As night falls, the battle in Qijilin City comes to an end.
Under the joint attack of the 188th Division and the First Division of the 84th Division, the dense gunfire in the city became sparse, and only some German stragglers were still making their final resistance in individual locations.
Among the German officers and soldiers who resisted, the majority were officers and soldiers of the Viking Division, because they knew very well that ordinary Wehrmacht soldiers would be imprisoned in prisoner-of-war camps after surrendering to the Soviet army. Because the officers and soldiers of the SS had done too many bad things and had such an ugly reputation, they would be shot directly after being captured by the Soviet army. Even Sokov's troops, who always treated prisoners preferentially, were no exception. Because of this, in order to save their lives, the officers and soldiers of the Viking Division could only continue to fight hard.
When Sokov learned that the battle in Chigilin City was coming to an end, he directly ordered Fomenko who was standing next to him: "General Fomenko, although most of the enemies in the city have been eliminated, the officers and soldiers of the Viking Division who are reinforcing Chigilin , are still fighting fiercely with the 384th Division, I plan to dispatch the 188th Division to rush for reinforcements, and leave the task of clearing out the remaining enemies in the city to your division."
"No problem," Fomenko said with a relaxed expression after hearing the task assigned to him by Sokov: "Although the resistance in the city is still continuing, the enemy's ammunition has been almost exhausted. I believe it won't take long. , we can annihilate them all.”
While Fomenko was assigning tasks to the troops, Sokov contacted Koida again by phone: "Colonel Koida, for the remaining enemies in the city, I have ordered General Fomenko's troops to Continue the clearing, and you immediately assemble your troops and rush to support the 384th Division."
Knowing that Sokov was going to support the 384th Division, Koida asked cautiously: "Comrade Commander, is the situation there with Major General Gritsenko very bad?"
"That's right." Sokov was also very speechless about the battle in the 384th Division area. It was originally intended to be an ambush with reinforcements, but he didn't expect that as the battle progressed, it turned into a battle to attack the position. The two sides fought fiercely, and tug-of-war continued in many areas. In order to reverse the military, Sokov could only transfer the 188th Division, which had just completed its offensive mission, to the combat area to reduce the pressure on the 384th Division: "Since the reinforcements sent by the German army were Viking divisions, although our commanders and fighters were fighting It is very tenacious, but it is difficult to defeat the enemy."
"Understood, Comrade Commander." After listening to Sokov's words, Koida immediately realized that if the commanders and soldiers of the 384th Division had not desperately blocked the enemy's reinforcements, his troops would not have been driven out, let alone liberating Chigilin. good. Wanting to understand this, he quickly replied: "I will rush over as soon as possible for reinforcements. Once a troop is assembled, I will send one troop over."
Sokov felt that he needed to give Koida a warning so that he would not suffer later: "Comrade Colonel, I think it is necessary to remind you that the Viking Division is the most elite unit in the German army. Fighting against them will definitely be dangerous. We must maintain a high degree of vigilance to avoid suffering big losses by underestimating the enemy."
Hearing what Sokov said, Koida grinned and replied: "Comrade Commander, I always remember you once said that the bite of a wounded beast is also very painful. The Viking Division troops who came for reinforcements, after such After a long battle, their strength must have been greatly weakened, but at this moment they are more like a wounded beast. If we take it lightly when fighting them, we will suffer a big loss."
Now that Koida understood what he meant, Sokov said nothing more, just nodded slightly and said: "Comrade Colonel, I wish you good luck!"
After finishing the call here and putting down the phone, Fomenko came over and said: "Comrade Commander, after Colonel Rusov's 254th Regiment occupied the towns of Ratsewe and Kinki, it has moved its defenses closer to the river. The 15th Guards Division has been handed over. I would like to ask, what should they do next? Should they continue to stay where they are, or should they withdraw and return to rebuilding?"
Before making a decision, Sokov asked a rhetorical question: "Has all the 15th Guards Division crossed over, or only part of it?"
"According to Colonel Rusov's report," Fomenko replied: "Major General Vasilenko's 15th Guards Division has all crossed the Dnieper River. At the same time, the rest of the troops are gathering on the left bank, just waiting for the pontoon bridge to be erected. , and began to cross the river on a large scale."
