The convoy drove into Royscher, passing several streets in a row, but there was not a single person in sight, and it was as silent as a dead city, except for the roar of car motors. It was also bombed by German planes, many houses were blown down, and the streets and doorways of residential buildings were left with baggage, suitcases and children's toys.

Rokossovsky asked the driver to park next to a relatively intact building, and then got out of the car and waited for Colonel Kalinin with Vashukin and Maslov to arrive. Vashugin looked at the city that had been damaged by German aircraft, gritted his back molars and asked: "Comrade Rokossovsky, what are your plans?" ”

"Comrade Military Commissar," Rokossovsky had led his troops through during the last exercise, and he was very familiar with the nearby terrain, so he quickly had a corresponding countermeasure: "Since the Germans have occupied Kowell, our original plan of building positions there for defense and blocking the enemy's advance should be adjusted accordingly. I intend to take advantage of the favorable conditions that the Germans did not yet know that we had reached, and to take the initiative to open up and annihilate the lone German units in depth, so as to create favorable conditions for our next battle......"

"Tell me what you think?" Vashugin said lightly: "Our first task at the moment is to stop the enemy. ”

"Three kilometers north of the city, there is a ridge on the east side of the road, which is the ideal terrain for ambushes." Rokossovsky said excitedly: "The grass in the mountains is deep and dense, which is not only convenient for the troops to conceal, but also conducive to our attack. As soon as the enemy enters our ambush circle, then we will definitely be hit hard. ”

"Tell me more about it."

Rokossovsky asked Maslov to take out a map, spread it on the hood of the gas car, pointed to the north of Reuscher, and said: "Comrade Military Commissar, I think so, put a regiment on the high ground, and as soon as the Germans enter our ambush circle, we will immediately launch an attack, and strive to destroy the enemy who is alone in the depths." ”

"Only one regiment on the high ground?" After listening to this, Vashukin frowned and asked, "What about the other two regiments?" ”

"In order to prevent the Germans from being oversized, our ambushed troops will not be able to stop their advance, so I intend to deploy the other two regiments outside the city," Rokossovsky pointed to draw a dotted line north of Reusche: "Build the necessary fortifications here, so that even if the Germans arrive, we can block their attack." ”

"I'm not familiar with military matters." After listening to this, Vashukin said reasonably: "Since you are so sure, then you have the final say on how to deploy the troops." ”

Two hours later, the Kaverin regiment of the Kalinin division had all entered the eastern slopes. When the troops dug a trench on the mountainside and on the top of the mountain, the regimental commander, Lieutenant Colonel Kaverin, set up the regimental command post on the top of the hillside in order to facilitate command. In order not to expose the target, after the construction of the fortifications was completed, the commanders and fighters not only did not clear the line, but moved the turf from behind the slope and put it in front of the trench for camouflage.

Considering that there must be tanks and armored vehicles in the German assault troops, it is difficult for the small-caliber mortars arranged on the positions to destroy these big guys, so there are also a lot of electric detonation mines planted on the roads, which are specially used to deal with German tanks and armored vehicles. At this moment, the soldiers were lying in the trenches, holding their weapons on the edge of the trenches, and staring vigilantly at the road below. Although the weeds in front of the position somewhat obstructed the view, they also played a maximum role in concealment.

An advance detachment of German troops left Cowell and swaggered along the road to the end towards Lutsk. This unit, after heavy German artillery fire and indiscriminate bombardment by the air force in the early hours of this morning, crossed the border, easily destroyed the insignificant resistance of the Soviet border guards, and succeeded in capturing Cowell.

Since only when crossing the state border was met with negligible resistance from the Soviet troops. When they entered the crossing, there were no defenders in the field fortifications they saw along the way. The German major, who commanded the troops, took it for granted that the Soviet troops were simply not ready for war, so they did not have time to place defenders in these fortifications. If it weren't for the lack of fuel, his advance detachment would not have stopped at Cowell at all, and perhaps by now it would have rushed into Lutsk and wiped out the headquarters of the Soviet army group located here.

