Malankin's consideration was correct. The German army, which had experienced hundreds of battles, was well-trained in infantry-tank coordination. They said they were second, but no one dared to admit they were first. Without sufficient fire cover, destroying tanks advancing under the cover of infantry will inevitably pay a heavy price.
After Malankin put down the phone, he asked his chief of staff: "Chief of Staff, is General Trufanov still commanding the tank force?"
"Comrade Division Commander," the Chief of Staff quickly replied: "After Trufanov deployed his troops, he returned directly to the headquarters of the 5th Guards Tank Army. The one who stayed here to blow up was a man named Miharich. Tank Corps Lieutenant Colonel.”
"It turned out to be a tank soldier lieutenant colonel." Malanjin couldn't help but frowned, "So, when the enemy's tanks rushed to the 233rd Regiment's position, the tanks diluting the fixed fort were delayed in firing. It was the lieutenant colonel who said Did you give the order?"
"I think so."
"Chief of Staff, please contact Lieutenant Colonel Mihalich immediately and tell him our situation truthfully." Malankin said in a stern tone: "Also remind him that if the enemy attacks the 238th Regiment again, he will If you still sit back and watch like you did just now, once the position is lost and the tanks without infantry cover are the targets of the enemy."
"Understood, Comrade Division Commander. I will contact him immediately."
Lieutenant Colonel Mihalech, who was in charge of commanding the tank troops, was a very conservative commander. When the German tanks rushed towards the front line, his soldiers asked him for instructions whether to fire artillery to support the defenders, but he refused. .
He plausibly said: "What we have left are old T-70 tanks. At a distance of 500 meters, we have to aim at the same position of the Leopard tank and shoot twice in a row to penetrate its armor. The enemy's tanks can destroy us with one shot from a distance of one thousand meters. As your superior, I cannot risk your lives."
It was precisely because of Lieutenant Colonel Mihalech's wrong decision that the 233rd Regiment had to use human sea tactics to bomb the enemy tanks when facing the approaching German tanks. As a result, it suffered heavy casualties. Even the regiment commander was in the battle. Killed in action.
However, when the 233rd Regiment repelled the German attack, his tank was hit by a shell fired by a German tank as it retreated, and it immediately burst into flames and exploded. Fortunately, the tank crew in the car pulled him out in time, allowing him to escape the fate of being burned to death. However, despite this, he was still unconscious due to his severe injuries.
Mihalech was wounded and unconscious, but his command was not handed over to others. Therefore, the tank crews who stayed in the tank saw the enemy infantry slowly gathering behind the tank, and they might attack the 238th Regiment at any time. When the position launches an attack, all they can do is stare blankly.
It was under such circumstances that Malankin's chief of staff called the command post of the tank unit. The person who answered the phone was Mihalech's deputy, Major Potekhin. After listening to the chief of staff's request, he said awkwardly: "Comrade Colonel, I see the situation there very clearly, but Lieutenant Colonel Mihalech did not There was no order given to us to fire, so all we could do was wait."
The chief of staff asked: "Where is Lieutenant Colonel Mihalecki?"
"He is wounded," Potekhin answered shortly.
"Can he still command the battle?"
Potekhin glanced at Mihalec, who was still unconscious on the stretcher, shook his head and replied: "No, he is still in a coma."
Before the chief of staff could speak, Malanjin asked impatiently: "Chief of staff, have you contacted Lieutenant Colonel Mihalech?"
"Lieutenant Colonel Mihalecki is injured!"
"Injured?!" Malanjin stepped forward and took the microphone from the chief of staff's hand, and said close to his ear: "I am Major General Malanjin, who are you?"
Hearing that the person talking to him was Ma Lanjin, the commander of the Guards Division, Bo Texin quickly stood at attention, straightened his back, and said respectfully: "Hello, Comrade General, do you have any instructions?"
"I wonder who I'm talking to?" Malanjin asked instead without explaining his purpose.
"I am Major Potekhin, Lieutenant Colonel Mihalech's deputy."
"Very well, Major Potekhin, since Lieutenant Colonel Miharecki cannot command the battle, then I tell you the same thing." Malankin said into the microphone: "Major, I will let you get through to Lieutenant Colonel Miharecki now. position, responsible for commanding the entire tank force."
