Chapter 556

The troops that leaped out of the trenches rushed at the German troops who were fleeing in confusion. The shells fired by Morozov's artillery company constantly fell into the enemy's fleeing crowd and exploded. The blast waves or flying shrapnel cut down the German soldiers from time to time.

I called Pugachev in front of me, handed the telescope to him, and said excitedly, "Captain Pugachev, come and have a look. What is the cooperative operation of infantry and artillery? The battle going on outside is a good textbook. "

Although Pugachev was confused, he did not dare to ask questions casually because of the strict hierarchy in the army, so he had to honestly raise his telescope and look out.

After he looked at it for a while, I asked, "do you see anything?"

He put down his telescope and looked at me blankly. He slowly shook his head and said, "I only see the enemy running away and our army pursuing."

Choked by his words, I wanted to raise my hand and slap him in the face. My face showed an expression of hatred. Pointing to the outside, I said to him angrily, "Comrade captain, didn't you pay attention to the impact point of our artillery company?"

He nodded and replied, "see, almost all the shells fall in the middle of the enemy's infantry and explode. It's strange that the artillery company can't hit such a dense formation and such a close distance."

I'm so optimistic about him. I didn't expect that he was so unintelligent. I didn't see anything after watching for a long time. I'm ashamed of my trust in him. However, I can't blame him for this. Instead, I patiently explained to him, "Comrade Pugachev, if you look carefully, the shells of the artillery company all fall on the places where the enemy gathers. In this way, the resistance that the enemy may organize can be destroyed, so that our army can attack more smoothly and charge faster. In addition, the infantry commanders and fighters showed remarkable performance. They knew that the artillery was guiding their own attack, and immediately commanded the troops to follow the attack point. Often, as soon as the shells scattered the enemy, the infantry in the company and platoon rushed up and wiped out the remaining German troops. "

When I heard this, Pugachev, who was observing the battlefield with binoculars, nodded repeatedly: "Comrade division, it's really what you said. Our soldiers rushed forward at the impact point and beat the enemy so much that they could only run away in confusion."

Our soldiers chased and killed about two kilometers, then stopped the pursuit, and the dozens of German soldiers who escaped by chance, if granted amnesty, spread their feet and fled to a distance. After our soldiers stopped pursuing, they began to clean the battlefield, carry the captured materials and escort the prisoners back.

Almost all the trucks on the battlefield were destroyed by gunfire, but I found that when the soldiers returned, they actually drove back the armored car that collided with the truck. It seems that the armored car is solid. After such a violent impact, the truck has been reimbursed, but it has not yet done anything.

Seeing the soldiers returning to the trench, I finally waited for Gaidar's late call. I heard him say excitedly: "report to Comrade division commander, in the battle just now, our regiment destroyed three enemy tanks, five armored vehicles and 25 trucks, killed 147 enemy people, injured 213 people, captured 17 people and captured one armored vehicle."

When Gaidar finished with the results of our army, I asked, "what are the casualties of our army?"

"Fortunately, only a dozen soldiers were slightly injured and no one died."

"Colonel gedar, have you interrogated the prisoners? What part are they? "

"Yes, they are the 29th division of the motorized infantry division of the 4th Goth tank army. It was the first battalion of the division that was defeated by us. The main force of the division is still 15 kilometers away from our army. It is estimated that it will arrive in about an hour. "

Hearing this, I quickly told Gaidar: "Comrade Gaidar, although we caught the enemy unprepared, it also aroused their vigilance. Before the next attack, the enemy will surely bombard your regiment's positions with artillery fire. You should let the soldiers do a good job in defense and try to reduce the losses in the enemy's artillery attack."

"Please rest assured, our regiment has built a large number of gun holes in both lines of defense. When the enemy shelled, except for a small number of observation posts, the remaining commanders and fighters can go to the holes to avoid the enemy's fire."

"Can the blast hole carry the enemy's heavy artillery?" Although Gaidar was full of confidence, I couldn't help but ask more.

"No problem, our gun holes are all dug down obliquely. The soil layer on the top is about two meters. As long as it is not directly hit by the enemy's heavy artillery, it should be able to carry it."

