Chapter 472

When klobjing and the division left the headquarters, we stayed in the village of gnerlovsky.

In the early morning, we were awakened by the rumbling explosion from outside. I used to sleep on the table. When I was awakened by the explosion, I sat up straight and listened to where the sound came from. As soon as he got out of bed, he couldn't even care to put on his boots. He rushed to the door with a lunge and yelled out, "Klimov, Captain Klimov, where are you?"

With trekov's shouts, Klimov rushed in from the outside, gasped for breath, saluted trekov, and respectfully asked, "Comrade commander, do you have any instructions?"

Trekov pointed to the outside and asked, "what happened to the explosion outside? Where did it come from?"

Klimov habitually looked out and then replied, "Comrade report commander, the troops of the 29th Infantry Division are advancing slowly eastward along the river bank of Aksay. They are being bombed and attacked by enemy planes."

"What? The 29th division was also bombed. " When trekov heard the news, he ran out without saying a word. I was stunned for a moment, and immediately realized that what trikov thought was that the 29th division was being attacked by our air force again, and quickly chased out.

Klimov ran out behind me. He explained to trikov, who was looking up his telescope into the sky: "Comrade commander, it was the enemy's aircraft that attacked the 29th division, not our air force."

When I heard that the plane attacking our army was a German plane, I could not help but feel relieved. If it was bombed and strafed by the enemy's plane, it could be accepted. If it was mistakenly bombed by one's own plane again, the commander of the aviation force could be removed from his post for investigation.

Raising the telescope and looking forward, we can see that the planes circling and diving in the sky are all German planes. With every dive of the plane, the aerial bomb accurately landed in the marching line and exploded. The roaring sound of explosion was particularly clear on the wide grassland. Looking at so many corpses and burning truck wrecks on the river and grassland, I feel sad, but I can do nothing about the situation they are facing. Without the cooperation of air force and air defense forces, our dozens of people will rush through and die in vain.

Klimov was a clever adjutant. He didn't know what to do. He went back to the headquarters, took out trakov's boots and asked him to put them on. He whispered: "Comrade commander, let's go back to the headquarters first. As for the troops of the 29th division, let the front army send air troops to support them."

When the 29th division withdrew, we were left with a communication class, including a radio station. After listening to what krimov said, trikov immediately told him, "Comrade captain, bring the radio station to the headquarters. We will contact the headquarters of the front army immediately and ask for the support of the air force."

Without waiting for the radio to call the headquarters, Sergeant sidtorin came in with a skinny old major. As soon as he entered the door, sidtorin reported to trikov, "Hello, comrade commander. This commander is from the 255 th independent cavalry regiment. He said he would see you immediately if he had something important

After listening to the messenger, the major stepped forward and reported, "Comrade commander, major tualev, commander of the 255 th independent regiment of cavalry, reports to you that the cavalry regiment has been ordered to take over the defense of the 29th Infantry Division. I'm at your command. Please direct the next step."

Looking at the old major, trekov, standing at the table, showed a smile on his face. He warmly called each other: "Comrade major, don't stand there, come to me."

After tualev stood at the table, trakov pointed to the map on the table and began to assign tasks to him: "Comrade commander, immediately send your regiment to take over the lot left by the 29th division, including the two areas of josovsky and gnerlovsky."

The major looked at the picture and said with some embarrassment, "Comrade commander, the defense area you assigned to us is 15 kilometers wide, while my regiment has only 1000 people now. Obviously, the defense force is not enough."

Trikov seemed to have expected that the major would say so. He quickly comforted him and said, "Comrade major, I also know that it is difficult for a cavalry regiment to defend such a wide area, but we have no other troops. Besides, it seems that the enemy does not intend to attack us in this area, because they are moving their troops to the Northeast near the railway to cover their main force from the West.

