Early the next morning, after Colonel Russov had assembled the commanders and fighters of the 254th Regiment, and was preparing to retreat, the regiment chief of staff reminded him: "Comrade commander, although we have already moved the towns of Ratsewesi and Jinki. The defense of the army was handed over to the 15th Guards Division, but when we leave, shouldn't we say goodbye to the division commander?"
Russov thought that although he had been ordered to evacuate this area, it seemed inappropriate if he did not say hello to Vasilenko, the commander of the 15th Guards Division, so he nodded and said to the Chief of Staff: "Comrade Chief of Staff , you lead the troops to retreat slowly, I will say goodbye to General Vasilenko, and then I will chase you."
Vasilenko, who was busy in the headquarters, saw Rusov walking in from the outside and immediately greeted him with a smile, "Hello, Colonel Rusov, why do you have time to come to my headquarters?"
After Rusov raised his hand to salute Vasilenko, he replied respectfully: "Comrade General, our regiment is about to leave the town of Ratseve, and I came here specifically to say goodbye to you."
Vasilenko stepped forward and held Rusov's hand, and said gratefully: "Colonel Rusov, although I already expressed my gratitude to you yesterday, I still want to express my gratitude to you again at this moment. It is precisely because of your subordinates Your bloodshed and sacrifice enabled us to successfully cross the Dnieper River. On behalf of all the commanders and fighters of the division, I would like to express my highest respect to you."
"You are so polite, Comrade General." Rusuf said somewhat flattered, "We are just performing our duties, there is nothing special about it."
After the two exchanged a few polite words, Rusov said goodbye to Vasilenko again, and Vasilenko politely sent him to the door of the headquarters. He held Rusuf's hand again and said with a smile: "Colonel Rusev, let's say goodbye. I hope there will be an opportunity to fight side by side again soon."
"Yes, Comrade General." Rusuf said with a smile, "I believe this day will come soon."
As soon as Rusuf finished speaking, the rumble of cannons suddenly came from a distance. Hearing this sound, he couldn't help but change his expression, and said to Vasilenko: "Comrade General, the sound of artillery came from the direction of Jingji Town. Is there a battle taking place in that direction?"
The two of them turned their heads and looked north at the same time. Jingji Town was in that direction, and sure enough they saw billowing black smoke rising in the distance. Seeing this situation, Vasilenko's heart sank suddenly. Could it be that the enemy had launched an attack on Jinji Town?
Just when he was about to return to the headquarters to learn about the situation from his chief of staff, he saw a familiar staff officer hurriedly walking out of the building. When the staff officer saw Vasilenko, he didn't even have time to salute, and reported to Vasilenko in a panic: "Comrade division commander, something urgent has happened. Chief of Staff, please go back quickly."
"I understand, I'll go back immediately." After confirming that a bad situation had arisen, Vasilenko dismissed the staff, turned to Rusov and said apologetically: "Colonel Rusov, I originally wanted to send you out of the town in person, but But something unexpected happened, and I can’t see you off anymore. I wish you good luck!”
Rusuf left the headquarters and rode out of the town. The more he thought about the problem, the more wrong he became. He quickly called an officer and ordered him: "Comrade Lieutenant, please inform the chief of staff and order the troops to temporarily stop retreating, hide on the spot, and wait." My next order.”
Besides, after Vasilenko returned to the headquarters, he saw his chief of staff from a distance and couldn't wait to ask: "Comrade chief of staff, what happened?"
"Comrade division commander," the chief of staff immediately reported to Vasilenko: "I received a call from the commander of the 44th Guards Regiment stationed in Jinji Town. The enemy is carrying out intensive shelling of the town. It seems that they intend to attack the town. Carry out an attack."
Upon hearing the news, Vasilenko said carelessly: "We have established landing sites at Ratseve and Kinki, which seriously threatens the safety of Cherkasy. The Germans may try every means to eliminate it. Such a threat." He turned around and ordered the communications company commander, "Put me through the headquarters phone immediately. I want to report what happened here to the comrade commander."
When the communications company commander started making calls, Vasilenko asked the chief of staff: "Has the enemy assembled a large number of troops near the town to prepare for an attack after the shelling is over?"
But in response to Vasilenko's question, the chief of staff shook his head and said: "Sorry, Comrade Division Commander, this was not mentioned in the intelligence provided by the 44th Regiment."
