Major General Vladimir's estimate was accurate. The 1st Guards Tank Brigade completed the landing under intense 16 hours of work...one of the tanks was damaged.
The tank was being lifted at the time, and the staff turned on the lights for a while because the barge's position was a little wrong.
The German BF110 immediately swooped down under the light, followed by a string of bullets and artillery shells.
Unfortunately, several steel cables of the crane were hit and broke. The tank lost its balance and fell heavily from mid-air, causing a big hole in the barge below. The barge soon took in water and sank, taking more than a dozen soldiers with it.
He fell into the water. Although he was shivering with cold when he was rescued, fortunately his life was not in danger.
Then the 1st Guards Tank Brigade prepared for battle in Feodosia.
Katukov pointed to the map and said: "They occupied highlands No. 3, No. 5, and No. 6 along the road, and set up anti-tank gun positions on the highlands, including several Pak40..."
Shulka knew what this meant. With the armor-piercing capability of the Pak40, if these highlands were not captured, it would mean that the Soviet tank troops would not be able to pass along the road at all, so of course they would not be able to raid Zhankoy.
"They were given a head start!" Lieutenant Colonel Zahakawicz said with some regret.
This is indeed the case.
If the German army was a step late, even a few hours late, it would be the Soviet army and not the German army that would occupy those high ground.
High ground, especially the high ground beside the highway, has always been a battleground for military strategists, and often only a small number of troops need to be deployed to cause the enemy a headache.
The same is true for the Soviet army now, especially when there are many German troops stationed in the highlands. Some deploy a reinforced company, some deploy a battalion in echelons, and their main force is deployed in depth to build a defensive line.
It is conceivable that once the Soviet tank troops attacked the German troops along the road, they would immediately be flanked by the German troops from three sides.
"It seems that we can only attack the enemy's highlands!" Katukov said: "Only by taking these highlands one by one can we continue to attack!"
"But Colonel..." Lieutenant Colonel Gavrilov said: "This means that we will be locked in tension with the enemy, and then the enemy's reinforcements will arrive in batches, and our chance to attack Zhankoy and surround them will be gone.
It’s lost!”
"Don't think about Zhankoy anymore!" Katukov shook his head and replied: "When the enemy's 46th Division returned to defend Feodosia, we had already lost the opportunity to raid Zhankoy. Now, we should consider it more
How to consolidate the immediate results, which is to regain the Kerch Peninsula!"
Katukov was right. The German 46th Division used the terrain to block it, and it was basically impossible to break through in a short time.
All that can be done now is to regain the Kerch Peninsula that the Germans gave up.
This can be regarded as a great success, and the Soviet army, including the Supreme Command, will cheer for this victory.
On the one hand, this is because the Soviet army was defeated all the way in the battle on the southern front, but now it has reversed.
On the other hand, the situation of the Soviet army was excellent at this time.
As mentioned before, the Soviet army has the solid Sevastopol Fortress in the south and the Kerch Peninsula in the east, which is easy to defend and difficult to attack. In addition, the Soviet army has an absolute advantage in military strength. It can form a two-sided attack on the German army entering Crimea.
potential.
In particular, there is a crisis. At any time the Soviet army breaks through the defenses of the German 46th Division, it is possible that the German army will be blocked in Crimea with nowhere to escape.
As a result, the German offensive in the Crimea could almost be said to be defeated.
But Shulka knew that was not the case.
Because historically the Soviet army did regain the Kerch Peninsula as it does now and transferred several armies from the Caucasus to garrison the Kerch Peninsula to support Sevastopol.
But the cunning Manstein used the method of "leading the snake out of the hole" to lure the Soviet troops stationed in Kerch out... He pretended to attack with all his strength and blockaded Sevastopol, allowing the Soviet troops to take the initiative to attack from the Kerch Peninsula in waves.
They launched waves of attacks on the highlands where the German troops were stationed, in order to consume their strength and morale, and then launched a surprise counterattack with armored forces to retake the Kerch Peninsula.
Ironically, the commander who was tricked by Manstein and finally lost the Kerch Peninsula was precisely Myhlis.
To be precise, it was not Maekhlis, but Lieutenant General Kozlov, commander of the Crimean Front.
But everyone knew that Lieutenant General Kozlov was the one who took the blame, and the person who actually commanded this battle was the representative of the Supreme Command, Maekhlis.
But when Mahlis reported to Stalin, he shamelessly kept himself out of the matter, complaining blindly about the commander's poor command and the soldiers being cowardly... The fact is that the soldiers under the command of Mahlis were meaningless.
Another wave rushed towards the enemy's guns.
Stalin's criticism of Maekhlis was: "You have adopted a strange, irresponsible bystander position on the affairs of the Crimean Front. This position is convenient, but utterly rotten. On the Crimean Front,
You are not a bystander, but a responsible representative of the Supreme Command. You should be responsible for all successes and failures of the front army, and you should correct the mistakes in the leadership of the front army on the spot!"
Therefore, it was not that Stalin did not know what the facts were, but he was not objective in employing people, just like Kulik.
Mahlis was demoted as a result, but was promoted again not long after.
Of course, Shulka wouldn't let this happen.
At this time Shulka has two options:
One is to take a breath first and let the Soviet army gain a foothold on the Kerch Peninsula before making plans.
The other is to attack and capture Koy with lightning speed now, completely defeating the Soviet offensive against Crimea.
The former may be easier, that is, you can take your time.
And with Shulka here, the Soviet army would certainly not be allowed to launch a brainless suicidal charge against the German army under the command of Mae Helis like in history.
The problem is that Sulka is a little worried about Manstein... Manstein was a staff officer and was also a commander who was good at strategy.
Now was the time when Manstein was eager to launch a "blitzkrieg" in the hope of quickly raiding the Caucasus, which is when he made a mistake in his haste.
Shulka was worried that if he missed this moment when the battle situation stabilized and Manstein calmed down, it would be difficult to defeat him.
Therefore, Shulka believes that it is more reasonable to choose the latter, that is, to give Manstein a hard blow when he is not in good condition. Although the latter will be more difficult... people sometimes have such inertia and can do it later.
Just do it later, especially in battles. Fight later if you can, because it may mean dying later.
Shulka also had this idea, especially now that he could stop and enjoy the joy of victory.
But Shulka knew he had to overcome this inertia.
In other words, it is necessary to quickly break through the German 46th Division's defense line and occupy Chankoy while it occupies the high ground.