Chapter 1308 Melee

  Malankin's consideration was correct. The experienced German army can be regarded as well-trained in terms of infantry and tank coordination. They say they are second, but no one dares to recognize the first. Without adequate fire cover, it would be costly to blow up a tank advancing under infantry cover.

  Marankin asked his chief of staff after putting down the phone: "Chief of staff, is General Trufanov still in command of the tank unit?"

"Comrade division commander," the chief of staff quickly replied, "After Trufanov deployed his troops, he returned directly to the headquarters of the 5th Guards Tank Army. Tank Corps Lieutenant Colonel."

"It turned out to be a lieutenant colonel of tank soldiers." Marankin couldn't help frowning, "So, when the enemy's tanks rushed to the 233rd regiment's position, the tanks that diluted the fixed turrets did not fire for a long time. Is there an order issued?"

   "I think so."

"Chief of staff, get in touch with Lieutenant Colonel Miharech immediately and tell him the truth about our situation." Marankin said in a stern tone: "Also remind him that if the enemy attacks the 238th Regiment again, he will They are still standing on the sidelines like before, once the position is lost, the tanks that have lost the cover of infantry will be the enemy's target."

   "Understood, Comrade Commander. I will get in touch with him immediately."

Lieutenant Colonel Miharech, who was in charge of commanding the tank unit, was a very conservative commander. When the German tanks rushed to the front line, his soldiers asked him whether to fire to support the defenders, but he refused. .

He said eloquently: "The rest of us are old T-70 tanks. At a distance of 500 meters, we have to aim at the same position of the Leopard tank and shoot twice in a row to penetrate its armor. And The enemy's tanks can destroy us with a single shot at a distance of one thousand meters. As your superior, I cannot risk your lives."

It was precisely because of the wrong decision of Lieutenant Colonel Miharech that the 233rd regiment faced the rushing German tanks and could only use the crowd tactics to blow up the enemy tanks. As a result, it suffered heavy casualties, and even the regiment leader was in the battle Died.

  However, when the 233rd regiment repelled the German attack, his tank was hit by a shell fired by the German tank when it was retreating, and it caught fire and exploded immediately. Fortunately, the tank soldiers in the car dragged him out in time, so that he escaped the fate of being burned to death. However, even so, he was still unconscious because of his serious injuries.

Mihalich was wounded and unconscious, but his command was not handed over to others. Therefore, the tank soldiers who stayed in the tank saw the enemy's infantry slowly gathering behind the tank, and they might attack the 238th regiment at any time. When the position launched an attack, they could only stare blankly.

  Marankin's chief of staff was in such a situation, calling the command post of the tank corps. The person who answered the phone was Mikhalich's deputy, Major Potekhin. After listening to the chief of staff's request, he said in embarrassment: "Comrade Colonel, I can see the situation there very clearly, but Lieutenant Colonel Mihalich did not We were not given the order to fire and all we could do was wait."

  The chief of staff asked: "Where is Lieutenant Colonel Mihalich?"

   "He's wounded," Potekhin replied curtly.

   "Can he still command the battle?"

   Potekhin glanced at Mikhalich, who was still unconscious on the stretcher, shook his head, and replied, "No, he is still in a coma."

   Before the chief of staff could speak, Marankin asked impatiently, "Chief of staff, have you contacted Lieutenant Colonel Miharech?"

   "Lieutenant Colonel Mihalich is injured!"

   "Injured?!" Marankin stepped forward to take the microphone from the chief of staff, and said close to his ear, "I am Major General Marankin. Who are you?"

  Hearing that the person talking to him was Ma Lanjin, the commander of the Guards Division, Potekhin quickly stood at attention, straightened his back, and said respectfully: "Hello, Comrade General, do you have any instructions?"

   "I don't know who I'm talking to?" Marankin asked rhetorically without explaining his purpose.

   "I am Major Potekhin, Lieutenant Colonel Mihalich's deputy."

"Very well, Major Potekhin, since Lieutenant Colonel Mikhalich can't command the battle, I will tell you the same." Marankin said into the microphone: "Major, I will let you connect to Lieutenant Colonel Mihalich now." position, responsible for commanding the entire tank force."

