Chapter 482

The German army, unwilling to lose, would launch a fierce attack on our defensive positions every day.

Before crossing the river, the enemy infantry usually bombarded our army's front positions with more than a dozen planes, and then the enemy artillery began to bombard them. When our commanders and fighters were hit by the enemy's powerful firepower and were hiding from air raid and shelling in the air raid shelter in the trench, the enemy infantry who took part in the attack boarded the ferry on the other side and drove to us. The enemy's artillery would not stop shelling until the ferry approached the dock to prevent accidental injury.

The fierce defensive battle has been going on for a week. Our navy officers and men charge seven or eight times a day to retreat from the enemy. Although the front position has been repeatedly contested for many times, and many areas have been scorched by the enemy's bombs and shells, our surviving sailors still stick to the position tenaciously.

Because the village was bombed by enemy planes, it was in ruins. So our headquarters had to move back two kilometers and set up on the back of a small hill. The engineer troops dug four earth holes, one for the division headquarters, one for the communication room, and the remaining two for the temporary housing of the Division staff.

Although the hill was also bombed and shelled by enemy planes, many bombs and shells fell, the headquarters was still safe because of the good terrain.

This morning, Saren and panchenko and I were studying in the headquarters which unit to transfer to exchange defense with the sailors in the front line positions. There was another violent explosion outside. Panchenko looked out of the cave, and then said with deep feeling: "Comrade Colonel, they have been very brave these days since we passed on commander trakov's words to the following commanders and fighters. Although the enemy repeatedly crossed the river to attack our army, the battle was cruel and fierce, but the enemy did not move forward. As you can see, the enemy's river crossing troops were killed by us alone, at least more than 2000 people. "

After listening to panchenko's words, I could not help grinning silently. I said in my heart that this pie painted by trakov is really the right medicine for these Soviet soldiers who are eager for honor. In order to get such a great honor, no one will complain even if the commanders and fighters pay their precious lives for it.

At this time, the telephone rang on the desk. Sarin picked up the phone and said in a loud voice, "this is colonel sarin. Do you have anything to report?"

The other side yelled at the top of his voice, "report to the commander, comrade division. I'm lieutenant kruglov, the commander of the Navy company. Under the cover of the planes and artillery, the enemy has begun to attack us again." As the Navy captain was wounded on the first day and sent to Stalingrad, the heavily wounded navy camp was reduced to a company. As the second lieutenant who was promoted not long ago, kruglov, the highest rank in the company, took the post of company commander.

"Don't worry, comrade lieutenant." SA Ren said in a smooth tone: "the enemy is attacking every day. What's to make a fuss about. When the enemy's planes and artillery bombarded us, we still followed the old rule of leaving a few observation posts, and the rest of us hid in the gun holes. When the enemy's infantry land, you can enter the position and start fighting back. "

When I heard what sarin said, I was also a little dissatisfied with kruglov. It seems that the commanding level of a commander like him, who was promoted directly by a soldier just now, is really not good. At the critical moment, before the enemy landed, he was in a mess.

While thinking wildly, I overheard another sentence after him: "Comrade commander, today's situation is a bit special. In addition to ferries carrying soldiers across the river, there are also a large number of rubber boats on the river, which are rowing towards the left bank of the river. "

"What, rubber boat?" After listening to this, Colonel salen was shocked. "No way, comrade lieutenant, you must have read it wrong. You know, on the Don river, which is as wide as two kilometers and the current is very fast, except for ferries, rubber boats can't paddle over

"It's true, sir." Kruglov replied excitedly: "I am absolutely right. The whole river is full of rubber boats. Although the speed is slow, they are approaching us little by little."

Colonel salen threw the phone on the table and said to panchenko, "Comrade political commissar, the division headquarters will be handed over to you. Comrade oshanina and I will go to the observation post above." Then he waved his head at me and ran out first.

The new observation post is located under a huge rock on the hill, which has a wide view and is also conducive to hiding. As soon as I entered the observation post, I couldn't wait to raise my telescope and look towards the Don river. On the wide river, hundreds of rubber boats were rowing towards the left bank. Due to the rapidity of the current, most of the rubber boats have deviated from the position of the wharf and been washed downstream.

