At first, only a dozen people escaped, but I didn't expect that under their leadership, more and more people escaped. Later, sixty or seventy people escaped from the smoke of gunpowder and rushed to the second line of defense two kilometers away. Although these people left the position shrouded in gunsmoke, they were not completely out of danger, and death followed them like a shadow. As soon as a shell fell, they fell to the ground. Some of the elven warriors, hearing the sound of cannonballs falling on the ground, immediately lay down on the spot, waited for the smoke to clear, and then got up and continued to run.

Seeing this scene, I was really angry and funny, and hurriedly shouted to the side: "Chief of Staff! "Having heard Boroda's reply, I gave him an order in a loud voice: "Comrade Boroda, please record the order: 1. Order Major Caucasiav in the forward positions, restrain his troops, and no one can take a step back without my order; Second, order Major Antonov to send Captain Burda with a company of guards to organize a battle supervision team to stop all the fighters who have escaped from the position, and if there are those who do not obey the order, they can immediately enforce battlefield discipline; Three, send a telegram to the battalion that has made a detour back to the enemy's rear, asking them where they have arrived now. ”

"Yes!" Boroda said yes and went downstairs to make calls and telegrams.

I looked at the fighters who were still running backwards and couldn't help but feel a headache. Although I had heard that the combat effectiveness of this division was not good, I thought it was hearsay, so I didn't take it to heart. Unexpectedly, the most elite main force in the division would have so many deserters as soon as they were shelled by the Germans in the first round.

At that moment, I saw quite a few people in the second line of defense crawling out of the trenches. Ran towards the deserters. I turned my head to look at the spiral staircase. Boroda hadn't reached the chapel downstairs yet. Obviously, the sorties of these commanders and fighters have nothing to do with him, and should be arranged by Antonov.

I carefully examined the commanders and fighters with my binoculars, and when I saw that one of the commanders, dressed in an officer's uniform and wearing a steel helmet, was limping as running, I immediately recognized it as Captain Burda, the company commander of the 1st Guards Company. It seems that Antonov and my hero saw the same thing, and when he saw a deserter running back from the front, he immediately sent men from the guard company to stop it.

Both teams stopped at a distance of twenty or thirty meters from each other, and Bulda raised his pistol in his right hand. He kept waving at the retreating warriors, and although it was too far away for me to hear him shouting, judging by the way his left hand was constantly pointing to the front, he should have told the warriors to go back to the trench immediately.

Unfortunately, the soldiers stood still, not only did no one return to their positions, but some even tried to continue running towards the second line of defense. In order to stop their escape, the soldiers of the guard company raised the guns in their hands and desperately fired them into the sky.

Rao so, the warriors hesitated in place for a long time. Only then did he slowly turn around and walk back, by this time the German artillery fire had become sparse. Wait for these fighters to be driven by Burda and the guard company. After stepping past the corpses of his comrades and returning to the trenches, the artillery fire completely ceased.

The German infantry, hidden in the forest in the distance, saw that the shelling had stopped, and immediately formed a straggler formation, and under the cover of tanks, aggressively pushed towards the forward positions of our troops.

At this time, Boroda went upstairs and reported: "Comrade division commander, Major Caucasov called, and in the shelling just now, two companies in the forward positions suffered more than one and a half hundred casualties, and the troops in the trenches almost lost their combat effectiveness. In order to hold off the German attack, he requested that the two companies that were on standby in the forest be reinforced. Seeing that I was open to speak, Boroda hurriedly added: "I have agreed to his request, let one of the companies enter the position first, and the other company will continue to stand by." ”

I nodded with satisfaction at Boroda's decision, for if the German infantry was frustrated, it was possible to carry out artillery bombardment again, and if the troops in the front line were too dense, the German artillery bombardment would inevitably cause heavy casualties to our troops. I looked at the German troops approaching the forward positions, and asked without looking back: "Comrade Chief of Staff, where is that battalion of our army that has taken a detour?" ”

Boroda replied: "Comrade division commander, according to their reported position, there are about two kilometers from the German artillery positions, and if nothing else, they will attack in an hour." ”

I frowned and said dissatisfiedly, "They've been on for five or six hours, how come they're still so far from the goal?" ”

Seeing this, Boroda immediately defended the roundabout troops, saying: "Comrade division commander, this cannot be blamed on them, the terrain in this area is too complicated, either forests or swamps, and the speed of the troops marching in the forest is not fast at all. The artillery positions of the Germans, although they were no more than eight kilometers in a straight line from our here, had to walk at least twenty kilometers to get there. ”

"Damn the forests and swamps," I cursed viciously, gritting my back molars, and looking up at my watch, I saw that the hour hand was already pointing to seven o'clock, and I couldn't help but say with some concern, "There are still four hours left after dark, and I wonder if we can destroy this invading German army before dark." ”

The battle on the front of our army has once again begun. A few hours earlier, the fortifications had been damaged by German shells, and the commanders and fighters hid in the trenches that were still intact, and opened heavy fire on the German tanks and infantry. From time to time, the infantry that followed behind the tanks fell, but they did not stop in the slightest step of their advance.

A tank was more than 100 meters away from the front line, pressed an anti-tank mine, and after a cloud of fire and gunpowder smoke, it began to burn brightly, and several tankmen covered in fire got out of the tank and stumbled towards their positions.

Several other tanks stopped, suppressed the firing points of our troops with artillery fire in their place, covering the infantry to charge forward.

