On July 20, 1941, Tukhachevsky's Salefal River Plan officially began to be implemented. First, 25 T-54s from the First Heavy Tank Battalion of the First Mechanized First Army of the Guards charged forward under the cover of artillery barrage. Soon the Red Army's T-54 tanks broke into the German intensive anti-tank positions. During the battle, the command tank of the battalion commander Lieutenant Colonel Kurzayv was hit, and he himself was seriously injured. He could only transfer the command to Deputy Battalion Commander Major Malveli.

The fierce battle was 6:30 in the morning, and the first heavy tank battalion finally broke through the German anti-tank position and advanced into the depths of the German army. Major Marvelli later recalled: "The numerous T-54s in our battalion rushed to the high ground with the mb-lt36 crawler conveyors. The German anti-tank gun group immediately opened fire fiercely. However, under the concentrated firepower and full-strength impact of our army, the German resistance was shattered. We successfully destroyed the enemy's anti-tank position and drove the enemy away!"

Another T-54 commander in the same army recalled: "In the early morning, we prepared for the offensive on the backscene of a hillside. The order was very clear: the German deep position in front of us must be broken through. The battalion commander selected a time that he thought would not be attacked and set off. It was proved that the Germans were indeed less vigilant when they did not wake up. The five T-54s that were leading first drove to the top of the slope without any interference. However, when they rumbling to kill down the hillside, the German artillery hurriedly climbed out of the bed and returned to the battle position..."

"The German artillery fire is quite sharp. You can see armor-piercing bombs flying over like rain. The front of the t-54 is constantly being shot. But what makes us happy is that the defense of this heavy tank, which is not much heavier than the t-34, is really amazing. The German artillery shells are all bounced aside... The poor Germans were frightened, and they stood in the cannon position one by one. They looked at us dumbfoundedly, as if they had seen God..."

"After entering a thousand meters, it was our turn to show its power. I have to admit that the only thing that is not so satisfactory about the T-54 is the smoothbore gun, whether it is an armor-piercing bomb or a grenade. The accuracy is relatively poor, and it is difficult to accurately hit the target a thousand meters away. Only within one thousand meters can you have a greater grasp."

"The German anti-tank guns were destroyed one by one. Even if they pressed their guns against our armor, they would not be able to penetrate us. Such a battle seemed very bullying and made us lack a sense of accomplishment... When all the anti-tank guns were destroyed, the deputy battalion commander immediately issued an order to move forward quickly. Our battle group rumbled across the high ground. The enemies in the depths kept trying to stop us with their rifles and machine guns. At that moment, we were rushing at full speed and constantly fought back with artillery and machine guns. The ballistics were clearly visible in the morning light, like an unforgettable picture..."

This tank attack, which was like a cavalry charge, brought a terrible consequence to the Germans: destruction. After crushing the anti-tank position and repelling the German counterattack, the t-54 tank group began to stop and clean the battlefield. What surprised the Soviet tankers was that the German gunners actually transferred a considerable number of anti-tank guns in such despair.

The Red Army's heavy blow caught the German army off guard because according to the superiors, the Russians were already retreating. All they needed was to chase and kick the polar bears' ass, but who would have thought that the Ivans suddenly killed a shot back?

The German soldiers recalled: "...The violent metal rolling sound and deafening explosions made us realize that danger had come. The company commander was running around, shouting and ordering us to dig trenches to death. Just as we were about to start, the Black Death (Il-2) whizzed past our heads at a low altitude. Following him was Jacques-2. But the Russian pilot did not attack us immediately, but flew towards the small villages on our right, where they were intercepted by our fighter planes, and a fierce air battle broke out immediately. The explosions were getting closer and closer, and I could hear the roar of the engine... It was a tank! Our defensive position was located behind a tall hill. I looked up at the ridge with my head held high, and the sentries ran over in panic to report everything they saw."

"Soon we received the order to prepare for the tank attack. I immediately hid in the fox pit that had just been dug halfway, trying to hide myself with branches, turf and everything I could find. Of course, we almost all understood that this time we were dead. Because we had neither anti-tank guns nor anti-tank mines, we could almost only fight the enemy tanks with grenades and rifles. At this moment, a large number of retreating comrades rushed towards us on the ridge, as if they were artillerymen. They ran one by one, which meant that our anti-tank gun positions had collapsed, and the Russian armor torrent was pouring towards us..."

"Russian tanks finally emerged on the ridge. About a dozen cars rushed towards us with full horsepower. The flames shot from the car machine gun licked the artillery brothers who were scattered like greedy dragons. I didn't have time to feel sorry for them. The next one might be me. I remember that a very stupid idea flashed through my mind and it was all over! The Russian tank assault was so terrible! They even opened fire at us with tank guns continuously. This was undoubtedly a huge pressure for inexperienced soldiers, even veterans like me were trembling!"

"I know the most important thing now is to never run, even if my feet are no longer in control. We can only let Russian tanks cross our defense line, but we must block the mechanized infantry behind. But the damn polar bears are not stupid. They did not rush to advance, but turned their heads to crush our positions. They were going to crush us! I even saw a red tracked T-54, which was stained with blood!"

