The entire Soviet plan was divided into three steps.
The first is the frontline infantry. Give them an order to let them know the direction of the battle ahead.
The mission during the day is somewhat similar to Kiev's "barrel defense". The troops are divided into several parts, and then there are defense lines separated by several kilometers, and each line of defense is required to be defended for several hours... This is very important to the 316th Division.
It is not difficult to say that it takes several hours for the German armored divisions to advance a few kilometers through muddy fields and minefields and then organize an attack, and then a period of symbolic defense is over.
The task at night was relatively heavy, that is, to recapture enemy positions, and it was carried out with almost no rest... This was caused by the insufficient strength of the Soviet army.
As mentioned before, since the Soviet army was in passive defense and the reserve forces were used for counterattack, although the total strength was not less than that of the German army, there were always situations where the Soviet army was less than the German army in some areas.
For example, the 316th Division had more than 8,000 troops at this time, and together with the 5,000 troops of the Fourth Tank Brigade, the total strength was only 13,000.
However, the German army has two armored divisions and one infantry division with nearly 30,000 people, not counting the advantages of artillery and air force.
This made the 316th Division's time arrangement very tight. It retreated step by step during the day, and immediately launched a counterattack after a few hours of rest. Moreover, the counterattack was only allowed to win but not lose... Once it was unable to counterattack to the designated area, it meant that the next day
The German army will push forward one step further, which means it will be closer to Moscow. More seriously, it may still threaten the flanks of the friendly forces on both flanks.
Next is the preparation of the 4th Tank Brigade.
Needless to say their preparations, they retreated to twelve kilometers that night for night combat training, flares, tracer bombs, communications, etc.
The more troublesome part of this is communication.
When the visibility is high during the day, waving signal flags can easily be seen by the infantry following the tank. At night, it is a big challenge to conduct unified command, and even communication between the infantry and the tank is difficult... Theoretically speaking, night battles are not suitable for
It would be more advantageous for the German army to have more advanced communication equipment and equip every tank.
However, this problem was finally solved by using a fake signal light. Both the infantry and the following infantry used flashlights covered with black cloth to communicate with each other, using bright and dark colors or circles to express different meanings.
The most important thing is actually the engineers.
The engineers had a lot to do... lay mines, wires and roadblocks, and blow up bridges. After blowing up the bridges, they had to repair the bridges at night so that the Soviet army could counterattack at night.
In addition, several "hidden roads" must be built, which are roads that appear to be muddy but can actually be passed by tanks.
Each of these is not a small project and requires a considerable number of manpower, but this is not a problem for the Soviet army because the Soviet army has many civilians serving as engineers on the front line.
Looking at the people nervously building fortifications on the battlefield, Shulka was a little worried...I wonder if they were one of them?
"They" refers to Shulka's family, and Shulka knew they were building fortifications in this area.
"Don't worry!" The instructor patted Shulka on the shoulder and said, "I have transferred them to Moscow, I mean your parents!"
Shulka couldn't help but look at the instructor in confusion: "How do you know them?"
"Is there anything else I don't know here?" the instructor asked.
So Shulka understood that someone had made a report to the instructor... Sometimes the content of the report was not entirely bad. For example, if Shulka's family members were working on the front line, there was nothing to catch. To be more precise, this was
A kind of "message".
"Thank you, comrade instructor!" Shulka said to the instructor.
"No need to thank me!" the instructor replied: "We need to let the heroes fight with peace of mind on the front line. In addition... they can also become our propaganda targets!"
"Promotion target?"
"Yes!" The instructor nodded: "In a heroic family, the whole family is fighting on the front line. This is a good example for others!"
Shulka couldn't help but smile bitterly. He didn't want this to happen, but after thinking about it, he felt that this was indeed a good thing. It could at least keep them away from the battlefield, so he stopped talking.
The next day was a rare day of good weather, with sunshine and fresh air.
When he got up early in the morning, Colonel Jonas, commander of the German 5th Armored Division, stood next to a Panzer III tank in the misty snowflakes with a telescope and looked at the movements in the direction of the Soviet army.
"Get ready to attack!" Colonel Jonas ordered coldly to the adjutant beside him.
"Yes!" The adjutant immediately conveyed the order via radio.
As a result, fires were lit under the German tanks... The tanks designed by the Germans never considered fighting in severe cold conditions from the beginning. In addition, after freezing all night, they had to be warmed up before starting. (Note: World War II
Most gasoline during the period did not have antifreeze added, so it would freeze easily)
After observing for a while, Colonel Jonas put down the telescope, with some doubts in his blue eyes: "Their strength seems to be smaller than before!"
"Maybe they retreated!" said the adjutant, "or escaped!"
Colonel Jonas shook his head and replied: "This is only more than a hundred kilometers away from Moscow. It is also the last line of defense. They have nowhere to escape!"
After a pause, Colonel Jonas said: "I think they are using some kind of tactic, although I don't know what it is!"
"Tactics?"
"Yes!" Colonel Jonas put away the telescope, looked at the map carefully for a while, and then suddenly understood something: "Reservoir, Istria Reservoir, they may retreat to defend there, even...if necessary
You can also blow it up!"
"Blow up the reservoir? Would the Russians do that?" The adjutant couldn't believe it. After all, it would cause a swamp downstream.
"If we threaten Moscow, do you think they won't do this?" Colonel Jonas asked.
The answer is yes, in order to defend Moscow, the Russians will sacrifice everything.
"We should warn other troops!" Colonel Jonas said: "Let them beware of this. In addition... we should try our best to occupy the reservoir before they blow up it, otherwise we will have to go north and continue to advance towards Moscow!"
"
To a certain extent, Colonel Jonas's concerns were right.
To be precise, what Colonel Jonas is worried about is what happened in history, namely Rokossovsky's defensive measures.
However, what Colonel Jonas did not expect was that the Soviet army had adopted another defensive tactic at this time.
Compared to blowing up the reservoir, this defensive tactic is what he needs to worry about more.