1On June 6th, 944, the last thing Hitler wanted to see finally happened ―― Allied forces began to land in Normandy, and the German army, which was already in a hurry on the eastern front, even fell into the dilemma of fighting on two fronts. A few days later, the allied forces established a solid landing point on the beach and began to gradually develop inland. The first goal of the allied forces was Caen, a small town and the transportation hub of Normandy. The allied forces attacking Caen are mainly composed of the following troops: the British 3rd Division on the left of the front line, the Canadian 3rd Division in the middle, and the British 5th1Division and 50th Division on the right; In addition, the 7th Armored Division of the British Army undertook the circuitous task, and flanked Caen from the right via the road 175. By June 13, the 22nd armored brigade of the British advance troops had entered Pokaki village and bypassed the rear of the German armored instructors. In order to make up for the huge gap in the left-wing defense line and save armored instructors, the Germans ordered the heavy armored battalion of the mobile SS 10 1 to come to reinforce. The battalion consists of 45 Tiger tanks, 6 Leopard rescue vehicles and 124 other vehicles, with a full strength of 1037 officers and men. They set out from the camp on June 7, but they traveled 200 kilometers alone because the railway system was destroyed by allied air strikes. However, the allied storm ground attack aircraft did not give up the "care" for this team. The battalion bombed indiscriminately all the way, and by the time it reached the front line, half of its vehicles had been destroyed.

/kloc-in the early morning of 0/3, a German soldier ran back in a panic and reported: "The British army has reached the village in front, less than 2000 meters away!"

German captain Michael Whitman (10 1 company commander) is sleeping beside the tank. Hearing the news, he was a little surprised: "Britain moves so fast!" " "He said, and stood up," hofflinger, lend me your 23 1 tank. Bobby, be my gunner. Let's make sure of the situation. "

Tank 23 1 is the best tiger tank in the task force, but Wei Teman's own car is still being repaired because the air filter was damaged by shrapnel.

"Let's go!" Wei Teman commanded, "Tiger" tanks rumbled out of Lin Nakakoji. In front is Pokaki village. Nearly three companies of British troops have entered the village. Usually, no one noticed this small farm 30 kilometers away from Caen, but from this day on, the ordinary Pokaki village became famous and became synonymous with the classic examples of armored operations.

At this time, Company A of the 22nd British Armored Brigade has crossed Bo Village and reached the hill-2 13 highland in the east, Company B has stopped at the road at the western end of the village and assembled, while the regimental 1 M5A 1 light tank and 14 Cromwell are in the village, along with 4 reconnaissance vehicles and 20 M265438.

Wei Teman doesn't know these things. He crossed the wheat fields on the edge of the village, went straight into the 175 road and squeezed into the convoy of the British regimental headquarters. After entering expressway, his vision suddenly widened, but he was also startled. It turned out that the nearest British reconnaissance vehicle was on its right side 15 meters (just now, because of the cover of bushes, no one was found), and the muzzle of several tanks was facing the tank 200 meters to his left. The British army was also surprised. They didn't expect that there were German armored troops nearby. And it is a frightening "tiger" tank.

When everyone was still stupefied, Wei Teman first reacted: the reconnaissance car was not terrible, and the first thing to do was to kill several tanks that threatened its left wing. As a result, Tiger turned left quickly and the turret turned faster. Bobby missed his aim and fired 1 88 mm shells by feeling. In a blink of an eye, the leader of the British army, M5A 1, was beaten to pieces, while the Cromwell tank didn't seem to be loaded, but just glared at the "tiger" coming out of the gun. The 88 cannon was fired several times in a row, and all three Cromwell's eyes were closed. Captain Adams, the British regimental staff officer, sat on the last 1 Cromwell. He let the tanks retreat quickly and hid in the ruins by the roadside.

Wei Teman found an English tank running away, but he didn't know it was hiding nearby. He continued to rush forward, just passing in front of Captain Adams' tank. Adams didn't react, watching the "tiger" weak armor pass by him, and lost the best chance to fight back, which of course helped Wei Teman to continue to set an amazing record.

Wei Teman sped west. He was afraid that the infantry in the British reconnaissance car would follow him, because in street fighting, tanks could not take advantage of the infantry. But when he drove to the corner, he suddenly found a group of British tanks parked at the roadside 150 meters ahead, including the "long nose" firefly tank. Tiger's frontal armor can ignore Cromwell's 75mm short barrel main gun, but Firefly's 76mm long barrel main gun can easily penetrate his chariot at such a distance.

