"Don't shoot, you're one of our own!" The deputy company commander pressed his body tightly to the ground to prevent any soldier from pulling the trigger due to nervousness. Lying on the ground can reduce the chance of being shot, and shouted loudly at the same time
Said: "I am the deputy company commander!"
Although the deputy company commander's voice came from the grass, the soldiers did not dare to relax their vigilance. The weapons in their hands were still pointed at the grass, ready to fire at any time.
The second platoon leader, carrying a submachine gun, moved cautiously toward the grass and asked loudly: "Deputy company commander, are you in there?"
"It's me, it's me." The person who heard the question outside was the second platoon commander. The deputy company commander seemed to grasp a life-saving straw and said repeatedly: "Second platoon commander, it's me. I am the deputy company commander. I am now
Stand up and tell the soldiers to put down their guns to avoid accidental injuries."
After confirming that the person hiding in the grass was the deputy company commander, the second platoon leader quickly shouted to the surrounding soldiers: "Put down your guns, don't accidentally injure the deputy company commander."
Seeing that the soldiers had all given up, the deputy company commander crawled out of the grass in embarrassment. As soon as he came out, he couldn't wait to ask the second platoon leader: "How are you doing? How many enemies have been eliminated?"
The second platoon leader replied: "I don't know the exact number, but according to my estimate, there may be more than a dozen."
The deputy company commander pointed at the corpse on the ground with his hand and said to the second platoon leader: "Before I discovered this group of enemies, I saw several German soldiers heading towards the north of the village. You immediately lead the people and continue towards the village.
Bei Search must find them."
"Yes!" the second platoon leader agreed resoundingly, then turned around and shouted to his subordinates: "Follow me!"
When the second platoon leader led the soldiers to search and advance north, the deputy company commander quickly returned to the company command post.
Lieutenant Paul, who was worried about the safety of the deputy company commander, saw the deputy company commander entering the door and asked anxiously: "Comrade deputy company commander, where did you go just now? I thought something happened to you."
"Comrade company commander, the enemy just touched the wooden house where I was sleeping, but fortunately they didn't find me." The deputy company commander explained to Paul: "I had the opportunity to shoot as a warning."
Although Paul had already guessed that the person who fired the warning shot was the deputy company commander, when he heard these words from his own mouth, he still asked with lingering fear: "Comrade deputy company commander, since you have discovered the enemy, you should come back immediately.
Report to me instead of risking your life."
Hearing Paul's words that were clearly reproachful but actually concerned, the deputy company commander grinned and then said: "Comrade company commander, when I discovered the first group of enemies, I also wanted to come back and report to you immediately, but who knew
Before I could leave the cabin, a second group of enemies appeared again. I saw them coming towards our position, and I was worried that the soldiers would not be able to detect them and might suffer heavy losses, so I decisively fired warning shots."
"Wait a minute, you said there are two groups of enemies?" Paul heard something amiss from the deputy company commander's words, and quickly asked: "You said you saw two groups of enemies?"
"Yes, there are about five or six enemies in the first group, all carrying submachine guns, and they are heading north of the village." The deputy company commander reported to Paul: "I have ordered the second platoon leader to lead the soldiers to search north.
Move forward, I believe you will soon find traces of these enemies."
"Comrade Deputy Company Commander, something is wrong."
"Something's wrong!"
"Think about it, the two groups of enemies only have more than 20 people in total. Even if they attack our position together, their strength will probably be very weak." Paul analyzed to the deputy company commander: "But they happened to be divided into two groups.
After entering the village, they moved north and south at the same time. Tell me, what do they want to do?"
If Paul hadn't said that, the deputy company commander really hadn't thought about the reason why the enemy appeared here. In his mind, as long as the enemy appeared in his field of vision, there was only one thing he could do, and he would fight to the enemy without hesitation.
They shot. As for their purpose of coming here, that is a matter for the superior leaders to consider.
It is precisely because the deputy company commander held this concept that after hearing Paul's question, he just shook his head and said: "Comrade company commander, I think we should send someone to report the enemy's sneak attack on us to our superiors. As for the enemy,
I think my superiors will figure out why this happened here."
