Red Moscow

  Chapter 1532 Landing field defense battle (5)

   Knowing that the lost No. 1 position had been recaptured, Sokov felt more at ease. While Solomatin was arranging his troops, he secretly pondered in his heart that the special company of the 254th Division was indispensable for being able to regain the position so quickly this time. However, the troops originally used for special operations were regarded as ordinary troops to participate in the attack, which was a bit too wasteful.

After Solomatin finished deploying his troops, Sokov stood up and said to him, "Comrade General, it's almost dawn, and I'm going back to Kremenchug as soon as possible. If you have anything urgent, you can call the nearest The division headquarters of the 98th Wei Division came to me, and my temporary headquarters is set up there."

  But after hearing this, Solomatin said with great concern: "Comrade Commander, setting up the temporary headquarters in a division headquarters will have adverse effects on each other."

"No way, Comrade General." Sokov replied with a wry smile: "My chief of staff and members of the headquarters are still hundreds of kilometers away from the Meriefa Fortress. to here."

"Comrade Commander, since the number of troops assembled in the Kremenchug area is already quite large," Solomatin suggested to Sokov, "Why don't you let the headquarters rush over first, which will also benefit you." Command the next battle?"

"Comrade General, what you said makes sense." Regarding Solomatin's proposal, Sokov nodded thoughtfully, and said, "When I return to the temporary headquarters, I will send a telegram to the chief of staff and ask him to Come over with the members of the headquarters and establish a new forward headquarters in Klemenchug."

  Under the protection of Samoilov, Sokov returned to the temporary headquarters in the church in the center of Kremenchug.

Seeing Sokov's return, Chuvashov, the commander of the 98th Guards Division, breathed a sigh of relief, and said to Sokov, "Comrade Commander, you are finally back. You didn't come back all night, I was so worried. "

  Before Sokov went to the mechanized army, he had greeted Chuvashov. Once Sameko had any urgent telegram, he would immediately call himself. I stayed at the headquarters of the Mechanized Army overnight, but did not receive any calls, which proved that Sameko had not sent a telegram to himself, but he still asked habitually: "Has there been a telegram from the Army Command?"

   "No, Comrade Commander." Chuvashov quickly replied, "There hasn't been a single telegram since you left."

"Comrade Colonel," Sokov felt that what Solomatin said made sense. Since there are already a lot of troops stationed in Kremenchug at this moment, it is absolutely possible to move the headquarters here in advance, so he ordered Chuvashov: " Immediately in my name, send a telegram to Chief of Staff Sameko ordering him to move the headquarters here as soon as possible."

   After Chuvashov ordered the radio operator to send the report, he tentatively asked Sokov: "Comrade Commander, you asked the Army Group Command to come over as soon as possible. Are you going to fight a big battle?"

   "That's right," Sokov nodded, and replied, "Analyzing from all the signs, the enemy will definitely launch a large-scale attack on the landing site. The headquarters moved here in advance so that I can command the troops."

   Chuvashov had no doubts about Sokov's statement. Although the weather here in Klemenchug is calm, it does not mean that there is no movement at the landing site on the right bank. He tentatively asked: "Comrade commander, is there any movement in the direction of the landing field?"

"A few hours ago, a small German army disguised itself as our army and seized the No. 1 outpost that belonged to the 254th Division." Sokov told Chuvashov and others what happened not long ago. , and finally said: "Since the German army can use up to two hundred troops for reconnaissance, it means that the enemy will have a big offensive next."

  As soon as Sokov finished speaking, a communications staff officer hurried over and reported to Chuvashov: "Comrade Commander, it was sent by the 1st Mechanized Army. Please pass it on to Comrade Commander."

   "Give me the telegram." Sokov said to the communications staff officer.

  The communications staff did not dare to neglect, and hastily passed the telegram in his hand to Sokov.

After quickly browsing the above content, Sokov gave a smirk and said to Chuvashov: "Comrade Colonel, it seems that my prediction has been fulfilled. The enemy dispatched an infantry battalion to attack mechanized troops under the cover of artillery fire. The No. 1 outpost held by the 21st Brigade launched a fierce attack."

   After hearing this, Chuvashov couldn't help taking a breath, and then asked Sokov nervously: "Comrade Commander, can they hold their positions?"

