As soon as Rokossovsky walked into the command, he asked Malinin: "Chief of Staff, is there any update from the 316th Infantry Division?" ”

"Yes, Comrade Commander. "The www.biquge.info Germans, under the cover of twenty tanks, are attacking the positions of the 1075th Regiment, and the battle is going on intensely. ”

"You stay here, I'll go to the observation post." After Rokossovsky gave Malinin a word, he glanced at Lobachev and went alone to the observation post a hundred meters away.

There were only two staff officers in the observation post, and when they saw Rokossovsky breaking in, the two quickly turned around and saluted him. Rokossovsky raised his hand and returned the salute, and then asked straight to the point: "What is the situation ahead?" ”

"Not so well, Comrade Commander." A staff officer replied: "The German tanks have broken through our first line of defense, and the fighters are ......"

Before he could finish his sentence, he was pulled aside by Rokossovsky. Rokossovsky then walked to the lookout and raised his binoculars to look into the distance, where he saw the damaged Maxim heavy machine gun crooked next to the collapsed sandbag, the apparently stumpled wooden stakes, the broken guns, the overturned steel helmets, and the corpses strewn across the ground...... Everything clearly told him how fierce the shelling had just been.

Around this trench, hundreds of people wearing two different military uniforms were fighting desperately, even if it was far away, but his ears seemed to be able to hear the howls mixed with the bumps between weapons and the heart-rending screams before death, although he did not dare to completely determine who would win the final victory, but the bright red banner in the trench made him unmistakably understand that the position was still in the hands of the 316th Division.

In just a short period of time, at least dozens of people fell on both sides of the attacker and defender. When the German infantry saw that their tanks had successfully rushed through the first line of Soviet defense, and were rushing into depth, they all seemed to have been beaten with blood, and their attacks became more and more sharp, constantly hitting the crumbling line, and skirmishes began in the trenches.

The war had developed to the point of urgency, and there was no time left to think or observe again, Rokossovsky hurriedly grabbed the phone on the table, dialed the command headquarters, and loudly ordered Kazakov: "Comrade Chief of Artillery, immediately order the artillery to open fire and press down the enemy's infantry with artillery fire. Then order the anti-tank artillery regiment to aim at the tanks that have broken through the first line of defense of our army and open fire, and be sure to destroy them all. ”

As the order was given, the artillery deployed in the Volokolamsk area opened fire suddenly, and the dense shells fell on the rear of the German columns to explode and explode, cutting off the connection between the German infantry and the rear of the fierce battle with the Soviet troops. At the same time, anti-tank artillery batteries scattered in several areas also aimed at the German tanks that were moving at high speed, and burned one tank after another.

The German infantry saw the tanks rushing into the depth of the Soviet defense, and they were shot one after another and burst into flames, while the Soviet commanders and fighters in front of them fought to the death, and could only leave more than 200 corpses in front of the position, and retreated in disgrace.

Seeing that the Germans were retreating, Rokossovsky dialed Panfilov's command and shouted at the top of his voice: "Hey, General Panfilov?" The German attack on you has been repulsed, but I see that there are not many troops on the first line of defense, should you send some troops up to reinforce you? ”

Hearing Rokossovsky say this, Panfilov said with a wry smile: "Comrade commander, the defensive front of our division is too wide, and there are not many mobile forces that can be used. ”

"Don't worry, General Panfilov." In order to strengthen Panfilov's determination to hold the position, Rokossovsky showed his cards: "I have ordered the 53rd Cavalry Division to reinforce you, and at the same time deploy the main force of the artillery of the army group to the Volokolamsk area. ”

"This is not enough, Comrade Commander." Hearing that there was only one 53rd Cavalry Division that came to support him, Panfilov couldn't help but be slightly disappointed in his heart: "The cavalry is okay for assault, but it is not as good as the infantry for defense." Moreover, our positions are under heavy shelling by the Germans, and if they rush in, they will definitely cause unnecessary casualties. ”

"Cavalry divisions are not there to help you hold your positions," Rokossovsky explained to Panfilov, "and they will strike from the flanks of the Germans, disrupt the enemy's offensive steps, and relieve pressure on your defenses." ”

"Comrade Commander, can you send me some reserves?" Panfilov said pitifully: "You must know that the German army has several times more troops and technical equipment than us, and it also has air supremacy. If you don't support us again, I'm afraid that when the troops are gone, we won't be able to hold our positions anymore. ”

Hearing Panfilov say this, Rokossovsky very much wanted to tell the other side: "I don't have reserves. "But on second thought, the Germans concentrated their superior forces and a large amount of technical equipment and launched a frantic attack on the defense area of the 316th Infantry Division, and it was really not easy to hold the position if they did not add some strength.

After a short period of thought, he decisively said to Panfilov: "Well, Comrade General, I will immediately transfer a regiment of the 126th Infantry Division to strengthen you. ”

Rokossovsky left the observation post and returned to the command. As soon as he entered the door, he called Malinin over and instructed: "Chief of Staff, the situation with General Panfilov is very bad, you immediately transfer a regiment from the 126th Division to strengthen their defenses. ”

After Malinin walked away, he called Orel over again and asked: "Comrade Colonel, the German infantry, under the cover of tanks, launched an attack on General Panfilov's defense zone. We had just broken through their defenses for a while, could we think of something to help them? ”

Orel thought for a moment, and then said to Rokossovsky: "Comrade commander, see if you let Lieutenant Colonel Lemizov drive all the tanks to the position as a stationary battery." So that they could carry out an attack on those German tanks that covered the infantry charge? ”

"No, Comrade Colonel, I disagree." Rokossovsky immediately rejected Orel's proposal, deliberately explaining: "Tanks should be mobile and placed there for German artillery or aircraft to be targeted." I think I can order Lieutenant Colonel Lemizov to lead the troops, go around the flanks of the Germans, and beat them hard. ”

