Although last night's smuggling failed, the battle to seize the north bank of the bridge will continue according to opportunity as soon as the day comes.

As soon as it was dawn, Kirillov and I arrived at the command post of the 3rd Regiment at the southern end of the bridge.

Walking into the command post, I saw Akhromeyev assigning combat missions to his men. Seeing me and Kirillov coming in, he quickly suspended the meeting and ran towards us.

When he had finished saluting me, I asked bluntly, "How's the preparations, Major?" ”

"It's all set." After answering briefly, Akhromeyev made a request to me: "Comrade commander, please give a few words to the commanders, so that when you fight, you can have the confidence of victory." ”

I understood that he wanted me to boost my morale, so I took two steps forward without hesitation, and faced the company and battalion commanders who stood up straight, and first asked: "Comrades, is the next combat mission clear to everyone?" ”

"Clear." A dozen commanders replied neatly.

I nodded, and then added, "Although we are fighting an offensive battle, there are only two German companies on the other side, and we have one regiment. One regiment fights two companies of the enemy, do you have the confidence to defeat them? ”

After a moment of silence, the commanders replied neatly again: "We can win!" ”

"Good!" I was pleased with the confidence they showed and said, "I'm relieved that everyone is so confident." I have only one requirement for you, and that is to fight hard when attacking. In this way, in the shortest possible time. Take back the position north of the bridge from the enemy. Do you have faith? ”

"Yes!" All the commanders in the room shouted in unison.

Wait until the room is quiet again. I turned to Akhromeyev and said, "Major, I'm done talking. You can continue to command your troops. ”

Akhromeyev waited for me to finish, waved at the commanders, and said loudly: "Everyone go back to their respective units and hurry up and make all preparations for battle." As soon as eight o'clock arrived, they immediately launched an attack on the other side of the bridge. ”

As soon as all the battalion and company commanders left the command post, I solemnly asked Akhromeyev: "Major, how sure do you think you are of seizing the bridge?" ”

For me this question. Akhromeyev did not answer immediately, but pushed a hand-drawn map in front of me, and then he spoke: "Comrade commander, please look at this map. The enemy's defensive position, a hundred meters north of the bridge, there was a circular trench with several reinforced concrete pillboxes in the trenches. Even if our commanders and fighters rushed across the bridge under intensive enemy fire, as soon as they left the bridge, the German fire arranged in the circular trenches could fire at them from three directions at the same time. ”

Kirillov listened to Akhromeyev say this. He looked up and said, "Lida, according to what the Major has just said. As soon as our fighters left the bridge, they were killed by fire from three sides, so the situation was very unfavorable for us. Even if we pay a huge price, we may not be able to seize this bridge. ”

I did not express my position on Kirillov's concerns, but turned my head to look at Akhromeyev and asked: "Major, do you have any good ideas?" ”

"Comrade Commander," Akhromeyev explained, pointing to the German fortifications on the map, "although there are several reinforced concrete pillboxes in the trenches, because they were originally built to prevent attacks from the north side, the shooting holes of the pillboxes are facing north. That is, the German machine-gun fire points were arranged in trenches rather than pillboxes. At present, only two anti-aircraft guns, dismantled by the Germans, are installed in pillboxes. ”

"Comrade Major," after listening to the intelligence reported by Akhromeyev, I "how much do you estimate that we will have to pay to destroy the enemy on the north shore?" ”

My question silenced Akhromeyev for a long time. It was so long that I was about to lose my patience, and just as I was about to ask, he finally spoke: "Comrade commander, if I have to tell the truth, I can only regret to tell you that even with the support of tank artillery, we will have to sacrifice at least a battalion to seize the German positions on the other side. ”

Akhromeyev's answer startled Kirillov, and he said in a dumbfounded voice: "Oh my God, so many people to be sacrificed? You must know that the equipment and combat effectiveness of the three regiments are also among the best in our army. Comrade commander, you see if this offensive can be canceled, you must know that according to the plan, this is just a feint to attract the attention of the German army. ”

Thinking that there was a confrontation between us and the Germans on the Dnieper, and that if there was no action, it would definitely arouse the suspicion of the Germans, I could only grit my teeth and say: "Major, no matter how great the sacrifice is, this battle must be fought." ”

Before the start of the battle, we, guided by Akhromeyev, came to a building not far from the bridge. Ascending to the third floor, we found a room with a panoramic view of the battlefield and used it as our temporary command post.

