"Comrade Commander, do you think we should send an artillery division to Kazachya Compass Town?" Samyko waited for Sokov to finish the call and asked cautiously: "This way the defenders can be attacked by the enemy.
When necessary, get necessary artillery support!"
Regarding Samyko's proposal, Sokov did not immediately express his position, but asked rhetorically: "Comrade Chief of Staff, when the 84th Division advanced towards the town of Kazachya Compass, Commander Polubyarov of the 4th Guards Tank Corps
The general once sent a tank brigade to accompany him, where is this tank brigade now?"
Samyko did not expect that Sokov would ask such a question. He quickly lowered his head and searched on the map for a moment, then pointed to a forest to the north of the Compass Town of Kazachya and said: "The tank brigade is trying to avoid possible air attacks."
, are now hidden in this forest.”
"That's right," Sokov nodded slightly and said: "The tank brigade under General Polubyarov is now hidden in this forest. Before the main force launches a full-scale attack on Kharkov, they will
We will not take any action to avoid prematurely exposing the strength of our military."
If it were at another time and place, Sokov would definitely have transferred the artillery division to the town of Kazachya Compass to assist the 84th and 188th divisions in the town's defense. However, this would inevitably
Exposing his true strength, if Kenfu uses all his power against himself, not only will the Kazachia Compass be unable to defend it, but the loss of October Town will also be a matter of time.
"So, General Fomenko and Colonel Koida can only use their existing strength to resist the German attack?"
"General Konev has promised to send the air force to bomb the German artillery positions to reduce the defensive pressure on our army."
Hearing that Konev planned to dispatch the air force to bomb the German artillery positions, the pressure on Samyko's heart suddenly eased a lot: "Comrade Commander, as long as our air force launches bombing of the German artillery, then we will attack the Kazachia Compass."
The German troops in the town will no longer be able to receive artillery support, and the Fomenko and Koida divisions can completely rely on the weapons they possess to block the enemy's attack."
…
Before the shelling of the outer positions of the Compass Town of Kazachya stopped, the German ground troops launched an attack. After more than two years of fighting, the Germans, who had repeatedly suffered losses under Sokov, also learned wisely. They knew that if they waited
After the shelling ended, they launched an attack on the Soviet positions. The Soviets were able to have enough strength to redeploy their defenses, so they adopted Sokov's commonly used tactics, taking advantage of the fact that the shelling did not stop, to get as close as possible to the Soviet positions.
The army's position was prepared to launch an attack as soon as the bombardment was over.
The 568th Regiment, which was bombarded, finally restored contact with the division headquarters with the help of the division communications company commander, but the price paid was the sacrifice of more than 20 communications soldiers, and even six soldiers were killed by the enemy.
Intensive artillery fire blasted them to pieces, leaving nothing behind.
As soon as the phone call came through, Koida couldn't wait to ask: "Hey, Lieutenant Colonel Kashatkin, how is the situation there?"
"The situation is very bad, comrade division commander." Lieutenant Colonel Kashatkin shouted at the top of his voice amidst the deafening sound of artillery: "The enemy is carrying out violent shelling on us, and some positions have been destroyed by artillery fire..."
"Can you hold on?" Koida asked.
After a moment of silence, Kashatkin replied: "Comrade division commander, if the Germans want to pass through our position, they will have to step on all of our bodies..."
"Hell, I don't want any corpses." Before Lieutenant Colonel Kashatkin could finish his words, Koida interrupted him: "I want you to live and stop the German attack alive. Do you understand?"
Kashatkin did not want to survive, but he felt that his seemingly solid command post, under the enemy's shelling, was like a small boat in the stormy sea, with the possibility of capsizing at any time. He gritted his teeth and replied: "I will try my best.
And for that.”
When the German offensive force was still more than 200 meters away from the Soviet position, the shelling stopped abruptly. The terrible rumbling disappeared and was replaced by silence. In fact, this was an illusion. The Soviet commanders and fighters on the position
Our ears are somewhat deaf, and many people cannot hear any sound at all.
Soon, several soldiers who had just emerged from the shelter discovered the German tanks approaching in the distance and the endless line of skirmishers behind them. They quickly shouted loudly and shouted to other soldiers who had not yet discovered the enemy.
The comrades warned, but they could only see their mouths opening and closing, but could not hear any sound. It turned out that they had been deafened by the sound of the artillery.
Fortunately, the commanders and fighters holding the outer positions had rich combat experience. Even if they could not hear any sound, as the shelling stopped, they knew that the enemy would launch an attack, so they ran out of their hiding places one after another.
