Baksov's statement made me feel a strong panic, as the commander of the first division, he did not have the confidence to recover the city, so will the commanders under him also have the same mentality as him? No, this Butovo must be taken back from the Germans, and in accordance with Vatutin's orders, hold out for more than three days.

Thinking of this, I looked at Baksov and said: "Comrade Colonel, you should know the importance of Butovo. Once the Germans have gained a foothold, then they will use this as a starting point for their offensive attack on Oboyan. As long as Oboyan is lost, then the road to Kursk will be opened. Comrade Baksov, the situation is very critical, with the assault capabilities of the German armored forces, they will rush to Oboyan in an hour or two. ”

"It seems that we must expel the Germans from the city as soon as possible, and hold on firmly to Butovo, so that they cannot advance a single step." Baksov asked helplessly: "Allow me to go to the front to direct the attack, Comrade Commander?" ”

Although Baksov has been my subordinate for a long time, I have never seen him command battles, and I don't know what he is capable of. At this moment, when I heard him say that he was going to the front to command the battle, I hurriedly said: "Yes, Comrade Colonel, I will go to the front with you." ”

Hearing me say this, Baksov frowned and persuaded: "Comrade commander, if I were you, I would give up this ridiculous idea. As a commander of an army group, you don't have to risk your life at all when you go to the front line, knowing that there is not a single place where bullets can't hit you, and you will even be shelled by the enemy. ”

Concerns about Baksov. I smiled disappringly and said, "Don't scare me. Comrade Colonel. You know, from the time I enlisted. Staying on the front lines almost all the time, you've probably fought more battles than you can imagine. Speaking of this, I paused slightly, because I saw that Baksov's face was flushed, and I quickly slowed down my tone and said: "I am going to meet your subordinates and see those who are preparing to retake Butovo, and in the capacity of the commander of the army group, to cheer them up." ”

Baksov hesitated for a moment. Then he turned around and shouted to the commanders standing at the table: "All the regiment commanders, come with me, let's go to the front." ”

On the way along the traffic trench to the forward command post, I whispered to Baksov, who was leading the way in front: "Comrade Colonel, have the residents of Butovo been evacuated?" ”

Hearing my question, Baksov slowed down, turned his head and replied: "Report to Comrade Commander, after yesterday's meeting, I returned to the city to organize people overnight and arranged for the evacuation of the residents. "Since I'm after listening. Without an immediate statement, Baksov couldn't help but feel a little apprehensive. He took the initiative to admit his mistake to me: "Comrade commander, I was wrong, I did not dare to evacuate the inhabitants of the city without asking you for instructions. ”

Baksov's words stunned me, and I was thinking that if they hadn't evacuated the city's residents in time, the civilian casualties in today's offensive and defensive battles would have been staggering. Unexpectedly, Baksov misunderstood, he thought that I didn't speak, and I blamed him in my heart. I hurriedly smiled and said to him, "Comrade Colonel, look where you have gotten. You evacuated the residents overnight, not only is there nothing wrong, but on the contrary, you have a lot of credit. ”

My words did not reassure Baksov, and he still asked uneasily: "Didn't the superiors say that the evacuation of residents would have a bad effect on the morale of the troops?" ”

I waved my hand and said disappreciatively: "The reason why the superiors are reluctant to evacuate the residents is because our commanders and fighters have built fortifications and are ready to defend our defensive zone at all costs. Everything they do is so that no one has to be uprooted and evacuated to other places. But if you look at the situation today, if the residents had not been evacuated overnight, how many innocent civilians would have lost their lives in the German shelling and bombardment? It is because of this that I would say that you made the right decision. ”

When I said this, Baksov finally calmed down a little. Then I asked, "Colonel, which force are you going to send to attack Butovo later?" ”

Baksov thought for a moment and replied: "I plan to send the 201 regiment to attack, they have been left in the rear today as a reserve, and they have not yet participated in the battle." ”

Before we arrived at the forward command post, we felt the atmosphere of the battlefield, not that there were sporadic shells that fell in front and behind the trenches and exploded, and that the hot mud fell from the air into the trenches and scattered all over our bodies.

