Facing the series of orders issued by Sokov, Samek felt that he was a little confused.
While waiting for Sokov to sit down and drink tea, he asked tentatively: "Comrade Commander, I don't understand. Since General Polubyarov will withdraw from the battle with the 188th Infantry Division, why did you let them complete the assembly?"
After that, are you waiting where you are?"
Sokov did not answer Samyko's question, but asked with a smile: "Comrade Chief of Staff, is there something wrong?"
"The 81st Guards Division, which was responsible for blocking, now has only more than 2,000 people left. The only ones that can provide artillery cover for them are General Trufanov's more than 40 old tanks and the division's artillery regiment.
They have more than twenty 76.2 mm caliber cannons." Sameko said plausibly: "With this power, I don't think they can stop the German army's full assault."
"Didn't I send the 188th Division to rush over for reinforcements?" Sokov said lightly: "And I ordered this division to take over the defense of the 81st Guards Division within an hour."
Lunev, who had never spoken, heard this and couldn't help but interrupt and asked: "Comrade Commander, if I heard correctly, you are talking about taking over the defense of the 81st Guards Division, not reinforcing them?"
"Comrade Military Commissar, you heard me right, I am just going to let the 188th Division replace the 81st Guards Division." Seeing Lunev's confused expression, Sokov explained his confusion and said: "Guards Division
The commanders and fighters of the 81st Division have rich combat experience, and we cannot let them all be used up in the battle. As long as we retain enough combat backbones, we can quickly form combat effectiveness after adding new troops."
"So that's it." Lunev knew that the formation of the 81st Guards Division was much longer than that of the 188th Division, and there were more combat backbones. The 188th Division replaced the 81st Guards Division. It seems that
It is very necessary.
As the 188th Infantry Division and the Guards Tank Corps withdrew from the battle, General Herlein's Grossdeutschland Division finally rushed over to join the 3rd Armored Division. At the same time, he received Hoth's order to concentrate on breaking through the Soviet Union.
In the direction of the Soviet Army, we rushed to Yakovlevo in the shortest possible time and built a defensive line there to prevent the Soviet attack and cover the retreat of the main force of the Armored Group Army.
After receiving Holt's order, he left a motorized battalion to accommodate the defeated troops of the 3rd Armored Division and treat the wounded who were not dead. The main force moved south along the road, preparing to rush to Yakovlevo quickly.
At the forefront were a Panther tank battalion of the Armored Regiment and two infantry battalions.
When the leading troops entered the defense area of the 81st Guards Division, the 173rd Guards Artillery Regiment deployed behind the entire position opened fire. The shells fired by more than twenty 76.2 mm cannons landed in the German tank formation and exploded. Most of them exploded.
None of the shells could hit the high-speed tank, but only blew up plumes of soil.
The shells that occasionally hit the target could not penetrate the armor of the German tanks at such a long distance, so they could only watch helplessly as they rushed towards the infantry defensive positions.
The infantry who stood firm on the ground did not have the rocket launchers prepared by Sokov's troops, and could only rely on old-fashioned anti-tank rifles to shoot at the approaching tanks.
Anti-tank rifles may still be somewhat useful against the German Panzer III and Panzer IV tanks. Now they are facing the much thicker armored Panther tanks. Even if the bullets fired by the anti-tank rifles hit the tanks, they will all become
Ricochet.
Seeing that artillery fire and anti-tank rifles from the rear could not pose a threat to the German tanks, the commander of the 233rd Regiment commanding the battle at the front could only order the soldiers to risk their lives, climb out of the trenches, and use anti-tank grenades or cluster grenades.
, to blow up enemy tanks at close range.
However, their anti-tank tactics had long been familiar to the tank soldiers of the Grossdeutschland Division. Seeing Soviet soldiers crawling out of the trenches, the Panther tanks slowed down and were gradually deployed in echelons. The tanks behind them used
Vehicle-mounted machine guns fired at the soldiers, preventing them from approaching the tanks in front.
After paying the lives of nearly forty commanders and fighters, one of the Leopard tanks in the front was barely blown up. The other tank, whose tracks were blown off, stopped in place and kept bombarding the Soviet troops with tank guns.
's position.
Upon seeing this, the commander of the 233rd Regiment knew that if he sent people to bomb the tanks again, he would only have to pay greater sacrifices. He quickly issued a new order: "Let the enemy tanks pass through our trenches, and then use anti-tank grenades or anti-tank grenades from behind."