"Oh, it turns out that the 15th Guards Division has safely crossed the river." After listening to Fomenko's words, Sokov nodded slightly and said to him: "Since the leading troops of the 7th Guards Group Army have successfully crossed the river, After crossing the Dnieper River, it is no longer necessary for Colonel Rusov's troops to stay there. Then let them withdraw and rest. If the superiors really want to order us to return to the original landing site, they can also go less road."
Fomenko raised his hand to look at his watch, and then said to Sokov: "Comrade Commander, it's already dark. If they rush all night, they may cause some unnecessary chaos. I think it's better to wait until dawn tomorrow morning." , it’s not too late to return.”
When Sokov thought about it, Fomenko's words made sense. Although the nearby areas were under the control of his own troops, who could guarantee that there were no German stragglers in the darkness. If they discovered the returning troops, Hiding in the dark and firing cold shots will cause unnecessary casualties to the 254th Regiment.
After wanting to understand this, he nodded and agreed to Fomenko's proposal: "General Fomenko, what you said makes sense. For the sake of safety, I think it is better to wait until dawn before letting the 254th Regiment return to its formation."
As the troops of the 188th Division entered the battlefield, the German army, which had long been at its end, could no longer resist the Soviet attack. In addition, Qi Jilin had been lost, and there was no point in advancing towards the city. The enemy was dozens of kilometers away. The German division commander could only give the troops an order to retreat.
Seeing that the German army was about to collapse at the first touch and chose to retreat, Lieutenant Colonel Majewo, the leader of the 562nd Regiment, planned to pursue the victory, but was stopped by Koida. He said to Majewo who proposed the pursuit: "Comrade Lieutenant Colonel, it is already dark today and the visibility on the battlefield is limited. Although the Germans have retreated, who knows whether they have set up an ambush along the way. If we pursue rashly, it will be very dangerous." You might suffer a big loss.”
"Comrade Division Commander," Majewo said unwillingly, "Are we just going to watch the enemy escape like this?"
"Comrade Lieutenant Colonel," seeing Majewo still entangled in this matter, Koida said to him with a straight face: "I am responsible for my troops and commanders. Once I pursue the enemy without knowing the situation, I will be hit." The enemy's ambush caused the troops to suffer huge losses. Who will bear this responsibility? You or me?"
Koida's stern tone made Majewo obediently shut his mouth, not daring to mention the pursuit of victory again. He paused for a moment and asked tentatively: "Comrade division commander, what is the next task of our regiment?"
"Seize the time to clean the battlefield and collect weapons and ammunition that can still be used." Koida said to him: "After all this is done, you can take your regiment to find a place to rest nearby."
When the 562nd Regiment began to clean the battlefield, an officer came to Koida, raised his hand to report to him and said: "Comrade Division Commander, Major General Gritsenko, Commander of the 384th Division, is here."
As soon as he finished speaking, Gritsenko appeared in front of Koida.
Fearing that there were German snipers nearby, the two did not salute when they met, but simply shook hands.
"Colonel Koida," Gritsenko said first after the two men let go of their hands: "Thank you very much for coming to support in time, otherwise I don't know what the outcome will be if we continue to fight."
"You fought very hard, Comrade General." Koida responded: "I learned through interrogation of the prisoners that the enemies reinforcing Chigilin are the 10th Panzer Grenadier Regiment and the 5th Armored Light Infantry Battalion of the Viking Division. The 5th Armored Regiment. Although they don’t have many troops, there is still no problem in defeating one or two friendly divisions.”
"You are right." Gritsenko agreed with Koida's statement: "Our division's combat effectiveness is not the strongest in the entire army, but it is definitely far better than friendly forces. But our division Even with such strength, they still ambushed the Germans, but still failed to resolve the battle quickly. On the contrary, they fell into a bitter battle. If you hadn't arrived in time for reinforcements, I'm afraid even if you win, it will be a tragic victory. The following series of battles, He will never be associated with our division."
"General Gritsenko," Koida quickly explained after waiting for Gritsenko to finish speaking: "Comrade Commander was worried that you would not be able to withstand the German onslaught, so as soon as he learned that the fighting in the city was basically over, he ordered I gathered my troops and rushed over to support you."
