-- The defense area of the 293rd Infantry Division

The commander of the rearguard regiment, Lieutenant Colonel Alexey, called Ragutin and reported to him: "Comrade division commander, the Germans have begun to attack the positions of our regiment, and the infantry, under the cover of tanks, is rushing towards us. Pen %Fun %Pavilion www.biquge.info"

When Ragutin heard Alexey's report, he was worried, because there was still some reconnaissance information in front of him, saying that two German divisions had detoured behind him. He was worried about whether he would be able to hold his position in the face of the attack of the two German divisions, relying only on the weak strength of the rearguard regiment.

But in order not to let his subordinates perceive his nervousness, he came in and asked in a calm tone: "How many tanks did the enemy dispatch?" ”

"There are thirty of them now," said Alexei breathlessly, "and who knows how many are behind them." ”

"So be it, Comrade Lieutenant Colonel. Wait for the German tanks to get closer, and use the anti-tank guns that have just been allocated to your regiment to aim and fire. Ragutin took the trouble to teach his troops the experience of defense, "As for the German infantry, leave it to our machine guns to destroy them." ”

"If only we had tanks." After Aleksai waited for Ragutin to finish, he said to himself: "In this way, even if the Germans have more tanks, we will not be afraid." ”

"Don't worry, Alexey." Ragutin reassured him: "Our tank division will arrive soon, and then you can join forces with them and annihilate this enemy." ”

"I hope so." Alexey said with little confidence. He thought to himself that according to reconnaissance, it was the two divisions of the German army that made a detour back to his defensive position, not to mention one of his own regiments, even if he pressed the whole division, it was not someone else's opponent at all. What he can do now is to find ways to weaken the enemy and reduce the pressure in the next battle.

Both the Germans and the Soviets thought that the troops behind and to the east of the 293rd Division were two armored divisions. However, only the commander of the German division commanding the troops understood that due to the obstruction of forests and rivers, only one-third of the troops arrived at the designated position at this moment, and more soldiers and technical equipment were still slowly moving forward like snails.

Alexei saw German tanks at the command post, forming a formation about two kilometers from his position, moving forward, stopping from time to time to fire a few shots. He held the telescope in one hand, clenched the microphone close to his ear with the other, and shouted at the artillery commander on the other end of the phone: "Comrade commander, the enemy's tanks are rushing towards us, and all the anti-tank guns are aimed at us directly!" Did you hear that? ”

"I heard," said the artillery commander briefly, "I have ordered the gunners to be ready to open fire." However, now the enemy is still far from our anti-tank guns, and if you open fire immediately, the effect will be very unsatisfactory. ”

German tanks apparently also spotted Soviet artillery positions, and immediately several tanks pointed their guns at here. After driving some distance, they preemptively fired at the artillery positions. The shells exploded around the anti-tank guns, and some soldiers died on the spot, while many other fighters were also wounded to varying degrees, but they still gritted their teeth and insisted on staying at their posts, staring intently at the tanks that were getting closer and closer, and patiently waiting for the best fighters.

When the artillery commander saw that the German tanks were only 500 meters away from him, and only 400 meters from the trenches held by the infantry, he suddenly shouted: "Fire!" ”

With the commander's order, the 20 anti-tank guns, which had been waiting for a long time, let out an angry roar at the same time. Although most of the shells landed in the clearing, kicking up columns of mud that soared into the sky, five tanks were still hit and caught fire.

Seeing that the first round of firing destroyed only five German tanks, Alexei could not help but be a little disappointed. He sighed softly, and then spoke to the infantry battalion commander at the front. He commanded loudly: "Comrade Major, if the German tanks rush in front of your positions, send fighters to attack, and let the tanks of these fascist bandits taste our flasks or anti-tank grenades." Do you understand? ”

"Understood." The battalion commander who answered the phone immediately replied loudly.