"Hell." Vasilenko said angrily after hearing this: "If you don't even know the enemy's situation, how are they going to fight in the next battle?"
"Comrade division commander," the chief of staff said cautiously after Vasilenko's attack, "I will immediately contact the 44th Division and ask them to find out whether there are German troops gathering outside the town."
Before Vasilenko could speak, the communications company commander had already said to him: "Comrade division commander, the call from the headquarters has been connected."
As soon as Vasilenko put the microphone to his ear, he heard Shumilov's voice coming from inside: "Vasilenko, I heard the sound of artillery coming from the right bank, and I also saw smoke rising from it. ,So what happened?"
"Comrade Commander, I am preparing to report to you." Vasilenko said into the microphone: "The 44th Regiment stationed in Jinji Town is currently under heavy shelling by the German army. According to my judgment, after the shelling ends, In the end, the enemy will definitely launch an attack on the town in order to retake the town from our army."
"Since the enemies are shelling the town, their attack on the town is inevitable." Shumilov asked impatiently: "I want to know what kind of troops the Germans plan to use to attack our Launch an attack at the landing site?”
"I'm sorry, Comrade Commander, I don't know for the time being." Upon hearing Shumilov's question, Vasilenko replied with some shame: "In addition to reporting to me that they were shelled by the enemy, the 44th Regiment did not There is no more information." He was worried about being scolded by Shumilov. After a brief pause, he continued, "I have ordered the chief of staff to get in touch with the commander of the regiment and let them figure out the enemy's situation as soon as possible. .”
"If you have any latest information, remember to report it to me in time."
The German artillery bombardment of Jingji Town lasted for half an hour and then came to an abrupt end. Before the smoke cleared, the infantrymen in armored vehicles and trucks, under the cover of tanks, launched a charge towards the town.
Upon discovering that the enemy's attack had begun, the commanders and fighters who had escaped the shelling came out of their hiding places and entered the bombed-out positions, preparing to block the enemy's advance.
The battle started soon. Although the Soviet commanders and fighters showed great bravery, they could not stop the German tanks because there were no solid defenses and insufficient anti-tank firepower. They could only watch helplessly as the German tanks crossed the trenches where they could barely hide and rumbled towards the town.
The soldiers used intensive firepower to block the advance of the German infantry, causing the German tanks entering the town to lose the cover of the infantry. But the German tank soldiers sitting in the tanks did not know all this. They were still advancing along the road in the town, preparing to rush directly to the church in the center of the town and eliminate the Soviet regiment command post there.
The commanders and fighters deployed in the buildings on both sides of the street would not let the German tanks arrogantly destroy the regiment command post. From time to time, they would throw anti-tank grenades or cluster grenades from the windows to blow up the German tanks driving on the road. . Some tanks were destroyed, but the remaining tanks continued to advance toward the regimental command post.
Seeing that the enemy tanks were getting closer and closer to the regiment command post, the guard company commander organized shooting on the tanks, picked up the phone, connected to the headquarters, and reported to the regiment chief of staff: "Comrade Chief of Staff, the enemy tanks are close to The regiment command post is getting closer and closer, please move quickly. If you don’t leave, it will be too late."
Early the next morning, after Colonel Russov had assembled the commanders and fighters of the 254th Regiment, and was preparing to retreat, the regiment chief of staff reminded him: "Comrade commander, although we have already moved the towns of Ratsewesi and Jinki. The defense of the army was handed over to the 15th Guards Division, but when we leave, shouldn't we say goodbye to the division commander?"
Russov thought that although he had been ordered to evacuate this area, it seemed inappropriate if he did not say hello to Vasilenko, the commander of the 15th Guards Division, so he nodded and said to the Chief of Staff: "Comrade Chief of Staff , you lead the troops to retreat slowly, I will say goodbye to General Vasilenko, and then I will chase you."
Vasilenko, who was busy in the headquarters, saw Rusov walking in from the outside and immediately greeted him with a smile, "Hello, Colonel Rusov, why do you have time to come to my headquarters?"
After Rusov raised his hand to salute Vasilenko, he replied respectfully: "Comrade General, our regiment is about to leave the town of Ratseve, and I came here specifically to say goodbye to you."
Vasilenko stepped forward and held Rusov's hand, and said gratefully: "Colonel Rusov, although I already expressed my gratitude to you yesterday, I still want to express my gratitude to you again at this moment. It is precisely because of your subordinates Your bloodshed and sacrifice enabled us to successfully cross the Dnieper River. On behalf of all the commanders and fighters of the division, I would like to express my highest respect to you."
