According to captured intelligence, the Germans were to set out from their station in Tomarovka at 5 a.m. on June 24. Judging by the speed of the German march, I think they should reach the area of Shell Waka, where we have set up an ambush, between half past seven and eight o'clock.

Early this morning, I took Povsky in a car to the defense area of the 51st Guards Division, wanting to see with my own eyes what the results of this ambush were. Out of concern for my safety, Yushchenko specially asked Bukov, who was accompanying him, to bring ten more fighters in two jeeps and move with us.

Unexpectedly, our convoy of five jeeps was stopped by an oncoming jeep not far from the headquarters. Seeing this, Bukov, who was sitting in the passenger seat, turned around and said hello to me, then pushed the car door and got out of the car, angrily looking for the other party's theory.

Looking at the back of Bukov leaving, Povsky said with a dissatisfied face: "Hell, who is so bold to rush into the defense area of the 6th Guards Army and block the car of the commander of the army." ”

I used to be angry when the convoy was blocked by this sudden car, but now hearing what Povsky says says changes my mind. He was right, now on our own territory, I am the supreme military chief, and if the other party is not an important person, he will definitely not dare to stop my car casually. Thinking of this, I just said lightly: "Comrade Colonel, don't worry, when Major Bukov comes back, we will know who is sitting in the car in front." ”

As soon as I finished speaking, I saw Bukov hurrying over. He opened the car door, leaned in halfway, and said to me with a nervous expression, "Report to Comrade Commander." In front of the car sat the deputy commander of the Front, General Apanashchenko. He asks you to come over. ”

I heard that the car in front of us was blocking our way. It was General Apanashchenko who was actually sitting, and I couldn't help but be taken aback. I hurriedly pushed open the door next to me and ran briskly towards the car.

When I crossed the first car of the convoy, I came to Apanashchenko's car. Just as I was about to raise my hand to salute, I saw the back door being pushed open, and Apanashchenko poked his head out of the car, looked at me, and ordered: "Get in the car, Comrade Oshanina." ”

"Yes!" I promised. He walked briskly, stooped into the car, and closed the door.

When Apanashchenko saw that I was seated, he leaned forward slightly, raised his hand and patted the driver's shoulder, and instructed: "Comrade driver, turn around and go to the original destination." The driver nodded, started the car, turned around on the spot, and drove along the dirt road towards the front.

I didn't know where Apanashchenko was going to pull me, so I asked curiously: "Comrade General." Why are you free to come to me today? ”

Apanashchenko smiled and replied: "I heard that today in the defense zone of the 51st Guards Division. There will be a good fight, so I'm going to take a look. When I passed by here, I saw a small convoy coming out in the direction of the army group headquarters, and I guessed that you might be in the car, so I came to try my luck, but I didn't expect you to be in the car. ”

When I got into the car, I found that in addition to Apanashchenko and the driver, there was a soldier with a submachine gun sitting in the co-pilot's seat, and I couldn't help but ask worriedly: "Comrade General, why did you go out with only one guard, it would be dangerous if you met the Germans on the road." ”

After hearing this, Apanashchenko smiled and waved his hand, and said disapprehantly: "Comrade Oshanina, don't worry, even if you meet a German, with the driving skills of Comrade Driver, you can easily get out of danger." ”

"Yes, Comrade General." The driver in the front row glanced back at me, quickly twisted back, and said: "I have been driving for more than 20 years, and my driving skills have always been good, even if I encounter any danger, I can easily escape from the enemy's encirclement with Comrade Deputy Commander." ”

For the blind confidence of Apanashchenko and the driver, I just smiled bitterly, and said in my heart, no matter how good your skills are, can you outrun the shells of the German soldiers? During the Battle of Stalingrad, Colonel Zakharchenko, commander of the 192nd Infantry Division, was overconfident when the division headquarters was surrounded by the Germans, and did not organize a breakthrough in time because of his overconfidence, and as a result, in the final retreat, he was hit by German artillery fire and died honorably. If Apanashchenko still doesn't care so much about his own safety, then something will happen to him sooner or later.

