In fact, Shulka was not necessarily better than Manstein. In fact, Shulka was certainly inferior to Manstein in terms of commanding art and psychological quality. After all, Manstein was from a military family and graduated from a military academy.
of.
Shulka's advantage, on the one hand, is that he has more knowledge. This is very important because it directly leads to many things or intelligence that Manstein does not know or is uncertain about. In Shulka, this is already certain.
, which is equivalent to a magical calculation.
Secondly, Shulka knew about Manstein's opponent, but Manstein did not know that his opponent was Shulka. Before that, Manstein had always thought that his opponent was a Russian general who only knew how to fight fiercely.
.
When Shulka returned to his unit, the 1st Guards Tank Brigade had already arrived at Chamkoy and launched an attack.
Shulka immediately reported to Katukov as he answered, which was the order he received when he was still in Feodosia.
"Colonel!" Shulka saluted in front of Katukov who was looking at the map.
"Oh, Comrade Shulka!" Katukov raised his head, and then a smile appeared on his face: "Well done, you successfully bought us about ten hours of time!"
"Our commando team has arrived at the Xinzhan Highway, right?"
"Yes!" Katukov nodded: "They also brought a batch of landmines. In addition, our air force also airdropped a batch of landmines before dark. They will lay these mines on the road! Of course.
, these mines will probably not be able to trap the enemy’s 28th Infantry Division!”
Shulka certainly knew this.
Just as it was difficult for the German army to trap the Soviet army with landmines, it was also difficult for the Soviet army to lay mines to trap the German army in the winter when everything was frozen, because the troops relied less on roads, especially the infantry with less heavy equipment.
division.
But this would at least slow down the march of the 28th Infantry Division, especially if the commandos planted a few mines on the roadside from time to time.
In this way, the time of the two troops who originally had about the same distance was stretched.
"Now our target is it!" Katukov pointed to a point on the map and said: "Zhankoy!"
The reason why Zhankoy is important is that it is the transportation hub of the Crimean Peninsula. Almost all Crimean roads and railways need to pass through Zhankoy.
More importantly, more areas between the Crimean Peninsula and mainland Ukraine are disconnected. A large area is either a lake or a bay, with only a narrow strip of land connecting the two.
This isthmus is called Perekop. It is bounded by Lake Sivash to the east and Kalkinit Bay connected to the Black Sea to the west. The narrowest point is only 8 kilometers, which means that as long as the 8-kilometer-wide isthmus is held,
, the German army would not be able to enter Crimea and threaten the safety of the Soviet troops stationed there.
And Zhankoy is located at the exit of the Dijia... The exit of the Dijia is only about 50 kilometers away from Zhankoy. Zhankoy can become an excellent logistics supply and troop mobilization base for blockade of the Dijia.
But it was such an important place that was blocked by one man and that no one could access, but the DeBlancenburg troops easily knocked on the door.
Now, once the Soviet army captures Zhankoy, it can immediately threaten and blockade the Perekop Tract, so that reinforcements from outside cannot enter and the German troops inside cannot get out.
"They built a line of defense outside the city!" Katukov said: "The big enemy is two miles outside the city!"
"Outside the city?" Shulka was surprised when he heard this.
The German army should know that their opponent is the Soviet armored force, and the advantage of the armored force is in field combat. They should make use of their strengths and avoid their weaknesses and choose to fight in the streets in the city.
So from the beginning to the end, Shulka believed that the battle would be fought in the city and was ready for street fighting.
But now the reality is exactly the opposite. They actually chose to build a defense line outside the city.
"Is it because the terrain is conducive to defense?" Shulka asked.
"No!" Katukov casually took out a topographic map in front of Shulka and said: "The average altitude of Zhankoy is only 20 meters, which can be said to be flat!"
Hearing this, Shulka couldn't help but frown, which was even more strange.
"They dug an anti-tank trench!" Katukov made a mark on the terrain map: "Of course there are mines, barbed wire, roadblocks and the like, but of course they know they can't stop us!"
"They must have something that can threaten us!" Shulka said.
"I think so too, but what would it be?" Katukov said: "PAK40? Or 88MM anti-aircraft gun?"
"Although they can pose a threat to us, they are not strong enough to block our attack!" Shulka said.
This is obvious, because the German army also equipped these two types of equipment before, but they also failed to block the attack of the T34 troops.
"No matter what it is!" Katukov said after being silent for a while: "We must attack immediately!"
Of course, we must attack, because time is tight, and any hesitation will be a waste of the time Shulka bought.
Thus, the battle against Zhankoy began within a few minutes.
The first thing to be carried out was of course a violent bombing.
The bombing mission was carried out by Mekhlis... to be precise, it was an artillery regiment and a rocket launcher battalion that Shulka transferred from Feodosia.
Otherwise, the size of the 1st Guards Tank Brigade, which only has one artillery battalion, is simply not enough to launch a large-scale bombing.
This has become a common occurrence for Shulka.
Because it was the 2nd Tank Battalion and the 2nd Infantry Battalion that launched the attack, Shurka could lie down in the trench in front of the headquarters and observe with a telescope.
This is a rare leisure and experience. You are always in the danger and pressure of war. Occasionally you will feel lucky to be a bystander... because at this time you can't help but have this thought: At least those who are on the battlefield now
It's them, not me, at least now I'm safe.
The artillery shells flew towards the enemy's position one after another. The rockets hit the ground with bright lines and whistling sounds, and then bursts of fireballs exploded amidst explosions and vibrations.
Barbed wire fences, roadblocks, and landmines were lifted into the air in pieces.
The bombing lasted twenty minutes.
Then Katukov gave an order, and the 2nd Tank Battalion "rumbled" towards the enemy's position under the instructions of flares and tracer bullets.
At this time, the T34 tank was not only the pride and honor of the Soviet army, but also a kind of safety for the soldiers.
Of course, there is no absolute safety on the battlefield, and accidents may happen at any time.
However, if you know that the enemy's tank must be within a hundred meters to penetrate you, you will naturally feel proud and relieved, because no matter what, you will always be much better than the enemy's tank soldiers.