Facing a series of orders issued by Sokov, Samek felt that he couldn't understand them.
While waiting for Sokov to sit down and drink tea, he asked tentatively: "Comrade Commander, I don't understand. Since General Polubyarov will withdraw from the battle with the 188th Infantry Division, why did you let them complete the assembly?" Then, how about you stay where you are?"
Sokov did not answer Samyko's question, but asked with a smile: "Comrade Chief of Staff, is there anything wrong?"
"The 81st Guards Division, which was responsible for blocking, now has only more than 2,000 people left. The only ones that can provide artillery cover for them are General Trufanov's more than 40 old tanks and the division's artillery regiment. They have more than twenty 76.2 mm caliber cannons." Sameko said plausibly: "With this power, I don't think they can stop the German army's full assault."
"Didn't I send the 188th Division to rush over for reinforcements?" Sokov said lightly: "And I ordered this division to take over the defense of the 81st Guards Division within an hour."
Lunev, who had never spoken, heard this and couldn't help but interjected and asked: "Comrade Commander, if I heard correctly, you are talking about taking over the defense of the 81st Guards Division, not reinforcing them?"
"Comrade Military Commissar, you heard me right, I am just going to let the 188th Division replace the 81st Guards Division." Seeing Lunev's confused expression, Sokov explained his confusion and said: "Guards The commanders and fighters of the 81st Division have rich combat experience and cannot be allowed to waste them all in the battle. As long as enough combat backbones are retained, combat effectiveness will soon be formed after new troops are added."
"So that's it." Lunev knew that the formation of the 81st Guards Division was much longer than that of the 188th Division, and there were more combat backbones. The 188th Division replaced the 81st Guards Division. It seems that It is very necessary.
With the 188th Infantry Division and the Guards Tank Corps withdrawing from the battle, General Herlein's Grossdeutschland Division finally arrived to join the 3rd Panzer Division. At the same time, he received Hoth's order to concentrate his efforts on breaking through the direction of the Soviet army, and rushed to Yakovlevo in the shortest possible time, where he built a defense line to prevent the Soviet attack and cover the retreat of the main force of the Armored Group Army. .
After receiving Holt's order, he left a motorized battalion to accommodate the defeated troops of the 3rd Armored Division and treat the wounded who were not dead. The main force moved south along the road, preparing to rush to Yakovlevo quickly.
At the forefront was a Panther tank battalion of the Armored Regiment and two infantry battalions.
When the leading troops entered the defense zone of the 81st Guards Division, the 173rd Guards Artillery Regiment deployed behind the entire position opened fire. Shells fired by more than twenty 76.2 mm cannons landed in the formation of German tanks and exploded. Most of the shells failed to hit the high-speed tank and only blew up plumes of earth.
The shells that occasionally hit the target could not penetrate the armor of the German tanks at such a long distance, so they could only watch helplessly as they rushed towards the infantry defensive positions.
The infantry holding the position did not have the rocket launchers prepared by Sokov's troops, and could only rely on old-fashioned anti-tank rifles to shoot at the tanks rushing over.
Anti-tank rifles may be useful against the German Panzer III and IV tanks. Now they were facing Panther tanks with much thicker armor. Even if the bullets fired by the anti-tank rifles hit the tanks, they would all ricochet.
Seeing that the artillery fire and anti-tank rifles from the rear could not pose a threat to the German tanks, the commander of the 233rd Regiment commanding the battle at the front could only order the soldiers to risk their lives, climb out of the trenches, and use anti-tank grenades or cluster grenades. , to blow up enemy tanks at close range.
However, their anti-tank tactics have long been familiar to the tank soldiers of the Grossdeutschland Division. Seeing Soviet soldiers crawling out of the trenches, the Panther tanks slowed down and gradually deployed in echelons. The tanks behind them fired at the soldiers with on-board machine guns to prevent them from approaching the tanks in front.
After paying the lives of nearly forty commanders and fighters, one of the Leopard tanks in the front was barely blown up. The other tank, whose tracks were blown off, stopped in place and kept bombarding the Soviet troops with tank guns. position.
