Guchakov's Ninth Company rushed to the front of the pursuit team. The Ninth Company originally had more than 300 people. Except for the two platoons left to monitor the enemy, the remaining seven platoons were brought here by Guchakov to participate in the battle. After the recent hand-to-hand combat, all the companies were left. Less than a hundred people were disembarked, and Guchakov's leg was stabbed by a German bayonet, so that he limped a little when running.
His company had just undergone a round of replenishment not long ago, and he couldn't even name many soldiers. Unexpectedly, many people were gone before the battle was over. Not to mention that Sokov gave the order to pursue the fleeing German troops. Even if there was no order, he would take the initiative to pursue the enemy.
Although his legs were a little inconvenient, he still rushed to the front of the team. As he ran, he turned back to greet his subordinates: "Comrades, come on, the enemies who killed our comrades are in front. We must kill them." , to avenge our fallen comrades!"
Many soldiers had almost exhausted their physical strength in hand-to-hand combat. Before they had time to rest, they started to pursue the German army again. They carried their guns and mechanically moved forward with the troops, their bodies swaying. He looked like he was about to fall down at any moment. But after listening to Guchakov's words, they cheered up, quickened their pace and continued running forward.
Lieutenant Colonel Sikenius, who led the troops to retreat, thought that the Soviet army had just gone through the situation, but he did not expect that the Soviet army would pursue the troops he led regardless of their own fatigue.
The retreat started so hastily that the troops lost their structure during the retreat. Without the organic structure, the German army was nothing but a piece of loose sand. Facing the pursuing Soviet army, they were unable to prevent effective resistance at all. In addition to speeding up their escape, all they could do was raise their hands and surrender to the pursuing Soviet troops.
However, the Soviet army that was pursuing them ignored the enemies who were standing on the roadside and surrendered, and continued to pursue forward tirelessly. As for these prisoners, there will naturally be troops behind them to take them in.
"Comrade Brigade Commander," Andrei followed Sokov, panting and asking as he ran forward: "I... we... have been pursuing at least seven or eight kilometers, what... when can we stop? ?”
"What, you've chased for seven or eight kilometers?" Sokov was so tired that he didn't even notice how far he had chased. He only saw German troops raising their hands in surrender everywhere on both sides of the road. Then he slowed down and said, "I think it's almost done, just... stop here."
Sokov knew that the 3rd Battalion and the 149th Brigade were at the end of their game. If they continued to pursue the pursuit, once the German army launched a counterattack, there would be a risk of the entire army being destroyed. Therefore, he stopped as soon as possible, ordered the troops to stop advancing, and took in the prisoners on the spot. .
As soon as the order to stop the pursuit was given, the soldiers stopped one after another, sat down on the ground regardless, and began to breathe heavily; some even lay directly on the ground and began to sleep soundly.
Seeing that the soldiers were so tired, Sokov, who was also exhausted, said to Bolvinov and Andrei who came over: "The soldiers are very tired, let them have a good rest. In addition, arrange for the officers to take those who are on the road We will take in the prisoners nearby and tally the results of the battle."
Sikenius, who led his troops to escape with their lives, saw that the Soviet army suddenly stopped pursuing them. He couldn't help but secretly rejoice at his good luck and managed to escape from the Soviet army. As for the soldiers and technical equipment lost in the battle, let the division commander replenish them after returning.
After Andrei arranged the manpower to accommodate the prisoners, he came to sit down next to Sokov and said with a grimace: "Comrade Brigadier, our battalion suffered a lot of losses in today's battle. In addition to staying at the artillery position and monitoring Several enemy platoons and the remaining companies and platoons involved in the battle suffered heavy losses.”
Sokov glanced around and found that there were less than 300 commanders and fighters left in the third battalion, and the situation of the 149th Brigade was not much better, with at most 700 or 800 soldiers left.
Bolvinov heard what Andre said and echoed: "Yes, Comrade Commander, when our brigade was holding its position, we suffered more than half of our casualties. Later, we started hand-to-hand combat with the Germans and suffered many more casualties. Now, There are only a few hundred people left, and we may not be able to participate in the next battle."
"Comrade Colonel, don't be anxious." After Sokov waited for Bolvinov to finish speaking, he comforted him and said, "I think your superiors will soon replace your lost soldiers so that you can continue to participate in other battles." Cove knew very well that what he said was just for the occasion. If the 149th Brigade wanted to receive supplements, they would probably have to wait until the base camp transferred them to the rear.
The troops rested for an hour. The officers had already taken in the prisoners and counted the results of the battle. Seeing that it was almost time, Sokov ordered the troops to retreat.
When Sokov spent more than two hours returning to the place where the hand-to-hand battle had just occurred, he found that the place was full of corpses of enemies or his own people, and the air was filled with a lingering smell of blood.
At this moment, the radio operator reported to Sokov: "Comrade Brigade Commander, General Chuikov sent a telegram to ask you how the situation is here?"
From the name the telegraph operator called him, Sokov knew that he was from the 3rd Battalion, so he ordered him: "Immediately call back to the Army Group Headquarters and say that our unit has successfully defeated the German 2nd Armored Regiment and the 3rd Battalion after fierce fighting. The 16th Artillery Regiment and the 79th Infantry Regiment covered part of the besieged troops and broke through the encirclement..."
While the operator was squatting on the roadside sending a report, a group of soldiers came from a distance. Sokov had a sharp eye and recognized at a glance that the man walking in the front was Colonel Gorokhov, commander of the 124th Brigade.
When Gorokhov approached, he saw Sokov's face covered in blood. He was startled and thought he was injured. After learning that it was the blood of the enemy, he complained to Sokov: "Comrade Lieutenant Colonel, you are the commander of the Northern Group. How can you charge into the battle like a company commander?"
Sokov grinned and did not answer the question. Instead, he asked: "Colonel Gorokhov, how is the situation there? Have the enemies been repulsed?"
"Yes, Comrade Lieutenant Colonel." Gorokhov nodded and said: "After a day of fighting, the enemy launched no less than ten attacks on our brigade position, but we were repelled all of them. They were in front of the position After leaving behind more than 300 corpses and more than a dozen three-wheeled motorcycles, they retreated hastily.”
Just when Sokov was about to say a few words, the radio operator suddenly reported to him: "Comrade Brigade Commander, we just received a telegram from General Chuikov. He ordered us to withdraw to the starting position."