When I came out, I saw that enemy tanks and infantry were pouring towards their position. Seeing this, the company and platoon leaders quickly used hand signals to give orders to the soldiers, ordering them to enter combat positions and prepare for battle.
When the anti-tank teams saw the enemy tanks, they were all parked about 200 meters away from the position. Without waiting for the commander to give orders, they jumped out of the trenches that were riddled with holes and ran towards the crater in front, trying to leave.
The German tanks are closer so that they can destroy the German tanks more accurately.
However, the Germans seemed to have been on guard against the Soviet anti-tank team for a long time. The stationary tanks fired at the anti-tank team that jumped out of the trenches. The shells fell next to the soldiers and exploded, and the unlucky soldiers were killed by the explosion.
The soldiers who were lucky enough to escape the shells hid in the craters as the air waves flew away. After the enemy shells exploded, they jumped out of the craters and rushed to the next crater.
When the infantrymen following the tanks saw the Soviet anti-tank crews approaching quickly, they hid behind the tanks and fired. Amidst the intense firepower, several anti-tank crews just raised their heads from the crater and did not wait.
When they jumped out, they were shot and beaten into bloody gourds.
In this way, in less than five minutes, the ten anti-tank groups that attacked were basically wiped out.
"Hell, who told you to attack without permission?" Lieutenant Colonel Kashatkin, who was staying in the regiment command post, saw this and remembered stamping his feet. He called a communications soldier and ordered the other party: "Go and notify the three battalion commanders.
, no one is allowed to send anti-tank troops to attack without my order."
The order was quickly passed on, and the commanders of each battalion promptly controlled the anti-tank groups to prevent them from going out to die in vain. Even so, 15 anti-tank groups were annihilated by the enemy, resulting in the basic loss of the 568th Regiment.
anti-tank capability
The commander of the first battalion saw the German infantry hunched over, holding guns in a spread-out formation, and quickly approaching their position. He couldn't help but panic, and quickly called Lieutenant Colonel Kashatkin for help: "Comrade commander, the enemy
They are coming up, how should we stop them?"
"First battalion commander, calm down! As a commander, you must first be calm." Lieutenant Colonel Kashakin said into the microphone: "The enemy tanks are still parked in place, and your anti-tank team is completely lost.
, don’t worry. The only ones rushing towards you now are German infantry, and your battalion’s existing firepower is enough to destroy them.”
After Lieutenant Colonel Kashatkin's reminder, the somewhat panicked battalion commander finally calmed down and began to assign combat tasks to his men. Although after a period of recovery, the hearing of most commanders and soldiers has been restored to a certain extent, but
You still need to shout at them loudly so that they can understand the orders given.
Although the German long-range artillery fire had stopped, the tanks parked two hundred meters away were constantly bombarding the Soviet positions with tank guns. Although the shells could not fall directly in the trenches, the flying shrapnel was still thrown out by those who emerged.
commanders and combatants caused a certain degree of casualties.
When the German infantry entered the range of 100 meters, the machine guns, assault rifles, and submachine guns on the position fired at the same time. The intensive firepower made the German soldiers who were charging forward feel as if they had hit a transparent wall. They were stunned first, and then
Then he fell backward or fell to the ground.
The remaining German soldiers quickly lay down on the spot. These veterans with rich combat experience did not shoot blindly. Instead, they relied on their own instincts to quickly raise their heads, raise their guns and shoot in the direction of the bullets.
After a few shots, he lay down on the ground again, listened carefully to the sound of Soviet shooting, and chose the next opportunity to shoot.
Experienced veterans can roughly determine the location of Soviet soldiers from the gunshots and explosions on the battlefield. They can take advantage of the short time the opponent has to change their magazines and shoot based on their feeling, regardless of whether the shot is fired or not.
Once they hit the target, they immediately retracted their bodies and lay down again.
Some unlucky soldiers were hit by enemy bullets while changing their magazines, and fell on their backs in the trenches. The sound of gunfire on the position suddenly became sparse.
The German officers and soldiers lying on the ground quickly approached the Soviet positions using available bunkers such as bomb craters or dead bodies. They were all experienced, and none of them would charge straight up, but kept running.
They rolled while moving so that the Soviet bullets could not hit them. After rolling into the blind spot of the Soviet soldiers, they fired again.
Just when the Soviet defense line was in danger, a belated bomber formation appeared over the battlefield.