"Turn around! Turn around! " Wei Teman shouted at the top of his lungs, dragging his 56-ton body like a tiger. At this time, a 76 mm shell of Firefly hit the left side of its turret. Fortunately, the incident angle is too small and it bounces off. Wei Teman broke out in a cold sweat. He knows that delaying 1 second here is fatal, because the other side can easily catch up with him, and his "tiger" style can't run faster than "firefly".

The road is very narrow. Wei Teman's tank just turned around, and the Cromwell, driven by Adams, emerged from its hiding place, and the two sides met head-on. They were quick-witted and quick-eyed, and they fired almost at the same time. Unfortunately for Adams, his shell only made a shallow hole in the Tiger shield, while his tank was made a big hole. Although Adams didn't die, he was numb with fear. He staggered out of his seat and ran to the side of the road.

Wei Teman continued to retreat eastward. He considered that there were many British tanks behind, there might be a large number of infantry ambushes in front, and there might be anti-tank guns. The urgent task is to return to the station quickly and call other tanks. So he let the "tiger" give way from a gap, ready to go around from the north to the east, and then return to the camp to avoid all dangers.

In fact, the situation is not as terrible as Wei Teman imagined. The tanks of British company B didn't pursue him, because they thought there might be more German tanks in the village, so they didn't dare to engage in street fighting rashly. The 37mm anti-tank gun rack of the British regimental headquarters was completed, and the infantry also got off and entered the battle position, but their attention was only focused on the highway, and it was unexpected that Wei Teman would go around it from the wheat fields on the roadside.

Wei Teman didn't expect that his detour was a great success. Vehicles parked on the British side of the road are like a row of targets exposed on its right side. He turned the turret to the 3 o'clock position, and the 88 guns began to fire accurately. British reconnaissance vehicles, anti-tank guns and semi-tracked vehicles were reduced to ashes by the roadside. 175 expressway became a terrible chariot graveyard.

After Wei Teman cleared the British army from the highway, he found the British company A in the 2 13 highland. Company A, of course, also found that the situation on the expressway was not good, just didn't know where the enemy's gunfire came from. They just pointed their guns at the road and continued to make the same mistakes as their sacrificed comrades.

On the other hand, Wei Teman continued to cross the wheat field eastward, and the sides of all tanks of Company A were clearly exposed under his gun. Firefly, Sherman and Cromwell's frontal armor are not enough to resist the Tiger 88mm gun (even at the distance of 1 1,500m), but now the distance is less than 250m. The following scene need not be described. As a result, a total of 23 above tanks were destroyed here.

At this time, there was no effective British resistance to the east of Pokaki village. Wei Teman decided not to return to his post. He wanted to kill a comeback ―― continue to attack the British company B in the village. He walked back along the 175 highway, full of steel wreckage he had just made, but at this time, he had no time to recall all this, because there was a murder in the village in front.

Sure enough, when Wei Teman showed off in the 2 13 highland, Adams had already run back to Company B on foot. When his comrades saw him, they all joked with him: "Captain, did you just teach the Tiger Tank a lesson?" "Idiot! The regimental headquarters has been destroyed. Please inform Company A, be careful. "

The signalman quickly radioed Company A, but no one answered. The British army realized the seriousness of the situation and immediately began to deploy.

In order not to collide with tigers, they set up anti-tank guns in the gap between buildings along the road, and fireflies and Cromwell also moved into the broken wall for concealment, which was also conducive to attacking the side of German tanks.

Wei Teman didn't travel 200 meters, and the camp stopped him: "Che 23 1, we are coming to the village to support you, please join the formation." German 1 Company's four Tiger-type and two G-type No.4 tanks drove into 175 road along a street parallel to the original road in Wei Teman, and the other two Tiger-type bypassed the village from the fork. At this time, the balance of power was obviously reversed, and the balance of victory and defeat began to tilt towards the Germans. But Wei Teman shine at the moment, an anti-tank shell hit the front. Although the blow was not fatal, the "tiger" style was still biased towards the side of the road, and then with a bang, another shell interrupted its trajectory, and Wei Teman's chariot came to a screeching halt. From then on, he retired from the leading role to the audience.

Several German tanks are still galloping forward, and several British tanks are hiding in the corner and rejoicing, because their chance for revenge has come.

132 tiger just entered the shooting range, two fireflies and 1 Cromwell cannon caught fire at the same time, three shells paralyzed the tiger, and 13 1 tiger rushed past its partner. As a result, the turret 13 1 was shot more than ten meters away, followed by the "Tiger" and No.4 tanks, which were also destroyed in Bocun Middle Road. The battle was deadlocked until the evening, and the remaining tanks on both sides gradually withdrew from the battlefield, leaving only the infantry and tank soldiers who lost their chariots fighting each other in the streets and lanes. At this time, 12 British storm fighters arrived and razed the small village to the ground.

