Lieutenant Colonel Uzakov's infantry brigade made huge sacrifices when assisting the 188th Division in the defensive battle. Two of the four battalions in the brigade were assigned empty designations, and the casualties of the remaining two battalions exceeded
one third.
After receiving Samyko's notice, Lieutenant Colonel Uzakov suddenly felt like bread was falling from the sky. He quickly summoned several battalion commanders and said to them: "Comrade battalion commanders, I have a piece of good news for you...
…”
Before he finished speaking, the battalion commander couldn't wait to ask: "Comrade Brigade Commander, are the superiors going to replenish us with troops?"
The words of the first battalion commander immediately aroused the interest of several other battalion commanders, especially the third and fourth battalion commanders. Their battalions had been designated as empty, and all the commanders and fighters added up were not enough to form a platoon.
"Yes, and no." After Uzhakov finished saying this, he saw everyone looking at him with doubts, and quickly explained: "I just received a call from the Chief of Staff, General Samyko, saying that the commander ordered
We went to the forest near Yakovlevo to capture the enemy's prisoner-of-war camp and rescue our commanders and fighters imprisoned there."
"Comrade Brigade Commander," the third battalion commander suddenly lost interest when he heard that his superiors ordered the infantry brigade to attack the prisoner of war camp: "Even if we rescue all the commanders and fighters held in the prisoner of war camp, they will be sent to the rear for review. We
Why waste our troops in these places?"
"Comrade Major, I think you have not understood the commander's intention." Seeing the commander of the third battalion pouring cold water on him, Uzhakov felt a little unhappy, but he still patiently explained to everyone: "If other superiors
If such an order is given to us, I may find a way to evade it, but I must unconditionally carry out this order given by the commander."
"Why?" the third battalion commander asked curiously.
"The reason is very simple," Uzakov explained to the third battalion commander and everyone: "As far as I know, every time the troops commanded by the commander liberate a prisoner-of-war camp, they will not send the commanders and fighters detained there to the rear.
Instead of conducting review, they were directly incorporated into the army after a simple screening. His purpose for doing this was to consider that the captured commanders and fighters were all veterans or combat backbones with combat experience. After being incorporated into the team, they could not only make up for it.
The lost soldiers can also ensure that the combat effectiveness will not be diluted."
"Comrade Brigadier," the second battalion commander heard this and couldn't help but interject: "If he does this, isn't he afraid that his superiors will hold him accountable?"
"Anyway, so far, he has not been criticized by his superiors for this matter." When Uzhakov said this, he suddenly remembered Sokov's words and said casually: "Comrade Commander once
It has been said: The victor should not be blamed. If these rescued commanders and fighters can achieve a series of results after being rejoined in the army, who will investigate their identities?"
After Uzhakov's explanation, everyone finally understood that Sokov was different from the superior leaders they were familiar with. In the past, many troops were unwilling to liberate them even though they knew there were prisoner of war camps nearby because the rescued commanders and fighters could not replenish the troops.
Not to mention, people must be sent to the rear for inspection, so no one is willing to do such a thankless task.
"Comrade Brigadier," the second battalion commander asked again, "I wonder how many German guards there are in the prisoner-of-war camp we are going to liberate, and how many of our comrades are there? Also, once they are rescued, what can they do to us?
How much strength will be added to the brigade?"
"As for the situation in the prisoner-of-war camp, all I know now is that there are about a thousand commanders and combatants inside, and they are not guarded by Germans, but by Italians." Uzakov said to his subordinates: "Comrade Commander, I would like to express my gratitude to you.
I promise that once this prisoner of war camp is liberated, the rescued commanders and fighters inside can give priority to replenishing our brigade."
Uzakov's words made several battalion commanders happy. They no longer questioned whether they should liberate the prisoner of war camp, but asked the brigade commander when to set off and which battalion would take the lead? What they were thinking was that since the prisoners of war should be defended
The camp's defenders were not Germans but Italians with low combat effectiveness. It was not easy to capture the prisoner of war camp.
"The third and fourth battalions are now just empty frames and are not suitable to participate in any battles. They will move with the brigade headquarters later." Seeing the eagerness of several battalion commanders, Uzakov began to make arrangements.
Mission: "The second battalion takes the lead, and the first battalion serves as the reserve team."
"Comrade Brigade Commander," the third and fourth battalion commanders had all their troops. They knew that the main attack mission this time had nothing to do with them, so after listening to Uzakov's deployment, they looked indifferent. But once
When the battalion commander learned that his unit was to serve as a reserve unit, he immediately became anxious: "Our battalion has the largest number of remaining troops in the entire brigade. Why should we be allowed to serve as a reserve unit? You know, we are fully capable of taking on the main offensive mission."
