The officers and soldiers of the Imperial Division rear guard never dreamed that they would be suddenly attacked by the Soviet army while marching. There were not only machine gun fire on both sides of the road, but also rockets with long flame tails flying out from time to time, landing in the queue and exploding.
For a time, this place became a hell on earth. The firing of machine guns erupted into clouds of blood mist among the crowd; the explosion of rockets set off countless broken limbs.
The German regiment serving as the rearguard was already demoralized by the annihilation of its regimental headquarters and an infantry battalion. After being attacked, there was chaos. In just a few minutes, two companies were annihilated by the Soviet army. Seeing that the situation was not good, the deputy commander of the German regiment quickly ordered the troops to disperse on the spot, using craters or snowdrifts as cover, and began to exchange fire with the Soviet army.
Since he had just received a supplement of rockets not long ago, Sokov was not stingy and ordered each regiment to fire rockets at areas where the enemy was densely populated. The rockets that were continuously launched exploded when they landed at the enemy's gathering position, making the enemies howl like ghosts.
The deputy commander of the German army felt that with his own strength, he could not compete with the Soviet army, so he sent a distress signal to Major General Val. He thought wishfully that maybe the Russian troops attacking him would retreat when the main force arrived. But he forgot that his troops stayed on the unobstructed road. Facing the Soviet army's powerful firepower attack, the entire army's destruction was inevitable.
A battalion commander ran to the deputy commander and reported to him: "Mr. Lieutenant Colonel, the Russians' firepower is too strong. If our troops continue to stay here, sooner or later they will be wiped out."
"I have asked the division headquarters for help," the deputy commander said stubbornly: "The Russians are deep in the rear of our army and cannot carry much ammunition. Their shelling will stop soon. If we retreat now, the Russians will follow If we chase them from behind, the army will collapse by then."
For Sokov, who was directing the battle, no matter whether the Germans stayed at their current position or retreated, it would only be a matter of time before they were annihilated. He held up his binoculars and looked at the smoke-filled place in front of him. Without looking back, he asked Sidorin: "Chief of Staff, is there any news from the two battalions that were ambushed halfway?"
The Briski Battalion and the Shamrich Battalion, which were in charge of breaking up the rear last night, are now under the command of Major Vanya, Chief of Staff of the 122nd Regiment, ambushing the German army on the only way to pass. Sokov's order to them was that as soon as the enemy's reinforcements entered the ambush circle, they would immediately attack with rockets, inflict heavy damage on the enemy, and slow down the speed of their reinforcements, so that the main force of the division could have enough time to destroy the empire. The division's rearguard.
"No, Comrade Division Commander." Sidorin shook his head and said, "Major Vanya hasn't sent any telegram yet. I guess the enemy's reinforcements are still on the way. I don't know when they will arrive."
"If after we annihilate the German rearguard, the enemy's reinforcements have not arrived yet." Sokov ordered Sidorin: "Immediately order Major Vanya to lead his troops to move immediately and prepare to attack the rearguard of the Flag Guard Division. .”
Just when Sidorin sent a report to Major Vanya, political commissar Anisimov walked to Sokov's side and said with a smile: "Comrade Commander, I never knew that a battle could be fought like this. Even if we can't annihilate the empire, The rearguard force of a division, but the results achieved by a division are definitely no worse than those achieved by a group army."
Sokov put down the telescope, turned to Anisimov and said: "Comrade Political Commissar, it is not enough to achieve more results than a group army. My goal is to annihilate as many of these three SS divisions as possible. force to reduce the pressure on us in the coming battle."
If Sokov had said this yesterday, Anisimov would have doubted it. But now that Sokov said it, he felt it was completely natural. Among other things, Sokov is now a legendary figure in the German army. It would be simply unbelievable if the battles he commanded could not achieve results beyond imagination.
"Comrade Division Commander," Sidorin finished sending the telegram to Major Vanya and handed a new telegram to Sokov: "According to reports from the scouts, the Führer Regiment of the German Flag Guard Division also followed. The main force of the Imperial Division is heading south, preparing to reinforce the enemies attacked by our army. It is estimated that they will reach our ambush circle in another hour."
