Although the performance of the ball tank killing everyone was indeed very exciting, Sokov was never happy. After Yakov noticed his abnormality, he asked curiously: "Misha, what's wrong with you? We just won a battle, but I think you seem very unhappy?"
Sokov frowned slightly, pointed at the spherical tank heading towards the small village in the distance, and said: "Yes, the spherical tank performed very well in today's battle. But if there is no ammunition, and fuel, they’re just a bunch of scrap metal.”
Hearing what Sokov said, Yakov couldn't help being secretly surprised: he also realized the seriousness of the problem and asked in a panic, "Misha, what should we do?"
"We have fallen into the encirclement of the German army. It is simply impossible for the tanks to be supplied with fuel and ammunition." Sokov looked in the direction of the small village and said with great sadness: "If it is really We have no choice but to blow up this spherical tank."
"What, blow up the spherical tank?" Yakov couldn't help but take a breath when he heard this. Although he knew that what Sokov said was correct, he still asked reluctantly: "Misha, could it be that Is there no other way? You know, even if the spherical tank's ammunition and fuel are exhausted, we don't necessarily have to blow it up. We can completely hide it in other ways."
"Hide it?" To be honest, Sokov was unwilling to blow up this rare tank. At this moment, listening to Yakov's tone, it seemed that there was a way to solve this problem, so he asked curiously: "Yakov, you How do you plan to hide it?”
"Bury it." Yakov replied briefly: "Isn't there a forest near the small village? We can bury the spherical tank in the village, and wait until our army retakes Orlovka before sending another People dig out this tank. This is much better than simply blowing up the tank. Besides, even if you blow up the tank, the Germans can use the wreckage to repair the spherical tank."
"That's right." Yakov's words woke up the dreamer. Sokov realized that even if he had to throw away all his heavy equipment to break out, he didn't necessarily have to blow up the spherical tank. He could completely blow it up. Bury it first. When the army counterattacks, they will send people to dig out the ball tanks from the woods. "I can contact Colonel Bely right now and ask him to prepare in advance to hide the spherical tank."
After contacting Bely, Sokov said impatiently: "Colonel Bely, immediately send someone to dig a big hole in the woods, and when it is absolutely necessary, bury the spherical tank in it."
Sokov's incoherent words confused Bely. He asked in confusion: "Comrade Brigadier, what is going on? Why did you bury the spherical tank?"
"That's it, Colonel Bely." When Sokov heard Bely's question, he immediately realized that he was so excited that he was a little incoherent. He quickly explained to the other party: "This is what I thought about. After a long time After the battle, all the tanks in the tank battalion were faced with insufficient ammunition and fuel. If we were to implement a breakout, we had to abandon these heavy equipment. In order to prevent these equipment from falling into the hands of the Germans, we could only choose to put them Blow them all up.”
"Yes, Comrade Brigade Commander, in order to prevent the equipment from falling into the hands of the Germans, the measures we have taken are to blow up these equipment." Bely may not be willing to part with this spherical tank, so he said hesitantly: "But judging from the current situation, we shouldn't have to consider blowing up equipment."
"Colonel Bely, although we have won two consecutive victories, it cannot change the fact that we have been surrounded by the German army." Sokov said solemnly: "Since we are within the enemy's encirclement, it is completely impossible to obtain supplies. Impossible. In order to prevent the spherical tank from falling into the hands of the enemy, it stands to reason that it should be blown up resolutely. But I considered that this kind of tank is a rare prototype, and it would be a pity to blow it up, so I planned to hide it. We will dig it out when our army returns to Orlovka."
After Sokov's explanation, Bely finally understood what was going on. He was silent for a while before replying: "Comrade Brigade Commander, if we simply dig a hole in the woods and bury the spherical tank, after the Germans occupy the village, they may still find out that we have hidden it based on numerous clues. The spherical tank..."
Knowing that even if the spherical tank was buried, there was still a risk of being discovered by the Germans, Sokov couldn't help but become panicked: "Then what should we do?"
As a senior tank commander, Bely is obviously more experienced than Sokov in hiding tanks. He smiled and replied: "Comrade Brigade Commander, don't worry, I will immediately arrange manpower to hide the spherical tank. Even if the Germans occupy the village, they will never find the spherical tank. By the way, I want to ask , what is our next task?”
Although Sokov has found that his troops are surrounded by the German army, he cannot lead his troops to leave here without permission before receiving orders from his superiors. Therefore, when he heard Bely's question, he could only say vaguely: "Comrade Colonel, we will stay here for a while, waiting for reinforcements that may arrive..."
Bely heard the helplessness in Sokov's tone, sighed softly, and said: "Comrade Brigadier, if you need anything, just give me your orders. If there is a breakout, my tank battalion is willing to rush to the front." "
After Yakov saw Sokov ending the call with Bely, he immediately asked impatiently: "How is it, Misha. Is there any way for Colonel Bely to hide the spherical tank?"
"Yes," Sokov nodded and said in a positive tone: "Colonel Bely said that he has a way to hide the spherical tank and prevent it from being discovered by the enemy." In order to prevent Yakov from continuing to ask questions, he He quickly added, "But he didn't tell me exactly how to do it."
Just as Sokov spoke, he suddenly heard a loud noise, the ground under his feet shook slightly, and then a huge fireball rose in the distance. Seeing the mushroom cloud in the sky, he said in surprise: "What the hell, what's going on? Where did the explosion happen?"
"Comrade Brigadier," Guchakov said quietly standing aside, "it seems to be the fourth line of defense."
"The fourth line of defense?" Sokov frowned and said, "Strange, how could there be an explosion there for no reason?"
