Just as Rokossovsky and Lobachev were worried about the fate of Klin, a retreating Soviet army appeared in the forest outside the small town of Zavidovo, eighty kilometers northwest of Klin. Pen, fun, and www.biquge.info

This unit was the 107th Infantry Division of the Soviet Army, and in the battle to recapture Yelnya, they served as a blocking mission, and they stubbornly resisted the attack of the German Imperial Division, ensuring that the reserve front successfully recovered Yelnya. However, after a long period of fighting, the attrition of the troops was already very serious, and the original unit of more than 6,000 people, only more than 1,500 remained, and even the division commander, Colonel Mironov, was wounded in the battle.

Mironov, who had a bandage on his head, stopped, called the chief of staff who was following him, and ordered: "Chief of staff, order the troops to stop advancing, and at the same time call all the commanders above the company level, and we will hold an emergency military meeting." The chief of staff of the division did not speak, but only nodded, and then turned to summon the commander.

A few minutes later, a group of commanders came to Mironov in two neat rows. Seeing that there were originally nearly 100 commanders, but now there are less than 20 left, Mironov couldn't help but feel sad.

At this time, someone in the team suddenly said loudly: "Comrade division commander, why did we stop?" You know, the Germans are right behind our ass, and before they catch up, let's move quickly! ”

"Transfer, where to transfer?" When Mironov heard this voice coming from the ranks, he immediately raised his voice with a straight face and asked: "Are you going to enter Moscow with the Germans?" ”

Mironov's rebuke made the whining commander obediently shut his mouth and honestly stayed in the queue and listened to the division commander's lecture. Only to hear Mironov continue: "Comrades, if you go another thirty kilometers to the southeast, you will reach Klin, and if we retreat like this, it will be easy to lead the enemy into Moscow." So I decided: to stop the transfer of troops, to build a defense in place, to hold back the catching German troops, to buy time for the defending troops on the outskirts of Moscow. ”

After Mironov's words, the chief of staff began to give orders: "The 319 regiment is responsible for frontal defense, and the 320 and 321 regiments are deployed on the left and right flanks of the 319 regiment, respectively. Artillery regiments were deployed at the edge of the forest, ready to provide artillery support to the infantry. ”

When the commanders at all levels returned to their respective units to prepare, Mironov asked the chief of staff in a low voice: "Chief of staff, have we been in contact with our superiors?" ”

The chief of staff of the division shook his head and said with a regretful expression: "The operator has been calling, but he has never been able to get in touch with the headquarters of the group army, maybe they are also transferring at the moment." ”

After listening to the words of the chief of staff, Mironov sighed and said regretfully: "If we can't get in touch with our superiors, I think that the blocking battle that our division is fighting here will be alone." I wonder how long our commanders and fighters will be able to support in the face of the ferocious attack of the German army? ”

"Comrade division commander," the division chief of staff looked left and right, and saw that the soldier closest to him was also a dozen steps away, and would not hear the conversation between himself and the division commander, so he boldly asked: "If we die in battle, will anyone still remember us?" ”

"Yes, Comrade Chief of Staff." Regarding the question of the chief of staff of the division, Mironov nodded and said: "I believe that our younger generations will always remember our soldiers who sacrificed their lives to defend the motherland." ”

The commander of the guard company came over and asked Mironov: "Comrade division commander, is the division headquarters located in the city?" ”

"No, Comrade Captain." Mironov shook his head and said: "Zavidovo has long been in ruins under the bombardment of the German army, and it is inappropriate to place the division headquarters there." Let's set it up in the forest, and build a semi-underground shelter, so that we can keep abreast of the battle at the front. ”

As soon as it was dawn, Mironov, who was staying at the new headquarters, received a report from the commander of the 319th Regiment that the observation post had seen the vanguard of the German motorized 14th Division through a telescope.

Hearing this, Mironov was taken aback, and he then asked: "How many troops?" ”

The regimental commander reported: "The enemy, with about a battalion of troops, is coming along the road in trucks and motorcycles towards the city of Zavidovo, and in about five minutes will approach the positions of our troops." By the way, in the back of the opposite side, there are three more tanks. ”

"Comrade Lieutenant Colonel," Mironov commanded into the microphone, "prepare your troops for battle, and as soon as the enemy comes into range, immediately open fire." ”

The German troops, who were marching towards the city of Zavidovo, were exhausted after a night's march. But one of the captains, who sat in the cab of the first truck, widened his eyes wide, watched vigilantly for movement outside, and from time to time raised the telescope hanging around his neck and looked into the distance.

