Chapter 1624 Bombardment in the middle of the night (Part 2)
Belkin originally had a sense of luck, thinking that he might be able to rescue the surviving commanders and fighters of the 44th Regiment, but after seeing their positions on the map clearly, he couldn't help but take a breath. The opponent's position could be said to be...
It is the heartland of the German army and is surrounded by heavy troops. It is only a matter of time before they are annihilated.
He could only say regretfully: "The commanders and fighters of the 44th Regiment are too far away from us. Otherwise, we could send troops to pick them up. Now I can only wish them good luck and hope they have a chance to escape from the enemy's encirclement."
come out."
Belkin felt that it was necessary to report this situation to Sokov immediately, and asked tentatively: "Comrade General, can your phone here be able to communicate directly with our defense area? I need to report the situation here to the commander immediately.
Comrade’s report.”
Sivarenko turned to his chief of staff and asked: "Comrade chief of staff, can the phone number of our division headquarters be used to communicate directly with friendly forces' defense lines?"
"Yes, comrade division commander." The chief of staff nodded and replied: "Since I discovered that the friendly troops who handed over the defense to us did not go far after leaving the town, but began to build fortifications nearby, I ordered people to lay them.
A phone line has been set up so that we can contact them by phone if needed.”
"Well done, my Comrade Chief of Staff." Knowing that the Chief of Staff actually laid a telephone line to the friendly defense zone without his knowledge, Sivarenko couldn't help but praise him, and then called
Through the communications company commander, he ordered: "Comrade Captain, immediately connect Colonel Belkin to the friendly defense zone's phone."
The call was quickly connected. After Belkin thanked the communications company commander, he picked up the phone and put it to his ear. He recognized that the person who answered the phone was a communications staff officer from the division headquarters, so he said bluntly: "I'm Belkin."
Colonel Erkin, please ask Comrade Commander to answer the phone."
The staff officer heard Belkin's instructions and did not dare to neglect. He quickly put the microphone on the table, stood up and reported to Sokov who was talking to Fomenko and Koida: "Comrade Commander, your phone number is
Colonel Belkin called from the town of Ratseve."
Sokov felt that Belkin must have something important to call if he called at this time, so he quickly walked over. The staff officer picked up the microphone on the table, held it in both hands and handed it to Sokov.
"I'm Sokov." Sokov put the phone to his ear. According to his understanding of Belkin, if there was nothing important, he would never call himself at this time, so he spoke into the phone.
Asked: "Is it Colonel Belkin? What happened there?"
"Comrade Commander," in front of outsiders, Belkin could not call Sokov by his nickname, but by his position: "Not long ago, Sivarenko received a telegram. We thought
The 44th Guards Regiment, which had been completely wiped out, actually had about 200 men break through the enemy's encirclement."
"Oh, there are still survivors in the 44th Regiment?" Sokov was surprised when he heard the news, and asked curiously: "Where are they now?"
"After they broke out of the German encirclement, because the road leading south to Ratsewe town had been cut off by the enemy, they had no choice but to move in the opposite direction. Now they are staying in..." Belkin finished talking about where the remnants of the 44th Regiment stayed.
After reaching the place, he asked Sokov tentatively: "Comrade Commander, do you think we can provide them with some help within our ability to rescue them from danger?"
"Map!" Sokov turned to Fomenko and said: "General Fomenko, find me a map."
Soon, the map was placed in front of Sokov. He found the location, and after checking it carefully, he shook his head and said: "No, Colonel Belkin, judging from the current situation, our troops are temporarily unable to move."
Get there and rescue the remnants of the 44th Regiment."
"That's such a pity." Although Belkin had already guessed such a result, he still felt quite regretful when he heard Sokov say it, "These commanders and fighters who can stand out from the enemy's encirclement, if they can
If you come back alive, you will definitely be the backbone of the army in the future. It is such a pity to die in vain like this."
Compared with the big action that was to be carried out next, Sokov could only put aside the life and death of more than 200 commanders and fighters for the time being. He then asked: "Colonel Belkin, I wonder if you are talking to General Sivarenko."
How is it going? Is he willing to lead his troops to retreat into our defense zone as planned?"
"Yes, he has already agreed." Belkin replied: "Just wait until the troops repel this German attack, and then immediately organize a retreat, leaving an empty town for the Germans and letting them have a headache.