After hearing this, I was relieved. After a pause, I began to comment on the battle: "I am very satisfied with the performance of your regiment in the battle just now. The German vanguard battalion is approaching the position, and no one is found in the trench, proving that you have done a good job of concealment. In addition, Captain Morozov's artillery company also made a great contribution. As soon as they made a move, they killed all the enemy's tanks and armored vehicles, and then covered our troops with artillery fire to attack and inflict heavy damage on the enemy. If you fight like this in the future, you will be promoted again soon. "

Gaidar, after laughing, began to flatter me again: "it's still the division commander who commands well. I just follow your orders."

Then Morozov also called in. After praising him, I specially reminded him: "Comrade Morozov, I think your artillery company should move its position. If you think about it, you've just beaten the Germans so badly that the vanguard camp has almost been destroyed. The Germans will surely retaliate. Before they attack our positions, they will certainly bombard them with heavy artillery fire, and the position of your artillery company will be their first target. "

Morozov was shocked when he heard me say this. Obviously, he didn't think that this might happen. He immediately asked me, "Sir, where should we go?"

"On the left side of the defensive position, there is a river where you can transfer your artillery company." I was afraid that he would delay his time because of hesitation. I specially stressed: "don't delay. Transfer immediately. If there are not enough people, ask Gaidar to send someone to help you. What's more, more fake positions should be set up on the existing positions to attract German artillery fire. "

"I see, sir. I'll have the troops transferred right away." Morozov's answer was very straightforward.

The big German troops came faster than I expected. Only 40 minutes later, the German artillery began to bombard our army. First, a shell fell more than ten meters in front of the trench and exploded, raising a huge plume of smoke. Then, the shell rained down around the trench of our army and exploded. The flying smoke and dust blocked the sky, and the dazzling sunlight darkened, as if it had suddenly overcast the sky.

The rumbling sound made the earth tremble under my feet. I can't help but worry about the officers and men in the trenches. Can they survive in such a dense artillery bombardment?

The German bombardment lasted nearly twenty minutes before it stopped. Before the smoke from the position was completely cleared, the German offensive troops appeared in my telescope. With the strength of about a regiment and guided by more than 30 tanks, they came to our army in columns.

It may be that our crude position has been destroyed by their artillery fire in the shelling just now. The attacking enemy was very arrogant. Several tanks far away from the rear were packed with infantry wearing helmets.

When these tanks were less than 50 meters away from our army's trench, our soldiers climbed out of the ruins of the bombed fortifications and opened fire on these enemies with rifles, submachine guns and machine guns. Under the intensive light fire of our army, although the infantry on the tanks rolled down one after another, the German tanks continued to move forward.

When I saw this scene, I was a little worried. If the German tanks rushed through the trenches, it would be a fatal blow to the morale of the commanders and fighters. I pondered in my heart that I was going to call Morozov and ask their artillery company to fire and kill all the tanks that were about to rush to the trench.

As soon as I thought that, a shell fell around the German tank and exploded. One of the German tanks was directly hit, and a large dark red flame suddenly appeared on the tank body, and then it began to burn violently. The tank pulled out a few meters ahead with fire and smoke, and then stopped.

Then the incoming shells hit several other tanks one after another. In a short time, all the first assault tanks were destroyed and stopped not far from our army's trench, burning up.

Several of the tanks far behind stopped, turned their muzzle and fired at the location of Morozov's artillery company. The German tank shells landed on the artillery position, accurately hit a gun position, and when the smoke dispersed, I saw a crater where there was the wreckage of the cannons, and the soldiers fell in all directions.

Seeing that his artillery position was destroyed by German tank guns, Morozov was also red eyed. He directed the remaining guns to fire at the tank. After a round of salvo fire, the German tank was destroyed.

Seeing that his accomplice's tanks were destroyed, more German tanks turned their guns and began to fire at the artillery positions of Morozov company. However, Morozov was not outdone and directed the soldiers to fight back bravely. In this way, when the German destroyed a cannon of our army, our army destroyed a German tank. You come and we go, and we are very happy.