"Misha, have you forgotten?" Yakov reminded Sokov: "You have people plant explosives on the third and fourth lines of defense, ready to detonate them when they cannot defend them, destroying the fortifications there. Blow them all up to prevent them from being used by the Germans.”
After being reminded by Yakov, Sokov remembered that there was indeed such a thing. The soldiers he sent to plant the explosives were detained by soldiers of the 120th Guards Regiment. Later, after negotiations between himself and Guryev, the soldiers who planted the explosives were buried. The explosives work could continue. At this moment, there was a huge explosion in that direction. Could it be that the enemy occupied the fourth line of defense?
Just when Sokov was thinking wildly, the phone not far away rang. Sokov picked up the phone and put it to his ear, and heard Colonel Gurdiev's panicked voice: "Brigade Comrade Commander, my observation post reported to me that not long ago, a violent explosion suddenly occurred on the fourth line of defense defended by the 120th Guards Regiment. It seems that the defenders detonated the explosives buried in the ground before the enemy occupied the position. Explosives on the ground.”
Although Gurdiev confirmed his guess, for the sake of safety, Sokov ordered the other party: "Comrade Colonel, please immediately send someone to that direction to find out what happened. Understand." ?"
"Understood, Comrade Brigadier." Colonel Gurdiev replied respectfully: "I immediately sent someone to find out what happened."
Just when Sokov was about to put down the phone, he remembered another thing and asked quickly: "By the way, Colonel Gurdiev, I want to ask you about your counterattack on the eastern positions. , how is the situation?" Sokov knew very well that since the eastern position had been occupied by the Germans, it would be almost impossible to take it back with the strength of the 308th Infantry Division, he asked , just to learn more about the situation on the battlefield.
Gurdiev's answer was exactly what he expected: "Sorry, Comrade Brigade Commander, our counterattack did not achieve any success, and the position is still in the hands of the enemy."
"Comrade Colonel." After learning that Colonel Gurdiev and his team's counterattack did not achieve the desired results, Sokov did not blame him, but said magnanimously: "Since we cannot recapture the position from the enemy's hands, Then there is no need to continue the counterattack and gather all the troops, maybe we will face a fierce battle soon."
"Based on the current situation, the positions in the south have completely fallen into the hands of the enemy." After putting down the phone, Sokov pointed to the map in front of him and said to Yakov: "Now the enemy in the east and south , may attack us at any time, so we must prepare for the worst.”
"The worst plan?" As soon as Sokov finished speaking, Guchakov couldn't help but interrupt and asked: "Comrade Brigadier, may I ask, what is the worst plan?"
"Comrade Corporal," before Sokov could speak, Yakov lectured Guchakov with a straight face: "Your mission is to protect the safety of your brigade commander. The rest of the things are beyond the capabilities of a person of your level. Got it. Do you understand?"
"Understood, Comrade Major." Guchakov, who was scolded by Yakov, blushed and agreed, then turned and walked aside.
After Guchakov walked away, Yakov asked in a low voice: "Misha, tell me, how many Germans could have been killed in the explosion just now?"
Sokov thought about the scale of the explosion in his mind. More than ten tons of explosives were buried there. There were probably no survivors within a radius of 500 meters from the explosion point. He said in an uncertain tone: "There should be no survivors within five hundred meters of the explosion point. If I guessed correctly, the Germans should have invested a battalion in attacking this position. Then after the explosion, This battalion can be withdrawn from the German army."
"A dozen tons of explosives are exchanged for a German battalion." Yakov said thoughtfully: "This is a good deal."
Yakov was thinking about how many Germans had been killed, but what Sokov was thinking about was how many of the Guards Division soldiers who stood on the ground left the place of death alive.
Fortunately, the answer was soon revealed. When Gurdiev called again, he excitedly reported to Sokov: "Comrade Brigadier, there is a group of soldiers who have withdrawn from the fourth line of defense vehicles and are heading towards Coming from our division’s defense zone.”
Hearing that soldiers had withdrawn from the fourth line of defense, Sokov quickly felt his eyes light up and asked quickly: "Comrade Colonel, how many people have withdrawn?"
Gurdiev was silent for a moment and replied: "There are about seventy or eighty people. According to my observation, there are many wounded among them."
"Comrade Colonel," although seventy or eighty people is a bit too few, for Sokov, who is in urgent need of troops at the moment, mosquitoes are still meat no matter how small they are. He quickly ordered Gurdiev: "Send someone to pick them up immediately. Let them take a good rest on their position.”
Gurdiev waited for Sokov to finish and immediately replied: "I have sent people to pick them up, and also sent health workers to treat the injuries of the wounded."
"Misha, what are your plans now?" Yakov asked: "I estimate that the Germans will not give up after suffering such a big loss in the south, and may launch an attack soon. We are holding on to Orlov. If you are stuck, you should decisively choose to break out, you have to make a decision early!"
According to Sokov's idea, he wanted to give orders to all the troops immediately, and when it got dark, they would move to the north without hesitation. Although the road was more difficult, it was the shortest distance from friendly forces. The reason why Sokov has not issued the order to break out is that firstly, the situation on the battlefield is not clear enough, and reinforcements may really arrive; secondly, Order No. 227 is like a Damoca hanging above his head. The Sword of Lys prevented him from making hasty decisions.
At this moment, when he heard Yakov asking where he should go, Sokov immediately made up his mind to lead his troops to break through the encirclement to the north after dark. In order to make the division famous, he ordered the telegraph operator: "Telegraph operator, send a telegram to the group army headquarters, report the situation here to them, and ask for instructions on the next task."
Ten minutes later, Chuikov's call back arrived. The content on the call was very simple, with only one sentence: "Act according to the opportunity!"
