I asked you to escape, but you became a soldier in World War II

Chapter 119 New Tactics of Armored Assault
Judging from the situation of the 4th Guards Tank Brigade, since they have always been fighting on the front line, the troops have suffered severe casualties and the losses of various tank equipment are even more shocking.

At present, the KV tanks of the First Battalion where Lin Chen is located have all been written off, and there are only two T60 light tanks left. The battalion commander, the first company commander, and the third company commander have all died heroically. In other words, although Lin Chen is the company commander of the Second Company, he is actually the highest commander of the First Battalion.

Although this battalion-level commander is somewhat nameless.

The situation of the Second Battalion was slightly better, but it only had two KV1 tanks and several T60s and T34s, all of which were wiped out.

Even so, the entire brigade did not receive any reinforcements and had to prepare for the next counterattack.

Lin Chen first went to meet his subordinates. When he appeared at the second company’s base driving a Type 4 tank painted in Soviet army livery, he attracted a lot of onlookers.

If Lin Chen had not been accompanied in person by the brigade commander, Lieutenant Colonel Parosovich, no one might have recognized him. After all, this company had just experienced a bloody battle and had suffered a serious loss of backbone members.

Although everyone had seen the German Panzer IV before, and even many Red Army soldiers had fallen at the hands of this most produced German tank, this was the first time to observe a complete tank at such a close distance.

Lin Chen did not reject everyone's curiosity. Instead, he generously invited his subordinates to take a look at the cockpit. In his words, how can you effectively fight the opponent if you don't understand the opponent's tank equipment?

After patiently letting everyone watch it, Lin Chen convened the Second Company for the first time under the witness of the Brigade Commander. The Brigade Commander also called people from the First and Third Companies over, which was actually equivalent to tacitly acknowledging Lin Chen as the supreme commander of the First Battalion.

Lieutenant Colonel Parosovich first introduced Lin Chen's experience. Although he did not know about Lin Chen's previous great achievements in the Battle of Stalingrad, just talking about his recent deeds such as driving a Tiger tank back and driving a KV tank to attack the German division headquarters was enough to shock everyone.

Although the tank soldiers present had all experienced major wars, to be honest, this was their first time. Because the veterans always charged in the front when deploying troops, the loss rate of veterans was extremely high.

Faced with such a situation, Lin Chen understood that he must first identify the backbone, otherwise, let alone the First Battalion, even the Second Company would not have much combat effectiveness.

Therefore, based on the military ranks in the battalion, he reorganized the existing tanks into a tank company, with two T60 light tanks as the second platoon, mainly responsible for reconnaissance and dealing with infantry.

The remaining four T34 tanks, together with his own, were organized into a tank platoon as the main force of the assault.

The platoon leader of the second platoon is Lieutenant Sochilovsky, the second highest-ranking officer in the battalion, who is also recognized as the best commander in the battalion.

After Lieutenant Colonel Parosovich and the others had dispersed, he approached Lin Chen and revealed the next action plan.
"Lieutenant Lin Chen, because we have launched a resolute and powerful counterattack on the northern front, Model's Ninth Army is currently facing a thundering attack from the main forces of the Red Army with more than one million men from several fronts. The German army will definitely not be able to withstand the Orel area, so we still have to remain on the defensive on the southern front or just launch a local counterattack to prepare good conditions for the final major counterattack."

This was the information that Lieutenant Colonel Parosovich had just received after attending a military meeting. Originally, he could not tell this to officers of Lin Chen's rank, but on the one hand, he was from the General Staff Headquarters, and on the other hand, his brigade could not attack without this capable general.

"Our brigade's mission is to advance through the Donets River to Rzavets, capture the ferry, cut off the retreat route of the German 6th Armored Division, and create conditions for the main force of the army to completely annihilate the division!"

After hearing this, Lin Chen felt that this task was not easy.
The German 1937th Armored Division, formerly the German st Light Armored Division, was formed in North Rhine-Westphalia, Germany in and is one of the oldest armored divisions in Germany.

Its combat record ranges from the 1938 Sutai Operation, the Czech invasion, the Battle of Poland, the Battle of France to the Eastern Front.

Especially in last year's Battle of Stalingrad, the 6th Armored Division served as the fist force to rescue the German army, which impressed Lin Chen. It was an armored force with extremely strong combat effectiveness.