Our convoy went directly to the No. 1 position in the area of Shell Waka, and we were received by Lieutenant Colonel Lukin, the commander of the 309th Regiment. He guided us to an observation post on the position and introduced us: "Comrades two generals, I think you may come to the position to watch the battle, so this spacious observation post has been specially built. Even if the division commander tells me to come over later, I won't feel crowded. ”

After listening to Lukin's introduction, I took a closer look at the observation post built in the trenches. The roof is a thick log next to each other, and the logs are fastened with large nails. At the moment, although there were me, Apanashchenko, Povsky, Lukin, and a few staff officers, it still seemed empty.

Some of the staff officers stood at the lookout holes and used binoculars or gunners to observe the situation outside, while others made marks on the unfolded operational maps to mark the situation of the enemy and us.

Apanashchenko walked to an empty lookout hole, raised his binoculars and looked out for a moment, then turned back to me and asked: "Comrade Oshanina, I wonder where your troops are in ambush?" ”

I walked quickly to his side, looked outside, then pointed to the hillside visible in the distance, and said to Apanashchenko: "Comrade General, our troops are lying in ambush on that hillside. ”

Hearing me say this, Apanashchenko raised his telescope again and looked over there. A moment later I heard him say again, "But I can't see anything on the hillside but the low bushes." ”

"Wouldn't it?!" Hearing Apanashchenko say this, I quickly raised my binoculars and looked at the hillside. This really surprised me, on the grassy slopes, there was indeed no trace of fortifications at all. If I hadn't been there two days ago to see the commanders and fighters building fortifications, I would have thought that Tavart Kiradze and Lukin were playing a perfunctory role to me.

I put down my binoculars, turned to Lukin, who was standing next to me, and said, "Comrade Lieutenant Colonel." Comrade Deputy Commander of the Front could not find where your defensive positions were. Explain to him why. ”

Lukin heard me. He hurriedly stepped forward, stood behind Apanashchenko, and respectfully reported to him: "Report to Comrade General, when we were building fortifications, the commander came to inspect it. At that time, she told us to do a good job of camouflage to avoid being discovered by the enemy. When he said this, he couldn't help but have a smug expression on his face. After we finished building the fortifications, after repeated attempts, we finally found an ideal way to disguise ourselves. Even if the Germans went down the hill and did not look closely, they would not have discovered our fortifications. ”

Lukin was reporting to us when there was a rush of footsteps at the door, and Tavartkiradze appeared in the doorway. When he saw Apanashchenko standing in the observation post, he couldn't help but be stunned, and then asked in surprise: "Comrade Deputy Commander of the Front, why did you come here?" ”

Apanashchenko seems to have known Tavart Kiradze for a long time. Hearing his voice, he hurriedly put down his binoculars. He walked over and shook hands with him, and at the same time said, "I heard that you have an ambush battle to fight today, so I came over to take a look." ”

When Tavartkiradze heard him say this, he glanced at me, and then at Apanashchenko, who was shaking hands with him, with a look of embarrassment on his face.

I noticed the change in his expression and understood what he was worried about, so I hurriedly smiled at him and said, "Don't worry, General Tawartkiradze, Comrade General and I are just coming to take a look." Today's battle is still under your command. ”

"That's right, Comrade Oshanina is right." As soon as I finished speaking, Apanashchenko chimed in and said: "Don't worry, we are just here to see and will not interfere with your command." ”

After receiving the assurances from me and Apanashchenko, a smile resurfaced on Tavartkiradze's face, and he turned to look at Lukin and asked: "Comrade Lieutenant Colonel, why don't the two commanders come to you, why don't you even have a cup of tea?" They go out early, and they must not have eaten breakfast yet, so you can immediately ask someone to bring something to eat here. ”

After receiving the order, Lukin quickly arranged for someone to bring us breakfast and hot black tea. Lukin was standing next to us as I, Apanashchenko, Tavart Kiradze, and Povsky ate around the table.

