July 10th, 1941-Operation Barbarossa Eastern front
"Shell loading!"Our loader, Kamenetsky Ashirov shouted.
"Target confirmed!
My T-34 tank rocks as an 85 millimeter shell fires.
"Target destroyed! Penetration hit!"Our gunner, Yankov Dmitriy reports.
"Good job everyone,"Our commander says and sighs with relief.
I look through my cupola, and unfortunately spot a German Panzer V Panther tank.
"Damnit! Panther tank Northwest!"I yell.
"Loading shell!"
"Firing!"
"Ricochet!"
Orders and reports stream through the hull of the T-34 tank, constantly rocking back and forth with voices.
"Hit confirmed!"
"Panther down!"
Suddenly an explosion creates a blinding light in the tank, and when the dust dissipates, the entire turret is gone, along with the gunners upper body. The commander and the loader are dead too. The radio operator glances at me.
"Bail!"I yell and we quickly emerge out of the tank equipped with just pistols and take cover as MG nests start to fire at us. We quickly make our way back to the trenches, and curse.
A Russian soldier glances at me. "What the hell happened?"he asked.
"88 got us."
That was my guess, anyway. The fearsome 88 millimeter anti tank artillery piece, or the 88, was the most fearsome anti-tank weapon of the war.
"Damn. Those things were wreaking havoc in our lines a couple a days ago. Took out Five T-34's. We're hopeless."
Suddenly an explosion is heard and a indistinguishable German plane flies over. "Damn! AA guns, where the hell are they?" a soldier yelled.
"The 37s got taken out when the Tigers struck."
I curse. The 37mm anti air piece was the only thing that could get to do those damn luftwaffe planes. It continues its bombing, but is forced to pull back when several parked T-34s staying back use their machine guns to ward off the planes. They didn't actually hit anything, but they drove them off enough.
Suddenly, our radio operators eyes go wide, and starts shouting.
"10 Panzer IV's advancing upon our position!"he yells. Immediately, 5cm anti tank guns are rushed out to the front, and T-34's turn their gun to an approaching cloud of dirt.
"Damnit!"another soldier yells, just as the first shots fire. A 5 cm gun explodes, but not before the other four AT pieces fire, and I see a faint explosion.
"They're probably 1000 yards away. We're lucky to have hit anything."
I look through my goggles, and see the approaching Panzer IV's.
"What the hell are those?"I ask to myself.
They had huge ass guns, and were a bit longer than a normal Panzer IV. "Probably for better accuracy. No wonder they hit one of our AT's while moving,"I mutter.
Ten bursts of fire is suddenly heard, and shots fly into the our forces. Two more 5 centimeter guns explode, and men cry and scream as shrapnel buries them in pain.
Fortunately, no T-34s were hit, and they fire, and another explosion was seen, but they were closing in fast.
"500 yards!"
The T-34s fire again, and I spot two burning hulls.
The AT's attack next, and another explosion, but there were still five left.
"Tanks engaging!"the commander of the T-34 yells, and the three parked tanks roll out and engage the enemy.
"Hey. You any good with this?"a soldier asked, and handed me a bazooka. I simply grin. The Panzer IV's engage, and start firing. I look into the pathetic iron sight, and finally a Panzer stops at 150 yards away and makes a shot at the T-34, which glances off it's well sloped armor. I fire, and what looks like a blazing rocket flies out of it, nearly making me drop the tube, as it slams into the Panzer IV. The tank has a big black mark, and a huge hole appears. Soon, small arms fire fires into the hull, and the crew dies quickly.
The other four destroy the T-34 tanks, but not before getting them destroyed themselves.
"We have no tank support. What are we going to do?"one asks.
" Hold positions, and wait until reinforcements arrive,"our sergeant grumbles.
"Stay here? We're all going to die!"one cries in worry.
"Then to hell with it soldiers. Let's go kill some tanks."
With that, the remaining anti tank crews and soldiers grin.
