Red Moscow

  Chapter 2082 Relief Action (Part 2)

   Besieging the fortification area is an infantry division of the German army with an armored regiment.

The German division commander stood in front of the map, looked at the map of the fortification area, and said to his chief of staff: "Chief of staff, the Russians are hiding in their fortification area. There are strong fortresses here. If we don't have heavy artillery, I am afraid it will be very difficult for them to attack." It is difficult to annihilate them in fortified areas."

"Yes, sir." The chief of staff said with emotion: "This fortified area was originally built to guard against us. Because they misjudged the time when we launched the war, after the fortifications in the fortified area were repaired, No supporting fortifications were installed, nor were troops sent in.

  Because they didn't take precautions, as soon as our army launched an attack, the fortified area fell into the hands of our army without any fighting at all. I really didn't expect that they would use it again after a few years. Since the bunkers and fortifications in the fortification area are all reinforced concrete with a thickness of two meters, it is impossible to destroy these fortifications with our existing artillery. "

"I heard that the Russian troops trapped in the Belovizh Forest have been rescued by their friendly forces." The German division commander said, "If we can't quickly occupy the fortified area and clear out the Russian cavalry inside, we will wait for the Russian troops to come back." People's armies are coming from all directions, and I am worried that whether I can retreat completely is a problem."

"Your Excellency, Master, don't worry." The chief of staff of the division said with a sneer, "The Russians are actually a bunch of mobs. Sometimes the more troops there are, the more chaotic the command will be. Just think about it, in the few years since the war began, our army has There have been many cases of winning more with less, and I believe this time will be no exception."

  The commander of the German Army, who was still a little apprehensive, felt more at ease when he heard what his chief of staff said. He pointed to the map and said: "Order the armored regiment to use this place as a breakthrough point and guide the infantry to attack the fortified area. From what I know of the Russians, their defense lines are linear defenses and lack defensive depth. Once a certain point is broken by our army, It will lead to a total collapse.”

   "I understand, sir." The chief of staff nodded and said, "I will immediately deploy the offensive."

  The commander of the German army did not know that the Soviet army today is no longer the Soviet army at the beginning of the war, especially what he is facing is the Guards Cavalry Army. Units with the title of Guards mean that their combat effectiveness is stronger than that of ordinary troops. The attack he launched is destined not to have much hope of success.

  Before the offensive began, the German army shelled the fortified area for a quarter of an hour.

  If it is an ordinary field fortification, the German 150mm artillery will cause considerable casualties to the defenders. But now the commanders and fighters of the cavalry army are hiding in solid fortifications. Although shells hit the fortifications directly from time to time, they cannot destroy them.

  As soon as the artillery fire stopped, the observation post found that the German infantry, guided by the tanks, launched an attack towards the fortification area, and quickly blew the whistle to remind the commanders and fighters who were hiding in the fortifications to avoid the guns to enter the combat position.

   There are cavalry artillery positions behind the fortification area, followed by 76.2mm medium artillery, but it is more than enough to deal with the German infantry. The artillery observers hid at the highest point of the fortifications. After calculating the position of the German army, they reported the parameters to the artillery behind, asking them to block and shoot the attacking German army.

  As the order was issued, the Soviet artillery fired hundreds of shells at the offensive in just a few minutes.

Although artillery of this caliber poses little threat to the German Panther tank, after a round of shelling, within a distance of 100 meters behind the Panther tank, the standing German infantry is basically invisible. Without the cover of the infantry, the infantry There is no way to talk about Tanxie. However, in order to avoid the Soviet artillery fire, the German tank crews stayed in the tanks. They didn't know that the infantry who followed behind had been almost cleaned up by the artillery fire, and they continued to move forward quickly.

Seeing the German tanks rushing up without infantry cover, the Soviet commander on the position couldn't help being overjoyed, and hastily issued an order: "Put the German tanks into our positions, and then use anti-tank grenades or anti-tank weapons to destroy them from behind." .”

  The anti-tank guns equipped by the Soviet army were too big to destroy the German Leopard tanks from the front, but if the opponent's tanks were allowed to cross the trenches and then attacked from behind, they could be easily destroyed.

