Red Moscow

   Chapter 1598 103.9 Highlands

  The target of the 27th Army's attack is the Svetlovodsk district northwest of the landing site. Sokov had planned to launch an active attack from here more than half a month ago. But before the offensive started, it was accidentally discovered that the reconnaissance was wrong, and there were more enemies stationed here than previously estimated, so the offensive was temporarily canceled.

  Fomenko, the commander of the 84th Division, got angry because of the cancellation of the attack. He called Sokov and Sameko every day, wondering when the attack could be launched as planned. But every time the answer is the same: wait, when it's time for you to attack, I will naturally give you orders.

  After a long wait, the day of attack finally arrived.

  Although Sokov arranged for three divisions to participate in the attack in this direction, the leading force was Major General Fomenko's 84th Infantry Division.

   There was still an hour before the artillery preparations before the attack, Fomenko received a call from Sokov: "General Fomenko, has the reconnaissance team been sent out?"

   "Yes, Comrade Commander." Fomenko quickly replied: "It has been dispatched."

   "Who is leading the team?"

   "Second Lieutenant Iva."

Sokov knew in his heart that the Second Lieutenant Iva mentioned by Fomenko was Sergeant Iva, the deputy captain of the reconnaissance team last time. He was promoted because he discovered the change of German troops in time and prevented the troops from suffering huge losses. For the second lieutenant. After slightly nodding his head, he asked, "What order did you give him?"

   "I ordered him to lead the squad to occupy the 103.9 highland east of the Svetlovodsk District, and be responsible for guiding the direction of artillery fire for our army."

  The altitude of 103.9 meters can only be regarded as a small mound in the mountainous area, but it is a commanding height on the bank of the Dnieper River. The high ground that Fomenko mentioned can clearly see the entire Svetlovodsk region, and an artillery observation point can be established there to allow artillery fire from the rear to carry out precise strikes on the German positions.

   "Very good." Sokov raised his hand and looked at the time, "There are still 58 minutes before the artillery preparations start. Are you sure that Second Lieutenant Iva and the others can take the 103.9 Heights?"

"Comrade Commander, I don't think it's a big problem." Fomenko replied confidently: "According to our reconnaissance, there are only two squads of German defenders on the 103.9 hill, with a total number of no more than 25. Second Lieutenant Iva led The reconnaissance team has 30 people, all wearing German uniforms, they will bypass the high ground, and then ascend the high ground from the direction of the German defense zone."

Regardless of the fact that the battle at the landing site on the right bank has never stopped, but the Svetlovodsk area located northwest of the landing site, there has never been a battle. The German army in charge of the defense there is inevitably slack. The reconnaissance detachment from the German defense zone should not arouse the vigilance of the sentry.

"General Fomenko," Sokov told Fomenko on the phone, "as soon as Second Lieutenant Iva and the others capture the high ground, immediately get in touch with the First and Second Artillery Divisions and use artillery fire to destroy the German army in Svetlo. Defensive positions in the Vodsk sector."

"clear."

  ...

  Second Lieutenant Iva led a reconnaissance unit in make-up, and boarded the 103.9 Heights along the path from the direction close to the German defense zone. It was just dawn at this moment, and the German officers and soldiers on the high ground were still sleeping. There was only one sentry with a 98K rifle walking back and forth in the trench.

  Seeing a small army walking towards the high ground along the path, the sentinel quickly took off the rifle from his shoulder, held the gun to meet them, and asked vigilantly, "Stop, what part do you belong to?"

   Walking at the front of the team was Iva, who was wearing the uniform of a German second lieutenant. He said to the sentry: "We are from the ninth company, and we have been ordered to take over your defense."

  The German sentinel had known for a long time that there would be troops to take over his defense. Seeing the squad led by Iva at this moment, he did not have the slightest doubt. But he did not lower his gun and continued to perform his duties, asking, "Mr. Second Lieutenant, your ID."

"Oh, my ID." When Iva said this, he winked at a soldier beside him, and then walked towards the sentry while pretending to take out the ID in his pocket: "Yes, I should show you My credentials."

   Fortunately, Iva often performs this kind of reconnaissance mission disguised as the German army, and he has already prepared his documents. He came to the sentry, took out his ID from his pocket and handed it to the sentry.

   In order to better check the certificate, the sentry put the rifle on his shoulder again, and then took the certificate from Iva's hand. Just when he looked down at the certificate, the soldier who got the hint from Iva had already quickly walked behind the sentry, covered his mouth with his hand, and quickly wiped it on his neck with the prepared dagger, and then He let go and took a step back.

