"A new tank?" Shulka couldn't help being surprised: "Are you sure?"
"Yes, I'm sure!" Vasily nodded and replied: "I recognized at least three of them from their outlines!"
In fact, Shulka knew that Vasily would not admit his mistake.
Because since the previous "Tiger" was captured, the Soviet army has distributed pictures and photos to various units... The "Tiger" tank is still a secret to the German army. The German army's secret, then the Soviet army should let it be known.
Everybody knows.
Of course, the more important thing is that the "Tiger" has powerful firepower and defensive capabilities. Almost all Soviet anti-tank guns are helpless against it, so preparations should be made as early as possible.
Of course, Vasily had also seen photos of the "Tiger", and as a sniper, he had very good eyesight, so it was basically impossible to see them wrong.
Shurka then understood that those "Tiger" tanks were preparations made by the German army to cross the river or attack the train station after dawn.
Shulka's guess was correct. Major General Jonas specially deployed five "Tiger" tanks from the rear to provide cover.
Paulus also objected to this.
"It's not mature yet, Jonas!" Paulus said with some worry: "You know, before I rushed into battle, I found that this kind of tank was not safe enough and could easily malfunction during battle!"
"I know, General!" Major General Jonas replied: "But we need it because we have to capture the enemy's train station and hold it! We can't repeat the previous experience, capturing the enemy's position during the day and then again at night.
Being taken away by them is actually a useless effort. It's like we are spinning in circles, gaining nothing but consuming soldiers and ammunition!"
What Major General Jonas said is indeed true. The Battle of Stalingrad was in this dilemma at this time.
At the same time, Paulus felt that Jonas was right. What they needed was to hold on to the railway station, so the "Tiger" did not need much maneuverability. It only needed to be placed in an important position and it could immediately become a
A strong support point.
This is almost invincible given air superiority.
Thinking of this, Paulus agreed to Major General Jonas's request and transferred five "Tiger" vehicles in relatively good condition to Stalingrad.
In fact, it shouldn't be called "tune", these "Tiger" were originally in Stalingrad.
This is because Paulus found that the German army was in a dilemma in the battle of Stalingrad, and he sought medical treatment in a hurry, hoping to use some other "advantageous" equipment to launch an attack on the Soviet army to change the situation.
"Tiger" is one of them, and "Big Gun" is also one of them.
At this time, Paulus or the German army had gradually fallen into a vicious cycle. When they were indecisive for a long time, what they often thought about was not seeking breakthroughs in strategy and tactics, but hoping to use some kind of weapons and equipment to attack the enemy.
The enemy forces the enemy to surrender.
Such equipment does exist, such as the atomic bomb that the United States will soon develop.
But this is not what the V-series missiles developed by Germany can do.
In fact, at this time, it is more important to consider whether a tank like the "Tiger" is suitable for the current war and whether it is cost-effective.
It's like drinking poison to quench thirst. The more we lose on the battlefield, the more we hope to have an absolute advantage in equipment and defeat the enemy in one fell swoop. In the end, we actually produced the "Rat" that was completely unable to be used on the battlefield.
Five "Tiger" tanks were transported by engineers on flatbed trucks to the south bank of the Tsaritsa River by rail.
Originally, Major General Jonas hoped to mount them on a train and transport them to the north shore along with supplies, but problems arose after the engineers measured them.
"We have not replaced the tracks of the 'new tank', General!" the engineer reported: "This is determined by the fact that the tanks are in a state of readiness. They are required to be ready for combat at any time..."
"Don't say that!" Major General Jonas interrupted the engineer: "Just tell me what's wrong!"
"The rails are not in the center!" the engineer replied: "You know, they were once broken by bombs. When our people repaired them, they artificially moved the right side a little to avoid the crater..."
"What impact will it have?!" Major General Jonas emphasized again, he was going crazy with this verbose engineer.
"The 'new tank' cannot be towed on a train across a bridge!" The engineer finally got to the point: "Its tracks will hit the steel beams of the railway bridge and get stuck there!"
Only then did Major General Jonas realize that there was a big problem.
"Is there any solution?" Major General Jonas asked.
"There are two solutions!" the engineer replied: "One is to replace the tank with narrow tracks specially used for transportation, and then replace them with wide tracks for combat after passing the railway bridge!"
"Then do it!" Major General Jonas asked angrily: "Why do you still report to me?"
"Because it takes at least ten hours!" the engineer explained: "And it also takes time to test the car, because we can't guarantee that it will work properly after replacing the track!"
It was only then that Major General Jonas realized how poor the "safety" of this new tank was.
Ten hours? This means that by the time the "new tank" is ready, it will be noon the next day, which may force the German army to postpone the plan to attack the railway station for another day... and then they will not be able to attack at night.
And this is something Major General Jonas cannot accept.
The reason is obvious. The longer the delay, the more reinforcements and even artillery the Soviet army sent to the railway station.
After a moment of silence, Major General Jonas asked again: "So, what about another method?"
"The offset is the rails!" the engineer replied: "But the width of the railway bridge is just enough for the 'new tank' to pass, which may take two hours!"
"Then do it!"
"but……"
"No buts!" Major General Jonas said, "Just do it!"
"Yes, General!"
The engineers originally wanted to remind Major General Jonas that if the tank failed in the middle of the bridge, the consequences would be very serious.
This is one of the reasons why it takes two hours to cross the bridge in "Tiger Style".
Engineers need to completely overhaul the "Tiger" to prevent them from driving to the bridge and lying down, and they also need to pass one by one, otherwise they will accidentally get stuck on the bridge with several vehicles and cannot move.
In fact, from the engineering point of view, they are more inclined to change the tracks, but since Major General Jonas gave the order, they have to carry it out.
So, five "Tiger" vehicles stopped at the bridge head and prepared to pass the railway bridge one by one.
Just as they were passing one, the Soviet troops fought along the river bank to the bridgehead.
After thinking about it, Shulka ordered Vasily: "Contact the artillery and our mortar units immediately to concentrate fire on the bridgehead!" (To be continued)