Seeing that our tank detachment had packed up the German tanks, the soldiers in the trenches jumped out of the fortifications one after another, some armed with machine guns and submachine guns, which were specially used to fight German tankers; And the artillerymen, who were carrying mortars, ran forward some distance after leaving the fortifications, took one cannon at a gun, and opened fire on the Germans who were storming our first trench in the distance.

Seven or eight shells roared down in the middle of the German army column and exploded, raising a large cloud of fire and gunsmoke, and the flying shrapnel suddenly confused the German army's strict ranks. Seeing that the companions around him were blown up to the ground, those who were not blown up fell down one after another. The soldiers in the trenches, who were originally suppressed by the German firepower and could not raise their heads, felt the pressure relaxed, and hurriedly poked their heads out, holding the weapons in their hands, and opened fire on the Germans outside the trenches. As soon as the fire of our troops was dense and crowded, the German troops, who were suffering from the shelling, looked a little overwhelmed.

Although several German officers tried their best to stabilize the troops and not let them collapse, they braved the rain of bullets to stand up in the smoke of artillery fire, brandished their pistols, and let the soldiers around them stand up and continue the attack. But the soldiers, who were dizzy by the shells, were so frightened that they lay motionless on the ground, even if they were reluctantly pulled up by the officers, and when the officers let go and went to pull the other soldiers, they quietly lay down again. After these officers were shot down indiscriminately, no one dared to stand up.

At this moment, in addition to the light and heavy machine guns in the trench, the rest of the commanders and fighters of the fourth regiment jumped out of the trench with their weapons in their hands and bravely rushed forward towards the Germans. Fearing that we would injure our own people by mistake, our mortars stopped firing at this moment.

Another German officer jumped up, brandished a pistol and shouted. Let the soldiers get up and continue the fight. At this time, the German soldiers saw that there was no suppression of artillery fire. The courage has also grown. With his rifle in hand, he met our warriors.

The troops on both sides collided, and the Germans attempted to destroy the troops of the 4th Regiment and occupy the trench in front of them by virtue of their superior numbers and good training and high technical and tactical level. And the commanders and fighters of the fourth regiment are fighting for their own survival.

I held up my binoculars and saw the two troops fighting together, and I was too nervous to speak. To be honest, don't look at the soldiers, all of them are tall and big. But I am not optimistic about their level of bayonet fighting. When he was in Liuban before, didn't that Hojo Tanio say that before he was captured, in the Battle of Zhang Gufeng, he single-handedly knocked down 28 Soviet soldiers. Although the German army was not as strong as the Japanese army, they were outnumbered by us, and there was still a great deal of certainty that they would win.

Thinking that the casualty ratio in the white-knuckle battle was generally one to one, and looking at the soldiers of the four regiments, which were much smaller than the German army, I hurriedly called Gaidar, and did not bother to blame him for not letting the troops attack so hastily. He directly ordered him: "Comrade Gaidar, immediately order the troops of the second line of defense to attack." Go and reinforce the troops of the first line of defense, and if they are too late, they may be completely wiped out by the Germans. ”

Because the Germans and our fighters were entangled with each other, not only the tank detachments and mortar batteries stopped firing, but even the light and heavy machine guns on the forward positions had to stop firing for fear of injuring their own people by mistake. However, these machine gun shooters were not just stupid and stood still, and when they saw a German rushing into the trenches, they would also pick up their shovels and pounce on the enemy.

Seeing this melee, I secretly felt that the commanders at the front were still too lacking in actual combat experience, and for the German soldiers who had lost the support of artillery and tanks, they only needed to kill and wound them with light and heavy machine gun fire in the trenches, and then follow and kill them when they could no longer support the rout, and there was no need to rush up to engage them in hand-to-hand combat with large casualties.

