The call went directly to General Herbert Giller, the commander of the Viking Division. When he learned that the call was from the deputy commander stationed in the town of Ratsewe, Herbert made an exception and answered the call from a young lieutenant colonel. Phone call: "I'm Herbert Giller, Lieutenant Colonel. Do you have anything important to talk to me about?"
"Yes, Your Excellency General." The deputy commander replied quickly: "An unfortunate incident has occurred, and I feel it is necessary to report it to you immediately."
"What unfortunate incident?"
"My troops and I were shelled by friendly forces in the town of Ratsewe. Please immediately order the artillery to stop the damn shelling, otherwise, before the Russians take action, all my troops and I will die under the fire. "
"Understood, Lieutenant Colonel, I will verify this immediately."
Since the 5th Armored Artillery Regiment and the 5th Rocket Artillery Battalion of the Viking Division were both involved in the bombardment of the town of Ratsewe during the day, Hurlbet took it for granted that these two units must have received wrong orders. At this time the town of Ratseve was bombarded.
As soon as he put down the phone, he immediately called the chief of staff of the division in front of him and ordered him: "Chief of staff, immediately call the commanders of the two artillery units participating in the battle today and ask them who received the call. Order, actually shelling the town of Ratsewe indiscriminately? Order them to stop the shelling immediately. If it causes huge losses to the troops stationed in Ratsewe town, be careful I will shoot them."
Faced with the order issued by Hurlbert, the division chief of staff did not dare to neglect and quickly ordered the communications soldier to connect the artillery regiment's phone. When he heard the regimental commander's voice coming from the receiver, he asked directly: "Mr. Colonel, what is going on? Whose order did you follow to carry out artillery bombardment on the town of Ratsewe?"
"Bombard the town of Ratsewe?" the artillery regiment commander asked in confusion: "Your Excellency, Chief of Staff, isn't the town of Ratsewe already occupied by our army? How could I order the artillery to bombard the town?" He paused for a moment and then added Ask, "Did you get the wrong information from somewhere?"
"Why, your regiment didn't bombard the town of Ratsewe?"
"No," the artillery regiment commander said emphatically: "Your Excellency, Chief of Staff, I can assure you that I definitely did not order the troops to bombard the town of Ratsewe."
The division chief of staff put down the phone and turned to report to Hurlbet: "Your Excellency, division commander, the artillery regiment commander replied that his troops definitely did not shell the town of Ratsewe. There may be some misunderstanding."
Since the 5th Armored Artillery Regiment said it did not shell the town of Ratsewe, Herbert could only target the 5th Rocket Artillery Battalion. Maybe some officers and soldiers of the battalion did not know that the town of Ratsewe had been captured, so they launched the attack. Wrong time, wrong target.
He pointed his hand at the chief of staff and said: "Chief of staff, then you can contact the rocket launcher battalion to see if there is any problem with them."
However, this time the Chief of Staff did not immediately contact the Rocket Artillery Battalion, but cautiously said to Herbert: "Your Excellency, Division Commander, I think the Rocket Artillery Battalion may not have carried out artillery bombardment on Ratsewe Town. Could it be the artillery of friendly forces? "
"It is possible," Herbet did not deny the analysis of the division chief of staff, but said to him: "But to be on the safe side, you should contact the commander of the rocket artillery battalion. If it is confirmed that they did not shell Lacce Wei Zhen, let us report this matter again and find out where the problem occurred."
This matter was of great importance, and the division chief of staff did not dare to neglect it and quickly connected the phone to the rocket launcher battalion. After some inquiries, it turned out that the matter was exactly as inferred, and the commander of the rocket launcher battalion knew nothing about it. Obviously, the time of the shelling had nothing to do with them, it should have been done by other troops.
After confirming that the artillery fire endured by the town of Ratsewe did not come from his own artillery, Herbert could only place the suspicion on friendly forces. He ordered the chief of staff to report this situation to the military headquarters and the group army headquarters. , trying to figure out which damn army was shelling the troops in the town of Ratsewe;
After receiving the report, the military headquarters and headquarters also took the time to investigate which unit had shelled the town of Ratsewe without permission, causing casualties to the defenders inside.