"
"First Battalion Commander, please be quiet!" Uzakov raised his right hand and pressed his palm down, indicating to the First Battalion Commander to listen to his explanation. After the First Battalion Commander calmed down, he said: "I know you are
The current strength of the battalion is the largest in the entire brigade. Because of this, I decided to let you serve as the reserve team."
Seeing the puzzled look of the first battalion commander, Uzakov continued: "As a commander, when formulating a combat plan, you must take the worst-case scenario into consideration. Now your battalion is the main force of the entire brigade.
If your battalion is used as the main attack, if an accident occurs, the prisoner of war camp will be unable to be captured, and the enemy reinforcements will come up from other directions. Will the second battalion, which is weaker than yours, be able to stop them?"
After listening to what Uzakov said, the first battalion commander thought about it carefully and found that what the brigade commander said was very reasonable. Although the enemy's prisoner-of-war camp guards were not very strong, no one could guarantee that they would not attack during the attack.
An accident could happen. If the prisoner of war camp really fails to be taken down, and enemy reinforcements rush up from other directions, the second battalion may not be able to stop the enemy with its strength.
Thinking of this, the battalion commander changed his mind. He quickly straightened his body and said to Uzakov: "Comrade Brigade Commander, please rest assured that our battalion will definitely live up to your expectations."
Soldiers are very fast. Less than ten minutes after the meeting, the commanders and fighters of the second battalion were assembled and set off towards the location of the prisoner of war camp. It was about ten kilometers from here to the prisoner of war camp. If they did not encounter the enemy along the way, they could
Reach your destination within two hours.
Half an hour after the departure of the Second Battalion, the First Battalion, the Third Battalion, the Fourth Battalion and the brigade headquarters also left the camp after completing their assembly and set off in the direction of the prisoner of war camp.
The 2nd Battalion, serving as the vanguard, approached the forest where the prisoner of war camp was located after an hour and 45 minutes of marching. At this time, the platoon leader of the Sharp Knife Platoon sent a scout to the 2nd Battalion Commander.
The young scout came to the second battalion commander, raised his hand and saluted him, and then reported: "Comrade Major, Scout Sashiko is reporting to you. I am following your order, please give me instructions!"
"Hello, Comrade Sahiko!" Although Sahiko is just an ordinary soldier, for the second battalion commander, the other party can provide him with useful information. He quickly held his hand and said enthusiastically:
"I wonder if you could tell me about the situation in the prisoner of war camp?"
Sashiko nodded and said to the second battalion commander: "Comrade Major, in the clearing outside the forest, there is a relatively large prisoner of war camp, which contains about a thousand captured commanders and fighters of our army. Guard them.
They were not Germans, but Italians, about a company's worth of troops."
"Do they have heavy weapons?" the second battalion commander asked.
Sashiko shook his head slightly and said: "Except for one machine gun on each of the six watchtowers around the prisoner of war camp and two machine guns at the gate, there are no other firepower points. There must be no heavy weapons such as mortars.
arms."
After the second battalion commander got the information he wanted from Sashiko, he raised his hand and patted the opponent's shoulder hard twice, and said in an approving tone: "Comrade soldier, thank you. Wait until we capture the enemy's prisoners of war."
Ying, I will definitely ask for credit for you."
When the second battalion commander continued on his way, he suddenly remembered something important and asked again: "By the way, comrade soldier, why are you the only one, where are the others?"
"There are a total of six people in our reconnaissance team. The team leader is Sergeant Lakuri. He is leading people at the edge of the forest to monitor the enemy's prisoner-of-war camp." Sahiko replied: "If there is any movement, he will be there in time."
The ground sounded the alarm.”
Ten minutes later, the second battalion commander met Sergeant Lakuri, the leader of the reconnaissance team. He shook hands with the other person and then asked: "Comrade Sergeant, how is the situation?"
"It's still the same." Lakuri replied: "There are six watchtowers around the prisoner of war camp, but after careful observation, I found that only three of them had people on them, and one of them was using a searchlight to observe the situation in the camp. There are
Several patrol teams have been patrolling non-stop, but other than that, no other enemies have been found."
"Ah?!" After listening to Lakuri's narration, the second battalion commander said with some surprise: "The enemy's defense is so lax, there can't be any tricks, right?"