The German tanks, on the other hand, carefully bypassed the wreckage of the trucks destroyed by our army and guided the infantry towards our positions. The tank soldiers of the three leading tanks seem to be veterans with superb skills and calmness. When they are driving forward, they fire machine guns while firing guns, and use fierce fire to suppress our commanders and fighters in the trenches.

Because the artillery company was held back by several other German tanks, it was unable to provide artillery support to the comrades who were holding the trench, and the infantry in the trench were crushed to death by the enemy's firepower. They could only watch a few German tanks cross the trench and drive to the second line of Defense.

However, not far away from the enemy's tanks, some soldiers hiding in the traffic ditch between the two lines of defense suddenly stood up and threw flasks at the speeding tanks. The flask broke on the body of the tank and began to burn violently. After the tank stopped, we saw that the tank soldiers inside fled in a mess. Our soldiers, armed with machine guns and submachine guns, were frantically shooting at them, just like hitting a moving target to knock them down.

I asked razumeyeva to call Oleg and calmly ordered him: "commander Oleg, it's time for your second regiment and tank unit to attack. Remember, after the tanks rush out of the underground tank depot, first kill the German tank troops, and then turn around to fight the German artillery positions. Besides, your second regiment is responsible for blocking the retreat of the German infantry. None of them can run away. Do you understand? "

"I see, sir." From Oleg's voice, I could tell that he was very excited. He stayed in the basement for several hours until the time of attack. So the voice he answered me was so loud that I had to move the microphone away from my ear, "we'll go out immediately, we must annihilate the enemy."

The Germans who are attacking our army have never dreamed that I have hidden an ambush under their side. What's more, this kind of army is still a mechanized army. More than a dozen tanks burst out of the ground, galloping around the back of the German tanks and firing leisurely. Pitifully, the remaining 20 German tanks didn't find the tanks behind them at all. As a result, they were all destroyed one by one by our tank soldiers practicing shooting.

The German infantry, who had been disorganized by our tanks, was even more disorganized by the second regiment. Quick reaction, quickly turned around, but also put on a few shots; The reaction was slow. Before he knew what happened, he was knocked down by our soldiers.

Seeing that the enemy's coordinated attack of infantry and tankers was defeated by the second regiment and tank units that emerged from the side, the officers and men of the fourth regiment jumped out of the trench again, shouting and rushing forward to the enemy. When the troops went out to attack, I paid special attention to the number of the troops and found that it was not necessary to reduce them at all. It was estimated that Gaidar used the short interval after the artillery stopped to move the troops from the second line of defense to the first line of defense.

Although the Germans are very brave when they attack, when they find themselves in a desperate situation, they usually do not fight with the attacking enemy, but voluntarily lay down their weapons and raise their hands to surrender. In this way, ten minutes after the second regiment and tank unit attacked, the 29th division of the German motorized infantry division was solved by us

Soon news came from peresjian that the tank unit had broken through the enemy's artillery position, dispersed the enemy's artillery, and seized nearly 40 guns and supporting ammunition.

I asked Pugachev to call Morozov and ask about the damage of the artillery company. As a result, I was saddened by the report I got. Seven of the company's ten cannons were completely damaged and two were injured in the attack with German tanks just now, leaving only one intact. Three quarters of the company's soldiers were killed.

While I was grieving for the loss of the artillery company, razumeyeva pulled my sleeve and whispered to me that trakov wanted to talk to me. I put on my earphone and said politely to the transmitter, "Hello, comrade commander."

"What's the situation there?" Trekov didn't want to be polite to me, either. He asked directly.

"Comrade commander, the enemy launched two attacks on our division's line of defense." I replied clearly: "the soldiers of our division were very brave in the battle, and the enemy's attack was smashed by us."

"Very well," said trakov, and then asked with concern, "o'shanina, is your division seriously injured? Please tell me the truth. Can you hold on till dark? "

"The artillery company has almost run out. The four regiments holding their positions have suffered certain casualties in the enemy's shelling. However, the specific casualty data have not been reported to me by lieutenant colonel Gaidar. I estimate that the casualties are only about one battalion. As long as the enemy does not send out the air force, it will be no problem to fight as it is now and stick to it until dark. "

"Well, in that case, I'll give you the next order. When it gets dark, your division will withdraw immediately, move towards Stalingrad and build a new line of defense to continue to block the enemy. Do you understand? "

"I see, comrade commander." It seems that trakov wanted our division to fight and retreat, to retreat to Stalingrad step by step while delaying the enemy's attack.

