As the jeep was speeding south along the road, Rokossovsky saw that behind his car, there were only two trucks full of staff officers and soldiers, and the two trucks towing quadruple anti-aircraft machine guns were still parked in the distance, and a dozen anti-aircraft machine gunners took off the hooks of the machine guns and pushed them towards the village. Pen "Fun" Pavilion www.biquge.info

"Hell, what are they going to do?" Not only Rokossovsky saw this scene, but even Lobachev, who was sitting in the co-pilot's seat, saw what was happening behind him through the rearview mirror, and he cried out: "Didn't they see that the German tanks had already rushed over?" By doing so, they are sending themselves to their deaths! At the end, his voice became muffled.

"Comrade Military Commissar," Rokossovsky's nose was sour at the sight of the anti-aircraft machine gunners who were walking towards the village without hesitation, and he said with a little choked up: "They are there to cover our retreat......"

While the anti-aircraft machine gunners were pushing the towed 14.5 mm quadruple anti-aircraft machine guns, the Germans had broken the insignificant resistance north of the village and rushed into the village along the road under the cover of tanks.

Seeing the German soldiers rushing over, the machine gun shooter sat in the operator's position, skillfully manipulating the machine gun, and through the scope, aimed the crosshairs at the German soldiers who were walking towards him.

Without anyone giving the order to shoot, the two machine-gun emplacements began to fire at the Germans at the same time, knocking down the soldiers who rushed to the front at once, and the rest hurriedly lay down on the spot or hid behind the wooden hut and fired back with their weapons. But the bullets fired from the 14.5 mm anti-aircraft machine gun easily pierced the wooden wall and beat the German soldiers hiding behind to pieces.

Several German tanks in the distance saw that two firing points suddenly appeared here, and immediately turned their guns and fired in this direction. After a round of shelling, an anti-aircraft machine gun fire point was directly hit by a tank shell, and was torn to pieces in the dazzling light of fire and the deafening sound of explosions.

The anti-aircraft machine gun that survived quickly turned its muzzle and aimed at the German tank and fired. Although the machine gun shooter fired a series of bullets that almost hit the target, the bullets could not penetrate the frontal armor of the tank, and only splashed strings of sparks on the hull.

The German tank, which was equipped with a 50-mm gun, saw that the Soviet anti-aircraft machine gun could not inflict any substantial damage on itself, so it slowly adjusted its muzzle and calmly fired a shot at the anti-aircraft machine gun that was firing fiercely. The shell did not directly hit the target, but exploded near the anti-aircraft machine gun, and the flying shrapnel knocked down the fighters standing around the machine gun, and the machine gun, which was firing frantically, came to an abrupt end, and the machine gun shooter, whose back was covered with shrapnel, fell from his seat.

Seeing that the two anti-aircraft machine guns of the Soviet army had been destroyed, the German infantry, who had been lying on the ground or hiding behind the house, came out of their hiding places one after another, and advanced towards the firing point where they were still firing fiercely. The German tanks, which had been parked behind the infantry, also started again and advanced along the streets.

But what the Germans did not expect was that on the nearby street, there was actually a Soviet tank hidden, but because there was not much ammunition for shells and on-board machine guns, it remained silent. But seeing that the German tank entered his own scope, the commander, who had long been ready to go, immediately gave the order to open fire.

The armor-piercing shells fired from the 76 mm gun easily pierced the side armor of the German tank No. 3, tearing a gap in the center of the turret. Moments later, the armor-piercing bullet caused the ammunition inside the car to detonate, and flames rushed out of the gap, like a flame gun being sprayed. After the moving tank was wrapped in flames and smoke, it went straight to its nest.

It was discovered that there were still Soviet tanks hidden in the village, and the German tanks following behind immediately turned the turret and fired at the place where the Soviet tanks were hiding. After a round of shelling, the German tank crews, whether they were hit or not, immediately separated from the left and right, and carried out a flanking attack along the street towards the position of the Soviet tanks, while the remaining tanks also slowly drove to a wooden house that was not damaged, ready to wait for the two tanks to be in position before launching a surprise attack.

