Early the next morning, after Colonel Russov had assembled the commanders and fighters of the 254th Regiment and was preparing to retreat, the regiment chief of staff reminded him: "Comrade Commander, although we have already moved the towns of Ratsewesi and Jinki.
The defense of the army was handed over to the 15th Guards Division, but when we leave, shouldn't we say goodbye to the division commander?"
Russov thought that although he had been ordered to evacuate this area, it seemed inappropriate if he did not say hello to Vasilenko, the commander of the 15th Guards Division, so he nodded and said to the Chief of Staff: "Comrade Chief of Staff
, you lead the troops and retreat slowly, I will go and say goodbye to General Vasilenko, and then I will chase you."
Vasilenko, who was busy in the headquarters, saw Rusov coming in from the outside and immediately greeted him with a smile, "Hello, Colonel Rusov, why do you have time to come to my headquarters?"
After Rusov raised his hand to salute Vasilenko, he replied respectfully: "Comrade General, our regiment is about to leave the town of Ratseve, and I came here specifically to say goodbye to you."
Vasilenko stepped forward and held Rusov's hand, and said gratefully: "Colonel Rusov, although I already expressed my gratitude to you yesterday, I still want to express my gratitude to you again at this moment. It is precisely because of your subordinates that
Your bloodshed and sacrifice enabled us to successfully cross the Dnieper River. On behalf of all the commanders and soldiers of the division, I would like to express my highest respect to you."
"You are so polite, Comrade General." Rusuf said somewhat flattered, "We are just performing our duties, there is nothing special about it."
After the two exchanged a few polite words, Rusev said goodbye to Vasilenko again, and Vasilenko politely sent him to the door of the headquarters. He held Rusev's hand again and said with a smile:
"Colonel Russov, let's say goodbye. I hope there will be an opportunity to fight side by side again soon."
"Yes, Comrade General." Rusuf said with a smile, "I believe this day will come soon."
As soon as Rusov finished speaking, the rumbling sound of artillery suddenly came from a distance. Hearing this sound, he couldn't help but change his expression, and said to Vasilenko: "Comrade General, the sound of artillery is coming from the direction of Jingji Town.
Is there any fighting happening in that direction?"
The two of them turned their heads and looked to the north at the same time. Jinji Town was in that direction. Sure enough, they saw billowing black smoke rising in the distance. Seeing this, Vasilenko's heart sank suddenly, and he said
Could it be that the enemy has launched an attack on Jingji Town?
Just when he was about to return to the headquarters to learn about the situation from his chief of staff, he saw a familiar staff officer hurriedly walking out of the building. After the staff officer saw Vasilenko, he didn't even have time to salute.
, reported to Vasilenko in a panic: "Comrade division commander, something urgent has happened. Chief of Staff, please go back quickly."
"I understand, I'll go back immediately." After confirming that a bad situation had arisen, Vasilenko dismissed the staff officer, turned to Rusov and said apologetically: "Colonel Rusev, I originally wanted to send you out of the town in person, but
But something unexpected happened, and I can’t see you off anymore. I wish you good luck!”
Rusuf left the headquarters and rode out of the town. The more he thought about the problem, the more wrong he became. He quickly called an officer and ordered him: "Comrade Lieutenant, please inform the chief of staff and order the troops to temporarily stop retreating, hide on the spot, and wait."
My next order."
Besides, after Vasilenko returned to the headquarters, he saw his chief of staff from a distance and couldn't wait to ask: "Comrade chief of staff, what happened?"
"Comrade division commander," the chief of staff immediately reported to Vasilenko: "I received a call from the commander of the 44th Guards Regiment stationed in Jinji Town. The enemy is carrying out intensive shelling of the town. It seems that they intend to attack the town.
Carry out an attack."
Upon hearing the news, Vasilenko said carelessly: "We have established landing sites at Ratseve and Kinki, which seriously threatens the safety of Cherkasy. The Germans may try every means to eliminate it.
Such a threat." He turned around and ordered the communications company commander, "Helve me through the headquarters phone immediately. I want to report what happened here to the comrade commander."
When the communications company commander started making calls, Vasilenko asked the chief of staff: "Has the enemy assembled a large number of troops near the town to prepare for an attack after the shelling is over?"
But in response to Vasilenko's question, the chief of staff shook his head and said: "I'm sorry, comrade division commander, this was not mentioned in the intelligence provided by the 44th Regiment."
"Hell." Vasilenko said angrily after hearing this: "You can't even figure out the enemy's situation, so how are they going to fight the next battle?"