After the fierce battle with the Viking division, Gritsenko had some shadows in his heart. He was worried that Koida would retreat with his troops when he saw the enemy retreating. If the 188th Division really retreated, once the German army came back, he did not think that his incomplete troops could stop the German offensive again. He asked cautiously: "Colonel Koida, although the enemy has retreated, what will happen next?" What do you plan to do?"
Koida looked at Gritsenko with a strange look and couldn't figure out why the other party would ask such a question. But he soon guessed the implication of the other party's words, and said with a smile: "Comrade General, the commander ordered our division to come over to support you. But after repelling the enemy, he did not give any further instructions on what we should do. We can only stay here and wait for orders."
"That's great." Thinking that the 188th Division would continue to stay here, even if the Germans returned, there would be nothing to fear. Gritsenko blurted out: "Now we are not afraid of the Germans coming back again."
After hearing what Gritsenko said, Koida realized that his guess was completely correct. He just smiled lightly and then suggested to Gritsenko: "Comrade General, I think some of your troops are in a difficult defensive battle." , the losses must be heavy, why not let my soldiers take over their defense?"
"Colonel Koida, this is not the place to talk. Let's move to another place to discuss the defense change." Gritsenko saw a shelter not far away, which should be a regiment-level command post. He pointed with his hand and pointed at the colonel. Ida said: "Let's go there and continue our research."
Koida also felt that it was a bit hasty to discuss such a major matter as a defense change on the road. Moreover, without a map, relying on oral narratives would inevitably lead to some deviations. In order to avoid unnecessary mistakes, he agreed to Gritsenko's proposal.
The two came to the shelter. It was indeed a regiment command post of the 384th Division. Seeing the division commander coming with another colonel, the regiment commander quickly stepped forward and saluted: "Hello, comrade division commander. Why are you here?" ?”
Gritsenko pointed at Koida beside him and introduced to the regiment commander: "This is Colonel Koida, commander of the 188th Division. We are here to discuss defense changes. Do you have a map here?"
Hearing Gritsenko's question, the regiment leader nodded hurriedly and said with some excitement: "Yes, yes, comrade division commander, we must have a map here."
After the regiment commander brought the map, Gritsenko lowered his head to study for a while, then pointed at one of the places and said to Koida: "Colonel Koida, this is where our division's Belinsky regiment is stationed. They are Although the first unit to engage in firefights with the enemy inflicted great damage on the enemy, the commanders and soldiers also suffered heavy casualties. Before coming here, I had a conversation with him and learned that the regiment only had one battalion left, and there were also Many are wounded.”
"Comrade General," although Gritsenko did not say it explicitly, Koida knew very well that if there was no change of defense, once the German army counterattacked, the Belinsky regiment standing here would be in a position to be completely wiped out. . In order to avoid this tragedy from happening, he took the initiative: "My 562nd regiment happens to be nearby. After they finish cleaning the battlefield, I will order them to take over the defense of the Belinsky regiment."
Koida took the initiative and expressed his willingness to take over the defense of the Belinsky regiment, which excited Gritsenko. Because the Belinsky Regiment is located in a position that protrudes from the entire defense line, now that it is handed over to friendly forces, it can fully defend the defense areas of the other two regiments. Before the Germans seize the 562nd Regiment's position, it will be difficult for the Germans to fight with them. Conflict with oneself.
Just listen to Koida ask again: "Comrade General, I wonder where we still need to take over the defense?"
"No more, no more." Gritsenko handed over the hot potato to the 188th Regiment. The huge stone hanging in his heart finally fell to the ground. He said to Koida: "You can take over the Belinsky Regiment?" The defense area has already made me grateful, how dare I ask you to take charge of more areas."
"Comrade General." Although it could be seen that Gritsenko was obviously throwing away the burden, Koida still said generously: "We are friendly forces. If you have any difficulties, just ask them and we will try our best to help you." of."
"It's really not necessary." Seeing Koida's magnanimity, Gritsenko felt ashamed, and he said repeatedly: "I have concentrated all the existing troops on the second line. Even if the German army attacks again, we are fully capable." Ability to stop them.”
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