The Soviet tanks had only two or three shells left, so they naturally did not stay in place and continue firing, but used the wooden houses as cover to quickly shift their positions and prepare to open fire again at the right time.

The battle that took place in the village of Peshki was not seen by Rokossovsky, who had long since passed, and he was sitting in a jeep at the moment, struggling to think about his next course of action. Suddenly, Lobachev, who was sitting in the co-pilot's seat, was asked: "Comrade commander, where are we going next?" ”

Rokossovsky looked up at Lobachev and said thoughtfully: "Comrade Military Commissar, it is very dangerous for us to turn around under the nose of the enemy, so it is better to immediately rush to Lyalovo and join the chief of staff to study the battle plan for the counterattack on Kling and the city of Cumbre del Sol." ”

Rokossovsky and his team had to make repeated detours because they found a small group of German troops on the road, and when they arrived in Lyalovo, they were surprised to find that Malinin and a small number of members of the command were establishing a new command in a forest.

Seeing Rokossovsky's arrival, Malinin hurriedly greeted him, and after a few brief greetings, he reported to him: "Comrade commander, before I left the old command, I received three orders in a row from the front command. ”

"What order?" Hearing Malinin say this, Rokossovsky's heart couldn't help but tremble, thinking that he had been delayed on the road for so long, and he might have missed some important instructions from Zhukov, so he hurriedly asked: "What order did Zhukov give us again?" ”

Seeing that Rokossovsky looked unaware, Malinin hurriedly reported: "Commander Zhukov asked our troops in a telegram whether they had launched a counteroffensive against the city of Cumbre del Sol? ”

"What, launch a counteroffensive against Cumbre del Sol?" Lobachev was taken aback by this order, and then turned his confused gaze to Rokossovsky: "Comrade commander, it is very difficult for us to hold our own line of defense with our existing forces, and it is almost impossible to launch a counterattack on the city of Sun Hill. ”

Rokossovsky ignored Lobachev and continued to ask Malinin: "Where is the telegram?" ”

Malinin took out a stack of boxy paper from his jacket pocket, opened it, and handed it over. Rokossovsky took it, and after seeing what was on it with the help of the bright moonlight, he couldn't help frowning tightly.

"What's the matter, Comrade Commander." Seeing Rokossovsky's expression, Lobachev nervously asked: "What did Zhukov say on the telegram?" ”

"According to Zhukov's orders, our next task is not to place defenses in the area of Klin-Sol City, but to carry out a large-scale counterattack to drive the enemy out of this area." After Rokossovsky repeated Zhukov's order, he secretly sighed: "In this way, our defensive deployment will have to be readjusted. ”

Seeing Ma Lining standing upright in front of him, he bowed his mouth to the half-buried headquarters not far away, and asked, "Chief of Staff, can the radio send a telegram?" ”

Malinin did not answer immediately, but tilted his head slightly and looked behind Rokossovsky. Rokossovsky, guessing what he was thinking from his expression, added: "When our radio station was in the village of Peshki, it was blown up, and communication with our superiors was completely cut off. ”

Malinin came to the command headquarters with Rokossovsky and asked him: "Comrade commander, I don't know what to say in the telegram to the command of the Front?" ”

Rokossovsky looked at him and said strangely: "Chief of Staff, when did I say that I was going to send a report to the command of the Front?" ”

"What, not to send a report to the command of the Front?" Malinin was confused by Rokossovsky's words, and he asked puzzledly: "But you just asked me if the radio can send reports?" ”

"That's right, I asked if the radio could send a message, but not to Zhukov." Rokossovsky raised the telegram in his hand and said: "Since the command of the Front has changed our tasks: not to defend the city of Cumbre del Sol, but to attack and drive the enemy out of the city. Then we should carry out this command. ”

