After waiting for Rokossovsky to finish speaking, Lidyukov pursed his lips and said: "Comrade commander, now our forces are limited, and if they are barely enough for defense, they will not be able to attack the enemy at all. Pen | fun | pavilion www. ｂｉｑｕｇｅ。 ｉｎｆｏ”

"I see what you mean, Colonel Lidyukov, you're worried about the lack of troops." In response to Lidyukov's hesitation, Rokossovsky explained to him: "There may be a difference between the offensive I am talking about and the kind of offensive you understand. ”

"The difference, what's the difference?" Lidyukov asked puzzled.

"You go deep into the enemy's rear, attack their lines of communication, their logistics bases, and make them not at peace for a moment." Rokossovsky looked at Lidyukov and said: "As long as you are constantly fighting, then the enemy will not be able to concentrate his forces to attack our defenses. ”

Lidyukov frowned and said: "Comrade commander, isn't the task you assigned to us tantamount to letting us go to be partisans?" I'm worried that if that's the case, the commanders and fighters will be emotional. ”

"Comrade Colonel, I think you also know that from the outbreak of the war to the present day, there have been quite a few of our partisans in the rear of the enemy. Some of them were composed of scattered commanders and fighters of the troops, and some were factory workers and collective farm workers, and although they could cause countless troubles to the Germans, they could not affect the combat deployment of the German army because of their limited combat effectiveness. Rokossovsky, in order for Lidyukov to faithfully carry out his orders, specifically explained to him: "And the combat effectiveness of your mixed detachment is not comparable with all partisan units. In addition to constantly attacking the German road and rail transportation lines and destroying their logistical supply bases, as the partisans did, they can also concentrate their forces on the initiative to attack the poorly defended German camps when necessary, and consume their vital forces as much as possible. Got it?"

Rokossovsky's remarks finally made Lidyukov understand that the main purpose of letting them go to the rear of the German army to carry out raiding operations was to contain the enemy's forces, disrupt the offensive deployment of the German army, and buy precious time for the troops holding the defensive line to strengthen their defenses.

After Lidyukov, who had accepted the order, he respectfully asked: "Comrade commander, do you have anything else that I need to convey to the fighters?" ”

Hearing Lidyukov's question, Rokossovsky suddenly remembered a famous sentence, because the commander who said this is still far away in Kazakhstan, so he said to several commanders without any burden: "When you go back to your respective units, you have to tell the fighters that although the territory of Russia is vast, we have no way back, because behind us is Moscow, the heart of our great motherland." ”

"Understood, Comrade Commander." Hearing Rokossovsky say this, Lidyukov immediately replied loudly: "I will convey your words to the fighters so that they understand the true meaning of this war." ”

Lidyukov's mixed detachment, after a night's rest and replenishment of weapons and ammunition, set out again. The first target Lidyukov chose was Dukhovshina in Yaltsevo, where the motorized battalion of the 101st Tank Division had suffered heavy losses from the Germans not long ago, and if it had not been for the timely reinforcement of the tank battalion, it is estimated that they would have been completely wiped out.

Lidyukov led his troops, which took about a day, through the forest north of Yaltsevo, and behold, approached Dukhovshhna from the east. After interrogating the prisoners captured by the scouts, Lidyukov learned that the main strength of the German army was currently storming the defensive strip northwest of Yaltsevo, and that only one company of troops remained in the city.

Knowing that there was an emptiness inside the city of Dukhovshina, Lidyukov immediately made the decision to attack the city. The battle began after dark, and the defenders of the city let their guard down because of the German victory the previous day and the fact that their troops were constantly attacking the Soviet lines. In this case, the tanks, which led the infantry charge, easily broke through the German defenses outside the city and quickly rushed into the city.

