At the headquarters of the 1st Motorized Infantry Division in Moscow, Lidyukov, who was convening a meeting of his subordinates, received a telegram from Rokossovsky. Pen, fun, pavilion www. biquge。 As soon as he read the contents of the telegram, the whole command exploded like water dripping into a red-hot oil pot.

"Division commander, give us the main attack task!"

"Division commander, let's let the second regiment take on the main attack mission!"

"The 1st and 2nd regiments suffered heavy casualties in the daytime battle, so let's leave this task to our 3rd regiment!"

Several regiment commanders present asked Lidyukov to fight, just waiting for his order.

"Be quiet, be quiet!" Although there were not many people in the headquarters, they were gossiping and coaxing, which also made Lidyukov be noisy to the point of two big heads, slapped the table and shouted: "Whoever yells again, get out of here!" As soon as he spoke, the headquarters fell silent, and a dozen pairs of eyes swirled around as he walked around the room.

Although Lidyukov attached great importance to the two regiment commanders, Sakhno and Shebelyuk, it did not mean that he would ignore the actual situation and hand over the main task of the night attack to them. After he stopped, he called the names of the commanders of the third regiment, and then ordered: "Your regiment first send a battalion to quietly approach the enemy's defensive positions and launch a surprise attack while they are unprepared. Strive to tear a gap in the enemy's defense line in the shortest possible time. ”

"Yes! I promise to complete the task. The commander of the third regiment, who had seized the main attack task, agreed loudly and sat down contentedly.

"Artillery regiments and tank detachments, they should be ready for all battles." Although the artillery regiment in the division, and the tank detachment with only a dozen tanks, were treated as treasures by Lidyukov, they were usually hidden and tucked away, and they were easily refused to use them. But in this situation tonight, Lidyukov assigned them the task without thinking: "As soon as the attack of the three regiments is thwarted, you must provide them with the necessary artillery support." Do you understand? ”

"Understood, Comrade Division Commander." The commander of the artillery regiment and the captain of the tank detachment replied in unison.

As soon as several regimental commanders left, an unexpected guest walked into Lidyukov's headquarters. When he saw who was coming, Lidyukov couldn't help but be surprised, and he exclaimed in surprise: "It's you, Colonel Chernyshov, have your troops arrived?" ”

Chernyshov shook Lidyukov's hand with a smile on his face, and then said: "The large army is still behind, and I am worried that you will not have enough troops here, so I will first bring a regiment across the river to support you." ”

"Thank you, thank you so much." Lidyukov shook Cherneshov's hand vigorously and thanked him vigorously: "You guys, the attack we launched tonight will have a greater chance of defeating the Germans." ”

After Chernyshov took his seat, he asked Lidyukov: "Colonel Lidyukov, how did you plan tonight's offensive?" ”

Lidyukov pushed the map in front of Chernyshov, pointed it and said: "Comrade Chernyshov, about three kilometers from us, there is a small hill where the enemy has built improvised fortifications, and several tanks are parked there as fixed firing points.

I asked the three **** troops to quietly approach the enemy's position at night, and then launch a surprise attack, striving to break through the enemy's defense line in the shortest possible time. ”

After listening to this, Chernishov stared at the map for a while, and then said: "Comrade Colonel, I would like to ask you a question, what are you going to do if your troops are discovered by them when they are approaching the enemy's positions?" ”

"Does that need to be said?" Lidyukov said with a resolute expression: "Our commanders and fighters will bravely rush forward in the face of the enemy's bullets and bullets, and rush into the position to fight the Germans in close combat." ”

"That's good, Comrade Lidyukov." After Chernyshov waited for Lidyukov to finish speaking, he continued: "It won't be long before all our divisions will be able to cross the river, and I will hand over the rest of the troops to you, except for one regiment to be sent to reinforce Gryaznov's division." Even if our sneak attack is discovered by the enemy, with our existing forces and the bravery of our commanders and fighters, we will not have much of a problem breaking through the enemy's position. ”

…………

The sneak attack on the German positions was carried out close to midnight. The commanders and fighters of the 3rd Regiment and the 7th Battalion, bending over with their weapons in hand, cautiously approached the small hillside occupied by the enemy.

I thought that the enemy would be very tired after a day of fighting, and he would definitely not be able to spot the Soviet commanders and fighters approaching their positions. But unexpectedly, when there were still more than 300 meters away from the small hillside, the sneak attack troops were discovered by the German secret sentinel, and the other party immediately fired a warning shot.

