Chapter 167
< World War II - The Accelerating War (5) >
The fierce battle near Siedlce had already been raging for several days.
On the vast Polish plains with few obstacles, the Steel Cavalry clashed ceaselessly.
The tanks, divided by platoon or company, advanced, retreated, and maneuvered to catch each other's flanks, spewing fire in a ferocious engagement.
The sight of countless tanks colliding, and infantry units using the wreckage of destroyed tanks as cover for their own fierce firefights, was transforming the vast Polish plains into a steel grave.
Numerically, the Soviet tanks were far superior, and the T-34's performance overwhelmed the early model Panzer IV.
However, the new model Panzer IV was by no means inferior to the T-34, and compared to the German Army, which had long standardized and mass-produced the Panzer IV, the Soviet Army, which was slow to adopt the T-34, had a large number of light tanks.
Having succeeded in linking up, the German Army used its characteristic organic communication system to bypass the powerful Soviet T-34s and began to prioritize the destruction of the vulnerable light tanks.
In addition, as the Luftwaffe, consisting of a few Stukas and Hs 123s remaining on the Eastern Front, provided constant air support, the Soviet Army also had to endure significant casualties.