Although Sokov never ordered his commanders to rush in front of the soldiers when attacking. But today he was holding a submachine gun and walking at the front of the team with his head held high. Are those company commanders still embarrassed to hide behind the soldiers? Several company commanders came out of the crowd and followed Sokov in a row.
The battalion commander and company commander were at the front of the team. Those who were platoon commanders on duty could no longer squeeze in with the soldiers, so they also quickened their pace, surpassed the soldiers around them, and formed a line behind the company commanders. Loose rows.
The first barbed wire fence of the German army was placed one kilometer in front of the position. Seeing that the team was about to reach the barbed wire fence, the soldiers of the engineer platoon rushed forward, cut the wire with large pliers, and gathered it together so that the troops could pass smoothly. After doing all this, they continued to run forward, using small flags to mark the passage in the minefield, and went to cut the next barbed wire fence.
Sokov, who was leading the troops forward, kept sweating in his hands. He was worried that there was something wrong with his judgment and that the enemy's retreat was just a conspiracy. They just waited for their troops to enter the fire range and then retreated to their positions. The weapons opened fire again, inflicting heavy damage on the Istrian battalion.
But fortunately, after continuously passing through the barbed wire barriers set up by the five German troops, the position on the opposite side was still quiet, with no movement at all. Sokov muttered silently in his heart: "There are still one hundred and fifty meters away from the German position and the last two barbed wire fences. As long as they pass this obstacle area, the soldiers can change from striding to trotting. So that we can capture the enemy's position in time."
At this moment, several figures suddenly appeared in the German trenches in the distance. Although the distance was still far away, Sokov had instinctively turned the muzzle of his gun, aimed at those people, put his finger on the trigger, and was ready to shoot at any time.
"Comrade Battalion Commander, they are our scouts." Andrei, who was behind Sokov, suddenly shouted in surprise: "It's Pavel! It's the reconnaissance team led by Pavel!"
Hearing Andre's shout, Sokov took a closer look. Yes, the man standing in the trench was Pavel, wasn't he? Pavel looked at the large army heading towards them, quickly climbed out of the trench, and ran quickly towards Sokov's position.
The engineers of the engineer platoon had cut all the German barbed wire, allowing Pavel to run in front of Sokov smoothly. Since he was on the battlefield, he did not salute Sokov, but straightened his back and said loudly: "Comrade Battalion Commander, Corporal Pavel has followed your order and completed the reconnaissance of Sushinich. Come report to you.”
"Corporal Pavel," Sokov put his left hand on Pavel's shoulder and asked nervously: "How is the situation in the city? What are the Germans doing?"
"Reporting to Comrade Battalion Commander, according to our reconnaissance, the enemy has abandoned all positions outside the city." Pavel said with excitement: "The enemies in the city are preparing to retreat."
After learning from Pavel's mouth that the German army was preparing to retreat, Sokov's heart hanging in his throat finally returned to his stomach. He quickly began to give orders: "Lieutenant Saviev!"
Saveyev, who was following behind, quickly replied: "Here we come!"
"Your third company is responsible for occupying the German positions outside the city." After giving the order to Saviev, Sokov said loudly to the other company commanders: "The first company, the second company and the machine gun company, follow I rushed into the city." Of course, he did not forget to instruct the telegraph operator who was following him, "Immediately report to the division headquarters, saying that according to reconnaissance, the enemies in Susinich are retreating. Our battalion has occupied the German outer positions. , we are continuing to advance towards the city, please follow up with the troops to catch up as soon as possible."
As the order was issued, Saviev led three companies of soldiers to rush into the enemy's position and quickly seize advantageous terrain. The other companies, like a tide, overflowed the enemy's position and rushed towards the city.
Just when Sokov's troops occupied the German position, at the headquarters of the 11th Guards Division a few kilometers away, artillery commander Kazakov saw that the time for artillery preparations was coming, so he asked Rokossovs Ji asked for instructions: "Comrade Commander, the bombardment time is coming soon. Do we execute it as planned?"
As soon as he finished speaking, Chernyshev objected: "No, General Kazakov, you can't fire. The Istrian battalion is advancing towards Sushinich. If you fire, it will easily hurt your own people." ." In order to prevent Kazakov from going his own way, he also sought support from Rokossovsky, "Comrade Commander, I strongly recommend that the shelling be stopped. Do you agree?"
Before Rokossovsky could make a choice, he heard the division chief of staff shout excitedly: "Division Commander, we just received a report from the Istria Battalion. They have occupied the German outer positions and are advancing towards the city. , requesting the follow-up troops to catch up as soon as possible."
When Rokossovsky heard what the division chief of staff said, he quickly winked at Chernyshev and motioned for him to answer the phone. Chernyshev nodded, walked to the walkie-talkie, took the earphone from the chief of staff, put it on, and said into the transmitter: "I am the division commander Chernyshev, and you are Captain Sokov." ?"
"Hello, comrade division commander! I am the radio operator." A strange voice came from the earphone: "The battalion commander has personally led people into the city."
After learning that Sokov had entered the city, Chernyshev, who wanted to understand the situation, still asked unhurriedly: "How is the situation there? Has there been a firefight with the Germans?"
"The German positions outside the city are empty." The operator replied: "According to the scout's report, the Germans in the city are also busy retreating..."
When Chernyshov wanted to continue asking, Rokossovsky stopped him. The latter looked at him and said: "General Chernyshov, the situation is already clear. The Germans are retreating. Immediately order your troops to move closer to Sushinich and cooperate with Captain Sokov and others to seize the city."
When Chernyshev went to convey the order to the troops, Rokossovsky told Kazakov: "General Kazakov, since the German army has abandoned its outer positions, our artillery preparations can be cancelled."
"I immediately called the artillery regiment." Kazakov replied with a smile: "Order them to stop shelling the outer positions of Sushinich to avoid accidentally injuring their own people."
After seeing that everyone in the division was busy, Rokossovsky picked up the telegram on the table and said into the microphone: "I am Rokossovsky, pick me up immediately from the 324th Infantry Division. , look for the division commander, General Kiriukhin." After hearing Kiriukhin's voice, he did not go around in circles, but directly ordered, "Comrade division commander, the leading troops of the 11th Guards Division have already rushed into Suxi. Niqi. Your division should not hesitate, take action immediately, and cooperate with friendly forces to seize the city."
When Kiriukhin learned that troops had entered Sushinich, he couldn't help but be shocked. He thought to himself that the artillery preparations before the attack had not even started. How could there be troops rushing into the city? But he did not ask Rokossovsky what was going on, but replied decisively: "Understood, Comrade Commander, I immediately ordered the troops to advance towards Susinich."
