Thousands of war horses ran wildly at the same time, and the sound of iron hooves trampled was like rolling thunder, and even the ground shook. The German soldiers knew that once the Soviet cavalry rushed up, the entire position would be shaken. The machine gunners no longer fired, but pulled the trigger.
As soon as it was clicked to the bottom, the 125-round bullet chain was used up in a few seconds, and the frequently replaced bullet chain began to be in short supply.
Under the intensive machine gun fire of the German army, cavalrymen continued to fall off their horses, and warhorses continued to fall over while running. While stumbling over other warhorses, the riders on the horses were also swept under the surrounding iron hooves. But even so.
, the war horses in high-speed impact are also constantly moving forward.
In other seasons, it would take less than a minute for a war horse to cover a distance of three to four hundred meters. But now is the season of ice and snow, and the thick snow seriously slows down the running speed of the war horse, thus increasing the burden on the cavalry.
of casualties.
However, even if a few machine guns caused a lot of casualties to the Soviet cavalry, they could not stop the cavalry from crashing into the position. The horses jumped over the trenches. The cavalrymen lying on the horses,
The saber stretched straight down shone with cold light, and the sharp blade instantly slashed across the chest and head of the German soldier, sending half of his body flying straight into the back wall of the trench.
Wherever the cavalry passed, hundreds of soldiers were killed in just a split second.
After breaking through the simple defensive positions of the German army, the cavalry turned back and attacked the German officers and soldiers who had already fallen into chaos.
Facing the oncoming cavalry, the German officers and soldiers who had no time to shoot hid in the trenches to avoid the cavalry's terrifying sabers and horseshoes.
But the cavalry took advantage of the German army's timidity. While the German officers and soldiers were hiding in the trenches and not shooting, they rushed to the trenches, reined in their horses, and jumped into the trenches with their sabers in hand.
The German officers and soldiers hiding in the trenches did not expect that the Soviet cavalry was so ungrateful that they went directly into the trenches with sabers to kill people. The soldiers without bayonets on their rifles fell into despair. Because they understood that any situation at the moment
The resistance is in vain.
The German troops stationed nearby learned that friendly forces had been attacked by the Soviet army, and immediately rushed over to support them, trying to work with the defenders on the position to repel the Soviet attack.
As soon as Muzichenko led his soldiers to clear out the enemies in the trenches, he received news that German reinforcements had arrived. He quickly jumped out of the trenches, came to his horse, and shouted loudly: "Everyone listen to my command and mount your horses!
"
When the cavalrymen who were still able to move sat on their horses, Muzichenko held the bloody saber and rode out. He reined up his horse and stood tall, raised his saber and pointed in the direction of the enemy, shouting energetically:
"Brothers of the Guards Cavalry Division, advance toward the enemy in front!"
The German infantrymen who came in groups never dreamed that they would meet the Soviet cavalry head-on. For the German soldiers without the cover of fortifications, facing the oncoming cavalry, all that was waiting for them was to be slaughtered.
destiny.
The German commander shouted loudly: "Cavalry, Russian cavalry, prepare to fight! Prepare to fight!!"
Seeing the cavalry getting closer and closer, the soldiers who did not receive clear instructions could only choose to fight on their own. Some soldiers stood and shot at the charging horses, while some soldiers lay on the ground and shot.
After the German soldiers fired a few shots, the cavalry had already rushed in front of them. Due to the hasty shooting, only a few bullets hit the war horses. However, after the high-speed war horses were shot, they would often throw out the cavalry on their backs when they rolled and smashed them.
He entered the ranks of German troops who were unable to dodge, and knocked many soldiers to the ground.
Although the emergence of machine guns has gradually led to the decline of cavalry, it is undeniable that in a field environment, cavalry has a great advantage over infantry without preset positions. The cavalry clings to the horse's back and stretches forward diagonally.
The saber flashed with cold light, and a shower of blood exploded across the sky. The German officers and soldiers were chopped and knocked away in extreme fear. Under the high-speed impact of the war horses, they were chopped down and trampled to pieces.
The cavalry was like a red-hot sharp knife, cutting through butter like a bloody alley from the German ranks.
If the infantry stood still and resisted, they were courting death. Can the soldiers lying on the ground escape? Obviously they couldn't. They were trampled into balls of meat by the high-speed horses.
When the cavalry led by Muzichenko passed through the German column, only one-third of the soldiers who could still stand were left. The rest were either trampled to death by horse hooves or died under the sabers of the Soviet cavalry.