While eating, Apanashchenko asked Tavart Kiradze: "Comrade General, your fortifications are well disguised, I have just looked at them with a telescope for a long time, and I have not seen the slightest sign of fortifications on the hillside. If the Germans don't come, they will be crushed by you. ”

At this moment, someone in the room suddenly said loudly: "Everyone is quiet, the Germans seem to be coming?" ”

The room suddenly became silent, and everyone stopped what they were doing and listened to the movement outside. I listened carefully for a long time, but I couldn't hear anything outside except the footsteps of the commanders and fighters walking in the trenches and the muffled voices.

"Why can't I hear anything?" Povsky was the first to speak, he looked at the staff officer, and said with some dissatisfaction: "I said Comrade Lieutenant, did you hear me wrong. ”

When the staff officer Tingbowsky said this, he was speechless because of nervousness, but fortunately Lukin came out in time to relieve him: "Comrade commander, please listen to my explanation, I believe he heard correctly, his ears are the most spiritual in our whole regiment, and he can hear even the slightest sound." ”

Apanashchenko listened, did not say anything, stood up and walked to the lookout hole, raised the telescope and looked out. After looking at him for a while, I heard him say to himself: "It was quiet outside, and I saw neither any Germans nor any strange sounds." ”

Apanashchenko's words also embarrassed me, and I looked at the staff officer in exasperation, wondering if I should give him a few harsh reprimands. At this moment, suddenly Apanashchenko exclaimed, and when all of us were attracted to him, we heard him say loudly: "Tanks, tanks of the Germans!" ”

Hearing him say this, I, Tavart Kiradze, Povsky, and Lukin rushed to the lookout and looked outside with a telescope or a gunner.

I raised my binoculars and looked into the distance, only to see German tanks appear on the distant plains, at first just a few black dots, but as time went on. These ideas are getting bigger and bigger. Soon it will be possible to see the model of the German tank clearly through the telescope. I counted out twelve tanks. One of them was the latest Tiger tank, and the rest were either No. 3 or No. 4. Behind these tanks were nearly twenty half-track armored vehicles, all of which were filled with soldiers.

Seeing this, I felt much more relieved and knew that the information we had seized was true and credible. As for the Germans, it is not known whether they found out that there were staff officers who were missing, and important documents were missing. But they were old-fashioned, and according to the plan, they tried to bypass Yakovlevo and go deep into the rear of our army.

Lukin left the lookout hole, walked to the table, grabbed the phone, and said loudly into the microphone, "Hey, Major Girkin?" The armored units of the German army have appeared, making your fighters combat-ready. Remember, be careful to conceal yourself and never let the Germans discover you. Wait for the shelling to end. When a tank company charges, you immediately lead your troops forward. Do you understand? ”

Lukin's words aroused my curiosity, and if he didn't mention the tank company, I almost forgot that I had asked Colonel Bere to draw two companies to fight with the infantry. After Lukin put his mind at ease, I called him in front of me and asked, "Lieutenant Colonel, where is the tank company hidden?" ”

"Report to Comrade Commander," Lukin replied with a smile, "we dug several underground bunkers on the front of the hillside, where our tanks were hidden. Once the shelling was over, they could break through the ground and charge the Germans in disarray. ”

Hiding a tank underground and waiting for a surprise attack to break through the ground can really have the effect of surprise. After nodding in satisfaction to Lukin, I turned to Povsky, who was standing next to me, and said, "Comrade Artillery Commander, our artillery can open fire." ”

Povsky nodded, turned around and said to an officer next to him: "Call your regimental commander and order the artillery to open fire and cover the German armored units on the march." ”

When the officer turned to the walkie-talkie next to him to relay the order, Povsky explained to me: "Comrade commander, he is the observer of the artillery regiment here, and he is responsible for providing the firing parameters for our artillery fire. ”

After a while, a shell fell directly in the ranks of the German armored forces, impartially landed next to an armored car full of soldiers and exploded, and the armored car, emitting flames and smoke, rolled several times and collapsed there motionless. Some of the soldiers who fell from the car died on the spot, lying upright on the ground motionless. The soldiers who were lucky enough to survive were scurrying about, falling and standing up, crawling and jumping and jumping, trying to extinguish the flames burning on their bodies.