In the Battle of Bocun in June 13, the British army lost 27 tanks and other combat vehicles, all of which were arranged by Wei Teman alone, while the remaining German tanks were wiped out without any results.

First of all, from the British point of view:

1. When Wei Teman rode his bike into the village, the British army didn't lose consciousness. At that time, its regiment reconnaissance vehicle was only 15 meters away from Tiger. Even if it is awed by the success of this tank, it should immediately send infantry to track its whereabouts. To say the least, you can also inform Company B to stop quickly by radio.

2. Captain Adams escaped with the 4th Cromwell of the regimental headquarters. Although he didn't seize the opportunity of the first passage of the Tiger to attack his side armour, he had to rush out of the road quickly after the Tiger had just opened and attack its equally weak rear. With Cromwell's agility, it is not difficult to win the heavy tiger style from this position. But once again, he delayed the take-off of the fighter plane, and waited until Wei Teman turned around, then drove out of the shelter and started fighting with the "Tiger" type. Isn't it bad luck?

3. After the British company B found the tiger style, even if it didn't pursue it because it didn't know the enemy's situation or avoided street fighting, it should promptly inform company A to turn around and form a potential attack. At that time, Company A and Company B were separated, and it was the most basic common sense on the battlefield to tell each other about the threat.

From the German point of view:

1, Wei Teman's performance before he was hit was excellent, and his judgment was reasonable. However, after he was hit, he confirmed that the British army had set an ambush in the village, but did not remind his companions to avoid or bypass the attack. If all the Tiger tanks are pulled to the 2 13 highland, with their powerful long-range firepower and heavy frontal armor, they can completely stop the British Apollo village without losing ground, so why risk street fighting?

2. Wei Teman rose in battle. But he seems to have forgotten that the purpose of entering the village is reconnaissance, and he should inform the headquarters of the enemy in time. If the German army 1 company had given early support and taken advantage of the late arrival of the British army, it might have been possible to wipe out all the British troops in the village. Imagine if Wei Teman was wiped out in the battle, wouldn't his headquarters know nothing about Bo Village?

The battle story of Pokaki village has become a good textbook for armored combat, not only because its battle process makes military fans hooked, but more importantly, it makes people have to deeply reflect on tactics and their application.

Wei Teman then retreated with the remnants of theNo. 10 1. 1August 7, 944 12: 47 was killed in the battle of the allied forces surrounding the waterfall, only 30 years old. Since 1939 entered the war, it has destroyed 132 tanks and other vehicles, ranking first in the German tank trump card. This man used to drive Sd. Kfz.23 1 8 reconnaissance vehicle and No.3 assault gun have been used for a long time, and he has developed strong melee skills. His fighting style can be appreciated from the Battle of Bocun.

After the Battle of Kursk, the Soviet general Cui Kefu carefully observed the captured Tiger tank and said with emotion: "Frankly speaking, Hitler did have reason to recall that he could win the battle with this tank." .

Cromwell tank is an ocean patrol tank put into use by the British army in the middle and late World War II. The 75mm 39 caliber gun it is equipped poses little threat to German tanks, but its engine power reaches 600 HP, and the unit power is 22 HP/ton, so it has good maneuverability, and the expressway speed can reach 65 km/h ... Cromwell tanks are closely related to the Soviet T-34, because their design prototypes are all derived from the famous Christie tanks.

On the basis of American Sherman M4A3 tank, British firefly tank was replaced by British 76mm 58 times caliber high muzzle velocity gun (namely 17 lb gun). Overcome the shortcomings of Sherman's lack of firepower. Because of its long barrel, it was nicknamed "long nose" by Germans. "Firefly" is a rare weapon, and the British army can fight against German "Tiger" or "Leopard" tanks.

Battle of Wa Village in Manila: Bokaki on the Eastern Front

1944 In June, the Soviet Union launched a summer offensive of 1944 on the eastern front in order to cooperate with the Allied invasion in Normandy on the western front. Ironically, the Soviet attack route was officially the place where the Germans invaded the Soviet Union, but the direction was completely reversed.

On the northern front, the Baltic army of the Soviet Union also launched an attack in the direction of Latvia. The Soviet army separated the German "North" army group from the "Central" army group in Latvia, forming a small protrusion near Riga. Fort Dura near Riga has also become a strategic place for both sides to compete, and the village of Manila Wa is just north of it.