Although the Soviet commanders and fighters were hidden in the fortifications, due to the rush of time, the excavated soil was piled up behind the trenches before it could be hauled away. When the German captain saw the piles of new soil, he secretly screamed in his heart, and then ordered the driver to stop, pushed the door himself, stood on the pedal, raised the binoculars and carefully observed the situation ahead.

The Germans suddenly stopped advancing, which made the commander of the 319th Regiment hidden in the trenches feel quite puzzled, and he muttered in his heart: his soldiers are well hidden, how can they be discovered by the enemy?

He thought so in his heart, and his mouth unconsciously said it. The commander of the third battalion, who was squatting next to him, after hearing his self-talk, pouted behind him and said to the regiment commander: "Comrade regiment commander, have you forgotten the dirt we piled up outside the trenches? Perhaps the enemy had seen the dirt that had not had time to be hauled away, so they guessed that we might have set up a blocking position here. ”

After listening to the battalion commander's analysis, the regiment commander slammed his fist on the earthen wall in front of him, and said indignantly: "Hell, I didn't expect the Germans to be so cunning, just found a few mounds and stopped advancing." ”

"Comrade Regiment Commander, what should we do?" The battalion commander hurriedly asked: "If the Germans don't come all the time, will we spend it like this?" ”

"Major," the regimental commander raised his hand to send the battalion commander's shoulder, and ordered, "You go back to the camp at once, so that the soldiers are ready for battle." As for the Germans," the regimental commander quietly glanced at the stagnant German troops, then retracted his head and continued, "let the regimental mortars fire two shots, and they will attack us." ”

After the battalion commander left, the regiment commander immediately ordered the artillery company commander to fire two shots at the convoy in the distance. The company commander agreed, immediately returned to the mortar position, organized artillery fire to bombard the German convoy parked on the road.

The three remaining mortars of the mortar company opened fire at the same time, and three mortar shells whistled down on the road and exploded, overturning a motorcycle, and the three soldiers in the car rolled to the side covered in blood. The German captain holding the telescope was startled, hurriedly threw the telescope, threw it forward, and then lay on the ground with his head in his hands, avoiding the next shelling by the Soviet army.

And Mironov, who was staying in the command headquarters, heard the sound of artillery outside, and couldn't help but pause for a moment, then turned his head and asked the chief of staff: "Strange, why didn't I hear the gunshots, but only the guns, what is going on?" ”

The chief of staff, having called the commander of the 319 regiment, reported to Mironov: "Comrade division commander, lieutenant colonel, reported that the enemy had discovered the positions they had set up and stopped advancing. He thought that since he had been exposed, there was no point in hiding any longer, so he ordered the mortar to fire. ”

"Nonsense, it's nonsense." After listening to the report of the chief of staff, Mironov could not help but say angrily: "Originally, we could have waited for the enemy to approach and take them by surprise. Who knew that it was still so far away, and he actually ordered the artillery to open fire. His few mortars, as long as the German tanks come with a salvo, can kill them all. ”

After hearing this, the division chief of staff twitched the muscles on his face a few times, and then asked tentatively: "Comrade division commander, what should we do next?" Listen, the mortars outside are still ringing, are we going to ask them to stop firing for the time being. ”

"It's late, it's late." Mironov said with regret: "Even if the 319th Regiment stops shelling, it has already exposed its target. Next, what waited for them was the frenzied retaliation of the Germans. Call the artillery regiment and ask them to be ready to shoot so that they can provide artillery support to the 319th Regiment at any time. ”

When the Germans noticed that only three small-caliber mortars were firing at the Soviet position, they immediately moved the tanks behind. As soon as the suppressive shelling of the tanks began, the soldiers who had gotten out of the car to avoid the shelling got up from the ground one after another and rushed towards the Soviet positions with their weapons in hand.

