Chapter 779

As a matter of fact, I don't know which battalion is going to carry out the night attack, but I don't know which battalion is going to carry out the night attack. Before Nikolay and kostrov appeared, I specially ordered shijerikov to send people from their battalion to form a reconnaissance team and continue to carry out reconnaissance along sergeant adir's route. Moreover, the two armored vehicles entering the empty village were also discovered by the officers and men of the first battalion. If this task is handed over to other battalions, it is bound to affect the morale of the first battalion.

Shejerikov obviously understood what I was thinking. He turned to Nikolay and kostrov, and called out their ranks solemnly. "Captain Nikolay and captain kostrov, after my serious consideration, have decided to hand over this glorious and arduous task to your battalion. Are you confident? "

"Yes!" Nikolay and kostrov replied loudly.

Shejerikov nodded his head with satisfaction, and then said, "you have heard the two points for attention just now. I will not repeat them here. I would like to add two points: first, every village should be guarded by at least one platoon of soldiers to ensure that no one has missed the net; 2、 We must catch two people alive, because we need to learn from them the movements of the enemy nearby. Do you understand? "

"I understand!" Nikolay and kostrov replied loudly again.

Shejerikov waved his hand to the two men, motioned them to leave, and said, "now that the task is clear, you can go back and prepare."

Looking at shijerikov giving orders in front of me, I can't help nodding to myself. It seems that war is really training people. A small company commander becomes more and more mature after several months as commander in chief. He even thinks of problems that I didn't consider and explains them to his subordinates. As long as there are a few more battalion commanders like him, someone will share the burden for me in the next battle.

When Nikolay and kostrov left, I called kosga to him and said, "commander kosga, commander xiejerikov's regiment is responsible for destroying the Germans in the village. You can't be idle. While it's still early, you should go back to the regiment immediately and send two reconnaissance teams to carry out reconnaissance on the cities found in the daytime. You must try to find out the German forces and deployment. "

"I see," kosga replied with a firm expression, "I'll go back to deploy. Please rest assured, sir. I promise to complete this reconnaissance mission, or you will dismiss me. "

After shejerikov and kosja left one after another, bantaileiev asked with a little uneasiness: "Sir, do you think the night attack tonight will be successful?"

As for Bantai leiev's worries, I confidently said, "don't worry, my deputy division commander. Didn't you see lieutenant commander chejerikov giving orders to his subordinates in front of us just now? From my heart, he has the demeanor of a regimental commander, even taking into account the problems I neglected. It was when our actions were discovered by the enemy that the night attack changed from a sneak attack to a strong attack. Five or six hundred people in a battalion dealt with more than 20 of them, and even trampled them to death. "

"Sir, don't be careless!" Bantai leiev kindly reminded me: "although we have a large number of people, if we can't capture the enemy's armored vehicles in time, they can use the car radio to ask for help from the outside world. In this way, even if we have managed to wipe out the enemy, this place can no longer stay

Bantaileiev's words reminded me that I knew for a long time that the fighting capacity of the Soviet army was poor. Especially when we fought at night in an unfamiliar environment, our army might have suffered heavy casualties, and even let the remaining enemy troops ride through the encirclement in armored vehicles. I walked back and forth in the headquarters with my hands behind my back, thinking about remedial measures.

Maybe I was afraid to disturb my thinking. When I was walking around the room, bandeleev stood by and waited patiently for me to make the final decision.

I was thinking, thanks to Nikolay, they put a platoon of troops at the entrance of each village. It's not so easy for the enemy to rush out. Now the worst possibility is that our troops don't capture the armored vehicles in time and let these enemies send out the distress signal. When a large number of enemies rush in and there are tanks and armored vehicles to cover the infantry to attack us, it will easily bring our troops down. It seems that the crux of the problem is to seize the enemy's armored vehicles first and control the radio station on the vehicles so that the enemy can not contact with the outside world.

Thinking of this, I stopped. Seeing me stop, Bantai leiev immediately asked in surprise, "Comrade teacher, have you come up with any good idea?"

"Comrade deputy division commander, I plan to send a small team to sneak into the village first, approach the armored vehicle quietly and hide nearby. When the Nikolay battalion began to take action, this small unit would attack decisively, seize the armored vehicle at one stroke, cut off the contact between the enemy and the outside world, use the lights on the vehicle to illuminate the attacking troops, and use machine guns to eliminate those recalcitrant enemies. "

"Yes, that's a good idea." After praising bantaileiev, he asked, "which army are you going to send to carry out this arduous task?"

"Let captain busmanov take a class." Without thinking, I replied: "the combat effectiveness of the division guard battalion is the strongest in the whole division. I think it is appropriate for them to carry out such a task. Besides, during the day, Captain busmanov and I went into the village together. He was very familiar with the terrain there

"Come on, come on!" Bantaileiev went to the door and cried out.

