The Germans were retreating.

But it was not a rout, it was just a retreat after the attack was frustrated, and it always maintained a relatively intact formation. From this point of view, once they once again gain superiority in firepower and troops, they can launch a counterattack against our army at any time.

The 18th Division at the front did not attack, but only relied on its positions and used light and heavy weapons to inflict fire on the retreating Germans.

In charge of the attack were the fighters of the 78th Infantry Division from Siberia, who formed a loose formation, shouted slogans and charged forward with their heads held high. The strikers were already following the rear of the tank brigade approaching the trenches, and the troops behind were still pouring out of the forest.

From time to time, German shells fell on the ranks of our troops and exploded, blowing up the frozen ground into a splash of mud. The scattered queue has reduced some casualties, but it is only a reduction, and the casualties are still not small. From time to time, some soldiers screamed and fell to the ground, and the neat formation of the first few rows suddenly became sparse. The living warriors did not waver in the slightest, they stepped over the bodies of their comrades, shouted slogans and continued to charge forward without hesitation. As for the soldier who fell to the ground, if he was only injured, there would naturally be a health worker behind him to treat him; If you are unfortunately sacrificed, then there is no way, war, how can there be immortals.

Seeing all this, I couldn't help but secretly sigh: the charm of this music is great, and it can make the soldiers who hear the song burst with confidence. Judging from the current situation of the war, the repulsion of the German army is nine times out of ten. However, the fly in the ointment is that this old Maozi's vocabulary is too poor, and every time the troops charge, in addition to shouting "Ula!" "There doesn't seem to be any other slogan to shout. Like the current charge, you have to shout some inspiring slogans such as "capture Guderian alive".

Although, judging from the current situation, our army occupies a great advantage. But I knew very well in my heart that this partial advantage was only superficial, that the depth of the 16th Army lacked sufficient reserves, and in order to hold the present line of defense, Rokossovsky had to take the risk of withdrawing part of his forces from the temporarily undangerous position and moving them to a direction where there was a danger of being broken through by the enemy.

Everyone knows that he is gambling and taking risks in doing so, because the enemy outnumbered our troops by a great number, and had great mobility and absolute air support, so it was relatively easy for them to build up an assault group in the course of the battle. The ground freezes in their favor, and they can strike anywhere at any time, leaving us exhausted.

The tanks of Katukov's brigade had already rushed into the ranks of the Germans, and our artillery, fearing that they would accidentally injure their own people, began to fire extendedly, and the shells fell on the path of the German infantry's retreat.

Seeing that their rear roads were cut off, that tanks were destroyed one by one, and that the soldiers were pouring towards them like a tidal wave, the Germans began to panic. The Siberian warriors who rushed to the front, some of them ran a few steps with their rifles, then half-crouched down and fired a shot, and then stood up and rushed forward; Others rushed in front of the enemy, directly raising their bayonets and stabbing at them. The Germans were already in a state of collapse, and they could not stop the tiger-like soldiers in the mountains, and the weak-willed soldiers turned around and ran, fearing that they were infecting each other like infectious diseases, and at first only one or two soldiers fled, and soon more and more soldiers joined the queue of escapes, and the whole team was chaotic like headless flies, and you huddled and ran aimlessly.

The Siberians, full of fighting passion, pursued closely and, with the support of the Guards Tank Brigade and Army Artillery, successively occupied a number of starting positions of the German troops, driving them far away from the defensive positions of our troops. The enemy was routed, the already precarious defensive line was stabilized, and the heroic performance of the soldiers of the 78th Division saved our army from an unfavorable situation.

By noon on the battle, the attacking units of our army had already struck into a place where I could not see. Seeing that the tide of battle was moving in my favor, I couldn't help but breathe a sigh of relief and put down the telescope that had been held up for almost a morning. I just wanted to turn around, but I felt a wave of dizziness, and my body involuntarily fell backwards. Luckily, someone held me up in time so I didn't fall to the ground.

Turning his head, it turned out to be Rokossovsky, and he asked with concern: "Leda, it doesn't matter to you, right?" ”

His concern made my heart warm, and I quickly stood up straight and replied: "Comrade commander, I have nothing to do, maybe I have been standing for a long time and am a little dizzy." ”

He put his arm around my shoulders, helped me to sit down at the table, and bowed his head to ask for my opinion: "Your injuries don't seem to be light, do you need me to arrange for someone to take you back to Moscow?" ”

"Huh?" Hearing him say this suddenly, I couldn't help but be stunned for a moment before I came back to my senses, and immediately rejected his kindness without thinking: "Comrade Commander Xie Lu, my injuries are not serious, or I will be healed in ten days." This is not for the sake of being strong, but out of a little selfishness. I finally got acquainted with these future famous generals, if I go back to the rear hospital to recuperate at this time, I don't know where my superiors will arrange me after the injury is healed? Even if I can return to the army, I may not be able to return to the Western Front, and all the popularity I have accumulated will be zero. If any of the leading comrades were to work in the rear organs out of concern. Just kidding, the rear organ is not a place where everyone can stay, and as a traverser, many of my views and opinions are deviant or even rebellious to people in this era. On the front line, the day-to-day combat life has exhausted everyone's excess energy, and few people will notice these details, and even if they do, most of them just laugh it off. If you're in the agency, it's really like walking on thin ice, and if you're not careful, you'll be caught. , not to mention the impact of promotion, and even lose your own life. In this way, it seems that I still stay on the front line honestly, so that my life is more secure.

Although I repeatedly stressed that my injuries were not serious, Rokossovsky had someone go out of my way to find a female hygienist to take care of me. As soon as the hygienist entered the door, I immediately recognized that it was the same hygienist I had seen last night. At this moment, her face was covered with gunsmoke, and her military uniform was also stained with blood and mud, and it seemed that she had been treating the wounded on the battlefield before entering the command post.

When the hygienist saw me, he immediately ran over and shouted, "Comrade commander, so you are here!" I was looking for you everywhere just now, it's time to change the dressing! ”

I squeezed out a smile at her, and before I could speak, Rokossovsky next to me had already picked up the conversation: "Comrade hygienist, I order you to accompany Comrade Lieutenant Colonel to change the dressing immediately!" ”

"Yes!" The hygienist first agreed to stop where she was and saluted the commander. He came and helped me.

With the help of the hygienist, I stood up and said hello to the commander, political commissar, chief of staff, and others, and then was helped by the hygienist to go to the first-aid camp to change dressings.

In the first-aid camp deep in the forest, the ground was covered with marching felt, on which lay badly wounded soldiers. Due to the fierce fighting, too many wounded, and the limited rescue capacity of the hygienists, many of the seriously wounded who were rescued from the battlefield escaped the curtain and died in agony.

As I passed among the wounded, I found that many of the wounded on the felt were already motionless. Even the ground under some people's bodies was soaked with blood, and the blood froze, and the surrounding area turned purple and black in color. As for the wounded who were blown up by the shells, they were even more miserable.

Although I have seen too many lives and deaths, I also feel that my eyes are hot at this time, and I can't help myself, if it wasn't for the hygienist who helped me into the tent in time, I guess I would not be able to suppress my sadness, squatting there and crying.