After one of the artillery test firings, I saw the artillery observer loudly reporting a series of parameters into the radio's transmitter. Moments later, the screech of shells piercing the air was heard in the air, and the shells landed in the German marching column and exploded. Countless explosion points exploded, and the shrapnel and flying debris from the violent explosion were intertwined like a sweeping storm, throwing German tanks and armored vehicles into the air like toys and slamming them to the ground.

Although the density of our artillery bombardment was relatively large, the German marching columns were so long that it was impossible to cover them all. Through the billowing black smoke, I saw that the tanks and armored vehicles in the middle of the queue were burned wreckage. The soldiers on the original armored vehicle had long been torn to pieces by the flying shrapnel. All kinds of stumps and weapon parts were repeatedly lifted off and thrown to the ground under the action of the blast waves.

I saw that the artillery fire was almost complete, and I turned to Povsky and Lukin and said: "Comrade artillery commander, I see that it is almost over, and I can stop the shelling." Lieutenant Colonel Lukin, order your troops to attack and try to annihilate this enemy. ”

The two of them agreed neatly, and then Povsky went to the artillery observer and asked him to inform the artillery regiment to stop the shelling. Lukin, on the other hand, picked up the phone on the table and gave the order to Major Girkin, who was hiding on the hillside, to attack.

As the shelling stopped, a dozen new T-54/55 tanks arched out of the ground from the grass on the hillside, covered in dust and turf, firing at German tanks and armored vehicles that were in disarray on the dirt road. And the infantrymen hidden on the hillside, seeing that their tanks had already attacked, also jumped out of the hidden fortifications one after another, shouting and rushing down the mountain.

The sudden appearance of our tanks plunged the German armored forces, which had not yet recovered from the shelling, into even greater confusion. The armored car began to desperately reverse, trying to get out of this dangerous area quickly, but our tank crews would definitely not let them do so, and the shells fired by the 100-mm tank gun immediately tore the weak armor of the German armored car to shreds, and the soldiers on the car were instantly killed or wounded.

After taking out the armored vehicles, all the tanks turned their guns against the few remaining German tanks. Since the tanks on both sides were only about 200 meters apart, as long as the German tanks were hit, they could not escape the fate of being destroyed. And the new Tiger tank, after dodging the shells fired by our tanks, finally found an opportunity to retaliate, and in a panic, fired a shot at our tank, and the shell was ready to hit the nearest tank.

When I saw the flames and smoke rising from the tank body, my heart felt as if someone had pulled it hard, and my heart said that at such a close distance, our army's tanks must have been reimbursed. But when the smoke cleared, I found that except for a black dent in the turret, the whole thing was still intact, and even the turret was still rotating normally, and the muzzle of the gun was always pointed at the surviving Tiger tank.

After firing a single shot, the German Tiger tanks increased their horsepower in an attempt to quickly flee the battlefield. But as far as it could run, a puff of dirt rushed up to its left side, and the shells fired by our tanks almost hit it. However, its good fortune did not last long, and soon it was hit again, and smoke billowed from the observation hole in front of it, and the body shook violently, and it stopped in place.

At this point, only a dozen minutes had passed. And this small detachment of the German army was wiped out by the combined strike of our artillery and tanks. The infantry who arrived immediately after that did not even have a chance to fire, and the battle was over in a hurry, and all they could do was to check whether the German officers and soldiers who had fallen from the armored vehicles could still find them alive.

Seeing that this ambush ended so cleanly, Apanashchenko said in amazement: "Comrade Oshanina, I really didn't expect that the battle could be fought like this. You must know that in this battle, our army did not suffer any casualties at all, and easily annihilated a German armored detachment. ”

I smiled politely at Apanashchenko's feelings, and said in my heart that the T-54/55 tank that Floning brought us was really extraordinary, and it was hit by the German Tiger tank at such a close distance, and it was not destroyed. It can be seen from this that if Katukov's 1st Guards Tank Army could be equipped with a large number of such tanks, it would be able to easily defeat the armored forces that the Germans were proud of in the next Battle of Kursk. (To be continued.) )

PS: Tang people wish all book friends a happy new year! All the best for the coming year! Good luck! Thank you for your continued support of this book.