Seeing the overwhelming swarm of bombers, the Soviet commanders and fighters cheered for joy, while the German troops felt as if they were mourning their heirs.
A fighter regiment immediately lowered its altitude and launched an attack on targets on the ground. They threw aerial bombs at the tanks and used machine guns to shoot at the German infantry rushing towards the Soviet position, beating the enemies until they howled like ghosts and fled in all directions.
The German commander saw that his infantry was only fifty or sixty meters away from the Soviet trenches. However, due to the appearance of Soviet aircraft, the attack failed. In desperation, he could only send a signal and order the attacking troops to retreat.
Watching the German troops attacked by the air force begin to retreat, Lieutenant Colonel Kashatkin could not help but feel relieved. He quickly reported to Koida: "Comrade Division Commander, the enemy has begun to retreat."
"The enemy retreated?"
"Yes," Lieutenant Colonel Kashatkin reported truthfully: "Seeing that the enemy was only a few dozen meters away from our position, our air force appeared on the battlefield at this time, and they launched an attack on the German tanks and infantry on the ground.
The enemy could not resist the attack and began to retreat."
After learning that the German troops had retreated, Koida felt much more relaxed. He ordered Kashatkin: "Comrade Lieutenant Colonel, you should write a detailed report to me immediately, and at the same time, take advantage of the enemy's retreat to organize your forces immediately.
Repair the fortifications and prepare to meet the enemy's next attack."
Lieutenant Colonel Kashatkin did not dare to neglect, and while ordering his subordinates to start repairing the fortifications destroyed by artillery fire, he asked the regiment's chief of staff to write a detailed report.
An hour later, Koida received a report sent by Lieutenant Colonel Kashatkin. After reading the report of the 568th Regiment, he said to Mashkov and the Chief of Staff: "Comrade Political Commissar, Chief of Staff, according to Kashatkin,
Lieutenant Colonel Shatkin reported that their anti-tank group did not play any role after the enemy launched the attack and was annihilated by the enemy."
The division chief of staff hurriedly said: "Comrade division commander, should we report this situation to the commander and ask him to add some anti-tank forces to us? Otherwise, when the enemy's next attack begins, our soldiers will suffer from lack of anti-tank force."
Tank weapons, and watched helplessly as enemy tanks broke through our defenses."
"The chief of staff is right." Political Commissar Mashkov agreed with the statement of the division chief of staff: "The 568th Regiment has basically lost its anti-tank capabilities. If they don't get supplements from their superiors, I'm afraid they will use the enemy's
There's nothing the tanks can do."
Seeing that the political commissar and chief of staff had reached an agreement, Koida nodded, then picked up the phone, called the group army headquarters, and reported the situation here to Sokov.
Sokov received a call from Koida and was a little surprised to learn that all the anti-tank forces of the 568th Regiment had been lost. After he asked about the details of the battle, he couldn't help but fell into deep thought and began to think about what to do.
Against enemy tanks.
Although he didn't hear Sokov speak, Koida did not dare to hang up the phone easily. According to his understanding of Sokov, the other party was thinking about a solution to the problem at the moment.
After an unknown amount of time, Sokov's voice finally came from the receiver: "Colonel Koida, unfortunately, I don't have anti-tank weapons to replenish for you. You can only transfer weapons from other regiments to the 3rd Army."
568th Regiment.”
Although Sokov's answer had been expected by Koida, he still felt unusually disappointed when he actually heard Sokov say it.
Fortunately, Sokov guessed what he was thinking, and went on to say: "Colonel Koida, if the anti-tank operations in the defensive war are still like yours, no matter how many anti-tank weapons I give you, it won't be enough."
.”
"Why?" Koida asked in surprise.
"The effective range of the rocket launcher is only more than 100 meters. If the enemy tanks stop 200 meters away, our anti-tank team can only stare. If they attack by force, the machine guns and tank guns on the enemy tanks can destroy them.
Even if there are a few who slip through the net, they will be shot to death by the infantry covering the tanks before they can reach the effective shooting range."
Hearing Sokov tell the key to the problem, Koida quickly asked: "Comrade Commander, what can we do to effectively destroy the enemy's tanks?"
"It's very simple, change the way of fighting." Sokov said into the microphone: "You can let the enemy's tanks pass through the trenches and destroy the infantry following them. In this way, the enemy's tanks will lose the cover of the infantry.
, you can attack from the side or back of the tank, and whether you use a rocket launcher or an anti-tank grenade, you can easily destroy the enemy tank."