The German troops, who had come to their senses, were putting up a stubborn resistance, but in the face of the rumbling tanks, the soldiers without anti-tank weapons could only hug their heads and run away. The whole battle lasted only an hour before it ended without incident. Lyudyukov immediately sent a telegram to Rokossovsky, reporting on the situation of the battle, as well as the results achieved.

After reading the telegram, Rokossovsky excitedly said to Carmela: "The whole Colonel Lidyukov is fantastic, he commanded the troops to storm Dukhovshina, and in less than an hour he killed and wounded 140 soldiers, captured 50 people, and captured a large amount of weapons and ammunition, while his own casualties were only a dozen." ”

After hearing this, Carmela was not as happy as Rokossovsky, he frowned and said: "Koschika, I don't think there is any need to hold on to this small city of Dukhovshina, it is better to let the mixed detachment withdraw, otherwise when the enemy bombards the city at dawn, Colonel Lidyukov and they will suffer heavy casualties." ”

"That's right, Comrade Carmela, you're right." Rokossovsky was so good that he immediately turned around and ordered Tarasov: "Chief of Staff, please immediately send a telegram to Colonel Lidyukov and tell them that in order to prevent German air strikes, their troops should withdraw from Dukhovshina before dawn. In addition, troops were to be sent to the south to guard the city in order to prevent the Germans who were attacking our positions from turning around and attacking the city. ”

After reading Rokossovsky's telegram, Lidyukov said to Sakhno, who was standing beside him: "Comrade Major, I did not expect that Comrade Commander and I would have the same idea, even if he did not say it, I would lead the troops to withdraw from the city and move to other directions before dawn tomorrow." ”

"Since we have captured a large amount of weapons and ammunition in the battles that have just ended," Sakhno reported to Lidyukov, "and now we have armed the unarmed commanders and fighters in the detachment, so that our combat effectiveness has been significantly improved." Even if we encounter a strong German army, we can still have the strength to fight. ”

"Major, where do you think we should move next?"

Sakhno stared at the map in front of him for a long time, and then said: "According to what I have obtained from the headquarters, it is the German 7th Panzer Division that is now attacking the Yaltsevo Line. This force was extremely combat-ready, but the requirements for logistical supplies were high, and if it were not for the fact that a large number of tanks could not participate in the battle due to lack of fuel and ammunition, the Yaltsevo line would have been broken through by the Germans long ago. ”

"Alright, Comrade Major." Although what Sakhno said was the truth, Lidyukov did not want to listen to it, he interrupted the other party's words, and said with some displeasure: "I just asked you, the next direction of our mixed detachment, what are you doing with so many useless words?" ”

"Comrade Colonel, that's what I think." Pointing to the map, Sakhno said: "The German troops attacking Yaltsevo today have made a detour from the north of Kyiv, and their later supplies will inevitably be completed through this road." I think we should take the initiative and go and hijack their convoys on the highways. As long as the Germans were not supplied with men, weapons and ammunition, then the intensity of their attack would be greatly reduced, so that the friendly forces would have a greater certainty of holding their positions. ”

Lidyukov listened to Sakhno's advice, and as soon as it was dawn, he led a mixed detachment and pounced on the transport lines in the rear of the German army. Due to the vast territory near Smolensk and the fact that the German forces were too scattered, Lidyukov's small force, which had more than a dozen tanks and more than 700 commanders and fighters, calmly passed through the gap between the German troops and set up an ambush on the road through which the German transport convoy must pass.

At noon, Lidyukov received a report from Major Shebelyuk, who was on guard in the west, that a convoy of fifty trucks was heading east along the road. Immediately after receiving this report, Lidyukov issued a combat order to the troops, and he deployed all the tanks of the detachment on the north side of the road.

At two o'clock in the afternoon, the German convoy appeared in Lidyukov's field of vision. After observation, he issued an order to the tank detachment, asking them to destroy all the vehicles in front and behind the German convoy with artillery fire, and block all the roads for the convoy to move forward and backward, so as to achieve the goal of closing the door and beating the dogs.