   "Comrade General, isn't this appropriate?" Hearing what Marankin said, Potekhin replied in a panic: "I can't take over the position of Comrade Lieutenant Colonel until I get an order from my superior."

"Major Potekhin, I think it is necessary to remind you that you are attached to our division to fight." Seeing that Potekhin is still looking forward and backward, Marankin is a little angry: "I am a major general, and you are just a major. A major general appointing a major to take over the command of a tank unit follows the army regulations."

  Marankin's words left Major Potekhin speechless for a while.

   After a while, Potekhin said: "Comrade General, I obey your order and take over the command of the tank unit. Please instruct!"

"That's right, Comrade Major." Seeing that the other party was willing to obey his order, the smile returned to Marankin's face: "The first order I gave you is that when the soldiers on the front line leave the trenches, When you go to blow up enemy tanks, expect your tanks to provide them with cover fire."

   Knowing such a simple task, Potekhin replied without hesitation: "Yes, Comrade General, I will immediately pass your order to every tank soldier."

  When Marankin put down the phone, his chief of staff asked worriedly: "Comrade commander, is it appropriate for you to appoint the commander of the friendly army to replace the commander of the unit without authorization?"

"Comrade Chief of Staff, I once heard a sentence from General Sokov: the victor should not be blamed." Marankin said to the Chief of Staff: "Remember that on the first day of the outbreak of the war, it had not yet been adapted into the Southwest Among the troops of the Kyiv Special Military District of the Front Army, the first to arrive in the Lutsk area to stop the enemy was the mechanized army commanded by Rokossovsky. You must know that their station is a full two hundred kilometers away from the combat site. The troops closer to the battle line did not arrive, but they did, do you know why?"

   "I don't know, Comrade Commander." The chief of staff didn't bother to use his brain to guess, and directly shook his head and asked, "Can you tell me what is the reason?"

"On the first day of the war," Marankin explained to the chief of staff, "General Rokossovsky decisively requisitioned all the vehicles of the Kyiv Special Military District at Shepetovka, which he used to transport troops, quickly rushed to the Lutsk area to stop the Germans who broke into our border, so that the situation would not deteriorate further.

  If he blindly waited for orders from his superiors and did not dare to cross the threshold, then maybe a few days after the war broke out, his troops would still stay where they were. In that case, the situation in Ukraine as a whole will be worse than in real history. "

  After listening to Marankin's words, the chief of staff immediately understood why the other party overstepped his authority to appoint the commander of the friendly army. He nodded and said, "Comrade commander, I understand that sometimes you don't have to stick to the rules in order to win the final victory."

  After the German infantry assembled, they followed behind the tanks and charged towards the Soviet positions. The artillery regiment of the Guards Division stopped shelling completely because they were worried that the artillery fire would accidentally injure their own people.

  The German tanks were not far from the position. After a few minutes, the tracks were almost crushed to the trenches. The anti-tank fighters in the trench stood up, raised their hands and threw the anti-tank grenade, trying to blow up the enemy's tank. But as soon as many people leaned forward, they were shot down by the infantry behind the tank.

   At this moment, the artillery shells flew over the heads of the Soviet commanders and fighters in the trenches, and landed next to or in front of the German tanks and exploded. The flying shrapnel cut down some of the soldiers following the tank, and scared the rest to lie down on the spot. After all, the Soviet artillery fire just now caused them a lot of casualties, making these German infantrymen terrified. .

   Seeing that the enemy infantry had fallen to the ground, the anti-tank fighters who were suppressed by the firepower stood up again and threw the anti-tank grenade in their hands at the enemy tank. Although some of them missed, a few bombs hit the armor of the enemy's tank and exploded, causing the enemy's tank to start burning.

  The tank soldiers who escaped from the burning tank had no time to put out the flames on their bodies, so they ran back dancing and dancing. They wanted to run to a safe place and rolled on the spot to put out the flames on their bodies. However, those Soviet commanders and fighters who had been simmering for a long time were not willing to let them escape easily. After a burst of gunshots, the German tank soldiers fell to the ground one after another.

  The German infantry lying on the ground saw that their tank was destroyed by the Soviet anti-tank fighters. They were anxious, got up from the ground, and rushed forward regardless. For the German soldiers who came to die in this way, the Soviet commanders greeted them with machine guns, submachine guns and grenades. A few minutes later, a large number of German corpses lay in front of the position.

