Since the battle that followed was fought in the city, it was fought in the city. In the observation post, you can only see the smoke rising from the city and the sound of dense gunfire, and you can't see the street fighting going on at all. Therefore, we could only get in touch with the chief of staff of the 201st Regiment, who was directing the operation in the city, through the radio, and learn about the fighting situation in the city through him.

When Fat Lieutenant Colonel and his chief of staff were on the phone, Baksov and I were standing next to him and could clearly hear the conversation between the two. The lieutenant colonel asked: "Comrade Chief of Staff, how is the situation?" ”

The excited and flustered voice of the regimental chief of staff came from the earpiece: "Comrade regiment commander, the situation is very bad. Our regiment fought mainly in the east of the city, and when it came to capturing the first few streets, it was relatively smooth. Unbeknownst to him, during the attack on the stadium, it was met with stubborn resistance from the Germans, and the first battalion organized several charges, all of which were repulsed, and the troops suffered heavy casualties. ”

Hearing that his troops had suffered heavy casualties, Lieutenant Colonel Fat was a little anxious, and he asked anxiously, "What about the second and third battalions?" ”

"The second and third battalions have just entered the city in two ways after repelling the sneak attack of the German army." The regimental chief of staff reported: "The 2nd Battalion coordinated with the 1st Battalion in attacking the enemy entrenched in the east of the city. The 3rd Battalion attacked from east to west, cooperating with friendly forces to flank the German forces west of the city. ”

When I heard that the battle in the city wasn't going well, I couldn't help but get upset. After the fat lieutenant colonel finished the call with the regimental chief of staff, I immediately ordered him: "Comrade lieutenant colonel, contact the new regiment in the west of the city, and I want to find out what is going on there." ”

Fat Lieutenant Colonel gave the headset and microphone to the communications corps, and put him in charge of communicating with Shederikov's new regiment. When the signal soldier shouted into the microphone, Baksov said to me in a solemn tone: "Comrade commander, this 'Greater Germany' division is not simple, and their resistance in the city is very stubborn. In order to resolve the battle as quickly as possible, I propose to send another regiment into the city. Strengthen the offensive of the troops, and take the whole city into our hands before the enemy's reinforcements arrive. ”

Baksov's offer sounded so reasonable that I almost agreed to his request on the spur of the moment. Just as I was about to speak. It occurred to me that we did not yet know how the battle was going with Sederikov, and it seemed a little too hasty to make the decision to increase the number of troops, so I shook my head and said: "Comrade Colonel, please wait a moment. Let's first ask about the situation of Shederikov's new regiment, and if their progress is not going well, it will not be too late for us to send troops. ”

Hearing me say this, Baksov was silent for a moment. Then he nodded in agreement: "Okay, Comrade Commander, since you say so, then let's wait a little longer." However, I first called the commander of the 202nd regiment and asked him to assemble his troops and prepare them for the attack. ”

The command post we were staying at was originally just a battalion-level command post. But Baksov for the convenience of commanding the troops. The command brought two walkie-talkies, one of which was desperately calling Shedelikov at the moment. He walked to the other section and ordered the signal soldiers: "Signal soldiers, take the headquarters of the 202nd Regiment for me." ”

At this time, the signal soldier raised his head and handed me the headset and microphone, and at the same time said respectfully: "Comrade commander, I have contacted Lieutenant Colonel Sedelikov of the newly formed regiment. ”

It was thought that the 201 regiment was not going well in the city. And Sederikov had only one battalion under his command, and even if he joined the remnants of the city who remained in the city, there would be only a few hundred people, so as soon as I put on my headphones, I couldn't wait to ask: "Hey." Comrade Lieutenant Colonel, how is the situation with you there, is the resistance of the German troops stubborn? ”

"Report to Comrade Commander, when we attacked, we met stubborn resistance from the Germans." Hearing him say this, my heart couldn't help but sink, and I was about to continue to ask, but I heard him say excitedly: "When our troops advanced to the Palace of Workers' Culture, they were intercepted by German fire. It was a small hastily engaged force, hiding behind bombed-up sandbag fortifications, and strafing our stormtroopers with machine gun fire in an attempt to stop our attack.