Knowing that the troops of the Flag Guard Division were also dispatched, Sokov couldn't help but frown slightly, and then asked: "Chief of Staff, ask the scout, does the Führer Regiment act together with the Imperial Division, or alone? Like this Only then can we formulate corresponding combat deployments."
The scout's reply arrived quickly: "The main forces of the Führer Regiment and the Imperial Division are five kilometers apart. Once the Imperial Division is attacked, they can immediately arrive to provide support."
After listening to Sidorin's report, Sokov thought for a while, and then said to Sidorin: "Chief of Staff, after being attacked by our rockets, the enemy has basically lost its ability to resist. Order all regiments to launch an attack immediately. , the battle must be resolved within half an hour.”
In the pre-war deployment, Sokov once said that powerful artillery fire should be used to completely defeat the enemy's resistance before launching an attack. But judging from the current situation, the enemy obviously still has a certain degree of combat effectiveness. If a hasty attack is launched, the casualties of the troops will definitely increase.
Sidorin quickly reminded Sokov: "Comrade division commander, judging from the current situation, we only need to attack with a few more rockets to completely destroy the enemy's resistance..."
"No, we can't spend too many rockets on this enemy." Sokov said to Sidorin: "After we quickly resolve the battle, we can immediately turn around to the west and go behind the Guards Division. Beat their rearguard hard. Then the Führer Regiment, which is following the Imperial Division southward, will have to retreat and fight to reinforce their troops under attack."
"Comrade Division Commander," Sidorin said with some surprise: "We are now about ten kilometers away from the rear guard of the Color Guard Division. We can launch an attack on the rear guard of the Color Guard Division after Major Vanya's ambush begins. Attack?"
"Chief of Staff, what you said makes sense." Sokov felt that what Sidorin said made sense, so he temporarily modified his battle plan: "Order the 122nd and 124th regiments to attack the enemy immediately, and Ye Colonel Ershakov's 125th Regiment withdrew from the battle, quickly advanced westward, and circled back to the rear of the Flag Guard Division, ready to launch an attack at any time."
Major General Val, who was leading his troops south, was still one kilometer away from the ambush circle set up by Major Vanya when he suddenly received a wireless call from the deputy commander of the German regiment, saying that the Soviet army had launched its final attack and that his troops were about to be destroyed. Request reinforcements to come as soon as possible.
When Major General Val heard what the deputy commander said, he immediately became anxious and shouted into the microphone: "Lieutenant Colonel, hold on, I order you to hold on. We are about an hour away from you, as long as you If you hold on a little longer, we will rush over to rescue you."
After ending the call with the deputy regiment commander, Major General Val immediately issued an order to the other two regiment commanders, asking them to speed up and rush to the area near the German regiment where they were attacked, and be sure to rescue the troops under attack.
However, what Major General Ling Val did not expect was that after they walked forward for a few minutes, they were attacked by rockets from the nearby forest. The troops who were marching in a hurry were suddenly blown to pieces.
Before he could give new orders to the troops, a rocket landed five or six meters away from his barrel truck and exploded, blowing the two motorcycles apart on the spot. The barrel truck that Major General Val was riding in was also overturned by the blast.
The soldiers who were still nearby saw the division commander's barrel truck being blown over and quickly came to the rescue. Major General Val, who had an injured arm, was dragged out of the car, while the driver and the adjutant sitting in the passenger seat were killed by shrapnel.
Major General Val, holding his injured arm, stumbled towards the back of the convoy with the support of two soldiers, trying to avoid the Soviet rocket attack.
The Führer Regiment following the Imperial Division learned that the troops in front had been ambushed by the Soviet army. The leader of the Führer Regiment immediately ordered the troops to stop advancing, and then sent scouts to conduct reconnaissance.
Seeing that the troops had stopped advancing, the regiment chief of staff quickly said to the regiment leader: "Colonel, the friendly forces were ambushed by the Russians in front. Don't we need to rush over to support them?"
