Shortly after the German attack was repelled again, six 155mm howitzers from the 11th Army began bombarding the high ground. Even though these heavy artillery were deployed ten kilometers away from the high ground, their hit rate was much more accurate than the tanks and assault guns parked in front of the high ground. From time to time, soldiers were lifted up from the trenches by the blast of air and thrown high into the air. Towards the air.
As soon as the German artillery bombardment began, Tsarev ordered his men: "Quickly find out the location of the German artillery positions, and then suppress them with artillery fire."
A few minutes later, the staff officer who calculated the positions of the German artillery positions reported to Tsarev: "Comrade General, the positions of the two German artillery positions have been calculated."
"Very good." Tsarev nodded and said, "immediately suppress them with artillery fire to reduce the pressure on the highland defenders."
"Comrade General, this may be a bit difficult." The staff officer said with an embarrassed look on his face: "The artillery position used in the last round of shelling has no movement at the moment and may have been moved. The new artillery position currently shelling the high ground has surpassed our army. The range of the artillery may not be able to do anything to them.”
After listening to the staff report, Tsarev was so angry that he slammed the table, but there was nothing he could do. He knew very well that although the heavy artillery in his hand could hit ten kilometers away, the chief of staff said this, proving that the newly discovered German artillery position should be beyond this range.
As the German infantry used the cover of artillery fire to charge towards the high ground, the Soviet commanders and fighters who stood firm could not stay in the anti-gun holes and could only brave the fierce artillery fire and fire at the advancing enemies.
Due to the huge power of German artillery, the defenders suffered extremely heavy casualties. The battle lasted less than ten minutes, but the casualties of the battalion standing on the high ground had exceeded half.
Seeing that the situation was not good, the regiment commander quickly reported to the division commander Stilitz: "Comrade division commander, the enemy's artillery fire was too fierce. Our defenders on the high ground suffered heavy casualties. Please ask for artillery support. Please ask for artillery support."
Although the divisional artillery regiment of the 116th Division has been deployed long ago, because it is equipped with 76.2 mm cannons, it can bombard the German infantry in front of the high ground, but it is unable to hit the German heavy artillery positions. Therefore, Stilitz could only ask for help from Sokov, hoping that the army's artillery units could suppress the German heavy artillery in the distance.
After listening to Stilitz's request, Sokov immediately ordered Smirnov: "Comrade Chief of Staff, immediately contact the artillery commander and ask them to suppress the enemy's heavy artillery." Then he said to Stilitz , "Colonel Stilitz, I have asked the chief of staff to contact the artillery commander and ask them to suppress the German heavy artillery. I believe your predicament there will be alleviated soon."
But soon after Sokov said this, he was slapped in the face. Smirnov, who had just finished calling Tsarev, reported to Sokov with a grimace: "Comrade Commander, the situation is not good. General Tsarev said that the enemy's heavy artillery is deployed too far away, and our The artillery range is not enough to suppress them with artillery fire."
Smirnov's words were not only heard by Sokov, but also Stilitz on the other end of the phone. He suddenly became anxious: "Comrade Commander, if we can't suppress the enemy's heavy artillery, I'm worried that the enemy will soon break through our position."
Sokov knew the importance of Highland 239 better than anyone else. Since the army's artillery could not suppress them, he could only find another way. Hearing Stilitz's anxious words, he quickly comforted the other party and said: "Comrade Colonel, don't worry, I will definitely find a way to deal with the enemy's artillery. But before that, you must find a way to hold the position, do you understand?" "
"Understood, Comrade Commander." Stilitz knew that Sokov would not speak in vain, and quickly agreed: "I will hold the position at all costs."
Sokov still believed in Stilitz's guarantee. If a division could not even defend Hill 239, it would indicate that the division commander was not good enough, and the issue of replacement could be considered.
The artillery of the group army could not be counted on, so it had no choice but to ask General Fuming, the artillery commander of the front army, for help. After the call was connected, Sokov said politely: "Hello, General Fomin, this is Sokov. I have something to ask you!"
Fomin had already received orders from Konev to ensure artillery support for Sokov's troops. Therefore, when Sokov said this, he knew that the other party wanted to request artillery support. He did not beat around the bush and asked directly: "General Sokov, should we directly bombard the position 200 meters in front of Hill 239?"