When the German convoy entered the ambush circle, Lidyukov decisively gave the order to open fire. As the vehicles in front and behind the convoy were hit by shells and began to catch fire, the entire convoy was paralyzed on the road like a dead snake. Seeing the heavy fire of the Soviet artillery and the destruction of one truck after another, the soldiers escorting the car jumped out of the car one after another, trying to use the cover of the car to return fire at the ambushers.

Unfortunately, it backfired, and most of the German soldiers were shot and killed by Soviet soldiers hiding nearby as soon as they jumped out of the car. The rest hid behind the car and fired a few shots, and because the truck was hit by artillery fire, they had to find a safe place to hide again.

After the battle, in addition to the 19 German officers and men who were taken prisoner, the other 180 drivers or officers and men escorting the car were killed or killed.

Seeing such an easy victory, Sakhno could not help but say to Lidyukov with some excitement: "Comrade Colonel, I did not expect our battle to go so smoothly. You see, in just one day and one night, we wiped out two companies of German troops. And the casualties on their own side can be ignored. If we continue like this, we will be able to destroy at least a few thousand enemies by the end of this month. ”

Although Lidyukov's heart blossomed, he remained calm on the surface. He deliberately said to Sakhno with a straight face: "Comrade Major, although our commanders and fighters have fought well in these two battles, they can't be proud. Reconnaissance of the enemy must also be strengthened, so that we can know where to choose the next combat direction after this battle. ”

While Lidyukov's mixed detachment was constantly harassing the German rear, the German 7th Panzer Division again launched an attack on its position west of Yatsevo.

In order to quickly destroy the Soviet defenses, the Germans first dispatched more than 20 dive bombers to bombard the Soviet positions west of Yaltsevo. But seeing that the entire position was covered in gunsmoke, the German bombers turned their noses and flew in the direction of the airfield.

Looking at the German planes in the distance, Carmela said indignantly: "Damn the Germans, they just bullied us that we don't have an air force, that's why we dare to be so arrogant." After that, he walked up to Rokossovsky and said to him, "Kostenko, I have an idea. ”

"Just say what you think." Rokossovsky stared at the map in front of him, pondering how to defend next, and said to Carmela: "We have been friends for so many years, what do you have that you can't say directly?" ”

"We don't have air support, and we can't be bombed by the Germans every day." Carmela said with a sad face: "In order to reverse this unfavorable situation, I think it is necessary to send a mixed detachment of Colonel Lidyukov to attack the airfield of the German army. As long as all the enemy's planes are blown up, we will not have to worry about air defense in the short term. ”

Rokossovsky gestured with his hand on the map, then shook his head and said to Carmela: "No, General Carmela, we are too far from the German airfield here. For Colonel Lidyukov's troops, marching two hundred kilometers in the rear of the enemy, to attack a field airfield, this is simply an impossible task. ”

After hearing this, Carmela said indignantly: "Then what should we do, continue to let the fighters stay in the position and be bombed?" ”

As soon as he finished speaking, there was another rumbling of cannon outside. He hurriedly walked to the lookout, raised his binoculars and looked into the distance, then turned to Rokossovsky and said: "Comrade commander, the Germans are shelling our positions, it seems that their offensive is about to begin. ”

Rokossovsky nodded, then picked up the phone and called Kirillov, who was staying in the position, and asked with concern: "Colonel, what are the casualties of your troops in the bombardment just now?" ”

"Report to Comrade Commander," Kirillov replied loudly, "in the bombardment that just ended, our division lost 17 people and 82 wounded, and it will not affect the next battle." ”

Rokossovsky admonished him uneasily: "Colonel, the enemy is carrying out heavy artillery shelling of your positions, which is a precursor to their offensive. You will send out observation posts to monitor the enemy's movements from your position. As soon as the enemy is detected and the attack is started, the battle alert should be immediately issued to all commanders and fighters. (To be continued.) )