Red Moscow

  Chapter 1625

The call was made directly to General Herbert Giller, the commander of the Viking Division, and he learned that it was the call from the deputy commander stationed in the town of Ratseve. Herbert made an exception and answered a call from a small lieutenant colonel. Phone: "I'm Herbert Giller, Lieutenant Colonel, do you have anything important to ask me?"

   "Yes, Your Excellency General." The deputy head quickly replied: "An unfortunate incident has occurred, and I feel it is necessary to report to you immediately."

   "What unfortunate event?"

"My troops and I were bombarded by friendly forces in the town of Ratsve. Please order the artillery to stop the **** bombardment immediately, otherwise my men and I will all die under the artillery fire before the Russians take action. "

   "Understood, Lieutenant Colonel, I will verify this immediately."

Since the 5th Armored Artillery Regiment and the 5th Rocket Artillery Battalion of the Viking Division both participated in the bombardment of the town of Latsewe during the day, Herbert took it for granted that these two units must have received wrong orders. At this time the town of Ratsve was shelled.

As soon as he put down the phone, he immediately called the chief of staff of the division to himself, and told him: "Chief of staff, immediately call the commanders of the two artillery units that participated in the battle today, and ask them who received the call." Order, actually shelling the town of Ratseve indiscriminately? Order them to stop the shelling immediately, if it causes huge losses to the troops stationed in the town of Ratseve, be careful, I will shoot them dead."

   Facing the order issued by Herbert, the chief of staff of the division did not dare to neglect, and quickly ordered the communications soldier to connect to the artillery regiment's phone. Hearing the voice of the head of the regiment coming from the receiver, he asked bluntly: "Mr. Colonel, what is going on, who ordered you to bombard the town of Latseve?"

"Bombard the town of Latseve?" The artillery regiment asked in confusion: "Your Excellency, the town of Latseve has already been occupied by our army. How could I order the artillery to shell the town?" He paused for a moment and then Ask, "Did you get wrong information from somewhere."

   "Why, your regiment didn't bombard the town of Ratsve?"

   "No," said the artillery regiment chief, "Your Excellency the Chief of Staff, I can assure you that I absolutely did not order the troops to bombard the town of Radeve."

  The chief of staff of the division put down the phone, turned his head and reported to Herbert: "Your Excellency, the commander of the artillery regiment replied that his troops absolutely did not bombard the town of Latseve. There may be some misunderstanding."

Since the 5th Armored Artillery Regiment said that it did not bombard the town of Rateswe, Herbert could only target the 5th Rocket Artillery Battalion. Shelling at the wrong target at the wrong time.

  He pointed at the chief of staff, and said: "Chief of staff, then you can contact the rocket artillery battalion to see if there is any problem with them."

However, this time the chief of staff did not immediately contact the Rocket Battalion, but cautiously said to Herbert: "Mr. Commander, I think the Rocket Battalion may not have shelled the town of Latseve either. Could it be that the artillery of the friendly army did it? "

"It's possible," Herbert did not deny the analysis of the division chief of staff, but said to him: "However, to be on the safe side, you should contact the commander of the rocket artillery battalion. If it is confirmed that they did not bombard the Wei Zhen, let's report this matter to find out what went wrong."

  This matter is of great importance, and the chief of staff of the division did not dare to neglect, so he quickly connected the rocket artillery battalion. After some inquiries, it turned out that the matter was as inferred just now, and the battalion commander of the Rocket Artillery Battalion knew nothing about it. Obviously, the shelling time has nothing to do with them, it should be done by other troops.

After confirming that the artillery fire suffered by the town of Latsewe was not from the artillery under his command, Herbert could only put the suspicion on the friendly army. He ordered the chief of staff to report this time to the army headquarters and the army headquarters. , trying to figure out which damned army is shelling the troops in the town of Razeve;

  After receiving the report, the military headquarters and headquarters also seized the time to investigate which unit was responsible for bombarding the town of Latseve without permission, causing casualties to the defenders inside.

When the commanders of the army and headquarters desperately sent telegrams and phone calls to their artillerymen, trying to find out which unit was stupid and actually bombarded the town of Razeve, which had been occupied by their own troops, the Soviet army responded The shelling of the town continued.