"Comrade General, isn't this inappropriate?" Hearing what Malanjin said, Potekhin replied in a panic: "I cannot take over the position of Comrade Lieutenant Colonel before receiving orders from my superiors."
"Major Botexin, I think it is necessary to remind you that you are attached to our division to fight." Seeing that Botexin was still hesitant until now, Malanjin became a little angry: "I am a major general, and you are just a major. A major general’s appointment of a major to take over the command of a tank unit is in compliance with army regulations.”
Malanjin's words left Major Potekhin speechless for a moment.
After a while, Potekhin said: "Comrade General, I obey your order and take over the command of the tank unit. Please give me your instructions!"
"That's right, Comrade Major." Seeing that the other party was willing to obey his orders, the smile returned to Malanjin's face: "The first order I give you is to leave the trenches when the soldiers on the front line leave the trenches. When you go blow up enemy tanks, expect your tanks to provide covering fire for them."
Knowing that it was such a simple task, Potekhin replied without hesitation: "Yes, Comrade General, I will immediately pass your order to every tank soldier."
When Malanjin put down the phone, his chief of staff asked with a worried look: "Comrade division commander, is it appropriate for you to appoint a commander of a friendly force to replace the commander of the unit without authorization?"
"Comrade Chief of Staff, I once heard General Sokov say: The victor should not be blamed." Malankin said to the Chief of Staff: "I remember that on the first day of the war, it had not been adapted into Southwest Among the troops of the Kiev Special Military District of the front army, the first to arrive in the Lutsk area to block the enemy was the mechanized army commanded by Rokossovsky. You know, their station is a full two hundred kilometers away from the combat site. Those who are older than them The troops closer to the battle line did not arrive, but they did. Do you know the reason?"
"I don't know, comrade division commander." The chief of staff was too lazy to use his brain to guess. He shook his head and asked, "Can you tell me what the reason is?"
“On the first day of the outbreak of the war,” Malankin explained to the chief of staff, “General Rokossovsky decisively requisitioned all the vehicles of the Kiev Special Military District in Shepetovka, and he used these vehicles to transport troops, quickly They rushed to the Lutsk area to block the Germans who broke into our border and prevent the situation from deteriorating further.
If he blindly waited for orders from his superiors and did not dare to take a step beyond his control, then his troops might still be in the same place a few days after the war broke out. In that case, the situation in Ukraine as a whole will be worse than it was in real history. "
After listening to Malanjin's words, the chief of staff immediately understood why the other party exceeded his authority and appointed the commander of the friendly forces. He nodded and said: "Comrade division commander, I understand that in order to achieve the final victory, sometimes you don't have to stick to the rules."
After the German infantry completed their assembly, they followed the tanks and launched a charge towards the Soviet position. The artillery regiment of the Guards Division completely stopped shelling because they were worried that the artillery fire would accidentally injure their own people.
The German tank was not far from the position. Within a few minutes, its tracks were almost crushing the trench. The anti-tank man in the trench stood up, raised his hand and threw the anti-tank grenade, trying to blow up the enemy tank. But as soon as many people leaned forward, they were shot down by the infantry following the tanks.
At this moment, the artillery shell flew over the heads of the Soviet commanders and soldiers in the trench, landed next to or in front of the German tank, and exploded. The flying shrapnel cut down some of the soldiers following the tank, and scared the rest to the point where they quickly fell down. After all, the Soviet artillery fire just caused a lot of casualties to them, making these German infantrymen frightened. .
Seeing the enemy infantry lying down, the anti-tank fighters who were suppressed by fire stood up again and threw the anti-tank grenades in their hands at the enemy tanks. Although some of them missed, a few still hit the armor of the enemy tanks and exploded, causing the enemy tanks to start burning.
The tank soldiers who escaped from the burning tank had no time to extinguish the fire on their bodies, so they ran backwards with dancing steps. They wanted to run to a safe area and rolled on the spot to extinguish the fire on their bodies. However, the Soviet commanders and fighters, who had long been holding back their anger, were not willing to let them escape easily. After a burst of gunfire, the German tank soldiers fell to the ground one after another.
The German infantry lying on the ground saw that their tanks were destroyed by Soviet anti-tank fighters. They immediately became anxious and quickly got up from the ground, rushing forward regardless of the situation. For the German soldiers who came to die in this way, Soviet commanders and fighters greeted them with machine guns, submachine guns and grenades. After a few minutes, a large number of German corpses lay in front of the position.