But the new tanks covering our attack ignored the fire of German machine guns and other small arms, and did not fire or shoot, but only rushed forward with increased horsepower, crushing the barricades together with the German soldiers hiding behind. ”

"Be careful of the anti-tank fighters of the Germans," although I knew that the existing equipment of the German army did not pose much threat to our tanks, I still told Shedelikov with anxiety: "Pay attention to the cooperation of the infantry and the tank, let the infantry get rid of those anti-tank fighters, and protect the safety of the tank." ”

"Comrade Commander, please rest assured." "Although the Germans saw our tanks rushing over, they threw grenades at our tanks one after another from the buildings on both sides of the street, trying to destroy our tanks with explosive packs under the cover of smoke from the explosions," said Sederikov confidently. But the infantry that followed behind us, how could they possibly let them get their wish. With their assault rifles, they fired incessantly, eliminating the enemies who rushed out of the building and tried to blow up the tanks.

However, the Germans were really strong in combat, and they were much more well-trained than our commanders and fighters. Although the firepower was incomparable to ours, they still put up a stubborn resistance, risking being bombarded by tank shells, and condescendingly fired at us, resulting in the death of many battle groups. ”

Hearing Sederikov mention the combat group, I couldn't help but ask curiously: "Comrade Sederikov, what kind of combat group are you talking about?" ”

My question confused Shederikov, and he said in surprise: "What other combat group can there be, that is, a group of three people, in a squad and platoon, close to the buildings on both sides of the street, alternately covering, and quickly advancing." Comrade commander, you must know that this tactic was first popularized by you in independent divisions. ”

Sederikov's answer made me feel very gratified, after all, the commanders who had been trained in Stalingrad had a wealth of experience in street fighting, and it seemed that it was only a matter of time before they cleared the German army west of the city.

After the end of the call with Sederikov, Baksov came back and reported to me: "Comrade commander, I have given the combat order to the 202 regiment, and now the troops are beginning to assemble and will be ready for battle in about half an hour. ”

I did not say anything about this arrangement of Baksov. He just nodded, and then said to the fat lieutenant colonel standing next to him: "Comrade lieutenant colonel, if I am not mistaken, when your troops launched an attack on the German fortifications, they must have adopted a dense combat formation and rushed forward in groups, right?" ”

Fat Lieutenant Colonel heard this question from me. A blank expression appeared on his face, and then he asked in confusion: "Yes, Comrade Commander, when we attack, we always adopt a dense formation, and in doing so, we can form a local firepower advantage." ”

As soon as I heard the fat lieutenant colonel say this, I still didn't understand why they failed to attack, so when I spoke, I spoke with serious dissatisfaction in my tone: "Comrade Lieutenant Colonel. When fighting in the streets, this type of charge is completely wrong. The only fighters who could really shoot on the march were the soldiers in the front two or three rows, and the fighters behind them could not shoot at all because they were blocked by their comrades. As a result, a situation arises in which the absolute majority of our fighters do not even have a chance to shoot when the enemy fire is fierce. He fell under the guns of the enemy. ”

Baksov waited for me to finish and then interjected and asked: "Comrade commander." How did the new group fare in town? ”

"They fought very well, Comrade Colonel." I took the opportunity to introduce the experience of street fighting to the two men: "When attacking the enemy's positions, they did not rush forward in groups along the main road and braving enemy fire, as other troops did, but in platoons. In groups of three, clinging to the buildings on both sides of the street, they alternately cover the leap forward. ”

"Comrade commander, do you think they will be able to drive the Germans out of the city?" Baksov asked cautiously.

"No problem," after learning about the specifics from Shederikov. I was confident in retaking Butovo, and I said to Baksov: "The new regiment also has six new tanks to fight with, and there is not even an anti-tank trench in the city, and the distance between the buildings is very long, which is very suitable for tank maneuvering." Therefore, it was only a matter of time before the new regiment cleared the German army west of the city. After they reached the south of the city, they could completely cut off the rear route of the German army and wipe them all out in the city. ”

After I finished saying these words, I looked at the fat lieutenant colonel and said to him: "Comrade lieutenant colonel, call your regimental chief of staff and ask him to adjust his tactics and reorganize the offensive and try to achieve the greatest victory at the lowest cost. ”

"Yes." After the fat lieutenant colonel replied loudly, he leaned down and whispered a few words to the operator, then put on a headset and gave orders to the regimental chief of staff with a microphone.

