Rokossovsky was in his command, by telephone and telegram, and kept abreast of the course of the counterattack. Pen, fun, pavilion www. biquge。 Info When the personnel in the headquarters heard that the cavalry had rushed towards the Wopi River, they couldn't help but cheer loudly. But the look on Rokossovsky's face did not change.

Lobachev, who was next to him, saw Rokossovsky's reaction, and couldn't help but ask curiously: "Comrade commander, what's wrong with you?" Don't you be happy that our counterattack is going so well? ”

After Lobachev finished speaking, Rokossovsky smiled bitterly and said: "Comrade Military Commissar, our counterattack battle has just begun, and it is still unknown what kind of results will be achieved in the end, so we can't rejoice too early. ”

Lobachev still recognized Rokossovsky's words very much, but when he saw the excitement of everyone in the command, he leaned close to Rokossovsky's ear and whispered: "Comrade commander, in any case, we now have the upper hand, let's make everyone happy." ”

At the same time, the German officers, who had reacted, immediately rushed to the armored car parked by the river, and with a frightened shout, they urged the soldiers who were hiding from the artillery fire to immediately enter the armored car and be ready to use the vehicle-mounted machine gun to stop the Soviet cavalry.

"Ulla! Ulla!! Seeing the enemy's position approaching, the cavalrymen who rode their horses and galloped wildly, with their heavy horses' hooves, burst out with earth-shattering shouts of slaughter, and they broke through an enemy position again with great speed.

"Shoot!" "Fire!" ……

Almost as soon as they broke through their positions, the armored vehicles two hundred meters away opened fire at the same time, and more than a dozen fire whips swept through the ranks of the cavalry, and the cavalry regiment, which had just crossed the trench, was met with head-on blows, and the men immediately flipped on their backs. The horses neighed under the rain of bullets, and threw out with the riders on their backs, and then were trampled under the hooves of the horse's hooves by the cavalry who followed closely.

For preset positions with machine guns, the charging cavalry was slaughtered in the same way as the infantry they had just ravaged. Seeing that the attack was frustrated and the momentum of the impact was abruptly terminated in the rain of bullets, the cavalry commander reacted extremely quickly, and when he saw that the situation was not good, he immediately shouted: "Retreat, retreat, retreat quickly!" ”

When he had finished shouting, he turned his horse and ran to the meeting. Seeing that the regiment commander turned the horse's head, the cavalry behind also did the same, and followed the horse's head and ran back. Although some horses were shot and fell or riders fell in the rain of bullets, they still ran out of the range of German fire with great speed without slowing down.

However, the cavalry regiment did not leave the battlefield, they cruised away from the fire of the German armored vehicles, and after preparing to find the weak point of the German army, they directly pounced on it and took two bites.

The cavalry attack was temporarily repulsed by the Germans. The infantry attack was also suppressed by German fire. Although the Germans did not occupy the east bank of the Wopi River for a short time, they had already established civil and engineering fire points in many areas, which were a pity for the Soviet attacking forces. Several waves of attacks launched by the 152nd Division were repulsed due to excessive German firepower.

At the same time that the battle on the Wopi River was inextricably fought, the battle on the main battlefield of Yelnya had entered the white heat, and with the rich experience of the German commanders and the hard work of the German commanders, they withstood the powerful attack of the Soviet army.

During the two days of fighting, the Soviet 24th Army launched one fierce charge after another, but without exception, was repulsed. Although the Soviet troops broke through the German positions several times, at the critical moment, under the strict orders of the German officers, armored vehicles, tanks, and artillery regiments desperately strafed and opened fire, blocking the Soviet offensive line with ferocious firepower and bullet rain. But even so, it was still beaten to the ground, and it could overturn at any time.

The wide frontal battlefield, the excessively long defensive line, and the lack of defensive depth as the attacker, combined with Guderian's transfer of the 46th Panzer Corps, made the Germans passive at every turn. The fierce Soviet troops launched a wave-like charge under dense artillery fire, and both sides threw grenades like drops, blasting the entire outlying position into a boiling volcano.