With his shouts, the second lieutenant on duty just now appeared at the door and politely asked, "Comrade deputy division commander, do you have any instructions?"

"Comrade lieutenant, go and call captain busmanov." Bantaileiev said simply.

The second lieutenant agreed, turned and disappeared from the door.

After a while, busmanov trotted into the headquarters and asked: "Sir, deputy sir, what can I do for you?"

"Comrade captain, come here." Bantaileiev called basmanov to his side, explained the task I assigned to him, and then asked, "Captain, are you confident of completing this task?"

Basmanov nodded vigorously and replied: "please rest assured, I promise to complete the task."

As I approached him, I said in a kind voice, "Comrade captain, the people who carry out the task should be selected from the soldiers who have been to the village during the day. After all, they are more familiar with the terrain than other soldiers. By the way, I think Mikhail ROV and ruhovitzki are good fighters. They look like elves. Let them join us. "

After basmanov left, I went to the wall of the headquarters, sat down on a bench, and said to Bantai leiev, "well, comrade deputy division commander, we have finished the assignment; We have also explained clearly the matters needing attention. Next, let's have a rest as soon as possible. Maybe when we wake up, commander chejerikov and they will bring good news. "

However, bantaileiev looked a little upset at the moment. He waved his hand and said listlessly, "Comrade division, please have a rest. I'll study the map again and see how we thousands of people can successfully escape from the dangerous area before the enemy's encirclement is formed if the German army rushes over."

Bantaileiev obviously didn't realize that he made a lot of taboos when he said this. As a division commander, how can we assume that our troops will be surrounded by the enemy at will? This is what I heard. If I was heard by the people in the interior department, I might give him the label of defeatism. Seeing that he didn't plan to rest, I didn't force myself. After putting my legs on the bench, I leaned my back against the back wall and began to close my eyes.

I don't know how long after that, I vaguely felt that someone was gently shaking my shoulder. At the same time, there was a voice calling out in a hurry: "Hello, teacher, comrade teacher! Wake up, wake up

I recognized Bantai leyev's voice. I was so scared that I was lost. I jumped down from the bench and asked aloud, "what's the matter? What's the matter?"

Bantailiev stepped back, and then he reported to me without delay: "Comrade division commander, Lieutenant Colonel chejerikov is here. He wants to report to you about the fighting in the village."

When I heard Bantai leyev say this, I looked behind him. As expected, I saw a commander, Lieutenant Colonel xijerikov, standing upright. I quickly walked up to him and asked nervously, "Comrade commander, what's the situation? Have all the German devils in the village been eliminated?"

Shijerikov nodded with a smile and said in a positive tone, "yes, sir, except for two captured, all the Germans in the village have been wiped out by us."

Although I heard that the German soldiers in the village had been eliminated, I was still not at ease. I asked, "in the course of your operation, the enemy didn't use the car radio to communicate with the outside world, did they?"

"No, sir." "According to the report, as soon as a battalion of troops entered the village, they were found by the enemy's sentinels, who immediately fired a warning. At the sound of the gunfire, the soldiers of the guard battalion of the division, who had been hidden near the armored vehicles, rushed out and killed the two German soldiers left behind in the armored vehicles cleanly, and illuminated our attacking forces with lights. "

"Is the battle fierce?" I went on to ask.

My question silenced him for a moment before he vaguely replied, "it's not intense. The Sentinels at the entrance of the village were shot and killed by our soldiers. Then a battalion rushed into the village from four directions at the same time. Those German soldiers didn't expect to be suddenly attacked in this empty village, and we caught them by surprise. Many soldiers carrying weapons, wearing clothes and running out, were swept down by the machine gun on the armored car. After being knocked down by seven or eight soldiers, the rest of them scattered in a mass and fled to nearby houses for shelter. "

When I heard that the war was not fierce, I felt a little more secure. According to this way of fighting, the casualties of our army were absolutely not much. However, I asked, "how about the casualties of our army?"

"We killed 17 German soldiers and captured two. One of them was a lieutenant and the other was a corporal." After reporting the results of the war, shejerikov told us the casualties of our army: "11 people were killed and 29 wounded."

Hearing such casualties, I couldn't help frowning, and the observant Sergeant added: "yes, sir. After the enemy was scattered, they fled to the nearby houses to hide. Almost all of our casualties occurred when we drove these elements out of the houses. "

"Damn the German devils." Bantaileiev angrily scolded, and then asked: "when will Nikolay and basmanov, the prisoners they are escorting, be here?"

"Comrade deputy division commander," said shijerikov respectfully, "I arrived at the division headquarters as soon as I got a report from the soldiers sent back by Nikolay. In terms of time, in a few minutes or so, the prisoners should be taken over. "

As soon as his voice was heard, basmanov's voice calling for a report came from the door: "report to Comrade division commander, Captain basmanov, battalion commander of guard battalion, and captain Nikolay, battalion commander of regiment one, escort the captured German prisoners, please give instructions!"

