After solving the problem of the love affair of the artillery battalion commander Yegonovich, because I had not yet received the final results of the regiment reported by Shederikov, I found a place to sit down, looked up at Shederikov, and asked with interest: "Lieutenant Colonel Sederikov, have the results of your regiment been counted?" ”

"Yes, it's been basically counted."

"Then report it to me, and I will report the results of your regiment to the army headquarters later."

Shederikov agreed, and reported to me as if telling a story: "After our regiment arrived at the designated position at eleven o'clock, I sent three companies in each direction of the German camp in the east and west directions, and five companies in the south, and built simple fortifications in three directions of the camp to prevent the escape of the German troops attacked by our troops.

After the shelling began, the artillery battalion of Captain Jegonovich gave priority to the target of the shelling, which was the area where the Germans had parked tanks, armored vehicles, artillery. Because the first round of shelling hit dozens of German parked fuel tankers, the shells exploded on the ground, detonating the gasoline drums piled up on the vehicles, and half of the camp was suddenly turned into a sea of fire. The violent explosions and fires turned every gasoline drum into a flying bomb, which fell on the spot where the Germans stacked the shells, and as a result, the detonated shells caused an even larger explosion, and the earth trembled slightly under our feet with the sound of the explosion.

When the artillery battalion's firing targets turned to other areas, I led nine companies to follow Captain Perstian's tank detachment and launched a fierce assault on the enemy's camp. We stormed the camp, and in the light of the fire, I saw that the camp was littered with charred corpses of German soldiers. Most of the camp has become a living hell.

When it first started. We met no resistance. It was only when they approached the center of the camp that resistance was met. In the face of the fierce offensive of our regiment, most of the surviving soldiers chose to find cover or craters on the spot to resist. In particular, the surviving German officers of all ranks, taking advantage of the diversion of our artillery fire, crawled out of the pile of dead people, looked through the corpses one by one, looked for the soldiers who were still alive, and drove them to use the ready-made craters. Organize small-scale resistance.

However, the German officers and men who had suffered the blow of our army had long lost the courage to continue resisting, and basically as soon as the soldiers of our regiment rushed forward, they stopped firing and laid down their arms and surrendered. Due to the speed of the assault of our regiment, in order to prevent being wounded by my own artillery fire, I fired signal flares that made the artillery battalion of Captain Jegonovich stop firing.

Just as our shelling had stopped, an enemy force fled south while our troops were taking prisoners. Our troops on the southern front, although desperately resisted, still allowed them to break through the defensive line. Towards the south Shun lì broke through. ”

When I heard that the escaped German troops had actually broken through the defensive positions established by five companies and successfully broke through, I couldn't help frowning and asked with some displeasure: "Lieutenant Colonel Sederikov, did the commander in charge of the southern defense tell you how many German troops are in this breakthrough?" ”

Shederikov hesitated for a moment, but finally gave me a number that frightened me: "About two thousand, less than three thousand." ”

"What? Two or three thousand people? "As soon as I heard this number, I was so shocked that I jumped up from my seat, when Shedelikov reported on the phone, he only said that there was a German unit breaking through, but he did not say how many people there were, I estimated that at most two or three hundred people would run away, but I didn't expect to run away from a whole regiment." Why are so many enemies escaping, and can any of you give me a reasonable explanation? ”

Sedjerikov and Yegonovich glanced at each other and glanced at each other, and Yegonovich hurriedly stepped forward, straightened up and explained to me: "Comrade Colonel, please listen to my explanation, the situation is like this. Because my artillery battalion has too few cannons, and you know, there are only eight howitzers, which cannot cover the entire German camp with fire at once. At this point, he shrugged his shoulders and said helplessly, "Perhaps this enemy took a decisive break through while our artillery fire had not yet hit them." ”

His words have already reached this point, and it is obviously unwise to be angry at him. I had no choice but to walk back and forth in the observation post with my hands behind my back, thinking to myself that the results of tonight's night attack were not as great as I had imagined, and that although the German division commander had been captured, a whole regiment had successfully broken through and could continue to attack our division's fragile defensive line after joining up with their friendly forces tomorrow. Will they stay here, or will they withdraw their troops to the area designated by Chuikov?

I inadvertently looked out of the observation port, but I accidentally noticed that the positions of the four regiments were brightly lit, and the commanders and fighters seemed to be busy with something. I hurriedly stopped, raised my binoculars and looked out, only to see that the commanders and fighters of the Fourth Regiment were not only reinforcing their two original defensive lines, but even digging new trenches two or three hundred meters in front of the position.

