Florid's order from the commander of the army group was something that Florider was very pleased with, because he had a bad premonition that this rescue would turn into a bloody battle, as in previous wars.

At least this time, he could reasonably dispatch a group of police officers. Let the Russians and the Russians kill each other! When the battle was critical, the Germans saw the opportunity to retreat. After all, there was still a large group of Russians in the prisoner of war camp, hoping to die for the German army!

In the evening of the same day, Florid, who had been given the order, began to operate non-stop.

Who will participate in the attack, he has already thought of who will be selected.

The regimental commander Gertzal was ordered to report to the division headquarters, and in order to greet him, Flored even prepared red wine.

After some politeness, Flored announced the order of the army group, and told him what he had to do.

"You must be careful in this battle. The Russians are more cunning than the foxes, and your only mission in this battle is to rescue the German children trapped in Loyev. Considering that the Russians may be cheating, for this reason your unit's equipment will also get some improvements. ”

The quetzal regiment was originally a logistics regiment, and its officers and men were mainly responsible for the transportation of grain, grass and ammunition, and the technical and tactical level of the soldiers was naturally worse than that of the main regiment, but its ability to raise horses and operate trucks was the best.

The logistics regiment was also used as the main regiment to carry out offensive missions, and Quetzal and his soldiers were very happy. The officers and men of the regiment began to prepare for the battle in the afternoon, and more than 2,000 young Germans in their early twenties cherished the importance of their division commanders, and as for fighting an enemy with great combat effectiveness, they knew the danger of it, but their desire for honor drove them to be willing to take risks.

Now, Florid, who has made a promise, is to increase the armament of the quetzal regiment.

"Considering the relatively meagre firepower of your troops, I must increase your combat effectiveness. I remember your regiment, many squads are still assigned according to the weapons of a few years ago, right? ”

"Yes, our regiment lacks machine guns, only one squad in a platoon is equipped with machine guns. Such armament, I'm afraid, is only a little better than that of the Romanians. Quetzal responded.

"Alright, I'll arrange the armory and add you a batch of machine guns. Although it is impossible to reach the level of front-line troops, it is still possible to have at least one Czech light machine gun per squad. ”

The so-called Czech light machine gun, that is, ZB26. After the occupation of the Czech Republic by the German army, it became an "arsenal" of the German army. Not only did the police regiment change into Czech military uniforms, but a large number of Czech weapons were also directly used by the German army's second-line, third-line and even puppet army. A large number of ZB26 firepower is far inferior to MG34, but fortunately it has a large reserve.

Quetzal was very happy: "Thank you so much! ”

"You don't have to thank me, and don't rejoice too soon!" Florid's eyes blanked him, and he continued to spin in circles with his hands behind his back, muttering, "I thought about it, it's not just the machine gun that you have to carry more ammunition as well." The ammo base is doubled, and if the Russians attack, your machine gunners will shoot like crazy. I don't believe it, the Russians are invulnerable monsters. One more point. ”

Florid's pause: "We still have some old tanks that are acting as tractors, and now they are also involved in the battle!" Right! Number three, number four, and captured Russians. I'll assault and form an armored battalion, and I'll be under your command! ”

"Armored battalion?" Getzal was shocked, "Your Excellency the division commander, I ......"

"What? Don't you feel like you can't control it? In the morning emergency meeting, you are the main battle! How? Hesitant at this time? Although you are a regimental commander, what you are about to do is the work of a brigade commander. You also have the 5th Regiment of the Police Regiment under your command, and the strength you will lead will exceed 5,000 men.

With so many troops, do you hesitate? ”

"Nope! I don't hesitate! Quetzal straightened his chest and reassured.

"Good!" Patting the man on the shoulder, Flored said from the bottom of his heart, "I don't believe that the police regiment will have any combat effectiveness in this battle. If the rescue operation doesn't go well, you have to send the police regiment to fight the Russians head-on. Let the Russians kill each other, and when the enemy is partially consumed, you will have another chance. If you can take Loyev, you will continue to attack, and if you feel that it is not good, report it immediately, and I will continue to issue orders. ”

Having said all this, Getzal clearly realized that the attitude of the division commander was also a little subtle. Even tanks are used in this battle, but the police regiment is required to be cannon fodder?

Getzal pursed his lips, but he still didn't hold back after all.

He stubbornly asked: "Battalion commander, this is our operation to rescue the comrades of the Loyev defenders, we have a large number of troops, it is better to attack directly and conduct a small-scale blitzkrieg, the enemy's siege will inevitably tear a hole." Why do we have to let the police regiment attack first? This is a waste of warplanes! ”

"Phew! There's definitely a conspiracy in this! Flored slapped the table, startling the divisional audience.

Floride looked left and right, and said bitterly: "Quetzal, you are a person who pursues righteousness. However, it is only in the face of an upright enemy that your gentlemanly behavior is commendable. This group of Russians is too insidious, let the police regiment go first in this battle, and let the Russians kill each other, this will not damage your honor! Do you understand? My orders must be carried out! ”

"Alright! Teachers. ”

At present, the station of the 722nd Division Quetzal Regiment is directly east of the city of Gomel, and after receiving the official order to attack, the officers and men of the regiment are ecstatic! They were ordered to make final preparations on June 23, and at six o'clock in the morning of June 24, the whole regiment would march south.

They only have one day to prepare, and the so-called tank battalion will help in the battle, and it is completely unknown how effective it will be. They will also receive a batch of light machine guns, and the machine gunners selected by each squad will immediately conduct surprise training. Pure infantry will also receive more ammunition for final target training on the last day before the battle.

The 5th Regiment of the Police Regiment, which is about to take part in the operation, is based in the small town of Klimovka, just 12 kilometers northwest of the city of Gomel. On 22 June, the regiment received an assembly order to gather its scattered troops, and the following day it advanced along the Mozir-Gomel road to Lechitsa in the west, and stood by in the Dnieper crossing town of Donajich, south of Lechitsia.

Lechtsa was the fortified core city of the German 707th Division, but Loyev was not under its control. The 707th Division not only learned about Loyev on the same day, but also received an order from the command of the group army that this battle was first of all the matter of the 722nd Division, and the other units waited and saw for the time being.

But the 707th Division could not just watch the show, they had reason to help friendly forces, so its logistics unit was ordered to transport a batch of food and ammunition to the ferry town of Donajić south of the city.

The 722nd Division also determined the route of the march on the night of June 22.

Gomel is a riverside city adjacent to the Sozh River, and in order to rescue Loyev, from Gomel you can go directly south along the Sozh River to the east of the city of Loyev. But this route is absolutely impossible!

Because the railway bridge has been blown up, the Dnieper, which is more than two hundred meters wide, has become an insurmountable obstacle. The rescue force had to go west to cross the upper Dnieper at Lechtsa and then south along the riverside.

In fact, it may also be the safest way to go.

Florid's belief that if something happened to his army of 5,000 men, the friendly forces would be reinforced!

The previous failure, which was due to the initiative to attack, had to go deep into the swamp, which was attacked by the Russians, who were familiar with the terrain. Now the German army is just a simple rescue, once it succeeds, it will retreat, as long as it does not love war, the Russians will not take advantage of anything.