When Sokov left the headquarters of the Mechanized Army, he heard Solomatin laying out defenses, and he roughly knew the deployment of troops near the No. 1 outpost. He nodded and replied: "General Solomatin is at the No. 1 outpost. Near the position, a large number of troops have been deployed, and it is basically impossible for the Germans to take down the No. 1 outpost with a single infantry battalion."

  Sokov thought to himself that the German army's attack on the defense area of ​​the 21st Mechanized Brigade was just the beginning, and it would not take long for them to launch a full-scale attack. He came to the map and carefully checked the terrain of the landing site on the right bank. He found that once the German army was unfavorable to attack, they could completely turn around from the flanks, bypass the defensive zone of the 21st Mechanized Brigade, attack new targets, and isolate the outpost stand up.

  After trying to understand this truth, Sokov called the Communications Staff Officer and told him: "Comrade Staff Officer, you immediately send a telegram to the 73rd Infantry Brigade, saying that the enemy has launched an attack on the position adjacent to him..."

Before Sokov could finish his analysis, Chuvashov came over and said to Sokov with a smile: "Comrade Commander, the communications unit has already laid the telephone line with the 73rd Brigade overnight. What's the matter?" , you can call directly instead of sending a telegram."

   Knowing that the telephone line between here and the 73rd Infantry Brigade has been connected, Sokov couldn't help feeling ecstatic, and quickly ordered the communications staff: "Comrade Staff, please help me get through to the 73rd Brigade Headquarters."

   Only a few minutes later, Sokov heard Guchakov's voice. Because the battle in the direction of the landing field had already broken out, he ignored the pleasantries and asked straight to the point: "The German army has begun to attack the 21st Mechanized Brigade on your left flank. Are you ready for battle?"

"Don't worry, Comrade Commander." Guchakov replied confidently: "When the first shell was left in the friendly position on the left, all my troops entered a state of first-level combat readiness, ready to respond to the Germans at any time." possible attack."

   "Are there any signs of enemy activity on the defensive front of your brigade?"

   "Not really."

"Since there is no sign of enemy activity, is it appropriate for you to put the troops into a state of first-level combat readiness at this time?" Sokov said this because he considered that the 73rd Infantry Brigade was in front of the position, since there was no sign of enemy activity. , there is no need to let the troops enter the fighting state prematurely, so as not to appear in a situation where the momentum is like a tiger, and then declines and exhausts. Therefore, he said to Guchakov: "Comrade Major, you immediately send out scouts and go out to conduct reconnaissance. In addition, except for a small number of troops left on the position to guard, the rest of the commanders and fighters should go back to rest. Liang, sleep a little longer."

"Okay, Comrade Commander." Guchakov understood Sokov's character. Since the other party ordered him like this, there must be some truth, so he quickly replied: "I will immediately send scouts to go out for reconnaissance, and then order most The commanders and fighters should go back to rest, and it will not be too late to enter the position after the enemy's attack begins."

  Before attacking the No. 1 outpost, the German army plowed the hill with artillery fire, causing many casualties to the defenders on the hill. Judging from the point of responding to the enemy's shelling in this way, there is a big gap between the mechanized army and Sokov's troops. When Sokov's troops were holding on to the high ground, once they were shelled by the Germans, except for a few observation posts left to monitor the enemy, the rest of the commanders and fighters withdrew to the reverse **** where the artillery fire could not reach, and returned to their positions after the artillery fire ceased. . In this way, the damage suffered by the troops during the shelling can be reduced to the lowest level.

  But Solomatin's mechanized army obviously has not received this training. After the enemy's shelling started, all the commanders and fighters hid in the trenches on the hillside. As a result, many trenches in many areas were destroyed by the enemy's artillery fire, and the commanders and fighters hiding in these places suffered heavy casualties.

After finally waiting for the enemy’s shelling to stop, the commander, who was shocked by the shells, got out of the floating soil, walked forward along the pitted trenches, and shouted at the soldiers who were still alive: " The enemy has come up, entered the position, immediately entered the position..."

  The living soldiers just got out of the floating soil, and they rushed into their respective shooting positions without taking care to shake off the dust on their bodies. As soon as I entered my position, I saw the German infantry at the foot of the mountain, already in a scattered formation, rushing towards the position.