"Bring them in!" Bantaileiev yelled at busmanov, who was standing at the door.

Basmanov agreed, put his body to one side, threw his head out, and said in a loud voice, "bring the prisoners in." After that, he came in first, followed by Captain Nikolay, two dejected German prisoners and two soldiers escorting them.

Bantai leiev beckoned me to answer, sat down at the table, and told xijerikov: "Comrade commander, please help us to make the record."

So bandeleev and I sat side by side in front of the captives, while shejerikov sat on our left side, acting as a temporary recorder. Captain Nikolay was the necessary German interpreter during the interrogation. After all, he worked under the German for so long, and his German level was not low.

Bantaileiev looked at the two German prisoners in front of him for a while, then said to Nikolay, "Comrade captain, please translate my words to them. I want to ask some questions to the two captured officers and soldiers. First, ask them to give us their names and ranks. "

Nikolay translated bantaileiev's words almost at the same time.

After listening to the translation, the German Lieutenant stepped forward, put his hands close to the seams of his trousers, and said aloud, "Lieutenant Braun, commander of the motorized infantry platoon of the 297th infantry division."

As soon as he finished, the young corporal stepped forward and said, "corporal Hans, Lieutenant Braun's messenger."

After listening to their ranks and names, bantaileiev did not speak. He just looked at the two German soldiers in silence. I can't help but see a look of fear on the face of the German under the angry eyes of bandeleev. Seeing this, I couldn't bear it, so I took over Bantai and asked, "Lieutenant Braun, I want to ask you a question. Where was your division originally stationed? "

After hearing my question, Lieutenant Braun glanced at my rank and immediately replied without thinking, "report, madam general, our division was originally stationed by the Don River and was supposed to be transferred to Stalingrad. As a result, we got information on the way that your Don River Army was about to launch an attack, so we stopped and came to our present station."

"Why did you come to this village?" I asked curiously.

"Because during the day, we found a small group of Soviet troops around the city, so our battalion commander ordered us to line up nearby to search." Braun may have been frightened by my rank, so he replied honestly, "because it's getting late, I'm taking my patrol to this village to rest. But I didn't expect... "

Braun didn't go on when he said half of it, but bantailiev sneered and said, "what didn't you think of? Didn't you expect us to send troops to attack you in the middle of the night? "

"Yes, Mr. colonel." Braun lowered his head deeply after answering the question.

"How many troops are there in the city?" I then asked my concern, "is there any defense?"

After listening to the translation, Braun shook his head like a rattle and said, "no, we just entered that small town yesterday, and we haven't had time to build fortifications. As for the troops, there were two battalions that suffered heavy losses in the early fighting and were responsible for defending the supplies in the city. "

When I heard this word, my eyes lit up. My heart was suddenly struck with a small 999. If we can capture the German army's materials, then we can extend our time in the enemy's rear. Thinking of this, I turned my head and looked at the nearby Bantai leiev, who also looked happy.

Seeing that my eyes were on him, he nodded and continued to ask Braun, "Mr. lieutenant, I want to know how many troops are left in the two battalions you said suffered serious losses?"

After hearing this question, Braun hesitated for a moment, and then tentatively asked, "Mr. Colonel, if I answer the question truthfully, I won't be shot, will I?"

"No!" I was deeply afraid that Bantai leiev, who was jealous of evil, would say something wrong. He quickly answered, "we will give you the treatment that a captured officer deserves." After receiving my promise, Braun nodded and then replied, "we only have 20 to 40 people left in each company. Two battalions add up to no more than 300 people, including no more than 100 fighters. The rest are command organs or logistics personnel. Besides pistols, rifles, submachine guns and machine guns, we also have five tanks and a dozen armored vehicles. " Having got the information we needed, bantailiev waved to basmanov and ordered, "Comrade captain, first take the prisoners down and find a place to lock them up. Don't embarrass them. Maybe we have something else to ask them."“ Yes Basmanov agreed and asked the two soldiers to take the prisoner out. Nikolay saluted us and then went out. When there were only a few of us left in the room, Bantai leiev suddenly got excited. He said excitedly, "do you hear me, sir? The supplies, the German supplies. If we take these supplies, we can extend our time in the enemy's rear. "“ Yes, I heard it. " I also said excitedly: "there are only over 300 enemies. Although there are several tanks and armored vehicles, they are not a big threat to us. Before the attack, we can send small teams to hide around their heavy weapons and seize them as soon as the battle starts. This will not only weaken the enemy's resistance, but also reduce the casualties of our troops. "“ And when will it take place? " Asked chejerikov eagerly“ You are too impatient, comrade commander I teased him and said, "although the German prisoners have provided such information, we still have to check it. At least when the reconnaissance team sent by kosga comes back, we can study how to attack." "Well, we'll wait for lieutenant colonel kosja and their reconnaissance team to come back," he said helplessly