After the battle, Sokov and Gurdiev came to the newly occupied position together.
Bely got out of the tank, came to Sokov, and said happily: "Comrade Brigade Commander, this battle was really enjoyable. More than 300 defenders on the position were wiped out by us, and We only suffered about thirty casualties and not a single tank was lost.”
"Colonel Gurdiev, contact the second echelon immediately." Seeing that the troops had taken control of the positions that originally belonged to the German army, Sokov said to Gurdiev: "Let Major Yakov take all the The wounded must come here as soon as possible, and we must rush to the north to join our friendly forces before the Germans recover."
"Comrade Brigade Commander," Bely asked Sokov in a low voice while Gurdiev was looking for the telegraph operator: "Are we really going to blow up these tanks?"
Sokov knew very well that without the cooperation of the tank battalion in today's attack, even if the terrain here was easy to attack and difficult to defend, a heavy price would inevitably be paid. He really wanted to blow up all the tanks, but he still felt a little reluctant to do so. Before making the final decision, he jumped into the trench, came to the north slope, leaned out and looked outside.
At the foot of the hillside, there is a river that is fifty or sixty meters wide. On the north bank of the river, there is a land with bomb craters within bomb craters. Countless destroyed tanks, armored vehicles and trucks are scattered in disorder on this land. Of course, there were densely packed corpses near these damaged technical equipment. From the uniforms on their bodies, Sokov could identify that these were the remains of Soviet soldiers.
On the riverside, in addition to the shocking piles of corpses, there were also many broken wooden boats. It seemed that the Soviet commanders and soldiers were destroyed by German mortar fire when they were preparing to cross the river. Countless corpses were also covered from the south bank of the river to the hillside of the position. All this made Sokov understand how heavy losses Rokossovsky's troops suffered here.
After viewing the battlefield, Sokov turned to Bely who followed him and said: "Colonel Bely, look at the terrain here. The terrain in the south is gentle, which is conducive to tanks; but the slopes in the north are too steep and crisscrossed with ravines. Not to mention driving the tank down, even climbing up the hill with bare hands would be difficult."
After Bely waited for Sokov to finish speaking, he also nodded and said: "Comrade Brigade Commander, you are right. Our tanks cannot drive down such steep terrain. Even if we can barely drive down, it will How to get through that river that’s dozens of meters wide?”
"Colonel Bely," even though Sokov had been shouting that after breaking through the enemy's defense, he would blow up the tanks and break out lightly, but now that he had actually occupied the German position, he became hesitant: " How much ammo do you still have in your tanks?”
"Each tank also has seven or eight rounds of grenades and two or three rounds of armor-piercing rounds." Bely cast his eyes on an MG34 in the fortifications and continued: "As for the machine gun, if the German MG34 is used, there should be no problem with ammunition. "
"If I'm not wrong," Sokov waited for Bely to finish, looked at the other party and said, "You want to fight a blocking battle here to consume more of the enemy's vitality."
"Yes, that's what I think." Bely nodded and said: "We are carrying a large number of wounded people, and it will take a very long time to take them safely across the river at the foot of the hillside. I think the enemy will soon know that we have broken through their defense line, and then they will come towards us. There will definitely be a fierce battle next, and without the cooperation of tanks, we will not be able to support it for long."
"Second Lieutenant Samoilov!" broke through the German defense line, but Sokov didn't know where to find friendly troops. Therefore, it was completely necessary to stay here for a while so that he could have enough time to send out He called Samoilov and told him: "Take five soldiers and a radio, cross the river immediately to the other side, and try to find a way to find the friendly defense positions."
Shortly after Samoilov left with his men, Yakov hurried over with several soldiers. Seeing that the position had been occupied, he couldn't help but curiously asked Sokov: "Misha, since you have broken through the German defense line, why don't you continue to move forward? What are you doing here?"
"Yakov, we don't know where Rokossovsky's troops are." Sokov replied: "I have sent people to look for them, and I believe we will get an answer soon."
Yakov found a mound of dirt and sat down, looked at Sokov and asked curiously: "Misha, I think it was easy for you to take the position, but why did Rokossovsky's troops always fail to use several divisions? What if we can’t break through the defense here?”
"Yakov, come with me." Sokov did not answer the question immediately. Instead, he took Yakov to the trench, pointed downward and said to him: "Look below first."