Cluster grenades blow them up."
After issuing the combat order, the regiment commander contacted the division headquarters and asked for help from Malanjin: "Comrade division commander, the enemy tanks have approached our position. I request reinforcements, I request reinforcements!"
"Comrade Colonel," Malanjin also saw what happened at the position of the 233rd Regiment. But at this moment, the battle has just started. He must not easily throw the second-line troops into the battle. If they are all lost on the front line, the German army will continue to advance.
At that time, what kind of troops should he use to stop them? So he could only harden his heart and said: "It's not the time to use the reserve force yet, you must find a way to resolutely hold the position. Do you understand?"
"Comrade division commander," the regiment commander looked at the position getting closer and closer to the position, and couldn't help but feel confused: "If reinforcements are not sent as soon as possible, the Germans may soon break through our regiment's position."
"Comrade Colonel, have you forgotten what you said to me?" Seeing that the regiment leader was still entangled with him, Malanjin couldn't help but feel a little angry: "You said that as long as there is one soldier alive, you will never let him go.
Did the enemy break through your defenses? Just how long has it passed before you lost confidence."
Malanjin's words were like a wake-up call, calming down the already panicked regiment leader. He rubbed his face with his hands, took another deep breath, and then said in a resolute tone: "Comrade, don't worry, we will
We will definitely defend our position tenaciously.”
When the regiment commander put down the phone and returned to the position, the battalion commander with a bandage on his head came over and asked him: "Comrade regiment commander, when will the division commander send us reinforcements?"
The regiment leader did not want to affect the morale of the troops because there were no reinforcements for the time being, so he said vaguely: "Reinforcements will come soon. What is the current situation?"
The first battalion commander thought that the reinforcements sent by the division headquarters would arrive soon, and the expression on his face became relaxed. He pointed at the tanks in the distance and reported to the regiment commander: "Comrade regiment commander, the enemy's tanks are not bullying us.
The long-range anti-tank weapons stopped 200 meters away and used tank guns and machine guns to bombard and straf our positions."
As soon as he finished speaking, an artillery shell exploded nearby, and the mud thrown up covered him and the regiment commander. A battalion commander spat out the dirt in his mouth and cursed: "Damn Germany.
Tank, when you cross our trenches later, I will personally send you to see God."
"First battalion commander," the regimental commander said to the first battalion commander when he saw that the German infantry was still far behind. Even if they were running at a trot, it would take at least ten minutes to reach the position. "Tell the soldiers,
Since we have no effective anti-tank weapons, we should ignore them. Let everyone take cover and wait for the enemy infantry to approach before opening fire."
"Understood, Comrade Commander. I will pass on your order immediately." The first battalion commander replied loudly, turned around and bent down and ran towards the location of his troops.
Looking at the battalion commander walking away, the commander's heart was bleeding. Only ten minutes after the battle started, his men were under enemy artillery fire and machine gun fire, and suffered nearly a hundred casualties, of which forty were
He was sent to blow up tanks and died. If the casualties were not controlled in time, by the time the German infantry rushed up, he would have become a mere commander.
Ten minutes later, the enemy infantry was only 150 meters away from the position, and whistles sounded one after another on the position, indicating that the soldiers were summoning the soldiers to enter their respective combat positions.
On the battlefield, due to the loud noise of guns and artillery, people's hearing is reduced, and sometimes they cannot hear other people's voices at all. Only through sharp whistles can the soldiers hear the instructions clearly.
The commanders and soldiers who entered the combat position started shooting at the charging German infantry with their weapons. The charging German soldiers did not expect that the Soviet army would suddenly open fire at this moment. Caught off guard, the soldier at the front fell down.
The remaining ones quickly took cover on the spot and fired back at the Soviet troops. The machine gunners quickly seized advantageous terrain, set up their machine guns, and fired at the Soviet troops on the position.
For a moment, gunshots and explosions rang out.
When the German tank crew saw that the infantry was suppressed by Soviet firepower, some tanks were left to continue bombarding and strafing the Soviet positions. Some tanks restarted and drove forward against the Soviet bullets.
The commanders and fighters on the position knew that the weapons in their hands did not pose any threat to the German tanks, so no one shot at the moving tanks, but continued to target those hiding in the craters or following the tanks.
On the infantry moving slowly behind.
