Going back two hours, at 4:30 in the morning, troops entered the designated positions one after another and dispatched reconnaissance detachments to the area where they were preparing to attack.
Before combat, sending a reconnaissance unit to the combat area was a tactic commonly used by the Soviet army in the later stages of the war. The tasks of the reconnaissance unit were, first, to detect the enemy's deployment, and second, to serve as the vanguard of the entire unit when the time came.
, take the lead in launching an attack on the enemy, and gain a foothold for subsequent troops within the enemy's defense line.
Lieutenant Bisklev was a scout of the 18th Tank Brigade. He was ordered to lead a team of forty people to conduct reconnaissance in the area about to be attacked. Before departure, the commander of the army, Major General Baharov, personally received him
He said earnestly: "Comrade Lieutenant, due to the change in the battle plan, we know nothing about the situation in the area we are about to attack. We don't know how many troops the enemy has; we don't know how many tanks and armored vehicles there are; how many
We don’t know about the fortifications and artillery either. Your squad’s mission is to figure out the enemy’s troop deployment and report back the situation in a timely manner.”
"Understood, Comrade Commander." Bisklev waited for Baharov to finish speaking, then straightened his body and replied firmly: "We will definitely understand the enemy's troop deployment in the shortest possible time.
"
"Comrade Lieutenant," the Army Chief of Staff came over and said to Bisklev: "There is not much time left for you. It is now four-thirty. In two hours, our air force will be dispatched in large numbers to attack the enemy.
The enemy's positions are undergoing intensive bombing. In order to ensure your own safety, you must complete the reconnaissance mission before the bombing begins, and choose a suitable location to hide and wait for the start of the ground attack."
Even though Bisklev was only a lieutenant, due to the nature of his position, he knew very well that the troops would launch a full-scale counterattack against the German army at ten o'clock in the morning. Therefore, after hearing the words of the Army Chief of Staff, he couldn't help but asked in confusion:
"Isn't it a little too early to bomb the German positions at six-thirty? You know, our ground attack won't start until ten o'clock."
Hearing Bisklev's question, Baharov sighed softly and said: "Comrade Lieutenant, according to the original plan, the air strike should be carried out half an hour before the bombardment started. But because of the bombardment that just ended not long ago,
The heavy rain made the superior leaders worry that during the daytime operations, our air force might not be able to take off for operations due to the weather, so they had to advance the air strike time."
He raised his hand to look at the time, and then waved to Bisklev: "It's getting late, let's go."
Bisklev led his men and left their position and headed towards the north of October Farm. A staff sergeant came to Bisklev and asked in a low voice: "Comrade Lieutenant, how far is this place from the enemy?"
The defense area is about five kilometers away, and it will take us almost an hour to walk there. Can we successfully complete the reconnaissance mission in the remaining time?"
"Comrade Sergeant," Bisklev turned to look at his subordinate and said angrily: "I also want to take a car there. But the rain has just stopped and the ground is still extremely muddy, and the vehicle is particularly easy to get stuck in the mud.
It is estimated that half of our time will be spent pushing the cart in the quagmire. Also, the roar of a car engine can be heard far away in the dead of night. If the enemy hears it, doesn't it mean that the target is exposed?"
After listening to Bisklev's words, the sergeant knew that what the other party said was the truth. The heavy rain had just stopped and the road was full of puddles. When the vehicle was driving, in order to prevent the target from being exposed, the lights must not be turned on.
There is a possibility of breaking down or getting stuck in the mud. In this case, the speed of riding in a car may not be as fast as walking.
Fortunately, the commanders and fighters of the reconnaissance unit all had experience in forced marches, so these few kilometers were nothing to them. It only took them forty minutes to reach the hills not far from the German defenses.
Bisklev lay on the top of the hill, looking at the criss-crossing trenches and traffic trenches on the farm in the distance. He couldn't help but said with some surprise: "Hell, when I came to the farm a few days ago, there were no trenches here at all."
The sergeant lying next to him took the telescope from his hand, looked there for a while, and then said: "Comrade Lieutenant, these trenches and communication trenches are very shallow, and there is no sign of being washed away by rain. They should have just been dug.
not long."