"They are being attacked by Russian rockets. Even if we rush over, we will die." Looking at the fire and smoke in front, listening to the rumbling explosions, he said to the chief of staff: "If we don't understand clearly, In advance of the situation ahead, all troops are temporarily on standby."
Although the troops stopped advancing and watched as the Imperial Division was attacked by Soviet rockets, the regimental commander still felt that he should report what happened here to his division commander, General Dietrich. Then he ordered the chief of staff: "Send a report to the division commander and report to him the situation here."
Dietrich was shocked when he learned that the Imperial Division was ambushed by the Soviet army as it moved south. He quickly reported to Hausser: "Your Excellency, General, Major General Val led the main force of the Imperial Division to go south. He was attacked by rockets from the Russians. The organization of the army has been disrupted. It is obviously impossible to continue the reinforcement mission." of."
"What the hell." Hauser said angrily: "Where did these damn Russians come from? They actually ambushed our army on the only way they can pass."
"Your Excellency General," Dietrich reminded Hausser: "Don't forget, our opponent is Sokov. He is a cunning Russian. Didn't our army suffer enough losses in his hands? "
"Damn it, it's so abominable." Hausser said: "If I catch him alive, I will definitely strangle him to death with my own hands. General Dietrich, order your troops to speed up their march, and be sure to capture Val The Major General’s troops were rescued.”
"I'm sorry, General Hausser." Dietrich chose to disobey Hausser's order: "According to reports from my subordinates, the Russians are using that new type of rocket to attack the Imperial Division's troops. . Even if my people rush over, they will only die. Therefore, I ordered them to stop where they are and wait until the Russians responsible for the ambush retreat, and then rush over to support the Imperial Division."
Hausser hated Sokov so much at this moment, but there was nothing he could do about him. After hearing the reasons put forward by Dietrich, he was silent for a moment, and then nodded in agreement: "Okay, General Dietrich, just order your troops to temporarily stop advancing, and wait until the Russians who carried out the ambush retreat." Rush over to reinforce the Imperial Division."
After issuing this order, Hausser felt like his heart was cut by a knife. He knew very well that after this blow, the Imperial Division would not be able to carry out any more operations for a long time unless it immediately retreated to the rear for replenishment. combat mission.
The 122nd and 124th regiments, which launched the final attack on the German regiment, wiped out the remaining enemies in only twenty minutes. After they took the time to pack up a batch of weapons and ammunition that could still be used, they withdrew from the battle according to Sokov's order, moved to the west, and rushed over to support the 125th Regiment that was about to clash with the Color Guard Division.
Before the transfer, Sokov ordered Sidorin to send a telegram to Vanya to learn about the progress of their ambush. Vanya's telegram came soon, saying that rockets were being used to attack the enemy's march. Under the attack of rockets, the enemy could no longer continue to advance south.
After listening to Sidorin's report, Sokov issued another order: "Inform Major Vanya that the enemy's forces are stronger than theirs. Once the rockets are exhausted, they will immediately lead their troops to withdraw from the battle and must not entangle with the enemy. "
Sidorin asked cautiously: "Where should you tell them to evacuate?"
Sokov knew very well that if he ordered Vanya to move closer to him, he might encounter the German army. Therefore, he felt that he should temporarily let this unit separate from him and conduct independent operations: "Tell Major Vanya to let them hide temporarily." In the nearby forest, await further orders from me."
"Comrade Division Commander, if they stay in the nearby forest, they will be easily noticed by the enemy." Sidorin felt that Sokov's order put Vanya and the others in danger, so he quickly said: " I think we should let them come closer to us.”
"No, if they move closer to us now, they will encounter the enemy instead, and their situation will be even more dangerous." Sokov explained to Sidorin: "If they retreat into the nearby forest to hide, the enemy will be there for a while. We can't detect them. Especially after we start the battle at the rear of the Guards Division, the enemy's attention will be attracted and they will have no time to take care of them."
"Okay, Comrade Commander." Sidorin felt that Sokov was right, so he nodded and said, "I immediately sent a telegram to Major Vanya, ordering them to retreat to the vicinity after using up their rockets. Hidden in the forest, waiting for the next instructions from the division headquarters."
