Malankin's consideration was correct. The German army, which had experienced hundreds of battles, was well-trained in infantry-tank coordination. They said they were second, but no one dared to admit that they were first. Without enough fire cover, they had to
If you want to blow up a tank advancing under the cover of infantry, you will definitely pay a heavy price.
After Malankin put down the phone, he asked his chief of staff: "Chief of Staff, is General Trufanov still commanding the tank force?"
"Comrade Division Commander," the Chief of Staff quickly replied: "After Trufanov deployed his troops, he returned directly to the headquarters of the 5th Guards Tank Army. The one who stayed here to blow up was a man named Mikhalych.
Tank Corps Lieutenant Colonel."
"It turned out to be a tank soldier lieutenant colonel." Malanjin couldn't help but frowned, "So, when the enemy's tanks rushed to the 233rd Regiment's position, the tanks diluting the fixed fort were delayed in firing. It was this lieutenant colonel who thought
Did you give the order?"
"I think so."
"Chief of Staff, please contact Lieutenant Colonel Mihalich immediately and tell him our situation truthfully." Malankin said in a stern tone: "Also remind him that if the enemy attacks the 238th Regiment again, he will
If you still sit back and watch like you did just now, once the position is lost and the tanks without infantry cover are the enemy's targets."
"I understand, Comrade Commander. I will contact him immediately."
Lieutenant Colonel Mihalech, who was in charge of commanding the tank troops, was a very conservative commander. When the German tanks rushed towards the front line, his soldiers asked him for instructions whether to fire artillery to support the defenders, but he refused.
.
He plausibly said: "What we have left are old T-70 tanks. At a distance of 500 meters, we have to aim at the same position of the Leopard tank and shoot twice in a row to penetrate its armor.
The enemy's tanks can destroy us with one shot from a distance of one thousand meters. As your superior, I cannot risk your lives."
It was precisely because of Lieutenant Colonel Mihalech's wrong decision that the 233rd Regiment, facing the oncoming German tanks, could only use human sea tactics to bomb the enemy tanks. As a result, it suffered heavy casualties. Even the regiment commander was killed in the battle.
Killed in action.
However, when the 233rd Regiment repelled the German attack, his tank was hit by a shell fired by the German tank as it retreated, and immediately caught fire and exploded. Fortunately, the tank crew in the car pulled him out in time, allowing him to escape being burned.
He was destined to die. However, despite this, he was still unconscious because of his severe injuries.
Mihalech was wounded and unconscious, but his command was not handed over to others. Therefore, the tank crews who stayed in the tank saw the enemy infantry slowly gathering behind the tank, and they might attack the 238th Regiment at any time.
When the enemy launches an attack, he can only stare blankly.
It was under such circumstances that Malankin's chief of staff called the command post of the tank unit. The person who answered the phone was Mihalech's deputy, Major Potekhin. After hearing the chief of staff's request, he said in embarrassment: "
Comrade Colonel, I can clearly see the situation there, but Lieutenant Colonel Mihalech did not give us an order to fire, so all we can do is wait."
The chief of staff asked: "Where is Lieutenant Colonel Mihalecki?"
"He is wounded," Potekhin answered briefly.
"Can he still command the battle?"
Potekhin took a look at Mihalech, who was still unconscious on the stretcher, shook his head and replied: "No, he is still in a coma."
Before the chief of staff could speak, Malanjin asked impatiently: "Chief of staff, have you contacted Lieutenant Colonel Mihalech?"
"Lieutenant Colonel Mihalecki is wounded!"
"Injured?!" Malanjin stepped forward and took the microphone from the chief of staff's hand, and said close to his ear: "I am Major General Malanjin, who are you?"
Hearing that the person talking to him was Ma Lanjin, the commander of the Guards Division, Bo Texin quickly stood at attention, straightened his back, and said respectfully: "Hello, Comrade General, do you have any instructions?"
"I wonder who I'm talking to?" Malanjin asked instead without explaining his purpose.
"I am Major Potekhin, Lieutenant Colonel Mihalech's deputy."
"Very well, Major Potekhin, since Lieutenant Colonel Miharecki cannot command the battle, then I tell you the same thing." Malankin said into the microphone: "Major, I will let you get through to Lieutenant Colonel Miharecki now.
The position is responsible for commanding the entire tank force."