In the melee, those German officers wearing big-brimmed hats looked so eye-catching, but unfortunately there were not a few accurate marksmanship on the position at the moment, otherwise as long as a few snipers were arranged, then they could easily kill all these officers one by one like shooting targets. Although I have good marksmanship, I can only do it in a hurry but cannot help at all, you must know that the distance between the observation post and the first line of defense is more than three kilometers, even if I have a sniper rifle with the longest range in the United States in the future, I will not be able to take these German officers.

Fortunately, at this time, a large group of warriors jumped out of the second trench and quickly rushed to the front. Seeing these warriors with their guns on their backs and shovels and axes in their hands, I couldn't help but smile heartily, it seems that Gaidar has strengthened me to a special battalion of his regiment, and these commanders and fighters who have participated in the battle for settlements have rich combat experience, and they will definitely play a decisive role when they join the battlefield.

As I expected, this fresh force from a regiment rushed into the two teams that were fighting fiercely, and like a tiger swooping into a flock of sheep, it swept the German army into pieces. The balance of victory quickly shifted in our favor as a result of the fact that the battlefield was evenly matched, thanks to the addition of this new force.

Seeing that our army was strong, the German soldiers who could not resist it, except for a few who raised their hands and surrendered, the rest turned around and ran back. And our fighters followed and caught up, shooting at the back of the Germans with submachine guns and rifles in their hands, and put down nearly 100 people in one breath.

Looking at the backs of the remaining nearly 100 German troops running farther and farther away, I couldn't help but sigh and say in my heart that if it weren't for the commanders at the front who led the troops to attack without authorization, with the mortars and tank guns of our positions and the light and heavy machine gun firepower, we would have had a chance to completely annihilate this group of enemies. At the moment, their formation is very scattered, and even if I order the tank detachment to attack, I will not see that I can kill them all.

In the midst of regret, a shell suddenly exploded in the ranks of the routed soldiers, and although the German soldiers were far apart from each other, a shell fell, and the blast of the explosion still lifted the human stumps and weapon parts into the sky.

What's going on? Seeing that this was obviously the explosive power of heavy artillery, I couldn't help but be surprised, and I thought that the artillery positions of the moral army had been resurrected again? On second thought, no, even if the Germans set up artillery positions again, it would be impossible for them to fire at their own people?

While I was puzzled, Pugachev, who was standing next to me, excitedly exclaimed: "Great, amazing!" The brethren of the artillery battalion are all good! ”

Artillery battalion?! Pugachev's unintentional words reminded me of the artillery battalion that had just been engaged in an artillery battle with German artillery. It turned out to be Jegonovich and them. Since the elimination of the German artillery positions. They didn't move, so much so that I forgot about them, but I didn't expect them to suddenly appear and take the fleeing Germans by surprise.

I put down my binoculars and said to Pugachev, who was excited: "Well, Comrade Captain, under the fire of Captain Jegonovich's artillery battalion, this German force will not be able to escape. Why are you still here. Haven't you gone down the hill to see if the mixed battalion has arrived? ”

Pugachev reluctantly glanced at the remnants of the German army who had been blown up in the distance, and after saluting me, he turned and walked out of the observation post.

After the failure of this German attack on the positions of the 4th Regiment, no new offensive was launched. I called the 2nd and 3rd Regiments to ask them about the situation there, and the news was that the Germans had stopped their offensive.

Looking at the silent battlefield outside, I couldn't help but breathe a long sigh of relief, as long as the Germans stopped attacking, it seemed that tonight's retreat could go as scheduled.

Seeing that there were still four or five hours before dark, and thinking about the mountains of supplies in the forest camp. I can't help but have some headaches. Although I wanted to take all the supplies in the camp with me, the attrition of the regiments was too great. The original plan had to be adjusted slightly.

Although I couldn't take a lot of supplies with me, I didn't feel comfortable if I had to abandon the cheap Germans on the spot. So when I called Shederikov, I directly ordered him: "Lieutenant Colonel Sederikov, immediately organize the fighters to bury the materials that cannot be taken away on the spot, and after dark, quickly rush to the defense area of the Gaidar regiment and take over the defense of the fourth regiment, understand?" ”

"Yes, I'll do it right away!"

