After the installation of more than a dozen mortars, there was no even test firing. Based on the data reported by the artillery observers, they fired directly at several German machine gun fire points in front of the position.
The shells flew over the trenches and roared towards the German machine gun positions. In the explosion, two machine gun positions were directly hit. The parts of the machine guns and the broken limbs of the soldiers were lifted high into the sky by the air waves.
After the two rounds of shelling, the German machine guns that were still raging suddenly became mute. The commanders and soldiers who were suppressed by the machine gun fire and unable to move in the trenches straightened up, picked up their weapons, and opened fire at the German officers and soldiers who were approaching the position.
, and threw a few grenades from time to time.
The German officers and soldiers who rushed in front fell one after another in the dense rain of bullets and gunpowder smoke. The remaining ones quickly found favorable terrain, hid and started shooting at the defenders on the position.
For a while, the battle fell into a stalemate.
After learning that the German army had launched an attack on Highland 239, Sokov carefully asked Smirnov several key questions to gain a detailed understanding of the defense situation on both flanks of the high ground, so as to avoid the possibility that the German army would not attack the high ground smoothly and change the situation.
The roundabout tactics from both wings made the 116th Division, which was holding on to the high ground, miserable.
The phone on the desk rang again. It was Stilitz, the commander of the 116th Division, calling: "Comrade Commander, this is Stilitz. I have arrived at the temporary headquarters behind the 239th Hill."
After listening, Sokov asked softly: "Comrade Colonel, Hill 239 is the key for the German army to break out of the encirclement. They will definitely launch attacks without interruption. Do you think you can withstand the German attacks with one division?"
You know, there are tens of thousands of enemies in the encirclement. In order to escape the fate of being annihilated by our army, they will definitely attack you at all costs."
"Comrade Commander, please rest assured." Stilitz said confidently: "Although the combat effectiveness of our division may not be as good as that of the Germans, it now occupies a favorable terrain and blocks the attack from a high position. At the same time, it can also
With the artillery support from the front army and group army, it would be difficult for the Germans to break through our division's defense zone even if they suffered huge casualties."
Sokov nodded with pleasure and said: "Comrade Colonel, it's good that you have such confidence. Now I have deployed four divisions of troops near Hill 239. Even if the encircling German army and the breaking out German army move at the same time, we can still crush them."
Their attempt to reunite.
Of course, you must also be mentally prepared. After all, you are facing tens of thousands of enemies. Even if your division completes the blocking mission, I am afraid the casualties will be very heavy."
Stilitz said with great enthusiasm: "As long as we can block the enemy, even if our division is exhausted, it will still be worth it."
"Keep fighting, Comrade Colonel." Sokov said into the microphone: "After you repel this wave of German attacks, seize the time to repair the fortifications. A more brutal battle is still to come."
After Smirnov waited for Sokov to end the call, he said: "Comrade Commander, once the German army finds that they cannot seize Hill 239, they may find a way to detour from both wings of the high ground. If we are facing only ordinary German troops,
There shouldn't be much of a problem in blocking them, but if it's a Viking division attacking this area, I'm worried that the defense line is in danger of being breached."
"Comrade Chief of Staff, what you said makes sense. Once the Viking divisions make a detour to the two wings of the highlands, it will be difficult for our troops to stop them." Sokov agreed with Smirnov's statement:
"At that time, we need to ask General Rotmistrov for help and ask him to send tank troops to attack from the side and rear of the Viking Division to relieve the pressure on our defenders."
"The 5th Guards Tank Army is equipped with T-34 tanks. To deal with the Viking Division's Panther Tiger tanks, I'm afraid it will cost a lot."
Faced with Smirnov's hesitation, Sokov said sternly: "Comrade Chief of Staff, in order to defeat the enemy, no matter how high the price is, I think it is completely worth it."
The defenders on the high ground finally repelled the German attack. Seeing the Germans starting to retreat, the commander of the first battalion shouted: "Comrades, charge!" Then he jumped out of the trench with a submachine gun and chased fiercely behind the Germans.
shooting.
Seeing that the battalion commander was taking the lead, the officers and soldiers were not to be outdone. They jumped out of the trenches one after another, holding weapons and shouting slogans and rushing forward. After rushing for nearly two hundred meters, they stopped advancing, quickly collected the weapons and ammunition left by the Germans, and supported them.
He returned to his position with his wounded comrades.
As soon as he returned to the position, he received a call from the regimental commander: "I said first battalion commander, who ordered you to attack?"