.
Seeing the Soviet cavalry cutting through the formation, they turned around and rushed over again. The dead and injured German officers and soldiers completely lost their fighting spirit. They dispersed and fled to different places.
Seeing that the enemy was running away, the cavalry chased after them and killed them for a while. Seeing that the enemy had fled far away, Muzichenko ordered to stop the pursuit. When he gave such an order, he did not mean to let the enemy go, nor was he merciful, but
It is too dangerous to engage in cavalry battles in the dark. If they are ambushed by the Germans, there is a risk of the entire army being annihilated.
When his subordinates counted the results and reported to Muzychenko, he never dreamed that his first battle after his comeback would go so smoothly. The battle only lasted half an hour, and ended with his own victory.
It ended. 379 people on our side died and 137 were injured. 632 Germans were killed, 193 were captured, and a large amount of weapons and equipment were seized.
After leaving one battalion to hold on to the occupied position, Muzichenko took the remaining troops and returned to the location of the cavalry army headquarters, preparing to report the results of the battle to Selivanov.
Because it was too dark, Selivanov could not observe the progress of the battle. At this moment, seeing Muzichenko walking in covered with blood, he hurriedly stepped forward and asked with concern: "Old chief, are you injured?"
"Comrade Commander, please don't call me that." Hearing Selivanov call him that, Muzichenko quickly corrected him and said, "I am your subordinate now. Others will have bad associations when they hear it.
"
"Okay." Selivanov followed suit and immediately changed his title: "Comrade Lieutenant Colonel, are you injured?"
"No, I am covered with German blood." Muzichenko shook his head and replied: "We have successfully occupied the German position, and I came back specially to report to you."
"Oh, the position has been taken." Selivanov asked in surprise: "What was the result?"
"After statistics," Muzichenko replied: "A total of 632 enemies were killed, 193 people were captured, and a large number of weapons and ammunition were seized. However, our army sacrificed 379 people and injured 137 people..."
Selivanov did not care about the number of casualties on his side. He only needed to know how many enemies the 66th Cavalry Division had destroyed so that he could report the results to Sokov.
After Muzichenko's report was over, Selivanov answered the phone at the Army Group Headquarters.
As soon as he heard someone speaking, he said triumphantly: "Hello, I am Major General Selivanov, commander of the 5th Guards Cavalry Corps. Can General Sokov or General Smirnov answer the phone?
"
Sokov happened to be standing not far away, and he reached out and took the phone from the staff officer: "I'm Sokov, hello, General Selivanov."
"Hello, General Sokov." Selivanov said triumphantly: "I am honored to report to you some exciting news."
Although Sokov guessed that the other party would report on the performance of the 66th Cavalry Division, out of courtesy, he still asked politely: "General Selivanov, do you have any good news for me?"
"General Sokov, the situation is like this." Selivanov reported to Sokov: "In the battle that just ended, the 66th Cavalry Division commanded by Lieutenant Colonel Muzichenko successfully defeated us.
All the enemies on the front were eliminated and captured, 825 Germans were killed, and a large amount of weapons and ammunition were also seized."
"Well done, General Selivanov." After listening to the other party's report, Sokov said with a smile: "I will record the results achieved by the 66th Cavalry Division, and when this encirclement and annihilation battle is over, I will
Give them rewards based on their merits."
"Thank you, General Sokov." Selivanov said gratefully: "On behalf of all the commanders and fighters of the 66th Cavalry Division, thank you!"
After a pause, Sokov asked tentatively: "General Selivanov, I wonder when your other three cavalry divisions will arrive at their designated positions?"
The reason why he asked this was because the number of cavalry was too small now. If used for attack, it might not be enough for the Germans to fill their teeth. Therefore, he hoped that the entire cavalry army could reach the designated position so that it could play its role in the battle.
greater effect.
"It's dark and the road is difficult to walk." Selivanov explained to Sokov: "By noon today at the latest, all the troops of the Cavalry Army will be able to reach the designated position."
However, Selivanov never dreamed that the 13th Cavalry Division, which he was on the way to transfer, would actually encounter the Germans and engage in a fierce exchange of fire.
Under the cover of artillery fire, the 13th Cavalry Division easily broke through the German first line of defense, and followed the fleeing enemy towards the second line of defense.
The cavalry originally charged closely behind the extended artillery fire, but they did not expect that the German army was defeated too quickly. Some cavalrymen rushed directly into the area where the artillery fire was extended, causing a certain degree of accidental damage.