When the commanders of the military and headquarters desperately sent telegrams and phone calls to their artillery units, trying to figure out which unit was stupid and actually shelled the town of Ratsewe, which had been occupied by their own troops, the Soviet army The shelling of the town continued.
In order to eliminate as many effective forces of the German army as possible, Sokov not only used a 152mm howitzer regiment under the 1st Artillery Division, but also used a large number of new rockets. When using rockets in the past, Sokov's troops used single or double barrels, or up to three barrels. This time, four twelve-barreled launch vehicles were directly equipped to provide fire coverage to the town of Ratsewe occupied by the German army.
Nearly four hundred new rockets are all Sokov's current possessions. But in order to eliminate the enemy as soon as possible, Sokov also spent a lot of money. After eight rounds of salvos, all the rockets were consumed, and the town became a burning hell, and the fire reflected the night sky red.
Sokov stood at a commanding height, holding a telescope and looking at the town with flames in the distance. He thought to himself: With such a fierce shelling, not many Germans could escape. When the Rusov regiment launched another counterattack, the town should be Only ruins and charred corpses of German soldiers remained.
Contrary to Fomenko's joy, Koida was disappointed and filled with jealousy. Even though he has two regiments of troops here now, with Sokov's character, he will definitely hand over the task of attacking the town tomorrow without hesitation to the Rusov Regiment. After all, this regiment has captured the town before. The terrain there is the most familiar.
Just when the German troops in the town were blown up, the German command finally discovered a terrifying fact. None of their artillery units fired at the town of Ratzewe. This meant that the artillery fire that bombarded the town came from the Soviet Union. The military side.
The artillery fire of the 1st Artillery Division poured into the town of Ratsewe. Amidst the explosions, buildings collapsed one after another, raising dust all over the sky. The German officers and soldiers near the explosion point were directly blown into clouds of blood mist. , even complete parts cannot be found. Some lucky soldiers hid in craters or basements to avoid Soviet shelling, but their fate was not much better. It is said that two shells will not fall in the same crater. This just means that the probability is low, and it does not mean that two shells will not fall in the same crater. It does not mean that two shells will not fall into the same crater.
Some soldiers were hiding in craters that had been formed not long ago to avoid Soviet artillery shells. Unexpectedly, just when they were secretly rejoicing and thought they had escaped death, a shell fell from the sky and exploded in the crater, destroying the bones of the soldiers hiding there.
The enemies hiding in the basement were not much better off. The heavy artillery bombardment caused the building to collapse, and a large amount of masonry debris fell from high places, directly blocking the exit from the basement. The Germans inside wanted to either clear away the masonry and rubble outside or find other exits.
The shelling continued to the rear and destroyed the German arsenal. The explosion of the arsenal made the nearby streets look like an erupting volcano. Some German officers and soldiers who were lucky enough to escape hid in these buildings, preparing to wait for the Soviet shelling to end before escaping from the town. However, they did not expect that as soon as the arsenal exploded, they would be affected. They were either killed on the spot or shot by the enemy. The shock wave of the explosion shocked him alive.
Commanders and fighters of the 15th Guards Division passed through the defense zone of the Russov Regiment and stationed themselves next to a forest. When the bombardment started, the officers and soldiers came out of the shelter one after another. Listening to the rumbling sound of artillery in the distance, and looking at the town of Ratzewe with flames in the distance, they couldn't help but smile knowingly.
At this moment, the commanders and fighters finally understood why their superiors suddenly ordered them to withdraw from the town of Ratsewe. The emotion was to dig a trap for the Germans and let them jump into it. With the rumble of artillery coming from a distance and the firelight that turned the sky red, they knew clearly that the Germans in the town were doomed. Even if they were lucky, not many people could escape from the town.
The bombardment lasted for about forty minutes. Sokov, who was standing on a high place to observe the terrain, turned around and ordered the operator: "Operator, contact Colonel Terenga immediately and ask him to stop the bombardment. After bombarding for such a long time, I think the town There should be no one alive inside."
"Comrade Commander," Fomenko reminded Sokov from the side: "According to the plan, our bombardment of the Germans should last for an hour, and it has just been going on for forty minutes."
