Chapter 640

Even kirilov and akhromeyev, who were standing beside me, heard the sonorous voice of shejerikov coming from the earphone, and their faces couldn't help smiling happily. I was in a bad mood, and I became happy because of this report.

After listening to the reports of the two regiments, I had a good understanding of the current situation: because the positions of the first regiment had been operated for a long time and the fortifications were relatively well built, they could still retain enough troops in the main positions when the enemy shelled and bombed. However, the positions transferred by the former tank troops received by the third regiment were not perfect in all kinds of fortifications. It was only for them to be killed when they were placed in these places during shelling and bombing. Therefore, Godunov's decision to withdraw his main troops to the south slope was also understandable.

The three of us went back to the table and began to discuss how to fight back 107.5. Akhromeyev first asked: "Sir, do we need to send more reinforcements to the third regiment?"

Kirilov also turned his eyes to me when he heard akhromeyev's question, waiting for my reply. I looked at the map on the table, waved my hand to him and said, "no, although the three regiments and one battalion were almost exhausted, it is enough to recover 107.5 Highlands with the strength of their regiment. You know, there are still more than 1000 people in the third regiment, which is more than the total strength of the disabled divisions in the city. "

Akhromeyev hissed and said, "since the third regiment still has so many troops, there is no need to increase them. I have looked at the 107.5 highland. The width of the south slope is too narrow to expand too many troops. " With that, he turned his eyes to kirilov to hear what he thought.

Kirilov said with ease: "the combat effectiveness of the third regiment is not bad in the whole division. Besides, there are so many troops. I have no doubt about their ability to recapture the highlands."

It seems that the opinions of the division leaders are completely unified, so I told akhromeyev: "Comrade chief of staff, you should call captain Morozov and ask him to send the heavy howitzer unit of second lieutenant tyakonov to bombard the 107.5 highland immediately. Never let the German stand firm on the high ground."

After chatting with Morozov on the phone, akhromeyev covered the microphone with his hand and asked for instructions: "Comrade division, Captain Morozov asked for instructions. Do you only use two guns, as you did yesterday, or do you use all the guns?"

"Needless to say, of course, five howitzers." I also explained to him: "anyway, it's dark now, and German planes are no longer a threat to our artillery positions."

Akhromeyev nodded, released his hand on the receiver, and was about to repeat my order to Morozov. Unexpectedly, a timid voice came from the side: "Comrade Colonel, can I say something?"

I turned to see that it was the wounded pilot, Captain popkov. When I heard that he had something to say, I nodded and said in a friendly way, "go ahead, comrade captain, if you have anything to say."

With my permission, popkov boldly said, "Comrade Colonel, you don't know that the German air force is now equipped with a large number of night aircrafts. That is to say, even at night, they can bombard our positions like in the daytime. Our troops suffered from the enemy aircraft in the battle of Kharkov a few months ago. "

The professional's words made akhromeyev, who was preparing to deliver the order, hesitate. He looked at me in embarrassment to see what kind of decision I would make. I frowned and thought about popkov's words. If we don't use the howitzer unit, if we attack the troops in 107.5 highland, we will suffer heavy casualties; If it is used, it is possible that the situation mentioned by the captain will really occur. The enemy will send out night warplanes to bomb our artillery positions, and then the heavy weapons of the division will be completely lost.

Seeing that I had not spoken for a long time, not only akhromeyev but also kirilov was worried. As akhromeyev's position is relatively low, he does not dare to interrupt my thoughts, so he just holds the microphone and anxiously looks at my face, waiting for my reply. Kirilov, however, had no scruples. Seeing that I did not reply, he asked rudely, "Comrade oshanina, have you thought about it? Is this howitzer unit used or not? "

At this time, I finally made up my mind, so I decisively ordered akhromeyev: "chief of staff, the original order remains unchanged, or put all the howitzers into battle, and told lieutenant tyakonov that in order to give full play to the fearless revolutionary spirit of putting life and death out of the way, we must defeat the enemy occupying the Highlands with artillery fire in the shortest time, Cover the counterattack carried out by the third regiment. "

Akhromeyev nodded hard and repeated my order loudly to the microphone: "Captain Godunov, the division commander ordered that all the howitzers be put into battle immediately. He told lieutenant tyakonov that to give full play to the fearless revolutionary spirit of putting life and death aside, we must defeat the enemy occupying the highland with artillery fire in the shortest time, Cover the counterattack carried out by the third regiment. "

When kirilov and akhromeyev continued to communicate with their subordinate troops, I called popkov to one side and sat down. First, I asked him with concern, "Comrade captain, is your injury OK?"