Although the Germans destroyed five tanks, the remaining tanks still spat out tongues of fire and continued to rush towards the Soviet trenches. Seeing this, the artillery commander hurriedly gave the order to open the gun again. Thinking of the ultra-low hit rate just now, his heart was blocked. But when I think about it, almost all of my soldiers are new recruits, and they have not experienced actual combat, so it is very good to be able to achieve such results. However, if you are commanding a group of artillery with rich combat experience, you may be able to achieve greater results.

In the second round of artillery fire, because the German tanks were very close, even if the recruits opened fire, the hit rate was greatly improved. When the smoke cleared, the artillery commander found that this round of strikes had actually destroyed seven tanks, and one tank was covered in smoke, and it continued to move forward.

"Well done, the artillery is really good." Seeing that the artillery had killed twelve German tanks in two rounds of fire, Alexei couldn't help but applaud. He turned to the chief of staff standing next to him and said, "Without artillery support, I would have had to risk my men to risk their lives against them with cluster grenades, flasks and anti-tank grenades." ”

The German tanks were under heavy fire, and they were shelling both the Soviet anti-tank gun positions and the trenches held by the infantry, inflicting heavy casualties on the Soviet troops. But both the artillery and the infantry are fighting stubbornly.

After an hour of fierce fighting, the Germans dropped nearly 30 destroyed tanks and more than 200 killed soldiers in front of the Soviet positions, and retreated to their starting positions.

Although the Soviet army achieved good results, it also paid a lot of costs. Four anti-tank guns were destroyed, and the artillery suffered more than seventy casualties; The infantry suffered more than 300 casualties, and a company commander died honorably because his command post was crushed by German tanks.

As soon as the enemy retreated, Alexei immediately called Ragutin and reported the situation here: "Comrade division commander, we have repelled the German attack. ...... then he reported to Ragüjing the results of the battle and the casualties of his own troops.

"Well done," said Ragutin, who heard that Alexei had repelled the German attack. After a while, the expression on his face returned to normal, and he said into the microphone: "Comrade Lieutenant Colonel, the Germans will definitely continue to attack your position, so you have to use this time to organize manpower to strengthen the fortifications and prepare for a new round of German attacks." ”

The second round of the German offensive soon began. This time, the German tanks learned the lesson just now, and in order to prevent them from getting too far forward and becoming the target of the anti-tank guns, after they had traveled a certain distance, they hid behind the still burning tanks, and used the billowing smoke to hide behind them and fire their guns like cowards, covering the infantry to attack the Soviet positions.

Seeing this, Alexei also felt a headache for everyone. He picked up the phone, dialed the artillery command post, and said loudly to the other side: "Comrade commander, do not stop the shelling, and you must destroy the tank units of the Germans as quickly as possible." ”

"I understand, I understand." The artillery commander said a little impatiently: "The German tanks hid behind the burning tanks and opened fire on us. And our gunners, because of the smoke of gunpowder, led to a decrease in the accuracy of shooting. I'll wait for them to get closer before I fight, which will increase the accuracy of the artillery fire. ”

From time to time, when Aleksey was directing his troops to meet the enemy attacking from the front, he also looked to the east, and he was very worried that the German armored forces, which had been standing still in the east, would attack him at such a time.

Although the artillery was firing non-stop, the German tanks continued to advance. After only half an hour of fighting, several German tanks rushed to a distance of only a hundred meters from the trenches. On the artillery position in the distance, the artillery commander could not help but be furious when he saw that the Germans were slaughtering his comrades with artillery fire, and he immediately ordered to speed up the firing and strive to annihilate the invading enemy in the shortest possible time.

Just as the German tanks began to cross the Soviet trenches and prepare to continue their advance, General Ogurtsov rushed to the battlefield with his tanks. Seeing the Soviet tanks emerging from the rear of the enemy, Alexei was still a little excited, but when he saw the model of the tank clearly, he couldn't help but be disappointed. Because as far as the eye can see, the Soviet tanks that appear on the battlefield are either the old BT-5, or the T-26 with weak firepower, speed and armor, and there is only one T-34 that can restrain the German tanks.