   Just like that, more than 20 Panther tanks of the German army rumbled across the first trench of the Soviet army and rushed towards the depth of the fortified area. The triumphant tank soldiers never dreamed that behind them, the black shells of anti-tank guns had already aimed at them.

  After a series of explosions, these mighty tanks were destroyed one after another, and they stopped and burned on the ground blackened by gunpowder smoke. The tank soldiers who escaped from the tank basically died under the random guns of the soldiers.

   In this way, the offensive launched by the German army ended in failure again, and more than 20 tanks and a large number of soldiers were lost.

  When the Germans began to attack, Ismailov's infantry division also arrived nearby. The subordinates asked him for instructions: "Comrade commander, the enemy is attacking the fortified area. Should we attack the enemy immediately in order to rescue our friendly troops from danger."

  If Sokov hadn’t received instructions, Ismailov would have launched an attack without hesitation when he saw the fortified area being attacked by the German army. But now he looks very steady: "Don't worry, now only one of our divisions has arrived at the designated place. Colonel Liuzhikov's 211th Infantry Division, and the tank brigade and artillery regiment assigned to us by the superiors, so far have not yet arrived. If they are not in place, it will not be too late to attack the enemy after they have all arrived."

   Immediately afterwards, Ismailov ordered the commander of the communication company: "Get in touch with the fortification area immediately, tell them the news of our arrival, and let them know what they are."

Hearing this order from Ismailov, the commander of the communication company did not dare to neglect, put on the earphone of the radio, and shouted continuously into the microphone: "This is the 284th Infantry Division, call the 4th Guards Cavalry. military…"

  After a few minutes of calling, a voice finally came from the headset: "I am General Pliyev, commander of the Guards Cavalry Army. Who are you?"

  The communication company commander heard Pliyev's voice, and quickly said to Ismailov: "Comrade division commander, I have contacted the commander in the fortified area."

"Hello, Comrade General." Ismailov said to Pliyev straight to the point: "I am Colonel Ismailov, the commander of the 284th Infantry Division. I am here on the order of the commander, General Sokov. To rescue you?"

  Pliyev was naturally very happy when he heard that it was the reinforcements who came to rescue the siege. He tentatively asked, "I wonder how many troops you have come this time?"

   "Two infantry divisions, one tank brigade, and several artillery regiments." Ismailov said into the microphone: "We will launch an attack on the enemy as soon as possible. I hope you can continue to persevere."

"Colonel, don't worry." Pliyev said: "Now we have strong fortifications to rely on, and ammunition and supplies provided by our superiors. Even if we support them for a few more days, there will be no problem. I want to ask, do you plan to When do you want the enemy to attack?"

"I'm afraid it will take some time." Ismailov said: "At present, the troops that have arrived at the designated position are only our division. I still need to stay and wait for other troops. Attack and clear the siege for you."

Although the cavalry army has enough ammunition and weapons and strong fortifications to rely on, for Pliyev, it is best to jump out of the encirclement of the German army as soon as possible. He hurriedly asked: "Comrade colonel, can you Tell me a specific time? That way I can know it too."

Ismailov calculated silently in his heart, and felt that no matter how slow Liujikov's troops moved, they should be able to arrive within two hours, so he said slowly: "I think in two hours, The rest of the force should be within reach, and we can then attack the enemy."

"Two hours later?" Pliyev said: "Then I will notify the troops below to get them ready to attack. After you launch an attack on the enemy, they will rush out of the fortification area and come with you." The inside should cooperate with the outside."

  Hearing what Pliyev said, Ismailov couldn't help but feel a little bit in his heart. He knew very well in his heart that with the appearance of machine guns, the cavalry unit, which had played the leading role on the battlefield, gradually became useless. The reason is simple. In the face of the dense bullets of machine guns, the once invincible cavalry has become a living target. If the cavalry in the fortified area suddenly rushed out when one's own troops attacked the enemy, it would not be of much use except to become a target for the German army to shoot.

  Based on this consideration, Ismailov said: "Comrade General, I think after our offensive begins, you'd better stick to the fortification area and don't attack easily."

   "Why?" Pliyev asked.