Seeing this, the voice of Captain Avtukhov came from the staircase: "Report to the division commander, chief of staff, the partisans are calling." Boroda hurriedly stepped forward to take the telegram in his hand and read it aloud to me: "The Germans have all left the village of Pyatnitsa, and after repeated verification by our partisans, the enemy has three companies of infantry. One company of artillery. A company of tanks. At the moment, except for one infantry company left to protect the artillery positions. The remaining two companies, already under the cover of tanks, went by truck to the location of your headquarters. Reading this, Boroda breathed a sigh of relief and suggested to me: "Comrade division commander, if the guerrilla intelligence is accurate, then the troops attacking our army in the front will only have two infantry companies and one tank company, with the current strength of our army. It's perfectly possible to fight back against them. ”

I waved my hand and said, "No, it's not the right time." If the German artillery positions are not resolved, their shells will inflict heavy casualties on our counterattacking forces. Speaking of which, I changed the subject and asked, "Have the troops of the 1132nd and 1133rd regiments arrived?" ”

Boroda nodded vigorously and replied, "The reserves are all in place, and I order them to stand by for the time being to the south of the village." With just one command, they're ready to go into battle. ”

I raised my binoculars again to see the battle on the front lines. I saw a heavy machine-gun fire point of our troops, and the shooter was unhurriedly aiming at the German infantry and firing. One soldier after another fell in front of his gun. Suddenly, a tank shell smashed directly on that firing point, and there was a "boom" sound. The two living warriors turned into a sky full of blood mist in an instant.

I was so angry that I slammed my fist on the windowsill in front of me, turned my head to see that Avtukhov had not yet gone downstairs, and hurriedly ordered him: "Comrade Captain, you go down immediately and call Major Antonov, let the tanks on the second line of defense open fire and knock out all the German tanks that are parked at the front of our army." ”

"Understood!" The captain said yes and ran briskly downstairs.

Two minutes later, our tank company opened fire at the same time, and seven tank shells made a beautiful arc in the air and landed in the queue of German tanks. Two German tanks were hit directly, and the detonated ammunition exploded the surrounding positions into a sea of fire, and the flying shrapnel swept away the infantry following behind the tanks.

At this moment, Captain Avtukhov ran up with a walkie-talkie on his back and excitedly shouted at us: "Report to the division commander and chief of staff, and the roundabout troops have been contacted, they are attacking the German artillery positions." ”

I was overjoyed to hear that the troops were attacking the artillery positions of the Germans, so I took the headphones and microphones handed over by the captain, put them on my head, and then held the microphone and asked loudly: "I am the acting division commander Oshanina, who are you?" ”

"Report to the division commander," a loud man's voice shouted from the headphones as a loud voice of gunfire and grenade explosions, "I am the battalion commander, Captain Boris, and my unit has reached the artillery positions of the Germans and is attacking them." ”

"How's it going?"

"Nine of the enemy's guns have been captured by us, and the troops are now engaged in an exchange of fire with the German infantry defending the artillery positions. But rest assured, the division commander, because our surprise attack took the Germans by surprise, and in five minutes at most, we will be able to settle the battle. ”

The Germans have captured their artillery, and if we can turn the muzzle of the cannon and hit the Germans, then our upcoming counterattack will be much easier. Thinking of this, I tentatively asked Boris: "Comrade Captain, do you have anyone there who will use those captured cannons?" ”

Unexpectedly, he replied with a big grin: "Please rest assured, the division commander, many of my subordinates were originally artillerymen, but our artillery was lost in the battle, so they were temporarily converted to infantry." Turning the muzzle of the gun to hit the Germans was just a matter of one sentence. ”

Hearing him say so confidently, I suddenly felt more relaxed than ever, so I instructed him: "Comrade Captain, after defeating the German infantry, you immediately organize the artillery and turn the muzzle to bombard the German troops that are attacking the front line of our army. As for the shooting parameters, I'll have someone report it to you later. ”

After terminating the call with Captain Boris, Captain Avtukhov went downstairs with the walkie-talkie on his back. I turned to Boroda and said, "Comrade Chief of Staff, now we can start deploying a counterattack." Major Antonov was informed that as soon as Captain Boris's artillery bombardment of the Germans stopped, the tank companies lying in ambush on the flanks were immediately dispatched, and all the troops of the first and second lines began to counterattack on all fronts. At the same time, the battalions in the south of the village were transferred to the village first, and when they counterattacked later, they were also followed. Winning a battle is very helpful in boosting the morale of the troops. ”

Ten minutes later, our artillery bombardment began, and the German soldiers, who had been lying in front of the forward positions and firing at our troops, were suddenly enveloped in a sea of fire.

I went back downstairs to the command and asked Boroda to dial Antonov's phone for me. After dialing the phone, I took the microphone from Boroda's hand and immediately shouted inside: "Major Antonov, the troops in the second line of defense can attack." Order the warriors to advance, give me a hard blow, no matter how many enemies there are, and don't come back to me until they are completely destroyed. ”

In the microphone, the heroic voice of Major Antonov came: "Please rest assured, division commander, I promise to complete the task." Almost at the same time, there was a tsunami-like "Ula" sound from the microphone, and I didn't need to ask, and I clearly knew that it was the roar of the commanders and fighters of the 2nd Guard Company and the combat battalion when they attacked. (To be continued......)

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