"Ivan, I will avenge you!”
In a tank that had one track destroyed by the artillery, the main gunner Sovsky held his friend's body that had lost its body temperature and said the same thing over and over again.
It was a T34 tank. It was the most common tank in the 13th Division.
During the entire World War II, more than 80,000 T34 tanks were produced. In 1943 alone, 22640 T34s were produced!
In history, the appearance of this tank in large numbers had brought great pressure to the German army on the battlefield. It was one of the greatest heroes of the Soviets who could finally defeat the German army. It could be said to be the gravedigger of the Third Reich!
However, on the battlefield, the T34s were in a miserable state. Whether they were facing the Tiger King or the Leopard Tank, they could not gain any advantage.
And this tank, at the beginning of the battle, had its tracks blown off by the German long-range artillery fire and collapsed on its own!
The main gunner, Sofsky, was unwilling to give up on his good friend. Although his good friend had died of excessive blood loss due to the flying debris cutting his artery, he still hugged his friend's body and refused to let go.
Sovsky and his good friend Ivanov were from the same village. Because of the outbreak of the Great Patriotic War, they were forced to recruit soldiers and put them into the army.
The two of them had spent three months on the battlefield as nervous recruits. Every day, they were afraid that a cannonball or bullet would fly over and take their lives at any time.
Fortunately, such a thing did not happen.
They were lucky enough to survive!
This was really not a simple matter. Among the recruits recruited by the Soviets and joined the army, less than a quarter of them could survive the first three months of the recruit period. In other words, more than three-quarters of the recruits died on the battlefield in the first three months!
On some battlefields, such as the recent Battle of Maoxiong Grad, the average survival time of the Soviet soldiers was only a shocking three days. From the moment a soldier entered the battlefield, he would die within three days. Very few could survive!
Such a terrifying elimination rate was truly terrifying!
Sovsky and Ivan were lucky. Not only did they not die in the first three months, but they were also selected to join the First Guards Tank Army because of their outstanding performance.
Even though the two of them did not know how they were recognized as outstanding, although they had been on the battlefield, they were scared to the point of weakness every time they charged. When they heard the sound of the explosion of the artillery, they were so scared that they curled up into a ball and did not dare to move.
In three months, they had fought many battles, but they had not eliminated a single enemy…How could this be called outstanding performance?
However, for the Soviets, if they could survive for three months on the battlefield and not become deserters, they would be considered outstanding. Now was the time to use people, and they had no right to pick and choose. If they did not want such recruits, the other troops would not let them go either. Therefore, the troops at the front line who were lacking in personnel would never be picky!
As long as it was a man, alive, and able to carry a gun, they wanted it all!
Thus, Sovsky and Ivan entered the First Guards Tank Army in a daze, and then went to the battlefield in a daze, and came to Kursk!
In the beginning, the two of them were very worried. They were worried that the battle would be intense and they might die here!
However, when the Soviets advanced triumphantly on the battlefield and the news of victory spread, the two of them gradually relaxed!
It seemed that the German army had been suppressed. This battle should be very smooth!
Thus, they waited for the German army's general attack tonight!
……
Sofsky heard the sounds of German soldiers coming from outside, accompanied by human voices and the rumbling of tanks.
He gently put down his comrade's body and looked through the observation hole.
In front of him, about 300 meters away, there was a German tank crossing the trench.
This tank was different from any German tank he had seen before. This tank was slender and the main cannon was very long. It was also installed with a strange-looking thing. He had heard from veterans before that this thing seemed to be called a recoil device.
The T34 was not equipped with this. Firstly, the tanks of the Soviets were not that expensive, so they did not need to use this to reduce the recoil and protect their comrades. Secondly, the T34's main cannon was not large, so the recoil was not that strong, so there was no need to equip this thing!
If they had the strength to produce this thing, it would be better to produce more tanks for the battlefield!
The reason why Sovsky felt that the main cannon of this tank was very eye-catching was entirely because the Leopard tank was equipped with a 70 times diameter, 88 mm caliber main cannon. It looked really scary!
Anyone who saw this tank would probably be attracted by its turret and main cannon!
However, at this moment, Sofsky could no longer care about this!
It was confirmed!
It was this tank!
He decided to destroy this tank to avenge his friend!
Even if he had to die, he had to drag someone down with him!
After all, the two of them had not gained anything since they joined the battle. Today, he was going to kill someone, and he was going to help his good friend kill one too!
The Leopard tank that was slowly passing through the trench did not seem to notice that the scrapped T34 tank had quietly turned its muzzle and aimed at itself!
At a distance of 300 meters, as long as he could accurately hit the enemy, the 76mm caliber main cannon equipped with the T34 was completely capable of destroying the enemy's side armor!
So, Sovsky took a deep breath and slowly turned the muzzle, aiming at the body of the Leopard tank!
Boom!
A cannon blast!
The bullet shell that fell from the barrel and the pungent smell of gunpowder made Sovsky cough violently!
However, he couldn't care less about this at the moment. He desperately looked at the observation port, intending to see his results!
In the end, he realized that the tank that he had aimed at was still intact and was still slowly passing through the trench!
Missed?
A question arose in Sofsky's mind. This was also his first thought!
"You're lucky, but this time, you're dead!”
He gritted his teeth and decided to fire another shot!
Just as he was busy loading the shells, the Leopard tank that was slowly passing through the trench also reacted!
"Enemies spotted at three o'clock, three hundred meters away. Prepare an armor-piercing round!”
Sovsky's artillery shell actually hit the Leopard tank accurately, but his luck was not good. The shell hit the front armor of the Leopard tank and bounced off!
If he had fired earlier, his shell would have hit the side armor of the Leopard tank. In that case, he would have had a chance to destroy the Leopard tank and become the first Soviet tank soldier to destroy the Leopard tank in this battle!
However, sometimes, people often lacked that bit of luck!
"Target locked!"
"Loaded!"
"Fire!"
Almost at the same time, the Panther tank and the T34 tank on the opposite side opened fire at the same time. The shells of both sides flew in the air and almost brushed past each other's shells. The two shells drew a completely overlapping trail with green smoke.
Boom!
Clang!
There was a crisp sound and a loud bang!
The cannon of the T34 was deflected again, but the 88mm armor-piercing round of the Leopard tank accurately hit and destroyed the T34!
On the battlefield, the T34 and the Panther tank fought for the first time, but the Panther tank won!
And this scene was just an insignificant microcosm of this battle!
The same scene would repeat itself on the battlefield in the future!
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