  The sentinel whose throat was cut covered the wound with his hand, trying to stop his blood from flowing out. But the facts proved that his efforts were in vain. After a while, he fell limply on the ground, and the blood flowing from the wound stained the ground under him.

"What's going on?!" Iva stared at the soldier who killed the sentinel, and whispered displeasedly: "Didn't I tell you many times that after covering the enemy's mouth, he directly stabbed his lungs with a dagger, so The blood that flows out will quickly overwhelm his alveoli, making him unable to make any cry. And in doing so, the blood that flows out is not much, and the smell of blood is not strong, so it is not easy to be noticed by nearby enemies. You can do it even if you look at it What happened, such a big pool of blood, you can smell a strong smell of blood from ten to twenty meters away."

Before the soldier could admit his mistake, Iva waved his hand at him and said, "Okay, let's talk about it after the battle. Now go and kill those enemies who are still sleeping. Remember, use cold weapons as much as possible." Get rid of them, don't shoot if you can, so as not to expose the target."

  Hearing Iva's order, the soldiers behind him rushed into the trenches, looking for the shelter where the German army lived, and prepared to kill the sleeping German army inside.

  The operation was relatively smooth at the beginning. The soldiers used the daggers in their hands to send the German soldiers who were still sleeping soundly back to their hometowns. But no one noticed, their actions were seen by a German soldier who was conveniently on the grass. The German soldiers were startled when they saw a group of people in German uniforms coming out of the shelter with blood on the daggers in their hands. Especially when these people got together, they spoke a language he couldn't understand.

  The German soldiers immediately understood that the highlands were attacked by Russians disguised as their own. Using the cover of weeds, he quietly climbed down the mountain, trying to report the news that the highland was occupied by the Russians to his superiors as soon as possible.

  Besides, after the Soviet soldiers occupying the high ground wiped out the enemies in the shelter, they all came to report to Iva one after another, saying that the enemies on the high ground had been wiped out.

   Second Lieutenant Iva, as a senior scout, has a high degree of vigilance. After the soldiers finished their reports, he asked, "Have you counted the number of people? How many are there?"

  A soldier responsible for counting the number quickly reported: "Comrade Second Lieutenant, I counted carefully, and there are 24 people in total."

"No!" After listening to the soldiers' report, Iva felt an ominous premonition in his heart: "According to our previous reconnaissance, there are 25 enemies on the high ground. Why are there only 24 now, and one more arrived?" Where did you go?"

  The soldier who just killed the sentinel heard what Iva said, and said disapprovingly: "Maybe he has a health problem, so he should go to the hospital behind to see a doctor. Or he went back to deliver the letter last night and didn't come back overnight."

"Nonsense." As soon as the soldier finished speaking, Iva retorted: "Is this your first day in the army? Don't you know that even if there is a sick person, you have to wait for the garrison to withdraw before you can take the sick person with you?" Shall we go back to the hospital together? Also, there is a telephone line leading to the rear on the high ground, is there anything that can’t be contacted by phone instead of sending someone back to deliver a letter?"

  Iva's analysis made the soldier feel shocked: "Comrade Second Lieutenant, do you think that some enemies have been missed?"

   "That's right, maybe he's hiding somewhere on the high ground right now." Iva told the other party: "Organize people to search immediately, and we must find him."

   While the soldiers were searching on the high ground, Ivar called the radio operator and artillery observer to him. He first ordered the radio operator: "Comrade radio operator, immediately contact the division headquarters and say that we have successfully occupied the high ground."

   Later, he said to the artillery observer: "Comrade observer, please measure the distance immediately, and then report the shooting parameters to the artillery unit."

  The area of ​​the 103.9 highland is not large. In less than ten minutes, the soldiers completed all the searches and came back to report to Second Lieutenant Iva.

   "What, no trace of that enemy?" After listening to the report, Iva asked in surprise, "Then where did he hide?"

"Comrade Second Lieutenant," a gray-haired veteran reported to Iva, "I saw a pile of fresh excrement in the grass outside the position, and the weeds leading to the foot of the mountain showed signs of being overwhelmed. I guess we When we wiped out the enemy on the high ground, the German soldier who slipped through the net was making his way in the grass, and when he saw that the situation was not good, he quietly climbed down the mountain."

