Fortunately, Papuchenko executed the order in time. The commanders and fighters of the 122nd Regiment had just reinforced the fortifications in the trenches where the fire was still burning and the smoke was still rising. The German counterattack began. Groups of soldiers wearing helmets followed a few
Behind a tank, they rushed along the street towards the place occupied by the Soviet troops.
When the enemy approached the first battalion's position, Major Vasily immediately issued a firing order. Various weapons on the position fired at the same time, shooting at the enemies who were counterattacking. When the enemies at the front were shot and fell down, the ones behind them
The enemy hurriedly shrank behind the tank, leaned out from time to time, and fired two shots at the Soviet position.
Seeing that the bullets were hitting the armor plate of the tank and unable to stop the enemy tanks from moving forward, Andre quickly issued a new order. "The rocket launcher is approaching and shooting. We must not let the enemy get close to our position."
After hearing Andre's order, several soldiers carrying rocket launchers crawled out of the trench, bent down, and ran forward against the wall. They came to a place fifty or sixty meters away from the tank and hid in the trench.
Behind the stairs or piles of rubble on the street, aim at the German tanks with a rocket launcher and shoot.
A moment later, the advancing German tank was enveloped in the smoke of the explosion.
When the smoke cleared, Andre saw that three tanks had been hit by bullets and were on fire, burning in place, while the remaining tank continued to move forward, followed by dozens of soldiers.
"Brothers, shoot with machine guns and kill those infantry!" I saw a soldier carrying a rocket. After reloading, he stood up and was about to shoot. He was discovered by the enemy's infantry. He was hit by several bullets and fell to the ground.
In a pool of blood, Andre quickly shouted at the top of his lungs.
"Comrade Battalion Commander," a signal soldier ran to Andre's side, leaned close to his ear, and shouted loudly: "Your call is from the regiment commander."
Andrei ran back to his command post, picked up the phone placed on the wooden table, and heard Papuchenko's voice coming from inside: "Hey, Comrade Major, how is the situation there?"
"The enemy dispatched four tanks and a company of soldiers and charged into our battalion position." Andre replied: "We destroyed three tanks and killed nearly a hundred soldiers. The remaining one
Tanks and dozens of soldiers are not far from our position, but we are confident of destroying them."
"Well done, Major Andrei." Papuchenko said happily on the phone: "You did a good job."
As soon as Papchenko hung up Andrei's call, Sokov's call came in: "Comrade Colonel, how is the situation there? I heard fierce gunfire. Did the enemy attack you?
Counterattack?"
"Yes, Comrade Division Commander." Papuchenko quickly replied: "The enemy is unwilling to accept their defeat and is organizing troops to counterattack, but please rest assured that our commanders and fighters are fully capable of blocking them."
"I order you: rely on your position and do everything possible to consume the effective strength of the German army. If necessary, just call me and I will give you the necessary support."
After Sokov learned about Barvinkovo's situation, he asked Sidorin: "Where is the 124th Regiment now?"
"After ambushing an incoming German force, they are coming in our direction." Sidorin looked at his watch and reported to Sokov: "In about two hours, they will be able to
Get here."
With the three regiments gathered together, he would have enough strength to challenge the three elite divisions of the German army, but only if the ammunition supply could keep up. Sokov then asked: "What about the ammunition that the superiors will supply to us?"
"Lieutenant Samoylov and his people have cleared a gun runway for transport aircraft to take off and land," Sidorin said with a smile: "Twelve transport aircraft sent by superiors have taken off one after another and are forming in the air to complete the mission.
After forming the formation, they will fly to the temporary airport and land."
Considering that the Soviet transport plane was unarmed, once it was intercepted by a German plane on the way, it would have no choice but to sit and wait for death. Sokov then asked: "Are there any escort planes?"
"Yes, the Air Force dispatched two fighter groups to escort the transport aircraft."
The situation looked promising. At this moment, Yershakov, the commander of the 125th Regiment deployed in the south, called Sokov: "Comrade Division Commander, according to the scout's report, it is five kilometers away from our regiment's station.
position, enemy tanks and a large number of infantry were discovered."
"Can you figure out the enemy's number?" Sokov did not expect that not long after the attack on Barvinkovo started, enemies from other places arrived.
"Although our scouts did not capture prisoners, they saw the enemy's epaulettes through their binoculars and were able to determine that they were the Color Guard Division."
When he learned that the German standard guard division had also arrived, Sokov felt worried. He understood that the troops' attack on Barvinkovo really stoked a hornet's nest, and the enemy moved so quickly and arrived in such a short period of time.
. He took a deep breath and asked in a normal tone: "What kind of force is the enemy?"
Yershakov said with some excitement: "The enemy has twelve tanks, more than thirty armored vehicles, and an equal number of trucks. The total strength is estimated to be more than a thousand people."
"Don't panic." After listening to Yershakov's report, Sokov said to him: "The enemy only has more than a thousand people, and your regiment has nearly 4,000 people. If four of them hit him one, how can we still fight him?"
But? Order the troops into combat positions and prepare to teach the Germans a lesson. Remember, you are not fighting alone, we will support you at any time."
"Comrade Division Commander, what should we do?" Sidorin looked at the icons on the map that represented the situation between the enemy and ourselves, frowned, and said with worry: "I thought we only had to deal with the German Imperial Division and the Skeletons.
Division, I didn’t expect that even the Flag Guard Division has come up now. It seems that we have been surrounded by the German army."
"Send a telegram to Commander Rokossovsky and report to him the location of the Flag Guard Division, asking him to dispatch a bomber group as soon as possible to bomb the advancing Flag Guard Division."
"However, the enemy is too close to the 125th Regiment's defense area. If bombers are allowed to carry out the bombing, they may accidentally injure their own people."
"Chief of Staff, you don't understand what I mean." Sokov pointed to the map and said to Sidorin: "Since the enemy has appeared near the 125th Regiment, it proves that the large troops of the Flag Guard Division are rushing towards this area one after another.
If the air force dispatches bombers to attack these areas, it will not only slow down their advance, but also cause them huge casualties."