  In order to wipe out as much of the German army as possible, Sokov not only used a 152mm howitzer regiment under the First Artillery Division, but also used a large number of new rockets. When using rockets in the past, Sokov's troops used single or double barrels, and up to three barrels to launch them. This time, four twelve-barrel launch vehicles were directly equipped to cover the town of Razewe occupied by the German army.

  Nearly 400 new rockets, this is all Sokov's current possessions. But in order to destroy the enemy as soon as possible, Sokov also spent his life. After eight rounds of volleys, all the rockets were consumed, and the town became a burning hell, and the flames reflected the night sky red.

Sokov stood at a commanding height, holding up his binoculars and looking at the burning town in the distance. He thought to himself: With such a fierce shelling, not many Germans could escape. When the Rusuf regiment launched another counterattack, the town should All that remained were the ruins and the charred bodies of the German soldiers.

  Contrary to Fomenko's joy, Keida was full of jealousy while feeling lost. Although he has two regiments here now, with Sokov's character, he will definitely hand over the task of attacking the town tomorrow to the Rusuf regiment without hesitation. After all, the regiment once captured the town. The terrain there is most familiar.

Just when the German army in the town was blown upside down, the German army headquarters finally discovered a terrifying fact that none of their artillery units fired at the town of Radeve, which means that the artillery that bombarded the town came from the Soviet Union. Army side.

The artillery fire from the 1st Artillery Division poured into the town of Latseve. Amidst the sound of the explosion, buildings collapsed one after another, raising dust all over the sky; and the German officers and soldiers near the bombing point were directly blown into blood mist. , and even a complete part could not be found. Some lucky soldiers hid in bomb craters or basements to avoid Soviet shelling, but their fate was not much better. It was said that two shells would not fall in the same bomb crater. It does not mean that two shells will not fall into the same crater.

   Some soldiers hid in the craters that had just formed not long ago to avoid Soviet artillery shells. Unexpectedly, just when they secretly rejoiced and felt that they had escaped death, a shell fell from the sky, landed in the crater and exploded, blowing up the soldiers hiding here to nothing.

  The enemies hiding in the basement are not much luckier. The bombardment of heavy artillery caused the building to collapse, and a large number of masonry fragments fell from a height, directly sealing the exit of the basement. The Germans inside wanted to come out, either to clean up the masonry and rubble outside first, or find other exits.

  The shelling continued to the back and destroyed the German arsenal. The explosion of the arsenal made the nearby streets look like erupting volcanoes. Some German officers and soldiers who escaped by chance hid in these buildings, preparing to wait for the end of the Soviet bombardment before escaping from the town, but they did not expect that when the arsenal exploded, they would be affected by the disaster, either killed on the spot or killed The shock wave of the explosion shook him alive.

  The commanders and fighters of the 15th Guards Division passed through the defense zone of the Rusuf Regiment and were stationed beside a forest. When the shelling started, the commanders and fighters came out of the shelter one after another. They couldn't help smiling knowingly when they heard the sound of the rumbling artillery from a distance and looked at the town of Razeve, which was in flames in the distance.

  At this moment, the commanders and fighters finally understood why their superiors suddenly ordered themselves to withdraw from the town of Razewe. The feeling was to dig a trap for the Germans and let them jump into it. The sound of rumbling guns from a distance, and the flames shining red in the sky, they knew clearly that the Germans in the town were finished, and even if they were lucky, there would not be too many people who could escape from the town.

The bombardment lasted for about forty minutes. Sokov, who was standing on a high place observing the terrain, turned around and told the radio operator: "Radio operator, contact Colonel Terenka immediately and ask him to stop the bombardment. After bombarding for such a long time, I think the town There should be no one alive."

   "Comrade Commander," Fomenko reminded Sokov from the side: "According to the plan, our bombardment of the German army should last for an hour, and it has just been forty minutes at this moment."

"General Fomenko," Sokov said to Fomenko: "As a commander, you must know how to constantly adjust your original plan according to the situation on the battlefield. I was worried that the enemy in the town would be difficult to fight. That's why the artillery was allowed to continue shelling the town for an hour, but judging from the current situation, the enemy has been defeated by our artillery fire, so there is no need to waste shells, especially the heavy shells specially prepared for us by the superiors. Use it."

