Yershakov was in shock. He did not expect that the counterattack organized by three infantry divisions would end in failure in less than a day, and his regiment would have to serve as a battlefield firefighting team. To cover the retreat of friendly forces.
Seeing Yershakov staring at the map in a daze, Sokov raised his hand and slapped him hard on the back, and said displeasedly: "Lieutenant Colonel Yershakov, I am giving you a mission." , don’t get distracted at this time.”
Sokov's slap woke Yershakov out of his fugue. He quickly replied with a red face: "I'm sorry, comrade division commander, I was distracted. Please continue to assign tasks."
Originally, the Yershakov regiment was ordered to take over the defense of friendly forces, and all it took was a phone call. The reason why Sokov called Yershakov here to assign tasks was entirely because of the Tiger tanks that the German army had just put into the battlefield. The soldiers had no experience in dealing with this type of tank. If they really encountered it, it would be very difficult. It’s easy to suffer big losses.
"On the battlefield, you will see a new type of heavy tank that the Germans have put into the battlefield." Sokov patiently explained to Yershakov: "This tank not only uses an 88 mm caliber gun, but also has a powerful In addition to its lethality, it also has thick armor that gives anti-tank guns a headache. As far as I know, the armor on its front is 102 mm, and the armor on the sides and back is also 82 mm thick. That means our existing anti-tank guns, Anti-tank rifle, there’s nothing you can do with it.”
When he learned that the German army had launched a heavy tank with powerful firepower and strong armor protection, Yershakov's expression changed: "Comrade division commander, how should we destroy the enemy's tanks?"
"The Tiger tank uses a gasoline engine, and you can use Molotov cocktails to deal with it." Fortunately, Sokov remembered that the Tiger tank used a gasoline generator, and naturally thought of a corresponding solution: "As long as the engine catches fire, this No matter how thick the armor of a tank is, it is useless.”
"Understood, Comrade Division Commander." After Yershakov heard the performance parameters of the Tiger tank, he was suddenly at a loss. Now when he heard the solution Sokov said, the smile returned to his face. Above: "I'll have the soldiers kill it with Molotov cocktails and to hell with all the new German tanks."
Seeing that Yershakov had regained his confidence, Sokov nodded with satisfaction and said to him: "Comrade Lieutenant Colonel, it's getting late. Let's take action. I wish you good luck!"
…………
When Yershakov led his troops to the 351st Regiment's position, most of the regiment's position had been lost, and two of the battalions had basically lost their combat effectiveness. The regiment leader, Lieutenant Colonel Sasiko, who was on the verge of despair, took advantage of the moment when the Germans stopped attacking to explain the aftermath to the regiment's chief of staff at the regiment command post: "Comrade Chief of Staff, currently only the third battalion in the entire regiment has a relatively complete organization. , you can take them and withdraw first, while I and the remaining soldiers from the first and second battalions will stay behind to cover you."
"Commander, you should lead the third battalion to withdraw." The regiment chief of staff never dreamed that in the face of the German offensive, although the soldiers of the 351st regiment performed extremely bravely, they still could not withstand it for even an hour, and the position was in danger. , whoever stays behind will definitely end up dead or alive, so he said resolutely: "I will stay to cover."
While the two were arguing, an officer wearing a steel helmet ran in from outside and shouted excitedly to Sasico: "Regiment commander, reinforcements, reinforcements are here!"
"Reinforcements have arrived?!" Upon hearing the officer's report, Sasico and the chief of staff were stunned. After a while, Sasiko asked: "Is it the 339th Regiment or the 347th Regiment?"
The regiment chief of staff understood the reason for Sasiko's question. During the offensive battle in the morning, the 339th regiment, which was responsible for the first offensive mission, suffered heavy casualties. Even if it was sent, its effect would be very limited. He secretly prayed that if the division commander could send the 347th Regiment for reinforcements, there would be a chance to alleviate the unfavorable situation at hand.
"No." The officer shook his head and replied: "It's the 125th Regiment of the 41st Guards Division. Their regiment commander, Lieutenant Colonel Yershakov, is coming towards us."
Knowing that the commander of the reinforcements was coming towards him, Sasiko quickly stood up and said to the regiment chief of staff: "Comrade chief of staff, let's go out to meet the friendly commander."
"No need, I'm here myself." Before Sasiko and his chief of staff walked out of the command post, Yershakov had already walked in from the outside. Looking at the two lieutenant colonels standing in front of him, he couldn't After identifying who the regiment leader was from his military rank, he could only smile and ask: "I am Lieutenant Colonel Yershakov, the commander of the 125th Guards Regiment. I wonder who is the regiment leader?"
"Hello, Lieutenant Colonel Yershakov." Sasiko stepped forward to hold the other person's hand and said politely: "I am Lieutenant Colonel Sasiko, commander of the 351st Regiment. Nice to meet you!"
