Chapter 714: Trap
A Panther tank, stopped on the side of the road, was burning fiercely. The cook-off had blown its turret ring off the hull, and the entire turret, like a severed head, was connected to the hull at a crooked angle, twisted to one side. Its long gun barrel pointed limply at the ground, as if in mourning for the departed.
On the other side of this tank, a Tiger tank was parked. The soldiers on it were eating, their appetites clearly unaffected by the charred corpses next to the tank.
Rein ate his cooked food while looking at the map in his hand. Not far in front of his tank, on a Tiger responsible for security, the commander was looking into the distance with his binoculars. The map showed that they had penetrated deep into the Soviet defense line, like a steel dagger piercing deep into the skin.
The grenadiers had caught up. They were habitually spreading the German swastika flag on the roofs of the houses in the occupied areas. This was one of the methods to prevent accidental bombing by their own air force. Although the weather was bad now and there was no air support, these German soldiers still mechanically followed the codes of conduct they were required to observe.
“The officers just have to move their mouths, and the soldiers run their legs off,” Bruce complained loudly, his mouth full of greasy, warm food. Their company had been on the move for a whole day, routing dozens of Soviet Red Army units that were defending the villages along the road, fighting several large-scale battles, and destroying over 30 Soviet tanks.
However, not many people had a joyful expression on their faces, because the tanks they had destroyed were basically pitiful T-26s. This outdated equipment was already obsolete at the beginning of the German-Soviet war. Now, these tanks were just targets, posing almost no threat to the German tanks.
There was no sense of accomplishment in destroying these defenseless targets. These German tankers were very worried about the safety of their friendly forces. In their impression, the tanks of the Soviet Red Army were much more powerful than this junk. Since those powerful tanks had not appeared here, they must be somewhere else. And this time, the number of heavy tanks concentrated by the Soviets was clearly very large. So large that the Soviet Red Army tank units near Kharkov had been transferred away. This information was truly unsettling.
Moreover, on the other hand, the German army had suffered too many losses on its way to attack. It was said that more than 3,000 men had been killed, over 5,000 wounded, and a full 70 tanks had been lost to get to this position. This was related to the speed of the advance. In order to achieve a breakthrough, Guderian had not paid too much attention to the casualties of his troops.
And so, Rein’s armored company had been pushed to the very front of the entire attacking force. This morning, a new recruit’s tank, leading the way, had run over an anti-tank mine. The massive shockwave had blown off the tank’s track and wounded two soldiers inside. The speed of their advance was forced to slow down, waiting for the engineers to come up and deal with the minefield.
Later, it turned out that there was no large-scale Soviet minefield nearby, and they were able to continue their advance. However, they were then met with a desperate resistance from the Red Army. When they occupied this small town, a friendly Panther tank was destroyed on the side of the road, showing just how fierce the battle had been.
“The men from the reconnaissance company came back and said there’s a Soviet defensive position ahead. They say there are anti-tank guns. They were inexperienced and opened fire on the recon company, revealing the position of one of the guns,” Rein said to Andre, who had already finished eating, without looking up from his warm can of food.
Andre nodded, then looked into the distance. “To be honest, I have a feeling that these Soviet soldiers are not trying to stop us from going to Kharkov. I think they are luring us there.”
“You’re right. This is not a carefully arranged defensive system, and the soldiers we have captured or routed are not well-trained,” Rein nodded. He wiped his spoon clean, put it away in his personal effects box, and then threw the empty can into a recycling bag. The Germans were short of metal, so they would try their best to recycle anything they could. Canned food containers were an important item for recycling.
These recycling bags would be left at a collection point and then taken away by the recycling department to be sent to other departments for re-melting and reuse. Wiping his mouth with his sleeve, Rein said to Andre, “From the moment we turned to attack the north, I’ve smelled a trap. This is not a battle. I can feel that the defense line the Soviets have organized here can only be called bait, and not very convincing bait at that.”
…
“This plan has only one flaw!” Zhukov said, squinting his eyes. “We cannot train all our soldiers to be skilled in combat. So most of the soldiers deployed on the southern front are new recruits. The combat effectiveness of these units really cannot be counted on.”
“New recruits in battle will inevitably suffer heavy losses, and they are also prone to collapsing or surrendering on a large scale. What’s wrong with that?” a staff officer asked, puzzled. “If the Germans capture too many prisoners, will they start to have second thoughts?”