"No, General Fomin." Sokov said quickly: "Now the German army has used heavy artillery to carry out violent shelling on Hill 239. Since the German infantry took the opportunity to launch a charge, our commanders and soldiers could only fight under artillery fire. As a result, There were heavy casualties in the artillery fire.”
"Why don't the artillery of your army group suppress the enemy with artillery fire?"
"We would like to," Sokov said with a wry smile: "But the enemy's heavy artillery deployment position has exceeded the artillery range of our army's artillery, so I can only ask you for help."
"Report to me the location of the enemy's artillery positions." Fomin said briefly: "I will deal with them."
Sokov quickly asked Smirnov for the coordinates of the German artillery position, reported it to Fomin and said: "General Fomin, please shell the German artillery position as soon as possible to reduce the casualties of the defenders on the high ground. ,please!"
"Don't worry." Fomin assured Sokov: "In half an hour at most, I will disable the German heavy artillery positions."
However, the German artillery positions that were shelling the highlands had not yet been resolved. The German 1st Armored Division, originally stationed in October Town, launched an attack on the positions of the 122nd Guards Regiment.
The regiment commander Papuchenko reported to Kurishenko: "Comrade division commander, the enemy launched an attack after a five-minute rapid artillery fire attack on our position."
"What kind of force is the enemy using?"
Papuchenko, who was staying in the observation post, replied: "I saw at least twenty tanks coming out of the German position. Except for a few Panzer IV tanks, the rest were all Panther tanks. Followed by about a battalion of infantry. The tank stopped eight hundred meters away from our position and bombarded our regiment's position with artillery fire, suppressing our firepower and covering the infantry charge."
"Find a way to kill the German tanks." Kurishenko said: "Otherwise, once they start moving, you won't be able to stop them even if you want to."
"No, Comrade Division Commander." Papuchenko frowned and said with a serious expression: "Where the enemy tanks are parked, our anti-tank guns cannot penetrate their armor at all; and the only few rocket launchers, And because it’s too far away, it can’t be used at all.”
"I've seen it, Colonel Papuchenko. The situation there is really terrible." Kurishenko said: "The artillery equipped by the division's artillery regiment is either a 76.2 mm cannon or a 75 mm Bofors field gun. The gun could not penetrate the frontal armor of the German Panther tank at a distance of 600 meters."
He thought for a while and continued: "Colonel Papuchenko, although the artillery we have cannot effectively penetrate the armor of German tanks, as long as they stay in place, the threat to us will be limited. You can First organize the commanders and fighters to eliminate the oncoming infantry, and then find a way to deal with the enemy tanks."
After ending the call with Papuchenko, Kurishenko immediately answered the phone at the Army Group Headquarters and reported to Sokov about the German attack from the southeast.
"What, the German army attacked from October Town?" Sokov, who was originally having a headache over Hill 269, knitted his brows when he learned that the Germans had launched an attack from the southwest. He began to think about when to use the reserve force as a reserve force. Two divisions were committed to this area to participate in the battle.
"Yes, Comrade Commander." Kurishenko replied truthfully: "According to the report of Colonel Papuchenko, commander of the 122nd Regiment, the enemy dispatched at least twenty tanks and one battalion of infantry. The tanks were parked at Far away from the position, the artillery of the division artillery regiment was unable to penetrate the armor of the German tanks at such a long distance..."
Listening to Kurishenko's report, Sokov reconsidered that if the 53rd Army's existing weapons and equipment were not improved, then every battle would be a severe test. He was silent for a moment, and then asked: "General Kurishenko, I wonder what kind of combat instructions you gave Papuchenko?"
"I told Colonel Papuchenko that as long as the enemy tanks stayed in place, the threat to us would be relatively limited. The defenders on the position could concentrate their firepower to destroy the charging infantry. After the infantry was repulsed, they would then Find a way to deal with the German tanks."
Sokov was still very satisfied with Kurishenko's arrangements. He thought that even if he was on the battlefield, he would probably be able to issue similar orders. He nodded, and then added: "General Kurishenko, please tell Papuchenko to hold on to his position and not to attack easily. You know, infantry without tank cover will encounter German tanks. There is only the fate of being slaughtered. Do you understand what I mean?"
"Yes, Comrade Commander, I understand." Kurishenko replied very readily: "I will faithfully convey your order to Colonel Papuchenko."
