Chapter 638

When I saw the telegram, I handed it to kirilov. At the same time, I said anxiously, "Comrade political commissar, please have a look. This is the telegram just sent by the headquarters of the group army."

Kirilov received the telegram without expression, but when he finished reading it, his expression became serious. When he handed the telegram back to me, he looked around for a moment and then said to me in a low voice, "o'shanina, what do you think of Comrade commander, that he wants to fight back at this time? Don't they know that the enemy is far stronger than us? You know, a few days ago, the counterattacks carried out by the three army groups under general Zhukov's personal command all ended in failure. " At this point, he could not help but snort, "although our group army has more than a dozen divisions, these troops have been seriously reduced and are barely enough to hold their positions. If we want to attack, the existing strength and equipment are far from enough."

I looked up at the clear sky and saw that there were neither enemy planes nor our fighters in the sky. Thinking that the enemy's artillery bombarded only a regiment of positions, and that we were relatively safe here, I took kirilov to the observation post on the south slope.

I stood at the observation port of the observation post, holding up my telescope and looking at the high ground that was being shelled in front of me, but I was thinking about the telegram that trakov had just sent. He said in the telegram: in order to reverse the present unfavorable situation, the group army intends to carry out another large-scale counterattack against the enemy outside the city. The task of the independent division is to timely counter attack the enemy from the existing positions, attract the enemy's attention, disrupt the enemy's established deployment, contain the German 44th and 76th divisions in the existing positions, and firmly grasp the initiative of the battlefield in our hands.

Seeing that I had been holding up my telescope and not talking, kirilov was uneasy because of the telegram. He was walking around the observation station with his hands behind his back, and at the same time, he kept whispering to himself.

Hearing the news behind me, I couldn't help laughing, so I put down my telescope, turned around and asked kirilov, "my political commissar, do you have any trouble walking around here all the time?"

Kirilov stopped and asked me with a sad face, "Comrade oshanina, how do you think commander trakov will carry out this counterattack?"

I saw no one in the room but us. Basmanov, the commander of the guard battalion, was also standing in the trench a few steps away from the gate. If he hadn't yelled at him, he would not have heard our conversation. He went to the wooden table in the room, pointed to the map on it and explained to him: "Comrade political commissar, according to my estimation, the reason why the group army headquarters launched this counterattack is that the group army headquarters has to fight back, It's to protect the dock from enemy artillery and aircraft. Therefore, before the main force of the group army carries out a large-scale counterattack, first of all, it is necessary to turn the left and right wing forces in the counterattack area into a solid defense, supplemented by a small-scale counterattack, so as to attract the enemy's attention and contain the enemy's forces in the existing area. In this way, the main force of the group army can carry out a surprise attack on the passing station of razguliyevka in the central section, and occupy a section of railway extending southwest from the station to the turning point of gonglak. In this way, the central front can be straightened, and the railway subgrade, which is an anti tank obstacle, can be used as a basis to capture gorogesh and alexandrovka. "

After listening to my analysis of the attack route of the group army, kirilov looked at the map for a long time and said thoughtfully, "well, comrade oshanina, what you said is reasonable. If the headquarters of the group army really works out the operational plan as you have analyzed, and achieves the desired results, then the enemy's artillery will not pose a threat to our docks except for the enemy planes in the sky. " Speaking of this, he raised his head and asked in an uncertain tone, "Comrade oshanina, do you think it is possible for the commander to make plans according to your ideas?"

I didn't speak. I just smile. My heart says that it's not possible, but certain, because this is the counterattack plan made by trakov himself. If it had not been for the German army's preemptive attack before the counterattack, the plan might have been successful.

As we were talking, the telephone on the desk rang. Kirilov grabbed the receiver and said in a loud voice, "Hello, I'm political commissar kirilov. Where are you? " After a few words, kirilov covered the receiver with his hand and said to me in a low voice, "it's captain akhromeyev who called. He said that he has received a telegram from the headquarters. Commander trakov asked you to give him advice on how to fight back."

I thought about it for a moment. Anyway, the battle plan that I just analyzed for kirilov was originally created by trakov. I'll push the boat forward and report this plan to him. Thinking of this, I said to kirilov with a smile: "Comrade political commissar, since the headquarters of the group army has asked for our opinions, let's report the plan we just mentioned."

Kirilov hesitated for a moment when I said it so simply, and then asked cautiously, "is that appropriate?"

"There's nothing wrong with it!" I waved my hand and said confidently, "if something goes wrong, I'll take the responsibility alone."