The German infantry was destined to be disappointed. Not only did the T-54 not advance, but the mb-lt36 crawler conveyor truck equipped by the Red Army also greatly avoided the casualties of infantry during the impact. To be honest, the mechanized troops of the Red Army did not use the mb-lt36 as an armored conveyor truck at that time, but used it as an infantry combat vehicle.

The mb-lt36, full of infantry, charged forward with T-54. From time to time, the infantry in the car could be seen pouring bullets into the poor German infantry around through the shooting port. The German rifles and machine guns could hardly take the mb-lt36. And as long as their firepower was a little strong, the t-54 would turn the gun and smash it without hesitation.

As of 12 noon, the 1st Battalion of Independent Heavy Tanks and the mechanized infantry that coordinated the assault of the battalion broke through the two lines of defense of the German army and advanced about 10 kilometers. The results of this battle were quite good, but soon the Red Army encountered trouble, and the Germans laid a large number of landmines. The air force also continued to drop bombs and strafuse in the air. More importantly, the German army immediately reorganized its troops and began to counterattack.

Look at Major Marvelli's memories: "We rushed forward quickly and attacked the German devils. Hans had no time to form a new line of defense... But just as we advanced ten kilometers, we encountered trouble on the periphery of a small village. With a loud bang, a T-54 in the second company turned into a flame. 'Mine! Anti-tank mines!', my headphones were full of such shouting, and then the roar of the plane came. In less than ten seconds, the machine gun, machine cannon and rockets smashed down. When these winged German bandits left, I lost three T-54s..."

"After about half an hour, I began to order the troops to rest and count the battle losses. At this time, I raised my telescope to monitor the movements of the German army in the distance, and saw three German-3 tanks disappearing from afar. They cooperated with the infantry and artillery to block our route of progress with fierce artillery fire and machine guns. Soon after, the new order from the division headquarters came down and we had to continue. After the attack order was issued, we advanced forward along the route between the highway and the railway. Since it had just rained recently and the soil was quite soft, our speed was limited. This made us lose most of our mobility."

"The battle started, and German tanks attacked our exposed right wing from the rail embankment. They seemed to know that their tank guns were not powerful enough. The Germans never tried to attack our front again. Even when attacking the side, they were aiming at the tracks and walking devices to shoot. The 203 T-54, which was at the forefront, was hit by the enemy. The tracks were also blown off, so it had to stop."

"In the next few minutes, we were stunned to see that the Germans concentrated all their firepower and opened fire on No. 203. The machine gun bullets made the turret spark, and from time to time, several shells sent greetings. It was not until half an hour later that the crew of the No. 203 tank crawled out of the tank in fear. According to the captain's recollection, they were hit by at least twenty shells. At that time, the only thing the officers and soldiers in the car could do was pray and count silently!"

"The encounter of tank No. 203 has greatly increased the confidence of the young men. We are grateful to the designer of T-54. We all hope that he will live for a hundred years. God should bless this kind of good person with conscience. The only thing that makes us feel sorry is that tank No. 203 was finally destroyed by the enemy. Just when the crew No. 203 was undergoing emergency repairs, the damn Luftwaffe came again. A Stuka seemed to have discovered the embarrassment of No. 203 and fired dozens of shells at it in one breath. The 20mm cannon pierced the top armor and engine of the T-54. As the German army launched a large-scale counterattack, we could only completely destroy No. 203 with explosives..."

Not only the troops equipped with T-54s that were harassed by German aircraft, but also Stuka was even more of a nightmare for those equipped with T-34 and T-35s.

"The No. 502 T-34 we had lined up was targeted by Stuka. As a series of bullet rains fell, it quickly smoked and caught fire. The driver and the gunman climbed out of the car with difficulty, but it was quickly torn to pieces by another Stuka machine gun. The encounter of No. 502 made me feel heartbroken. I immediately ordered the driver to pound the accelerator and rushed forward as fast as possible. After a long journey, we rushed into the village and hid in a stable."

"But not all comrades are as lucky as me. Platoon leader Razinski's car was also hit by Stuka's cannon. The tank quickly caught fire and burned. Comrade Razinski jumped into the pond with a ball of flame... Under such difficult conditions, we were still fighting hard. After the Stukas left, we continued to move forward. Perhaps God also wanted me to avenge the sacrificed comrades. Less than a hundred meters away from the village, he bumped into three No. 3 tanks."

"This is a one-sided battle. My gunner took only a few minutes to deal with this group of damn miscellaneous pieces. The first shell paralyzed the leading tank No. 3, the second shell was slightly closer, and a ball of dirt was raised in front of the enemy tank. Before the third shell was fired, the Germans also shot one shot and were flew by the armored shell on the head. At the same time, we immediately fired back and directly bombarded the opponent's turrets... The German guy was frightened. The remaining No. 3 tank immediately turned around and retreated, and was replaced by a tank to command the battle. Comrade Lazinski, who was replaced by a tank to command the battle, exploded with anus..."