"Comrade division commander," the chief of staff said cautiously after Vasilenko's attack, "I will immediately contact the 44th Division and ask them to find out whether there are German troops gathering outside the town."
Before Vasilenko could speak, the communications company commander had already said to him: "Comrade division commander, the phone call from the headquarters has been connected."
As soon as Vasilenko put the microphone to his ear, he heard Shumilov's voice coming from inside: "Vasilenko, I heard the sound of artillery coming from the right bank, and I also saw smoke rising.
,So what happened?"
"Comrade Commander, I am preparing to report to you." Vasilenko said into the microphone: "The 44th Regiment stationed in Jinji Town is currently under heavy shelling by the German army. According to my judgment, after the shelling ends,
After that, the enemy will definitely launch an attack on the town in order to retake the town from our army."
"Since the enemies are shelling the town, their attack on the town is inevitable." Shumilov asked impatiently: "I want to know what kind of troops the Germans plan to use to attack our forces.
Launch an attack at the landing site?”
"I'm sorry, Comrade Commander, I don't know for the time being." Upon hearing Shumilov's question, Vasilenko replied with some shame: "In addition to reporting to me that they were shelled by the enemy, the 44th Regiment did not
There is no more information." He was worried about being scolded by Shumilov. After a brief pause, he continued, "I have ordered the chief of staff to get in touch with the commander of the regiment and let them figure out the enemy's situation as soon as possible.
.”
"If you have any latest information, remember to report it to me in time."
The German artillery bombardment of Jingji Town lasted for half an hour and then came to an abrupt end. Before the smoke cleared, infantrymen in armored vehicles and trucks, under the cover of tanks, launched a charge towards the town.
Upon discovering that the enemy's attack had begun, the commanders and fighters who had escaped the bombardment came out of their hiding places and entered the bombed-out positions, preparing to block the enemy's advance.
The battle started soon. Although the Soviet commanders and fighters showed great bravery, they could not stop the German tanks because they did not have strong fortifications and insufficient anti-tank firepower. They could only watch the German tanks.
The tank crossed the trench where it could barely hide, and rumbled towards the town.
The soldiers used intensive firepower to block the advance of the German infantry, causing the German tanks entering the town to lose the cover of the infantry. But the German tank soldiers sitting in the tanks did not know all this, and they were still walking along the streets of the town.
The road moved forward, preparing to rush directly to the church in the center of the town and eliminate the Soviet regiment command post there.
The commanders and fighters deployed in the buildings on both sides of the street would not let the German tanks arrogantly destroy the regiment command post. From time to time, they would throw anti-tank grenades or cluster grenades from the windows to blow up the German tanks driving on the street.
.Some tanks were destroyed, but the remaining tanks continued to advance towards the regimental command post.
The guard company commander saw that the enemy tanks were getting closer and closer to the regiment command post. While organizing shooting on the tanks, he picked up the phone, connected to the headquarters, and reported to the regiment chief of staff: "Comrade Chief of Staff, the distance between the enemy tanks is
The regiment command post is getting closer and closer, please move quickly. If you don't leave, it will be too late."
The regiment chief of staff quickly said to the regiment commander on the side: "Comrade regiment commander, the guard company commander said that the enemy tanks are getting closer to the command post, and I suggest you move immediately!"
"Comrade Chief of Staff, please tell me where we can move to?" The regiment command post is located in the church in the center of the town. Because the building is strong, it was not seriously damaged in the shelling that ended not long ago.
The regiment leader felt that even if German tanks rushed over, his own people could rely on the strong church to resist. Therefore, after hearing the chief of staff's proposal, he said displeasedly: "Tell me, what other buildings are there in the town?"
, can it be stronger than here?”
From the tone of the regimental commander's words, the chief of staff heard that the other party had no intention of retreating at all. After sighing secretly in his heart, he said to the guard company commander on the other side of the microphone: "Comrade Captain, the regimental commander said, we are not going anywhere.
Go and command the troops to fight here. I am ordering you now to block the German tanks at all costs and prevent them from approaching the regiment command post. Do you understand?"
"Understood, Comrade Chief of Staff." After listening to the words of the Chief of Staff, the guard company commander reluctantly conveyed the order from his superiors to his subordinates: "Comrades, the Chief of Staff of the regiment ordered us to hold on here at all costs.
Let the German tanks approach the regiment command post. What do you think? Do you have confidence?"