"Do you know how many German troops are there in Lezavets?" Lin Chen obviously would not lead everyone to die. Only by knowing ourselves and the enemy can we win every battle.

"According to aerial reconnaissance and reports from our scouts, the Germans only have about a company of troops there, and they don't have any heavy weapons. If we can capture this place and blow up the pontoon bridge, the 6th Armored Division will have to take a long detour to cross the river, and then their fuel supply will not be able to keep up!"

"Will the nearby German troops not fight back in the face of a surprise attack on Lezavets?"

"Indeed, there is such a consideration, because there is an armored regiment of the 7th Armored Division very close to there." Lieutenant Colonel Parosovich answered solemnly.

"What? The 7th Armored Division?" Lin Chen was completely shocked. This was the founding unit of the famous Desert Fox Field Marshal Rommel, and also the ace of the German Wehrmacht armored division on the Eastern Front.

There was an enemy armored regiment there, and you were going to launch a surprise attack? Isn't that like an old man eating arsenic - he doesn't want to live long?
"Don't shout. If this mission was easy, would I have told you so much? If you don't accept this mission, you will just have to fight a war of attrition. Look at the resources of our brigade. How many wars of attrition can we fight? I estimate that if we fight a few more times, our unit number will be cancelled."

Lieutenant Colonel Parosovich also had a difficult look on his face. In this melting pot of the Eastern Front, not to mention his small mechanized brigade, even the entire Fifth Guards Tank Army was almost drained of its blood.

But even so, the army commander, Lieutenant General Rotmistrov, did not choose to waver.

If I can exchange my troops for overall victory, what does this sacrifice matter?
"Your mission is to carry out surprise attacks and defensive operations. I will let the Second Battalion and other troops directly under the brigade take charge. What do you think?"

Lieutenant Colonel Parosovich has already said this, if I continue to hesitate, it would be too much.

And if I refuse, will it be useful? What will be the consequences of disobeying orders on the battlefield? Not to mention the Soviet army during wartime, there is zero tolerance in any army.

"Okay, I'm willing to accept this mission, but I have a request."

Lieutenant Colonel Parosovich was obviously overjoyed that Lin Chen agreed so readily. When he received the task, he felt that he was not good at raids. If the raid failed and turned into an offensive, then it would be a disaster.

Therefore, only a legendary soldier like Lin Chen has some chance of winning, after all, he has been creating miracles before.

"You said, as long as it is within my ability, I will agree to it!"

"My request is not high. Can you please give me those light tanks I just passed by the repair station?"

"That's a T70 light tank, not much different from your T60, what are you doing here?" Lieutenant Colonel Parosovich was quite surprised. Lin Chen was certainly not aimless. Although the T70 is also a light tank, it is equipped with a 38-type 46-caliber 45mm tank gun with 91 rounds of ammunition, which can fire armor-piercing shells or grenades, and its strike capability has been greatly enhanced.

If used well, this tank can pose a threat to the rear and even the flanks of ordinary enemy tanks, which is much more useful than the T60's 20mm cannon.

"Comrade Lieutenant Colonel, one more tank means more strength. I also want a few T34s, but don't we have them now?" Lin Chen still shamelessly asked for more.

"The T70 actually has many problems and is not mature enough. Although the armor has been increased, the vehicle's total weight has also increased significantly, resulting in a 'short leg' problem. The maximum mileage after a full tank of gas is only about 180 kilometers."

"The most important thing is that its 45mm main gun actually poses no threat to the German Panzer IV tank. Even if it encounters the German Panzer III tank, it can only be at a disadvantage. Are you sure you want it?" Lieutenant Colonel Parosovich was still persuading.

"A good plaster is one that can draw out pus. It's better to have it than not to have it." Lin Chen's attitude was very clear. This kind of tank is weak, but it depends on who uses it and how they use it.

It's probably not a good idea to use them to attack, but if you want to launch a sneak attack, they are very effective. What's wrong with short legs? Just bring two barrels of oil.

"Okay! I'll go and coordinate it, but I'm not sure I can get it." Lieutenant Colonel Parosovich finally had to agree. You can't just want the horse to run without giving it grass.

Besides, Lin Chen only wants this kind of useless tank, not KV or T34?

