"No!" Sokov said firmly: "The bombardment cannot stop until each artillery fires a basic number of shells."
Sokov knew very well that even if he made a mistake in judgment, since the bombardment had already begun, whether he stopped the bombardment or continued the bombardment, he would be punished the same way. He might as well continue to fight and see whether he would be favored by God. , bring yourself unexpected surprises.
Smirnov couldn't bear to see Sokov punished for this incident, so he said cautiously: "Comrade Commander, I think there should be no lurking enemies in front of Hill 239, and the shelling carried out was a bit hasty. Why not stop it now?" Shelling, when you go to the front headquarters, the punishment you receive may be lighter."
"Comrade Chief of Staff." Sokov said to Smirnov with a wry smile: "Now that we have fired towards the front of the high ground, whether it is a base number or only one shell, the nature is exactly the same. If this is the case, then why not continue the bombardment according to my original plan? If luck is not too bad, maybe there will be a slight turn in this matter."
Seeing that Sokov couldn't listen to his own persuasion, Smirnov couldn't help but sigh softly. For the first time, he discovered that Sokov was so stubborn and couldn't listen to his own persuasion. Fortunately, the phone rang in time, which resolved the awkward atmosphere in the headquarters.
"I am Smirnov, where are you from?"
"Hello, Comrade Chief of Staff." The voice of Colonel Stilitz, commander of the 116th Infantry Division, came from the receiver: "I am Stilitz. I would like to ask where the artillery bombardment is taking place?"
Smirnov glanced at Sokov, and then replied: "Colonel Stilitz, we have received intelligence that there may be Germans lurking in front of Hill 239. In order to ensure the safety of the position, we ordered the 41st Guards The artillery regiment of the division carried out artillery bombardment on the area in front of the high ground."
After figuring out where the shelling was taking place, Stilitz asked: "What was the effect?"
Regarding the question raised by Stilitz, Smirnov said euphemistically: "So far, we have not received any reliable battle reports."
Stilitz was also a smart man. After hearing what Smirnov said, he immediately realized that the bombardment might have killed the loneliness. However, in order to take care of the emotions of the Army Group Headquarters, he still said sincerely: "Since a suspicious situation has been discovered, artillery bombardment is completely necessary. I think that when the Battle of Kursk broke out, our army was not the first to assemble in the area where the German troops , launched a fierce artillery bombardment, which forced the Germans to postpone the attack for several hours."
"Comrade Colonel," Smirnov said with some laughter and tears: "It is different now than before the battle of Kursk. At that time, our army was passive, and the Germans had the final say when the battle would start. But now, the battlefield The situation above has undergone fundamental changes, and we have the final say on where to fight and when to attack."
While he was still saying this, another phone next to Smirnov rang again. He quickly spoke to Stilitz and hung up the phone. The new call was from another division commander, still asking about the shelling in the middle of the night. Smirnov patiently explained a few words to the other party and hung up the phone.
These two calls were just the beginning, and soon there was a steady stream of calls coming in. In addition to the commanders of the infantry divisions and tank brigades affiliated to the group army, there were also calls from the heads of friendly forces. The contents of the phone calls were all the same, trying to figure out why the shelling was going on in the middle of the night.
When the phone stopped ringing, Smirnov was already sweating profusely from exhaustion. He said to Sokov with a bitter look on his face: "Comrade Commander, it seems that we have caused quite a stir. The neighboring troops were alerted."
"Yeah, the noise is quite big." Sokov was muttering in his mind. If he didn't get any valuable information after the bombardment stopped, he would definitely become the laughing stock of everyone.
As soon as the shelling ended, Sidorin called Sokov again and reported to him: "Comrade division commander, our shelling has ended. From the observation of the position, nothing unusual was found. Look, whether it is necessary Send someone over to take a look?"
"Forget it, Sidorin." Sokov's heart dropped when he learned that the shelling had no effect. He said into the microphone: "Let the soldiers have a good rest. It won't be too late to go down to check after dawn." .”