Speaking of this, Rokossovsky shrugged his shoulders and continued with some helplessness: "But our existing forces, let alone attack, even defense is very difficult. If we don't get supplements, we won't be able to carry out Zhukov's order, so we need to call for help from our superiors now. The Chief of Staff immediately issued a message to Marshal Shaposhnikov of the General Staff, saying that our department was preparing to launch a counteroffensive against the city of Sun Hill, but because of the lack of troops, it was impossible to carry out this operational order from the superiors, and requested the General Staff to send reinforcements to us. ”

Rokossovsky's words frightened Malinin, who stood still and did not move, but nervously asked: "Comrade commander, is it appropriate to send a report to Marshal Shaposhnikov like this?" Won't you be reprimanded by the High Command? ”

"Yes, Comrade Commander." Lobachev also worriedly reminded Rokossovsky, "Is it appropriate for you to bypass the front command and ask for reinforcements directly from the General Staff?" ”

"Nothing inappropriate, Comrade Military Commissar." Rokossovsky is also in a hurry to go to the hospital now, "In addition to asking Marshal Shaposhnikov for reinforcements, do you have any other way, can you get reinforcements?" ”

Lobachev thought for a while, then shook his head and said, "No way. After saying this, he made up his mind, and added, "Then send a telegram to the General Staff asking for help, and if the higher authorities want to investigate it in the future, I will take this responsibility with you." ”

Seeing that the commander and the military commissar had reached an agreement, Ma Linin did not persuade him any more, so he went over and instructed the telegraph operator to send a report directly to the General Staff.

While Malinin arranged for the personnel to send the report, Lobachev whispered to himself at Rokossovsky's side: "The command of the front army issued a new order without taking into account the time and the situation of the troops. In the context of the rapidly changing situation on the battlefield, such an order simply cannot keep up with the changes in the situation, and often by the time it is transmitted to the troops, it no longer accords with the new situation. ”

"That's right," Rokossovsky echoed Lobachev's whining, "such orders are only an expression of the urgent desire of the superiors, and not according to the actual situation of the troops, which often causes confusion and adds unnecessary trouble to us." ”

While waiting for a call back from the General Staff, Rokossovsky asked Malinin again: "Chief of Staff, which of our troops can be put into battle in the shortest possible time?" ”

Malinin looked down at the map, and then replied: "Comrade commander, although General Leviakin's Eighth Guards Division is nearby, their strength has been greatly weakened, and it will be difficult to launch an attack on the city of Mount Sol. So I intend to throw General Dovatore's cavalry corps into battle. ”

"Didn't General Dovator get sick the other day?" When Lobachev heard this, he couldn't help but interject and said, "With his current physical condition, can he command such an offensive battle?"

"I don't think so." Malinin replied very dryly: "So I plan to let General Priyev, the commander of the 50th Cavalry Division, command this battle." There were three cavalry divisions that could be immediately put into battle, the 50th, 24th, and 44th cavalry divisions, and they could rush from their current garrison to the vicinity of Cumbre del Sol in about two hours. ”

"Chief of Staff, tell me about your plans." Rokossovsky did not object to Malinin's arrangement, but asked lightly: "How are you going to attack?" ”

"According to the latest information we have obtained, there are only more than a thousand people left in the 240th Infantry Regiment of the German Army in Cumbre del Sol." "We can have General Priyev command three cavalry divisions to outflank the defenders of the city from the southwest and southeast of Mount del Sol," Malinin pointed to the map and introduced Rokossovsky. ”

After listening to Malinin's arrangement, Rokossovsky was silent for a long time, and then said slowly: "Chief of Staff, the only shortcoming of your battle plan is that our attacking troops do not have the cooperation of artillery and tank units, and it may be difficult to achieve the desired results even if they pay huge casualties. ”

"We have now lost contact with General Kazakov." Ma Linin replied with some shame: "The artillery units of the group army are all under his direct command. Due to the chaotic situation on the battlefield, we now have no idea where the artillery is, so we cannot provide artillery support to the attacking troops. ”

"Ask the operator to continue the call." Hearing that Kazakov's whereabouts were unknown, Rokossovsky couldn't help but be anxious: "General Kazakov must be found." ”