Responsible for protecting the security of the group army headquarters are the 140th and 142nd Guards Infantry Regiments and the 99th Guards Artillery Regiment. After Chuikov learned about the guard troops deployed near the headquarters, he smiled and said to Belyavsky: "
Comrade Chief of Staff, General Glazunov is so interesting, he is using Colonel Shugayev’s 47th Guards Division to protect us.”
However, Belyavsky was obviously not as optimistic as he was: "Comrade Commander, although two infantry regiments and one artillery regiment sound like a lot in name, don't forget that this division independently fought against the Germans on the landing site two days ago.
Attack, the casualties of the troops are not small."
When Chuikov heard this, it seemed that this was indeed the case. The 47th Guards Division independently resisted the attacks of the four German divisions. Although it crushed the enemy's attacks time and time again, the price paid was nearly half of the casualties.
The troops are nominally two infantry regiments and one artillery regiment. In fact, the number of troops that can be mobilized should not exceed one regiment.
But then I thought about it. My location should not be the focus of the enemy's attack in the coming days. Deploying the remnants of the 47th Guards Division here to guard them was actually a disguised form of allowing them to rest and recuperate.
Although Chuikov acted indifferently, Belyavsky did not dare to take it lightly. He specifically called the commander of the tank brigade on the left bank and asked him to send a tank battalion to strengthen the defense of the headquarters.
Regarding Belyavsky's arrangement, Chuikov just smiled lightly and said nothing. In fact, he acquiesced in the other party's arrangement.
Early the next morning, the headquarters phone rang suddenly.
Belyavsky picked up the phone, and the voice of the commander of the 140th Guards Regiment came from the receiver: "Comrade Chief of Staff, the situation is not good. A large number of German tanks are rushing towards the location of our regiment.
"
After hearing the regimental commander's report, Belyavsky was thinking in his mind: "We should hold our position, blow up the enemy's tanks, destroy the enemy's infantry, and prevent them from getting close to our defense line."
He took a deep breath and tried his best to tell the other party in a calm tone: "Comrade Colonel, don't rush to attack the German tanks. Let them drive into the minefield. They will definitely be blown up by the mines we laid. If they get through by chance,
If you find a minefield, use anti-tank guns to entertain them and use direct fire to destroy them. As for the infantry following the tanks, use heavy machine guns to strafe them. Do you understand?"
As soon as he finished speaking, he heard the rumble of gunfire from the receiver. He couldn't help but asked in surprise: "Comrade Colonel, what's wrong with you?"
"The German tanks fired at us." The Guards Commander replied: "The shells landed next to my headquarters and exploded."
"This is a normal phenomenon." Belyavsky said calmly: "Before every attack, the Germans like to launch aimless shelling towards our positions. But you have to use the German tanks to
Keep an eye on them and don't let them break through your defense line. You must know that behind you is the Army Group Headquarters."
After Belyavsky put down the phone, he reported the intelligence of the 140th Guards Regiment to Chuikov. After hearing this, Chuikov leaned over and looked at the map, then raised his head and said to Belyavsky: "Comrade Chief of Staff,
You immediately call the 142nd Guards Regiment and tell them that enemy tanks and infantry have launched a charge towards the friendly defense area on his right flank, and ask him to prepare artillery and light and heavy machine guns to support the friendly forces with flank fire."
"Okay, Comrade Commander." Beleyavsky said: "I will contact the 142nd Guards Regiment immediately."
There were 19 German tanks rushing towards the defense line of the 140th Guards Regiment, followed by about a battalion of infantry. After the tanks arrived at the minefield, three unlucky tanks immediately ran over the anti-tank mines laid by the Soviet army.
There was an explosion, and the wheels with broken tracks were idling in place. However, the remaining tanks successfully passed through the minefield and continued to rush towards the position of the 140th Guards Regiment.
There was an anti-tank gun deployed in the trench of the forward position. When the gunner, Sergeant Zarov, waited for the German tank to approach a distance of 300 meters, he decisively waved his hand downwards and at the same time roared: "Fire!"
As the order was given, the gunner decisively pulled the gun rope. The outgoing shell hit a tank rushing at the front, and a ball of fire suddenly appeared. Soon, the tank that was hit was covered in flames and
Wrapped in black smoke, it stood there and burned.
Seeing the first result, Zharov couldn't help but be overjoyed. He quickly called to the loader to reload, and within a very short period of time, he fired again at the approaching German tanks. This time, his luck was a bit worse, and the shells grazed a tank.