Seeing this scene, I couldn't help but feel very anxious and said to sa Ren: "Sir, you see, the enemy's rubber boat was washed downstream by the current. Once they land, they can easily detour back to the flank of our division and attack lieutenant kruglov's troops in front and behind the troops landing at the dock. "

Sarin put down his telescope, nodded and said, "you have a good point. It seems that the enemy will surely win our position today. You see, in addition to landing downstream and making a detour from the south to the back of our first line of defense, their troops also blocked the open space between the second position and the first line of defense with intensive artillery fire, so as to prevent us from transferring troops from the second line of defense to reinforce the front. "

"Comrade teacher, what should we do next?" I asked calmly.

Sarin bowed his head for a moment and then told me, "call captain Lu Jin of the 678th regiment and ask him to send a battalion to move south quietly to stop the enemy landing downstream. Commander gogoly of the 804th regiment was ordered to withdraw his troops to the hill where the division headquarters was located to build a new position. "

"Take Colonel gogoly's regiment down to the hills to build a position?" I'm afraid I've heard it wrong, so I asked“ What about the positions vacated by the 804 regiment? "

"Let the troops of 678th regiment withdraw and enter the position of 804th regiment. At the same time, the 783rd regiment was ordered to strengthen vigilance to prevent the enemy crossing the Koska River from rushing in from the north. "

Although I didn't understand a series of orders issued by him, I carried them out to the letter. I called the three commanders and conveyed the orders of sarin to them one by one.

After I gave all the orders, sarin suddenly asked, "commander o'shanina, do you know why I gave such an order?"

I really don't understand his orders. Isn't it to let the enemy land smoothly and set up beachhead positions by the river? If the enemy has a firm foothold, we are not sure to hold the area. Hearing this, I just looked at him blankly, shook my head and said, "Sir, I don't understand your purpose. I know that as soon as the enemy gets on the left bank and establishes a solid beachhead, more infantry and tanks will be transported from the other side of the river. After they are assembled, we can't stop them with our existing equipment. "

While speaking, the enemy's canoe troops had already approached the middle of the river. Suddenly, I had an idea, thought of a countermeasure, and said to sarin: "Comrade division, I have a way to deal heavy damage to the German troops who are crossing the river."

After hearing this, sarin looked at me with great interest and asked curiously, "what can I do? Tell me."

I pointed to the canoes in the river and explained to him, "the enemy's rubber boats are slow to move. We can order the artillery company to fire and use mortars to kill the German troops crossing the river."

Looking at the dense canoes on the river, sarin hesitated and said: "the enemy's formation is very dense. I also believe that mortars can kill them a lot. But once the artillery is fired, the location of our artillery company will be exposed, which is bound to attract the bombing of enemy planes and the bombardment of long-range heavy artillery. If the artillery company runs out, it will be difficult for us to fight in the future. "

It is undeniable that sarin's worries are also reasonable. Without artillery, we would suffer a little in the next battle. But I don't feel comfortable when I look at those rubber boats that are moving slowly and like targets. After careful consideration, I think Saren suggested, "Comrade teacher, how about this. The artillery company was ordered to fire. After each gun fired five rounds, the position was immediately transferred. Even if the enemy finds our artillery company, they can't find their exact location. "

After listening to my suggestion, saran nodded with satisfaction and said frankly, "well, since you say so, do as you say. Remember, Lieutenant rozhkov must be told to move immediately after his artillery company has fired five rounds. The artillery company is the treasure of our division. We can't afford to lose it. "

Less than five minutes after my order, the artillery company opened fire.

The mortar shell roared into the enemy's rubber boat line. Soon one after another high water column rose from the enemy's rubber boat line, some of the boats full of soldiers hit by the shells, human body and rubber boat fragments mixed together and blasted into the sky. Fortunately, the soldiers who were not bombed were so scared that they had to stick close to the rubber boat and paddle desperately, hoping to reach the shore as soon as possible to avoid the artillery attack of our army.

