Chapter 419

Next, the two generals complained to kolpakchi one after another, saying that the division's troops were limited, and the front of the defense line was too wide, which was not conducive to defense. They hoped that the commander could understand his difficulties, compress his defense area, and send effective troops to defend the junction of the two divisions.

Kolpakchi pushed the phone on the desk aside, asked for the map from one of the staff officers, spread it out on the desk, looked at it, frowned and said, "general walshing, your 147th division is in the south of the defense line, and the front of the defense line is 12 kilometers. And you, general Novikov, your 181st infantry division, are in charge of the north side of the line of defense, with a width of 17 kilometers. I want to ask, "how are you going to compress the defense?"

General walshing was obviously familiar with colpakchi, so he spoke casually: "Comrade commander, I want to move my defense line five kilometers south, so I can put more reserves in the defense depth."

"Yes, comrade commander." General Novikov went on to talk about walshin: "I think my division should also move three to five kilometers north, so as to increase the strength of defense."

"General walshing, step back five kilometers. You step back three to five kilometers. In this way, there will be a gap between your two divisions, which is eight to ten kilometers wide. " At this point, colpakchi slapped the table and yelled angrily, "I'll ask you, who should defend this gap?"

Colpakchi's anger scared the two generals into silence. After a long time, Lt. Col. talanzev finally replied, "Comrade commander, before you came, the two generals were discussing with me that I should place the 192nd division at the junction of the two divisions."

"Comrade commander, what do you think?" Asked colpackge.

"In fact, since the afternoon, my 102nd naval infantry brigade and the remnant of the 192nd division have been in this area. At present, the width of the front of the defense is eight kilometers, "talanzev answered mechanically without thinking about korpakchi's question," my troops, here in the afternoon, had a fight with the German vanguard. "

"Ah, commander tarantsev, your troops have long been deployed at the junction of the two divisions." After the eyes of kolpakchi swept over the political commissars of the two divisions, he said in a loud voice: "I say, comrades, are you meeting here to change the area actually controlled by the 192nd division into their official defense area?"

The two teachers looked at each other and did not dare to speak. Kotov, the political commissar of the 147th division, was more courageous. He stood up and explained to korpakchi: "Comrade commander, before the forces of lieutenant colonel tarantsev entered the junction of our two divisions, we had only about two battalions in this area. If the Germans attack fiercely, they will not be able to defend it at all. "

I found that after listening to Kotov's explanation, kolpakchi was trembling with anger, but he was trying to restrain himself so as not to say anything too much out of excitement. He took out a cigarette box from his pocket and took out a cigarette and put it in his mouth. Without waiting for him to take out the match, major general walshin next to him had already put the striking match in front of him.

Kolpakchi looked at him, lit his cigarette with a match, took a puff, and then said slowly, "at present, the only combat force in the 192nd division is the 102nd naval infantry brigade of commander tarantsev. The rest of the troops are still in the process of reorganization. If they want to defend such a wide line of defense, their strength is not enough. So I decided to move the 147th division three kilometers south and the 181st division two kilometers north. The five kilometers between your two divisions will be defended by tarantsev's troops. "

As soon as his words were over, general Novikov stood up and said in a pleading tone, "Comrade commander, could you reconsider that even if our division moves two kilometers northward, the defense front still reaches 15 kilometers."

Without waiting for him to finish, colpakchi interrupted his words behind him and said sternly, "this is my order. It's not allowed to be discussed. You can carry it out." At this point, he raised his hand and looked at his watch. Then he said, "it's getting late. All the commanders go back to your respective troops. Maybe there will be a fierce battle waiting for us tomorrow."

Now that the commander had ordered them to leave, the commissars were embarrassed to stay. They stood up to salute kolpakchi and left the headquarters in twos and threes.

At four o'clock in the morning the next day, just after dawn, colpakchi woke me up and took me to the observation post. Before leaving the headquarters, he told the communication staff to take the telephone line to the observation post as soon as possible, where he would command the troops today.

When I got out of the headquarters, I looked around and found that the headquarters was on the hillside of a hill, and the observation post we were going to visit was on the top of the hill. Without saying a word, colpakchi walked down the path to the top of the mountain, and I followed him.

When he reached the top of the mountain, kolpakchi bent down and walked to the observation post half buried in the ground. After entering the door, he repeatedly told the staff who followed him to hold the telephone line as soon as possible. Then he came to the observation port and raised his telescope to observe the situation outside.

Because the commander didn't arrange any specific work for me, I'm just an idle person in the headquarters. Anyway, I'm also idle. So I went to the window to observe the defense system of our army's Koska River, just like korpakchi.

From the heart, the defense system along the Koska river is very perfect. Outside the first line of defense, there were anti tank trenches, wooden piles with barbed wire, and large minefields. Even under the cover of tanks, it took a lot of trouble for the German infantry to rush forward. The second line of defense is equipped with anti tank gun positions and mortar positions, which can block and shoot German tanks and infantry outside the first line of defense, and use firepower to inflict heavy damage on the enemy.

