Soviet fighter planes immediately flew over the 1st Guards Tank Brigade.
This is a prerequisite for armored forces to fight...Although tanks have the advantages of firepower, protection and mobility, they also have the disadvantage of clumsy response to targets, which makes them a good target for enemy aircraft, and they are not even targets.
Pass.
This is one of the reasons why the German army attaches great importance to the development of its air force. Air superiority is a prerequisite for "blitzkrieg".
Therefore, the German "Blitzkrieg" failed to work in the late World War II, not only because the German army suffered heavy losses and its quality declined, but also because the German Air Force had lost its air superiority due to the large-scale investment of American fighters, bombers, and transport aircraft.
Once the air superiority is lost, the maneuverability of the armored forces is a joke. Most of them are always blown up on the way to the target. By the time they arrive at the destination, they are already defeated and unable to fight.
At this time, the Soviet Air Force had the advantage, and the Supreme Command also valued Tver's willingness to provide air assistance to the 1st Guards Tank Brigade. Katukov certainly would not give up this opportunity.
More than twenty Soviet fighter planes provided cover over Tver and even to the west, and there were about a hundred fighter planes on standby. Once the German fighter planes were dispatched, they would be intercepted by Soviet fighter planes.
On this basis, the 1st Guards Tank Brigade immediately launched an artillery attack on the railway.
In fact, the Soviet army could always bomb German railways.
Such as long-range artillery fire, bomber bombing, etc.
Unfortunately, Moscow has long days and short nights at this time, with fifteen hours of darkness a day.
Moreover, the German army organized a large number of Soviet civilians to do labor, and the railways were bombed and repaired at the same time, so the blockade effect with artillery fire and bombers was not effective. Especially, although the Luftwaffe was at a disadvantage, it had a single quality advantage... The Luftwaffe was at a disadvantage because
Because factors such as cold weather and insufficient fuel have greatly reduced the lift-off rate, they still have advantages in terms of fighter performance and pilot quality.
But it's different now.
The railway is only two hundred meters away from Tver, and it is also under the Tver Bridge... The railway was built on the river.
Soviet tanks and even light mortars can easily blow it up.
What's worse is that the German army cannot repair it. Anyone sent to repair it will undoubtedly be suppressed by Soviet firepower.
As a result, the German army's transportation was simply cut off.
The most tragic thing was actually the German troops deployed in the tunnel of the Tverskaya Bridge.
Most of them were machine gunners, snipers, and anti-tank artillerymen. When they went down, they were lifted into the bridge hole by ropes.
But the occupation of the bridge deck means that they have no way out, and the bridge hole is dozens of meters away from the river. If the river is filled with river water, it will be fine, and they can escape by jumping down, but it is frozen.
Ice.
As a result, the German troops in the bridge cave were trapped in a dilemma.
The actor stuck his head out and looked down. There was a "bang" sound, and a bullet flew up and knocked his hat off. It hit the bridge, bounced, rolled in the opposite direction for a distance, and then fell to the bridge.
Down.
The surrounding soldiers roared with laughter.
"Go after your hat, Okunev!"
"I heard that you have a habit of hiding horsebox cigarettes in your hat?
…
This is indeed a habit of actors. The reason is that if the temperature is too low and the horse box cigarette is placed in the iron box and put in the coat pocket as usual, the result will usually be that it will be frozen and cannot be opened at all.
This is intolerable for actors.
So he put the tobacco in a small cloth bag and put it on the top of the hat.
In his words, this way you can keep warm and feel the flavor of tobacco at all times. More importantly, you can smoke whenever you want without having to worry about the tobacco being frozen into powder like ice cubes.
At this time, the actor regretted it too much and watched helplessly as the hat with tobacco shreds flew under the bridge and disappeared.
"These sons of bitches!" the actor gritted his teeth with hatred.
He hesitated for a moment, and then quickly ran to the carriage... The carriage was the standard configuration of the 1st Guards Tank Brigade, and each company was equipped with one to several vehicles to transport supplies.
Horse-drawn carriages might be low-end elsewhere, but not in Soviet winters.
The reason is that the car needs fuel, it will be frozen and difficult to start at low temperatures, and the wheels will get stuck in thick snow and cannot move, etc.
At this time, the carriage is more convenient, because it only needs to replace the wheels with a sled, and then it can run very fast under the drag of the horses, and even the load capacity is not low because of the use of the sled.
The actor took out a Molotov cocktail from the carriage, lit it with a "bullet lighter", and then quickly reached out and flicked it into the bridge hole below. With a "pop" sound, a fire ignited in the bridge hole.
Screams followed, and the German soldiers in the bridge hole had no choice but to hide... At first, they could hide on the other side of the bridge hole, but the fire would spread between the ammunition boxes.
In fact, what is more important are the German soldiers who were ignited. Surrounded by flames, they had already lost their minds in the extreme pain. At that time, people always reflexively rushed to their comrades in the hope of getting help, so they soon
There were flames everywhere, and there was the sound of ammunition exploding.
Some German soldiers couldn't bear the pain and simply jumped from the bridge hole, and then fell to the ice of the river with a "bang" sound.
Shulka couldn't see clearly how they fell to death, because the flames on their bodies were still burning, and all he could see were clouds of black smoke.
This is a wake-up call for others.
Before this, it was not easy for the Soviet army to attack the enemy in the bridge hole, because like the actor before, as soon as he pointed his head to aim, he would be shot by the enemy below...especially if the target directly below was not ready.
It's easy to aim, because if you are not careful, you will fall under the bridge.
But it would be much easier to throw Molotov cocktails like an actor.
So without saying a word, the others took the Molotov cocktails from the carriage, lit them, and threw them one after another at the bridge opening below.
During this period, some German soldiers shouted anxiously: "No, no, don't do this, we surrender!"
But it was of no use. The Soviet troops who carried out the insertion mission did not keep prisoners. They did not have the energy or conditions to take prisoners. Prisoners would not only distract the soldiers' energy, but also present many uncertain dangers, such as when it gets dark.
When the Germans attacked.
So, Molotov cocktails were thrown down one by one, and screams rang out. Soon the whole bridge was filled with flames and thick smoke, and German soldiers with fire heads jumped from the bridge opening.
This cruel scene made the nearby German troops tremble with fear.
"This is what they deserve!" the instructor said beside Shulka: "This is the fate of the invaders!"