"Deputy company commander," the more Paul thought about it, the more he felt something was wrong, and he quickly ordered the deputy company commander: "You immediately lead a squad, return to Yakovlevo overnight, and report what happened here to the brigade commander."
"Comrade company commander?" Hearing Paul's order, the deputy company commander couldn't help but be startled: "You want me to take a squad of soldiers back to Yakovlevo overnight?"
"Yes, Comrade Deputy Company Commander." Paul nodded and said in a positive tone: "I think the enemy may have some conspiracy, and I must report it to the brigade commander immediately. You just said that there are five or six German soldiers heading north.
I'm worried that they have already left the village and lurked in Yakovlevo. If you take too few people and are ambushed by them, you may not be able to return to Yakovlevo."
"I understand, comrade company commander." After hearing what Paul said, the deputy company commander felt that the current situation was more severe than he imagined. Maybe he would see it on his way back to Yakovlevo.
The encounter with the German soldiers. However, in order to send the news back safely, he decided to tell the information to every soldier who went back with him. Even if he died, as long as one person returned alive, the information could be sent back.
What happened later proved that the decision made by Lieutenant Paul was completely correct. The German 255th Infantry Division was lurking two kilometers south of the village. The German soldiers eliminated by Paul and the others were just sent by the enemy.
reconnaissance force.
The German division commander heard the gunshots and explosions coming from the abandoned village and realized that the reconnaissance unit he sent had been exchanged fire by the Soviet troops stationed outside the village.
He quickly called his chief of staff and said to him: "Chief of Staff, it seems that the actions of the reconnaissance team have been noticed by the Russians. Can you tell me what we should do?"
"Your Excellency, division commander," the chief of staff said cautiously, "I don't think the Russians can figure out our details at all. They will think that the reconnaissance team they discovered is just a small broken up unit of our army, and it will not cause any alarm at all.
"
"What about our offense?"
"I think after another hour or so, the Russians will relax their vigilance. At that time, we can send a battalion to quietly approach their position, and then launch a surprise attack to wipe out the Russians outside the village in one fell swoop."
"Where is the first team now?" The German division commander knew very well that the two reconnaissance teams he sent were not operating together. It should be the second team that was discovered by the Russians, and the first team should still be following the plan.
, approaching the town of Yakovlevo.
"A few minutes ago, I received a telegram from the first team." The chief of staff reported: "They have arrived outside the town of Yakovlevo and found that the Russians' defenses are relatively tight. They are looking for opportunities to sneak into the area.
Go into town."
"The Russians in the villages in front are nothing to worry about. As long as we launch a single charge, we can wipe them out completely." The German division commander said: "The main task of our division is to recapture Yakovlev from the Russians.
town of Vo, and build a defensive line there to prevent the Russians from approaching Belgorod from that direction."
"Your Excellency, Division Commander, I really don't understand." After the Division Commander finished speaking, the Chief of Staff immediately added: "We can obviously attack during the day, so why did our superiors order us to use night attack?"
"The reason is very simple." The German division commander explained to his chief of staff: "The Russians have already taken the initiative on the battlefield. If we launch an attack on Yakovlevo during the day, as long as the Russians send out air force bombings, we will be able to
Our troops suffered huge casualties, which led to the failure of our offensive."
"Although we will not be attacked by the Russian air force if we attack at night." After the chief of staff and other division commanders finished speaking, they elaborated on their point of view: "But due to low visibility and no cover from artillery and tanks, we can only use simple methods.
Infantry attack, so if you want to capture the town of Yakovlevo, you will definitely pay a huge price."
"Chief of Staff, don't you know that when our army retreated from the direction of Oboyan, most of the weapons and equipment had to be discarded because of the pursuit of Sokov's troops?" the German division commander said angrily: "
I think even if we attack during the day, we probably won’t get support from artillery and tanks.”
The German division commander was right. In this pursuit, Sokov's troops not only captured thousands of prisoners, but also captured a large number of tanks and artillery. General Polubyarov and two artillerymen were captured.
The division commander was delighted. The captured equipment was enough to make up for the losses they suffered in the battle.
Besides, after the deputy company commander left the company command post, in order to rush for time, he led his people directly through the village. When they arrived at the north of the village, they met the second platoon leader who was leading the search here.