Although the German outposts were quickly killed by the influx of commanders and fighters. But since the gunfire had already revealed the target, the two machine guns on duty on the hillside immediately clicked and fired in the direction from which the gunfire came.

Seeing that a sneak attack was no longer possible, the commander of the seventh battalion immediately decided to change the sneak attack to a strong attack. As the order was given, the commanders straightened up, shouted with their weapons, and rushed up the hill as fast as they could.

Seeing the Soviets rushing towards their positions, all the machine guns in the positions on the dirt slope began to fire, and the machine gunners desperately pulled the trigger, and one by one the bullet belts were sent in, and the bullet casings that popped out spread layer after layer on the ground, and the bullets poured out like dense rain. More than a dozen machine guns staggered up and down formed a dense barrage of crossfire, and the fire network composed of dark red fire whips shook from side to side, sweeping rows of soldiers like wheat harvesting, and even some charging soldiers were torn off by bullets.

Due to the haste of the Soviet charge and the lack of preparation for covering fire, their first attack was quickly repulsed by the Germans, leaving behind a large number of corpses down the hillside, and the screams of the seriously wounded and the wails before death caused goosebumps on the bodies of the officers and soldiers on both sides.

The failure of this offensive was clearly seen by Lidyukov and Chernyshov, who were staying in the rear observation posts. Chernyshov pointed with his hand and said with a serious expression: "Comrade Lidyukov, have you seen it?" The enemy's machine-gun fire on the hillside was so fierce that our commanders and fighters could not rush forward without the cover of firepower. ”

Lidyukov nodded, walked quickly to the telephone, picked up the microphone and said loudly: "The artillery regiment aims at the enemy's position on the hillside and fires, and must knock out all the exposed fire points for me." ”

The artillerymen, who had long been in the rear, received an order from Lidyukov and immediately opened fire on the slopes of the hill occupied by the enemy. In an instant, the entire hillside was filled with rising fires and puffs of black smoke.

As soon as the shelling ended, the commanders and fighters of the 7th Battalion launched another charge. The fighters, led by the commander, shouted loudly and launched a group charge on the slopes occupied by the enemy.

With their bayonet rifles and submachine guns in their hands, they bravely rushed upwards without hesitating bullets from the hillside. On the road of charging, from time to time, some commanders and fighters were knocked down or knocked over, but the people next to them didn't care about them at all, and still rushed up without hesitation.

In the telescope, what shocked Chernyshov was that the commanders and fighters of the newly formed 1st Motor Infantry Division were so strong, seeing that they were stubbornly resisting the dense fire of the German army, regardless of casualties, rushing upwards like waves after waves, fiercely slapping on the German defense line.

Chernyshov had seen such a heroic and cruel scene countless times, but at this moment he was still moved by the performance of the commanders and fighters of the 1st Motor Infantry Division. He turned his head to Lidyukov next to him and said, "Comrade Colonel, you quietly, the commanders and fighters of this battalion have suffered too many casualties, do you want to send another battalion to reinforce them?" ”

"Wait." Lidyukov, who was holding a telescope, said with a blank face: "The Seventh Battalion still has half of its strength, and if seven or eight hundred people can't take the position guarded by only more than 200 enemies, then the combat effectiveness of such a unit will be too weak." ”

Seeing that Lidyukov said this, Chernyshov could not say anything more, so he had to raise his binoculars again and continue to watch the fierce battle that was going on in front of him.

After paying heavy casualties, the commanders and fighters finally rushed into the German mountainside position, cleared the remaining enemy in the trenches, and continued to rush to the top of the mountain without fear of death. The Germans on the top of the hillside, seeing that the positions below were lost, in order to block the attack of the Soviet troops, they not only shot desperately downward, but also frantically threw grenades downward. The commanders and fighters who were charging were either killed by the dense bullets or killed by the dropping grenades, and the corpses rolled down the hillside.

Although there was a line of life and death in front of them, the soldiers did not retreat, and they continued to advance upwards with the help of the corpses of their comrades, or the craters formed by the explosion. As they fired, they threw out pieces of grenades, and quickly lunged forward with the help of the smoke that rose from the explosion. These commanders and fighters, who have not been picking up weapons for a long time, have shown extraordinary performance at this moment, even when they are running, they are still shooting with their guns raised. The bullets fired at close range were quite accurate, and when they hit the position, they burrowed into the soil in front of the German soldiers' eyes, or grazed the heads of the soldiers, causing the enemy to start to suffer a large number of casualties.