In order to break through the German defense line as soon as possible, there were even cases in the ranks of the Soviet army where regiment commanders and division commanders personally led troops to charge. Inspired by the power of example, the Soviet army even rushed to the main position under the city of Yelnya for a time, and launched brutal white-knuckle battles and hand-to-hand combat in some sections.

German artillery was bombarding attacking Soviet units, and Soviet artillery was also shelling German defensive positions. The officers and soldiers of both sides were filled in by the whole company and the whole battalion, and the corpses killed in the battle of the attacking and defending sides had been stacked on top of each other, and the blood that flowed out of them had merged into a stream, and the shattered human bodies had been lifted into the sky by the air waves and turned into a rain of blood falling one after another, but the meat grinder that was still not satisfied.

Under the fierce attack of the Soviet army, the German army, which suffered heavy casualties, had to shrink its forces and retreat into the city of Yelnya as a whole, preparing to rely on the city to resist stubbornly. Although their numbers were smaller than those of the Soviet army, they were still not inferior in the face of the superior Soviet army when they were equipped with a large number of automatic firearms.

The fighting in the city was extremely fierce, and the bullets fired by the Germans were like splashing water, so that the Soviet troops could not raise their heads, and the Germans took advantage of the situation to throw out rows of grenades and launch a counterattack under the cover of smoke. The narrow streets and narrow alleys, crowded together with Soviet soldiers, were beaten into a sieve by the dense fire of the German army.

Seeing the danger of the troops rushing into the city, Zhukov immediately threw in new reserves, and after paying huge casualties, finally got mixed with the enemy. Officers and soldiers on both sides fought house by house, house by house, and the frenzied soldiers lit grenades and buried themselves under the rubble along with friendly and enemy troops.

By dark, the troops of the 24th Army still occupied only a small part of the city. After once again repelling the enemy's attack, the Soviets barely managed to establish a defensive line.

Zhukov, who stayed in the headquarters, looked at the casualty reports sent by his subordinates, although he didn't say anything with an expressionless face, he noticed that the entire command headquarters was filled with pessimism, and the staff officers were worried about whether they could capture Yelnya.

"Comrades," Zhukov saw that everyone was dejected, and felt the need to come out to cheer everyone on, so he got up from his seat and said, "Although the resistance of the Germans is stubborn, I think everyone has seen the strength of the enemy clearly, right?" Although they have more planes, artillery, and tanks than us, our commanders and fighters still show a fearless fighting spirit, and I believe that if we continue to develop like this, we will be able to defeat these fascist aggressors sooner or later. ”

As soon as Zhukov's words were finished, Liapin continued: "Comrade commander, if our 43rd Army had not been transferred, I believe that Yelnya would have been taken long ago." But now we have only the 24th Army of General Kalinin, and it is still very difficult to eat the enemy in the city. ”

"Don't worry, Comrade Chief of Staff." Zhukov stared at the map and said in a contemptuous tone: "The Germans are tired now, as long as such an attack is carried out, if we come a few more times, we will definitely be able to defeat them." ”

Zhukov paused for a moment, then asked: "Have the casualties of the troops been counted?" ”

Liapin looked down at the notepad he was holding in his hand and replied: "According to incomplete statistics, the 24th Army suffered more than 10,000 casualties and wiped out more than 2,000 German troops. The current casualty ratio is 5:1, which means that it takes five men to replace one German. ”

"However, the casualties of the troops were too great." Zhukov shook his head and said thoughtfully: "If this state of affairs continues, by the time Yelnya is liberated, I don't know how many people will be left in the 24th Army." ”

"Don't worry, Comrade Commander." Liapin smiled and said, "I believe that the superior will give us enough supplements." ”

"Even if the superiors fill up our shortage of soldiers, how much battle can a unit composed entirely of new recruits have?" Zhukov said with emotion: "If we want to train a unit that has always been basically composed of new recruits into an elite division, this task is a long way to go. ”

After hearing this, Liapin nodded, and then asked: "The troops of the 24th Army, after two consecutive days of fighting, the commanders and fighters are very tired, and they need to rest. So I'm asking you now, are you allowed to take a break from them? ”

"Yes." Zhukov replied cheerfully, "Let them rest for a few hours, and wait until tomorrow morning at two o'clock in the morning, and then surprise their camp." ”