"General Fomenko," Sokov said to Fomenko: "As a commander, you must know how to constantly adjust your original plan according to the situation on the battlefield. Originally, I was worried that the enemies in the town would be difficult to defeat. That's why we let the artillery continue to bombard the town for an hour. But judging from the current situation, the enemy has been defeated by our artillery fire, so there is no need to waste any more artillery shells, especially the heavy artillery shells specially prepared for us by our superiors. Use it."
Now that Sokov had made his attitude clear, Fomenko knew that if he talked any more, it would only arouse the other party's dissatisfaction, so he wisely kept his mouth shut. But not long after, he couldn't help but ask: "Comrade Commander, should we follow the original plan and attack the enemy early tomorrow morning?"
Sokov looked at the burning town for a while, shook his head slowly, and replied: "I don't think it's necessary. Since the enemies in the town have been wiped out, the attack time can be advanced." He He raised his wrist and checked the time, "I think as soon as the smoke in the town clears, we will immediately send troops into the town to search for the remaining enemies."
"Okay," Fomenko replied resoundingly: "I will immediately convey your order to Colonel Rusov and ask him to prepare for the attack." After saying this, he paused for a moment and asked tentatively, "Clear the town. After the remnants of the enemy inside, what should the Rusuf regiment do? Is it to rely on the town for defense?"
"There is no need at all," Sokov shook his head and said: "After our round of shelling, the town of Ratsewe has become a ruins. It is obviously meaningless to build fortifications here. But in order to ensure comfort, General Milov's 7th Guards Army can successfully cross the river, but the Rusov Regiment should still choose a suitable location to build fortifications to prevent the Germans from approaching the river."
Just when Fomenko nodded in agreement, Koida interjected and asked: "Comrade Commander, what is the mission of our division?" He was deeply afraid that Sokov would reject his request, and specifically emphasized, "You know, the main force of our division is concentrated in this area. If we are not assigned any important tasks, I am worried that the commanders and soldiers will be emotional."
"I think you are the one with the emotions," Sokov exposed the opponent mercilessly and said with a smile: "Don't worry, Colonel Koida, since I transferred your division here, I will never let you You have nothing to do. Good steel should be used on the blade. When the critical moment comes, I will send your division into battle."
Koida knew that since Sokov said he would put his troops into battle at the critical moment, he would definitely not write any verbal checks to himself, so he happily agreed.
But he couldn't help but ask: "Then what is the latest mission of our division?"
Sokov glanced at him and said: "The primary task of your division at the moment is to help the Fomenke Division hold this position, so that even if they go out to the enemy's defense zone, they will not have any worries."
Just as Sokov was assigning tasks to the two division commanders, the enemy who was stunned by the bombing finally realized that the defenders in the town were not being bombarded by friendly forces, but by artillery fire from the Russians. But it was too late to figure out the matter at this time. The garrison in Ratsewe Town was already reduced to ten, and even if troops were sent for reinforcements, it was too late.
The German army has suffered such a frustrating loss and is not willing to let it go easily. Hurlbet soon received an order from his superiors, asking him to send a reconnaissance team to the town of Ratzewe immediately after dawn to find out whether there were any Soviet troops in the town. If not, just send troops to reoccupy the town that may have been turned into ruins; if there are Soviet troops in the town, then things will be simple, just send troops to attack and completely eliminate them.
After receiving such an order, Herbert immediately called several of his regimental commanders, explained the tasks assigned by the headquarters to them in detail, and finally asked: "Gentlemen, what do you think? The mission assigned to us by the commander has been fulfilled, what should we do?"
As soon as Hurlbet finished speaking, the commander of the 10th Panzer Grenadier Regiment stood up and said: "Your Excellency, Division Commander, the Russians launched a violent shelling of the town of Ratseve tonight, causing losses to our defenders in the town. Disastrous. I thought they might attack soon and it was only a matter of time before the town was lost.
But the loss of the town is not a bad thing for us. After this shelling, almost all the buildings in the town were destroyed, and the town became a meaningless ruin. I think the Russians would definitely not be able to build decent fortifications inside. If they don't station, once a large force is stationed, we can also use intensive artillery fire to give them powerful damage. "
The commander of the armored artillery regiment immediately echoed: "Your Excellency, division commander, if the Russians really enter the town of Ratsewe, which is already in ruins, they will not be able to build strong defenses, and our artillery fire will be enough to cause them heavy casualties."