The commander of the first battalion at the forefront was afraid that the soldiers would shoot in vain at the tanks, and shouted at the top of his lungs: "Don't worry about the enemy's tanks, only attack the infantry behind. Just separate the tanks and infantry, and the enemy's tanks will be fired."
There is no threat anymore.”
A Panther tank crossed the trench and advanced towards the depth of the defense.
Seeing the enemy tank crossing the trench, a soldier bravely stood up and threw the anti-tank grenade in his hand. The grenade fell on the body of the tank and exploded with a "boom", and then the vehicle
The tank was enveloped in flames and thick smoke. The tank drove another twenty or thirty meters ahead, then stopped in an open space and started burning.
The top cover of the turret was pushed open from the inside, and then a tank covered in fire leaned out from the inside. Unexpectedly, before he could climb out, his body was hanging limply on the opening, burning with the tank.
Two tank soldiers wearing black jumpsuits crawled out from under the tank. They instinctively ran away in the direction they came from, but after not running very far, they found that the angry muzzles of the Soviet army were waiting for them in front of them, and they quickly turned around again.
They ran in the opposite direction. Then it was too late. A machine gunner holding a rotary machine gun pulled the trigger on them. After a series of gunshots, the two German tank soldiers fell in a pool of blood.
Killing a German tank immediately boosted the morale of the commanders and soldiers on the position. They pursued the victory and killed two more tanks that rushed forward, which deterred the remaining German tanks and continued to stay one or two hundred meters away from the trench.
The enemy used tank gun and machine gun fire to suppress the Soviet commanders and fighters hiding in the trenches.
"Well done!" Malanjin in the rear division headquarters saw the battle taking place on the 233rd Regiment's position through his telescope and couldn't help but cheer. He turned to the Chief of Staff and said: "Comrade Chief of Staff, brothers of the 233rd Regiment
They are all very good, and they actually killed three German Panther tanks in one go."
"It should be four, comrade division commander." The chief of staff reminded Malanjin: "Before the commander of the 233rd Regiment called you for help, they blew up one of the tanks that injured the enemy."
"Yes, yes, I forgot to include that tank." Malanjin nodded vigorously and said, "Chief of Staff, do you think we can send the 238th Regiment to reinforce them?"
"Wait a moment, Comrade Division Commander." The Chief of Staff glanced at the area where the fierce fighting was taking place and reminded Malankin: "There are no communication trenches from the second-line position to the 233rd Regiment's position. If we send reinforcements at this time, the troops will pass through the two lines.
When we were in the open space between the defense lines, we would be bombarded and machine-gun fired by the enemy. I was worried that by the time the troops reached the front line, not many people would be left."
"Chief of Staff, what you said makes sense." Malanjin recognized the Chief of Staff's statement and promptly adjusted his plan: "After the 233rd Regiment repelled the German attack, we will send the 238th Regiment up.
It’s not too late either.”
The battle in the defense zone of the 233rd Regiment lasted for an hour and finally ended with the retreat of the German troops.
Seeing the enemy's tanks and infantry withdrawing with a roar, Malanjin breathed a secret sigh of relief. He ordered the communications troops to help him connect to the 233rd regiment command post, and said straight to the point: "I am the division commander Malanjin, please call me."
Your group leader speaks."
Unexpectedly, there was silence in the receiver. Just when Malanjin thought there was a problem with the phone line, a heavy voice came from inside: "Comrade division commander, the regiment commander unfortunately died heroically in the battle just now."
When he learned that the leader of the 233rd Regiment had been killed in action, Malanjin couldn't help but take a breath. After a brief silence, he tentatively asked: "Who are you?"
"I am the commander of the first battalion of the 233rd Regiment..."
Malanjin did not want to listen to the other party announcing his home address, so he interrupted the other party's subsequent words and said to himself: "Comrade Battalion Commander, I order you to temporarily act as the commander of the 233rd Regiment. While the enemy is repulsed, you
We must seize the time to repair the fortifications and be prepared to face a new round of enemy attacks."
"Yes!" the acting team leader replied resoundingly: "I will immediately arrange manpower to repair the fortifications."
"Also, I will immediately send the 238th Regiment up for reinforcements." Malanjin hesitated for a moment, then said decisively: "After the 238th Regiment enters the position, the troops of the two regiments will be unified under the command of the commander of the 238th Regiment."