Seeing the Soviets rushing towards their positions, all the machine guns in the positions on the dirt slope began to fire, and the machine gunners desperately pulled the trigger, and one by one the bullet belts were sent in, and the bullet casings that popped out spread layer after layer on the ground, and the bullets poured out like dense rain. More than a dozen machine guns staggered up and down formed a dense barrage of crossfire, and the fire network composed of dark red fire whips shook from side to side, sweeping rows of soldiers like wheat harvesting, and even some charging soldiers were torn off by bullets.

Due to the haste of the Soviet charge and the lack of preparation for covering fire, their first attack was quickly repulsed by the Germans, leaving behind a large number of corpses down the hillside, and the screams of the seriously wounded and the wails before death caused goosebumps on the bodies of the officers and soldiers on both sides.

The failure of this offensive was clearly seen by Lidyukov and Chernyshov, who were staying in the rear observation posts. Chernyshov pointed with his hand and said with a serious expression: "Comrade Lidyukov, have you seen it?" The enemy's machine-gun fire on the hillside was so fierce that our commanders and fighters could not rush forward without the cover of firepower. ”

Lidyukov nodded, walked quickly to the telephone, picked up the microphone and said loudly: "The artillery regiment aims at the enemy's position on the hillside and fires, and must knock out all the exposed fire points for me." ”

The artillerymen, who had long been in the rear, received an order from Lidyukov and immediately opened fire on the slopes of the hill occupied by the enemy. In an instant, the entire hillside was filled with rising fires and puffs of black smoke.

As soon as the shelling ended, the commanders and fighters of the 7th Battalion launched another charge. The fighters, led by the commander, shouted loudly and launched a group charge on the slopes occupied by the enemy.

With their bayonet rifles and submachine guns in their hands, they bravely rushed upwards without hesitating bullets from the hillside. On the road of charging, from time to time, some commanders and fighters were knocked down or knocked over, but the people next to them didn't care about them at all, and still rushed up without hesitation.

In the telescope, what shocked Chernyshov was that the commanders and fighters of the newly formed 1st Motor Infantry Division were so strong, seeing that they were stubbornly resisting the dense fire of the German army, regardless of casualties, rushing upwards like waves after waves, fiercely slapping on the German defense line.

Chernyshov had seen such a heroic and cruel scene countless times, but at this moment he was still moved by the performance of the commanders and fighters of the 1st Motor Infantry Division. He turned his head to Lidyukov next to him and said, "Comrade Colonel, you quietly, the commanders and fighters of this battalion have suffered too many casualties, do you want to send another battalion to reinforce them?" ”

"Wait." Lidyukov, who was holding a telescope, said with a blank face: "The Seventh Battalion still has half of its strength, and if seven or eight hundred people can't take the position guarded by only more than 200 enemies, then the combat effectiveness of such a unit will be too weak." ”

Seeing that Lidyukov said this, Chernyshov could not say anything more, so he had to raise his binoculars again and continue to watch the fierce battle that was going on in front of him.

After paying heavy casualties, the commanders and fighters finally rushed into the German mountainside position, cleared the remaining enemy in the trenches, and continued to rush to the top of the mountain without fear of death. The Germans on the top of the hillside, seeing that the positions below were lost, in order to block the attack of the Soviet troops, they not only shot desperately downward, but also frantically threw grenades downward. The commanders and fighters who were charging were either killed by the dense bullets or killed by the dropping grenades, and the corpses rolled down the hillside.

Although there was a line of life and death in front of them, the soldiers did not retreat, and they continued to advance upwards with the help of the corpses of their comrades, or the craters formed by the explosion. As they fired, they threw out pieces of grenades, and quickly lunged forward with the help of the smoke that rose from the explosion. These commanders and fighters, who have not been picking up weapons for a long time, have shown extraordinary performance at this moment, even when they are running, they are still shooting with their guns raised. The bullets fired at close range were quite accurate, and when they hit the position, they burrowed into the soil in front of the German soldiers' eyes, or grazed the heads of the soldiers, causing the enemy to start to suffer a large number of casualties. (To be continued.) )