Seeing this, the commander of the 233rd Regiment knew that if he sent people to bomb the tanks again, he would only have to pay greater sacrifices, and quickly issued a new order: "Let the enemy tanks pass through our trenches, and then use anti-tank grenades or anti-tank grenades from behind." Cluster grenades blow them up."
After issuing the combat order, the regiment commander called the division headquarters and asked for help from Malanjin: "Comrade division commander, the enemy tanks have approached our position. I request reinforcements, I request reinforcements!"
"Comrade Colonel," Malanjin also saw what happened at the position of the 233rd Regiment, but at this moment the battle had just begun, and he must not easily throw the second-line troops into the battle. If all the troops on the front line were lost, the German army would continue to advance. At that time, what kind of troops should I use to stop them? Therefore, he could only harden his heart and say: "It's not time to use the reserve team yet, you must find a way to hold the position resolutely. Do you understand?"
"Comrade division commander," the regiment leader looked at the position getting closer and closer to the position, and couldn't help but feel confused: "If reinforcements are not sent as soon as possible, the Germans may soon break through our regiment's position."
"Comrade Colonel, have you forgotten what you said to me?" Seeing that the regiment leader was still entangled with him, Malanjin couldn't help but feel a little angry: "You said that as long as there is one soldier alive, you will never let him go. Did the enemy break through your defenses? Just how long has it passed before you lost confidence."
Malanjin's words were like a wake-up call, calming down the already panicked group leader. He rubbed his face with his hands, took another deep breath, and then said in a resolute tone: "Comrade division commander, don't worry, we will defend our position tenaciously."
The regiment commander put down the phone and returned to the position. The battalion commander with a bandage on his head came over and asked him: "Comrade regiment commander, when will the division commander send us reinforcements?"
The regiment leader did not want to affect the morale of the troops because of the temporary lack of reinforcements, so he said vaguely: "Reinforcements will come soon. What is the current situation?"
The first battalion commander thought that the reinforcements sent by the division would arrive soon, and the expression on his face became relaxed. He pointed at the tanks in the distance and reported to the regiment commander: "Comrade regiment commander, the enemy's tanks are not bullying us. The long-range anti-tank weapons parked swaggeringly two hundred meters away, shelling and strafing our positions with tank guns and machine guns."
As soon as he finished speaking, a cannonball exploded nearby, and the soil kicked up spread all over him and the regiment leader. The first battalion commander spit out the dirt in his mouth and cursed: "Damn German tanks, when you cross our trenches later, I will personally send you to see God."
"First battalion commander," the regimental commander said to the first battalion commander when he saw that the German infantry was still far behind. Even if they were trotting, it would take at least ten minutes to reach the position. "Tell the soldiers, Since we have no effective anti-tank weapons, leave them alone. Let everyone take cover and wait until the enemy infantry is close before opening fire."
"Understood, comrade commander. I will pass on your order immediately." The first battalion commander replied loudly, turned around and bent down and ran towards the location of his troops.
Looking at the battalion commander walking away, the commander's heart was bleeding. Only ten minutes after the battle started, his men were under enemy artillery fire and machine gun fire, and suffered nearly a hundred casualties, of which forty were He was sent out to blow up tanks and died. If the casualties are not controlled in time, when the German infantry rushes up, he will become a mere commander.
Ten minutes later, the enemy infantry was only 150 meters away from the position. Whistles sounded one after another on the position, indicating that the soldiers were summoning the soldiers to enter their respective combat positions.
On the battlefield, due to the loud noise of guns and artillery, people's hearing is reduced, and sometimes they cannot hear other people's voices at all. Only through sharp whistles can soldiers hear instructions clearly.
The commanders and fighters who entered the combat position started shooting at the rushing German infantry with their weapons. The charging German soldiers did not expect that the Soviet army would suddenly open fire at this moment. Unprepared, the soldiers at the front fell down. The rest hurriedly took cover on the spot and fired back at the Soviet troops. The machine gunners quickly seized advantageous terrain, set up their machine guns, and fired at the Soviet troops on the position.
For a time, there was a sound of gunshots and explosions.