"So, the enemy guessed that we might launch an attack on them in this direction?" Bisklev said thoughtfully: "I need to report this situation to the brigade commander immediately."
"Wait a minute, Comrade Lieutenant." The sergeant quickly stopped Bisklev, "This is just our guess. We can't report it in a hurry, lest it affect the judgment of the superior commander."
"Then tell me, what should we do?"
The sergeant thought for a moment and replied, "How about I take a few people over to do some reconnaissance?"
Bisklev knew that the sergeant spoke German well, so he agreed with him: "Okay, you try to capture a prisoner and find out from him the German defense situation in this area."
The sergeant called four clever soldiers and took a look down the hill. While it was not too bright, he quietly walked towards the trenches on the farm. On the hill, Bisklev saw five people leaving the trenches.
It was getting closer and closer, but there was no movement in the trenches. It was not clear whether the Germans were still sleeping or whether there was no one to defend them at all.
Unexpectedly, when they were still twenty or thirty meters away from the trench, there was a sudden loud bang, as if a cannonball fell from the sky and exploded right next to everyone. On the spot, two soldiers fell down in the light of the fire.
.
Seeing this, Bisklev couldn't help but be shocked. What was going on? Could it be that the enemy had discovered their traces long ago and deliberately waited for them to approach the trench before firing. But then he thought about it, what if they were attacked?
The Germans were shelling, but why didn't they hear the sound of artillery shells flying in the air? They must have accidentally stepped on a mine.
At this time, there was movement in the trench in the distance, and several German helmets emerged. Then whistles and shouts were heard. It should be the sentries giving the alarm. Bisklev hurriedly said to the soldiers next to him: "Get ready."
Fight and cover the retreat of the sergeant and others."
When the sergeant saw his comrades stepping on landmines and falling to the ground, he quickly ordered the uninjured soldiers to carry the wounded on their backs and move toward the hill, while he stayed behind to provide cover. In a short time, more than 20 German soldiers
The soldiers jumped out of the trench and rushed over shouting with guns in hand. The sergeant fired several bursts and knocked down the two German soldiers at the front. The German soldiers behind him quickly fell down on the spot.
Find a suitable hiding place and shoot at the sergeant.
The sergeant finished shooting a magazine in one go. Seeing that the Germans were lying on the ground and not daring to move, he turned around and looked behind him. He saw that the soldiers carrying the wounded on their backs had climbed up the hill. He hurriedly changed a magazine.
He fired two more bursts at the German soldiers lying motionless on the ground, then bent down and ran toward the hills in the distance with his gun in hand.
Seeing the sergeant begin to retreat, the German soldiers who were lying on the ground got up again and chased them with their guns in hand. While chasing, they kept firing their guns. The sergeant was about to reach the top of the hill, but he was shot by someone.
A bullet hit his leg, and his body rolled backwards along the hillside.
When Bisklev saw this, he quickly shouted: "Cover me!" and then stumbled down the hill to rescue the sergeant.
The German soldiers who were chasing after them never imagined that there would be so many Soviet commanders and fighters ambushed on the top of the hill. Half of them were knocked down in an instant, and the rest retreated in a hurry.
Bisklev rushed to the sergeant's side and asked loudly: "Hey, how are you?"
"Comrade Lieutenant," the sergeant grinned in pain and said, "I have a bullet in my calf. I may not be able to walk. Leave me alone and retreat with the soldiers first."
How could Bisklev abandon his comrades? He bent down and put the sergeant on his shoulders, and walked up the hillside step by step. Fortunately, the pursuing German soldiers had been beaten at this time.
After retreating, he didn't have to worry about being shot coldly by the Germans. Seeing Bisklev returning with the sergeant on his back, two soldiers quickly came up to him and helped him reach the top of the hill.
"Comrade Lieutenant," the sergeant asked Bisklev after reaching the top of the hill: "We have been discovered by the enemy. If we don't move as soon as possible, they will chase us soon."
Bisklev turned his head and looked at the other side of the hill. He saw a ravine under the hill, which was full of water. He suddenly had a good idea in his mind. He called a sergeant and said to him:
"Comrade Sergeant, you take a few soldiers and move the wounded on your back to a distance. Remember, don't go too fast, but you must look particularly embarrassed. Do you understand?"