Looking at the smashed rubber boats one by one and the bodies floating on the river, saran exclaimed excitedly: "great, our artillery soldiers are really great! Comrade o'shanina, you see, after only a few rounds of fighting, at least a quarter of the enemy's rubber boats were killed. "

Compared with sarin's ecstasy, I still keep a clear mind. Even if the enemy's rubber boats are half destroyed by our artillery fire, the remaining soldiers are still a force that can not be ignored after landing.

As soon as the enemy's shelling stopped, the enemies on the rubber boats and ferries came ashore one after another and charged against the position of the kruglov company.

When the enemy was 50 or 60 meters away from the water position, there was still no movement on the position. Seeing the big crater with small crater and the blackened position, my heart was pulled up and I thought: what's the matter? Why didn't they fight back, kruglov? Did they all die under the double attack of the enemy's bombing and shelling?

The German soldiers in helmets, bent over with guns, had slowed down and approached the trench carefully. At this moment, two machine guns roared on the front of the position and knocked down more than a dozen German soldiers. Then dozens of grenades flew out of the trench and landed in the enemy's line and exploded. In the sound of explosions, the enemy who suffered heavy casualties was scared to flee. Dozens of sailors stood up in the trench, shooting at the enemy with their submachine guns and rifles. The enemy fled in confusion, fled back to the place where they had just started, and bent on the river to fight back to the sailors.

Although the enemy's attack was beaten back by us, I can see that the casualties of the Navy company were not small. As long as the enemy launches another attack, they will be almost wiped out.

At this time, Lu Jin called the observation post and reported to me, "Comrade commander, the South guard force has been sent. It's captain Slaven's Fourth Battalion. The main force of the regiment also followed your order and all retreated into the position of the original 804 regiment. "

I silently put down the phone and looked at the position of the water company hanging alone by the river. I felt very sad. I watched helplessly that these dozens of water soldiers were already in the situation of no reinforcements. Once they ran out of ammunition, all that was waiting for them was the fate of the whole army.

Maybe the German army was scared by us. After retreating to the river, they fired a few shots at random and then stopped shooting. Although they had no sign of continuing to attack, there was no sign of their retreat. Hundreds of soldiers were lying on the river, as if waiting for something.

My worries soon became reality, and several barges with tanks appeared in my view. I immediately understood that the Germans were waiting for their tanks to cross the river instead of retreating. For our army which lacks anti tank weapons, a certain number of tanks is enough to defeat us.

Thinking of this, I once again proposed to Saren: "Comrade division commander, I suggest that the Navy company be withdrawn from the front position immediately."

"Why?" Sarin put down his telescope, looked at me and asked.

"At present, there are heavy casualties in the Navy company. There are only a few dozen people left in the company. In addition, their positions are dilapidated, and they can't stop the attack of infantry covered by tanks. If they retreat into the second line of defense, they can rely on relatively complete fortifications to block the enemy's attack and buy time for the division's main force to build new fortifications. "

Saren thought about it, then nodded and said decisively, "OK, do as you say. The communication trench between the second and third lines of defense has not been damaged. If the company can not stop it, Captain Lukin can be ordered to send troops to reinforce it. "

With sarin's permission, I called kruglov. As soon as I got on the phone, I couldn't wait to say, "Comrade lieutenant, I'm lieutenant o'shanina. I order you to immediately lead the rest of the soldiers to withdraw from the position, to the second line of defense, and to organize a new defense there. "

Kruglov listened to me and was silent. Hearing his voice, I was a little worried and cried out: "Hello, comrade lieutenant, can you hear me? Why don't you talk? "

He slowly replied: "Comrade commander, we have sacrificed hundreds of brothers here, and their flesh and blood have been integrated into the land under my feet. But you gave me such an order at this time. No, I can't retreat, and my conscience won't allow me to

Listening to what they said, I immediately became infamous and roared at him angrily: "Comrade lieutenant, the commander's orders are not allowed to be discounted. I order you to lead the rest of the soldiers down immediately. Immediately, immediately. " After roaring, I angrily put down the microphone.

Fortunately, kruglov didn't have the courage to disobey my orders. A few minutes later, he withdrew from the trench with dozens of soldiers, using the craters everywhere to cover the retreat to the second line of defense.