  Iva believed in the veteran's judgment. He nodded and said, "You are right. The missing German soldier must have spotted our whereabouts and sneaked down the mountain."

   "Comrade Second Lieutenant, what should we do?" The veteran asked, "Should we be ready for battle?"

"You're right, Comrade Veteran." Iva put a hand on the veteran's shoulder and said to him: "It won't be long before the Germans will send troops to retake the highlands, we must do it in advance Ready for battle."

   Knowing that the German army may launch an attack on the high ground, the soldiers immediately acted and began to prepare for battle. The veteran set up a captured MG42 general-purpose machine gun, aimed it at the path leading to the high ground, and opened fire as soon as the Germans appeared.

Iva raised his hand and looked at his watch. It was nearly forty minutes before the shelling preparations before the battle. He began to consider whether he should tell General Fomenko that his whereabouts might have been discovered by the Germans. To destroy the enemy well, whether it is possible to advance the bombardment time.

  Although he knew that he was only a second lieutenant, it would be impossible to change the decision of a general. But in order to ensure victory, he can only take a risky gamble. He called the radio operator to him and said to him: "Comrade radio operator, help me pick up the division commander immediately, I have important information to report to him."

The radio operator quickly contacted the division headquarters, but it was not Fomenko who answered the phone, but Colonel Manoshin, the political commissar: "Second Lieutenant Iva, this is Manoshin, the division commander is busy giving combat orders to the troops, I don't have time to answer your calls. If you have anything, you can tell me."

"Comrade Commissar," although the person who answered the phone was not Fomenko, but Iva didn't care at all, because he knew that Manoshin would truthfully convey what he said to Master Fomenko: "There was an accident. "

   "What accident?" Hearing what Iva said, Ma Nuoxin not only thumped in his heart, but then asked vigilantly, "Could it be that you were discovered by the enemy?"

"Comrade Commissar, I'm not sure, I just said there is such a possibility." Iva explained to Manoxin: "After we captured the enemy's high ground, we only found 24 corpses, one less than the number we had in advance. .”

Knowing that only one body was missing, Ma Nuoxin returned to his stomach with his throat hanging, and he said disapprovingly: "Maybe some people have been transferred away in the past two days, Comrade Second Lieutenant, don't worry about this." This kind of meaningless trifle wastes time. Take a step back, even if the Germans know that we have occupied the high ground, before they mobilize their troops to attack the high ground, our artillery preparations will begin, making them tremble under the artillery fire..."

   Don't think that Ma Nuoxin doesn't care about this matter, but it doesn't mean that other people don't care either. Fomenko, who had just finished making the phone call, learned that there was one less dead German soldier on the high ground just occupied, so he quickly grabbed the microphone and asked Iva: "Comrade Second Lieutenant, are you sure that there is one less dead German soldier than the actual number? "

"Yes, Comrade Commander, I'm absolutely sure." Iva replied in an affirmative tone: "I not only sent people to search the position, but also repeatedly checked the number of corpses. It is true that one is missing. And I One of the veterans under his command found fresh feces in the grass near the position, as well as traces of someone crawling towards the foot of the mountain..."

  The talk has already reached this point, if you say that Second Lieutenant Iva and the others are nervous, it would be too idealistic. After thinking for a while, Fomenko asked, "Comrade Second Lieutenant, what do you think?"

"I think artillery preparations should be made in advance." Although Iva had thought about asking Fomenko to prepare artillery fires in advance before contacting the division headquarters, but when he really said this, he was still very hesitant, worried that he would be attacked. Fomenko's refusal: "This will hit the Germans hard before they can react."

When Fomenko learned that the capture of the high ground might be detected by the German army, he really wanted to carry out the shelling in advance, but since the artillery preparation time was set by his superiors, he didn't dare to make his own claims, so he could only say into the microphone : "Comrade Second Lieutenant, I understand. I will report to the Group Army Command and request the higher-ups to advance the bombardment time." He also reminded Iva, "When our army's bombardment starts, you must pay attention to concealment, so as not to be caught by our army." The army's artillery fire accidentally injured."

"Don't worry, Comrade Commander." Although Fomenko didn't give Iva an affirmative answer, Iva knew in his heart that after hearing his report, the other party planned to prepare artillery fire in advance, as long as Sokov nodded , the overwhelming shells will pass over his head and land on the position where the shooting parameters have been marked long ago: "When the shelling starts, we will hide."

  (end of this chapter)