Although the Red Army's armored soldiers did not suffer any losses in ground battles and even had considerable advantages, the losses were still relatively large with the support of the German superior air firepower. For example, the 1st Battalion of Heavy Tanks mentioned at the beginning set the farthest record of the entire army's assault on the same day, but for this they also lost almost half of the T-54. Most of them were destroyed by Stuka.

It was precisely because the Luftwaffe was powerful enough that it greatly offset the Red Army's armor advantage, which made the Red Army not reach the goal set by Tukhachevsky in the first day's full-strength counterattack. As a result, everyone also saw that Tukhachevsky overturned the table.

But what's the use of turning over the table? After calming down, Tukhachevsky called Alxnis as soon as possible. During the call, he strongly condemned the Air Force's inaction and demanded that the Air Force fulfill his responsibility to defend the motherland, otherwise he would have to do so in military law!

"Military law is used to your uncle!"

Alqueznis dropped the phone directly, what does it mean that the Air Force has not fulfilled its responsibility to defend the motherland? On the contrary, the Air Force has done its best. What is really not strong is Tukhachevsky's plan. The front-line airport has not been repaired, and even though he knows that the distance of this battle exceeds the cover of the Air Force, he still has to do it alone. In the end, he can't pull it out and blames the earth for not having gravity. I'll go and fuck you!

Alqueznis has always had conflicts with Tukhachevsky, and this contradiction has been magnified by the Patriotic War. Now he is full of resentment towards Tukhachevsky and no longer wants to continue playing with Massacre Xiaotu.

"Tell the Office of the Chief of Staff and the General Office of the Military Commission that unless the frontline field airports can be put into use, the Air Force cannot guarantee coverage of ground forces!"

The answer to Alqueznis. Since Tukhachevsky was extremely dissatisfied, he was forced to force him in the Military Commission. But what is the use of this? The committee members including Fulongzhi could understand that Alqueznis was telling the truth. Because when Tukhachevsky formulated the Salefa River plan, Alqueznis issued a warning.

He told the Military Commission that the Air Force had a serious lack of front-line airports that could be used. If there were not enough airports, he could not guarantee that the attacking troops would be covered. How did Tukhachevsky answer at that time? He believed that the airport was not a problem at all. As long as the Red Army engineering troops worked hard and stepped up emergency repairs, the airport would soon be available.

So, is the Red Army's engineering troops not powerful enough? No, it is mainly Tukhachevsky underestimated the strength of the Luftwaffe's air raid. Let's put it this way, the Red Army's engineering troops were not as fast as Germany's bombing, so they naturally lost their chains.

After the chain was lost, Tukhachevsky did not modify the original plan and still placed all his hopes on the armored forces being able to fight independently and the German army's carelessness. But the result is really not the case.

To be honest, he suddenly looked for Alxnis's fault at this time, and he was a little shirking the responsibility. Alxnis was not easy to mess with, so he slapped him directly. Even when Tukhachevsky insisted on continuing the attack, he directly pulled away a large number of fighter jets and pilots who were doing nothing around Minsk.

In Alxnis's statement: "The Air Force cannot do it, and it must play a greater role. If the use of front-line airports cannot be guaranteed, we will first use it to directly attack German deep targets and defend Kiev!"

A large number of Il-2s began to transition to Kiev, while another part of Il-4 and Tu-3 bombers were transferred to Leningrad to prepare for the next Broken Leg-2 operation.

During Operation Broken Leg 1, the Air Force focused on attacking Ukraine, Czechoslovakia and Romania, and achieved remarkable results. Operation Broken Leg 2 was intended to carry out more in-depth strategic bombing.

According to Alxnis, there are two key points of bombing, the first is to bomb Berlin, and the second is to bomb the Ruhr Heavy Industrial Zone. The former has a huge political influence and will inspire the fighting spirit of the Soviet people, while the latter will severely attack German industrial production.

However, in Li Xiaofeng's view, the two goals chosen by Alxnis were not good. The bombing of Berlin only had political influence. In addition to boosting morale, the impact on the battle situation was minimal. Moreover, after bombing Berlin, the Germans would soon fight against each other and retaliate against each other, which was not very meaningful.

As for bombing the Ruhr industrial zone, this idea is good, but the Ruhr industrial zone is too big, and the Red Army's long-range aviation force is not that powerful. Apart from the fact that it is a bit harassing, it may not actually reduce Germany's industrial production. Moreover, the Ruhr industrial zone is the lifeblood of Germany. Will Hitler be so stupid and not take precautions?

In Li Xiaofeng's words, "This is far beyond the capabilities of long-range aviation troops. Apart from making huge sacrifices, it will not be a final result."

"Then are you against the Broken Leg 2?" Alxnis was a little depressed.

However, Li Xiaofeng shook his head and said, "I just think the goal is not suitable. I think there are two better and more suitable goals..." (To be continued)

ps: Bow to thank the fox, Ma Shen* and comrades in the desert!
Chapter completed!