After making this difficult decision with a dignified expression, colpakchi seemed to be drained of all his strength. His shoulders collapsed, his body leaned forward, his eyes staring at the map in front of him in a daze. Seeing his dejected look, I had the heart to persuade him. But just as I was about to raise my foot, I could not help but recoil when I thought of the scene when he had just grabbed his collar and almost been beaten.
He sat for a long time, then took out a cigarette box from his pocket and put a cigarette in his mouth. Maybe he was too excited. His hand trembled and even struck a few matches, but he couldn't light the cigarette. At this time, I can no longer stand idly by. I quickly summoned up the courage to go over, took the matchbox in his hand, drew a match from the box, struck it and came up to him. When he saw that the person who struck the match was me, he was stunned, but he put his cigarette together and asked me to light it for him.
After the cigarette was lit, he only took two puffs, then threw the end of the cigarette on the ground and stamped it out with his feet. He looked up and said to me, "commander o'shanina, do you know that the evacuation order I made is correct?"
I nodded hard and said sincerely, "Comrade commander, I think you have made the right decision."
"Why? Let's hear it. "
"At present, the positions occupied by our army are located on the bare plains, and there is no danger to defend. You know, in order to hold such a wide position on the front of the defense, we must send in a large number of troops. For the Germans, the number of people we have is not worth mentioning in the face of their air supremacy and powerful weapons and equipment. If they want to reoccupy these positions, they don't even need to send out ground forces to attack. They just need to send air forces or arrange artillery positions on the surrounding hills to bombard our positions wildly and indiscriminately, so as to achieve the goal of destroying the positions occupied by our army. "
He listened to me, nodded thoughtfully, and said, "you are very reasonable. To let the troops stay in the open field is to let them die. However, as you can see, this position was attacked by us at great sacrifice. I'm not reconciled to giving it up for nothing. "
Before I could answer his question again, shmikov came over and reported: "Comrade commander, just received a call from Lt. Col. tarantsev. His 102nd naval infantry brigade has entered the preset position on the Bank of the Koska river. They are taking in the routs of the 184th and 192nd divisions while fighting against the German vanguards who have burst into the area."
"Comrade captain, have you asked him about the details of captain harchenko's sacrifice?"
I can't help but wonder how a commander of the 192nd division, a lieutenant commander from the Navy, could know when he died. But I know it's not the time to ask questions, so I listen to the next two people.
Shamikov replied, "I asked. Lt. commander tarantsev reported that he had heard that German motorized troops had rushed to upper buzinovka, where the division headquarters was located. He immediately took the troops to reinforce them. I didn't expect that it would be a bit late to catch up. By the time they arrived, the German motorized troops had already destroyed the headquarters of the 184th and 192nd divisions. The personnel of the headquarters of the two divisions were missing. He could only lead the troops to go while fighting, and take in the scattered commanders and fighters along the road, and return to the preset position by the Koska River to block the German advance. "
"Lt. Col. tarantsev is doing the right thing." Korpakchi nodded approvingly, and then told shamikov: "you're going to call lieutenant commander tarantsev and ask him to take over the position of commander of the 192nd division immediately. At present, he has three things to do: one is to organize active defense and resolutely prevent the German motorized forces from continuing to advance towards the Koska River; 2、 Gather as many scattered units of the 192nd division as possible; 3、 Immediately send someone to look for Colonel harchenko and bring his body back. That's all my orders. You can convey them! "
When he talked about the recovery of Colonel harchenko's body, I happened to find a crystal tear falling down his cheek. Perhaps he found that I was watching him. He quickly raised his hand to wipe away the tears on his face, turned to me and said, "Comrade oshanina, I have decided to let the 85th regiment set up their defense on this hill after they withdraw from the position in the evening. In this way, they can be caught unprepared when the German army passes through the hill without any precaution. "
After that, he personally called the commander of the 33rd division, Colonel farnasiev, to arrange for the 85th regiment to be transferred to the hill where the temporary headquarters is located, and prepare to teach the arrogant German a lesson tomorrow.