It’s just a few T70s, I’ll give them to you!

However, he still overestimated his influence. He didn't expect that when he, a commander of the Guards Tank Brigade, tried to communicate, he was turned away.

The person in charge of the ordnance repair shop refused very firmly, saying that this was the property of the army group and he had no right to distribute it without the order of the army group commander.

This is indeed what he said, but in actual practice, when the fighting is raging on the front line, they have to take emergency measures. In fact, this person in charge is just too stubborn.

As a last resort, Lieutenant Colonel Parosovich could only call his old superior for help. As a result, after one call, the person in charge happily handed over three intact T3 tanks. What surprised him was that the other party even gave him a British-made Churchill infantry tank and all the ammunition and fuel as an apology.

The Churchill tank was the last of the British infantry tanks.

Since World War I, Britain has been sticking to the old path of "infantry tanks" and "cruiser tanks" until the end of World War II when it completely abandoned it.

Infantry tanks are tanks used to accompany infantry in combat, provide cover and fire support. Infantry tanks do not require high speed and anti-tank firepower is not very strong, but they have very thick armor and are required to be able to resist the enemy's anti-tank firepower.

This kind of strategic and tactical thinking has actually become completely outdated since the outbreak of World War II.
The most distinctive feature of the "Churchill" infantry tank is its movement device.

The "Churchill" uses small-diameter road wheels, and there are as many as 40 road wheels on each side of the huge 11-ton body.

Its biggest advantage is that it is low-cost, simple in structure, easy to produce, and can continue to move even if some of its road wheels are destroyed. However, too small road wheels also result in too small suspension travel, and poor off-road comfort, which means it is very bumpy (like a car without shock absorbers).

The vehicle speed was so slow that it was only about 20 kilometers per hour, which made it impossible to be used in the mobile operations during World War II.

In addition, Britain had completely eliminated the threat of the German landing at this time, so there was no point in keeping these tanks and it would be better to make use of them.

Therefore, it became one of the important weapons to aid the Soviet Union. Due to the huge losses in the early days of the Great Patriotic War, the Soviet army was in short supply of various armored vehicles, and many armored units were still using antiques from the First World War. In this case, this British tank, developed in the late 1930s, was already considered quite good.

Therefore, this type of tank was widely used on various fronts on the Eastern Front. Although it was not good at attacking, it was very good at defending.

Lieutenant Colonel Parosovich naturally accepted it with great pleasure. As for the previous unpleasantness, it soon disappeared. He was a man of temperament, and as long as it was beneficial to his troops, everything would be fine.

When he handed the three T70 light tanks to Lin Chen, Lin Chen was also stunned, because many of the tank crew members were transferred from the Second Battalion. The brigade commander had really put a lot of effort into it.

Since the brigade commander is so powerful, I certainly can't be timid.

He immediately said that after getting ready, he would set off that very night!

This was not his pretentiousness. He was no longer in charge of a small detachment, but a full tank company of up to ten tanks, which involved ammunition, fuel, food and drink. It was very complicated!
The most important thing is that these tanks have different fuels and ammunition, which all need to be allocated and prepared.

In order to facilitate command, he transferred Sergei to the T34, a tank with the best performance, as the commander, and Vaska to command the T70 tank platoon, and required him to never engage in a head-on confrontation with the German tanks.

They were given an afternoon to familiarize themselves with the new equipment and meet their new teammates.

Although time is still tight, this is the limit of what Lin Chen can give. Because Jacques is smart, he serves as his adjutant.

In order to facilitate command, Lin Chen also took him to search through boxes and cabinets for several sets of radio equipment, and worked overtime to install them in several command vehicles to ensure smooth communication, which was not an easy task in the Soviet armored forces.

The Soviet Army's radio equipment ratio was far less than that of the German Army, which is also an important reason why the German armored forces were so efficient in commanding operations.

When everything was ready, Lin Chen led everyone to eat quickly, and made an exception by toasting everyone with a bowl of wine.

"Comrades, I never like to tell lies. Our mission this time is very difficult. Maybe many people won't come back. But you must remember one thing. I will fight with you all and will never let you die in vain. We must use the most effective attack to exchange for the greatest results! Hurrah!"

"Hurray!" Everyone drank it all in one gulp, stood up and shouted!
(End of this chapter)