The tank's shells flew past, landed in the open space behind and exploded, sending a column of black mud into the sky.
Although he failed to hit the German tank, Zharov was not discouraged and ordered reloading and firing again. This time the shot was much more accurate than last time, directly hitting the turret of the German tank and once again turning it into a burning battlefield.
of torch.
"Well done!" Seeing that the anti-tank guns under his command destroyed two German tanks one after another, Zarov waved his fist excitedly and then shouted: "Load and shoot!"
After completing the loading, the soldiers of the artillery crew fired quickly and successfully hit the third tank. Unfortunately, the location of the artillery crew was also exposed. Several driving German tanks stopped and pointed their muzzles at the tank.
Pinpoint the location of the gun crew.
Facing the muzzles of the German tanks, the members of the artillery crew did not choose to retreat. Instead, they continued to load artillery shells and fired at the approaching German tanks. After they destroyed two German tanks again, a shell fell on the anti-tank
There was an explosion next to the gun. When the smoke cleared, the aimer, loader and gunner all fell in a mess around the destroyed anti-tank gun.
Facing the advancing German tanks, in addition to Zarov's anti-tank gun crew, there were also many anti-tank men using anti-tank rifles. They used anti-tank guns to shoot at the German tanks in the trenches.
Seeing the soldiers around him becoming panicked as the German tanks approached, Zuev, the anti-tank rifleman holding an anti-tank rifle, shouted to his comrades around him: "Brothers, it's nothing special! Although the enemy tanks are powerful,
, but we are better than it!”
There were eight German tanks approaching the position at this moment, followed by a large number of infantry. The Guardsmen on the position were not in a hurry to fire, but wanted to wait for the enemy to get closer so that they could eliminate the enemy more accurately.
When the tank was less than a hundred meters away from the trench, the anti-tank guns, machine guns, submachine guns, and rifles on the position fired at the same time, unleashing fierce firepower on the enemy.
After carefully aiming at a moving tank, Zuyev decisively pulled the trigger. The armor-piercing bullet penetrated the cover of the lookout port, killing the driver inside and causing the tank to stop moving forward. When Zuyev saw this,
He seizes the time and fires a second round, until this time it hits the fuel tank, causing the tank to burst into flames.
The tank crew, covered in fire, got out of the hatch and stumbled towards the back. But how could the infantry on the position let them escape so easily, so two machine guns started shooting at them, and soon
Just beat them all to death.
While the infantry was destroying the escaping tank crews, Zuyev used the same clever tactics to destroy the second German tank. He did not bother to check the results and pointed his gun at the third German tank.
But the tank was traveling very fast. As soon as he opened the tank, the tank rushed in front of him. Zuyev hurriedly took the gun off the parapet and lay down at the bottom of the trench.
As soon as the German tank rolled over the trench, he jumped up and fired a shot at the back of the tank, but it missed the mailbox. He quickly loaded another armor-piercing bullet, aimed at the tank's fuel tank and fired. This
This time he was lucky enough to burst the fuel tank with one shot, causing the German tank to burst into flames.
Seeing Zuyev kill three German tanks in a row, the surrounding infantrymen suddenly became more morale. They picked up their weapons and shot at the charging enemies. After a few minutes, the attacking enemies retreated.
Next to several of the tanks, the bodies of hundreds of officers and soldiers were left.
After the failure of the offensive in the defense zone of the 140th Guards Regiment, the German army withdrew to its starting position to rest.
Just two hours later, the German army bombarded the front lines of the 140th and 142nd Guards Regiments with fierce artillery fire, preparing to clear the minefields laid by the Guards Division and open up a path for the tanks to attack.
After the bombardment ended, the German tanks and infantry launched another attack. However, their main attack direction this time was no longer the defense area of the 140th Regiment, but turned to the position of the 142nd Regiment.
Belyavsky received a call from the commander of the 142nd Regiment: "Comrade Chief of Staff, the enemy has launched an attack on our regiment's position."
"Don't panic, comrade commander." Beleyavsky said into the microphone: "Put the German tanks into the minefield, and then aim and shoot directly with the anti-tank gun. Don't panic, you are not fighting alone, we are
I will find a way to support you."
After putting down the phone, Belyavsky reported to Chuikov: "Comrade Commander, the enemy has launched another attack on the position of the 142nd Guards Regiment. What do you think we should do to help them?"