When the second platoon commander saw the deputy company commander appearing here with a squad of soldiers, he thought the other party was here to support him, so he quickly stepped forward and asked the deputy company commander: "Deputy company commander, are you bringing someone to help me?"
After hearing what the second platoon leader said, the deputy company commander immediately realized that the search to the north of the village had not made any progress. He was afraid that his group would be confronted by these missing German soldiers outside the town of Yakovlevo later.
encounter.
He did not answer the second platoon leader's question, but asked: "Have you found any traces of the enemy?"
"No." The second platoon leader shook his head and said with a wry smile: "There are many abandoned houses here, and the weeds are as tall as a person. It is very difficult to search. With just a few of us, we can find the hidden enemies.
is very difficult."
"Second platoon leader," after confirming that the second platoon leader had not found the enemy, the deputy company commander said to him: "I am now ordered to return to Yakovlevo town to report the situation. Since you did not search for the enemy, I guess they are hiding in
Outside the town, they are waiting for us to enter their surrounding area. Let's do this. Send a squad to follow us five hundred meters behind. Once we are ambushed by the enemy, you can catch up as soon as possible for reinforcements."
"No, Comrade Deputy Company Commander, this is too dangerous." But the second platoon leader rejected the Deputy Company Commander's proposal without hesitation and said to him: "If the enemy really ambush outside the town, you will have
Your life is in danger. Otherwise, I will send a squad to clear the way in front. If the enemy really ambush outside the town, they can temporarily attract the enemy's attention and cover your smooth entry into the town."
If it were in the past, with the character of the deputy company commander, he would definitely feel that the second platoon leader's suggestion of sacrificing others to ensure his own safety. However, considering that he is going back to report to the brigade commander this time, if something really happens
, the brigade commander in the town didn't know what happened at the outpost.
It was precisely because of this consideration that the deputy company commander, after hesitating for a long time, finally agreed to the second platoon leader's proposal and asked the soldiers of the second platoon to clear the way in front, while his own men followed far behind, ready to respond at any time.
.
"Okay, second platoon leader." The deputy company commander nodded and said to the second platoon leader, "Then I'll trouble you."
"Sixth squad leader!" Seeing that the deputy company commander agreed to his proposal, the second platoon leader called over the sixth squad leader and said to him: "Take your squad and move towards Yakovlevo town immediately. Once you encounter the enemy
There is an ambush, you must find a way to delay the time and ensure that the deputy company commander and others can enter the town safely."
"Yes!" The sixth squad leader replied resoundingly: "Even if we sacrifice our lives, we must ensure that the deputy company commander returns to the town safely."
In this way, the soldiers of the two squads were five or six hundred meters apart, heading towards the town of Yakovlevo.
When they were still two or three hundred meters away from the town, the sound of submachine gun shooting suddenly sounded from the side of the road. The few soldiers walking in the front fell down, and the rest of the soldiers quickly fell down on the spot and faced the gunshots.
direction to fight back.
The deputy company commander who was following behind heard the sudden sound of gunfire from the front and stamped his feet anxiously. He quickly ordered the accompanying soldiers: "Comrades, the Sixth Squadron was ambushed by the enemy in front. We can't just watch them.
If they are destroyed by the enemy, we must rush over as soon as possible to support them."
Just as the deputy company commander led his men to run towards the place where the gunfire was heard, the defenders in the town were also alerted. However, it was pitch dark outside the town, and they could only see the muzzle flash of the weapon when it was fired, and they could not understand it at all.
What happened outside? Therefore, the first reaction of the soldiers in the trenches was not to go out for reinforcements, but to report what happened outside at every level.
The brigade commander Uzakov was awakened by the sound of gunfire and the explosion of grenades. He sat up from the cot and asked the brigade chief of staff who was standing in front of the table in a daze: "Comrade chief of staff, what happened? Where are the shots?
?”
The brigade chief of staff listened carefully and replied: "It seems like gunshots coming from the south of the town!"
Before he finished speaking, the phone on the table rang. He picked up the phone and listened for a while, then reported to Uzhakov: "Comrade Brigadier, the battalion commander called and said it was outside the town.
There was a firefight, but it was too dark to see who was involved. He asked me to ask you, what should they do?"