Of course, there were also many Red Army soldiers who persevered to the end in the battle and eventually died. Among them were Major General Chazkelevich, commander of the 6th Mechanized Army of the Red Army, who died on April 10, and the commander of the artillery of the army, a colleague of Zhukov in the 30s of the Red Army Cavalry Supervision Department. In addition, the commander of the 13th Army, Lieutenant General Filatov, and the commander of the 13th Mechanized Army, Major General Ashlyustin, were also killed in the encirclement.

With regard to the resistance of the encircled Soviet troops, the report submitted by the Chinese Central Army Group to the Army General Headquarters on April 9 also admitted: "In the campaign deep into the heart of Russia, most of the encircled enemies surrendered. But there were also many Russians who hid in forests, fields, and swamps where the area was not fully searched, and some of these well-equipped Russian battalions posed a great danger, and they did not want to surrender at all. ”

Sverdlovsk, Red Banner Square.

There were bursts of whistling sound in the dim sky, Dongfang Bai, who was sitting next to a "Xuanwu" tank in the center of the square, looked up at the sky, and in the huge cloud of smoke, an aircraft painted with the Red Star logo of the Soviet Air Force quickly dived down, judging from its appearance, this was an attack aircraft, and behind it, there were two "swiftlet" fighters of the Chinese Air Force.

The Soviet plane clumsily dodged the attack of the Chinese fighter and tried to attack the Chinese tank on the ground, but the two "swiftlets" bit the Soviet plane tightly, and Dongfang Bai noticed that the "swiftlets" shot out the torrent of fire that hit the Soviet plane more than once, but the Soviet plane seemed to be very strong, although it was beaten to smoke, but it still insisted on flying around.

The Soviet plane made a big circle in the air, probably seeing the "Xuanwu" tank of Dongfang Bai, and the Soviet plane actually swooped towards the square.

The two "swiftlets" fired again and hit the Soviet plane, but the Soviet plane still did not catch fire, but staggered straight towards Dongfang Bai's position. Dongfang Bai, on the other hand, looked at the Soviet plane expressionlessly, without the slightest intention of dodging.

Several guards around Dongfang Bai were frightened enough, they pounced and wanted to drag Dongfang Bai away, just when they rushed to Dongfang Bai's side, the Soviet plane had already fallen to the ground, and surprisingly, the Soviet plane did not fall apart, but taxied straight forward.

"The pilot is dead." Dongfang Bai said softly.

Two guards with "Whirlwind" assault rifles rushed forward quickly, raised their guns and aimed their guns at the shattered and twisted cockpit, there was no movement in the cockpit, one guard cautiously stepped forward, looked inside, only to see a Soviet pilot covered in blood was lying there, with two huge blood holes in his back, constantly bleeding outward.

"This kind of plane is very sturdy!" Dongfang Bai looked at the wreckage of the downed Soviet plane and looked up into the sky.

Not far away, another Soviet plane was hit and fell into the distant city, turning into a huge ball of fire.

"How's it going? You okay? Not far away, Lieutenant General Hu Lian, commander of the 1st Armored Brigade, asked in a hoarse voice.

Seeing Hu Lian, whose head was wrapped in bandages, limping towards him, Dongfang Bai immediately greeted him.

"If you're not physically comfortable, don't move." Dongfang Bai said slightly apologetically.

"A little injury, it's okay." Hu Lian waved his hand absently, and at this time there was an explosion in the sky again, and the two looked up in unison and saw a Soviet bomber falling to the ground with fire all over. Above the Soviet bombers, two "woolly rhinoceros" fighters swept by.

"Thanks to the brethren of the Air Force, otherwise we would never have been able to kill so far without incident." Hu Lian sighed.

"yes." Dongfang Bai nodded, pulled Hu Lian back to the tank and sat down, and handed him a cup of hot tea.

"I said Shicun, should we go forward for a while? I still have enough ammunition and fuel on my side, and the 1st Brigade heard that an oil depot in Hongmaozi has been found, and there is still some ammunition. Hu Lian said.

"No need, let's go any further, just make trouble for the brothers in the Air Force and Army Aviation. We have just been contacted, and the Air Force is going to use airships to transport ammunition to us. Dongfang Bai shook his head, looked around, and said, "This city is very good, let's make a break with the Russians here." ”

"This time the assault went so far, and if you go back, you will be punished, and it will be fucking worth it, haha!" Thinking of fighting a war of annihilation here that shocked the world, Hu Lian felt that even the wounds on his body were not so painful.