Considering that the four regiments suffered the greatest attrition, they retreated at night, and the first to withdraw from the battlefield was Gaidar's regiment. I called Gaidar and told him directly about my decision: "Lieutenant Colonel Gaidar, when it gets dark, I will send Sedjerikov's regiment to you to pick up the defense, and if your regiment has any supplies that cannot be taken away, they will all be buried on the spot, and the Germans will not be cheapened." ”

"Understood," Gaidar replied loudly, "I promise not a single gun, not a single bullet for the Germans." ”

After the phone call of the 2nd Regiment was connected, I first asked with concern: "Lieutenant Colonel Oleg, how many people are still in your regiment?" ”

Oleg hurriedly replied: "Report to the division commander, after today's battle, there are still seven hundred people left in the whole regiment." Speaking of this, he was silent for a moment, and then asked tentatively: "Comrade division commander, after dark, do we really want to retreat?" ”

"Yes, Lieutenant Colonel Oleg." I replied to him very dryly, "Judging from the situation of today's battle, the disparity between the forces of the enemy and us is too great, and if we continue to fight like this, the independent division should be abolished." ”

"But, Comrade Division." Oleg said with some reluctance: "Although our casualties are a little larger, we have blocked the fierce attack of the Germans, and I think we can continue to fight......

"Lieutenant Colonel Oleg," I interrupted impatiently, explaining to him, "the strength of the German 4th Tank Army is very strong, don't think that we have blocked their attack in the past two days, and that our division has the strength to compete with them." You know, our victory came by a fluke. The victory on the first day was because of the light enemy of the German army, so one of the 29th motorized infantry divisions was heavily damaged by us, and the division commander was captured by us. Today, on the surface, we are repelling many frantic attacks of the German army, but this is not their real strength, and when they replenish sufficient ammunition and fuel, then we will face an unstoppable torrent of steel. Even if the whole division is exhausted at that time, it will not be able to stop the pace of their attack. Do you understand what I mean? ”

My words silenced Oleg for a moment again, and soon I heard him choked up: "Comrade division commander, in these two days of fighting, nearly a thousand fighters in the regiment died here, but we didn't even have time to bury their bodies, so we were about to retreat?" ”

I sighed helplessly and said, "Yes, Lieutenant Colonel Oleg. I understand your feelings, but the current situation is very bad, if you don't withdraw, once surrounded by the German army, there is a danger that the whole division will be annihilated, and then there will be no one to avenge these sacrificed comrades. ”

Mine did not seem to fully convince Oleg, and he replied exceptionally reluctantly: "Well, Comrade Division Commander. Since you say so. Then I can only carry out the command. ”

For such an attitude towards Oleg. I thought he was sad for the nearly 1,000 soldiers who had died, so I didn't pay much attention to it, and after putting down the phone, I called Lieutenant Colonel Kosgaard of the 3rd Regiment. Unexpectedly, it was because of my carelessness that I almost wiped out the second regiment.

After hearing Kosgaard's voice, I smiled and said to him, "Lieutenant Colonel Kosgaard, your regiment has fought very well today!" ”

After hearing this, Kosgaard laughed a few times. Then he politely asked: "Comrade division commander, what instructions do you have!" ”

"After dark, the fourth regiment will be the first to withdraw from its existing positions. And your three regiments will be the second troops to evacuate. Those seized materials, everything that could be taken away, and what could not be taken away, were all buried on the spot, and the Germans must not be cheapened. ”

"Are you really going to retreat tonight?"

"Yes, it must be withdrawn!" Once again, I stressed the order to retreat.