I stood by the window and held up my binoculars to look out. I saw that on the position of our troops on the south side of the bridge, there was also a circular trench, and our attacking troops were hidden in the trenches, waiting for the order to attack.

I continued to observe the situation outside for a while, and when I felt that the time was almost up, I put down my binoculars and raised my hand to see the time. Seeing that the pointer was pointing to eight o'clock little by little, he turned his head and ordered Akhromeyev, who was standing behind him with a microphone in his hand: "Major, when the time comes, start attacking." ”

After listening to my order, Akhromeyev loudly repeated my order into the microphone: "Start attacking!" ”

As his order was given, the sound of shouting "Ula" came from outside the building. I hurriedly moved my binoculars in the direction from which the sound came, and saw hundreds of commanders and fighters jumping out of the trenches where they were hiding, weapons in their hands, shouting slogans in their mouths, and rushing towards the opposite shore quickly.

As soon as the advance of the troops rushed to the bridge, the opposite machine-gun fire point began to fire. After the soldiers who rushed to the front were shot and fell to the ground, the commanders and fighters behind immediately evacuated and rushed forward a few steps. He stopped. Hide behind the arches of the steel structure on the bridge deck. Fired back at the German firing points in the distance.

I counted the fact that in the distance in the German trenches, there were probably seven or eight machine guns firing non-stop. The return fire of our soldiers did not have much effect, and only more and more commanders and fighters fell under the enemy's guns.

Seeing this scene, I couldn't help but be a little angry, and said in my heart that it was not said that it was okay, when the infantry was attacking. They are supported by artillery fire from tank units and mortar detachments? Now our commanders and fighters have rushed through the middle of the bridge, but we have not yet seen Pelsken's men appear.

Kirillov apparently also noticed the problem, and he said indignantly: "What is this Major Perstian, where is he, don't you see that the infantry has attacked?" ”

The infantry was so fast that within two or three minutes of our words, quite a few soldiers had rushed over the bridge deck and broken into the death zone that was blocked by German fire.

Seeing that our commanders and fighters broke into their firing range, it turned out that there were only a few machine guns firing in the trenches. Suddenly, there were countless muzzle flames. Under the heavy fire of the enemy, the fighters who entered the open field. Except for a few people who reacted quickly, they fell on the spot and fought back, and the rest were either killed or injured, and fell to the ground one after another.

The first wave of our army's offensive took less than five minutes and ended in failure. Of the two hundred or so fighters who charged, no more than a third of the original number managed to retreat to the south bank of the bridge. The rest were either killed on the spot, or fell to the ground after being wounded, unable to return to the starting position of our offensive on their own.

Just as I was about to ask Akhromeyev to call Persjian, there was a roar of tank motors downstairs. I looked down and saw two tanks heading towards the bridge.

After the tank came to a stop at the bridgehead, the turret slowly adjusted its angle and opened fire on the opposite German position. Two shells exploded near a machine-gun fire point that was constantly firing, and when the smoke cleared, the fire point was no longer moving, and it seemed to have been destroyed by artillery fire.

After the first round of firing, our tanks continued to fire, striking in turn at exposed German firing points. As one firing point after another was destroyed by artillery fire, the commanders in our trenches seemed to see an opportunity to attack, and they jumped out of the trenches, brandished their pistols, and beckoned the soldiers to charge with them.

When the tankmen saw that our infantry had started another charge, one of them immediately stopped firing. After a puff of black smoke erupted from the back of the car, the car shook violently, and then led the infantry towards the opposite bank.

"Will this tank be able to rush to the enemy's position without any problems?" When I saw the tank that rushed towards the enemy's position without hesitation, this thought suddenly crossed my mind.

But the tanks rushed to the opposite bank, and as soon as they left the bridge, the German anti-aircraft guns opened fire. The sparse shells fell on the tank and exploded, so much so that the tank had to take an S-shape in order to avoid enemy fire. But the good times did not last long, when it was still more than 30 meters away from the German trenches, it was unfortunately hit by a shell, and a raging fire immediately broke out on the body, and after driving forward for a few meters, it came to a complete stop.

