Although their answers were quite straightforward, I knew in my heart that they did not understand my orders at all. Their answers were just a kind of obedience habit formed in the army. To tell you the truth, I haven't come up with the idea of how to carry out the attack order of the superior.
However, seeing that it was getting late, the soldiers were tired after many battles, and they were not suitable for continuous combat, so I ordered several commanders: "it's late, we won't attack the German army for the time being. Let the commanders and fighters have a rest in the built fortifications for one night." In order to prevent German sneak attack, I specially stressed that "when camping at night, we should strengthen vigilance and send more reconnaissance teams to carry out reconnaissance to prevent German sneak attack."
"Don't worry, comrade commander." After I said that, shejerikov replied with a smile, "when it comes to sneak attacks and night battles, we are good at it. How can we let the German troops sneak attacks?"
"Today, we all have a good rest. We can only fight with full spirit tomorrow." I finished these two words, then waved to everybody, "OK, you go back to the army."
When akhromeyev and I were the only ones left in the headquarters, he asked me for instructions and said, "Comrade commander, I think there are too many army numbers outside, which makes it a bit confusing. In order to prevent the German make-up, I plan to deploy the guard company near the headquarters and let them ensure your safety. Do you think that's appropriate? "
With the promotion of my position, I feel a little greedy now. When I heard akhromeyev's proposal, I immediately nodded and agreed, "well, comrade major, I'll do as you say. In addition, we should set up the communication room as soon as possible so that we can get in touch with the deputy commander in time. "
Because of Batov's advantage, they were defeated by the German sneak attack, so I was very cautious. Before I went to bed, I specially checked the defensive positions built by the divisions, and confirmed that they had the ability to resist the German sneak attack at night. Only when I was on the ground could I find the stones hanging in my heart.
But the more you worry about something, the more you come. I was worried that the German might sneak attack on our position. In the early morning, the German really launched a sneak attack.
At that time, I was in a daze when I heard the faint roar of the tank engine, and then the telephone rang on the table. I woke up and got out of bed. I couldn't even care about my boots. I rushed to the desk, grabbed the phone and said loudly to the microphone, "Hello, I'm o'shanina. What's the matter outside?"
"Comrade commander, I'm chejerikov." From the receiver came the voice of chejerikov, who excitedly reported: "the roar of tank engines came from the direction of the city. It seems that the German army is ready to attack our position with armored forces."
At the moment, I felt the ground shaking slightly under my feet. It seemed that the German troops were not small troops. I quickly directed at the microphone and asked, "Colonel, can your troops block the German tanks?"
"Don't worry, comrade commander." "Our division is equipped with a large number of rocket launchers, which are the nemesis of these tanks," he said confidently. As soon as they get into range, our anti tank men will turn them into piles of scrap iron. "
"Colonel, the German attack at such a time may have been premeditated." The roar I heard from the outside and the shaking of the ground under my feet determined that the scale of the German tank troops must not be small. It was different from the situation that Batov told me that the tanks could not be used on a large scale in this area. Therefore, I was deeply afraid that xiejerikov would underestimate the enemy, so I quickly reminded him, "you should be on your guard and never take it lightly."
"Comrade commander, I have another request." Just as I was about to hang up, shejerikov suddenly said, "I ask that artillery and tanks can cooperate with us in counterattack against the German army after our division blocks the German attack."
"Col. chejerikov, I'll get the tank brigade and artillery to cooperate with you." As for his request, I only agreed to the part where the artillery and tank troops should cooperate. As for the part of counterattack, I directly ignored it. "We can't figure out the scale of the German troops who attacked secretly. It's very unwise to counterattack at night in a strange area, so you just need to hold the position. Do you understand? "
"I see, comrade commander." Although shejerikov gave me a positive answer, I heard a trace of disappointment in his voice.
After I put down the phone, I sat by the bed, put on my boots, and then said to akhromeyev, who heard the news, "major, let's go to the observation post nearby. See how our troops repel the German attack. "
When akhromeyev and I walked out of the headquarters, along the long traffic moat and toward the observation post in front, I saw the soldiers of the guard company standing in the traffic moat, standing upright one by one, holding the weapons tightly in their hands, without any panic on their faces.
Seeing this, I nodded with satisfaction, turned to ahlomeyev, who was following me, and said, "major, the soldiers of the guard company are good. In the face of the German sneak attack, they all showed calm and did not panic at all."
When I came to the observation post, the first thing I saw was whether there were telephone and other communication equipment in it, which had a bearing on whether I could command the troops like an arm. Fortunately, akhromeyev's work is very reassuring. There is a telephone on the table in the middle of the room. It seems that there is no problem in communication between me and the troops.
I raised my telescope and looked into the distance, but I saw nothing but the roar of the tank engine. I turned and asked akhromeyev, "major, didn't general Batov tell us that there are so many rivers here that we can't use tanks on a large scale? Listen, the Germans sent out at least 30 tanks. "
"Comrades commander," said akhromeyev, frowning for a moment, and then carefully saying, "after all, kalinkovich has been occupied by the German army for a long time. They are very familiar with the terrain here. It should not be difficult for them to let tanks pass through the blocked river."
"You have a point." I agreed with akhromeyev and asked him, "can I get in touch with major shuklin of the self-propelled artillery regiment?"