"Alas, what a pity!" Kosgaard said in a tone of infinite regret: "I let the soldiers take the German soldiers who were killed. I collected more than 300 sets of military uniforms, and I originally wanted to let the soldiers put on makeup to sneak attack the settlement tonight. Teach those damned Germans a hard lesson, if they retreat, this plan will have to be abandoned, what a pity! ”

Kosgaard's plan was bold, but it struck me that if I had sent a few hundred soldiers dressed as Germans to attack the German camp, it would have been a great success. However, if we fight like this, the retreat time of the three regiments will be extended, and it may fall into the encirclement of the German army, and then the gains will outweigh the losses. Thinking of this, I ordered in an unquestionable tone: "Lieutenant Colonel Kosgaard, the order to retreat cannot be changed, you better hurry up and prepare for the retreat." Remember, the special battalion sent in the direction of the 2nd Regiment was also withdrawn. ”

"Understood, I'll carry out the order right away."

After nightfall, I followed Sedrikov's troops, passed through the large group of retreating commanders and fighters, and came to the regimental headquarters of Gaidar.

As soon as Gaidar saw me and Shedelikov appearing, he hurriedly greeted him and asked with some surprise: "Comrade division commander, why are you still here, not following the troops to retreat?" ”

I waved my hand and said, "I can't relax if I don't see a few of your regiments retreating." How is it, have all the supplies that can't be taken away been buried? ”

"Yes, Comrade Division Commander." Gaidar replied: "According to your order, all the captured supplies, except for the part that the fighters were able to take away, have been buried on the spot." ”

"Then you take the four regiments to withdraw first, and I will stay with the first regiment. After the 2nd and 3rd regiments have all been withdrawn, I will leave. ”

While I was talking to Gaidar, Shederikov had already sent his troops into the forward positions to act as a guard in order to prevent the massive retreat of our division from being detected by the enemy.

After Gaidar left with the members of the regimental command, I asked Sederikov: "Where is the commander of the 1st regiment, the tank detachment of Perstian, and the artillery battalion of Yegonovich?" ”

"Report to the division commander," Sederikov replied unusually calmly, "they have already taken the lead in evacuating after dark. I reckon that by this time, they should have reached the designated preset position. ”

"Good!" After I finished speaking, I turned around and ordered Razumeyeva behind me: "Second lieutenant, immediately start the machine and get in touch with the second and third regiments." ”

Razumeeva first contacted Kosga, and I asked loudly into the microphone: "Lieutenant Colonel Kosga, how is your regiment ready?" ”

"The surplus supplies have been buried on the spot, and the troops are also assembled and ready to be transferred at any time."

"Well done, leave a company on the forward position, which will be on guard, and the rest of the troops will quickly begin to move."

"Yes, I'll do it immediately." Kosgaard agreed to my order very readily.

After the call with Lieutenant Colonel Koska, I asked Razumeyeva to contact Oleg. Unexpectedly, after calling for a long time, the other party did not respond.

"Second Lieutenant Razumeeva, what's going on?" I looked at the commander of the communications company and asked viciously.

Lazumeeva wiped the sweat from her forehead and replied nervously: "Report to the division commander, the other party may not have turned on the machine, so it cannot be contacted." ”

After listening to Razumeyeva's report, I couldn't help but say angrily: "What, it didn't turn on? What the hell is this Lieutenant Colonel Oleg doing?! Then I shouted at Sederikov in the distance: "Commander." ”

Sedelikov hurriedly ran in front of me, stood up and asked, "Divisional commander, what instructions do you have?" ”

"The three regiments have already begun to retreat. But the second regiment could not be contacted. I took the guard squad over to see what was going on. "Speaking of which. I raised my wrist, then looked at my watch in the bright moonlight, and told him, "In an hour, you will also retreat with your troops." ”

"Comrade division commander," said Sederikov with some nervousness when he heard me say this, "it is too dangerous for you to take a squad to the defense area of the 2nd Regiment." That's how it goes. You retreat with the first regiment, and I will take a few people to the position of the second regiment to see what is going on. ”