  Now that Sokov had expressed his attitude, Fomenko knew that if he talked too much, it would only cause the other party's dissatisfaction, so he shut his mouth wisely. But not long after, he still couldn't help asking: "Comrade Commander, shall we follow the original plan and launch an attack on the enemy early tomorrow morning?"

Sokov looked at the burning town for a while, shook his head slowly, and replied, "I don't think it's necessary. Since the enemies in the town have been wiped out, the attack time can be advanced." He said He raised his wrist and looked at the time, "I think as soon as the gunpowder smoke in the town clears, we will immediately send troops into the town to search for remnants of the enemy."

"Okay," Fomenko replied loudly, "I'll immediately pass on your order to Colonel Rusov to get him ready for the attack." After he had said this, he paused for a moment and then asked tentatively, "Clean up the town." After the remnants of the enemy here, what should the Rusuf regiment do, relying on the town for defense?"

"It's not necessary at all," Sokov shook his head and said, "After our round of shelling, the town of Latseve has become a ruin. It is obviously meaningless to build fortifications here. General Milov's 7th Guards Army was able to cross the river smoothly, and the Rusuf Regiment should still choose a suitable location to build fortifications to prevent the Germans from approaching the river."

When Fomenko nodded in agreement, Koyda interjected and asked, "Comrade Commander, what is the mission of our division?" He was afraid that Sokov would reject his request, and he emphasized that, "You know, the main force of our division is gathered in this area. If we don't arrange any important tasks for us, I'm worried that the commanders and fighters will get emotional."

"I think you are the one with emotions," Sokov mercilessly dismantled the other party, and said with a smile: "Don't worry, Colonel Koida, since I transferred your division here, I will never let you go." You are idle and doing nothing. Good steel must be used on the blade, and when the critical moment comes, I will send your division into battle."

  Kuida knew that since Sokov said that he would put his troops into battle at a critical time, he would definitely not write any verbal checks to himself, so he agreed happily.

  But he still couldn't help asking: "Then what is the latest mission of our division?"

  Sokov glanced at him and said, "The primary task of your division right now is to help Division Fomenko hold this position, so that even if they go out to the enemy's defense zone, they don't have any worries."

  Just as Sokov was assigning tasks to the two division commanders, the enemies who were blown away finally realized that the defenders in the town were not bombarded by friendly troops, but by Russian artillery. But at this time, it was too late to figure out the matter. There were no more defenders in the town of Latseve, and even if they wanted to send troops to reinforce them, it would be too late.

  The German army has suffered such a boring loss, so they are not willing to let it go easily. Herbert quickly received an order from his superiors, asking him to send a reconnaissance team to the town of Ratswe immediately after dawn to find out whether there were Soviet troops in the town. If not, then send troops directly to reoccupy the town that may have been turned into ruins; if there are Soviet troops in the town, then things will be simple, just send troops to attack and wipe them out completely.

After receiving such an order, Herbert immediately called and recruited several regiment leaders under him, explained the tasks assigned by the headquarters to them in detail, and finally asked: "Gentlemen, what do you think should be done?" What should we do if the commander entrusts us with the mission?"

As soon as Herbert's words fell, the head of the 10th Panzergrenadier Regiment got up and said: "Your Excellency, the Russians have launched a fierce shelling on the town of Ratchwe tonight, causing the loss of our defenders in the town." Disastrous. I think they may attack soon, the loss of the town is only a matter of time.

   But the loss of the town is not a bad thing for us. After this bombardment, almost all the buildings in the town were destroyed, and the town was a ruin of not much significance. I think the Russians must not be able to build a decent fortification in it. If they are not stationed, once a large force is stationed, we can also use intensive artillery fire to inflict strong damage on them. "

  The commander of the armored artillery regiment immediately echoed: "Your Excellency, if the Russians really enter the already ruined town of Latseve, they will not be able to build a solid fortification. Our artillery fire is enough to cause them heavy casualties."

  (end of this chapter)