Rokossovsky's observation post was located on a small hillside north of Reuscher, from which the entire ambush site could be seen. By two o'clock in the afternoon, scouts reported that a German force of nearly 1,000 men was approaching Royce along the road. In addition to trucks, the troops also had tanks and armored vehicles.

Rokossovsky looked at the advance detachment that appeared in the distance, picked up the phone of the observation post, dialed the command headquarters of Lieutenant Colonel Kavilin, and said in a calm tone: "Lieutenant Colonel, the enemy has appeared, and in about five minutes, you will be able to enter your ambush circle and prepare the commanders and fighters for battle." ”

"Yes!" Lieutenant Colonel Kaverin replied briefly.

The speed of the mechanized troops was faster than that of the infantry, and before it took five minutes, the advance detachments of the German army entered the ambush circle one after another. Clearly see the motorcycles with machine guns on the sidecars following the tanks and armored vehicles, and the trucks full of soldiers. Rokossovsky couldn't wait to dial Kavelin's phone and ordered loudly: "Fire, comrade lieutenant colonel!" He spoke without noticing his own voice, and became hoarse with excitement.

As a red flare rose into the air, an explosion erupted from the middle of the serpentine ranks without warning. Countless explosion points suddenly exploded, and the advance detachment of the German army was like sitting in the erupting crater, tightly wrapped in the rising black smoke, and the black smoke exploded one after another, wave after wave, explosions everywhere, and fire everywhere.

The tanks and armored vehicles at the front of the line were thrown into the air like toys in the explosion of the anti-tank mines, and then fell in pieces with smoke and fire, smashing the motorcyclists into meat sauce. The frightened and desperate soldiers in the convoy behind jumped from the burning trucks and scurried around like headless flies, while others curled up on the ground and howled desperately with their heads in their hands, and were torn apart by the swarms of explosions.

When Rokossovsky, who was in the observation post, saw this scene with a telescope, he couldn't help but applaud. And Vashukin, who was next to him, although his position was not low, had never been to the battlefield in person, so he always dreamed that he would be able to go to the battlefield in person one day. But when he came to this battlefield, he found that things were completely different from what he had imagined, the deafening sound of explosions, and the thick smell of blood mixed with the smell of gunpowder in the air, made Vashukin feel terrified. After watching the bloody battlefield for a while, Vashukin only felt that the river and the sea were tumbling between his chest and abdomen, and a burst of things was rushing upward, and he couldn't bear it anymore, and he vomited there.

Seeing this reaction of Vashukin, Rokossovsky hurriedly ordered Maslov next to him: "Chief of Staff, bring some water to Comrade Military Commissar." ”

Vashukin took the kettle from Maslov's hand, rinsed his mouth with water, and after feeling better, he tried to squeeze a smile on his face, and said to the two of them with some shame: "I'm sorry to make you laugh, the first time I went to the battlefield, I actually reacted like this." ”

And Maslov was surprised and said: "Comrade Military Commissar, don't blame yourself too much, it is normal for this situation to occur for the first time on the battlefield. Look at it a few more times and you'll get used to it. ”

Vashukin nodded, walked back to the lookout hole, picked up the binoculars, forced a calm look towards the battlefield, and at the same time asked: "Comrade Rokossovsky, do you think we can completely annihilate this enemy?" ”

Rokossovsky looked through the binoculars, and he saw the German officers and soldiers swaying in the smoke of gunpowder, even if they were still dizzy after a short panic, but they had not forgotten the tactical action of the cat to lower their bodies, and they were running in groups towards the open plain on the west side. Seeing this, he put down his binoculars and turned to Vashukin and said: "Comrade Military Commissar, although the Germans were caught off guard by us, if they want to escape, it may be difficult for us to keep them. ”