The German 502nd Heavy Tank Battalion was the first unit equipped with Tiger I tanks to participate in actual combat, and has been fighting in the northern theater of the Soviet-German front ever since. Initially, the design of Tiger I tank was to use its heavy armor to break through the enemy's defense. In the middle and late period of the war, the Germans really didn't have the strength to attack, but after 1943, the Soviets continued to attack the Germans, and the 502 heavy tank battalion was constantly deployed to cope with the "firepower" that appeared at any time on the German defense line, so the 502 heavy tank battalion was also called the "Northern Fire Brigade".

According to the establishment, there should be 45 Tiger I tanks in the 502nd Heavy Tank Battalion, but in July of 1944, including the Tiger I under maintenance, there were only 43. It is almost impossible to deal with Soviet tanks with so few tanks. But the situation is more important. Whenever there is an order, the 502nd Battalion always tries to squeeze out some tanks to carry out the order. On July 22nd, it was reported that Soviet armored forces broke through the defense line of the 209th Infantry Division. Therefore, Captain Otto Carius's 2nd Tank Company (8 Tiger tanks) was ordered to go to Wa Village in Manila to stop the attack. This small village is the only way for the Soviet army. If the Soviets hadn't occupied it, the Germans could have built another line of defense here.

After 1 more hours of fast driving, Manila Wa Village is just ahead.

Captain Carius carefully observed the village in front through the periscope and found nothing unusual. Of course, there are some things you can't see in a tank mine. Kalius ordered a staff sergeant to run for reconnaissance. About 1 hour later, the staff sergeant came back panting: "The village has been occupied by the Russians! Russian tanks are everywhere on the roadside! About 1 battalion! "

Kalius stood on the turret, raised his telescope, looked at the distance carefully, and then asked the staff sergeant, "What are the Russians doing now?"

"Some Russians are resting by tanks, while others may still be in Tanqueray. No Russian infantry was found. "

"What models of Russian tanks are there?"

"I don't know, I only saw the' Big Head 'T-34. The village is open and I can't get close to them!"

"all right! You go there and have a rest first. " Kalius jumped out of the tank and began to give instructions to the captains: "All right, brothers. We are in trouble now. Manila tile village has been occupied by Russian troops first, and it is also an armored force with more than 30 tanks. What's more, these tanks can penetrate our' big head 'T-34 from a long distance. So I only drive Captain Koschel's car, and the rest are here. If the situation is wrong, come out and cover us. "

"no! Carius. It is too dangerous! Who knows if there are any other Russian tanks around here? You only have two tanks, it's too dangerous! " Someone raised an objection. The conductor is also whispering.

"Listen to me," Carius waved and motioned for everyone to be quiet. "This Russian armored force is only the vanguard-you see, there is no black smoke peculiar to Russian tanks in the village, indicating that they have no plans to attack for the time being. Some of them have been off guard, turned off their engines, and there are no infantry accompanying them, which is a good target for our surprise attack. If we go to too many tanks, it will attract the attention of the Russians. So, I hope you can stay here. If Koschel and I die unfortunately, you can resist for a while. All right! That's settled. "

Raid!

Two Tiger I tanks, with an interval of1.50m, headed for Manila Wa Village at full speed. They drove on a country road, which was the beginning of their shocking record.

Two T-34s on the roadside seem to have found them, and the circular turret is turning here.

"300 meters ahead! Two T-34 tanks! The turret is spinning! " Shouted the gunner.

"Armor-piercing bullets! Target: T-34 on the left side of the road ... is on fire! " Karius then heard a violent vibration and a loud noise. Kalius forgot to appreciate the results, and then ordered: "Armor-piercing bullets! Target: T34 on the right side "Before the words were finished, a black smoke came from the T-34 in the periscope, and the voice of Captain Koschel came from the earphone:" Destroy a T-34, please indicate the next target. " "Well done! Koschel! " Carius said happily.

Soviet tank soldiers pushed open the hatch cover, climbed out of the burning tank and ran out of the sight of Tiger One ... Kalius forgot. He kept staring at a tank in the middle of the road ahead. The tank seemed frightened and unresponsive. It showed its weak tail in front of Carius.

"Fire!"

Another armor-piercing bullet got into the turret of this T-34. At this time, Kalius suddenly understood: Soviet tanks still don't know where the raiders came from!

They think the shells came from somewhere outside the village. Kalius was ecstatic. He shouted into the radio microphone, "Koschel! The Russians don't know we're in the village yet. They still think we're outside! Come on! Hurry up! Kill as many Russian tanks as possible! "

"I understand!"