"Comrade Commander," Smirnov said to Sokov cautiously after he put down the phone: "There are still more than four hours until dawn. You can still seize the time to sleep a little longer."
"No, I can't sleep." Sokov was so confused at the moment that he couldn't think about sleeping. He waved his hand to Smirnov and walked alone to the map hanging on the wall, staring at the enemies and friends on it. Situation and analyze where your judgment went wrong.
The defenders of Highland 239 were originally in a state of readiness, but as the shelling ended, they found that there was no trace of the Germans in front of the position, and the spirits of the commanders and soldiers suddenly relaxed.
After the second battalion commander asked Du Harin for instructions, he left the fifth company on the position to hold on. The other two companies followed him into the hidden soldier cave on the reverse slope. They continued to sleep there, preparing to wait until dawn before going to the front of the position. Check.
After the second battalion commander evacuated with the other two companies, only one squad of soldiers from the remaining company was left on guard, and the rest returned to the shelter to continue resting.
The soldier who first discovered the mine explosion was assigned by the company commander to serve as a guard. Standing guard with him was a veteran. He squatted in the trench, lit a cigarette, and said in a complaining tone: "Look what you have done? We all slept well, but you found a star in the distance. The landmine explosion caused such a big noise that I couldn't even get a good night's sleep."
The soldier didn't dare to say anything when he heard the veteran's complaints. He could be said to be the instigator of such a big commotion tonight. Not only did it disturb the sweet dreams of the entire company, it even alerted the artillery regiment to launch shelling in front of the battlefield. At this moment, I don’t know how many people were complaining behind my back. He walked back and forth in the trench with his gun in hand, praying that the sky would light up early so that he could join the search team and figure out what caused the mine to explode last night.
While walking back and forth in the trench, I suddenly heard faint movement outside the trench. I quickly stopped and listened carefully. Seeing his move, the veteran snorted and said, "What are you doing again? Do you want to tell me that the Germans have appeared in front of our position again?"
However, the next second, the veteran saw a man wearing a white camouflage uniform and a steel helmet appear in his field of vision. He jumped to his companion and then covered his companion's mouth. He raised a dagger and stabbed it into his chest.
The veteran who saw this scene was immediately frightened and broke into a cold sweat. If he didn't know that the person who appeared in front of him was a German at this moment, then the bread he had eaten in the military camp for so many years would have been in vain. He wanted to shout a warning, but because of the suddenness of the incident, he was so frightened that he was shaking all over. Although he opened his mouth wide, he could not make any sound.
He picked up the rifle in his hand and was about to fire a warning shot, but he felt his mouth was covered from behind. Then he felt a pain in his chest and completely lost consciousness.
"No!" Sokov said firmly: "The bombardment cannot stop until each artillery fires a basic number of shells."
Sokov knew very well that even if he made a mistake in judgment, since the bombardment had already begun, whether he stopped the bombardment or continued the bombardment, he would be punished the same way. He might as well continue to fight and see whether he would be favored by God. , bring yourself unexpected surprises.
Smirnov couldn't bear to see Sokov punished for this incident, so he said cautiously: "Comrade Commander, I think there should be no lurking enemies in front of Hill 239, and the shelling carried out was a bit hasty. Why not stop it now?" Shelling, when you go to the front headquarters, the punishment you receive may be lighter."
"Comrade Chief of Staff." Sokov said to Smirnov with a wry smile: "Now that we have fired towards the front of the high ground, whether it is a base number or only one shell, the nature is exactly the same. If this is the case, then why not continue the bombardment according to my original plan? If luck is not too bad, maybe there will be a slight turn in this matter."
Seeing that Sokov couldn't listen to his own persuasion, Smirnov couldn't help but sigh softly. For the first time, he discovered that Sokov was so stubborn and couldn't listen to his own persuasion. Fortunately, the phone rang in time, which resolved the awkward atmosphere in the headquarters.
"I am Smirnov, where are you from?"
"Hello, Comrade Chief of Staff." The voice of Colonel Stilitz, commander of the 116th Infantry Division, came from the receiver: "I am Stilitz. I would like to ask where the artillery bombardment is taking place?"