"Comrade Major, I think the enemy's defense is so lax because they feel that this place is far away from the front line and it is impossible for our army to get close to it, so they appear to be a little careless." Lacouri expressed his judgment to the second battalion commander: "
Besides, the Italians’ combat effectiveness is inherently poor, and their defense is lax, which is normal.”
"Fourth company commander, your company will take the lead later..." After the second battalion commander learned what he wanted to know from Lakuri, he called the fourth company commander in front of him and said to him: "Although the enemy
The combat effectiveness is weak, but you should try not to make any noise when approaching the prisoner of war camp. It is best to wait until you are close to the barbed wire fence before firing at the exposed enemies."
"Understood, Comrade Major." The fourth company commander replied in a low voice.
"Comrade Captain," Lakuri said when he saw the fourth company commander turning around to leave, he specifically warned him: "Soldiers must be careful when shooting, so as not to hurt any of your own people in the camp."
"I know." The fourth company commander said lightly, then turned and left, going back to his company to make combat arrangements.
"Comrade Sergeant, I understand your mood." After the second battalion commander waited for the fourth company commander to go away, he said to Lakuri: "Our soldiers will be careful when shooting. However, the bullets have no eyes, and some accidental injuries occurred.
It is inevitable, and you must be mentally prepared."
A quarter of an hour later, the commander of the fourth company saw that all his soldiers had entered the attack position, and he issued an order in a low voice: "Advance...!" As the order was issued, the commanders and fighters of the fourth company got up from the ground and entered in a skirmish line.
Waist-deep in the grass, he walked toward the prisoner of war camp in the distance.
Seeing that the officers and men of the Fourth Company were still seventy or eighty meters away from the prisoner of war camp, at this moment, the second battalion commander saw a ball of fire rising in the queue, and a loud noise was heard, and then several soldiers around the fire fell down.
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"Did the enemy fire?" the second battalion commander asked himself silently, but he quickly denied the guess: "No, I didn't hear the sound of the artillery being ejected or the light of fire. It should have been our soldiers stepping on it."
Landmines."
As the landmines exploded, shouts came one after another in the prisoner-of-war camp. Soon, the second battalion commander saw countless figures running in the prisoner-of-war camp, followed by machine guns on the watchtower and soldiers behind the barbed wire.
, all began to fire at the moving black shadow. The horrifying sound of gunfire was particularly clear in the night, and a large number of the advancing soldiers of the Fourth Company fell to the ground with a roar.
The last thing the second battalion commander wanted to see happened happened. He immediately stood up straight and shouted at several machine guns set up nearby: "Machine gun, shoot, be sure to suppress the enemy's firepower!"
As the order was issued, several machine guns that had been set up began to fire. The machine gunners used continuous firepower to beat the sandbags on the watchtower into dust. Not even a disc of bullets was fired.
The machine gunners and searchlights were all killed.
The enemy's machine gun firepower was wiped out, and there were only a dozen submachine guns and rifles left in the barbed wire that were still firing. More enemies were still in panic. They never dreamed that they would be attacked suddenly, and they would not be able to do anything in a short time.
When you enter a combat state, you can only run around like a headless fly.
The officers and men of the fourth company who rushed towards the barbed wire frequently stepped on the mines planted by the Italians outside the prisoner of war camp. The soldiers fell in groups of three or five in a pool of blood, but the remaining people did not stop and continued to bravely fight.
Rush forward.
Although there were not many enemies resisting in the barbed wire fence, neither the machine gunners providing fire cover from the rear nor the charging soldiers dared to shoot recklessly to avoid accidentally injuring their comrades in the camp.
Some soldiers rushed to a place more than ten meters away from the barbed wire fence and threw grenades one after another, blowing holes in the barbed wire fence of the prisoner of war camp. Then they rushed into the camp with bayonets drawn and started a hand-to-hand battle with the Italian soldiers who were still resisting.
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The combat effectiveness of the Italian army was much worse than that of the German army. Under the attack of well-trained Soviet commanders and fighters, their resistance quickly collapsed. In less than five minutes, the gunfire fell silent and the entire prisoner of war camp was occupied by the Soviet army.
When Uzakov arrived with the brigade headquarters and three other battalions, the results of the battle had been calculated: the second battalion had 32 killed and 39 wounded; the Italian army had 35 killed, 9 wounded and 112 captured. The rescued
There were 2,475 Soviet prisoners of war, including less than 100 wounded.
Seeing that there were so few wounded, Uzakov couldn't help but feel puzzled. He ordered the commander of the second battalion to interrogate the captured Italian captain to find out what was going on.