"Comrade General, isn't this inappropriate?" Hearing what Malanjin said, Potekhin replied in a panic: "I cannot take over the position of comrade Lieutenant Colonel before receiving orders from my superiors."
"Major Botexin, I think it is necessary to remind you that you are attached to our division for combat." Seeing that Botexin was still hesitant until now, Malanjin became a little angry: "I am a major general, and you are just a major.
A major general's appointment of a major to take over the command of the tank unit is in compliance with military regulations."
Malanjin's words left Major Potekhin speechless for a moment.
After a while, Potechin said: "Comrade General, I obey your order and take over the command of the tank unit. Please give me your instructions!"
"That's right, Comrade Major." Seeing that the other party was willing to obey his orders, the smile returned to Malanjin's face: "The first order I give you is to leave the trenches when the soldiers on the front line leave.
When you go to blow up enemy tanks, hope your tanks can provide them with cover fire."
Knowing that it was such a simple task, Potekhin replied without hesitation: "Yes, Comrade General, I will immediately pass your order to every tank soldier."
When Malanjin put down the phone, his chief of staff asked with a worried look: "Comrade division commander, is it appropriate for you to appoint a commander of a friendly force to replace the commander of the unit without authorization?"
"Comrade Chief of Staff, I once heard General Sokov say: The victor should not be blamed." Malankin said to the Chief of Staff: "I remember that on the first day of the war, it had not been adapted into Southwest China.
Among the troops of the Kiev Special Military District of the front army, the first to arrive in the Lutsk area to block the enemy was the mechanized army commanded by Rokossovsky. You must know that their station is a full two hundred kilometers away from the combat site. Those who are older than them
Troops closer to the battle line did not arrive, but they did. Do you know the reason?"
"I don't know, comrade division commander." The chief of staff was too lazy to use his brain to guess. He shook his head and asked, "Can you tell me what the reason is?"
“On the first day of the outbreak of the war,” Malankin explained to the chief of staff, “General Rokossovsky decisively requisitioned all the vehicles of the Kiev Special Military District in Shepetovka. He used these vehicles to transport troops and quickly
We rushed to the Lutsk area to block the Germans who broke into our border and prevent the situation from deteriorating further.
If he blindly waits for orders from his superiors and does not dare to go too far, then his troops may still stay in place a few days after the war breaks out. In that case, the situation in Ukraine will be even worse than in real history.
.”
After listening to Malanjin's words, the chief of staff immediately understood why the other party exceeded his authority and appointed the commander of the friendly forces. He nodded and said: "Comrade division commander, I understand that in order to achieve the final victory, sometimes you don't have to stick to the rules."
After the German infantry completed their assembly, they followed the tanks and launched a charge towards the Soviet position. However, the artillery regiment of the Guards Division completely stopped shelling because they were worried that the artillery fire would accidentally injure their own people.
The German tanks were not far from the position. Within a few minutes, the tracks were almost crushing the trenches. The anti-tank soldiers in the trenches stood up and threw anti-tank grenades in an attempt to blow up the enemy tanks.
But as soon as many people leaned forward, they were shot down by the infantry following the tanks.
At this moment, the artillery shell flew over the heads of the Soviet commanders and soldiers in the trench, landed next to or in front of the German tank, and exploded. The flying shrapnel cut down some of the soldiers following the tank and scared the rest.
They quickly fell down on the spot. After all, the Soviet artillery fire had caused a lot of casualties to them, and these German infantrymen were frightened.
Seeing the enemy infantry lying down, the anti-tank fighters, suppressed by the firepower, stood up again and threw the anti-tank grenades in their hands at the enemy tanks. Although some of them missed, a few of them still hit the enemy tanks.
The armor of the enemy tank exploded, causing the enemy tank to burst into flames.
The tank soldiers who escaped from the burning tank had no time to extinguish the fire on their bodies, so they ran backwards with dancing steps. They wanted to run to a safe area and roll on the spot to extinguish the fire. However, those who had long been holding back their stomachs were
The angry Soviet commanders and soldiers were not willing to let them escape easily. After a burst of gunfire, the German tank soldiers fell to the ground one after another.
The German infantry lying on the ground saw that their tanks were destroyed by Soviet anti-tank fighters. They immediately got anxious and quickly got up from the ground and rushed forward regardless. To deal with the German soldiers who were seeking death in this way, the Soviet commanders used machine guns to attack them.