"Yes." Akhromeyev said, went to the table, picked up the phone, carefully asked: "Comrade commander, need to continue to contact him immediately?"
"That's right." I nodded slightly: "although when we checked the defensive positions, we felt that these fortifications could completely resist the German attack. But if we let the German troops break through the defense line, our troops will fall into chaos. So we must let the artillery teach them a lesson before the German tanks approach our position. "
When I dialed shuklin's phone, I took the phone from akhromeyev's hand and said sternly, "Comrade major, the German armored forces are rapidly approaching our position. I order you to send artillery observers immediately to find out the German route, and then intercept with artillery fire to destroy as many tanks as possible on the way of attack."
"When we heard the roar of German tank engines, I sent artillery observers." As soon as I finished speaking, shuklin immediately replied, "they will soon report back the exact coordinates of the German army, and then we can bombard the German army."
I am very satisfied with shuklin's preparation. At least he is not a mediocre person who dares not do anything before receiving orders. So I said with appreciation, "Comrade major, you have done a good job. As long as you annihilate the German armored forces with artillery fire, I will give you credit. Do well. You and your subordinates will make immortal contributions in this battle. "
As time went on, the German tank troops showed a blurred outline in my telescope. Although I still can't count the exact number, my heart is still hanging in my throat. After all, there is an outstanding fourth armored division on the opposite side, which is a hard bone. If it is really their sneak attack, we can hardly get along with it.
Just when I was worried, the sound of shells in the sky suddenly sounded. A moment later, the first wave of shells had fallen in the middle of the German tanks. In a burst of explosions, the German attack line seemed to be on fire. In a puff of smoke, the fire flashed violently.
"Well done, our artillery did a great job." Akhromeyev, who was standing next to me, saw such a magnificent scene and couldn't help exclaiming excitedly: "damn German, let's try our heavy artillery. Don't think it's great that you have tanks. Our cannons turn them into piles of scrap iron. "
However, the German army is not a vegetarian either. They must have done a lot of preparatory work in advance for the attack. When they saw that their attack line was shelled by our army, their artillery deployed around the city also followed suit and carried out counter fire on the exposed artillery positions of our army.
Seeing the firelight and roar from behind the observation post, I couldn't help looking a little flustered. You know, the self-propelled artillery regiment is our trump card. If we are killed by the German artillery in this way, it will be a bit more than worth the loss.
I grabbed ahlomeyev's arm and nervously said, "major, the German army is shelling the position of the self-propelled artillery regiment. Call major shuklin quickly and ask him what's going on there? "
Akhromeyev replied calmly: "Comrade commander, major shuklin should be in the car at this time. We can't call him. You can't get in touch with him unless you have a telephone
"Then what are you doing standing here?" Seeing ahlomeyev's calm, I yelled at him angrily: "find a telephone immediately. I'll contact major shuklin to find out what's going on there." Akhromeyev, who was scolded by me, turned and ran out of the observation post without saying a word to find the telephone I needed.
After a few minutes, akhromeyev came in with a radio operator with a telephone on his back. He pointed to the corner and said, "Comrade radio operator, just sit there."
The operator nodded, took down the telephone on his back, put it on the stool beside the wall, then picked up the transmitter and started to call. Two or three minutes later, the operator turned to me and said, "Comrade commander, you have contacted major shuklin. You can talk to him."
I put on my headphones and said aloud to the transmitter, "Hello, is that major shuklin? I'm o'shanina. What's the situation there? How much is the army losing? " Shuklin was silent for a moment, and then replied, "Comrade commander, please rest assured. After five rounds of salvo fire, we have moved our position in time, and the German shells have landed in the open space. We have no loss. "“ There is no loss. " When I heard his report, I suddenly remembered that the biggest characteristic of the self-propelled artillery regiment was that it could transfer positions in time after several rounds of shelling. Their mobility is very strong, in the dark, the German artillery is difficult to lock their exact location, so that we can hit them, but they are difficult to find our location. Knowing that the artillery was ok, I was just relieved when I heard shukelin say, "Comrade commander, there is something I think we should report to you immediately." When I heard him speak in such a serious tone, my heart sank, but I still pretended to be calm and said, "major, if you have anything, just say it and I'll listen."“ Shells. We don't have many shells. " Instead of going around the circle, shuklin said frankly, "the most we have is two or three rounds of Volley against the German army. Once all the shells are used up, our regiment will basically lose its combat effectiveness. " It's hard to make bricks without straw. I feel this feeling at the moment. After a sound, I said to shuklin, "major, I can't supply shells for you at the moment, but in order to prevent German tanks from rushing into our army, I still order you to shoot all shells immediately and find a place to hide. Do you understand? "“ I see, comrade commander. " Shuklin clearly replied: "immediately shoot out all the shells, and then hide the troops." Once the shells of the self-propelled artillery regiment were consumed, the shejerikov division, which was deployed at the forefront, could only rely on its own anti tank forces to resist the assault of the German armored forces. I picked up the phone from my desk and dialed the division's headquarters. As soon as I heard someone talking, I said, "let Colonel chejerikov answer the phone." The other party recognized my voice and said respectfully: "Comrade commander, please wait a moment. I'll let my teacher answer the phone right away."