Popkov raised his hand and touched his forehead wrapped in gauze. He shook his head with a smile, and said in a light way, "Comrade Colonel, thank you for your concern. I'm suffering from skin injuries. It doesn't affect me to fight immediately after I get back to the army."

I was relieved to hear that he was not seriously injured. Then I changed the topic: "Captain popkov, do you know where the German Field Airport is?"

Popkov was a smart man. When he heard my question, he immediately heard the string song and knew his elegance. With a smile on his face, he tentatively asked, "Comrade Colonel, if I am not wrong, are you going to send troops to attack the enemy's airport?"

It's easy to talk with smart people. Before I asked the subject, he guessed what I wanted to ask. I nodded, acquiesced in my plan to send troops to attack the German Field Airport, and asked, "Captain popkov, do you think this plan is feasible?"

In the future, he would have supplemented and improved some details of the sneak attack for me, and even provided me with information about the location of the German Field Airport. Unexpectedly, he shook his head and said with regret, "Comrade Colonel, although your idea is very bold, I don't think it is possible to implement it at all?"

What he said surprised me, and I quickly asked, "Captain popkov, why do you say that?"

Popkov stood up and politely made a gesture of invitation to me. Then he first came to the table, leaned down, pointed to the map on the table and said to me, "Comrade Colonel, please see, from the direction of the enemy plane, the German Field Airport must be located to the west of the don river. If you want to send troops to sneak attack, you must pass through the enemy's battle line, March one or two hundred kilometers before crossing the Don. And you can't send less troops, otherwise you can't break through the German guard. A large army will march on foot for one or two hundred kilometers in the middle of the enemy's battle line. Unless the Germans are all blind and deaf, it is absolutely impossible to find this army. "

After listening to popkov's words, kirilov sighed and said with a worried face: "Captain popkov is right. If the German airport is not far from our defense line, we can sneak attack, and there is still hope of success. But judging from the current situation, the airport is most likely to be on the West Bank of the Don river. It's impossible for us to sneak attack again. "

Although I know what they said is reasonable, I still reluctantly asked popkov, "Comrade captain, have your air force bombed the enemy's airports and logistics bases?" I'm thinking that infantry can't attack German airfields. How about bombing the headquarters with our air force? As long as we blow up the enemy's airport and destroy the aircraft on the airport, at least for some time in the future, we won't have to be blown up by the enemy.

Popkov thought for a moment and said solemnly: "we have bombed German airports before, but because the air defense force of the airport is very strong, our mission bombers have to take early tactical actions to evade the air defense fire network far away from the airport, so they rarely effectively destroy the enemy's targets. That is to say, the air strikes we take often lead to our planes flying between our military airport and bombing targets in vain. "

When I heard popkov talk about the tactics of evading the air defense firepower network, my mind suddenly flashed. I thought of Curtis Li Mei, an air force general of the United States, his bold innovation in the formation form and bombing technology of bombers, and the famous staggered flying formation. Thinking of this, I said to popkov with confidence, "Comrade captain, I have a suggestion for your air force that you can eliminate more targets with minimum loss."

Popkov listened to me and looked at me in disbelief. I can also understand his reaction. Anyway, I'm an infantry commander and an outsider to the air force. It's really a bit of a teacher's experience to give advice to them.

Seeing that not only popkov, but also kirilov and akhromeyev's faces were suspicious, I said to myself, "next time you bomb the enemy, don't take evasive tactics."

"Comrade Colonel, do you mean that our bombers do not take any evasive tactics in the face of the enemy's ground air defense fire?"

"Yes I replied positively.

"Do you know that in this way, our plane may be shot down by the enemy's air defense firepower before it reaches its destination?" Popkov said angrily. If it wasn't for my much higher rank, he might have yelled at me.

