The tanks loaded with infantry stayed at the first line of defense for more than ten minutes and then continued to drive towards the German second line of defense. Sokov kept using his binoculars to observe the advancing tanks, and as the tanks got closer to the enemy
The position was getting closer and closer, and he felt his heart beating hard and his body trembling involuntarily as if he couldn't bear the cold.
Ivanov, who was standing aside, noticed something unusual about Sokov and quickly touched him with his arm, asking with concern: "Comrade Commander, why are you shivering? Are you a little too cold?"
"No, Comrade Deputy Division Commander." Sokov shook his head and said with a wry smile: "I saw that our troops were about to rush into the enemy's position, so I was a little too nervous."
"Colonel Sokov." Golikov turned his head and smiled at Sokov, and said on his own: "Don't worry, judging from the current situation, our troops may be able to occupy the enemy's position within a few minutes.
"
Seeing that the tank had passed half the distance, there was no movement on the second line of defense that was being shelled in the distance. It seemed that all the German soldiers were suppressed by the artillery fire in the shelter or anti-gun holes. Seeing this situation,
Even Sidorin, who has always been steady, let out a long sigh and echoed Golikov: "Comrade Deputy Commander of the Front Army is right, the Germans have been suppressed by our artillery fire and cannot move. I believe our soldiers can easily
Capture the second line of defense."
However, just when everyone thought that the counterattack force could easily seize the German second line of defense, something unexpected happened. When he was still more than two hundred meters away from the German position, Sokov suddenly saw several
The soldier rolled off the moving tank and was quickly caught in the tracks of the tank behind him.
"What the hell, what's going on?" Not only Sokov saw this, but also Golikov, who exclaimed in surprise: "Why did those soldiers roll off the tank?"
When Ivanov heard what Golikov said, he put down his binoculars and said hesitantly: "Comrade, deputy commander of the front army, maybe the tank was too bumpy when driving and knocked those soldiers down."
"This is impossible!" Golikov said loudly: "Although there are craters on the path of the tank, I see that the driver is very careful to go around these places. It is impossible for the soldiers to be knocked down. It must be
Other reasons. Maybe he was hit by flying shrapnel and rolled off the tank."
"Comrade Deputy Commander of the Front Army, this is impossible." Ivanov immediately refuted Golikov's statement: "Our tanks are at least two hundred meters away from the shelling area, and shrapnel will fly.
No matter how far we go, we can't fly two hundred meters away. There must be other reasons."
When Golikov and Ivanov were discussing why some soldiers rolled off the tank, several more soldiers rolled off. Sokov, who had been observing the battlefield situation, discovered that there was a traffic trench next to the route of the tank.
A few steel helmets popped up, and then disappeared again.
Seeing the fleeting helmets, Sokov immediately understood the reason why the soldiers fell off the tank. He quickly put down his telescope, pointed forward and said to Golikov and Ivanov: "Hurry up!
Look, there seem to be Germans in the traffic trench next to the tank's route."
"What, the Germans in the traffic trenches?" Golikov quickly raised his telescope and looked at the battlefield again, saying: "Isn't this possible? The enemies were suppressed in the trenches by our artillery fire, how could they hide in the traffic trenches?
Are you going to open fire on our troops?"
As soon as he finished speaking, he saw with his own eyes a German soldier stood up from the traffic trench and threw a grenade at the moving tank. Before the grenade exploded, the soldier retracted back into the traffic trench. He threw the grenade.
The grenade landed on the back of a tank and exploded, knocking two unlucky soldiers off the tank with shrapnel.
"Yes, Colonel Sokov is right." After seeing the truth of the matter with his own eyes, Golikov immediately took back what he just said: "There are really German soldiers hiding in the traffic trenches to sneak attack our offensive troops."
Although Golikov had already said this, Ivanov still found it difficult to accept it. He asked in confusion: "What the hell, why are the Germans hiding in the traffic trench?"
"It's very simple." Sokov said through gritted teeth: "The Germans must have discovered that our army had successfully occupied the first line of defense while taking advantage of the shelling. In order to regain the lost positions from our army,
They braved our army's artillery fire, entered the communication trench, and tried to infiltrate the position we occupied."
"Chief of Staff," Sokov turned and said loudly to Sidorin who was standing by the phone: "Immediately call several regiment commanders and say that the enemy is trying to retake the positions occupied by our troops through the communication trenches.
Order them to immediately dispatch troops to clear out the enemies who have entered the communication trenches."
"Comrade division commander," Sidorin asked tentatively after hearing Sokov's order: "Do I need to notify the tank brigade to stop and clear the enemy before moving forward?"
"No." Sokov shook his head and said with a wry smile: "Except for the command vehicles, the two tank battalions that were just assigned to us probably don't have radios on the other vehicles. Even if there are orders, they won't be able to convey them. Let's let it go.
them"
Just when Sidorin picked up the phone and was about to give orders to the three infantry regiments, Sokov suddenly remembered that the tank battalion commanded by Bely was a modified tank. There should be no problem with communication, and there were several more.
A self-propelled artillery can support the friendly forces on the left with artillery fire. He added: "Chief of Staff, call Colonel Bely and ask his battalion to use artillery to support the troops on the left and cover them in occupying the enemy's position."
When the tanks carrying infantry were about to approach the German second line of defense, the left bank artillery stopped shelling. The German officers and soldiers hiding in shelters and anti-gun holes did not wait for the smoke to clear before dragging anti-tank guns and machine guns in.
position, and fired fiercely at the approaching counterattack force.
The German artillery had a high level of technical and tactical skills. They did not panic at all when faced with Soviet tanks dozens of meters away. After setting up their anti-tank guns, they fired without hesitation. One after another, the advancing tanks were approaching the Germans at a distance of
The position was destroyed tens of meters or even ten meters away, and burned where it stood.
Some of the infantrymen carried on the vehicle saw that the situation was not good and jumped out of the vehicle in time and hid in a nearby bomb crater. The soldiers who were slow to react turned into burning men after the tank was destroyed and rolled down from the tank.
They screamed, jumped and jumped, sometimes fell down, sometimes stood up, scurrying around like headless flies, until they were hit by the enemy's machine gun, and then fell to the ground and stopped moving.