While the 1st and 6th Guards Divisions were still fighting fiercely in the town of Puutusk, the army's artillery fired at the 5th Jäger Division's position south of the town.
This shot blinded the Germans.
Because the Soviet artillery bombardment only targeted the 5th Chasseur Division, but not a single artillery shell fell on the position of the 592nd People's Grenadier Division near Chichi.
When the German commander received this report, his eyebrows knitted into knots. He said to his chief of staff: "Chief of Staff, tell me, what is going on? Why did the Russians shell the positions of the 5th Jäger Division? But the position of the 592nd People's Grenadier Division was completely silent?"
"Your Excellency, Commander," the chief of staff replied cautiously, "could this be a conspiracy by the Russians? They pretended to concentrate artillery fire on the position of the 5th Jäger Division. When our attention shifted to this direction, But they unexpectedly launched an attack on the positions of the 592nd People's Grenadier Division?"
After listening to the chief of staff's analysis, the commander did not finish speaking. Instead, he quickly tapped the table with his fingers and began to think carefully.
After a long time, he raised his head and said to the Chief of Staff: "Chief of Staff, the enemy we face is the devil Sokov. He has many tricks and tricks. If we are not careful, we may be deceived. Don't forget, he The defense map provided some time ago caused us to make wrong deployments, which weakened the troops in the area being attacked, otherwise this battle would not have been so passive."
Hearing the commander talk about the fake defense map that he bought for 10,000 pounds, the chief of staff was filled with hatred. Originally, our side had deployed heavy troops in the direction of the Soviet attack. Even if the other side wanted to break through the defense line, they would have to pay a heavy price. price. However, wrong intelligence led the headquarters to make a wrong judgment and move the main force in the wrong direction. Even if they boarded the vehicle and returned immediately, they would have to wait until tomorrow morning before they could enter the combat position.
Seeing that his chief of staff was silent, the commander ordered him that he must also be thinking about the fake defense map, so he asked coldly: "Have you found the Pole?"
"No." The chief of staff shook his head and said: "As soon as the Russians started attacking today, I ordered people to go to the Polish residence and prepare to arrest him. But who knew that when we went there, we found that there was already The house is empty when people leave, there is no one at home.”
"Have you asked your neighbors where they went?"
"I've asked." The chief of staff said through gritted teeth: "The day after the Pole named Henrik sold the information to us, he took his family in a car and left this ancestral city. As for where he went, No one knows.”
"Bring the intelligence officer here," the commander said to the chief of staff. "I want to ask him if he knows where his intelligence officers have gone."
As soon as today's Soviet offensive began, the German commander realized that he had been deceived. In this case, he must find some scapegoats to admit responsibility for the error in judgment, and the intelligence was inseparable from this false intelligence. The officer was immediately thrown into jail.
When the chief of staff heard the commander saying that he wanted to see the intelligence officer, he quickly reminded him: "Your Excellency, the commander, the intelligence officer you mentioned is currently being held in our prison."
"No matter where he is, bring him to me immediately." The commander said in a tone that left no room for doubt: "I want to ask personally where his intelligence officers fled to after providing us with false information. "
The chief of staff did not dare to neglect, and quickly ordered someone to take the intelligence officer out of the prison and bring him to the commander's office.
As soon as the commander saw this intelligence officer, he suddenly became angry. He slapped the table and cursed angrily: "Tell me honestly, how many benefits have you received from the Russians, and yet you dared to provide us with false information, which has caused our army to suffer today." suffered heavy losses in the battle."
The intelligence officer realized the seriousness of the problem today when he learned that the Soviet army had launched an attack on its own defense lines. He immediately led his men to arrest Henrik, but unfortunately, when his people arrived, they found that Henrik's family had disappeared. Just when he was about to learn the whereabouts of Henrik's family, the people sent by the commander to arrest him arrived. The other party disarmed all his men without explanation and threw him into prison.
Seeing the commander in front of him at this moment, he knew that this was the only chance to survive, and he quickly shouted at the top of his lungs: "You are wronged, Your Excellency Commander! I was also deceived by that damn Pole. You can investigate You know this."
The commander snorted coldly, and then asked: "Tell me, where is that Polish man now?"