Although the sergeant did not understand Bisklev's intention, he still instinctively replied: "I understand, Comrade Lieutenant."
When the sergeant led seven or eight soldiers and carried the wounded on his back to move away, Bisklev said to the remaining soldiers: "Comrades, let's hide in the ravine first. When the enemy emerges from the hill, we will
They all hid in the water, waiting for them to cross the ravine and chase the sergeant and his companions, and then catch them by surprise."
After the repulsed German soldiers retreated to the trenches, they quickly gathered more people and rushed towards the hill. When they came near the hill, they did not rush towards the hill, but used mortars to attack them.
Bombard the top of the hill. After making sure that the defenders above were silent, they rushed up the hill with their guns in hand.
The German officers and soldiers came to the top of the hill. The second lieutenant who led the team saw the Soviet commanders and soldiers escaping in the distance. He deliberately observed with a telescope for a while and found that there were several wounded among the fleeing crowd. He knew that the presence of the wounded would slow down the situation.
Due to the speed of the troops' movement, he quickly put down his binoculars and pursued them with more than thirty of his soldiers.
Bisklev, who was hiding in the ravine, saw that the enemy had not noticed him, so he crossed the ravine to chase the false target that attracted them in the distance. He quickly emerged from the water and blew a whistle to signal the enemy hiding in the water.
The soldiers can come out to destroy the enemy.
The German officers and soldiers who were chasing the "escaping" Soviet troops never dreamed that behind them, there were more than twenty black guns pointing at them. With Bisklev's order, all the weapons opened fire at the same time.
.Due to the close distance and the unpreparedness of the German soldiers, they all fell to the guns in less than a minute.
Bisklev climbed out of the ravine, checked carefully, and saw that there was no one alive, he gave the order to the remaining soldiers: "Tear off all the German uniforms."
"Wait a minute." Just as the soldiers were about to remove the uniforms from the German corpses, Bisklev suddenly stopped them, then rushed to the ground to pick up a German submachine gun, and pointed it at an uninhabited place on one side.
, pulled the trigger. After firing the bullets in the magazine, he picked up a German hand grenade, pulled the string and threw it from a distance.
After the grenade fell to the ground and exploded, Bisklev said to the soldiers: "You should also learn from me and shoot with the weapons of the German army and our army at the same time, and then throw in a few grenades from time to time to create this side of the hill."
It looks like a fierce battle is going on."
The soldiers were still confused at this time, but they still strictly followed Bisklev's orders, using German weapons and their own weapons, shooting at uninhabited places, and throwing a grenade from time to time.
Seeing that the uniforms on the German corpses were almost stripped, Bisklev stopped everyone, and then said to the returning sergeant: "Put on the uniform of a German second lieutenant, and I will point you to deal with the Germans later."
Where are the people."
The sergeant was stunned for a moment when he heard what Bisklev said, and then he understood what he meant: "Comrade Lieutenant, are you planning to let us pretend to be Germans and sneak into the enemy's positions?"
"Yes, that's what I mean." Bisklev said to the commanders and soldiers: "Half of the people put on German uniforms, while the rest still wore our army's uniforms, and then we pretended to be escorting the prisoners and sneaked in.
German defense zone."
"Comrade Lieutenant," the sergeant said to Bisklev with some worry: "We don't know how many enemies there are in the defense area yet. If we rush in recklessly, we may suffer a loss."
"Comrade Sergeant, you don't have to worry." Bisklev comforted the Sergeant and said: "When the enemy was chasing you, I carefully observed the German position in the distance. At most, it was only a company's strength, otherwise they would not
Only a few dozen men were sent to chase us. We have more than forty men, and the enemy's company has only two hundred men even at full strength. Now they have lost fifty or sixty men, with at most one hundred and fifty men left, and they are still in separate positions.
In such a wide area, I think there shouldn’t be much of a problem if we sneak in.”
When the sergeant heard what Bisklev said, his eyes suddenly shone: "Comrade Lieutenant, your method is good. When the enemy sees their own people returning with a group of prisoners, they will definitely relax their vigilance, so that we can smoothly
Sneak into their defense zone. Why are you dawdling? Act quickly."