Chuikov thought for a while, and then told Belyavsky: "Comrade Chief of Staff, don't we still have artillery deployed on the right bank of the Vistula River? Just order those artillery to block and fire at the attacking enemy. Don't let them."
They are close to our army's position."
But after hearing this, Belyavsky shook his head and said: "Comrade Commander, due to the cover of the woods, our artillery deployed on the right bank cannot carry out blocking fire at the attacking enemy."
"Has the tank battalion of the tank brigade arrived?" Chuikov remembered that during the battle to defend Stalingrad, his situation was precarious. He found a few tanks and asked the infantry to follow these tanks to counterattack the attacking enemy.
He held his position.
"I have already called and asked." Belyavsky replied: "The tank is still on the way and it will take half an hour at the earliest to arrive."
"Before the tanks arrive, let the 140th Regiment support the 142nd Regiment, and we must not let the enemy break through our defense line." Chuikov was worried that Belyavsky would not realize the seriousness of the problem, and specifically emphasized: "You must know
"Our headquarters is only five hundred meters away from the front. Once the position is breached, the headquarters will be directly exposed to the enemy and will be forced to move."
When Belyavsky called the commander of the 140th Regiment, the commander also said anxiously: "Comrade Chief of Staff, the line of defense now attacked by the Germans is not only the 142nd Regiment, but also ours.
We are also under attack from the enemy, and tanks and infantry are rushing towards our positions."
Perhaps hearing the dissatisfaction in Belyavsky's tone, the regiment leader quickly added: "Okay, Comrade Chief of Staff, I will try my best to support the 142nd Regiment on the left."
Belyavsky once again contacted the regiment headquarters of the 142nd Regiment and asked straight to the point: "Comrade commander, how is the situation there? Where are the German tanks?"
"Report to Comrade Chief of Staff," the head of the 142nd Regiment reported loudly: "They are passing through the minefield. After the shelling just now, there are very few unexploded mines in the minefield. Our minefield cannot stop them at all. Very
It's possible that they will rush up right away."
As soon as the regiment leader said this, a soldier ran in from outside and reported to him: "Comrade regiment leader, I was sent by the Second Company to report the situation."
The second company is the most forward-deployed unit in the regiment. When the regiment leader heard what the soldier said, he couldn't help but feel a little bit in his heart, and then asked: "How is the situation there?"
"Comrade commander," the soldier replied breathlessly, "the Germans have rushed into the trenches, and the company commander is leading the soldiers to fight with the enemy with bayonets. He sent me here specifically to ask for help."
"Hold, you must hold!" the regiment leader said to the soldiers: "Go back and tell your company commander that you must hold on resolutely. I will send troops to reinforce you immediately. Do you understand?"
The soldiers left with the reinforcements assigned to them by the regiment commander. When they rushed back to their positions, the battle between the two sides just entered a stalemate. When it came to fighting bayonets, the German army, who was keen on outputting firepower, was naturally no match for the Soviet commanders and fighters, but
Their numbers were superior, so no matter how skilled the Soviet commanders were in stabbing, they would not be able to gain the upper hand in a short period of time. Fortunately, the reinforcements arrived in time, and after a melee, they successfully drove away the German troops who entered the trenches.
go out.
Although the German infantry was repulsed, the German tanks were getting closer and closer to the trenches. Second company commander Bulba quickly ordered the anti-tank crews in the trenches to use anti-tank rifles to destroy the rushing German tanks.
However, there were too many German tanks, and the anti-tank fighters were overwhelmed. Seeing this, Bulba quickly picked up a bundle of cluster grenades, rushed towards the German tanks, pulled the fuse, threw them directly, and then pounced
Entered a nearby crater.
After a loud bang, the German tank was destroyed and burned on the spot. The tank crew in the tank was either stunned by the explosion or killed, and could not escape from the tank at all.
As soon as Bulba finished blowing up the tank, he found another heavy tank rushing towards him. Seeing that the situation was not good, Bulba quickly jumped into the crater next to him, picked up a bundle of cluster grenades from the bodies of his comrades inside, and fired again
Rushed towards the German tanks.
But he was unlucky this time. When he was still more than 20 steps away from the tank, he was hit by the tank's on-board machine gun and fell on his back into the crater. But Bulba did not sacrifice, but gritted his teeth and stepped forward.
He crawled towards the German tank. When the German tank passed over him, he fired the cluster grenade without hesitation and died together with the tank.