After Bely led his troops to the village, he immediately learned about what happened in the village from his subordinates who had arrived earlier. After figuring out the ins and outs, he gave a detailed report to Sokov via the radio.
There was originally a platoon of German soldiers deployed in the village. They saw two Soviet tanks carrying infantry heading towards the village, and they found a place to hide. As soon as the tanks entered the village, they immediately opened fire. Shereda and the others were caught off guard. Not only did all the infantrymen die, but two tanks were also destroyed one after another. Although Shereda escaped from the destroyed tank by luck, he was also seriously injured. .
After listening to Bely's report, Sokov asked cautiously: "Comrade Colonel, have all the enemies in the village been eliminated?"
"Yes, all the enemies in the village have been eliminated." After answering this question, Bely added: "I sent a platoon of soldiers to search the nearby woods to see if there are any who have slipped through the net. German."
"Colonel Bely," Sokov specifically emphasized to Bely considering the importance of the small village in his plan: "The village you are in is very important to us, so all the enemies in the village and nearby woods must be killed." Purge. Do you understand?”
Bely thought that the importance Sokov mentioned was to ambush the tanks in the village and take advantage of the enemy's attack to catch the enemy off guard from the flank. He quickly expressed his position and said: "Don't worry, Comrade Brigade Commander, I will definitely clear out the surrounding areas." Enemies in the woods.”
Sokov had someone dig a cave that could accommodate four or five people on the reverse slope of the hill as his temporary headquarters. At the same time, the communications soldiers were also asked to hold a telephone line each for the 1st Battalion, the Guard Battalion, and the 308th Infantry Division. This way, if you want to understand the situation of the troops or convey any orders, you don't have to send communications soldiers back and forth.
While the communications soldier was busy holding the telephone line, the radio operator squatting in the temporary headquarters stuck his head out and shouted to Sokov: "Comrade Brigade Commander, the telegram was sent by General Guryev."
Hearing that the telegram was sent by Guryev, Sokov immediately felt an ominous premonition in his heart. He quickly came to the headquarters and took the telegram from the operator. After reading it, he found that the situation he was facing was not good. The two lines of defense handed over to the 120th Guards Regiment were being attacked by the Germans. onslaught.
Although Guryev emphasized in the telegram that his men were fighting tenaciously, Sokov knew very well that in the face of such a fierce German offensive, the loss of these two lines of defense was only a matter of time. Seeing that his troops' retreat route to the south was in danger of being cut off, Sokov, after some thought, asked the radio operator to send a message to Chuikov, asking how long his troops needed to hold on in Orlovka.
After the telegram was sent, Chuikov waited for a full quarter of an hour before Chuikov responded with a telegram. The content of the telegram was simple: "Resolutely defend Orlovka. No retreat is allowed without orders."
Seeing this telegram that was exactly the same as Order No. 227, Sokov really couldn't laugh or cry. The troops and technical equipment in his hands are very limited. He has no artillery and air force, and he is stuck in this area that is very unfavorable for defense. If the German army launches a fierce attack, his troops will probably be exhausted in a short time.
But since it was Chuikov who gave the order, it meant that there was no room for bargaining. Therefore, he could only sigh and then told the operator: "Call back to the headquarters. I will resolutely obey the orders of my superiors and defend this place at all costs."
Although the message expressed his determination to live and die with the position, Sokov was unwilling to bury his life here, so he once again set his sights on the small village in the northwest, thinking to himself: "In Orlov More than ten kilometers north of Ka is Little Ivanovka, where Rokossovsky's headquarters is located. As long as Bely clears out the enemies in the village, I can lead the troops to withdraw when the situation is unfavorable to us. Get there, then march north from there, break through the enemy's blockade, and rush over to join Rokossovsky's troops."
In the evening, Guryev sent another telegram. He said in a regretful tone: After a fierce battle, the third line of defense has fallen into the hands of the German army, but he is organizing troops to counterattack in an attempt to restore the lost position. .