Submachine guns and grenades greeted them, and a few minutes later, a large number of German corpses lay in front of the position.
The two sides started a fierce battle near the trenches. As soon as the Soviet army destroyed several more German tanks, a group of German infantry rushed into the trenches and started close combat and hand-to-hand combat with the Soviet troops standing inside.
Even though all the German soldiers were well-trained, when it came to stabbing skills, they were far from the fighting skills of the Soviet commanders. In less than three minutes, all the dozens of German soldiers who rushed in were killed. The 238th Regiment
The position has been consolidated.
Colin, who was staying in the observation post, saw that the battle between the two sides had entered a stalemate. He knew that if he wanted to repel the German attack, he would need the help of the 233rd Regiment, so he quickly shouted to the side: "Chief of Staff!"
Unexpectedly, he didn't hear any response. Colin turned around to find where his chief of staff was, but he happened to see the look of surprise on the face of the guard on the side.
"Comrade Commander," the guard reminded Colin: "Comrade Chief of Staff was injured just now. Have you forgotten?"
After being reminded by the guard, Colin immediately remembered that the telephone line at the observation post was cut off. When the chief of staff was about to go to the backup command post to convey orders by phone, he was unfortunately injured by an enemy artillery shell. The injury was too serious and he could not continue.
Make plans for yourself.
"Yes, yes, you are right." Colin nodded vigorously and said in a positive tone: "My chief of staff was just injured and has withdrawn from the battle."
"Comrade leader," the guard stepped forward, straightened his back and said, "If you have any tasks, just leave them to me. I promise you that as long as I have breath, I will complete the tasks you assigned.
"
"Do you know the hidden location of the 233rd Regiment?" Colin asked.
"Yes, Comrade Head." The guard replied in a positive tone: "I know very clearly."
"Now that you know the hidden location of the 233rd Regiment, that's great." Colin continued: "Since we can't communicate with them by phone, we can't directly convey orders. So you have to rush over now and tell them
Acting commander, let them attack the enemy's flank."
After the guard gave a resounding agreement, he left the observation post, bent down and walked along the traffic trench, hoping to send the information to the acting commander of the 233rd Regiment as soon as possible.
Colin looked at the guard's back uneasily, fearing what threats he might encounter along the way. It wasn't until he lost sight of the guard's back that he focused again on the battlefield where the fierce fighting was taking place.
At this time, the battle had entered a fierce state. Because the dozens of tanks used as fixed forts were constantly bombarding with tank guns and firing machine guns, the German attack was very unsmooth.
From time to time, fireballs splashed from the tank body. This was the effect of the Soviet anti-tank grenades or tank shells. The enemy tank soldiers were too busy to take care of themselves and could not cover the infantry attack.
The infantry is even worse. If they stand up and attack, they will either be knocked down by Soviet bullets or blown to pieces by tank shells. Even if they lie on the ground, it is not necessarily safe. They will be plucked from the ground by the air waves of Soviet tank shells.
It was lifted up, thrown high into the air, and then fell down heavily; or one's own tank was destroyed, the ammunition in the vehicle exploded, and the shrapnel flying in all directions made them howl like ghosts.
There was even a tank turret that was directly blown away by the explosive ammunition. When it fell from the sky, it hit two soldiers hiding in the crater, smashing them to pieces on the spot.
The battle lasted for almost another ten minutes. From the right front of the position, the sound of "Ula" muffled by gunfire and explosions came. This was the commander and fighter of the 233rd Regiment. Following Colin's order, they launched an attack from the German flank.
.
Then, the roar of the tank engine became louder and louder. Hearing this sound, Colin's heart sank suddenly. Could it be that the enemy had detoured from behind us? He quickly jumped out of the observation post and headed toward the sound.
Looking in the direction from which it came, I saw a group of T-34s coming from behind.
He took a long breath, raised his hand to wipe the cold sweat from his forehead, and said to himself: "Great, our tanks arrived at this time, enough for the Germans to drink."
Twenty minutes later, the battle was over. The destroyed German tanks were burning on the battlefield. The German soldiers who had no time to escape dropped their weapons and stood there with their hands raised, waiting for Soviet commanders to step forward and kill them.