I shook my head and said firmly, "No." I'm worried that the second regiment commander is estimated to have cut off contact with the division headquarters, and he may have to make some moves before retreating tonight. If you go, even if you find out that he disobeys my orders, there is nothing you can do about him, so I can only go. ”

Seeing that my attitude was so resolute, Shederikov had no choice but to give in. However, he was still not at ease that I was going to the position of the Second Regiment with only one guard squad. I don't know what method he used to find Mihayev's engineer company. Although after the brutal fighting, there was less than a platoon of men left in this company, at least there were more guards around me, and Sederikov's heart was much more steady.

He was afraid that I would refuse, so he didn't want the remaining engineer platoon, so he hurriedly preemptively said: "Comrade division commander, please let me be the master for you, the second regiment is really not safe over there, you can bring more people over, and we can all feel at ease." ”

Hearing his sincere words, I felt very much in my heart, so I no longer insisted on taking only one guard squad, and agreed with his advice: "Okay, Lieutenant Colonel Sederikov, since you say so, then I will bring this sapper with me." ”

Bidding farewell to Shedelikov, I took a platoon of sappers and a squad of guards and set off towards the positions of the nearest three regiments. Halfway through, I came across a large group of commanders and fighters, who were retreating in a neat line to the north.

I didn't know which regiment I had encountered, so I grabbed one of the fighters in the group and asked aloud: "Comrade soldiers, what part are you from?" ”

The soldier glanced at me, probably from my collar badge, and hurriedly saluted, and reported: "Report to Comrade Colonel, we are from the 11th Company of the 3rd Regiment of the Independent Division. ”

"Where's your leader?" I then asked.

The soldier shook his head and replied, "I don't know, I didn't see the regimental commander, he may still be at the back of the line." ”

After thanking the soldiers, I led a group of men forward to meet the retreating troops, but until I reached the village where the headquarters of the 3rd Regiment was located, I did not meet Kosgaard. 、

I strode into the headquarters and saw that it was empty. Mihayev walked up to me and asked: "Comrade division commander, where are we going next?" Whether to continue to look for Lieutenant Colonel Koska, or to find Lieutenant Colonel Oleg at the position of the 2nd Regiment. ”

I thought for a moment and replied: "Since the Third Regiment has been transferred, it doesn't matter whether you find Lieutenant Colonel Koska. Now let's go directly to the position of the 2nd Regiment and see what happened to Lieutenant Colonel Oleg and why he could not be contacted. ”

Leaving the defense area of the 3rd Regiment, I led a group of soldiers to the defense area of the 2nd Regiment with a familiar car. You must know that the place where the 2nd Regiment is located is where the headquarters of the group army was located at the beginning, even at night, I don't have to worry about getting lost.

As we approached the headquarters of the 2nd Regiment, we were blocked by two secret sentinels jumping out of the roadside. Since they didn't warn, they jumped out of the roadside, and the soldiers behind me raised their weapons and pointed their guns at the two soldiers who had unexpectedly appeared.

I raised my hand to signal the soldiers to put down their guns, and after looking at the two people in front of me, I asked the officer, "Comrade Second Lieutenant, are you from the Fourth Regiment?" ”

The second lieutenant, apparently knowing me, quickly replied loudly: "Yes, Comrade Division Commander. ”

I didn't talk to him either, and asked straight to the point, "Where is your regimental commander?" ”

The second lieutenant was stunned by my words, and after a while he replied: "Report to the division commander, the regimental commander has led the troops on a mission." ”

"Mission?!" The second lieutenant's words stunned me for a moment, and when I came back to my senses, I quickly asked, "What mission did he go on?" ”

The second lieutenant did not dare to hide it, and replied honestly: "The regiment commander said that we have thousands of comrades-in-arms who died here, and before the troops withdraw, he will take people to avenge them." (To be continued......)

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