Two Tiger I's began to rotate turrets in opposite directions. The Tiger I of Kalius is responsible for destroying the tanks parked on the road and on the left side of the road, and Koschel is responsible for killing the tanks on the right side of the road. One Soviet tank after another was destroyed and burned, and black smoke columns rose one after another from the village. Some Soviet tanks found that the attackers were killed along the road, but they were wiped out at very close range by Tiger One before turning the turret. The surviving Soviet tank soldiers were also strafed by German tanks. Karius and Koschel's tanks have passed through half the village, followed by piles of burning tanks. ......

Kalius' tank passed another house. A tank was hidden on the other side of the house with its tail exposed. The gunner habitually aimed his gun at it and was about to press the launch button. ......

"slow!" A hand behind him held him down.

The gunner turned his head and looked doubtfully at Carius who was gathering in front of the periscope. Kalius seems to be talking to himself. "Do you think the tank in front looks like our Tiger King tank?" The gunner put his eyes in front of the sight: "Yes, it is a bit like it. Much bigger than the T-34 turret, long barrel gun, wide body ... "

"There will be a single row of wheels! This is a Russian tank! Fire at once! " Kalius shouted. The 88 mm gun immediately spewed a flame, and correspondingly, the turret of the Soviet tank also spewed a huge flame. Karius quickly grabbed the radio receiver and loudly informed Koschel: "The Russians have a tank, which looks like our Tiger King tank. Ignore it! Just fire! "

"Koschel understands!"

My two tigers continued their death parade. The number of black smoke columns continues to increase ... The "Tiger" I tank captains waiting outside the village are anxiously listening to the news on the radio and watching the black smoke rising from time to time in the distant Manila Wa village. Although the shouts of excitement and tension of Karius and Koschel can be heard on the radio, there are too many Soviet tanks. In case they are careless ... I don't know how long it will take. Kalius' voice came from the radio: "Attention, all personnel of tank company, this is Kalius, there are no Russian tanks in Manila Wacun ..."

IS-2M main performance data list: total combat weight 45T, length 9.60m/ width 3. 12m/ height 2.7 1m, maximum speed: road/off-road: 37/ 19 km/h, maximum travel: road/off-road: 24 1 h.

Tiger brand 1 main performance: weight 56 tons; Length/height/width: 8.45/2.93/3.7m; Crew: 5 people; Speed: 38 km/h; Armor: 25mm 25mm-100mm; Equipment: 1 tank, 88mm/56 times caliber, 2 7.92mm vehicle-mounted machine guns.

Post-war investigation and enlightenment;

After the battle, the Germans found that it only took Captain Carius 20 minutes from the beginning to the end of the battle. In these 20 minutes, he and Captain Koschel destroyed 17 tanks, including 6 JS-2 heavy tanks (10) with much better performance than Tiger-1. How helpful was this battle to the German war situation at that time? Let's have a look. The troops attacked by Kalius were the vanguard of the Baltic Army 1 Tank Brigade of the Soviet Union. The battle of Wa Village in Manila temporarily slowed down the assault pace of Soviet armored forces that broke through the defense line, and the Germans who got a breather quickly established a temporary defense line in Wa Village in Manila, delaying the day when the Germans were annihilated for several days. The Battle of Wacun in Manila is called "another tank battle comparable to the Battle of Bokaki". Unlike Wei Teman's enemies in Bokaki, every tank karis meets can kill him. Especially the JS-2 medium tank, I can hardly compete with the Tiger, but Kalius' team destroyed six JS-2 without loss, which I'm afraid can't be explained by luck. However, history has ruthlessly proved that the unjust war will eventually fail. Before the battle began, Kalius sent scouts. Although he didn't fully understand the enemy's situation, he also let Carius know the enemy's situation to the greatest extent, which laid the foundation for him to adopt correct tactics. Secondly, good tactical quality ensures victory. Because the battle between Kalius and Soviet tanks is very close, it requires his crew to have a high tactical level, otherwise the consequences of a miss are likely to be disastrous. There are many reasons for the failure of the Soviet Union. First of all, the single-minded army did not arrange enough reconnaissance and alert personnel in the direction where the enemy might attack, which gave Karius an opportunity; In addition, it is also a mistake that this breakthrough force has no infantry protection; When they found that they had been attacked, all the Soviet tanks were still in a mess in the village. They could have left the village and found a safe place to wait for an opportunity to fight back against the attackers, but they didn't. After the war in Wacun, Manila, Kalius was transferred to the newly formed 5 12 heavy anti-tank battalion as the commander of the 2nd company, commanding the Tiger Hunting heavy tank destroyer, and led the whole company to surrender to the US military on April 1945. Kalius is still alive. In addition, there is a saying that Wei Teman is not the number one tank trump card, but Kalius is the real number one tank trump card, because records show that he destroyed 150-200 Soviet tanks on the eastern front.