As soon as General Ogurtsov's troops arrived on the battlefield, they immediately formed battle formations and launched a surprise attack from the rear of the German tanks. Seeing one German tank after another being hit by bullets and catching fire, the soldiers on the position couldn't help cheering, because the arrival of their tank units gave them the confidence to hold their positions.

After a fierce battle, the German armored forces that launched the second round of the attack were only seven or eight tanks that could escape, and the rest were destroyed by General Ogeltsov's troops.

Seeing that the enemy was repulsed, the soldiers at the front, led by their commanders, left the trenches one after another and went to the open space in front to collect the German-style equipment that could still be used.

Just when everyone didn't expect it, the unexpected happened.

"Look, everybody." In the midst of the crowd cheering victory, a shrill voice suddenly emerged: "There are a lot of tanks rushing from the east, and the large German army has arrived." ”

Everyone looked in the direction of his finger and found that there were indeed a lot of tanks coming from which direction, and behind the tanks were one skirmish line after another. When Alexei saw the sudden appearance of the enemy, he couldn't help but chuckle in his heart, saying that the time had finally come, and he didn't know if he could stop their attack with the strength of his own regiment alone.

Seeing this, Alexei also felt a headache for everyone. He picked up the phone, dialed the artillery command post, and said loudly to the other side: "Comrade commander, do not stop the shelling, and you must destroy the tank units of the Germans as quickly as possible." ”

"I understand, I understand." The artillery commander said a little impatiently: "The German tanks hid behind the burning tanks and opened fire on us. And our gunners, because of the smoke of gunpowder, led to a decrease in the accuracy of shooting. I'll wait for them to get closer before I fight, which will increase the accuracy of the artillery fire. ”

From time to time, when Aleksey was directing his troops to meet the enemy attacking from the front, he also looked to the east, and he was very worried that the German armored forces, which had been standing still in the east, would attack him at such a time.

Although the artillery was firing non-stop, the German tanks continued to advance. After only half an hour of fighting, several German tanks rushed to a distance of only a hundred meters from the trenches. On the artillery position in the distance, the artillery commander could not help but be furious when he saw that the Germans were slaughtering his comrades with artillery fire, and he immediately ordered to speed up the firing and strive to annihilate the invading enemy in the shortest possible time.

Just as the German tanks began to cross the Soviet trenches and prepare to continue their advance, General Ogurtsov rushed to the battlefield with his tanks. Seeing the Soviet tanks emerging from the rear of the enemy, Alexei was still a little excited, but when he saw the model of the tank clearly, he couldn't help but be disappointed. Because as far as the eye can see, the Soviet tanks that appear on the battlefield are either the old BT-5, or the T-26 with weak firepower, speed and armor, and there is only one T-34 that can restrain the German tanks.

As soon as General Ogurtsov's troops arrived on the battlefield, they immediately formed battle formations and launched a surprise attack from the rear of the German tanks. Seeing one German tank after another being hit by bullets and catching fire, the soldiers on the position couldn't help cheering, because the arrival of their tank units gave them the confidence to hold their positions.

After a fierce battle, the German armored forces that launched the second round of the attack were only seven or eight tanks that could escape, and the rest were destroyed by General Ogeltsov's troops.

"Look, everybody." In the midst of the crowd cheering victory, a shrill voice suddenly emerged: "There are a lot of tanks rushing from the east, and the large German army has arrived." ”

Everyone looked in the direction of his finger and found that there were indeed a lot of tanks coming from which direction, and behind the tanks were one skirmish line after another. When Alexei saw the sudden appearance of the enemy, he couldn't help but chuckle in his heart, saying that the time had finally come, and he didn't know if he could stop their attack with the strength of his own regiment alone. (To be continued.) )