Smirnov glanced at Sokov, and then replied: "Colonel Stilitz, we have received intelligence that there may be Germans lurking in front of Hill 239. In order to ensure the safety of the position, we ordered the 41st Guards The artillery regiment of the division carried out artillery bombardment on the area in front of the high ground."
Regarding the question raised by Stilitz, Smirnov said euphemistically: "So far, we have not received any reliable battle reports."
Stilitz was also a smart man. After hearing what Smirnov said, he immediately realized that the bombardment might have killed the loneliness. However, in order to take care of the emotions of the Army Group Headquarters, he still said sincerely: "Since a suspicious situation has been discovered, artillery bombardment is completely necessary. I think that when the Battle of Kursk broke out, our army was not the first to assemble in the area where the German troops , launched a fierce artillery bombardment, which forced the Germans to postpone the attack for several hours."
"Comrade Colonel," Smirnov said with some laughter and tears: "It is different now than before the battle of Kursk. At that time, our army was passive, and the Germans had the final say when the battle would start. But now, the battlefield The situation above has undergone fundamental changes, and we have the final say on where to fight and when to attack."
While he was still saying this, another phone next to Smirnov rang again. He quickly spoke to Stilitz and hung up the phone. The new call was from another division commander, still asking about the shelling in the middle of the night. Smirnov patiently explained a few words to the other party and hung up the phone.
These two calls were just the beginning, and soon there was a steady stream of calls coming in. In addition to the commanders of the infantry divisions and tank brigades affiliated to the group army, there were also calls from the heads of friendly forces. The contents of the phone calls were all the same, trying to figure out why the shelling was going on in the middle of the night.
When the phone stopped ringing, Smirnov was already sweating profusely from exhaustion. He said to Sokov with a bitter look on his face: "Comrade Commander, it seems that we have caused quite a stir. The neighboring troops were alerted."
"Yeah, the noise is quite big." Sokov was muttering in his mind. If he didn't get any valuable information after the bombardment stopped, he would definitely become the laughing stock of everyone.
As soon as the shelling ended, Sidorin called Sokov again and reported to him: "Comrade division commander, our shelling has ended. From the observation of the position, nothing unusual was found. Look, whether it is necessary Send someone over to take a look?"
"Forget it, Sidorin." Sokov's heart dropped when he learned that the shelling had no effect. He said into the microphone: "Let the soldiers have a good rest. It won't be too late to go down to check after dawn." .”
"Comrade Commander," Smirnov said to Sokov cautiously after he put down the phone: "There are still more than four hours until dawn. You can still seize the time to sleep a little longer."
"No, I can't sleep." Sokov was so confused at the moment that he couldn't think about sleeping. He waved his hand to Smirnov and walked alone to the map hanging on the wall, staring at the enemies and friends on it. Situation and analyze where your judgment went wrong.
The defenders of Highland 239 were originally in a state of readiness, but as the shelling ended, they found that there was no trace of the Germans in front of the position, and the spirits of the commanders and soldiers suddenly relaxed.
After the second battalion commander asked Du Harin for instructions, he left the fifth company on the position to hold on. The other two companies followed him into the hidden soldier cave on the reverse slope. They continued to sleep there, preparing to wait until dawn before going to the front of the position. Check.
The soldier who first discovered the mine explosion was assigned by the company commander to serve as a guard. Standing guard with him was a veteran. He squatted in the trench, lit a cigarette, and said in a complaining tone: "Look what you have done? We all slept well, but you found a star in the distance. The landmine explosion caused such a big noise that I couldn't even get a good night's sleep."
The soldier didn't dare to say anything when he heard the veteran's complaints. He could be said to be the instigator of such a big commotion tonight. Not only did it disturb the sweet dreams of the entire company, it even alerted the artillery regiment to launch shelling in front of the battlefield. At this moment, I don’t know how many people were complaining behind my back. He walked back and forth in the trench with his gun in hand, praying that the sky would light up early so that he could join the search team and figure out what caused the mine to explode last night.