Seeing this message, Sokov's heart froze. He knew very well that with the equipment of the Guards Division, it would be extremely difficult to regain the lost positions from the Germans. Moreover, the loss of the third line of defense meant that the troops holding on to the fourth line of defense lost contact with the main force of the division. In the end, the garrison was either wiped out by the enemy or retreated to the north to join them.
But no matter which ending it is, Sokov is not willing to see it. Once the fourth line of defense is lost, it means that the road going south is blocked; as the remnants of the defenders move north, it seems that their defense strength has increased, but in an area that is not conducive to defense, even if the German army does not launch a ground attack, it only needs Prolonged shelling and bombing are enough to cause your troops to lose most of their combat effectiveness.
Just at this time, the telephone line had been set up, and Sokov connected to the headquarters of the 308th Infantry Division. He said to Gurdiev who answered the phone: "Comrade Colonel, the current situation south of Orlovka is not good. You immediately send troops to the south to serve as a guard, and once you discover the enemy's appearance, immediately block it."
"Understood, Comrade Lieutenant Colonel." Gurdiev said politely: "I will immediately send a security force to the southwest and closely monitor that direction. Once I find the enemy's movement, I will report to you."
Although the situation in the south is critical, Sokov's attention is still focused on the west, because not only will the Germans launch an attack from that direction, but reinforcements rushing in from outside the encirclement may also appear from that direction.
Sokov stood on the hill, raised his telescope and looked to the west, hoping to see some movement. However, except for the endless grassland, no moving objects could be seen in the telescope.
Vanya, who was staying at the foot of the hill, saw Sokov observing the terrain on the hill. He quickly told his deputy, and then jogged to the top of the hill. Sokov asked breathlessly: "Comrade Brigade Commander, we have been here for so long, why haven't we seen the Germans or reinforcements yet?"
"Don't be anxious, Comrade Captain." Sokov put down the telescope in his hand, looked at Vanya and said calmly: "The more this happens, the more composure we as commanders must have. Do you understand? ?”
Although Vanya did not understand what Sokov meant, he still habitually replied: "Understood." After a pause, he looked at the small village in the distance and asked Sokov curiously: "Brigade Comrade Commander, Colonel Bely took the remaining tanks to distant villages, I wonder when they will come back?"
"When can we come back?" Hearing this question, the muscles on Sokov's face couldn't help but twitched twice. He replied with some embarrassment: "When we defeat the enemy who attacked Orlovka, we will be able to fight from the outside of the encirclement." After the friendly forces that rushed in are reunited, the tank battalion commanded by Colonel Bely can return here."
"Comrade Brigade Commander," Vanya realized the seriousness of the problem from Sokov's words, and he asked tentatively: "Do you think reinforcements can come?"
"I am not commanding the reinforcements outside the encirclement." Sokov replied angrily: "How do I know if the reinforcements can come? Our mission is to stick here and wait patiently for the reinforcements to arrive. Without orders, You are not allowed to take a step back. Do you understand, Comrade Captain?"
"Understood, Comrade Brigade Commander." Vanya nodded and replied: "We will never take a step back before reinforcements appear."
Just as Sokov was about to speak, a phone next to him suddenly rang. He grabbed the microphone, put it to his ear and said, "I'm Sokov, what do you want?"
"Lieutenant Colonel Sokov, this is Gurdiev." Gurdiev's voice came from the receiver, and he said in a panic: "Something happened, something big happened!"
"What's the big deal?" Sokov's heart was in his throat. He thought to himself that the enemy had already rushed to the defense zone of the 308th Infantry Division. He quickly urged: "Comrade Colonel, please tell us what happened."
"Comrade Lieutenant Colonel, I have just received information." Gurdiev said in a heavy tone: "Our position to the east was occupied by the Germans half an hour ago."
"What, the eastern position was occupied by the Germans?" Hearing the bad news, Sokov almost jumped out of the crater where he was squatting. He asked angrily: "Colonel Gurdiev, you are not Is there a battalion holding the position? Why was the position captured by the enemy so quickly?"
