"Yes! Absolutely true! There are indeed women and children in the city! As he spoke, Ivaniko, the leader of the squad who was also in ambush, made no secret of his anger.

"These traitors to the Motherland, they hunted us down, killed our women and children. They completely forgot that just a year ago we were all citizens of the USSR! And since they have done so, when we enter the city one day, we will kill not only them, but also their women and children! ”

"Are you so cold-blooded?!" All Rychev heard was unpleasant words.

The team leader shook his head: "I'm just an ordinary person, and my friends are all ordinary people. But enemies and traitors are cornering us! By what is their power? We must resist, we must retaliate! ”

"I appreciate the rebellion of your village, many of its inhabitants are cowards these days. However, I do not support your indiscriminate killing! Since he is a traitor, it is better to be convicted by a trial. As for their families, those women, those children, the real Soviet Red Army will not start! Rychev's eyes also became sharp: "Fortunately, I have placed your people in the camp, if you are allowed to mess around, it will be bad!" ”

The squad leader was still angry, and he said stiffly: "It's really sad, because we have too few people, and the guns and ammunition in our hands are even more pitiful." If we had a force like yours, we would have attacked the city ourselves. I think we will slaughter the city and give back 100% of the slaughter that the enemy and traitors have inflicted on us! ”

Rychev also pointed out strongly: "If you shoot a traitor on the battlefield, you have the right." But if you kill women and children, you are a murderer! Be careful, especially children, they are innocent. If you commit murder of children, I will kill you! ”

The squad leader saw the threat of death in the eyes of the Soviet battalion commander, and he didn't dare to say more.

Rychev turned his head again: "My words are all serious. Eventually, we will liberate the city, and the Germans and puppet soldiers in the city and the families of those who are guilty and who are innocent will be judged by the people of the Ministry of Internal Affairs. ”

Hearing the word "Ministry of Internal Affairs", the squad leader immediately became nervous. Although the officer did not reveal any more, he had already determined that these troops must and could only be from the swamps of the south. Even if they hadn't communicated with other guerrillas in the past year, they knew from various sources that there was an astonishingly powerful Soviet army about a hundred kilometers away from them.

The refugees of the village of Little Ivansky no longer want to rely on the few weapons they have to live without food in the Deniprazze region. If he could make peace with Pripet's allies, the exile would surely end, and at least no one would worry about freezing to starvation.

Thinking about the words just now, the team leader regretted it very much, yes, the words have already been spoken.

On the other hand, the Germans did decide to send some people to investigate.

The fog faded under the sun's dispelling and would eventually dissipate completely around seven o'clock in the morning, which is why Balzen had decided to act at seven o'clock in the first place.

In the forest to the east of the railway bridge, a thick black smoke is still rising up. The defenders were almost certain that someone had attacked the train. Who did it? Of course, it was the guerrillas, who had blown up the railroad many times, but this was the first time they had blown up a train.

Only the attack on the train could ignite such a spectacular black smoke, and the train that arrived at four o'clock did not arrive.

If only the railroad tracks were bombed, the defenders had the ability to repair them quickly, but the train was bombed, and I was afraid that the railway line would have to stop for more than ten hours. Because they had to clean up the wreckage first, which required the work of trucks and tractors.

The 722nd Division was equipped with a number of half-track motorcycles, which were favored by the Germans because of their ability to move smoothly in difficult areas of the road. Loyev's defenders used half-track motorcycles and trucks to transport materials for the fortifications, and when the railroad was blown up, new sleepers and rails were hauled.

After the German defenders calmed down the tension, the whole city began to go on alert. The total strength of the defenders reached a thousand, guarding a small city, and these forces were still good.

However, the defenders were still very nervous, after all, they were still too close to the Soviet troops in the swamp, and they were at the forefront!

In short, whether the officers and men of the defenders complained or disagreed, the order for first-class combat readiness had been issued, and they were all pointing their guns in all directions at the firing points in their respective trench positions, machine-gun forts, and even rooftops.

The defenders also organized a company-sized force, including one platoon of the German army and three platoons of the puppet army, with a total of 153 people. There were also three half-tracked motorcycles, all of which were towing a dump truck.

The German army thought like this: more than 150 people in this group located at the place of the incident, and if they were sure that there was an enemy nearby, they would directly kill them, and if there was no one, they would immediately launch a rescue operation against the train. Because they didn't know the specific situation, in line with the principle of more the merrier, they carried a large amount of hemp rope, which was placed on the motorcycle and the dump truck in the rear. They are about to turn into battlefield sappers to clean up the wreckage of the railway.

The group arrived at the railway bridge at six o'clock in the morning, and they formed two columns, unconcerned about the danger ahead.

It cannot be said that they are very bold and meaningless, and the only thing that really worries them is the group of "Russian outlaws" in the south, and the other partisans are nothing more than chickens and dogs.

The whole team was also armed with only four machine guns, three ZB26 and one MG34. Nowadays, troops such as the 722nd Division are equipped with a lot of light weapons from other countries, especially Czech weapons, because most of the ammunition is universal.

They have such firepower, compared with the Soviet troops in ambush, this gap is too big. It was as if they were still in the First World War, and the Soviet army had reached the 60s of the 20th century.

The three companies lying in ambush on the western edge of the forest clearly saw a group of armed men crossing the railway bridge, and they were also completely along the dirt road on the side of the railway, slowly and leisurely.

When the two heralds heard this, they immediately activated their piercing legs and ran to Rychev's ambush to report the good news.

"Hehe, the enemy actually sent a company of men. The Third Company also saw that some of them were wearing helmets, and some were only wearing hats. ”

"I know this!" Squad leader Ivaniko introduced: "Those wearing helmets must be Germans, and those wearing hats must be puppet soldiers." The puppet soldiers were also not wearing boots. ”

"That's true!" The herald replied cheerfully.

Rychev nodded, motioning for the herald to return to his post. Then, it was to give an operational order to the Soviet troops in ambush.

Rychev did not expect that the enemy would actually send so many people, knowing that destroying a company in one go is not a small victory.

His plan was for the troops to be ready to wait for grenades as soon as the enemy had entered the encirclement. This was followed by a powerful fire attack. If the enemy were to flee, ten recoilless guns would kill them. Even if there are still enemies who can escape such an attack, the three companies will block their retreat!

Rychev gave the order, and the fighters resolutely carried it out, but the squad leader Ivaniko expressed shock.

He asked with some trembling: "Do you really think that the troops can destroy the enemy in an instant?" ”

"Of course! The battle could be over in just five minutes! ”