I hurriedly asked Razumeyeva to contact Gaidar for me, and as soon as the phone rang, I asked Gaidar in a loud voice: "I said Comrade Lieutenant Colonel, what are you busy with at night when you don't rest at night?" ”

"Report to the division commander," Gaidar replied in a steady tone, "when it was dark, the commander of the engineer company, Second Lieutenant Mihayev, came to the command and said that the defense line of our regiment was too weak to withstand the onslaught of the enemy, and took the initiative to build a new line of defense on the basis of strengthening the existing one. What you see is probably the soldiers building new fortifications. ”

I looked at the busy soldiers in the distance, and then asked, "Between the new line of defense and the old line, there are many wreckage of destroyed tanks, armored vehicles, and trucks, what are you going to do with these things?" "The reason I ask this is because during the Battle of Moscow, I used to have soldiers build fire points under destroyed tanks, and it worked well, and I wanted them to copy it.

Unexpectedly, Gaidar replied: "Comrade division commander, Mihayev built yì, hide the machine-gun fire point under the scrapped tank, so that even if we are shelled by the enemy, our soldiers squatting in the fire point will not suffer too many casualties under the heavy armor of the tank." Wait until the enemy attacks, machine-gun fire from our firing points. can be fully utilized. Knock down the enemy piece by piece like a wheat that has been cut down. ”

"This is a good idea for Second Lieutenant Mihayev. Just do as he says. After praising Mihayev, I told Gaidar, "Comrade Lieutenant Colonel, although we have achieved great results in tonight's night attack, the Germans who are not willing to suffer losses tomorrow will definitely retaliate frantically, and your regiment must be ready to fight a tough battle." ”

When I hung up, Shedelikov stepped forward and cautiously asked: "Comrade division commander." Is everything you just said true? ”

"What did I say?" I asked in confusion.

"That is, the enemy will retaliate madly tomorrow."

"Of course, Lieutenant Colonel Sederikov." Because of his position and the information he knew, his assessment of the situation would inevitably be skewed, so I reminded him and Jegonovich: "Although we have inflicted heavy losses on the German 29th Motorized Rifle Division today, we should also see that the Gothic 4th Tank Army has not suffered any damage. Even if the 29th Motorized Division is removed, General Kempf's 48th Motorized Army still has the 11th and 16th Armored Divisions, and the 16th Motorized Division. In the establishment of the 4th Infantry Corps, there are also 94th and 371st divisions. At the moment, they are facing off with the troops of the 2nd and 3rd regiments in the two directions of Spaldanovka and Orlovka. If only it were after dawn. If the Germans, under the cover of aircraft artillery, simultaneously attacked the defensive positions of our division from several directions, I estimate that it would be very difficult to hold the positions. ”

"So what should we do?" After listening to my analysis, Sedelikov asked worriedly.

"Comrade Sedjerikov," I ordered him with a stern expression, "you immediately withdraw the regiment that has cleaned up the battlefield, retreat into the forest, and continue to serve as a reserve for the whole division." And you, Comrade Captain. I looked up at Jegonovich and added, "Your artillery battalion will also be immediately transferred with Shederikov's regiment, first hidden, and when the time is right, then make a decisive attack and strike a thunderous blow to the arrogant enemy." ”

When the two of them were about to leave, I suddenly remembered the whereabouts of two more people and forgot to ask, so I quickly stopped them again and asked, "Where are Captain Perstian's tank detachment and Captain Morozov's artillery company?" ”

Sederikov hurriedly stopped and replied: "The tank detachment is still on guard in the camp, covering the infantry to carry materials. Morozov, on the other hand, took the remaining comrades of the artillery company and returned to the camp of the 4th regiment to form a new mortar company using the captured mortars. ”

"yes, I see. You can leave. "The two of them raised their hands and saluted me and left, and at this moment I had a new opinion in my heart about Morozov, and it was not easy for him to know how to form a new artillery battery from the captured mortars when the cannon company was almost completely lost.

Thinking of the possible attack of the enemy after dawn, I could not sit still and hurriedly called the 2nd and 3rd regiments. The first to be connected was the commander of the second regiment, Oleg, and I asked straight to the point: "Lieutenant Colonel Oleg, how are the fortifications of your regiment being repaired?" ”

"Report to the division commander," Oleg replied respectfully, "as soon as I received your order, I immediately organized the fighters to strengthen and improve the fortifications. Now, on the periphery of the regimental headquarters, two trenches have been completed, and a large number of anti-artillery holes have been dug to allow the fighters to hide inside to avoid artillery fire in the event of German shelling. ”

"How many companies did you put in each of the trenches?" Although I don't have to worry about these details, when I think about the battle after dawn, I feel that if I don't ask, I really don't feel at ease.