This area is guarded by the 102nd naval infantry brigade of lieutenant colonel tarantsev. In my impression, the combat effectiveness of the Marine Corps is far stronger than that of the army. In the old Soviet movies, at every critical moment when the army can't stand it, the naval officers and men sent to reinforce always have the ability to turn the tide and turn the war around. So at the moment, I saw the Navy officers and men walking back and forth in the trenches, not worried that they could not hold the position.

The German attack officially began at 9 a.m. However, it is strange that they did not bombard with artillery in advance. Instead, they directly attacked our positions with 15 tanks as the forerunners and a battalion of infantry following them.

Seeing the German army's dispatch, not only I was stunned, but also kolpakchi, standing nearby, said in a strange tone, "what's the matter? Without the cover of aircraft and artillery, the German Army wanted to use these tanks and hundreds of infantry to attack our fortified defensive positions

"Yes, comrade commander." When I heard him say this, I did not have to worry about it any more, and boldly expressed my speculation: "will the German attack be just a feint? Do they want to break through our positions in other directions? "

Without waiting for kolpakchi to answer, a staff officer came up and reported, "Comrade commander, Captain shamikov's phone call. He said he had military information to report to you."

Colpakchi waved his head at me and said, "Lieutenant oshanina, come here and listen to captain shamikov." With that, he went to the table, picked up the microphone on the table and said in a loud voice, "Captain shamikov? I'm kolpakchi. What's the situation there? "

"Report, comrades commander," sermikov's voice came from the microphone, and the sound of guns could be heard at the same time. "The German army is attacking the 85th regiment's line of defense. The commanders and fighters showed great tenacity and beat back the enemy's five charges in an hour. "

"Well done, comrade captain!" Kolpakchi praised him, and then asked, "do you know the number of the German army?"

"Judging from the documents on the corpses of German soldiers and tank soldiers left on the battlefield, they belong to the 113th infantry division and the 16th tank division of the German army."

"How are your casualties?" Colpackge asked again with concern.

"The first battalion has almost run out, and the commander has just put the second battalion into position. The Third Battalion, as a reserve, is assembling on the hill. "

"I see. Comrade captain, please tell the commander of the 85th regiment that we should make rational use of our forces and hold down the German forces for as long as possible so that they can not concentrate their forces on raids in one direction. "

"Yes, comrade commander, I will certainly convey your message to the commander." Speaking of this, Shemi cofton hesitated for a moment and said, "I don't know when the reserve team sent to us will arrive?"

"The reserves," korpakchi hesitated for a moment, and then said resolutely, "I'll transfer two regiments to you right away from the 196th division of Colonel avelin, and I expect to arrive after dark. You must hold on until dark and never let the German army occupy your position. "

"Yes, comrade commander." "We will be like nails, firmly nailed to the position, and never step back," he said aloud

When talking to shamikov, the sound of guns came from outside the observation post. I quickly went to the window and raised my telescope to see what was going on.

The German tanks, which opened the way for the infantry, fired while they were moving. The shells fell on the front and back of our trench and exploded. Because the number of tanks was too small, the damage to the garrison in the trench was not great.

When the German Army started firing, the artillery of the second line of defense of our army was not outdone. Mortar and anti tank guns opened fire together. The shells fell in the German army's line and exploded. The flying mortar shells cut down the soldiers near the explosion point. The tanks hit by armor piercing shells stopped moving and burned in situ.

The German army suffered only a few minutes of attack and immediately turned around and began to flee.

Seeing this scene, I could not help but frown and say what was the matter. When did the German army, known as the first army in the world, become so vulnerable, only to receive a few shells, and then retreat in a panic?

At a time when kolpakchi and I were puzzled, another staff officer came to report: "Comrade commander, commander of the 229th division of the friendly neighbor, Colonel sarien, called and said that the German army was launching an attack on the 783rd regiment stationed at the 79th state farm in the middle of the division. Because of the shortage of troops, it was very difficult for them to stop the crazy attack of the German army, so they asked us to provide the necessary assistance. "

"The 79th state farm," kolpakchi said to me after finding this position on the map, "once the German army captured this farm, it would attack the nearby highland 155. Once the highland was lost, the German army could drive straight into the 64th army headquarters in lower kirskaya. But where should we send troops to support them? You know, it will take time for the troops to gather. Maybe by the time the reinforcements arrive, they will have been attacked by the Germans. " Seeing kolpakchi's anxious expression, I suddenly had a flash in my mind. When the German attacked the Koska River defense line yesterday, didn't he order to support the defenders with artillery fire? We can do the same today. Think of here, I also no longer hesitate, will own idea simply said out. On hearing this, kolpakchi nodded again and again, and immediately ordered the staff officer: "call the military commissar and ask him to order the cannon regiment to open fire on the friendly neighbor's 155 highland to stop the German offensive troops."