Highland 239 was still being bombarded by heavy German artillery at this moment. A shell fell in the trench and exploded, killing seven or eight soldiers near the bombing point. Before the smoke cleared, a nearby health worker bent over and rushed over, trying to treat the wounded.
When I got closer, I saw that there were only two soldiers with missing arms and legs lying around the crater. They had too much air in and too little air out, and it looked like they could not be saved. There were no traces of the other people at all, with only broken guns on the ground indicating that several soldiers had once existed here.
A company commander rushed into the battalion command post and said to the battalion commander who was on the phone: "Comrade battalion commander, the soldiers have suffered too many casualties. Do you think you should abandon the position and retreat?"
Hearing the company commander's words, the battalion commander suddenly straightened his face and said sternly: "Comrade Captain, what are you talking about? Giving up the position at this time is just an escape. There is no need to go to any court-martial to enforce battlefield discipline on you. Understand. ?"
The company commander lowered his head and said with a sad expression: "I understand, comrade battalion commander. But my company has 178 people, and now there are less than 20 people left. If the fight continues like this, our company will be cancelled."
The battalion commander roared: "Don't you understand yet? The regiment headquarters has issued a death order. Even if all our battalion dies on the high ground, we must not hand over the position to the Germans! The order from the superiors is clear. No one can You are not allowed to take a step back, you must be nailed to the position like nails. You would rather have your bones exposed in the wilderness than take a step back!"
After hearing this, the company commander wiped the tears from his face with his big dusty hands, raised his head and said to the battalion commander: "I understand, comrade battalion commander. I assure you, even if all of our company is sacrificed on the battlefield, I will never take a step back.”
After the battalion commander waited for his men to leave, he spoke into the microphone again: "Comrade commander, have you heard this? My company is almost exhausted. If we want to hold our position, we must get reinforcements."
After hearing this, the regiment leader was silent for a while, and then said: "Major, I will immediately mobilize the third battalion to reinforce and hold the position with you. You must convey my words to every soldier and let them understand that we will never We cannot retreat, we will definitely win the final victory!"
After the battalion commander finished the phone call, he took off the submachine gun hanging on the wall, bent down and left the command post, preparing to participate in the battle himself. Unexpectedly, as soon as he entered the trench and was bending over and running forward, the fierce artillery fire suddenly stopped. Throughout the position, only the sounds of various gunfire and grenade explosions could be heard.
He stopped and looked into the distance with a look of astonishment, thinking to himself: "What on earth is going on? Why did the German shelling suddenly stop?"
The regiment commander, who was about to move the third battalion into position, couldn't help but become nervous when he heard the sound of artillery outside stopped. According to his judgment, this should be the German infantry approaching our position. In order to avoid accidental damage, the artillery in the distance stopped shelling. He quickly picked up the phone on the table and connected to the command post of the third battalion, preparing to give an order to the commander of the third battalion to lead his troops to the top of the mountain as soon as possible to assist the first battalion in defensive operations.
Naturally, the German heavy artillery did not stop shelling for no reason. Instead, the artillery commanded by General Fomin launched a violent shelling of the area according to the coordinates provided by Sokov. In less than a minute, the German artillery position was blown into a sea of flames, and all six heavy guns were blown into parts.
The German infantry without the cover of artillery fire was a living target. When the defenders on the position saw that the German artillery fire had stopped, they all poked their heads out of the trenches and shot at the German infantry in front of the position with their weapons, knocking them down in pieces. Seeing that the situation was not good, the remaining soldiers turned around and ran back.
In the distance, Wilhelm Stemmermann saw through his telescope that his troops were defeated again. He became angry from time to time. He picked up the microphone and roared angrily to Otto Giller, the commander of the Viking Division: "General Giller. , what happened to your troops? Why were they repelled by the Russians again? "
"Your Excellency General," Otto Gille replied with a wry smile: "The Russian firepower is too strong. Without your artillery cover, my men would not be able to charge forward."
"General Giller, I order you to organize your troops to attack again." William Stemerman emphasized in a stern tone: "Whether our army can successfully break through completely depends on whether you can seize Highland 239 and open a path for the entire army. aisle."
Perhaps because he was worried that the other party would have concerns, he specifically added: "The 1st Armored Division stationed in October Town has launched an attack outside the encirclement. Our first priority at the moment is to rush over to join them and break the Russians. Damn siege.”