Although the German commander on the second line was confused by this tactics, he knew better that once the position was breached, it would immediately evolve into an uncontrollable collapse. The officers who reacted immediately rushed to the front.
After entering the civil firepower point, he yelled at the top of his lungs with a voice that had changed the tune due to fear, and drove the demoralized machine gunners to the machine guns, ordering them to shoot at the charging cavalry.
Just as the cavalry approached the position, intensive gunfire rang out from the German position not far away. Seven MG-42 machine guns in the trench roared, and several fire whips swept past. Under their ferocious fire resistance
, the cavalrymen who were approaching the edge of the position were hit head-on, and they suddenly fell on their backs.
For the preset positions of machine guns, the charging cavalry were massacred just like the infantry that they had ravaged. The cavalry reacted extremely quickly. Seeing that the situation was not good, they immediately turned their horses and ran. Although in the rain of bullets, they continued to
Some war horses were shot and fell down, or the cavalry on horseback were shot and fell off their horses, but they still relied on their speed that had not slowed down to escape the fire range very quickly.
The commander of the 13th Cavalry Division realized that he was unable to break through the German second line of defense with his own strength, so he ordered someone to send a telegram to Selivanov, reporting everything that happened here in detail.
"What, you were blocked by the German defense line?" After listening to the report, Selivanov asked in surprise: "Isn't there a way to get around it?"
"There is no way, Comrade Commander." The commander of the 13th Cavalry Division replied: "The enemy's position is blocking our only way. If we force a breakthrough, I'm afraid our division will pay huge casualties."
Hearing what the commander of the 13th Cavalry Division said, Selivanov couldn't help but fell into deep thought. Based on his understanding of the troops, it would not be a big problem for the 13th Cavalry Division to break through the German positions. But if they attack regardless of casualties, waiting for the enemy to break through
At the defensive line, I am afraid that the 13th Cavalry Division has lost its combat effectiveness.
Thinking of this, he said into the phone: "Comrade Commander, I want to think about this matter. After I think about it, I will call you."
After putting down the phone, he called the chief of staff in front of him, explained the difficulties faced by the 13th Cavalry Division, and finally asked: "Comrade Chief of Staff, tell me, what can we do to cover the 13th Cavalry Division?"
Break through the German obstruction and come over to join us?"
"Comrade Commander, this is not easy to handle." After hearing this, the Army Chief of Staff said in embarrassment: "The key is that when the troops were marching, in order to prevent the target from being exposed, they all adopted radio silence, so it is temporarily impossible to know their location.
Specific situation." What he meant was that if he knew the location of these troops, he would know which troops to send for reinforcements.
The situation on the battlefield was changing rapidly. Selivanov knew very well that if it was delayed until dawn, the 13th Cavalry Division would probably pay a heavier price if it wanted to break through the enemy's defenses. Therefore, he planned to call Sokov to see him.
Is it capable of relieving the 13th Cavalry Division?
When Sokov learned that the 13th Cavalry Division was blocked by the Germans, he couldn't help but be anxious. He quickly ordered Smirnov: "Comrade Chief of Staff, immediately contact the troops below and see which troops are closest to there, then order them to go there."
reinforce."
After making some inquiries, Smirnov reported to Sokov: "Comrade Commander, I have already asked. The closest one to there is the 219th Tank Brigade, and the brigade commander is Colonel Timofevich."
When Sokov heard Timofevich's name, he couldn't help showing a curious look on his face: "Comrade Chief of Staff, is he Colonel Timofevich who belongs to the 1st Mechanized Army?"
"Yes, it's him." After Smirnov replied in the affirmative, he suddenly thought of a question and asked quickly: "Comrade Commander, do you know him?"
"Yes, of course I know him." Sokov explained to Smirnov with some pride: "Don't forget, after capturing Kremenchug, the superiors assigned the 1st Mechanized Army to us.
Commander, I know the cadres at regiment level and above in this army, so it’s not surprising.”
"Comrade Chief of Staff, time is running out now. You should immediately contact Colonel Timofevich and order him to lead his troops to rescue the 13th Cavalry Division. We must break through the German defenses in the shortest possible time and cover the 13th Cavalry Division towards us.
Get closer here.”
"No problem." Smirnov said confidently: "I believe that as long as the 219th Tank Brigade takes action, it will be able to break through the German defenses and rush over to join the 13th Cavalry Division."