According to the Scout's report, the enemy troops crossing the Don river near the town of upper kurmoyarskaya are also moving northeast, leaving only weak cover troops in the Aksay river. It is obvious that the purpose of the enemy's maneuver is to ensure the safety of the left wing of its main force. And its main force is starting from kojelnikovo, bypassing the railway from the southeast to attack Stalingrad. "

Hearing what trikov said, the young principal breathed a sigh of relief and tentatively asked, "Comrade commander, can I understand that our cavalry forces are weak enemies in front of us, and they will not attack us on their own initiative. What our regiment has to do is to guard against the infiltration of small enemy forces in this defensive area. "

"Absolutely right, comrade major. That's it." Trikov looked at the major with a smile on his face. In order to reassure him completely, he gave him another reassurance: "according to the report of the scouts, you will face the Romanian army. You also know that the combat effectiveness of the servant army is not worth mentioning."

I can see from the relaxed expression on the major's face that he is completely relieved. The major straightened up and asked cuikov, "Comrade commander, do you allow me to deploy troops?"“ Go ahead, major. Good luck Shortly after the major left, the station contacted the headquarters of the front army. Speaking to us was general nikishev, chief of staff of the front army. He apologized to trakov in a low voice in the microphone and said, "Comrade trakov, please apologize for me to the commanders and fighters of the 208 infantry division. Due to our negligence in our work, we bombed our own ranks by mistake and caused unnecessary casualties. We have dealt with the relevant responsible persons seriously and sent them all to the military court. " Trikov only gave a vague answer, then said frankly, "Comrade chief of staff, our 29th Infantry Division was attacked by enemy planes while marching eastward along the Aksay River, and the troops suffered heavy casualties. I request the headquarters of the front army to send Air Force fighters immediately to expel German aircraft in this area and cover the smooth transfer of troops. "“ I see. I'll arrange for it right away. " Then nikishev lowered his voice and told the people around him. Soon after, his voice came out again in his ear: "well, comrade trakov, I've ordered someone to inform the air force. Do you have any enemy information to report to me? "“ Yes, chief of staff. " "According to the intelligence analysis I got, the enemy's main forces began to move to the northeast. Obviously, in order to attack Stalingrad from the south, the enemy is trying to insert into the flank and rear of the whole Stalingrad front army. In this way, our army's transportation and supply lines will be cut off." Nikishev listened and was silent for a moment. Then he said, "Comrade trakov, please wait a moment. I'll report this to the commander." After about five minutes, nikishev's voice came from his ear again. He said firmly, "Comrade trakov, the commander orders that you should firmly hold the position along the Aksay river with your existing strength. In order to strengthen your firepower, the front army will deploy two Katyusha rocket artillery regiments nearby to you. " At the end of the call with the front army, trakov began to give orders to the troops to defend tenaciously in the Aksai river area. And check the artillery and mortar combat readiness. At the same time, in order to avoid the sudden attack of the enemy, trakov also sent reconnaissance personnel to all directions. The front-line combat forces are the 138th Infantry Division under the command of Col. lyudnikov and the 157th Infantry Division under the command of Col. kuropatenko. They will tenaciously block the enemy's advance by virtue of their existing positions when the enemy launches an attack. As reserves, the 154th marine brigade and two Katyusha rocket artillery regiments have just been assigned to us. After careful camouflage, they hide in the valley and are ready to give the enemy a thunderbolt at the right time. That evening, the enemy began to attack. Among the troops involved in the attack were not only the Germans, but also the Romanian troops of the vassal state. Their attack was at the junction of the two divisions, lyudnikov and kuropatenko. In the 8 km wide front of our army's defense, the enemy's offensive troops, under the cover of tanks, fiercely attacked our army. Due to the shortage of troops, poor equipment and lack of effective anti tank weapons, the defensive positions were broken through by the enemy in only half an hour, most of the defenders were sacrificed, and the rest of the commanders and fighters were defeated. The enemy infantry crossed the Aksai River, leaving some troops to build beachhead positions and prepare to cover the tanks crossing the river. The rest of them continued to advance and rushed to our second line of defense. Trekov and I are standing in the newly built observation post. We can keep abreast of what is happening on the battlefield. Seeing the rapid advance of the German army, I can't help but feel anxious. If we don't stop them, they will rush to the observation post in half an hour, and trekov and I will be captives. When I looked at trakov, who was watching the enemy with a telescope, I found that he was still calm, as if he was only conducting an exercise on the hot battlefield outside.