Looking at the dense German troops, they spread out in battle formation and rushed towards their positions at a trot. The battalion commander, who was in the first trench, couldn't help but feel weak in his heart, and his hand holding the telescope couldn't stop trembling. As the tide of German troops approached closer and closer, the soldiers in the trenches, one of them was trembling nervously, the fingers that hooked the trigger could not stop shaking, the palms of their hands were sticky, even in November weather, they were sweating profusely, their backs were already soaking, and they could even hear the sound of teeth fighting when they got closer.

If it had been a month earlier, in the face of such a German charge, the major would not have been frightened at all. However, after such a long battle, almost all the experienced soldiers were gone, and now the battalion is full of recruits who have just picked up arms, and there is no combat effectiveness at all, even so, the total strength of the whole battalion is only a little more than a hundred, and it is simply an impossible task to defeat several times its own enemy.

Seeing the Germans getting closer and closer to their positions, the extreme nervousness and fear made the minds of the recruits in the trenches go blank, forgetting that they could only shoot if they heard the order to shoot. Faced with the menacing Germans, they did not know where to aim, and instinctively pulled the trigger with their fingers, then pulled the bolt and exited the cartridge case, pulled the trigger again, pulled the bolt, and hooked the trigger again...... The seemingly fierce, dense gunfire was chaotic, and God knows where the bullets hit, and few of the charging Germans were shot and fell.

It was not until the only Maxim heavy machine gun on the position opened fire that some results were achieved. None of the soldiers on the machine-gun fire escaped, and the limbs that were continuously pierced by the bullets burst out of a large canopy of blood mist.

Unfortunately, not long after the heavy machine gun fired, it was discovered by the German tanks, and all three tanks invariably turned their guns and fired at the machine gun fire point that was firing frantically. The extremely high hit rate, as well as the lethality of the tank's shells, immediately blew the heavy machine gun into parts, and the machine gunner who hit it directly was blown into pieces.

The chief of staff of the division, having received information from the front, reported to Mironov: "Comrade division commander, the situation of the 319th regiment is very bad, as a result of the suppression of German tank artillery fire, the mortars and heavy machine guns of the regiment have been completely destroyed. In the face of the German attack, they can only use light fire to resist, if we do not help them, it is estimated that the position will not be able to hold. ”

Mironov looked at the map in front of him and said: "The 320th Regiment and the 321st Regiment are only about 300 people, if they are allowed to support the 319th Regiment, the positions on both flanks of our division are in danger of being broken through by the Germans." ”

"We can order the artillery to fire!" The chief of staff of the division said anxiously: "Knowing that the German tanks were destroyed, the next battle will be easy to fight." ”

"Well," Mironov knew that the artillery regiment had only one 76.2-mm gun and a dozen shells left, but in the current situation, the only heavy equipment had to be used. "Call the commander of the artillery regiment and order them to find a way to take out the enemy's tanks, and then bombard the enemy's infantry."

Just after he gave the order to shell, the phone on the desk suddenly rang. Mironov picked up the microphone and put it to his ear, and immediately heard the anxious voice of the commander of the 319th regiment: "Comrade division commander, the enemy has rushed into the position of the third battalion and is engaged in a white-knuckle battle with our fighters, I ask for support." ”

"Comrade Lieutenant Colonel," Mironov said angrily, "the two regiments deployed on your left and right flanks are also facing the attack launched by the Germans, and where do I have troops to transfer to you." You have to resolutely resist the German attack, I have ordered the artillery to open fire and destroy the German tanks. As long as the German tanks are knocked out, the next battle will be easy to fight. ”

After Mironov put down the phone, he called the commander of the guard company and ordered: "Captain, you immediately take the guard company and go to reinforce the 319th regiment, and you must not let the enemy pass through our line of defense." ”

"But, Comrade Division Commander," the commander of the guard company asked with a look of embarrassment after hearing this order, "If I take the guard company away, what will happen to the safety of the division headquarters?" ”

Seeing that the commander of the guard company did not listen to his orders, Mironov glared at him and said dissatisfiedly: "If the enemy breaks through the position of the 319th Regiment and rushes to the division headquarters, what role can these thirty or so fighters under your command play?" Taking advantage of the other party's stunned effort, he urged again, "Okay, carry out the order!" ”