Then there were only a few sparse voices that responded to him. The soldiers who were slightly farther away could not hear what their company commander was saying because their ears had been hit by German artillery and were deafened.
Although some soldiers did not hear what the company commander was saying, it did not affect their performance on the battlefield at all. Seeing the enemy tanks getting closer and closer to their positions, several soldiers immediately took out the sandbags and held
Armed with anti-tank grenades, they approached the German tanks in a crawling manner.
Although the German tanks did not have infantry cover, it did not mean that these tanks had no protective capabilities. The tanks in the rear took advantage of their position and used on-board machine guns to provide fire cover for the tanks in front. Several soldiers approached the tanks in front and just explored
As he stood up to drop the bomb, he was hit by a machine gun bullet from the tank behind him and died.
There were also lucky soldiers who happened to be hiding in the blind spot of the enemy's tank machine gun. Seeing that the enemy's machine gun could not hit them, they all stood up and quickly threw out the anti-tank grenades in their hands.
Since the soldiers were lying on the ground, it was difficult to control the force when throwing the grenades. Some threw them lightly and landed in front of the tank; some threw them too hard and flew directly over the tank. Finally, one or two grenades hit
The German tank that was hit immediately made a loud noise, and then the entire tank was enveloped in flames.
Vasilenko in the town of Ratseve, learning that the town of Kinki was in a tight situation, quickly sent the 47th Guards Infantry Regiment and the 43rd Guards Artillery Regiment to Kinki Town for reinforcements, trying to repel the enemies attacking the town and consolidate
The defense there.
The commanders and fighters of the 254th Regiment staying outside the town of Ratsewe all saw billowing black smoke rising from the direction of Jingji Town and heard the rumble of artillery coming from that direction. Seeing this situation, the regiment's chief of staff reported to the regiment.
Rusuf asked for instructions: "Comrade leader, what should we do next?"
"Stand by." Rusuf, who was looking north, said without looking back after hearing the chief of staff's question: "We will only need to follow the orders after we wait for the orders from our superiors."
Hearing Rusuf say this, the regiment chief of staff showed a look of astonishment on his face: "But, comrade regiment leader, we didn't report the situation here to our superiors at all."
"Ah, we haven't reported the situation here to our superiors yet?" Russellov asked in surprise: "Comrade Chief of Staff, are you kidding me?"
When the chief of staff heard what Rusuf said, he stamped his feet anxiously: "Comrade commander, how could I joke with you about such an important matter? You know, we were busy marching just now, and the radio was turned off for such a long time.
Inside, you didn’t give any order to contact your superiors.”
After figuring out what was going on, Rusuf raised his hand and slapped himself hard on the forehead, and said angrily: "Hell, I thought I had already reported the situation here to the division headquarters."
"No, Comrade Commander." The Chief of Staff replied firmly: "I can tell you with certainty that the battle that occurred here has not been reported to the superiors."
"Then why are you so stunned?" Rusuf waited for the chief of staff to finish speaking, then urged: "Why don't you hurry up and notify the operator and report the situation here to your superiors?"
After receiving the telegram from Rusov, Fomenko immediately reported to Sokov: "Comrade Commander, something happened. The enemy launched an attack on Jinki Town. It seems that the Germans are planning to use the 15th Guards
To recapture the towns of Ratzewe and Kinki from the hands of the division, and destroy the landing ground established by the 7th Guards Army."
After taking the telegram and reading it for a while, Sokov found that the content above was unclear, and he couldn't help but frowned, "In the intelligence sent by General Fomenko and Colonel Rusov, some parts were vague and did not make it clear.
We cannot make an accurate judgment based on this incomplete information about the size of the enemy attacking Jingji Town."
"Comrade Commander," Fomenko said with a wry smile: "I estimate that Colonel Rusov has limited information available, so there is not much he can report to us."
"Then what should we do next?"
"Where is Colonel Russov's 254th Regiment now?"
"Just south of the town of Ratseve," Fomenko explained: "I guess something unexpected happened when Colonel Rusov led the troops to move, causing him to temporarily change his attention. Without consulting the division headquarters,
If you agree, I will take the people to stay without permission."
"I think the situation should be what you said." Sokov felt that since the 15th Guards Division was stationed in the towns of Ratsewe and Jinki, there was no need for Rusov's troops to meddle in their own business and stay where they were.
Just watch the excitement on the ground: "You should immediately send a telegram to Colonel Rusuf and ask them to continue to hide and wait in place. They must not act rashly without receiving orders from their superiors."