"Comrade Commander," the commander of the first battalion who had just won the battle and captured the battle explained with some pride: "I saw that the Germans were repelled, so I led the troops to attack."
"Nonsense, it's just nonsense." Unexpectedly, as soon as he finished speaking, he was scolded by the regiment leader: "Have you ever thought about it, if you are bombarded by German artillery fire during an attack, you will definitely suffer a lot.
casualties. If the loss of troops is too large, will your battalion be able to hold its position in the coming battle?"
"I'm sorry, comrade commander." After hearing what the commander said, the first battalion commander immediately realized that what he had just done was inappropriate and quickly admitted his mistake to the commander: "I was wrong. In the next battle, I will stay
In the trenches, we no longer lead troops to attack casually."
Regarding the answer of the first battalion commander, the regiment commander nodded with satisfaction and reminded the other party: "The division commander just told me that our division may have to face repeated attacks by tens of thousands of German troops, so we must know how to conserve our strength and avoid unnecessary sacrifices.
.Understand?"
"clear."
"Just understand." The regiment leader said reasonably: "If you have any difficulties, just call me. If you feel that you can't hold on, I can send the Second Battalion to reinforce you."
The first battalion commander was naturally unwilling to let other commanders take away his credit, and said quickly: "No need, comrade commander, I think with the strength of our battalion, we can completely hold the position."
Just after making the call, the third company commander ran in and reported: "Comrade Battalion Commander, the Germans are coming up again."
The first battalion commander rushed out of the command post and looked down. Sure enough, he saw the German troops who had retreated not long ago rushing up again in darkness. He shouted at the top of his lungs: "Brothers, get ready for battle.
When the Germans come into range, shoot immediately and never let them get close to our position."
The reason why the German army launched another attack on Hill 239 in such a short period of time was because the Viking division itself had a very strong combat effectiveness. Secondly, William Stemmermann felt that he could not give the Soviet army a breathing space and could only
Taking turns to attack, the Soviet army did not have time to reinforce their fortifications, and they had the opportunity to break through the high ground.
Although the tanks and assault guns parked in the distance kept bombarding the position on the top of the mountain, due to the angle, it was difficult for the artillery shells to directly hit the fortifications. On the contrary, the machine gun positions established by the German army a few hundred meters away from the position were very effective against the positions on the high ground.
The threat from the Soviet army was actually greater.
Still the same as the first wave of attacks, the Germans established several machine gun positions two to three hundred meters away from the Soviet positions and fired wildly at the positions, causing dust to fly in front of the soldiers.
However, this attack was quickly repelled by the Soviet army.
The 9th Panzer Grenadier Regiment suffered more than 700 casualties in two rounds of attacks, including nearly 500 killed. The battalion that stood on the high ground also paid a heavy price, sacrificing more than 200 people and injuring one.
There were more than 180 people, and more than half of the entire battalion suffered casualties.
Although the commander of the first battalion did not report his situation to the regiment commander, the regiment commander still understood the approximate casualties of the first battalion based on his observations, so he said to the commander of the first battalion: "Commander of the first battalion, more than half of your battalion has suffered casualties.
, the combat effectiveness of the troops will definitely be greatly reduced. I will now order the Second Battalion to take over your defense. You can make preparations in advance."
When he learned that the regiment commander planned to replace him with the second battalion, the first battalion commander couldn't help but be a little anxious: "Comrade regiment commander, our battalion still has nearly 300 fighting personnel. We can definitely continue to fight the Germans."
"Major, I'm giving you an order, not asking for your opinion." The regiment leader said in a tone that left no doubt: "Obey the order, I will order the second battalion to take over your battalion's defense. Just be honest."
If you really want to withdraw with your troops, you must not do anything stupid, otherwise I will never spare you."
Seeing that the regimental commander had given him an ultimatum, the first battalion commander was also mute and couldn't express his pain, so he could only bite the bullet and agreed: "I understand, comrade commander."
But before putting down the phone, a new idea came to the head of the first battalion commander, and he quickly shouted: "Comrade commander, don't hang up the phone yet."
The regiment leader asked coldly: "What's the matter? I'm warning you, once my order is given, it will never be changed."
"Don't worry, Comrade Commander, I'm not asking you to change your order, but I have something else to ask you for."
"What's the matter? Tell me."
"It's like this. This is the first time for the second battalion to come to the main position of Highland 239. We don't know much about the situation on the ground." The first battalion commander said with a playful smile: "So I plan to keep a few people down and introduce the situation on the position to the second battalion commander.
