Of course Kubile and von Funk didn't know that it was a tank unit formed by elites. They took it for granted that these were tanks that the Soviets were unwilling to give up the assistance of the British and Americans, so they randomly arranged some tank troops to put them there.
They are sent to the battlefield.
Therefore, they can also deduce that the training of this unit is insufficient because they do not have much time to train and are not even familiar with the use of these British and American equipment.
There are even other problems such as improper maintenance, the inability of the two tanks to cooperate, and so on.
Therefore, they believed that the German armored forces could easily defeat this armored division.
That's exactly what they did, so when the battle against the Russian 2nd Guards Tank Brigade was a foregone conclusion, they separated the 7th Armored Division to deal with the "British and American Armored Divisions".
"Do you know?" Major General von Funk shouted excitedly to his subordinates on the walkie-talkie in the tank: "What we have to deal with are British and American tanks. Yes, these guys gave the tanks to Russia.
Man. Do you know where these tanks have fought against our armies? Africa! Our Afrika Korps have defeated them time and time again... we can do the same!"
Then, during the march, Major General von Funk gave a brief introduction to the appearance and performance of various types of tanks to all tank crews.
Many of the German tank soldiers are actually no strangers to the "Matilda" tank. The reason is that the British Army in France once equipped the "Matilda" to fight the German army, and the 7th Armored Division happened to fight the British army.
The fighting troops.
"Its armor is very thick, but its speed and firepower are very weak!" A subordinate replied: "We fought against this tank in France!"
"That's the 'Matilda 1'!" Von Funk reminded: "The British improved this tank after Dunkirk. They called it the 'Matilda 2', but you said
By the way, although it has been improved, its performance characteristics are just as you said, the armor is thick and the firepower is insufficient, so we have to use speed to attack their sides and rear!"
"Or fight them in close combat!"
"Yes, or fight them in close combat!" Von Funk agreed with this view.
The reason is simple. It is not easy to attack the target tank in a tank battle, even against the very slow "Matilda".
Because when the German tank detoured and turned to the side, the "Matilda" tank only needed to turn a corner to change its direction, so its frontal armor faced the German tank again.
Even in extreme cases, the "Matilda" tanks can form a circle like a hedgehog, so that no part of the tank can be penetrated.
Therefore, if there are not many more tanks than the enemy and they have an innate advantage... For example, just now, two German armored divisions faced a Soviet tank brigade, plus a beautiful ambush, so the Soviet army had no time to react.
It can attack the side and rear armor of T34 with just one move.
But now it was an under-equipped armored division versus a tank brigade, and the Soviet army was still prepared.
If you want to attack its side and rear armor, the only way is close combat, that is, breaking into the enemy tank group and starting a melee... Such a battle is beneficial to the German army, because the German tanks are fast and the tank crews cooperate well with each other, and the infantry-tank coordination is also better.
good.
At least that's what von Funke thinks.
Therefore, Feng Funke had made up his mind at this time. If it was not so easy to threaten his flank, he should immediately choose close combat.
"Target found!" At this time, the leading troops driving ahead reported to Major General Feng Funke: "One thousand meters away, one o'clock position!"
Major General von Funke immediately got out of the turret, then raised his telescope and looked in the direction of the report from the leading troops.
Sure enough, he saw a tank troop slowly heading towards them. He made a careful distinction, and then his hanging heart was completely relieved... Those were indeed "Matilda" tanks.
Not t34.
At this time, he already had a psychological shadow on T34. As long as it was not T34, Feng Funke believed that it would not be a problem for his armored division.
What's more, these British and American tanks were defeated by Rommel. If Rommel could defeat them, of course he could defeat them too!
"Keep going!" Feng Funke ordered loudly.
The Soviet army on the other side also discovered the German tanks at the same time, so the whole team immediately became nervous.
"They are coming!" Lieutenant Colonel Gavrilov shouted: "Stay in formation and fight as you did in training!"
Lieutenant Colonel Gavrilov was obviously a little nervous, because he had never given an order like this before... As a regiment commander, he should command the entire unit or let the battalion commander pass on the order, but now he is shouting at the soldiers
call.
However, this does not seem surprising, because this is the first time that the 1st Guards Tank Brigade has used British and American tanks to fight the enemy. Although this tactic is theoretically feasible with the rocket launcher, no one has really verified it.
After waiting for a while, following Lieutenant Colonel Zahakavich's order, the M3 medium tank opened fire.
This is not because Lieutenant Colonel Zahakavich is nervous, but this is the original plan... The 75mm gun of the M3 medium tank has a long-range advantage, and at the same time, it is faster. Even if it stops firing, it can easily
Catching up with "Matilda".
"Boom boom" followed by a blast of artillery, several rows of artillery shells flew towards the German tank group.
The Soviet army, including the Soviet tank crews, did not have any hope for these shells because they were not easy to aim (the 75mm gun had a narrow firing range and could almost only be aimed directly at the enemy), so the medium-sized M3 often needed to adjust the orientation of the body.
If you aim again during this process, the target may have escaped from the shooting range again.
But what surprised everyone was that two German tanks were destroyed by the shooting of thirty-five M3s.
This also surprised Major General von Funke.
"The problem is not as simple as we think, guys!" Von Funk said on the walkie-talkie: "I know what they are doing. The 'Matilda' tank has a strong defense, and the 'General Grant'
'But it has a 75mm gun!"
"Yes, General!" the subordinate replied: "If we fight them from a distance, we will have to face the armor of the Matilda and the artillery of the General Grant at the same time!"
"I have to say..." Major General von Funke said: "I am a little surprised by these Ivans, but it does not change the fact that they are about to fail!"
Having said this, Major General Funk paused, and then immediately ordered: "Launch smoke grenades, and we will fight them in close combat!"
"Yes, General!"
So soon several smoke bombs hit the middle of the battlefield.
At that moment, Shulka knew that the Germans had been fooled.