As the reinforcements mentioned by vatujing did not arrive at oboyan on time, the tank troops of Kravchenko and the guard division of Chernoff had to stay for another day before they withdrew to the headquarters of the group army. The original plan of the night attack had to be postponed.
When Danilov heard that the tank unit under the command of Colonel berey couldn't attack on time, he kept talking about it, as if the German army would have a big advantage in the battlefield if they attack one day later.
Maybe he talked about it for too long, and everyone was a little numb. Kirilov was still absorbed in writing his application for award, while pofsky was studying how to adjust the position of artillery on the map. Bezikov took me aside and talked to me about the tank unit.
He looked around and then casually asked, "Rita, I want to know how you plan to use Colonel berey's tank unit?"
Confused by his mindless question, I asked, "what do you want to say, Colonel, I don't understand?"
"I mean to ask you, are you going to let tank units only attack German camps at night?" "Don't forget, it's summer, and it's only four or five hours of darkness every day," bzikov said thoughtfully
"Tell me what you think." I know that he must have some ideas, otherwise he would not talk to me in private, and he also used the former kind of relatively intimate address to me, instead of calling me commander for business.
"I think even in the daytime, our tank units can attack." Bezikov looked at me and said, "although the number of tanks is small, using them in any direction will disrupt the German deployment."
"But Comrade Colonel, have you ever thought about it. If they are sent out in the daytime, how can air defense be guaranteed? " The reason why I didn't let berey's tank unit attack in the daytime was that the German aircraft had been over the battlefield for a long time than our aircraft“ Although our tanks can defeat Tiger tanks, they can only be passively attacked in front of the German air force. "
"Don't you forget that we have a lot of self-propelled anti-aircraft guns." Bezikov reminded me with a smile: "don't forget that this new type of dual barrel antiaircraft gun has a high percentage of hits against German planes."
"I see, I see." When bezikov said that, I immediately understood his feelings. He wanted me to incorporate the self-propelled anti-aircraft guns into Colonel berey's tank unit. Tank units with air defense capability can turn the battle into a one-sided massacre as long as they are not bombarded by German artillery.
I called Colonel berey to the headquarters and told him about bezikov's proposal. After hearing this, he patted his thigh and said yes, adding excitedly: "if we meet German infantry, we don't need to fire at all. Let the tanks form a dense formation and crush the German troops directly, while the self-propelled anti-aircraft guns follow them and use the artillery fire to destroy the escaped German soldiers. "
Colonel berey said this in a joking tone, but he didn't expect that bzikov took it seriously. He even exaggerated his fantasy scene: "imagine the German convoy that was attacked, the truck full of soldiers was overturned, and the soldiers inside were thrown out. Our tanks swept the convoy like waves, knocked over trucks, rolled over trailers and carriages, crushed matchboxes, and crushed enemy soldiers and horses into mud. What an exciting scene it looks like. "
After waiting for bzikov YY to finish, I said to Colonel berey with a smile, "Colonel, don't listen to the chief of staff. He takes it for granted that there will be such exaggeration in war. However, he reminds me that your tank units, in addition to attacking German camps and harassing their transport lines, can focus on attacking the enemy's car teams or trains to transport soldiers, which will consume a lot of their living strength and relieve the pressure on the front-line forces. "
When bielei heard this, he raised his hand and looked at his watch. Then he stood up from his seat and asked for my opinion: "Comrade commander, it's ten o'clock in the morning. Can I start with the tank unit immediately?"
"Where are you going?" I asked briefly.
"I'm going to head for Yakovlev." When belay saw that I heard Yakovlev, he could not help frowning and quickly explained: "although the German army has heavy troops in that direction, our army has been scattered in that area. In the past, we could gather them and reorganize them into new forces."
When Colonel berey said this, I immediately thought of major basmanov, the deputy head of the new regiment, and captain Rosenberg, the commander of the Third Battalion. After their defensive positions were broken through by the German army, their life and death remained unknown. The tank unit drove by, just in time to see if they were with the remnants of the army, and they were there to deal with the German army.
It was out of this consideration that I readily agreed to Colonel berey's request and told him: "chief of staff, you go to the Air Defense Corps and transfer six self-propelled anti-aircraft guns to Colonel berey's command."
Bezikov agreed. As he was about to leave, Danilov suddenly said, "Comrade commander, if self-propelled anti-aircraft guns are transferred from the air defense regiment, the air defense force of the group army headquarters will be weakened. Is that all right? "
Regarding Danilov's concerns, I said with a smile: "Comrade deputy commander, our headquarters had been bombed by the Germans and moved from the city to the forest. In such a large forest, it's very difficult for German planes to find our specific location, so it's a waste to leave the whole air defense regiment here. It's better for them to dispatch some troops and follow Colonel berey to strike hard at the German people, isn't it? "
Danilov frowned and thought for a long time. Finally, he nodded reluctantly and said, "well, since the commander says so, let the air defense regiment transfer some forces to assist Colonel berey's tank unit."
It took the tank troops two hours to complete the assembly. After replenishing the fuel and ammunition, they drove along the simple road to Yakovlev to find the bad luck of the Germans.
Listening to the roar of the tank motor, Danilov asked me thoughtfully, "Comrade commander, do you think that Colonel berey's tank unit will achieve the results we expected?"