"You are so polite, Comrade General." Rusuf said somewhat flattered, "We are just performing our duties, there is nothing special about it."
After the two exchanged a few polite words, Rusov said goodbye to Vasilenko again, and Vasilenko politely sent him to the door of the headquarters. He held Rusuf's hand again and said with a smile: "Colonel Rusev, let's say goodbye. I hope there will be an opportunity to fight side by side again soon."
"Yes, Comrade General." Rusuf said with a smile, "I believe this day will come soon."
As soon as Rusuf finished speaking, the rumble of cannons suddenly came from a distance. Hearing this sound, he couldn't help but change his expression, and said to Vasilenko: "Comrade General, the sound of artillery came from the direction of Jingji Town. Is there a battle taking place in that direction?"
The two of them turned their heads and looked north at the same time. Jingji Town was in that direction, and sure enough they saw billowing black smoke rising in the distance. Seeing this situation, Vasilenko's heart sank suddenly. Could it be that the enemy had launched an attack on Jinji Town?
Just when he was about to return to the headquarters to learn about the situation from his chief of staff, he saw a familiar staff officer hurriedly walking out of the building. When the staff officer saw Vasilenko, he didn't even have time to salute, and reported to Vasilenko in a panic: "Comrade division commander, something urgent has happened. Chief of Staff, please go back quickly."
"I understand, I'll go back immediately." After confirming that a bad situation had arisen, Vasilenko dismissed the staff, turned to Rusov and said apologetically: "Colonel Rusov, I originally wanted to send you out of the town in person, but But something unexpected happened, and I can’t see you off anymore. I wish you good luck!”
Rusuf left the headquarters and rode out of the town. The more he thought about the problem, the more wrong he became. He quickly called an officer and ordered him: "Comrade Lieutenant, please inform the chief of staff and order the troops to temporarily stop retreating, hide on the spot, and wait." My next order.”
Besides, after Vasilenko returned to the headquarters, he saw his chief of staff from a distance and couldn't wait to ask: "Comrade chief of staff, what happened?"
"Comrade division commander," the chief of staff immediately reported to Vasilenko: "I received a call from the commander of the 44th Guards Regiment stationed in Jinji Town. The enemy is carrying out intensive shelling of the town. It seems that they intend to attack the town. Carry out an attack.”
Upon hearing the news, Vasilenko said carelessly: "We have established landing sites at Ratseve and Kinki, which seriously threatens the safety of Cherkasy. The Germans may try every means to eliminate it. Such a threat." He turned around and ordered the communications company commander, "Put me through the headquarters phone immediately. I want to report what happened here to the comrade commander."
When the communications company commander started making calls, Vasilenko asked the chief of staff: "Has the enemy assembled a large number of troops near the town to prepare for an attack after the shelling is over?"
But in response to Vasilenko's question, the chief of staff shook his head and said: "Sorry, Comrade Division Commander, this was not mentioned in the intelligence provided by the 44th Regiment."
"Hell." Vasilenko said angrily after hearing this: "If you don't even know the enemy's situation, how are they planning to fight in the next battle?"
"Comrade division commander," the chief of staff said cautiously after Vasilenko's attack, "I will immediately contact the 44th Division and ask them to find out whether there are German troops gathering outside the town."
Before Vasilenko could speak, the communications company commander had already said to him: "Comrade division commander, the phone call from the headquarters has been connected."
As soon as Vasilenko put the microphone to his ear, he heard Shumilov's voice coming from inside: "Vasilenko, I heard the sound of artillery coming from the right bank, and I also saw gunpowder smoke rising. ,So what happened?"
"Comrade Commander, I am preparing to report to you." Vasilenko said into the microphone: "The 44th Regiment stationed in Jinji Town is currently under heavy shelling by the German army. According to my judgment, after the shelling ends, Later, the enemy will definitely launch an attack on the town in order to retake the town from our army."
"I'm sorry, Comrade Commander, I don't know for the time being." After hearing Shumilov's question, Vasilenko replied with some shame: "In addition to reporting to me that they were shelled by the enemy, the 44th Regiment did not There is no more information." He was worried about being scolded by Shumilov. After a brief pause, he continued, "I have ordered the chief of staff to get in touch with the commander of the regiment and let them figure out the enemy's situation as soon as possible. .”
