The camp of the 3rd Grenadier Regiment was attacked by Soviet artillery fire. Such a big movement must have alerted the division commander Tansen. As soon as dawn came, he took the division chief of staff, several officers and a group of guards.
, hurriedly rushed to the location of the attack.
Looking at the camp full of huge bomb craters, charred corpses everywhere, and the lingering smell of corpses in the air, Tansen was so angry that his face changed shape. He ordered an officer: "Go and rescue the survivors."
The officer called me over, I want to ask what happened here?"
A German captain who was lucky enough to save his life soon came to Tansen and reported to him with lingering fear: "Your Excellency, division commander, the Russians used at least two artillery regiments to bombard our camp in the middle of the night."
"Nonsense, simply nonsense." After hearing the captain's answer, Tansen cursed angrily: "If the Russians had the ability to assemble two artillery regiments to attack you, their defenses would not be so easily defeated by our troops.
Breakthrough."
One of the officers brought by Tansen had been subjected to a similar night attack. After he waited for Tansen to finish speaking, he said cautiously: "Your Excellency, division commander, if I guess correctly, the Russians used their
New rockets launched a shameless attack on our camp."
"New rocket?" Tansen heard this word and asked in confusion: "What is it?"
The officer knew that Tansen had been injured and returned to Berlin as early as February and did not know many things that happened later, so he explained to him: "As early as when General Paulus's troops attacked Stalingrad, the Russians developed
Develop a rocket that can be launched at any location. Although the size of this rocket has been reduced, its power has not been reduced much."
"Really?" Tansen said with some confusion: "If the Russians launched this new rocket so early, why have I never heard of it?"
"Your Excellency, Division Commander, you haven't heard of it because this weapon is only equipped with Sokov's troops..."
"Sokov?!" Upon hearing this disgusting name, Tansen's pupils couldn't help but shrink violently: "Is he the Russian commander who severely damaged the SS Panzer Corps?"
"Yes, your Excellency, the division commander, it is him." The officer continued: "According to the information we have, he served as the commander of the Russian 27th Group Army a few months ago, and now the army is living in the Koski area.
.”
Tansen was silent for a long time after hearing this, and finally said: "If his troops are still in Koski at this moment, which troop will use this new rocket to attack our camp?"
The officer said cautiously: "Could it be that other Russian troops are also equipped with this kind of weapon?"
"This is impossible." Regarding the officer's statement, Tansen immediately denied it: "Based on my understanding of the Russians, if they are equipped with this kind of weapon, they will definitely use it when our army breaks through their defense line, and they will definitely not use it in the middle of the night.
Use it to sneak attack our army camp. Immediately arrange manpower to search the surrounding areas to see if there are any traces of the Russians."
"Your Excellency, Division Commander," the captain who had been ignored for a long time finally found the opportunity to speak: "After dawn, I have organized the surviving personnel to conduct a search nearby."
"Anything gained?"
"The search team I sent found a suspected launch site to the north of the camp..."
"Where is it?" Tansen asked impatiently before the captain finished speaking: "Take me to see it quickly."
A group of people took an armored vehicle and arrived at the place the captain mentioned.
Here, you can clearly see the traces left by the launch tube on the mud, as well as the traces of the flame tail burning on the ground after launching the rocket.
"Yes, it's right here." After Tansen carefully checked the ground around him, he pointed at the ground and said, "Look, there are traces of flames on the ground, which should be left when the Russians fired rockets.
.Also, there are many traces of tracks crushing the area. They should have arrived here in an armored vehicle."
The division chief of staff, who had not spoken a word from beginning to end, suddenly said: "Mr. Flag Captain, I think we should expand the search scope, maybe we can find more clues."
"What you said makes sense." Tansen immediately issued a new order: "Move over immediately and continue to follow the traces of the track to find out where this group of Russians came from."
As the order was issued, a motorized company was quickly transferred and a search was launched along the tracks. Soon, the German soldiers found the place where Zheliya and the others had rested, and found a large amount of garbage left behind.
After some inspection, the division chief of staff picked up an empty can on the ground, handed it to Tansen, and said to him: "Mr. Flag Captain, look at this?"
"Isn't this an empty meat can?" Tansen took a look at the can and said disapprovingly, "What's so strange about it?"
"Mr. Flag Captain, this kind of can is neither issued by our army nor produced by the Russians." Seeing that Tansen did not pay attention to his discovery, the division chief of staff quickly said to him: "This is braised pork from the United States.
can."
"Canned braised pork from the United States?" Tansen said with some surprise: "We have never seen anything like this among the supplies we seized from the Russians."
"Then you are right, Mr. Flag Captain." The division chief of staff nodded and said: "As far as I know, these canned meat stews from the United States are distributed to the Russian reserve troops in priority."
"Reserve troops?" The division chief of staff said this, which made Tansen frown: "Chief of Staff, do you mean that the Russians have transferred their reserve troops?"
"It is entirely possible." The division chief of staff said solemnly: "I have a feeling that in the next battle, we may encounter Sokov's troops."
"Isn't this impossible?" Don't forget that Tansen has never fought against Sokov, but he knows very well that an enemy that can defeat the SS armored forces is very troublesome.
. Although he agreed with the division chief of staff's statement in his heart, he still tried his best to deny it: "The Russian command system has always been slow to respond. After discovering that their defense line has been breached, it will take at least a day or two.
Only then can we make a correct judgment. At least four or five days will have passed when the new troops are transferred to the fighting area. By then, the situation on the entire battlefield will have become very favorable to our army."
"Sokov is different from ordinary Russian commanders. He has a very keen sense of touch," the division chief of staff reminded Tansen: "Maybe he will start mobilizing troops on the day our army launches an attack on Kursk. Therefore, short
Within a certain period of time, it is still entirely possible to find his troops nearby."
While Tansen was thinking about the statement of the division chief of staff, the motorized company that had gone to the direction of Shumakovo sent a corporal back to report the situation to Tansen.
"Tell me," Tansen, who was sitting in the armored vehicle, looked at the corporal standing next to the vehicle and asked, "What did you find?"
"Report to your Excellency, Division Commander." The corporal reported respectfully: "About five kilometers away from Shumakovo, we found a motorized patrol team that was completely wiped out. Judging from their death, they were without any precautions.
Under such circumstances, he was attacked at close range."
"Were you attacked at close range without any precautions?" Tansen asked puzzledly: "Why did this happen?"
"Mr. Flag Captain." The division chief of staff had already guessed a possibility from the corporal's report, and said cautiously: "I think the Russians who attacked them should all be wearing the uniforms of our army, and they may even be riding in our army.
This will make this patrol completely relax its vigilance."
"So," after listening to the division chief of staff's analysis, Tansen had a clearer understanding of what happened: "The Russians who attacked our army's camp were wearing our army's uniforms and riding in our army's armored vehicles.
, sneaked into our army's defense area. When they left, they also killed one of our patrols."
"Yes, it should be like this."
Thinking of the Soviet sneak attack at night and the elimination of one of his patrols, Tansen became furious. He leaned over and ordered the corporal next to the car: "Go back immediately and tell your company commander to continue leading people towards Shumakovo.
, find out the numbers of the troops deployed by the Russians there, and report to me as soon as possible."