“Don’t underestimate those professional German soldiers. Their noses are very sharp. Sometimes, a soldier’s intuition will make them sense danger. This is a quality a high-level commander should possess,” Zhukov said with a smile. “The attack was too easy. We don’t have enough troops to build a defense line on the outskirts of Kharkov to put on a show for the Germans, so they will approach Kharkov very quickly!”
He traced a line on the map with his finger, finally tapping on Kharkov, which had already become the entrance to hell. He continued, “Too fast! The speed is too fast, so it’s easy to arouse suspicion! I’m afraid they will hesitate and not take the bait! If they don’t attack Kharkov, then we won’t be able to trap the German armored forces in a quagmire of war, and the trouble will still exist.”
“Fortunately, they still headed north!” The staff officer breathed a sigh of relief, then looked at the map with satisfaction, seemingly pleased that the Germans had fallen for the trap. His eyes fell on Shebelynka, and he spoke with pride.
Just as he said this, Guderian had given the order to continue the advance north. The 200,000 elite troops of Army Group G were fiercely attacking north, and the straight-line distance to Shebelynka was now only a few dozen kilometers.
Rein sat on the swaying tank and said helplessly to Andre beside him, “There’s nothing we can do. Even if we feel that something is wrong with the enemy, a corps commander like Guderian won’t think so. In a few days, we’ve captured a full 100,000 Soviet Red Army soldiers and broken through eight of the enemy’s defense lines. These achievements are enough to cover up some of the clues.”
“So we’re just going to walk right into a trap?” Andre asked, looking at Rein.
“If the prey is strong enough, it can even tear open a trap!” Rein said, squinting his eyes. He pressed the throat microphone and said, “All tanks of the 1st Company! Attention! Prepare for battle! We are entering a dangerous zone ahead! The enemy has at least one anti-tank gun. Be careful not to get taken out!”
Andre, at his side, had already moved into his combat position and closed the hatch above him. Bruce loaded a high-explosive shell into the breech. For many days, the German army had rarely encountered Soviet tank units, so they usually chose to use high-explosive shells for combat. Further in the distance, Markus had also closed his hatch. The thick gun barrel of the Tiger tank pointed forward, and it accelerated towards the Soviet Red Army position over there.
“Machine gun cover! Have the grenadiers deploy in attack formation! Markus! The right flank is yours! The second platoon’s tanks, attack on the left flank! Eliminate the anti-tank firepower! Proceed with caution!” Rein shouted. The enemy’s bullets were already flying towards him, whistling over his hat.
BOOM! Because the concealed position of an anti-tank gun had already been scouted out, Andre fired a shell into the danger zone without any hesitation. Sure enough, a large cannon was hidden there. The gun’s shield and the several gunners around it were blown away by the high-explosive shell, and the place was left in a mess.
A dozen Soviet soldiers fled from their foxholes, turning to run to the rear. But they had not run more than a few steps before they were cut down by machine-gun fire coming from all directions. The hull-mounted machine guns of the German tanks fired fiercely, and some Soviet soldiers were shot through the head as soon as they showed themselves.
The grenadiers behind the tanks had already spread out in an attack formation. These soldiers followed behind the tanks, advancing cautiously, and helped to clear out any Soviet anti-tank soldiers that had been missed. These soldiers, who used explosive packs to attack tanks, rarely carried weapons, so they were very easy for the infantry to deal with.
Rat-tat! Rat-tat-tat! A German grenadier, holding an assault rifle, fired his bullets at a straggler. The bullets punched several holes in the other’s body, and blood immediately gushed out. This Soviet Red Army soldier was still clutching the fuse of an explosive pack, looking as if he was about to pull it.
Before the German tanks and grenadiers could capture this place, more Soviet soldiers charged out of the woods in the distance. They came one after another, wanting to retake the position they had just lost.
The German army, of course, would not just hand it over. The two sides once again clashed. But the German self-propelled artillery in the distance fired a volley of shells, and when these shells exploded in the midst of the Soviets, creating one crater after another, the Soviets retreated. They had left behind about 1,000 bodies and had achieved nothing.
The gunfire faded into the distance. Rein opened the hatch of his tank and poked his head out to look around. He then pushed himself up and jumped out of his tank. There were still a few craters smoking around him. Where his feet landed, the body of a Soviet soldier lay quietly. A few minutes ago they were enemies; now, they belonged to different worlds.
Published: 2025-09-21T03:27:57.000+00:00
Last Edited: 2026-03-06T18:18:04.000+00:00
URL: https://www.patreon.com/caleredhair/posts/mtr-c714-trap-139372799
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