The intelligence officer hesitated for a moment, and then said: "When I learned that the Russians had started to attack, I realized that I might have been deceived, and immediately took people to arrest the Polish intelligence agent. But unfortunately, when we went there, His entire family has disappeared. Just when I was arranging my manpower to inquire about his whereabouts, the arresters you sent arrived and detained me and my men so that we could no longer investigate."
"Can you find out what happened to the Pole?"
"Okay." The intelligence officer nodded and said, "Your Majesty Commander, as long as you give me two days, I will definitely be able to capture the Polish man and bring him to you for your disposal."
"I can't give you that long time." The commander said: "I can only give you two hours at most. After two hours, I hope to figure out where the Poles are coming from."
The chief of staff quickly called an officer and asked him to accompany the intelligence officer to inquire about Henrik's whereabouts. After everyone left, the chief of staff closed the door, came to the commander, and asked respectfully: "Your Excellency, commander, what should we do next?"
"Order the 35th Infantry Division to speed up its march and rush to the defense area of the 592nd People's Grenadier Division as soon as possible to help them strengthen their defenses and prepare to meet possible attacks by the Russians."
"Okay, Your Excellency, Commander." The chief of staff nodded and replied: "I immediately issued an order to the commander of the 35th Infantry Division to speed up the march and strive to enter the position of the 592nd People's Grenadier Division as soon as possible and consolidate it. The defense there.”
After seeing the commander nodding in agreement with his statement, the chief of staff asked tentatively: "Your Excellency, commander, after the intelligence officer finds out the whereabouts of the Polish, how do you plan to deal with him, let him meritorious service, and bring him with you?" Are people going to arrest the Poles?”
"You are wrong, Chief of Staff." Unexpectedly, the commander shook his head after hearing this and said, "Because of the false information he provided, we made huge mistakes in our deployment. Now that the troops have suffered such heavy losses, he is It is hard to escape the blame. After he found out the whereabouts of the Poles, he was executed on the spot as his punishment."
The Chief of Staff had no significance for the Commander's decision. This time, the Soviet army was caught off guard, and it was related to the fact that the intelligence officer provided the wrong intelligence officer. Even if he found out the whereabouts of the Poles, he would not be able to make up for the mistakes he made, so shooting him should be the only option.
Just when the Germans thought that the Soviet shelling of the 5th Jäger Division was to cover up their intention to attack the 592nd Volksgrenadier Division, they sent a telegram to the 35th Infantry Division to speed up their march and rush to reinforce the 592nd Division as quickly as possible. At that time, the 3rd Infantry Division led by Kirillov entered the town of Putusk.
To the north of the town, there are personnel sent by Tolstikov, waiting here to meet Kirillov's troops.
Seeing one of his own troops coming towards the town, the lieutenant leading the team stepped forward to greet the troops that came over: "Hey, brothers, which unit are you in?"
Upon hearing the lieutenant's question, someone immediately answered loudly: "We are from the 3rd Infantry Division. Which part are you from?"
The lieutenant confirmed that the person coming was one of his own, and quickly replied: "I am from the 1st Guards Division, and I have been ordered to meet you here. Who can tell me where your division commander is?"
"I'm here, Comrade Lieutenant." Kirillov stood out from the crowd, came to the Lieutenant, and said to him: "I am Major General Kirillov, commander of the 3rd Infantry Division. Are you here to meet us? "
"Yes, Comrade General." The lieutenant straightened his back quickly and replied, "The division commander ordered me to act as your guide and guide you through the town smoothly."
Under the leadership of the lieutenant, commanders and fighters of the 3rd Infantry Division entered the town.
There are traces of fighting everywhere here. Bombed-down buildings, rail-welded horses and horses are scattered on the street. The corpses of both the enemy and ourselves are all over the ground before they can be collected. Because there were so many corpses, the commanders and fighters of the 3rd Infantry Division had to slow down when marching and stare at their feet for fear of accidentally stepping on corpses.
The lieutenant leading the way also curiously asked Kirillov: "Comrade General, where are you going to attack when you pass through the town?"
Even though the battle was about to start, the location of the attack was still confidential. How could Kirillov casually tell an ordinary lieutenant? He glared and said displeasedly: "Comrade Lieutenant, have you forgotten the confidentiality regulations? Don't ask about things you shouldn't ask, and don't ask questions you shouldn't ask."
Hearing what Kirillov said, the old lieutenant's face turned red, and he immediately admitted his mistake and said, "I'm sorry, Comrade General, I talked too much."