  The commander looked at the approaching enemy, and did not immediately order to fire, but said loudly to the soldiers on the left and right: "Pass down, no one is allowed to fire without an order."

   Two hundred meters away, the battlefield was quiet.

  One hundred and fifty meters, the position is still quiet.

   One hundred meters away, there was no movement on the ground.

  Eighty meters, still no movement.

  The German officers and soldiers who were climbing on the hillside slowed down, and they even thought in their hearts: Could it be that the artillery fire just now killed all the Russians on the position?

   Soon, the German officers and soldiers arrived at a position fifty meters away from the position. From here, as long as they run a few quick steps, they can get into the bombing position.

  But at this moment, a broken voice suddenly came from the position that had been silent for a long time: "Fire!" The voice was so loud that even German officers and soldiers who were tens of meters away could hear it clearly.

   After the shout, there was the sound of pistol shooting.

   Then, the firing of machine guns, submachine guns and rifles on the ground rang together. Those German officers and soldiers who were exposed on the open ground fell in pieces amidst the dense gunfire.

  But the German officers and soldiers are always well-trained. Even in the face of such intensive firepower from the Soviet army, they did not panic, but lay down on the spot to fight back. The machine gun shooters looked for a suitable position, set up their machine guns, and fired wildly at the Soviet troops in the position.

  Because the defenders on the position paid a great price in the shelling that ended not long ago, their existing firepower cannot suppress the German army. Fortunately, Solomatin had already considered that the battle for the No. 1 outpost would be very tragic, so he deployed two companies behind the position, preparing to wait for the defenders on the position to be insufficient. Immediately send reinforcements.

  Seeing the signal soldiers on the position and using the signal flag to send a signal for help, one of the companies set off immediately, rushing to the position along the north **** against time, preparing to take over the positions of their comrades before the situation deteriorated.

  The reinforcements came very timely. When they climbed to the top of the hill, there happened to be a section broken by the German army. The commanders and fighters standing here were engaged in hand-to-hand combat with the enemy. Their arrival brought the balance of victory back to the side of the Soviet army. The new soldiers first blocked the gap opened by the German army, and then, together with their comrades, wiped out the enemies who had rushed into the trenches.

   Seeing that their attack fell short, the German army did not love to fight, and immediately chose to withdraw from the battle.

  When they had just retreated to the foot of the mountain, the German artillery in the distance fired again, and the dense shells fell on the top of the hillside, filling the entire Soviet position with gunpowder smoke and dazzling fireballs. Because the enemy's artillery fire came too suddenly, some commanders and fighters who had no time to hide were immediately blown to pieces.

  After the shelling lasted for more than ten minutes, it stopped abruptly again.

   Before the smoke cleared, the regrouped German army attacked the outpost again.

On the high ground in the distance, the commander of the 21st Brigade, who watched the battle through a telescope, saw the enemy attacking again, so he quickly called his chief of staff and told him: "Chief of staff, the defenders on the outpost are under the enemy's bombardment. Next, the casualties are extremely heavy, you immediately send the communications troops to notify the company behind the position to prepare for reinforcements."

After the brigade chief of staff dispatched the communications corps, he returned to the brigade commander and said tentatively: "Comrade brigade commander, the enemy's artillery fire is so fierce, I am afraid that even if this company is sent up, it will not be long before they will be defeated." It's all gone. How about we send another unit to stand by?"

   Regarding the proposal of the brigade chief of staff, after thinking for a while, the brigade commander nodded and said: "Okay, comrade chief of staff, then send our guard company out and let them prepare to reinforce the outpost."

Knowing that the brigade commander planned to send out the guard company, the brigade chief of staff couldn't help feeling a little anxious: "Comrade brigade commander, if the guard company is sent out, then our security force here will become weak. In my opinion, we should start from other battalions. Are you going to draw troops from here?"

"Comrade Chief of Staff," said the brigade commander helplessly, "I also want to draw troops from other battalions, but now each battalion has its own defensive zone, and drawing troops from any battalion will weaken the defense zone in those areas. The only The only troops that can be used are our guard company."

  (end of this chapter)