaissance team, and then the outpost consisting of fifty cavalry. Their riding skills were superb, because Major Leohard discovered that they could control the horses to move forward while raising their guns and shooting.
In a moment, there were more and more cavalry, and the number increased to thousands. They rushed out of the woods along a wide front, one team after another, and then charged towards the German defense line with strange screams.
"Regimental-level cavalry charge!" Leohard immediately reported the situation to the artillery: "The distance is 2,500 yards!"
"2000 yards away!"
…
When Major Leohard reported at 1,500 yards, the whistling sound of artillery shells rang in the air, and then the Russian cavalry unit, which had been so majestic just now, immediately became a mess... The German army had 30 soldiers in 1941.
A heavy artillery battalion equipped with 210mm caliber howitzers. This large-caliber howitzer is usually used when attacking Soviet defense lines, because it weighs 6.57 tons and is not easy to maneuver. At the same time, the weight of the shells will also put great pressure on logistics.
Of course, the German army at this time no longer cared so much.
Cannonballs exploded in the cavalry team. The cannonballs blasted a crater in the ground and raised a cloud of mud. At the same time, they also threw the horses and cavalry into the air and then fell heavily back to the ground.
Screams, horses neighing, gunshots and cannons were heard all the time.
But the Soviet cavalry did not stop charging. They galloped towards the German defense line one after another, braving artillery fire and rain of bullets. However, as round after round of artillery shells exploded in the team, the cavalry and horses were thrown into pieces.
They fell in pieces on the battlefield...
Cavalry is actually not suitable for modern warfare.
The reason is that they are too fragile, especially the cavalry who are riding high on their horses. The shrapnel exploded by the shells will fly high in a radial pattern, which will exponentially increase the casualty rate of the cavalry. They will be torn apart by the shrapnel on their horses.
into pieces.
Even if it is not the rider but the horse that is hit by shrapnel, or the horse is frightened or injured by the shell shock wave... the rider may be injured, and it is often fatal, even if they are cavalry who grew up riding horses.
Occasionally, a few cavalry horses were lucky enough to break through the German artillery blockade, but they soon fell into the mud under the fire of German machine guns.
In the blink of an eye, the corpses of horses and riders were everywhere in front of the position. Some were torn into pieces, and some were trampled on each other to injury or death. There were some surviving horses scattered in the field, and they fled back with their survival instincts.
The woods or other directions were far away from the battlefield. The injured cavalry could only cry, struggle or try to escape on the battlefield.
Major Leohard's approach of using artillery to deal with the cavalry was wise, because if the cavalry was defeated, the tanks would completely lose coordination.
In fact, even if there is cavalry, there is no coordination. To be precise, the tank will expose its right wing, or side armor, to the German defense line. The Germans only need to adjust the anti-tank gun in one direction, and can easily target the charging tank, and then
One after another they were destroyed. Even the leading T34s were no exception.
"The enemy's firepower is very fierce, and we can't break through their defense line!" Colonel Abram, commander of the 27th Tank Brigade, reported to his superiors. He was not timid, but just thought that another method of attack should be used.
But he soon became disappointed.
A firm and stern tone came from the walkie-talkie: "You must break through and execute the order at all costs, otherwise you will accept the people's judgment!"
Therefore, Colonel Abram could only continue to order the tanks and cavalry to continue charging forward.
The 27th Tank Brigade took less than a week from its establishment to participating in the war. There were very few T34 tanks assigned to it, and the T26 tanks were unable to withstand the fire of German anti-tank guns and heavy artillery.
In fact, even the T34 cannot do much without the coordination of infantry.