"Be more careful in the future to avoid leaking secrets due to casual remarks."
After passing through the town, Kirillov dismissed the lieutenant, and then called the three regiment commanders in front of him and assigned them the next combat mission.
When the three regiment commanders learned that the target they were about to attack was not the 592nd People's Grenadier Division, which seemed particularly weak, but the powerful 5th Jäger Division, they couldn't help but be stunned. One of the regiment leaders asked: "Comrade division commander, we always fight weak enemies first and then strong enemies. Why are you doing this upside down?"
Kirillov laughed after hearing this, and then explained to them: "Comrade commanders, to tell you the truth, when I received this mission, I also found it incomprehensible. The 592nd People's Grenadier Division is nothing more than similar to Our militia, what combat effectiveness can such a unit have? If our first attack target is them, I am confident that they will be completely defeated within two hours. But the commander told me that if we attack the weak enemy first, then The 5th Jäger Division adjacent to it sent troops for reinforcements, and the war might be in a stalemate.
But if we attack the 5th Jäger Division first, then the 592nd People's Grenadier Division adjacent to them will be too weak to send troops for reinforcements, so we will have to watch this unit be defeated by us. After we defeat the 5th Jäger Division and then turn around to deal with the People's Grenadier, the battle will become easy. "
After listening to Kirillov's story, the regiment leaders finally understood that Sokov would make such a decision. Following Kirillov's deployment, they each returned to their regiments to make final preparations for the battle. As soon as the artillery preparations of the group army artillery were completed, they immediately launched an attack on the German positions.
In previous battles, regiments were used as units and were put into battle one after another. This time, in order to deal with the German 5th Jäger Division as quickly as possible, Kirillov ordered the 9th and 10th Infantry Regiments to serve as the main attack, while the 12th Regiment served as a reserve. If the attack by the troops does not go smoothly, he will promptly put the 12th regiment into battle in advance.
The artillery fire was ready to stop, and when the German position was still shrouded in gunpowder smoke, Kirillov gave the order to attack. Thousands of commanders and soldiers shouted and rushed to the German position. They were ready to annihilate the effective strength of the German army in the shortest possible time. , and seize the position from their hands.
Facing the Soviet attack, the Germans were caught off guard again. Almost everyone in the 5th Jäger Division, from the division commander to the soldiers below, believed that the Soviet artillery bombardment of the 5th Jäger Division's positions was just to cover up their intention to attack the 592nd Division's defense line, so the officers and soldiers hid in the fortifications They were hiding from the shelling, probably because they felt that the Soviet army would not attack them, and they did not even send out observation posts.
It was precisely because of the German army's underestimation and negligence that when the leading troops of the 3rd Infantry Division rushed to the edge of the trench, the belated German soldiers discovered them and shouted loudly: "Enemy attack! Enemy attack!"
"
However it was too late.
Before the Germans could react to the shelling that had just ended, the commanders and fighters of the 3rd Infantry Division had already jumped into the trenches and started close combat and hand-to-hand combat with the German officers and soldiers inside.
If the German army was prepared in advance, even if the Soviet army rushed to the edge of the trench, they would still be able to block the opponent and wait for the arrival of follow-up reinforcements. But this time they made a wrong judgment, thinking that the target of the Soviet attack was the neighboring 592nd Division. The artillery bombardment of their positions was just to conceal their offensive intentions and to use artillery fire to suppress it, making it impossible for them to mobilize. Troops went to reinforce the 592nd Division under attack.
Now that the two sides were engaged in close combat and hand-to-hand combat in the trenches, the German division commander finally understood that the emotional Russian bombardment was not to cover up and prevent them from sending troops to reinforce neighboring positions, but to actually attack themselves. Do you want to fight back? Because the troops were not prepared in advance, they were caught off guard by the Soviet army. Now the organization is completely in chaos. The officers and soldiers are fighting on their own and cannot organize a decent counterattack at all.
In desperation, the German division commander made a difficult decision and ordered the troops to abandon their existing positions and move to the rear defense area, where they were preparing to rebuild a new line of defense to prevent the Soviet army's next attack. Of course, before ordering the troops to retreat, he did not forget to send a telegram to the headquarters. In the telegram, he exaggerated the losses suffered by his troops and the number of Soviet troops participating in the attack. He wanted the commander to read it and It was felt that retreat was necessary, otherwise the troops would be in danger of being annihilated.