After listening to my words, kirilov showed an expression of displeasure on his face. He stuck his neck and said in an unconvinced way: "what do you mean, sir? I'm the commissar of the independent division. If anything goes wrong, I'll share the responsibility with you. " With these words, he angrily released his hand on the microphone, repeated the plan I said to akhromeyev, and asked the other party to send it to the headquarters of the group army by telegram immediately.

Just as we were talking, the anti tank artillery company of the artillery battalion had set up the artillery position and began to fire on the enemy's tanks. Thirteen guns opened fire unexpectedly, caught German tanks by surprise, and immediately seven or eight of them were shot and caught fire.

The artillery company's first round of shooting, has achieved fruitful results, I feel sincerely happy at the same time, I can not help but secretly worried. The second artillery company was almost annihilated by the double attacks of German tank guns and heavy howitzers because the target was exposed. But my worry didn't come true. After several tanks were shot, what the remaining tanks did was not turn the muzzle to shoot at our artillery positions, but began to increase their horsepower and retreat one after another. As they retreated, they fired a shot from time to time.

Seeing the enemy's tanks fleeing in confusion under the artillery fire of our army, I was also stunned and couldn't help saying to myself, "what the hell is wrong with this German tank? When they were attacked by our shells, they did not stop to fight back and ran away. Is there any conspiracy? "

When I heard my whispering, kirilov laughed beside me and said jokingly, "Sir, because you know everything, I didn't expect that there were times when I couldn't figure out the situation."

I felt hot on my face and quickly explained: "the last time the German army shelled a regiment position, we transferred the second artillery company. As soon as we fired two guns, the enemy's tanks turned their muzzle and destroyed our artillery position with intensive artillery fire. Their performance today is really puzzling

"It's no surprise." Kirilov pointed to the smoke of the battlefield in the distance and said to me, "don't you forget that the German artillery was placed at the position of the German tanks last time. It was because of their existence that our artillery position was destroyed in such a short time. Today, only enemy tanks are present in front of our army's front, while artillery are far away from us. According to the firing data provided by the artillery observers, they carry out long-range shelling on the positions of a regiment. These tanks have been there a lot of time, and they should have few shells left. If they stay where they are and fire against our artillery, it will not be so easy for them to escape when the shells are finished. "

When the German tanks disappeared from our view, the German artillery bombardment on the Highlands stopped completely.

I went to the table, picked up the phone and dialed akhromeyev. When I heard his voice coming from the earphone, I said to him solemnly: "Comrade chief of staff, now the enemy's bombing and shelling are over. You should contact the leaders of the three regiments immediately and ask them to count the casualties of each unit as soon as possible. When I was observing just now, I found that several shelters on the position of a regiment were destroyed by artillery fire, and the soldiers who stayed inside were expected to be more or less dangerous. In addition, if the commander of any company is injured or injured, a suitable person should be appointed in time to take over the command of the army. "

After I gave the order, akhromeyev reported to me: "Comrade division commander, during the bombing and shelling, the telephone lines between our regiment 1 and regiment 3 were blown off. We can only communicate through the telephone and walkie talkie. Now razumeyeva has sent all the signalmen to repair the lines to ensure smooth communication between the division headquarters and the regiments. "

After listening, I simply said "I know", and then hung up.

I went to the observation port, raised my telescope and looked at the artillery position. I was surprised to see that Morozov was directing the artillery to transfer the artillery. Hearing kirilov's voice coming to me, I said to him specially, "Comrade political commissar, do you see that? Our artillery are moving their guns, ready to pull back the fortifications and hide

Kirilov also looked through the telescope for a while and said with emotion: "yes, we only have this anti tank artillery company. These cannons and Gunners are the treasures of our division. We should protect these cannons as we protect our eyes, otherwise in the next battle, we will be helpless in the face of the swarming German tanks."

When I heard kirilov speak, I was like an old accountant, thinking about the family background of the independent division: at present, there are tank battalion with 10 tanks, artillery company with 13 anti tank guns, a mortar company and a heavy howitzer unit with five guns. Under the current situation, these heavy weapons are still hidden by me most of the time. I think that good steel can be used on the blade. When the battle is at its most difficult, these heavy weapons can be put into the battlefield.

I was just thinking about it when the phone suddenly rang, but it interrupted me. I picked up the phone and heard akhromeyev's voice. I thought he was going to report the casualties of each regiment, so I asked frankly, "Comrade chief of staff, have the casualties of each regiment been counted?"

At the other end of the telephone line, ahromeyevton took a moment to answer me: "Comrade division commander, I'm not calling you to report the casualty data of each regiment, but to receive another telegram from the headquarters of the group army..."