"The reason is very simple." Ismailov didn't go around in circles, and said bluntly: "The Germans have tanks and armored vehicles, as well as a large number of machine guns and submachine guns. If you attack them with cavalry, I am afraid that it will hurt the troops." It caused huge casualties. Therefore, you'd better stick to the fortification area, and let us deal with the enemies outside."

   Hearing what Ismailov said, Pliyev was taken aback for a moment, and then understood the other party's intentions, then nodded and said, "Okay, Comrade Colonel, I'll leave it up to you to rescue the siege."

   It was said to be two hours, but it took a full three hours for Liujikov's 211th Infantry Division to arrive late. The tank brigade and artillery regiment, however, have not been seen for a long time because of the muddy road they came on.

After seeing Lyuzhikov, Ismailov told him the phone call between himself and Pliyev, and asked tentatively: "Liuzhikov, only our two infantry divisions have arrived today. The designated location. Tell me, what should I do next, and attack the Germans directly?"

   "No, Ismailov." Lyujikov waved his hands and said, "Without the artillery support provided by the artillery, and without the tanks to guide the infantry in front, we rashly attack the Germans, which is tantamount to an act of suicide."

   "What, suicidal behavior?"

"Yes." Liujikov said: "If we simply rely on infantry to launch an attack, the enemy's artillery fire and tanks will consume a lot of our vital strength. Don't let the friendly army fail to rescue us in the end, but take us all in." .”

"That makes sense." Ismailov nodded and said, "Then I will contact the commander immediately and ask him to urge the tank brigade and artillery regiment to come over and join us as soon as possible. With their assistance, we can There is a greater certainty of defeating the enemy."

   A few minutes later, the communications company commander helped Ismailov contact Sokov.

  Hearing Ismailov's voice, Sokov asked bluntly: "Comrade Colonel, have you launched an attack on the enemy?"

   "Not yet, Comrade Commander."

   "What, haven't launched an attack?" Sokov was a little angry: "What's going on, why haven't you launched an attack yet. If you miss the opportunity, I will shoot you."

Hearing that Sokov got angry, Ismailov quickly explained: "Comrade commander, we really don't blame us. Our division arrived at the designated position more than three hours ago. And Lidjukov The Colonel's 211th Division also arrived not long ago. The tank brigade and artillery regiment that cooperated with us are still missing. I would like to ask you to urge us to speed up their march and come over to join us as soon as possible."

"The tank brigade and artillery regiment haven't arrived at the designated location yet?" Sokov knew that he had wronged Ismailov, so he said in a slow tone: "It just rained heavily today, and the road has become muddy. The delivery of tanks and artillery must be It will be affected. It seems that you can only wait a little longer, but I will urge them to speed up the march."

After putting down the point, Sokov said to Sidolin: "Chief of Staff, you immediately contact the tank brigade and artillery regiment and ask them what's going on and why they haven't reached the designated position until now. You know, if there is no artillery and artillery With the cooperation of tanks, our infantry divisions were unable to defeat the German troops besieging the fortified areas."

   Knowing that the tank brigade and artillery regiment failed to arrive at the designated location in time, Sidolin was also anxious, which meant that the official start of the siege operation would be delayed. He hurriedly said to Sokov: "Comrade Commander, the road conditions are not ideal. In addition, there was a sudden heavy rain today, which damaged the road. As a result, the speed of our technical equipment was affected during the transportation." impact. I think the timing of the offense might be delayed."

"Comrade Commander." Ponejielin suggested to Sukov: "Since the tank brigade and artillery regiment don't know when they will be in place, it is better to launch an attack on the command infantry. I want to use two infantry divisions. It shouldn't be a big problem to defeat the enemy besieging the fortified area."

"No, Comrade Deputy Commander, this is absolutely impossible." Sokov simply rejected Pornegerin's proposal: "Although without the cooperation of tanks and artillery, our troops can defeat the enemy. But have you thought about it?" However, if we really do this, our commanders and fighters will suffer heavy casualties, and I don’t want several troops to lose their ability to continue fighting after a battle. So all we can do now is to continue to wait.”

  (end of this chapter)