"Good luck, then!" With that, trakov terminated the call.

"Comrade division commander, the phone call from commander xiejerikov." As soon as I took off my headphones, Pugachev, standing next to me, handed me the phone and said, "he wants to ask you when to let a group attack."

I laughed, took up the subject and said in a loud voice, "is that lieutenant colonel chejerikov? What can I do for you? "

"Mr. commander," said chejerikov anxiously, "I heard that there was a lot of gunfire in front of me, but I haven't received your order. I thought the telephone line was interrupted by the artillery, so I'll make a phone call to confirm."

I knew that he wanted to fight, but I pretended to be confused and said, "now you know that the telephone line is unblocked, so I'll hang up."

Xiejerikov was in a hurry and cried out: "Sir, please wait a moment. I have something to say."

"If you have something to say, say it." I said calmly.

"Let's go up in the regiment sometime." "I heard that the artillery fire in front of us is so fierce that the casualties of the fourth regiment must be very serious. You'd better transfer our regiment to support them as soon as possible," he said

"Commander xiejerikov," I said deliberately, calling for his post, "I have a plan for when you will join the regiment. I don't need you to remind me. In addition, let me tell you one thing. Although the enemy's attack was very fierce, the soldiers of the fourth regiment were very brave. They beat back the enemy's two attacks. Now they are counting the results. "“ However, Mr. shigerikov said something else, but I interrupted him without any politeness. I said coldly, "Comrade xiejerikov, the mission of your regiment is to stand by at the station. Before you get my orders, you should stay there honestly. Well, I have to get in touch with other troops, so hang up first. " With that, I hung up without waiting for him to speak. Then I called Gaidar and asked directly, "commander Gaidar, what's the result of your regiment this time? What's more, are there any casualties in the army? " Gaidar quickly replied: "report to division commander, before the enemy shelled, I only left one company in the first line of defense, and the rest of the troops withdrew to the second line of defense, so after the enemy's heavy shelling, our regiment probably lost one company. Then I found that when the enemy began to attack, I ordered those troops who had retreated to the second line of defense to return to the first line of defense to stop the enemy's attack. When the second regiment and the tank unit launched an attack from behind the enemy, our troops also launched a counter attack in time because of the small casualties. "“ Very well, Colonel gedar. You did a good job After praising him, I said, "Comrade commander, I have just received an order from general trakov. He ordered our division to retreat 30 kilometers northward toward Stalingrad after dark, build new fortifications there, continue to resist the enemy's attack, and delay the enemy's advance toward Stalingrad. I want to continue to let your regiment finish the task of intercepting the German troops. Are you confident? "“ No problem, sir Gaidar said confidently: "judging from the current situation, the casualties of our regiment are not big, and it will not affect tomorrow's battle at all. You can rest assured to give this task to our regiment." Although he said so confident, but I was still a little bit insecure, took the initiative to put forward: "Col. Gaidar, the third regiment is not far from you, do you want to let the third regiment take over your defense when it comes, let your regiment retreat to the back to rest." My words made Gaidar anxious. He said in a loud voice: "Sir, you look down on our regiment. I tell you that as long as there is still one soldier in the fourth regiment who has not died, he will never take the initiative to withdraw from the position. " When I heard that his attitude was so firm, I had to say, "well, since you are so confident, let your regiment carry out the task of holding the position during the day." As soon as he put down the phone, the artillery company commander molozov appeared in my observation center. As soon as he saw me, his eyes were red and he almost cried. He choked and said, "Comrade division commander, do you want to transfer that artillery battalion out? I want to fight face to face with those Germans and avenge my brothers who died."“ No, "I immediately denied his proposal in an indisputable tone." it's not time for them to show up. As for revenge for the soldiers of your artillery company, you can rest assured that I will let you do so after dark. "