The German tank crew saw that the infantry was suppressed by Soviet firepower. Except for leaving some to continue bombarding and strafing the Soviet positions, some of the tanks restarted and drove forward against the Soviet bullets.
The commanders and fighters on the position knew that the weapons in their hands did not pose any threat to the German tanks, so no one shot at the moving tanks, but continued to target those hiding in the craters or following the tanks. On the infantry moving slowly behind.
The commander of the first battalion at the forefront was afraid that the soldiers would shoot in vain at the tanks, and shouted at the top of his lungs: "Don't worry about the enemy's tanks, only attack the infantry behind. Just separate the tanks and infantry, and the enemy's tanks will be fired." There is no threat anymore.”
A Panther tank crossed the trench and advanced deeper into the defenses.
Seeing the enemy tanks crossing the trench, a soldier bravely stood up and threw the anti-tank grenade in his hand. The grenade landed on the body of the tank, and a violent explosion occurred.
The first battalion commander thought that the reinforcements sent by the division would arrive soon, and the expression on his face became relaxed. He pointed at the tanks in the distance and reported to the regiment commander: "Comrade regiment commander, the enemy's tanks are not bullying us. The long-range anti-tank weapons parked swaggeringly two hundred meters away, shelling and strafing our positions with tank guns and machine guns."
As soon as he finished speaking, a cannonball exploded nearby, and the soil kicked up spread all over him and the regiment leader. The first battalion commander spit out the dirt in his mouth and cursed: "Damn German tanks, when you cross our trenches later, I will personally send you to see God."
"First battalion commander," the regimental commander said to the first battalion commander when he saw that the German infantry was still far behind. Even if they were trotting, it would take at least ten minutes to reach the position. "Tell the soldiers, Since we have no effective anti-tank weapons, leave them alone. Let everyone take cover and wait until the enemy infantry is close before opening fire."
"Understood, comrade commander. I will pass on your order immediately." The first battalion commander replied loudly, turned around and bent down and ran towards the location of his troops.
Looking at the battalion commander walking away, the commander's heart was bleeding. Only ten minutes after the battle started, his men were under enemy artillery fire and machine gun fire, and suffered nearly a hundred casualties, of which forty were He was sent out to blow up tanks and died. If the casualties are not controlled in time, when the German infantry rushes up, he will become a mere commander.
Ten minutes later, the enemy infantry was only 150 meters away from the position. Whistles sounded one after another on the position, indicating that the soldiers were summoning the soldiers to enter their respective combat positions.
On the battlefield, due to the loud noise of guns and artillery, people's hearing is reduced, and sometimes they cannot hear other people's voices at all. Only through sharp whistles can soldiers hear instructions clearly.
The commanders and fighters who entered the combat position started shooting at the rushing German infantry with their weapons. The charging German soldiers did not expect that the Soviet army would suddenly open fire at this moment. Unprepared, the soldiers at the front fell down. The rest hurriedly took cover on the spot and fired back at the Soviet troops. The machine gunners quickly seized advantageous terrain, set up their machine guns, and fired at the Soviet troops on the position.
For a time, there was a sound of gunshots and explosions.
The German tank crew saw that the infantry was suppressed by Soviet firepower. Except for leaving some to continue bombarding and strafing the Soviet positions, some of the tanks restarted and drove forward against the Soviet bullets.
The commanders and fighters on the position knew that the weapons in their hands did not pose any threat to the German tanks, so no one shot at the moving tanks, but continued to target those hiding in the craters or following the tanks. On the infantry moving slowly behind.
The commander of the first battalion at the forefront was afraid that the soldiers would shoot in vain at the tanks, and shouted at the top of his lungs: "Don't worry about the enemy's tanks, only attack the infantry behind. Just separate the tanks and infantry, and the enemy's tanks will be fired." There is no threat anymore.”
A Panther tank crossed the trench and advanced deeper into the defenses.
Seeing the enemy tanks crossing the trench, a soldier bravely stood up and threw the anti-tank grenade in his hand. The grenade landed on the body of the tank and a violent explosion occurred.