"What telegram?" When I heard akhromeyev's telegram, my heart beat faster. I guessed that it was trakov's response to my battle plan.

Unexpectedly, akhromeyev said: "the headquarters informed us that the anti-aircraft artillery 1079 regiment, 748 regiment and the anti-aircraft artillery 1077 regiment of the political commissar of the Lijia Regiment under the control of the group army were merged into one anti-aircraft artillery group, which was under the command of Colonel yershov and was responsible for the air defense work of the mamayev post and the dock area."

Before akhromeyev finished speaking, I excitedly said to kirilov, "Comrade political commissar, the group army headquarters has sent two more anti-aircraft artillery regiments to take charge of the air defense of our highlands and docks, so that the enemy planes will not dare to bomb our highlands as recklessly as they do today." Kirilov was especially happy to hear the news. But then he asked with concern: "by the way, who is in charge of this antiaircraft artillery group?" After listening to kirilov's reminder, I quickly asked akhromeyev, "chief of staff, did the headquarters say who is in charge of this antiaircraft artillery group?" Akhromeyev obviously heard my conversation with kirilov, sighed and said with regret: "the telegram says that our division and Colonel yershov do not belong to each other. This unit is under the direct command of the headquarters of the group army." After listening to the remarks in the telegram, I could not help sighing with regret. Originally, I wanted to transfer the anti-aircraft artillery unit to the high ground to be used as an anti tank artillery company when the situation was critical. In this way, my attempt failed. During the war, the efficiency of the troops was high. At two o'clock in the afternoon, Colonel yershov called the observation post. Kirilov answered the phone. Obviously, the other party had known about the situation of the independent division for a long time, so he had no difficulty in guessing the identity of the person who answered the phone. At the same time, he politely said: "Hello, political commissar kirilov, my anti-aircraft artillery troops have entered the designated position. According to the command of the headquarters, the Antiaircraft Artillery Force will provide antiaircraft artillery support for your independent division, so that the enemy's aircraft will not dare to show their power over the mamayev post, wharf and Volga River. "“ Hello, Colonel yershov Kirilov also said to him in the same polite tone, "thank you for your troops providing us with air defense artillery support. As the commander of the neighboring forces, I promise you that as long as the position is still in our hands, we will never let a German devil rush to your anti-aircraft artillery position. " However, today is not an ordinary day. In the morning, our highland was heavily shelled and bombed. Until noon, our air force arrived and drove away the enemy planes that bombed over the mamayev post, which gave us the opportunity to use artillery to severely damage and drive away the German tanks and restore calm to the highland. But the enemy plane reappeared over the mamayev post at about 5 p.m. Perhaps they learned from the lessons of the morning. This time, they not only sent out more than 20 bombers, but also sent out the same number of fighters to escort. Seeing this scene, my heart can't help sinking. Even if our air force comes back to support the enemy in such a big battle, even if we are outnumbered, no matter how hard we fight, we will never be able to win. When kirilov saw the dense enemy planes in the sky, he couldn't help crying: "my God, this German guy is crazy. He sent so many planes to bomb mamayev post. Do they really want to blow up our highlands to a flat ground?" When the enemy planes flew over the high ground and began to circle high in the sky, preparing to dive and drop bombs, Colonel yershov's anti-aircraft artillery group nearby opened fire. Behind us, the antiaircraft guns began to rumble, sending angry flames into the sky. The black cannonball that came out of the chamber was blooming all around the enemy plane. The enemy did not expect that there would be so much anti-aircraft fire in the rear of the highland, and they were caught off guard. Two enemy planes just entered the dive state became the unfortunate victims of the fire, and were immediately hit and exploded in the air. Not only kirilov, but also the guards standing outside the door cheered excitedly when they saw our antiaircraft artillery making contributions in the first round. But I was absentmindedly watching the black fireworks in the air from time to time, and I was worried about whether the anti-aircraft artillery group could beat back the huge German fleet. After the enemy planes were raised to a high altitude and regrouped, one team rushed to the area where the anti-aircraft artillery group was located, while the rest circled around our Highlands, looking for the opportunity to dive and drop bombs. In the face of the enemy aircraft circling in the air, listening to the bursts of explosions coming from the rear, we can only watch helplessly without air defense weapons, but can not provide effective help for the anti-aircraft artillery force. In my heart, I even hope that the German infantry will attack as soon as they get close to our position, and the enemy planes in the air will not continue to fire, so that we will have a chance to hold on until dark.