Without waiting for them to retreat into the second line of defense, the barge carrying tanks had already landed on the dock, and several medium-sized tanks slowly drove ashore from the barge. Fortunately, these tanks did not immediately cover the infantry charge, but assembled on the shore.

As time went on, the enemy landed more and more infantry and tanks. In terms of numbers, the number of infantry has reached two battalions, and the number of tanks has increased to 28.

Although the enemy is still transporting soldiers and tanks to the left bank, three tanks have already stormed towards our second line of defense, followed by about a company of infantry.

As the enemy's tanks got closer, several sailors crawled out of the trench. They crawled forward and hid in several craters in front of the position. Judging from their actions, I immediately understood that they wanted to destroy the enemy's tanks with flasks or anti tank grenades when the enemy's tanks approached.

The front tank passed by the latent soldiers. A soldier quickly stood up and smashed a burning bottle on the body of the tank. The tank was immediately surrounded by fire. After driving for a certain distance, it tilted to a crater and stopped. Then the top cover of the turret was opened, and several men in black tank uniform were drilled out. As soon as they jumped out of the tank, they were knocked down by the machine gun on the position.

Seeing the second tank approaching, a sailor could not wait to jump out of the crater and rush up with an anti tank grenade. Before he lifted the grenade, the German infantry behind the tank opened fire with their weapons. The dense bullets beat the soil around him like a pot. The water soldier's body shook and fell into the crater on his back.

The tank rolled over from the crater, and suddenly there was a dull sound. Then a large cloud of smoke rose from the body, and the tank stopped on the crater. Although I didn't see what happened just now, I guess it must be that before the sacrifice of the sailors, they played the strings of the grenade and died with the enemy's tanks.

The sight of two tanks in a row greatly inspired the sailors. The rest of the sailors jumped out of the tank and threw grenades and flasks at the remaining tank and the enemy infantry. After a few dull explosions, the rest of the tank was disbursed. After dozens of soldiers were killed and wounded, the infantry retreated. The sailors' tenacious fighting angered the enemy. After they got a new supplement, they launched another attack. By this time, there were as many as thirty German tanks. They were driving in front, followed by thousands of infantry, swarming towards the position of the sailors. There was a faint roar of aircraft motors in the air. I raised my telescope and found that a large number of fighters were coming from the West. It was obvious that they were enemy planes. Needless to say, they are here to bomb our army. I think that the number of sailors in the company is very small. If it is bombed again by the plane, it will almost be completely destroyed. So after consulting Colonel sarren, I ordered kruglov to immediately lead the company to retreat to the third line of defense through the traffic trench. Seeing that the enemy was powerful, kruglov, after receiving my order, did not dare to neglect him. He quickly led his men to the third line of defense along the traffic ditch to join with Lukin's troops. Not long after they left, German tanks and infantry arrived at our second line of defense. After the enemy's tanks crossed the trench, they stopped and waited for the infantry to clear their positions. The enemy planes have reached the sky above the battlefield. I roughly counted that there are at least 30. If we take turns to drop bombs, it is estimated that the position of the second line of defense will soon be razed to the ground. At this moment, the enemy's planes scattered in the air, changed their formation, and then dived down one by one, throwing bombs and strafing at the German troops who occupied our positions. This sudden change not only shocked me and Colonel sarren, but also the German soldiers in the position. So that when the first wave of bombs fell, they had not made any response, they were blown up. After the enemy planes were pulled up, they did not leave. Obviously, they took the troops on the ground as our troops, then dived down, continued to bomb and strafe, and bombed their own infantry and tanks. At this time, the German infantry on the ground recovered, they fired dozens of white flares into the sky, which means: "our own people, our own people." However, the enemy planes were not good at giving up. They continued to bomb for half an hour until there were no bombs. After seeing that the enemy plane, which had dropped all the bombs and machine gun bullets, climbed up again, formed a new formation in the air and flew away. Colonel sarren, who had been watching with me all the time, finally burst out laughing and scolded: "damn German, you also have today. You've got a taste of being bombed. " After laughing, he waved his hand to me and gave an order decisively: "Comrade o'shanina, call captain Lukin and lieutenant colonel gogoly immediately, let them attack all the way, and drive the enemy to the Don river for me."