"This battle is very important to our Huaxia, the battlefield situation is changing rapidly, and when it is decided, it will be broken, and there is no hesitation." Dongfang Bai said calmly, "As for honor and disgrace, it doesn't matter. ”

"Yes! Anyway, a few of us have discussed, and the above really wants to hold them accountable, so let's bear it together. Hu Lian said briskly.

"No, I'll take care of it myself." Dongfang Bai said, "The battle still has to be fought, and there is no need to involve more people." ”

Dongfang Bai took the draft of the battle report he had just written, opened it, added the information about the new Soviet attack plane, and then handed it to a communications soldier and asked him to send it out immediately.

At this time, the sound of the airplane propellers churning the air was heard in the sky again.

"Let's go! The Soviets came again to send them to their deaths. Dongfang Bai said and stood up.

Just as Dongfang Bai said, at this time the Chinese reconnaissance planes found that a large force of the Soviet army was gathering south of a medium mountain range covered with forests. The center of the assembly was in a forest area near a small town. The direction of its movement was obvious, heading straight east to Sverdlovsk.

At this time, the General Headquarters of the Chinese Army had already ordered an encirclement operation. The Chinese army crossed the Tobol River and advanced forward, preparing to slam the gate to the north. Another Chinese army slowly approached from the western flank, stopping the Soviet troops from breaking through in this direction. In addition, a Chinese army was inserted behind enemy lines from the right flank to complete the encirclement posture. At this time, Major General Deng Ye's Third Light Cavalry Division sent the "Chengwu" combat team to set off for reconnaissance.

This is a mixed combat team, which is named after Zhang Chengwu, the commander of the "9th Infantry Sniper Regiment". In addition to this regiment, it consisted of the 2nd Company of the 67th Tank Battalion, the 1st Battalion of the 80th Artillery Regiment and the 1st Battalion of the 22nd Anti-aircraft Artillery Regiment (including four companies).

This is a unit with strong anti-aircraft firepower, and it is deployed at the forefront to operate with the army, and in the event of an air attack by Soviet aircraft, it can be ready to fight at any time. During these days of rapid offensive with a gust of wind, not many Soviet aircraft were found. However, the targeting communications company of the anti-aircraft artillery unit fell behind due to traffic jams. Only anti-aircraft artillery kept up with the vanguard of the army.

Because anti-aircraft guns do not have key equipment such as sighting and communications, they play little role against air targets, but on the contrary exert their might in ground combat. The armor-piercing capabilities of anti-aircraft shells with high-speed ballistics are well known to both infantry and army artillery. Direct fire at visual targets is especially powerful.

At noon, the vanguard of Zhang Chengwu's mixed detachment arrived at the village of Petliula. It is located next to Etrus, four kilometers away. Here, the Chinese offensive was thwarted, and heavy shelling from the hilly terrain of the "earthen fortress" in front of the Etrus drove the Chinese infantry into bunkers.

At the same time, it was discovered that there were enemy marching troops raising dust on the two roads leading to the Etrus in the north and south. Troop movements were also detected in the north-east. The forest to the southwest, though silent, certainly hides Soviet troops.

The Soviet artillery fired like crazy, and they suppressed the entire battlefield on the 241 Heights, three kilometers west of Etrus. Units of the 2nd Company of the 8th Regiment of the Chinese Army were sent to attack this height, but advanced only a few hundred meters.

Colonel Zhang Chengwu intended to deploy troops entering the village of Petliura from the east and west on the west side of the village. The snipers made their way through the hills and slowly approached the Etrus. However, at a distance of a kilometer from the "earthen fortress", it was blocked by heavy artillery fire.

At 13:20, the 1st Battalion of the 22nd Anti-aircraft Artillery Regiment entered Petliura first. The battalion commander, Major Wei Houchun, penetrated the Soviet army's rifle and machine gun fire nets, and finally found the front-line headquarters of Colonel Zhang Chengwu. Here, he was ordered to cross Petliura and deploy fire on the south side of the road connecting Petliura-Etrus, directly supporting the infantry who were fighting hard.