"Don't worry, Comrade Commander." After recording Zhukov's order, Lyapin expressed his attitude to him: "I will call General Kalinin and ask him to stop the offensive for the time being, let the commanders and fighters rest well, and wait until the appointed time to launch the attack." ”

"How's the situation going with Rokossovsky?" Although Zhukov has long ceased to be the chief of the General Staff, he is still very concerned about the situation of the troops. Because in this counterattack, there was no one who played the greatest role in Rokossovsky, and the series of actions he took were all aimed at containing the enemy and creating favorable conditions for Yelnya's counteroffensive. Therefore, Zhukov was very concerned about the actions of the 16th Army.

"Early this morning, Rokossovsky's troops, after artillery preparations, launched a surprise attack on the enemy in front of them." Lyapin heard Zhukov ask about the situation of the 16th Army, and hurriedly reported to him what he knew: "Their counterattack is going well, it is said that they have advanced to the Vopi River, and with only one counterattack, the enemy can be driven back to the west bank." ”

"Comrades," Zhukov saw that everyone was dejected, and felt the need to come out to cheer everyone on, so he got up from his seat and said, "Although the resistance of the Germans is stubborn, I think everyone has seen the strength of the enemy clearly, right?" Although they have more planes, artillery, and tanks than us, our commanders and fighters still show a fearless fighting spirit, and I believe that if we continue to develop like this, we will be able to defeat these fascist aggressors sooner or later. ”

As soon as Zhukov's words were finished, Liapin continued: "Comrade commander, if our 43rd Army had not been transferred, I believe that Yelnya would have been taken long ago." But now we have only the 24th Army of General Kalinin, and it is still very difficult to eat the enemy in the city. ”

"Don't worry, Comrade Chief of Staff." Zhukov stared at the map and said in a contemptuous tone: "The Germans are tired now, as long as such an attack is carried out, if we come a few more times, we will definitely be able to defeat them." ”

Zhukov paused for a moment, then asked: "Have the casualties of the troops been counted?" ”

Liapin looked down at the notepad he was holding in his hand and replied: "According to incomplete statistics, the 24th Army suffered more than 10,000 casualties and wiped out more than 2,000 German troops. The current casualty ratio is 5:1, which means that it takes five men to replace one German. ”

"However, the casualties of the troops were too great." Zhukov shook his head and said thoughtfully: "If this state of affairs continues, by the time Yelnya is liberated, I don't know how many people will be left in the 24th Army." ”

"Don't worry, Comrade Commander." Liapin smiled and said, "I believe that the superior will give us enough supplements." ”

"Even if the superiors fill up our shortage of soldiers, how much battle can a unit composed entirely of new recruits have?" Zhukov said with emotion: "If we want to train a unit that has always been basically composed of new recruits into an elite division, this task is a long way to go. ”

After hearing this, Liapin nodded, and then asked: "The troops of the 24th Army, after two consecutive days of fighting, the commanders and fighters are very tired, and they need to rest. So I'm asking you now, are you allowed to take a break from them? ”

"Yes." Zhukov replied cheerfully, "Let them rest for a few hours, and wait until tomorrow morning at two o'clock in the morning, and then surprise their camp." ”

"Don't worry, Comrade Commander." After recording Zhukov's order, Lyapin expressed his attitude to him: "I will call General Kalinin and ask him to stop the offensive for the time being, let the commanders and fighters rest well, and wait until the appointed time to launch the attack." ”

"How's the situation going with Rokossovsky?" Although Zhukov has long ceased to be the chief of the General Staff, he is still very concerned about the situation of the troops. Because in this counterattack, there was no one who played the greatest role in Rokossovsky, and the series of actions he took were all aimed at containing the enemy and creating favorable conditions for Yelnya's counteroffensive. Therefore, Zhukov was very concerned about the actions of the 16th Army.

"Early this morning, Rokossovsky's troops, after artillery preparations, launched a surprise attack on the enemy in front of them." Lyapin heard Zhukov ask about the situation of the 16th Army, and hurriedly reported to him what he knew: "Their counterattack is going well, it is said that they have advanced to the Vopi River, and with only one counterattack, the enemy can be driven back to the west bank." (To be continued.) )