The Germans who were holding on to the logistics base had been killed and wounded under Soviet fire, and when the Soviets rushed forward, they met little resistance. Pen? Interesting? Pavilion wWw. ｂiquge。 info The occasional sporadic gunfire was a sign of soldiers destroying the wounded German soldiers who were trying to put up a stubborn resistance.

Hearing the news of the occupation of the logistics base, Kalinin immediately smiled, and he said to his chief of staff: "Chief of staff, the German logistics base has been occupied by us, and it will not be long before the German troops in the city will have to choose to retreat because they are running out of ammunition and food, and then we will be able to recover the city." ”

"Comrade Commander, do you think we need to report this matter to General Zhukov?" When the chief of staff waited for Kalinin's words to come to an end, he carefully reminded: "Although the logistics base occupies a small area in the city, the significance of occupying it is very significant. ”

"Yes, yes, Comrade Chief of Staff, you are right." When Kalinin heard the reminder of the chief of staff, he suddenly woke up like a dream, and after his mood stabilized a little, he picked up the phone on the table and dialed the front headquarters directly. As soon as he heard Zhukov's voice, he couldn't help but be a little excited: "Comrade commander, I report to you that my troops have occupied the logistics base in the city. ”

"Very well, Comrade Kalinin. If your troops can maintain this rate, it will take at most a day for the city of Yelnya to be completely back in our hands. After saying these polite words, Zhukov then asked: "Have all the materials in the warehouse been destroyed in the shelling just now?" ”

"Most of the supplies have been blown up, and at the same time that I am reporting to you, many places in the logistics base are still surrounded by raging fires." After receiving the report of the 28th Infantry Brigade, Kalinin once specifically understood some details, so when he heard Zhukov's question at this moment, he could answer so calmly: "But there are still some materials from underground warehouses, which are still well preserved." Inside are some food and medicine, all of which are urgently needed by our army. ”

"I see." Zhukov held the microphone and nodded, and said: "You continue to attack, strive to take more positions before dawn, even if you can't completely destroy the enemy, you must find a way to squeeze them out of the city." ”

But the next battle did not go well. In order to block the attack of the Soviet army, the German army actually adopted despicable means to drive the residents of the city to the front of some fortifications, and let them act as human shields for themselves, so that the Soviet army was a rat trap and had to temporarily stop the attack.

After daybreak, the Germans brought in the 10th Tank and launched an attack on the positions of the Soviet 107th Division from the south of Yelnya in cooperation with the Imperial Division. When Kalinin learned of this, he immediately called the division commander, and he raised his voice and said: "Comrade Colonel, the situation has become complicated. The Germans, not resigned to their defeat in the city of Yelnya, prepared to counterattack us from the south of the city. Hold your ground resolutely and do not allow the enemy to rush through your lines under any circumstances. Whether you can hold back the German offensive or not is related to the fate of the entire campaign. Understand, is it the fate of the whole campaign? ”

"Understood, Comrade Commander." The division commander replied excitedly: "Even if there is only one soldier left in our division, the Germans will definitely not be allowed to pass through our positions." ”

Less than half an hour after this phone call, the Imperial Division, with the cooperation of the 10th Tank Division, launched a frantic attack on the positions of the 107th Infantry Division.

Because the commanders and fighters of the division understood that the victory or defeat of this defensive battle was related to the fate of this battle. Therefore, in the face of the frantic offensive of the German troops, they put up stubborn resistance. With the anti-tank guns lost and the anti-tank grenades depleted, the fighters strapped grenades to their bodies and rushed forward to die with the enemy tanks.

After a day of fighting, the Germans suffered heavy losses, leaving behind more than 30 destroyed tanks and more than 700 corpses in front of the positions of the 107th Division. Seeing that many fierce attacks could not break through the defenses of the Soviet army, the commander of the Imperial division, Hausser, had to order the troops to withdraw from the battle.

The next day, the 10th Tank Division and the Imperial Division were transferred to the Southern Front, and the task of resisting the Soviet offensive was entrusted to the 24th Infantry Division in the city of Yelnya, as well as the 157th, 178th, 268th, and 292nd Divisions stationed nearby, and they were ordered to contain the Soviet advance westward at all costs.

Without tank and artillery support, coupled with Yelnya's air supremacy, and in the hands of the Soviets, the Germans fell into a situation of passive beating. Since the German army in Yelnya used the inhabitants as human shields to stall the Soviet offensive, Zhukov decided to clear the enemy on the periphery first, and then finally deal with the German 24th Infantry Division in the city.

Under the powerful offensive of the Soviet army, the area near Yelnya that was controlled by the Germans was encroached on little by little. By 5 September, half of the city of Yelnya was in German hands, and the rest was once again under Soviet control.

In the evening of the same day, Kalinin called Zhukov and asked for instructions: "Comrade commander, the German troops on the periphery have been basically cleared, and there is no enemy of company size anymore, when do you think we can attack the German troops in the city again?" ”

Zhukov had already been reprimanded several times by Stalin for not seizing Yelnya within the allotted time. However, thinking of the inhabitants of the city who were used as human shields, it was always difficult for him to give the final orders. At this moment, after hearing Kalinin's request, after weighing for a moment, he gritted his back molars and said: "Tomorrow, tomorrow will launch a final attack on the enemy in the city of Yelnya, and we must completely and cleanly destroy them." ”

"Understood." Kalinin did not mention the matter of the residents, he knew that it was impossible to not die a single person, and he could only find a way to minimize the casualties of the residents when attacking. "My offensive will begin at seven o'clock tomorrow morning, and in order to avoid hurting innocent people, we will not prepare for artillery fire."

Early the next morning, the Soviet troops in the city of Yelnya, without any artillery preparations, launched an attack on the enemy entrenched in the direction of the city. Although the recalcitrant Germans inflicted heavy casualties on the Soviet commanders and fighters, their ammunition had been almost exhausted during this period of fighting, and by evening, the tide of the battle was one-sided. Seeing that the general trend was gone, the German officers and soldiers were forced to lay down their arms and surrender to the Soviet troops.

When Zhukov learned that the troops had captured the entire city of Yelnya, Zhukov said three times in a row: "Well done! Attaboy!! Attaboy!!! Then he called Stalin on a high-frequency telephone and reported in a calm tone: "Comrade Stalin, I have good news for you: the city of Yelnya has been recaptured by our troops!" (To be continued.) )