Baksov led us to the command post of a battalion, which was only about five hundred meters away from Butovo. Watching a group of us walk into the shelter, the two commanders sitting inside quickly stood up and raised their hands to salute us.

The chubby lieutenant colonel, who stood next to Baksov, the commander of the 201st Guards Regiment, smiled and introduced to me: "Comrade commander, this is the commander of the first battalion and his instructor. After speaking, he turned his head to the battalion commander and asked, "Comrade Captain, is your battalion ready to attack?" ”

After a moment's hesitation, the lieutenant on the left replied decisively: "Report to Comrade Regiment Commander, the whole battalion has entered the sortie position, please give the order to attack!" ”

The lieutenant colonel listened to him, did not answer immediately, and turned his gaze to Baksov, who in turn turned his gaze to me. I nodded at Baksov and said I could start the attack. So Baksov waved his hand at the captain and said loudly: "Act, comrade captain, take back Butovo from the Germans." ”

"Yes!" The lieutenant agreed, and left the command post with his instructor.

After the two left, Baksov walked to the door on the other side, turned around and politely said to me: "Comrade commander, this is an observation post, you can see the situation on the battlefield. ”

I walked through the door to the observation hole in the observation post, held up the telescope resting next to me, and looked out. In the distance, the houses on the edge of Butowo were blown into ruins, and behind the broken walls that had not yet completely collapsed, a swaying figure could be faintly seen.

There were no bugles and no slogans, and the fighters of the Guards Division were led by commanders of all ranks. Crawl out of the trenches. With his weapons in hand, he strode towards the city occupied by the Germans. A cannonball flew over and landed in the crowd and exploded. The flying shrapnel instantly knocked seven or eight fighters to the ground, and the rest of the commanders and fighters continued to advance towards their goal as if they had not seen it.

Halfway through the march, several machine guns hidden in the half-length building also opened fire, and the dense bullets drilled into the ground, splashing the earth as if it were a boiling pot, and the bullets that entered the human body splashed large clouds of blood and minced flesh......

In the binoculars, I saw the Guards fighters advancing towards Butovo, falling one by one under machine-gun fire and mortar fire. But at the moment my heart is like water, and I am not at 107 at all. 5 On the heights, I looked at the mortally wounded captain of the navy, shouted "Brothers, let us serve the country one last time", and then led the troops to rush towards the enemy without hesitation.

But when the troops advanced to just over a hundred meters from the enemy's fortifications, the commanders and fighters who were at the forefront changed formation. They rolled on the spot, looking for the nearest craters and trees to their bodies. Then he hid behind, quickly checked his guns, and then took a general look at the terrain, and then hid behind cover and shot back.

Seeing this, I couldn't help but nod secretly, although this attack was not supported by any artillery fire, but the soldiers behaved very well, at least they did not rush down at the enemy's guns with their guns stupidly, but relied on cover to shoot at the enemy.

I put down my binoculars, turned my head and asked Baksov, who was also observing the enemy: "Comrade Colonel, can you provide the necessary artillery support for the infantry fighters?" ”

Baksov hesitated for a moment and replied: "Comrade commander, the artillery regiment of our division has long been moved to the rear, and it is estimated that in an hour or two it will not be possible to provide artillery support to the infantry. ”

"Tanks, what about tanks?" I suddenly remembered the new T-54/55 tank from the future, so I grabbed Baksov's arm and asked excitedly: "Aren't there still a few new tanks, why don't you use them?" ”

Instead of answering my question directly this time, Baksov stood at the door and shouted next door: "Hey, Lieutenant Colonel Sederikov, please come here." ”