"In each of the two trenches, I placed two companies. In order to prevent the heavy German artillery fire from killing and wounding our troops, I temporarily placed the remaining twelve companies in the rear as reserves. It is planned to wait for the casualties of the forward troops to be too heavy before sending reinforcements. ”

Then when he spoke to Kosgaard, the commander of the third regiment, what he said was much the same, except that there were only two or three companies in the front line, and the rest were hidden in the rear as reserves.

After I had made the call, I made up my mind that no matter what the battle would be tomorrow, as soon as it got dark, I would order my troops to retreat to the rear and carry out the combat order issued by my superiors to fight and retreat. At the same time, I am also thinking of waiting for the right time to ask Chuikov to send me a chief of staff, so that I don't have to do anything myself.

As soon as it was dawn, the German offensive on the positions of the four regiments began.

First, a dozen shells fell on the newly repaired trenches of the four regiments and exploded on the left and right, based on my experience. It was known that the German artillery was conducting test firing. Then the massive shelling will begin. As I expected. Within a minute, rows of howitzer shells were raining down, and the position was instantly covered in smoke that obscured the sky.

I felt the ground trembling slightly under my feet, and I couldn't help but worry about the soldiers at the front, would they be able to withstand this round of artillery bombardment from the Germans?

This round of frenzied bombardment lasted about twenty minutes before it stopped. As the smoke cleared, I saw in the distance a large group of black pressurs, about two companies of German infantry. He was striding towards the position of the four regiments with his weapons in hand.

Originally, with the training of our army, if the German infantry was placed within 50 meters and then shot, the lethal effect would be the most ideal. But I didn't expect that the commanders and fighters in the trenches were too nervous, or they were stunned by the shells, and the enemy was still more than 100 meters away, and someone opened fire. As soon as they saw that someone was firing, the commanders and fighters in the entire trench opened fire. After a crackling and fighting, more than a dozen German soldiers were killed, and the rest turned around and ran back.

I was so angry that I quickly grabbed the phone. He asked Gaidar loudly: "Fourth Regiment Commander, how did your fighters do it?" The enemy is still separated by more than a hundred meters. They shoot indiscriminately, they think they're sharpshooters? ”

"Report to Comrade Division Commander," Gaidar replied with some shame, "it's all my fault, the soldiers of the first line of defense today did not participate in the battle yesterday, and they may have been a little nervous, so as soon as they saw the Germans appear in front of them, in order to embolden themselves, they couldn't help but shoot." ”

I ignored his answer and continued to lecture him: "See for yourself, you have wasted so many bullets and knocked down a few German soldiers? How many were chased away? Comrade Lieutenant Colonel, you have to tell the soldiers that our purpose is not to drive away the enemy, but to destroy them. Although you have chased him away now, he will soon come back against you, and if you run out of bullets, you will be fighting them hand-to-hand. ”

"Yes, I understand, Comrade Division. I will immediately call the commanders at the front and ask them to restrain the fighters and stop shooting indiscriminately and putting the enemy in and then fighting. Let's take a look at the next time in our group. ”

As soon as I finished speaking, the second round of German shelling began. Seeing the position once again shrouded in gunsmoke, I couldn't help but feel a heart-wrenching pain, and I wondered how many soldiers would pay with their lives in this round of shelling.

After the shelling, the German infantry went on the offensive again. Perhaps having learned the lesson just now, after they entered the 100-meter range, they disorganized the formation, and rushed forward in groups of three or five, hunched over.

They were getting closer and closer to their positions, but there was no movement in the trenches. My heart couldn't help but pound, and my heart said that the soldiers in the trenches wouldn't all die in the shelling, right?

When the German soldiers were only about 30 meters away from the position, they saw that there was no movement in the trenches, and probably thought that the defenders had been wiped out after the fierce shelling just now, so they involuntarily slowed down, straightened up, and strode towards our position.

At this moment, in the trench, which had not moved, dense grenades whistled up, covering the enemy's ranks like a flock of black crows. The grenades exploded in the queue or in the air in a volley, and in the short continuous explosion, the shrapnel flying sideways cut down the German soldiers in the explosion range. Then the mortars, who had been silent in the second line of defense, spoke, and the shells that originally belonged to the Germans smashed into the enemy group, and the Germans suddenly burst into flames in the attacking ranks, blowing up the Germans in all directions.