After phoning fanasiev, he called gurov again and issued a new combat order: "Comrade military commissar, the current situation is very unfavorable for us. The 33rd division of Jinwei has suffered heavy casualties and is unable to hold the existing position any longer. I have ordered them to withdraw after dark and build a new defensive position on the hill where the headquarters is located, Stop the German troops passing under the hill. In addition, the 184th and 192nd divisions were defeated, and the commander of the 192nd division, Col. harchenko, was killed. I have ordered the commander of the 102nd naval infantry brigade, Lt. Col. tarantzev, to take over the post of the division commander and fight with the German vanguard at the preset position on the Koska River. Now I order: the 1103rd, 1105th and 1158th regiments of the cannons will open fire immediately to stop and shoot at the German troops attacking the Koska River position of our group army. These bandits must not rush into our position. "
"I see, comrade commander." Gurov replied very simply: "I will immediately give orders to the three artillery regiments to provide the necessary artillery support for our troops guarding the Koska River position. In addition, I suggest that the 508th and 552nd regiments of the anti tank annihilating artillery be transferred to the Koska River position to strengthen the anti tank forces there. "“ You have a good idea, comrade military Commissar. Then do as you say! " He hung up and looked down at the map on the desk. After returning from the phone call, shamikov said, "Captain shamikov, you can call Colonel jahua of the 131st division and Colonel Sologub of the 112th division, and ask them to draw out a regiment to reinforce the Koska River defense position."“ Comrade commander, is it necessary to send more reinforcements? We should know that the Koska River defense line is not only defended by major general walshin's 147th division and major general Novikov's 181st division, but also strengthened today by the residual troops of the 102nd naval infantry brigade and the 192nd division. The existing forces are fully capable of holding the position. " I looked at shamikov white and said to myself that you, as a captain, dare to give directions in front of the commander of the group army. Be careful to be scolded later. However, kolpakchi seems to be very tolerant of shamikov. He just explained, "Comrade captain, you are quite right. But we have to prepare for the worst. After defeating the 184th and 192nd infantry divisions, the two motorized divisions of the German army have approached the Koska river line. " He pointed at the map with his hand“ Our army is bordered by the right wing of the 64th group army. Although there is the 229th infantry division deployed by trakov here, as far as I know, the front of the division's defense is nearly 15 kilometers, but there are only five battalions on the position, and the other four battalions are still marching on the road. In the depth of the division's defense, although the 21st brigade of tanks is deployed, the number of tanks in the brigade is very small. There are only 5 KB heavy tanks, 9 T-34 tanks and 20 T-60 tanks in the brigade, which can't compete with the German tank troops at all. "“ I see. Comrade commander, I'll call right now. " I was surprised to find out from kolpakchi's command that he was also a commander with rich combat experience and excellent command ability. He could not only remember all kinds of place names that were difficult to remember, but also knew all the units of the group army like the palm of his hand. When he gave orders, he did not look at maps and read notebooks like other commanders. I always wanted to go to trakov, so I didn't pay attention to a commander with outstanding ability around me. Although the counterattack he personally directed did not achieve the desired results today, it was not his responsibility, but the uncoordinated action of the newly formed 13th tank army and its failure to cooperate well with the infantry attack. As it was getting dark, kolpakchi raised his hand and looked at his watch. Then he said to shamikov, "Comrade captain, when the 85th regiment comes, you will be responsible for contacting their commander and choosing the right position to build a new fortification." After he agreed, he asked with concern, "Comrade commander, are you planning to go back to the headquarters of the group army?" Kolpakchi shook his head and said, "the headquarters won't go back for the time being. I don't trust the kosca River defense. I expect that at dawn tomorrow, the German forces will concentrate their superior forces to launch a fierce attack on our positions. I will go there to command them myself. " "Do you want me to accompany you?" he asked Colpakchi shook his head again and said, "this time, I'm going with commander oshanina. You will stay in the 85th regiment as a liaison officer. If you have any latest information, please report it to me at any time. " Then I shook my head and said, "come on, comrade oshanina, come with me to the kosca River defense." I walked out of the headquarters behind korpakchi, and heard shamikov say in a loud voice, "everyone pack up quickly, and then go with the commander to the Koska River defense line."