"
Knowing that Sivarenko agreed to withdraw his troops from the town of Ratseve, Sokov couldn't help but secretly breathed a sigh of relief. You know, if Sivarenko insists on his own opinion and insists on fighting to the death with the enemy in the town, then
If your own troops throw a trap, it may disrupt the original plan.
Sokov spoke into the microphone and said happily: "It's great that Sivarenko is willing to voluntarily abandon the town of Ratseve. Colonel Belkin, please tell him that if his superiors want to hold him accountable for voluntarily retreating today in the future,
I am willing to help him bear all the consequences."
To be honest, Belgin persuaded Sivarenko to withdraw from the town of Ratseve. Sivarenko promised well, but there was always a knot in his heart. He was worried that after his troops withdrew from the town, the Germans would not
Sent heavy troops into the town of Ratseve, thus making Sokov's plan come to nothing. When the superiors hold him accountable, he, the military chief, will have to bear the blame.
But when he heard Belgin conveying Sokov's words and saying that he was willing to bear all the consequences when his superiors held him accountable, he completely put down the stone in his heart and directed the battle wholeheartedly, preparing to lead himself after repelling the enemy's attack.
The troops withdrew from the town of Ratseve, allowing Sokov's troops to use artillery fire to destroy the enemies who were seeking death.
The battle lasted for more than an hour. Seeing that their attack was still ineffective, the Germans stopped their useless attempts and retreated to their starting positions.
Seeing the enemy retreating, the two Guards captains lost no time in conveying the order to retreat to their men. What they did not expect was that this order actually caused an uproar, and the soldiers who were still immersed in the joy of victory were
Knowing that their superiors were going to order them to retreat, they were dumbfounded.
Soon there were soldiers in the trenches roaring: "Why retreat? We have just repelled the German attack. Doesn't this retreat mean that we actively handed over the position to the Germans?"
"So many of our comrades-in-arms have shed their last drop of blood on this battlefield, and we must never abandon them and leave."
"No matter who gives this order, I will never leave the position."
Not only were the soldiers angry, but the commanders at the battalion and company levels also didn't understand why their superiors would issue such an order. They either made phone calls in person or sent communications troops to the regiment headquarters to suit the orders they received.
Is it true.
However, due to confidentiality reasons, Sivarenko did not tell the commanders of each regiment the reason at all when he issued this order. Therefore, in the face of calls from battalion and company commanders below, or when he saw them sending
When communicating with the communications corps, both regiment commanders gave the same answer: "I don't know why our superiors gave us the order to retreat, but as soldiers, our bounden duty is to obey. Since our superiors gave us the order to retreat, we just follow it."
, no need to discuss or question it.”
In this way, under the strong pressure of the two regiment commanders, no matter how reluctant the grassroots commanders were, they could only choose to obey and follow the orders of their superiors to withdraw from the position with their troops.
But when these commanders and fighters came to a place two kilometers away from the town, they unexpectedly discovered that an extra defensive position had appeared here at some point, and a large number of troops were stationed there.
Seeing this scene, the commanders and soldiers who had become depressed due to the retreat became excited again. They pointed their fingers at the assault rifles in the hands of friendly soldiers and whispered: "What kind of guns are they holding?"
, why have I never seen it before?”
The knowledgeable soldier immediately told his comrades: "That is a new type of gun, called an assault rifle. It is said that the rate of fire is about the same as that of a Bobosha submachine gun, but its shooting accuracy is comparable to that of a Mosin-Nagant rifle."
"Oh my god, isn't that as powerful as a machine gun?" The surrounding soldiers exclaimed: "If all our companies were equipped with such guns, then our speed of repelling the enemy would be greatly improved."
"Hey, don't count on it." The soldier who was the first to recognize the assault rifle said with a wry smile: "As far as I know, this kind of gun is only equipped with General Sokov's 27th Army, and the rest of the troops are temporarily taking turns.
Not on."
Immediately, other soldiers captured an important message from his words: "What, this weapon is only equipped with General Sokov's troops? So, the troops stationed here are the subordinates of General Sokov.
"
"That's right," another soldier said: "Look at the captain standing by the trench over there. I saw him yesterday when we took over the defense of Ratsewe town. He is from the 254th Regiment."