Condition."
The commander of the regiment felt that the statement of the first battalion commander was very reasonable. When a troop arrives in a strange place, it must be familiar with the surrounding terrain. Only in this way can it know what it is like when fighting, so he told the other party:
: "Commander of the first battalion, remember to leave a few more people who are familiar with the terrain to assist the second battalion in the battle."
The Second Battalion stationed in the Tibetan Soldier Cave on the reverse slope immediately burst into cheers after receiving the order from the regiment commander. Everyone knew that if they wanted to make achievements, holding on to Highland 239 was the best opportunity, so when they heard
Everyone suddenly felt happy and excited that their troops were going to the high ground.
Shortly after the Second Battalion arrived on the high ground to take over the defense of the First Battalion, the Germans launched a third attack. However, to the Second Battalion, which was already on the ground and ready to defend itself, these Germans were just here to kill people.
At two o'clock in the afternoon, when the sixth German attack was repulsed by the Second Battalion, they did not immediately launch a new attack. At this time, the artillery mobilized by William Stemmermann from the rear had already reached the designated position.
, and seize the opportunity to build artillery positions.
As soon as the artillery position was constructed, more than 40 artillery pieces of different calibers simultaneously dropped dense artillery shells on Highland 239. For a moment, smoke billowed from the position, dazzling fireballs flashed everywhere, and violent explosions could be heard. And the second
When the battalion commanders and fighters saw the first artillery shell falling on the position and exploding, the second battalion commander realized that something was wrong, so he left a few people to see the Germans' movements, while he hid with many soldiers and wounded.
A bombproof hole has already been dug.
As soon as half an hour of high-density shelling ended, the German army, which had failed in six consecutive attacks, once again swooped towards Hill 239. The defenders on the position picked up their weapons and started shooting at the swarming enemies. For a moment, the guns
The sound was loud and the sound of explosions was endless.
Sokov, who was staying at the headquarters, after reading the latest battle report, personally called Stilitz: "Comrade Colonel, the enemy is launching a fierce attack on Hill 239. Do you think we need artillery support?"
The 12 Bofors field guns deployed on the highlands were basically lost. Now the only ones that can be used on the highlands are mortars. However, despite this, after listening to Sokov's words, Stilitz still rejected him.
Proposal: "Thank you, Comrade Commander, I think my troops can continue to hold on and do not need artillery support. I will call you if necessary."
Since the other party did not need artillery support, Sokov did not force it and said into the microphone: "Okay, comrade colonel, if you feel that your troops cannot hold on, remember to call me and I will order the artillery to provide you with the necessary support."
artillery support."
Seeing Sokov put down the phone, Smirnov asked in confusion: "Comrade Commander, I don't understand. The situation on Highland 239 is obviously critical, but Colonel Stilitz refuses to ask for our artillery support."
?”
Sokov thought for a while and then replied: "I think Colonel Stilitz may be right. If we shell too early, we will expose the strength of our army, and the Germans will choose to detour from both wings in advance."
tactics. But now the defenders on the high ground are deliberately showing weakness to the enemy, making the enemy think that the defenders on the position do not have any heavy weapons. Once the Germans have this idea, they are likely to firm up their intention to seize Highland 239.
We are confident that when the time comes we will be able to rely on the terrain to inflict heavy damage on the Germans."
"Although that is the case, in order to open up escape channels, the Germans will act more and more crazily in the next battle. By that time, the casualties of our army will probably increase exponentially."
After listening to Smirnov's words, Sokov nodded and said affirmatively: "Comrade Chief of Staff, you are right. Seeing that the enemy's firepower on the high ground is not strong, he will definitely have some unrealistic illusions and take any necessary measures."
An action to seize Highland 239 at all costs and open up a way of escape."
"For the sake of safety, I think the artillery should be prepared." Smirnov continued according to his own thinking: "Once the situation on Highland 239 deteriorates, artillery fire will be needed to suppress the German attack."
Sokov nodded again, then picked up the phone, asked the communications soldier to help him connect Tsarev's phone, and asked straight to the point: "Comrade Artillery Commander, the enemy's artillery shelled Highland 239 not long ago.
Can you locate the German artillery positions?"
"OK."
Hearing that it was possible, Sokov ordered him: "Quickly figure out the location of the German artillery position, and use intensive artillery fire to kill it before they fire next time. Do you understand?"
"I completely understand, Comrade Commander." Tsarev said in a positive tone: "I will find out where the German artillery positions are as soon as possible."