"That's right, Comrade Lieutenant Colonel, I did leave one battalion to hold the position to the east." Gurdiev replied with embarrassment: "But after a long battle of that battalion, only the remaining Twenty or thirty people, equivalent to an infantry platoon.”
If Gurdiev were in front of Sokov at this moment, Sokov would definitely throw the microphone in his hand at the opponent without hesitation. After joining the 308th Infantry Division at that time, Bely represented himself and asked the opponent to stay more. Forces were deployed to defend the captured positions to prevent the Germans from taking the retreat.
But Sokov never dreamed that Gurdiev would actually play a word game with him. He said that a battalion of troops was left to defend the eastern position. Unexpectedly, the number of people in this battalion was only equivalent to a platoon. With this small amount of troops, how can they stop the German attack? He spoke into the microphone and said sternly: "Colonel Gurdiev, take it back and immediately organize the troops to take back the lost position. If the Germans are allowed to gain a foothold there, we will become a force trapped in a tight siege." Alone, the fate we will face when the time comes is either to die all or become prisoners of the Germans. Do you understand?"
"Understood." He lost his position and was short of breath as he retreated. Gurdiev was also a little panicked. He quickly replied: "I immediately organized my forces to take the position back from the Germans."
Vanya somewhat overheard some of the content while Sokov was on the phone. When he waited for Sokov to put down the phone, he asked cautiously: "Comrade Brigade Commander, what should we do if our retreat is cut off? Should we continue to stay here and wait for reinforcements to rush in from outside the encirclement?"
"Captain Vanya!" Sokov waited for Vanya to finish speaking and immediately said with a straight face: "Do you really think there will be reinforcements rushing in from outside the encirclement?" Sokov thought of the last time he was here. He received the reinforcements, but in the end, what he waited for was the news that the entire reinforcements had been destroyed. Therefore, he had not been optimistic about the plan to join the reinforcements from the beginning.
After sending Vanya away, Sokov sat in the bomb crater and pondered for a long time. Finally, he got up and walked back to the temporary headquarters. He said to the operator sitting inside: "Operator, get through to Colonel Bely. I have You need to contact him if you have important matters.”
When the operator saw Sokov's livid face, he immediately realized that something important must have happened and did not dare to neglect. He quickly grabbed the microphone and started calling Bely. Two minutes later, he handed the earphone and microphone to Sokov and said: "Comrade Brigade Commander, the call is connected. Colonel Bely is waiting to talk to you."
"Colonel Bely," Sokov felt it was necessary to let Bely understand the current situation, so he did not beat around the bush, but said bluntly: "Our retreat has been cut off by the Germans."
"What, our retreat has been cut off?" Bely thought Sokov was talking about the southward retreat. After a moment of silence, he comforted him and said: "It doesn't matter, Comrade Brigade Commander, even if the southward retreat is cut off by the enemy. , but we can also retreat from the east and enter our army's defensive zone from there..."
"Colonel Bely," Sokov interrupted Bely's words in time and said in a solemn tone: "I am contacting you just to tell you that our retreat to the east has also been cut off by the Germans."
"Here, what is going on?" Sokov's words confused Bely: "Didn't Colonel Gurdiev put a battalion there for defense? How come the position was destroyed by the Germans in such a short period of time? Are people occupying it?”
Sokov sneered twice, and then said in a contemptuous tone: "Yes, Colonel Gurdiev did deploy a battalion to defend there. However, after a long battle, the whole battalion was only There are only twenty or thirty people left, which is only equivalent to the number of people in an infantry platoon. With this small number of troops, it is obviously impossible to block the German attack."
Before Bely led his troops to the village, he knew that the German army had concentrated its superior forces and launched an attack on the third and fourth lines of defense. Since the fall of these two positions was only a matter of time, Bely had not considered a southward withdrawal plan at all. He cautiously said to Sokov: "Comrade Brigade Commander, I think it is better to let Colonel Gurdiev organize the troops, take advantage of the enemy's unstable footing, launch a counterattack, and regain the lost position."