With his shouts, Sederikov appeared in front of us. I was wondering what Baksov was calling him for when I heard Baksov preemptively ask: "Comrade Lieutenant Colonel, if I remember correctly, how many new tanks do you have there?" ”

"That's right, Comrade Division Commander." Sederikov replied respectfully: "The tank company I brought with me, after completing the battle to capture Butovo, has all gone to the woods a few kilometers from here in order to prevent them from being targeted by enemy aircraft. ”

"Can they provide a little artillery support for our infantry?" Although Baksov had a higher rank than Sederikov, he spoke in a consultative tone, not in an order-like tone: "You must know that that kind of tank, as long as it does not encounter enemy heavy artillery or bombardment, there is really no nemesis in such a place." ”

Although Baksov's words were very polite, Sederikov did not immediately agree to him, because the two had no affiliation in the first place, and the reason why Sedexov appeared here was because I ordered him to lead troops to assist Baksov in street fighting. Don't look at the new formation of the Shedelikov regiment not long ago, but when it comes to street fighting, there are really not many in the entire army group that can defeat them.

As soon as Sederkov's gaze shifted, I didn't wait for him to speak, but preemptively said: "Lieutenant Colonel Sederikov, since Colonel Baksov has personally pleaded with you, then you should accede to his request." ”

"Yes, Comrade Commander." Sederikov replied respectfully: "I will then order someone to transfer the tank company." ”

After Shederikov left, I picked up my binoculars again and continued to look at the place where the battle was raging. Although our troops were still suppressed by German fire, they fought in a very orderly manner. Commanders and fighters with rich combat experience will immediately retract and lie down after firing another shot at the enemy, regardless of whether they hit or not, waiting for the next opportunity.

While watching, I said to Baksov: "Comrade Colonel, your troops behaved well, although they were suppressed by German fire, but they behaved tenaciously. It is believed that as long as the artillery fire comes, these German firepower points can be destroyed one by one. ”

While he was talking, Sedjerikov re-entered the observation post. Seeing his appearance, I asked curiously: "Lieutenant Colonel, shouldn't you transfer the tank company, why are you still here?"

Sederikov replied with a smile: "Comrade commander, nowadays tanks are equipped with car telephones, and I only need to go to the communication room next door and give them an order with a walkie-talkie, and I don't need to make a trip myself." Look, in a few minutes, as soon as our tanks appear, it's our turn to beat the Germans all over the ground. ”

A few minutes later, six of our army's new tanks lined up in a neat row in front of the trenches. As the command was given, the six tank guns fine-tuned their angles, and after a series of muffled sounds, several tank shells streaked across the sky and flew towards the machine gun fire point where the Germans were under intense fire.

The shells landed accurately in the building and exploded, and the blast of the explosion lifted the stumps of human bodies and parts of weapons to the heights, and the already dense firepower of the German positions became thin. The tank company, which had achieved success in the first round of shooting, opened fire again, this time targeting those mortar fire points of the German army.

Perhaps it was the detonation of a mortar shell that had been hit, and after the earth-shattering explosion, half of the buildings that had stood on both sides of the street collapsed with a bang. In the smoke and dust flying in the sky, our soldiers who had been hiding behind bomb craters or big trees appeared one after another, and rushed towards the city with their weapons in their hands without saying a word.

Seeing the hordes of fighters rushing into the flying smoke, while our tanks were still standing still, I raised my leg and kicked Sederikov and scolded with a smile: "Lieutenant Colonel, didn't you see that our fighters are rushing into the city?" Don't let the tank company rush up quickly, otherwise we will be driven out of the infantry without anti-tank weapons in the face of enemy tanks. "I don't mean to be alarmist, as it happened during the Battle of Moscow, when our counter-attacking troops stormed into the city and were confronted by several German tanks, and because they had no anti-tank weapons, they had to leave the city in disgrace with heavy casualties, and I didn't want my troops to repeat the mistakes of the past. (To be continued.) )