Seeing that the Germans were beaten to the ground, the soldiers who were ready to attack jumped out of the fortifications one after another, holding machine guns, submachine guns, and rifles and firing fiercely at the enemy, and the German soldiers, who had been miserable by the bombing, were suddenly swept down again. When the Germans, who had suffered more than half of the casualties, turned around and ran back, our fighters chased after them and hit hard, and the mortars were not far behind. Although the Germans had heavy artillery, they could not support these poor fellows, and there was not much time, and the German soldiers of the two companies involved in the attack, except for a few who escaped, the rest lay on this open field.

Seeing that the enemy attack was repulsed, I spoke to Gaidar again and praised him again and again: "Well fought, Comrade Lieutenant Colonel. Playing well, that's the way to play. ”

The fighters who came into attack quickly collected weapons and ammunition from the corpses of the enemy, and then quickly withdrew to the trenches. As soon as this qiē was done, a formation of German bombers appeared in the sky.

Seeing the appearance of the enemy plane, I hurriedly ordered Gaidar: "Comrade Lieutenant Colonel, quickly hide your people, the German planes are about to bomb your positions." ”

After circling in a circle over the positions of the 4th Regiment, the enemy planes began to dive down in formation and bomb and strafe the positions of the 4th Regiment. Not to be outdone, the German artillery also began shelling at the positions of our troops, and suddenly the entire defensive line of the 4th Regiment was engulfed in smoke and fire.

When the enemy bombardment and artillery bombardment were over and the smoke cleared, I saw that all three trenches had been blown up to the potholes, and the open space in the middle of the trenches was full of dense craters, and the earth was blackened by the smoke of gunpowder. Many of the firing points that were originally built under the tanks were destroyed by the air waves of bombs or shells.

The new wave of German infantry, taking advantage of the bombardment of aircraft and artillery, quietly approached within two hundred meters of the position. As soon as they saw the planes flying away, the artillery stopped shelling, and they involuntarily quickened their pace and rushed towards the positions of the 4th regiment.

When the Germans approached their positions, there was no movement in the trenches. Seeing this scene, I estimated that the commanders and fighters in the trenches were either sacrificed or buried in the collapsed anti-artillery holes.

Many German soldiers crossed the first line of trenches and continued to rush towards the second line of defense. Seeing that they had crossed half the distance in an instant, several surviving fire points hidden under the tank began to fire. In the sound of gunfire, the German soldiers who rushed to the front fell one after another, and the rest hurriedly jumped into the crater, raised their guns and fired at these firing points.

The German attack was held back for a moment by these machine-gun fire points, giving the mortar battery hidden in the second line of trenches a chance to open fire. More than a dozen mortar shells landed in the middle of the German soldiers and exploded, and the flying shrapnel and clods of earth crackled so hard that they had to retreat into the crater.

The soldiers in the second trench jumped out of the trench with their weapons in hand and launched a counter-charge against the enemy. Compared with the attacking German soldiers, the soldiers of the 4th Regiment obviously lacked combat experience, and they did not know how to bow their waists when they charged, and they all straightened their waists one by one, and were knocked down by the German soldiers one after another.

Fortunately, Morozov had rich combat experience, and when he saw where the German army was firing fiercely, he commanded a mortar company to smash a shell over, blowing up the German soldiers. The soldiers of the 4th regiment, although they had little combat experience, were not entirely stupid, and often saw that the German fire points were hit by shells, and seven or eight soldiers rushed forward and stabbed the German soldiers who were not yet dead with a bayonet or two shots.

As more and more fighters rushed forward, coupled with the shells of the mortar company that seemed to have eyes and accurately smashed into the German columns from time to time, the morale of the German soldiers was extremely low. They placed their guns indiscriminately, turned around and crossed the first line of defense of our army, and stumbled back.

As soon as the enemy attack from the south was repulsed, a call from Oleg, the commander of the second regiment, came. He said anxiously on the phone: "Report to the division commander, a battalion of the 371st German infantry division, under the cover of twelve tanks, launched a fierce attack on the positions of our regiment. Due to the lack of anti-tank weapons in our regiment, a company of German tanks broke through the two lines of defense of our regiment and rushed to a point only twenty meters from our headquarters. ”

"How's it going? Are the enemy tanks still out there? "When I heard that Oleg was in danger, my heart sank sharply, and I realized that if his line of defense was breached, the German 371st Division would be able to break out of the position of the fourth regiment from the flank.

"It's still out there, but it's all burning. Our fighters blew up all the tanks with cluster grenades. ”

"Lieutenant Colonel Gaidar," I breathed a sigh of relief when I heard that he was fine, and then ordered him sternly: "At any cost, the offensive of the 371st Division must also be blocked, otherwise the position of the 4th Regiment will be broken through from the side by the Germans." (To be continued......)

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