The two sides started a fierce battle near the trenches. As soon as the Soviet army destroyed several more German tanks, a group of German infantry rushed into the trenches and started close combat and hand-to-hand combat with the Soviet troops standing inside.
Although all German soldiers are well-trained, when it comes to stabbing skills, they are far from the fighting skills of Soviet commanders and fighters. In less than three minutes, all the dozens of German soldiers who rushed in were killed, and the 238th Regiment's position was consolidated.
"Comrade Chief of Staff, I once heard General Sokov say: The victor should not be blamed." Malankin said to the Chief of Staff: "I remember that on the first day of the war, it had not been adapted into Southwest Among the troops of the Kiev Special Military District of the front army, the first to arrive in the Lutsk area to block the enemy was the mechanized army commanded by Rokossovsky. You know, their station is a full two hundred kilometers away from the combat site. Those who are older than them The troops closer to the battle line did not arrive, but they did. Do you know the reason?"
"I don't know, comrade division commander." The chief of staff was too lazy to use his brain to guess. He shook his head and asked, "Can you tell me what the reason is?"
“On the first day of the outbreak of the war,” Malankin explained to the chief of staff, “General Rokossovsky decisively requisitioned all the vehicles of the Kiev Special Military District in Shepetovka, and he used these vehicles to transport troops, quickly They rushed to the Lutsk area to block the Germans who broke into our border and prevent the situation from deteriorating further.
If he blindly waited for orders from his superiors and did not dare to take a step beyond his control, then his troops might still be in the same place a few days after the war broke out. In that case, the situation in Ukraine as a whole will be worse than it was in real history. "
After listening to Malanjin's words, the chief of staff immediately understood why the other party exceeded his authority and appointed the commander of the friendly forces. He nodded and said: "Comrade division commander, I understand that in order to achieve the final victory, sometimes you don't have to stick to the rules."
After the German infantry completed their assembly, they followed the tanks and launched a charge towards the Soviet position. The artillery regiment of the Guards Division completely stopped shelling because they were worried that the artillery fire would accidentally injure their own people.
The German tank was not far from the position. Within a few minutes, its tracks were almost crushing the trench. The anti-tank man in the trench stood up, raised his hand and threw the anti-tank grenade, trying to blow up the enemy tank. But as soon as many people leaned forward, they were shot down by the infantry following the tanks.
At this moment, the artillery shell flew over the heads of the Soviet commanders and soldiers in the trench, landed next to or in front of the German tank, and exploded. The flying shrapnel cut down some of the soldiers following the tank, and scared the rest to the point where they quickly fell down. After all, the Soviet artillery fire just caused a lot of casualties to them, making these German infantrymen frightened. .
Seeing the enemy infantry lying down, the anti-tank fighters who were suppressed by fire stood up again and threw the anti-tank grenades in their hands at the enemy tanks. Although some of them missed, a few still hit the armor of the enemy tanks and exploded, causing the enemy tanks to start burning.
The tank soldiers who escaped from the burning tank had no time to extinguish the fire on their bodies, so they ran backwards with dancing steps. They wanted to run to a safe area and rolled on the spot to extinguish the fire on their bodies. However, the Soviet commanders and fighters, who had long been holding back their anger, were not willing to let them escape easily. After a burst of gunfire, the German tank soldiers fell to the ground one after another.
The German infantry lying on the ground saw that their tanks were destroyed by Soviet anti-tank fighters. They immediately became anxious and quickly got up from the ground, rushing forward regardless of the situation. For the German soldiers who came to die in this way, Soviet commanders and fighters greeted them with machine guns, submachine guns and grenades. After a few minutes, a large number of German corpses lay in front of the position.
The two sides started a fierce battle near the trenches. As soon as the Soviet army destroyed several more German tanks, a group of German infantry rushed into the trenches and started close combat and hand-to-hand combat with the Soviet troops standing inside.
Although all German soldiers are well-trained, when it comes to stabbing skills, they are far from the fighting skills of Soviet commanders and fighters. In less than three minutes, all the dozens of German soldiers who rushed in were killed, and the 238th Regiment's position was consolidated.