Seeing that our tanks were destroyed, the commanders and fighters who followed behind did not dare to fight, leaving behind their dead and wounded comrades, who fled back from the bridge in confusion with their guns as they ran.

Seeing two consecutive attacks, both easily repulsed by the Germans, my face was dissatisfied. Without waiting for me to speak, Akhromeyev, who was good at observing words and feelings, shouted into the microphone: "Hey, hey, is it Captain Dubrovsky?" I am Major Akhromeyev, and I order you, immediately organize the troops to attack again. Remember, tell all your commanders and fighters to attack fast, and the faster you charge, the less bullets will hit you. ”

Soon after his order was given, I saw another wave of warriors rushing out of the trenches and rushing to the bridgehead with a shout. The Germans blocked the bridge deck with machine gun fire, and the bullets hit the cement slag on the bridge deck, bouncing up 2 to 30 centimeters high. The five or six people who rushed to the front fell down in a blink of an eye, struggling, rolling, and ** on the bridge deck. Although the comrades in front fell, the commanders and fighters in the back still rushed forward one after another.

Since one of our tanks was providing fire support to the infantry, the German mortars did not dare to fire at will, otherwise, as soon as it exposed the target, the tank shells would fly over and smash them to pieces. However, the existence of the enemy's anti-aircraft artillery made the only remaining tank of our army dare not attack casually, so it could only stop by the bridge and act as a fixed battery to provide limited artillery support for the infantry.

"Major, call Major Persten." Seeing the one-man tank at the head of the bridge, I couldn't help but be angry, turned my head and shouted at Akhromeyev: "Ask him, where are the other tanks?" And where is the mortar detachment that he promised? ”

Hearing that I was starting to get angry, Akhromeyev did not dare to slack off, and hurriedly shouted into the microphone. After a while, he put down the microphone and reported to me: "Comrade Commander, Major Pelstian reports that the other two tanks have broken down and have just finished repairing them, and are rushing towards the bridgehead with the newly formed mortar detachment. ”

"When they arrived, the daylilies were cold." After muttering in a low voice, I turned sideways to Kirillov and said: "Comrade commissar, you stay here, I'll go to the front and have a look." ”

As soon as my words came out, they immediately startled Kirillov and Akhromeyev. Kirillov hurriedly dissuaded me and said: "Lida, the front is too dangerous, you see, the enemy's machine gun bullets can hit the trenches on our side, so don't risk it." ”

Akhromeyev also hurriedly cooperated with Kirillov to persuade me: "Yes, comrade commander, if you are not at ease, you and the commissar stay here, and I will personally go to the front to command." ”

"No, I have to go to the front." Seeing that two attacks in a row failed, and the third one was thwarted again, I could not stay in this temporary command post for a minute, because I stubbornly said: "Comrade commissar stays." Major Akhromeyev, come with me. With that, he took off the assault rifle he was carrying on his shoulder, carried it in his hand and walked outside.

Seeing my determination, Akhromeyev, who was familiar with my character, had no choice but to look at Kirillov helplessly, also picked up a submachine gun, and walked out of the command post after me.

As soon as we left the building, we quickly moved on to the trenches. In order to avoid being injured by the enemy's stray bullets, I bent down and ran along the trench towards the front. Akhromeyev and Yushchenko, armed with their weapons, followed closely behind me.

As soon as I found the commander of the 1st battalion, Captain Dubrovsky, who was in the trenches and commanding the troops, I heard the roar of tank motors behind me. I turned my head and saw that it was two other tanks of our army, coming down the street towards us. (To be continued......)

PS: Bow and thank the book friends lostmin, please j, Fei Hong Feifei, Moon Rakshasa , Xiao Yi XXX, Demon Brother Fan, and Lidi Feisheng Children's Shoes for their two votes of support! Thank you for your valuable votes from HYPP1014, Yinghe Readers, HEATHY, Shadow of Elves, and Old Godfather Children's Shoes! Thank you for the book friends who can take a look casually, HYPP1014, L599XL children's shoes!