  The two sides fought fiercely near the trenches. Just as the Soviet army blew up several German tanks, a group of German infantry rushed into the trenches and engaged in melee and hand-to-hand combat with the Soviet troops standing inside.

  Although all the German soldiers are well-trained, when it comes to fighting skills, they are far from the combatants of the Soviet army. In less than three minutes, all the dozens of German soldiers who rushed in were killed, and the position of the 238th regiment was consolidated.

  Collim, who was staying in the observation post, saw that the battle between the two sides had entered a stalemate, and knew that in order to repel the German attack, he needed the help of the 233rd Regiment, so he quickly called to the side: "Chief of Staff!"

  Unexpectedly, he didn't hear any response. Colim turned his head to find out where his chief of staff was, but he happened to see the surprised look on the face of the guard beside him.

   "Comrade Commander," the guard reminded Colim: "Comrade Chief of Staff was injured just now, have you forgotten?"

After being reminded by the guards, Colim immediately remembered that because the telephone line of the observation post was blown up, when the chief of staff was about to go to the backup command post to convey orders by phone, he was unfortunately injured by enemy shells. Due to his serious injuries, he could not continue. Make plans for yourself.

   "Yes, yes, you are right." Colim nodded vigorously, and said in an affirmative tone: "My chief of staff was just injured and has withdrawn from the battle."

"Comrade Commander," the guard stepped forward, straightened his back and said, "If you have any tasks, leave them to me. I assure you, as long as I have breath, I will definitely complete the tasks you entrusted. "

   "Do you know the hidden location of the 233rd Regiment?" Collim asked.

   "Yes, Comrade Commander." The guard replied in an affirmative tone, "I know very well."

"Since you know the hidden location of the 233rd Regiment, that's great." Collim continued, "Because we can't communicate with them by phone, we can't communicate orders directly. So you have to rush there now and tell Acting commander, let them attack the enemy's flank."

   After the guard agreed loudly, he left the observation post, stooped and sprinted along the traffic trench, trying to send the information to the acting head of the 233rd regiment as soon as possible.

  Collim looked at the back of the guard anxiously, fearing that he might encounter some threats on the way. It wasn't until he couldn't see the opponent's back that he refocused on the fierce battle.

  The battle at this time has entered a fierce state, because the dozens of tanks used as fixed turrets are constantly bombarded with tank guns and machine guns, which makes the German attack very difficult.

   Fireballs splashed from the tank body from time to time. This was the effect caused by the Soviet anti-tank grenades or tank shells. The enemy tank soldiers were too busy to take care of themselves, so how could they care about covering the infantry attack.

  The infantry was even worse. Stand up and attack. Either they were knocked down by Soviet bullets, or they were blown to pieces by tank shells. Even lying on the ground is not necessarily safe. They were pulled up from the ground by the shells of Soviet tanks, thrown high into the air, and then fell down heavily; or their own tanks were destroyed, and the ammunition in the car exploded, and the shrapnel flying around made them howl like ghosts and wolves. .

   There was even a tank turret that was directly blown away by the explosive ammunition, and when it fell from the air, it hit two soldiers hiding in the crater impartially, smashing them into meat sauce on the spot.

The battle lasted for another ten minutes, and the sound of "Ulla" was suppressed by gunfire and explosions from the front right of the position. This was the commander of the 233rd Regiment, following Colin's order, and launched an attack from the German flank. .

  Then, the louder and louder roar of the tank engine came. Hearing this sound, Colim's heart sank suddenly. Could it be that the enemy is turning around from behind us? He quickly jumped out of the observation post and looked in the direction of the sound, only to see a group of T-34s rushing over from behind.

  He let out a long breath, raised his hand to wipe off the cold sweat on his forehead, and said to himself: "Great, our tanks have arrived at such a time, enough for the Germans to drink a pot."

   Twenty minutes later, the battle was over. The destroyed German tanks are burning on the battlefield. The German soldiers who had not had time to escape dropped their weapons and stood there with their hands raised high, waiting for the Soviet commanders to come forward and capture them.

  (end of this chapter)