Needless to say, what happened next was that Soviet tanks crowded on the main road one after another and were blown up by the Germans. Soon the main road was blocked by tank wreckage.
The wreckage of these tanks could not even be pushed away because there was a steep slope from the bottom up. At the same time, the "Matilda" tank had thick armor and lacked horsepower. More importantly, the road was icy and the tracks had no power, so the tank soon
There is no way out.
The infantry could climb up the steep wall of the river, but this would be of no use. They were quickly shot down by rows of bullets from the German machine guns, leaving only pools of blood in the snow.
and corpses.
Katukov was silent for a while, and then ordered to the staff beside him: "Retreat!"
"yes!"
Katukov raised his telescope and looked at the battlefield and asked: "What do you think, Comrade Shulka? Maybe Comrade Zahakavich is right, we should bypass this place instead of attacking!"
Shulka did not answer.
If they encounter a place that is impossible or difficult to conquer, the German army usually bypasses or surrounds it instead of fighting to the death.
But Rzhev is different.
The reason is that Rzhev is an important support point of the German defense line. As mentioned before, a radius of ten kilometers is within the blockade of its artillery. Coupled with the rapid maneuvering of German horse-drawn sleds, the result of bypassing it is
It is easy for the German army to fill the gap in the defense line again and then be surrounded like the main nine divisions of the 29th and 39th Group Army.
"I think we need to better understand the terrain of Rzhev!" Shurka said.
Katukov answered simply: "No problem!"
This is indeed no problem, because this is the Soviet Union, including Rzhev. There are always a few soldiers in the Soviet army who have lived or grown up in Rzhev or have been there.
In fact, Katukov had already asked his men to search for him when the Soviet army attacked, so when Shulka followed him back to the headquarters, there were already two soldiers there describing it to the staff.
"Comrade Colonel!" Seeing Katukov return, the staff reported: "These are Sergeant Dorofevich and Sergeant Yevdokim. They grew up in Rzhev!"
Katukov walked aside and picked up a glass of hot water, then raised his head towards Shulka and said, "Leave it to you!"
"Comrade Shulka!" When Shulka stepped forward, the two of them excitedly saluted Shulka:
"Nice to meet you!"
"Do you need anything from us?"
"Yes!" Shulka said: "I want to know besides the main road, are there any other roads in Rzhev?"
"There is indeed such a road!" Staff Sergeant Dorofevich replied: "Rzhev is not very high in altitude, and there are usually people in all directions, so there are many small roads. The problem is that these small roads are blocked by snow in winter and become inaccessible.
Got it!"
Katukov heard the sound here, and couldn't help but walked up to Shulka with doubts on his face: "Are you planning a sneak attack?"
Katukov thought for a while, then nodded and said: "You are right, this may indeed be a solution... All the German defenses in Rzhev seem to be aimed at tanks. If we attack from the mountain road, it will mean that they
All these arrangements are in vain!”
"But Colonel!" Sergeant Dorofevich said with a horrified look in his eyes: "The mountain road is not only blocked by snow and difficult to pass, but also very narrow. It only takes a few machine guns to seal it!"
"So the Germans don't think we will attack from the mountain roads!" Shulka said: "Even because these mountain roads are covered with ice and snow, they don't even know there are roads there!"
"You're right, Shulka!" Katukov shouted: "They probably don't know about those mountain roads, so of course they won't use machine guns to block them! Why didn't I think of this!"
In fact, this is not Katukov’s fault.
First of all, Katukov is a tank commander. When he is in command, he always considers how to use tanks or tanks to cooperate with artillery and aircraft. It is unimaginable for him to abandon these and use pure infantry to fight.
Secondly, the Soviet army usually did not consider these details in their operations. They carried out more large-scale and mass charges. Sneak attacks like this along small roads are often considered to be tactics used only when fighting guerrilla warfare when the strength is insufficient. Regular troops disdain to use them.
It can even be related to greed for life and fear of death.
Shulka was different. In the wars he knew, a large number of regular troops used guerrilla warfare tactics, such as resisting U.S. aggression and aiding Korea, self-defense counterattacks against Vietnam, etc.
As he spoke, Katukov no longer hesitated. He placed the map in front of Sergeant Dorofevich and said: "Point out all the mountain roads you know!"
"Yes, Colonel!"
"I know there is a road here, on the south side. It is more than one meter wide and can be used by horse-drawn sleighs!"
"No, this one won't work!" Katukov rejected it without thinking: "Although it is convenient for us to pass, it is likely to attract the attention of the Germans!"
Katukov's thinking is correct, so mountain roads should be considered in the direction of extreme danger. The more impossible and dangerous the mountain road is, the safer it will be during combat.
"So..." Sergeant Yevdokim hesitated for a moment, then pointed to the cliff and said: "I know there is also a mountain road here. In fact, it cannot be regarded as a road. Some people found a climbing path here in order to take a shortcut.
The way to climb up and down..."
Katukov glanced at Shulka, and then replied: "Very good, Sergeant Yevdokim, now you have to draw or describe the places and trends of this road. You can
?"
"Of course!" Sergeant Yevdokim replied.
While Sergeant Yevdokim was recalling and drawing this mountain road, Katukov walked aside with Shulka and asked: "Is this the way it is?"
Shulka nodded: "Although this road is dangerous and very difficult to climb, the possibility that the Germans know about it and take precautions against it is very low. At the same time, it is not easy to be exposed during the climb because the entire process
They will all be blocked by cliffs!”
"I think so too!" Katukov said: "We need to find a few soldiers with mountaineering experience!"
It is not difficult to find such soldiers. Before the war broke out, the Soviet Union had 19 mountain divisions.
Although these mountain divisions are either in Kiev or in the Caucasus, it is not difficult to find a few soldiers from the army who have served in the mountain division or have mountaineering experience.
Then, Katukov and Shulka discussed the details of the battle, and the battle plan was finalized.