After learning that the troops stationed here are actually the 254th Regiment that handed over the defense to their own troops yesterday, even the most stupid person understands that his superiors asked him to withdraw from the town because he intended to use this heroic troops to deal with those damned people.
After the Germans figured this out, the soldiers raised their lowered heads again, and the original loose formation quickly turned into a neat four-way column.
The change in attitude of the officers and men of the Guards Division was clearly seen through the telescope by Sokov, who was standing in the distance. He put down the telescope, turned to Fomenko and Koida behind him and said: "Comrade division commanders, look
Have the emotions of the officers and soldiers of the Guards Division fluctuated?"
"I saw it," Koida was the first to speak. After looking at Fomenko with envy, he said with emotion: "When the commanders and fighters of the Guards Division first arrived here, almost everyone was downcast, but
Ever since they recognized that the army stationed here was the one that had handed over defense to them, the spirit of the entire army had changed. If one day our army could be like General Fomenko's army, what would happen?
Even if you don’t say anything, just standing there can boost the morale of the friendly troops, and I, as a division commander, will be proud of it.”
Hearing Koida's heartfelt praise, Fomenko felt a little embarrassed. He laughed a few times, and then said to Koida: "Colonel Koida, if we had captured the town of Ratsewe and Jinki,
The troops in the town are your subordinates. I am afraid that the commanders and fighters who have withdrawn from the town today will be in awe and regain their confidence when they see your troops."
…………
After a burst of artillery fire, the German army launched another attack on the town of Ratsewe.
But what surprised them was that there was no resistance at all. Not to mention the mortars that gave them a headache during the last attack, they didn't even hear the sound of gunfire. The whole town was quiet, as if there was no one.
Seeing this situation, the German army became hesitant. They were worried that it was a Soviet conspiracy to set a trap for themselves in the town, so they stopped advancing and sent only one company of troops into the town to conduct a search.
The German company that was ordered to enter the town spent more than half an hour searching the town. They found that there were no traces of Soviet troops in the town at all, not to mention living people, not even corpses. They were obviously Soviet troops.
During the retreat, he specifically took away the bodies of his companions.
The German company commander was a cautious man. Although he found no trace of the Soviet army in the town, he ordered his soldiers to check those important buildings to see if there were any explosives or mines planted by the Soviet army.
After his soldiers came to report to him one by one, saying that no explosives or landmines were found in the town, the German company commander relaxed his vigilance, and then ordered the radio operator who followed him to send a safe signal to the troops outside the town.
.
It was getting dark now, and the German officers and soldiers waiting outside the town quickly advanced towards the town after seeing the safety signal from the search force.
The German troops that entered the town included two infantry battalions and one armored battalion, as well as a company of the 5th Armored Light Infantry Battalion of the Viking Division. The person in charge of commanding these troops was a German deputy commander. He saw that it was already getting dark, and if he returned
They spent the night at the starting position for the attack, and were worried that the Soviet army would reoccupy the town overnight, so they ordered the troops to camp in the town.
After receiving the order from the deputy regiment commander, the troops entering the town immediately went into company units to find those buildings that were still relatively intact, preparing to rest inside for a night and then pursue the fleeing Soviet troops tomorrow.
At two o'clock in the morning, the deputy commander of the German army, who was sleeping soundly, was suddenly awakened by a huge explosion outside. He jumped up from the cot and asked loudly: "What's going on? Where is the artillery fire?"
As soon as he finished speaking, a cannonball landed at the door of the church and exploded. The flying rubble knocked down several soldiers at the door, and they fell to the ground screaming.
"What the hell, what's going on? Why are you firing at us?" The deputy commander heard the sound of artillery outside, and said to the operator angrily: "Operator, immediately send a telegram to Shangfeng, saying that we have been shelled.
.Attention, it is the shelling from our own people, please ask them to stop the shelling immediately, so as not to cause us huge casualties."
The deputy commander's decision was correct. If he did not report to the top in time when he was attacked by his own artillery, and asked them to stop the damn bombardment, it would not be long before the entire town of Ratsewe would turn into a sea of flames. But
To his surprise, the artillery shelling them did not come from the German rear, but from a Soviet artillery position several kilometers away from them.