Second Lieutenant Ding Chunsheng's fifth company of six 37-mm anti-aircraft guns was the first to take part in the battle. Then three more doors were added. The fourth platoon was on standby as a reserve for the battalion.

Since the frontal attack was stopped and the Etrus began to be besieged from the south, Ding Chunsheng turned the muzzles of the nine guns to the south.

By this time, the 90-mm guns of the 2nd and 3rd companies had been deployed on the easterly side, but in less than ideal positions. This position is in a depression next to the army's 105-mm field howitzer position. Because there are hills, the Soviet troops are not visible. This terrain is ideal for field howitzers. Because its ballistic trajectory is in an arc, it can shoot according to the instructions of the forward observer.

But the trajectory of the anti-aircraft gun was a straight line, and the target had to be seen from the gun position in order to shoot, and here the target could not be seen. If you move the cannon up to the top of the hill where you can see the Soviets, you will be killed by the Soviets before you can fire the first shell. As a result, the 90-mm battery could only attack a very distant target, that is, occasionally bombarded the Soviet column on the road north of Etrus, because this place was occasionally visible from the 90-mm gun position, but it could not support the infantry who were fighting to the death less than two kilometers away. To support them, the angles of the anti-aircraft gun bunkers were too large.

At the forefront were the 37-mm anti-aircraft guns of the fifth company. Although the artillery bombardment was carried out to the south, it was strafed by machine guns from the "earthen fortress" on the western side. The slightest movement next to the gun emplacement would result in fire from Soviet machine gunners.

The company commander, Captain Liu Shaowen, ordered to immediately avoid the fire network of enemy mortars and anti-tank guns, even if only the third platoon left. The progress was fairly smooth, and the three guns of the third platoon moved into new positions.

It was eighteen o'clock, and the first counterattack launched by the Soviets from the south, under the cover of artillery, tanks, and flamethrowers, was stopped by Chinese infantry and anti-aircraft guns. The 246th Heights, at the forefront of the Chinese front, was only 800 meters away from the "earthen fortress", where there were artillery observers of the Chinese army. In the afternoon they took stock of the positions of a series of Soviet machine-guns and anti-tank guns. However, the artillery of friendly troops could not reach those firing points, and here with 37-mm anti-aircraft guns did not help. Therefore, it was again requested that an anti-aircraft gun be transferred to the 246 heights.

Gun No. 3 of the 5th Company was the first to be dragged by the soldiers to the top of the hill in front of the 246th Heights. However, the firing range there was not good, and the soldiers dragged the 800-kilogram gun down the hillside and wanted to push it up the opposite hill. However, it only pushed halfway up the mountain and stopped. Later, with the help of all the officers of the 246th Highland Observatory, the cannon was towed not far from the top of the mountain.

The data on the first target have long been clear, and the shells are ready. The sightman captures the target with the artillery binoculars of the observation post and sits calmly in his seat. Everything is ready.

The officers and soldiers seized the gap between the shouting Soviet machine guns in front of them and pushed the guns forward, along with the sights in their seats.

In a few seconds, 37-mm anti-aircraft guns appeared on the top of the hill. Completely exposed to the horizon of the Soviet army.

The aimer aims at the target and pushes the first shell into the chamber. Then, another shot. In this way, forty rounds were fired in a row, and all of them hit the target.

After firing the cannon, the gunners immediately dragged the cannon to the hillside and hid it. As soon as they withdrew their artillery, the Soviets bombarded the heights with intensive artillery fire.

The gun was fired like this for a while, concealed for a while, and appeared on the 246 heights eight times, so that the firing points of the Soviet machine guns and anti-tank guns were directly attacked. Every time the sound of 37-mm anti-aircraft guns was heard, the infantry and snipers cheered loudly. A few hours earlier, they had been in a mess in this hilly area of bush. Now the anti-aircraft guns hated for them.

Finally, the gunners aimed at the watchtowers on the "earthen fortresses". There were several machine guns on the tower, which was an ideal firing position to strafe at will, and the gunner aimed at the gun hole and fired four bursts of eighty shells. The Soviet machine guns were dumb, but the watchtowers were still intact. It seems that there is nothing that can be done against it with 37-mm guns, and the Soviets will send machine-gun units to reinforce it.