Yakov looked down from the trench and couldn't help but gasped and said in surprise: "Oh my God, our army actually paid such a heavy price in front of the German position."
"Yakov, you are right. In order to break through the German defense line here, General Rokossovsky's troops paid a huge price." Sokov pointed downwards and said: "The traces left on the battlefield It was judged that the friendly forces were bombed by enemy planes on their way to the river, and a large number of tanks, armored vehicles and trucks were blown up. The commanders and fighters who finally reached the river were attacked again when they boarded the ship. The German firepower was overwhelming and killing. After suffering huge casualties, the survivors who finally crossed the river had to brave the enemy's bullets and rush up the steep hillside, but in the end they all fell to the enemy's intensive firepower. Down."
After listening to Sokov's explanation, Yakov was silent for a long time, and finally said: "Misha, I think what we need to do next is not to continue to break out, but to stay here to build defensive positions and prepare to fight against the possibility of the German army. attack."
"Yakov, don't you know that the terrain here is easy to attack and difficult to defend?" Sokov heard Yakov's suggestion and said with some laughter: "If we really stay and hold on, I'm afraid we won't be able to last long. of."
"Misha, listen to me, this is how I think about it." Yakov patiently explained to Sokov: "General Rokossovsky's troops suffered heavy losses in order to capture this position. But we still failed to capture this position that was guarded by only a few hundred German soldiers. If we gave up here so easily and tried to recapture it in the future, I don’t know how many commanders and soldiers would have died in front of this death hillside."
Bely and Gurdiev, who were standing nearby, heard what Yakov said and agreed: "Comrade Brigadier, Major Yakov is right. If we give up here easily today, we will be in trouble in the future." If you want to take it back, you will definitely pay a heavier price."
"Then tell me, what should we do next?" Sokov did not express his opinion easily, but asked: "Is it really true that we are fortified here?"
Yakov turned to look at Bely and Gurdiev, and seeing both of them nodding seriously, he replied decisively: "That's right, Misha, I absolutely must seize the time to repair the fortifications and resist the German army here. attack. As long as General Rokossovsky knows that we are holding on here, he may soon send troops to reinforce us."
Sokov admitted that there was some truth in Yakov's words. The German defense line blocked the friendly forces' road to Orlovka. Now that he has occupied it, he must not give up easily, otherwise he will have to do it again. If we want to take it back, we don't know how many lives of commanders and soldiers it will cost.
Thinking of this, he turned to the radio operator and said: "Operator, send a message to the Army Headquarters and tell Commander Chuikov that we have jumped out of the German encirclement from the north of Orlovka. We will hold on to the newly occupied position. Please contact General Rokossovsky immediately and ask friendly forces to come and meet us."
Yakov and others are also worried that Sokov will go his own way and prepare to take the troops to continue northward from here. At this moment, hearing that he decided to stay and hold on, several people couldn't help but be overjoyed. Bely said first: "Comrade Brigadier, don't worry. Even if the German army wants to come over, they will have to wait until the afternoon at least. We have enough time to strengthen the defenses."
Yakov said happily: "Misha, if we hold on here, General Rokossovsky can use this as the starting point for the attack, and can concentrate his strength on Orlovka at any time to fight with the people in the city. Troops join forces."
"Colonel Gurdiev," Sokov directly ignored Yakov's optimistic estimate. He remembered that there were two small troops left in Orlovka, and quickly ordered Gurdie Husband: "We still have two small troops staying in Orlovka to monitor the enemy's movements. Since we have decided to hold on here, we order them to withdraw as soon as possible. If they are surrounded by the enemy, they will not be able to withdraw even if they want to. .”
"I understand, Comrade Brigade Commander." Gurdiev quickly expressed his position: "I immediately asked someone to send them a message, asking them to abandon their positions immediately and move closer to us."
Sokov thought for a moment with his eyes closed, and felt that Yakov could not be allowed to stay here to accompany him on the adventure. He should send him as far away as possible, so he said to him: "Yakov, I will escort the wounded." The task is entrusted to you. Once the wounded arrive, you will take them across the river to the north and find a way to join our friendly forces."
"Misha, you should leave this matter to others." Unexpectedly, Yakov did not accept his favor, but stubbornly said: "I want to stay and fight alongside you."