"Our regiment has been ordered to take over your defense." Due to time constraints, Yershakov did not say too much nonsense, but said bluntly: "Please withdraw from the position immediately after handing over the defense to me. .”
"Lieutenant Colonel Yershakov, please come here." Sasiko called Yershakov to the simple wooden table and pointed to the map above to introduce the situation to him. "Our position is originally as wide as Five hundred meters, with a depth of 700 meters. However, under the powerful German offensive, the area of the position was greatly reduced, and now only two hundred meters in width and depth are left..."
"I understand." Yershakov nodded slightly after waiting for Sasiko to finish: "We will defend this place at all costs and cover the retreat of the main force on the right wing."
"By the way, Lieutenant Colonel Yershakov, there is one more thing I want to remind you." The regiment chief of staff felt that it was necessary to introduce everything he knew to Yershakov, so as to prevent the newly arrived Friendly forces suffered a loss: "The enemy has a new type of tank. Our anti-tank guns and anti-tank guns are helpless against it. Even the T-34 tank, which frightens the Germans, is no match for him. There are more than a dozen tanks before and after it. The tank was destroyed."
When Yershakov heard what the chief of staff of the regiment said, he couldn't help being shocked. He said in his heart: I didn't expect the Germans to actually invest in the kind of tanks the division commander mentioned. Fortunately, they have found a way to do it. The soldiers faced The tanks that rush over will not fall into the embarrassing situation of being helpless. Thinking of this, he smiled slightly and said: "Don't worry, we have found a way to deal with this kind of tank. If it doesn't come, that's it. Once it comes, discipline it and it will never come back."
Seeing Yershakov speaking so confidently, Sasiko smiled bitterly and shook his head, thinking that the lieutenant colonel underestimated the enemy so much that he would definitely suffer a big loss when encountering the enemy's new tanks.
In fact, it is completely normal for Sasiko to think so. You must know that since Tiger tanks began to be equipped with troops, in order to prevent the enemy from discovering the weaknesses of Tiger tanks, Hitler had issued strict orders to the troops, requiring all Tiger tanks to be parked together when there was no combat mission, and it was strictly forbidden for tank troops to Outsiders approach. Moreover, all operating manuals were destroyed after reading them, so that except for specially trained tank soldiers, no one knew the mechanical structure and working methods of the Tiger. As for the Tiger tank that was damaged and unable to move during the battle, the tank crew must blow it up before giving up to prevent it from falling into the enemy's hands.
If Sokov hadn't come from later generations, he wouldn't have known that the Tiger tank's weakness was that it used a gasoline engine and only needed two Molotov cocktails to make this arrogant behemoth go to hell. Although Yershakov told his battalion and company commanders how to deal with Tiger tanks, it did not mean that he would tell Sasiko this secret.
After the two regiments handed over the defense, Sasiko stretched out his hand to Yershakov and said sincerely: "Lieutenant Colonel Yershakov, I wish you good luck!" After that, he led his troops to The direction of the Red October Factory changed.
After seeing off Sasiko and his remaining troops, Yershakov ordered the communications troops to connect the division headquarters phone and reported to Sokov: "Comrade Division Commander, our regiment has completely connected to the 351st The regiment’s defensive position.”
"How is the situation of the defensive positions?" Sokov heard the call from Yershakov and immediately asked nervously: "Can the fortifications withstand enemy shelling and bombing?"
"I heard from the commander of the regiment, Lieutenant Colonel Sasiko, that due to time constraints, their 1st regiment only dug a few trenches and a limited number of shelters on the plain. Before they had time to build strong defenses, they were attacked by the enemy. Attack." Yershakov introduced to Sokov with a serious expression: "Since there are no solid defenses, and there are no barbed wires and minefields in front of the positions, the soldiers fought bravely and bravely in the face of the enemy's attack. It was tough, and in less than an hour of fighting, they lost nearly two-thirds of their casualties.”
After hearing what Yershakov said, Sokov couldn't help but feel a little bit in his heart. He thought to himself: The 351st regiment suffered two-thirds of its casualties in one hour, but how long can the Yershakov regiment hold on to the position? The time is not clear yet, and we don’t know how many of them will be left after the blocking battle is over.
Seeing that there was suddenly no sound in the receiver, Yershakov guessed that Sokov might be worried about the fate of his regiment, and said with a forced smile: "Don't worry, comrade division commander, I have organized soldiers to repair and reinforce the fortifications. Dig a large number of bunkers in the trenches so that unnecessary casualties can be reduced when being shelled and bombed by the enemy. Also, the 351st Regiment suffered a lot of casualties, all caused by those damn heavy tanks. Later, We will teach the German tank crews a lesson and let them understand that if they want to pass through our positions, they must pay a price."
"Lieutenant Colonel Yershakov," Sokov said into the microphone, not knowing whether he would see Yershakov alive after the blocking battle in the northwest ended, "I order you to stay alive." return!"
