Because time is not on the German side, even though Manstein was helpless against the Kerch defense line, he still formulated an offensive plan.

The first thing that started was of course air combat.

Manstein made a successful arrangement in this regard. He estimated that if the Soviet army received reinforcements in tanks, then its air force would definitely be strengthened.

So Manstein dispatched bombers first, and fifty BF109s and FW190s hid in the clouds that were later ambushed.

The point of the Stuka bomber was to bomb the Soviet KV tanks indiscriminately... This is the mistake of the Soviet army putting the tanks on the front line. The tank was so big that it was especially a KV tank and a terrifyingly towering turret, which would be exposed to the German army's sight at the first time.

Then, Manstein asked the communications troops to indicate the location of these tanks to the pilots... The German army did a good job in coordination, or it could be said that for the needs of blitzkrieg, the communication and coordination between air and step were always very close.

Although the KV tank is straight, the armor on the side is very thick, and even the German army needs to use tungsten armor-piercing bombs to penetrate at a distance of 30 meters... It is said that during the Battle of Leningrad, German infantry risked their lives to approach the KV tank and tried to blow it up with twice the explosives. As a result, it was still safe except for the broken track, which scared the German army so much that they ran away.

But even if the armor on each side of this KV tank is thick, the thickness of the armor of 30MM on the top becomes its weakness. In particular, the Stuka bomber is a high-speed dive bomber, which rolls in the sky and dives downward at a large angle of 90 degrees... The bomb dropped is astonishingly accurate and powerful. Not to mention that it can easily penetrate the KV top armor, even if it cannot penetrate the shock, it will kill the Soviet members in the KV tank.

So no doubt, several KVs were blown into a fireball without any effect. The "Stuka" bomber then attacked other tanks, artillery and cars that could be found.

Of course, the Soviet army would not allow German bombers to destroy their tanks one by one, and immediately called a large number of "Seagull" fighter jets to support them.

But this was already under Manstein's plan. When the Soviet fleet arrived from afar, the German bombers turned around and left the battlefield.

If Kozlov or Mechlis were a smart commander, then the group should be ordered to give up the pursuit and bombard the Germans and then return.

The reason is very simple. The maximum speed of the "Seagull" fighter jet is 442 kilometers per hour, and the maximum speed of the German "Stuka" bomber is 410 kilometers per hour. The two are about the same speed. When the Soviet group catches up with "Stuka", they are afraid that they will run out of fuel and cannot return.

But Mehlis ordered hysterically: "Catch up with them and destroy them all!"

Mechlis thought in his mind that if this continues to avoid the battle, then the German bombers can eliminate all the tanks on the defense line by going back and forth?!

What he didn't expect was that the reason why the German army was still worried was that it knew that the Soviet army still had a good number of air forces. Once these air forces were destroyed, the German bombers could do whatever they wanted.

There is no need to say more about the subsequent air battle: fifty German fighters who had been prepared suddenly dived from the clouds, and then there was a violent sound of machine guns... One after another, a series of "Seagulls" fighters fell from the air with black smoke.

The maximum flight speeds of the German BF109 and FW190 fighters are 710 kilometers and 760 kilometers per hour respectively. At this speed, the attack on the "Seagull" fighter with a speed of only 442 kilometers per hour is simply a killer... The speed of the fighter in air combat is extremely important, because this means that the fastest side can attack the opponent in any posture at will, but the opponent has no chance to aim. He can only stare at the target in the cabin and then suddenly jump back in front of him.

The result of air combat is undoubtedly the Soviet army's great defeat. Although the Soviet army had as many as 150 fighters, there is no problem of "fighting less with more" in air combat... Fighters with generation gaps are often wiped out without even touching the other party's hair.

This time, only 18 were able to return 150 Soviet fighters, and they were all injured. Only one German fighter was injured by stray bullets and the driver was parachuted and was successfully rescued.

Manstein was very satisfied with the air battle, and the first phase of his offensive plan was successfully completed.

Then, when the "Stuka" fighter jet returned to the base and re-hanged the bombs and flew over Kerch again, Manstein's second phase of attack was launched.

The first thing I took was rows of shells.

Ironically, most of these shells were seized from the Soviet army... The German army adhered to the principle of using Soviet shells first and then using their own shells. After all, carpet bombing does not require high accuracy, and it is not a pity to hit the captured shells.

The combination of shells and the bombing of the "Stuka" bomber only caused flames on the Soviet positions to be filled with thick smoke.

Then, with Manstein's order, the infantry's charge unfolded with the artillery extending backwards.

This is a little different from the previous charge of the German army... Usually, tanks were basically covering infantry charges.

But now, doing this on such a muddy battlefield is obviously causing trouble for yourself.

The infantry followed by a team of engineers. When they charged with infantry, they began to use stones, logs, sandbags, etc. to fill out an attack path for the tanks.

Manstein's offensive strategy is of course correct:

The infantry attacked after artillery fire, which may break through the enemy's defense line. If not, the engineers will guide the tanks step by step in the rear and prepare for the next attack.

But all this seems to be futile.

When the German soldiers approached the Soviet defense line for 500 meters, the Soviet army opened fire. The dense bullets flew everywhere on the battlefield. The Germans, who had no cover to hide, fell in pieces... Although they lay on the ground from time to time to avoid the bullets and then suddenly jumped up and jumped forward, it was still useless. The muddy ground made their tactical movements as clumsy as the recruits, and soon there was blood and corpses everywhere on the mud.

In desperation, Manstein had to withdraw them.

"Colin!" After thinking about it, Manstein shouted to Colonel Slein: "I wonder, can the firepower of the First Infantry Regiment suppress them?"
Chapter completed!