"Captain popkov, please sit down." After I asked him to sit down, I patiently explained to him, "I used to be an antiaircraft gunner. I know very well that in the competition between air defense forces and fighters, air defense forces are always at the disadvantage. After the implementation of evasive tactics, if the aircraft wants to attack the target, it still needs to go back to the distance to face the air defense fire network from the ground. "

Before I had finished my words, popkov suddenly opened up, quickly took over the topic and said excitedly: "Comrade Colonel, I understand that instead of wasting time in the implementation of evasive tactics, it's better to jump at the target directly. In any case, although the enemy's air defense firepower network is dense, it poses far less threat to us than we thought. In this way, we can hit more targets with the latest losses. "

When I heard that he understood my intention, I nodded with satisfaction and praised myself secretly: a child can be taught. Popkov picked up the pen and notepad on the table, looked up and politely asked me, "is that ok?" I knew that he wanted to record what he had just said, so I readily agreed. Looking at him writing quickly in his Notepad, I wanted to tell him about the "staggered" formation flying tactics created by General Li Mei, but I thought that I only knew this term, but I didn't know the specific content. If he asked me several times, I would help him, so I didn't mention it again. At some time, razumeyeva came up to me, handed me a telegram, and whispered, "Comrade division commander, telegram from the headquarters of the group army." When I picked up the telegram and read it, kirilov asked nervously, "Comrade division commander, what new order does the commander have?" I understand that his blunder was caused by the fall of highland 107.5 and the fall of his own fighter plane by antiaircraft artillery. After reading the contents of the telegram, I immediately comforted him and said, "Comrade political commissar, don't worry. The commander informed us that the counterattack against the enemy would start in the early morning of the day after tomorrow. Let's make sure that the mamayev post will not be taken away by the German army before the counterattack begins." At this point, I took a look at popkov, who was writing in his Notepad, and whispered to kirilov, "the commander should not know about the loss of high ground and the mistake of anti-aircraft guns hitting our fighters." Kirilov shivered after hearing this and asked for my opinion in a low voice: "Comrade oshanina, it's not our responsibility to ignore the incident of antiaircraft gun misfire for the time being. But what should we do about the loss of high ground? Do we need to report it to the commander?" I heard him say so, quickly nodded, and said in a positive tone: "the matter of the loss of the highland must be reported to the commander, otherwise when they know the news through other channels, you and I will be in trouble." Speaking of this, I called razumeyeva and said to her, "Comrade lieutenant, please send a message to the group army command immediately, saying that the German army has occupied our 107.5 highland, and we are organizing troops to fight back." Although I pretended to be nothing, I was still worried that trikov would dismiss me in a fury when he heard the news. But my worry was obviously superfluous. Trakov's telegram soon came back with a short sentence: "when can we take back the position?" Holding the telegram I just received in my hand, I turned around and told akhromeyev standing at the table, "Comrade chief of staff, call the artillery battalion and ask them to bombard highland 107.5 immediately." Then he turned his head and said to Naga, the operator who had been looking at me, "contact the third regiment immediately, and say that I want to talk to captain Godunov." When Najia called for the third regiment, I suddenly thought of another thing. I immediately yelled to akhromeyev: "by the way, chief of staff, let Morozov send a few more thunder gun teams to the south slope of the highland. Even if our shells can't blow up all the enemies in the position, then our explosive bag can send them to God. By the way, let them bring more explosives. If there are not enough people, let captain Pugachev send a battalion of horushov to help them carry explosives. " When all the orders were given, Najia also contacted Godunov. She quickly handed me the earphone and transmitter, and said, "Sir, we have contacted the third regiment. Captain Godunov is waiting for your order." What I told gordonov was very brief: "Comrade captain, after the artillery barracks have finished, you will immediately take the company as a unit and launch a counterattack to the high ground. You must take the position back to me." Kirilov came up to me and asked cautiously, "Comrade oshanina, how can the commander reply?" He didn't remind me. I really forgot the telegram that trakov had just sent. After calculating the strength of both sides in my heart, I decisively ordered razumeyeva: "Lieutenant, send a power to the headquarters, saying that we will take the position back from the enemy's hands in two hours."“ Are you sure you can get the position back in two hours Kirilov asked suspiciously. Although I don't know whether I can recapture the position at the moment, I can't hesitate at this time. I still reply with a stiff head: "Comrade political commissar, I believe our soldiers, with their fighting capacity and indomitable fighting spirit, will recapture the position that belongs to us within the specified time." Finish saying, chongrazumeyeva one thing, decisively ordered her, "immediately send this telegram to the headquarters." In this way, a telegram with the words "retake the position in two hours" was sent to the headquarters of the group army by razumeyeva. At the time of her report, there was a rumble of artillery outside the cave. It was tyakonov's heavy howitzer unit, which began shelling German troops occupying the highlands.