"Is this appropriate?" After listening to Rokossovsky's statement, the muscles in his face twitched violently a few times and then said: "If you encounter a large number of German tanks, you will be in trouble." Maybe none of the tanks we sent will come back. ”

"Comrade Colonel, I don't know if you have noticed that the tactics of the German army are also very dull, nothing more than preparing for artillery fire first, and then after the shelling is over, the tanks will attack, and then the infantry will move forward, and at the same time flank and outflank. After approaching our position, the infantry was deployed to lure our troops to expose the firing points, and the on-board machine guns of the tank armored vehicles were used to suppress the fire, and the tank guns were directly aimed at the fire and concentrated clearing. Then concentrate on the other side, causing the defenders to be unevenly distributed, and forced to move forces......" Rokossovsky finally said after introducing the characteristics of the German offensive: "But their biggest weakness is that when attacking, they neglect to protect the two flanks of the attacking force, and if we can send tanks or cavalry to attack their flanks, we may achieve good results." ”

"I agree to let the tank units attack." As soon as Rokossovsky's words were finished, Orel continued: "But cavalry, I think it is more appropriate to use it against the German transport lines, or individual infantry, after all, our cavalry fighters are carrying small arms, and once they encounter the German tanks and armored vehicles, it will turn into a one-sided massacre." ”

Rokossovsky agreed with Orel's reminder very much, in fact, he also felt in his heart that cavalry was a chicken rib army. When defending positions, the storage of horses is a big problem; And when attacking, it seems to be very mobile, but in the face of enemy tanks and armored vehicles, it is an excellent target. Therefore he instructed Orel: "Colonel, call Lieutenant Colonel Lemizov and order him to lead the tank corps, move towards the Volokolamsk area, and if necessary, launch an attack on the flank of the German troops. ”

"Marching in the daytime?" Orel said a little worriedly: "Once it is discovered by the German reconnaissance plane, it may be attacked by air raids, and the losses at that time will definitely not be small." ”

"We have to take risks." Although Rokossovsky knew that in broad daylight, it would be the most foolish thing to let the armored troops advance towards the most intense part of the battle without air cover, but seeing that the defense line of the 316th Division was precarious, he had no choice but to harden his heart and give such an order. But in the end, he didn't finish instructing: "Let the tank crew tie a branch to the tank, so as to reduce the chance of being detected by enemy reconnaissance planes." ”

Before going to call, Orel also deliberately reminded Rokossovsky: "Comrade commander, see if you can make the 4th Tank Brigade of Colonel Katukov also combat-ready." His successes in Mtsensk proved that he was a commander who knew tank warfare very well. ”

"Yes," Rokossovsky said, nodding his head, "call him and make him ready for the necessary battle, so that as soon as he receives an order from the command, he will be able to immediately attack the enemy." ”

Just as Rokossovsky was mobilizing his forces and preparing to strengthen the defenses of the 316th Division, the Germans again launched a heavy artillery bombardment of the positions of the 1075th Regiment.

When a loud bang was heard, and then a black fountain rose in front of the position, Crochkov, who was cheering things up on the position, immediately shouted: "Shelling, lie down, lie down!" ”

In fact, there was no need for him to shout, during the enemy's first test firing, the commanders and fighters who stayed in the position reacted in a timely manner, squatting in the trenches in an all-round way, and the soldiers who were close to the anti-artillery holes even went directly into the holes.

After the test firing, heavy German shelling began. Crochkov lay in the trench with his head in his hands, curled up. When one loud bang after another exploded nearby, his heart couldn't help but contract, and his whole body couldn't help but tremble. He pressed his body as tightly as he could, desperately digging his whole body into the dirt to avoid the damn shelling. After the shelling went on for a while, his mood gradually stabilized, and he even had the leisure to listen to the screaming of the aerial shell piercing the air, and secretly judged the location of the shell in his heart.

I don't know how long it took, but the sound of the artillery suddenly stopped. Krochkov struggled to get out of the dirt covering himself and shouted: "The enemy is about to attack, everyone goes into combat positions." He walked forward crookedly, pulling everyone his foot touched out of the dirt and letting them into his combat position. Many soldiers quickly lay down in the trenches, aiming their weapons at the German tanks and infantry that were rushing towards them, but some of them were already lying motionless in the floating soil with residual warmth.

"Comrade Instructor 1st Class," a second lieutenant next to him, covered in mud with gauze wrapped around his head, asked Crochkov in a loud voice: "Can we hold our positions?" ”

"Yes, comrades." Crochkov shouted at him: "We must hold on like this." The Motherland is big, but we have no way back, because behind us is Moscow! ”

After the second lieutenant heard Crochkov's words clearly, he shouted to the side: "Did you hear the words of Comrade First Class Instructor? We have no way back, and behind us is Moscow. Brethren, as long as there is only one man left, we must not allow the Germans to pass through our positions. ”

"That's right, the lieutenant is right." As he continued to walk forward, Krochkov said loudly: "The Germans are outnumbered by us, but they have been repulsed by us many times, and this time will be no exception. Look at how many corpses of Germans lay in front of our positions. While the enemy is now far from us, you can calculate in your mind how many Germans will fall in front of our positions in a while. ”

Crochkov's simple words immediately made the blood of the fighters who heard these words boil, and everyone aimed the weapons in their hands at the German infantry who rushed over, ready to open fire as soon as they entered the firing range. The anti-tank rifles, on the other hand, had already aimed at the German tanks that were speeding over, and pulled the trigger fiercely. After a round of firing, one of the tanks that rushed to the front was hit by several armor-piercing shells, and after a certain distance of lunging forward, it stopped in place and burned. (To be continued.) )