Before I finished, bzikov said to Danilov with a smile, "what's the matter with you, comrade deputy commander? Although the troops under the command of Colonel bere are only a tank unit in fate, they have 49 tanks and 6 self-propelled anti-aircraft guns. In fact, their combat effectiveness is even better than that of a tank army we are not satisfied with. As long as it's not a direct confrontation with the German army, I can't think of anyone who can block such a powerful armored force. "
"Well, the tank unit will know when they report the results." I was deeply afraid that they would quarrel for a long time over this trivial matter, so I interrupted them and said to myself, "let's study how to adjust the troop deployment of the group army to prepare for the counter offensive in the near future."
Danilov wanted to talk to bzikov again, but when he heard me talking about the counterattack, his attention was immediately attracted. He asked repeatedly, "Comrade commander, have you got the counterattack order from the superior? Where will our troops fight back? "
Looking at his anxious reaction, I couldn't help laughing and explaining to him, "Comrade deputy commander, our counter offensive is still in preparation. As for when it will be officially launched, I don't know, not even commander watujing. So you have to be patient and wait slowly. I don't think you can wait long. "
Colonel berey's first report came back around two o'clock in the afternoon. He reported that they had successfully reached the highland where the Third Battalion of the former new regiment was stationed and defeated a company of German troops. When he sent people to the highland to search, he found that there were survivors in the tunnel of the collapsed entrance.
When kirilov and I saw this information, our first reaction was that they were still alive. Kirilov called lophov over, and solemnly told him, "major, you should immediately send a telegram to Colonel berey, and ask him to immediately organize people to dig out the entrance of the tunnel and rescue the people inside."
Soon after the telegram was sent, another telegram from Colonel berey arrived. He said in the telegram that according to the Scout's report, a convoy of 20 trucks was heading north along the road, perhaps to replenish supplies for the front-line German troops. Apart from leaving some of his hands to continue digging the pit, the rest of the troops were led by him to attack the German convoy southward.
When he heard that bere had led his troops to meet the enemy, kirilov stamped his feet in a hurry and said repeatedly, "if the entrance of the tunnel is blown down, there will be no oxygen in it. If the entrance can not be opened as soon as possible, the survivors inside will be suffocated because of the lack of oxygen. So is this Colonel berey. He doesn't rescue our people first, but he runs to deal with a fleet that doesn't matter
When Danilov heard about this, he had a completely opposite reaction. He said strangely, "Comrade military commissar, I think Colonel berey has done nothing wrong. Our first task is to destroy the enemy. There are no undead people in war. You can't miss the opportunity to destroy the enemy just to save a few commanders and fighters who don't know if they can be saved. "
After listening to kirilov's and Danilov's two completely different views, I found it very difficult to deal with them, because both of them have some truth. You can't have both fish and bear's paw. If we try our best to save people, we will miss the opportunity to destroy the enemy; It seems that it's not quite right to devote major energy to destroying the enemy and put saving people behind.
After thinking about it for a long time, I didn't come up with a solution for both. I had to say vaguely, "OK, military commissar and deputy commander, don't argue. Colonel berey is a commander in the front line. He is an excellent commander with more than ten or twenty years of military service. He knows how to make the right decisions according to the changes in the battlefield situation. "
Another hour later, we waited for a third telegram from Colonel berey. He said the tank unit encountered a German supply convoy and there was no suspense about the battle. Seeing dozens of tanks coming fiercely, if they could turn around, the driver would turn around and run away. If they couldn't turn around, they would obediently get out of the car and stand beside the car with their hands raised high, waiting to be captured.
Kirilov obviously didn't have the patience to listen to the results of the bere tank unit. Before lophov finished reading it, he couldn't wait to ask, "are those officers and men trapped in the tunnel rescued?"
When I heard kirilov's question, I also stared nervously at lophov, for fear that he would say what everyone was worried about. He coughed, cleared his throat and went on to read: "twenty five officers and men were found in the tunnel, including major basmanov, chief of staff of the new regiment, and captain Rosenberg, commander of the Third Battalion. Although the entrance of the tunnel was blown down, fortunately, there were ventilation holes to provide oxygen for those trapped in the tunnel, otherwise they would have been suffocated. At present, the rescued officers and men have been sent to drive the captured trucks and escort the captured German officers and men to the headquarters. " When lophoff finished reading it, almost all of us took a long breath and congratulated our 25 commanders and fighters for their survival. Danilov immediately told bzikov: "Comrade chief of staff, please send troops to meet them immediately. We can't let these comrades who have just escaped from the hand of death encounter any more accidents. " For Danilov's proposal, bezikov immediately agreed. He immediately called the head of the guard, Yushchenko, and ordered him to send a company to meet basmanov's motorcade. Basmanov's safe escape made the stone hanging in our hearts fall to the ground completely. For the rest of the time, everyone was waiting impatiently for the new report from Colonel berey, while I was waiting for the latest news of the Allied landing in Sicily. In the evening another telegram came from Colonel berey. In the telegram, he said they had encountered a tank battalion of the 19th German tank division. After a fierce battle, all 28 tanks in the German tank battalion were destroyed without any prisoners. Five of our army's T-34 tanks were destroyed, and another self-propelled anti-aircraft gun was seriously damaged, killing 9 people and injuring 11 people. Everyone is satisfied with the war loss ratio. Danilov also said: "Comrade commander, I didn't expect that our tank unit could achieve such great results with such small casualties. I think we can organize more tank units to attack the German troops in various areas when the supplementary shells from the rear arrive, so that we can achieve greater results. "