It was already 19 o'clock, and it was getting dark. The officers and soldiers on the 246 heights breathed a sigh of relief and looked down the mountain. I saw that the tractors of friendly troops pulling 90-mm anti-aircraft guns were slowly crawling towards the eastern slope of the 246 Heights under the fire of the Soviet troops. It turned out that Major Wei Houchun ordered heavy anti-aircraft guns to come to reinforce the 37-mm anti-aircraft guns that were fighting alone on the high ground.

The 90-mm gun was finally dragged to the top of the 246 Heights and installed the gun mount. The area at the top of the hill was too small, and the heavy artillery was unstable and shook badly. The officers and men swung their shovels like madmen to create a large flat ground for the 90-mm guns.

It was getting dark. The first shell was finally fired, but it did not hit the old watchtower, and the 90-mm gun was tilted. Adjusted the gun position and continued firing. Finally hit. The third shell blew up the protective wall of the Soviet troops. Continuing to fire, the shells hit the sand and wood chips, and the positions of the Soviet troops could not be seen clearly.

After the 246 heights were cleared, two anti-aircraft guns were towed back to the company. Colonel Zhang Chengwu was confident that he could deal with the Soviet army, and he was sure to hold his position at night. Therefore, no reserves were left, and all the troops were thrown to the front.

Just after 20 o'clock, the first concentrated attack of the Soviet army forced the Chinese front to retreat. On the road to Etrus, Soviet tanks were approaching Petliura. Colonel Zhang Chengwu personally took up a gun to defend his headquarters. Unfortunately, he was killed by a Soviet machine-gun bullet.

Walk through anti-aircraft artillery positions. The young anti-aircraft gun officers were exhausted after several hours of heavy shelling. However, they organized the infantry again and succeeded in forming a new line of defense between the artillery. Soon, the Soviet soldiers attacked and broke through the positions of the fifth company in one fell swoop. While firing at the Soviet soldiers with his pistol, Second Lieutenant Ding Chunsheng cleverly turned the muzzle of the gun and aimed it at the new direction of fire to the west. At this extremely critical moment, the 37-mm anti-aircraft guns roared and fired at the attacking Soviet troops. The Soviets finally retreated, and this charge was thwarted again.

At 19:30, Captain Liu Shaowen had transferred the searchlight company of logistics to the front line. They encountered the Soviets on the road from Etrus to Petliura. Two searchlights were broken. Captain Liu Shaowen and his entourage took the two surviving intact searchlights into the position of the Fifth Company, which had been surrounded by Soviet troops.

These two searchlights with a diameter of 600 mm were really a rare gift to Second Lieutenant Ding Chunsheng. He quietly equipped them on both sides, so that they could illuminate the forward position of the fifth company from different angles.

Around 11:10 p.m., it was pitch dark. Not far from the front of the Chinese position, the sound of Russian commands was heard. Ding Chunsheng's order to prepare the cannon was quietly transmitted from this cannon to that cannon.

Suddenly, the searchlight on the right turned on, and the Soviet soldiers, who had been dazzled for a while, lay on the ground one by one, not knowing what to say. Anti-aircraft guns took the opportunity to shoot flat. After 3 seconds, the searchlight on the right went out and the one on the left turned on again. In this way, the irradiation alternates, constantly changing positions, and only illuminates for a few seconds. After fifteen minutes of fighting, this night attack of the Soviet troops was repulsed again.

The situation in the 90-mm anti-aircraft gun positions of the 2nd and 3rd companies of the 22nd anti-aircraft artillery regiment was very bad. Since 3 a.m., the two companies were broken up by superior enemy forces. The Soviets came out of the forests to the south and tried to take advantage of the darkness to break through to the Tobol River to the southwest.

The battle was fought extraordinarily fiercely. The Soviets crossed the hills and approached in dense formations. In the end, the Chinese gunners had to engage in hand-to-hand combat with the Soviets with bayonets. The battalion commander, Major Wei Houchun, and the commander of the third company, Captain Wang Shiwu, were killed, in addition, many officers and soldiers were killed or wounded. Five companies of three platoons of 37-mm anti-aircraft guns finally managed to fire on the flanks of the Soviet troops. Only then was the Soviet offensive repulsed. The gunners jumped out of their bunkers and turned into a counterattack, where they pursued until they reached the sortie position eight hundred meters away.

(To be continued)