I looked up at my watch, and the time was already four o'clock, and the sound of gunfire outside not only did not abate, but showed signs of intensification. I smiled bitterly and said in my heart that Colonel Baksov was quite self-aware, knowing that with the strength of his troops, it would not be possible to capture the city in an hour, so he decisively presented his opinion to me. It's that I take it for granted, after all, I am not facing ordinary German troops, but the "Great Germany" division, which has one of the best combat effectiveness in the German army.

After a pause, I asked Baksov again: "Comrade Colonel, what are the casualties of your division?" ”

Baksov said with a bitter face: "Comrade commander, our division has paid a lot of price under the three-dimensional offensive of the German army. So far, the 201st and 202nd regiments have suffered a third of casualties each, and the 203rd, 204th, and artillery regiments have suffered a quarter of the casualties. Among them, the proportion of commanders killed and wounded is more than half, which may have something to do with the fact that they charge ahead every time. ”

Hearing what he said, I couldn't help but want to transfer one of the two divisions to which the group army belonged to to reinforce them. But on second thought, good steel should be used on the blade, and the reserves should be saved for the counterattack. You can't use reserves at will, but you can't give him any troops, and you can't justify it. After much deliberation, I said to Baksov: "Comrade Colonel, since the casualties of your division are so serious, then I will temporarily put the new regiment of Lieutenant Colonel Sederikov under your command. Do you think it's okay? ”

"Really, Comrade Commander. Do you really plan to assign the new regiment to our division? When Baksov heard me say this, he still couldn't believe it was true, and asked rhetorically again and again: "I heard me right, did you really assign the new regiment to me to command?" ”

"Yes, yes, Comrade Lieutenant Colonel." I smiled and said to him: "I will temporarily put the new regiment under your command until the end of the battle. But you have to keep in mind that they are only a newly formed regiment after all, and the absolute majority of the fighters are from the militia, and the overall combat effectiveness of the whole regiment is a bit weak, I hope you don't mind. ”

"Don't mind, don't mind." After Baksov figured out that what I said was true, he was so excited that he couldn't close his mouth, and he grinned and said: "How effective is the new formation, I believe you have also seen it." Although most of the fighters of the regiment were original militiamen, the presence of a large number of combat backbones kept the fighting level of the entire regiment at a very high level. There are four infantry regiments in our division, and whichever one is drawn out, it is not their opponent. ”

While he was talking, the communications soldier suddenly took off his headset and stood up and reported to me: "Comrade commander, Lieutenant Colonel Sederikov wants to speak to you. ”

I took the headset and microphone he handed me and asked loudly, "Hey, Comrade Lieutenant Colonel, do you have any good news to tell me?" ”

"Yes, Comrade Commander, I have the honour to report to you that my unit has managed to rush to the south of the city and have engaged in a battle with the German troops who are holding there. After a fierce battle, more than seventy soldiers were killed, and the rest fled south out of the city. In a proud tone, Sederikov reported to me: "I left a company of troops to stay in the relatively intact fortifications south of the city to keep an eye on the German army. Then I led the rest of the troops to attack from south to west to destroy the enemy who stood in the way of the 201st Regiment. ”

"Very well, Comrade Lieutenant Colonel. You did very well! After complimenting him twice, I officially announced to him: "In addition, I have one more thing to inform you, that from now on, your regiment will be temporarily transferred to the 67th Guards Division of Colonel Baksov." ”

When Shedelikov heard this, after a moment of silence, he asked in a calm tone: "Comrade commander, I would like to ask, when is this deadline?" ”

I knew he would ask that, so I immediately said without hesitation, "When the time is right, I will personally give you an order." By the way, your task now is to concentrate your forces and cooperate with the 201st Regiment to clear the enemy in the east of the city. (To be continued.) )

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