Chapter 1757

"Comrade Commander," Smirnov said with a serious expression, "It will take at least an hour and a half for the 116th Division to enter the high ground from its assembly. If the delay is too long, the situation on the battlefield may become unfavorable to our army. In the direction of development, I suggest temporarily deploying the 124th Regiment, which is closest to the high ground, to reinforce the 126th Regiment, and it will not be too late for them to return to the defense zone after the reinforcements from the 116th Division arrive."

  Sokov did not make a decision immediately, but called a combat staff officer in front of him, and asked bluntly: "Comrade staff, please tell me what happened to the German army in the southwest."

   "No, Comrade Commander." The staff officer replied very simply: "According to our observation, the position of the German Third Panzer Army in the southwest direction is very quiet, and there is no movement at all."

   Hearing what the combat staff said, Sokov thought that since the German army in the southwest direction had not moved, it should be fine to temporarily transfer the 124th Regiment, which was in the second-line position, to join the battle. Having made up his mind, he said to Smirnov: "Comrade Chief of Staff, I agree with you. Let the 124th regiment go up first, and then replace them when the troops of the 116th division arrive."

  Ten minutes later, the vanguard battalion of the 124th Regiment, together with the comrades of the 126th Regiment, launched an attack on the highlands occupied by the Germans. At the same time, artillery fire from the front army built an insurmountable wall of fire two hundred meters in front of the high ground, completely cutting off the connection between the German army on the high ground and the subsequent German army.

  Smirnov called the 41st Guards Division every five minutes to learn about the progress of the battle there.

   Fortunately, with the addition of new forces, the situation gradually became favorable to the Soviet army. The German army, which had lost foreign aid, far surpassed the Soviet army in combat effectiveness, but due to limited personnel and ammunition they carried, the more they fought, the fewer people there were, and there was not much ammunition left. Facing the Soviet commanders and fighters who rushed into the trenches, they had to start a hand-to-hand combat that caused them headaches.

Knowing that hand-to-hand combat has already started on the high ground, Smirnov finally showed a smile on his tense face: "Comrade Commander, Colonel Sidolin reported that hand-to-hand combat is currently taking place on the high ground. It seems that it won't take long. We will be able to wipe out all the enemies occupying the high ground."

   Sokov agrees with Smirnov's optimistic speculation. The 41st Guards Division may not be able to compare with the Germans in terms of equipment, but when it comes to fighting bayonets, even with the same number of people, it will definitely have the upper hand.

  At this moment, a staff officer came in and reported: "Comrade Commander, the prisoners escorted by the 41st Guards Division have arrived. Do you want to interrogate yourself?"

   "Bring them in." Sokov said briefly, "I'm looking for a German translator to assist us in interrogating the prisoners."

   Soon two Germans were brought in, both wearing white camouflage suits and steel helmets. The epaulettes with silver threads revealed their identities as officers. Of the two officers, the older was a lieutenant, the younger a second lieutenant.

   When the translator arrived, Sokov first asked the names and military ranks of the two men. They were indeed officers of the 105th Grenadier Regiment of the 72nd Infantry Division of the German Army.

   "Tell me, how did you get to the vicinity of Height 239 without anyone noticing?"

Hearing Sokov's question, the senior lieutenant snorted heavily and said with his head held high: "As a German officer, I can only tell my name and rank, and nothing else. If you If you feel dissatisfied, you can send someone to pull us out and shoot us."

   "It's really stubborn." Smirnov asked Sokov in a low voice: "It seems that they can't get any valuable information from their mouths. Why don't you send them to a prisoner-of-war camp."

   "Tell me, how many troops do you have, and how did you get to lurk near the 239 Heights?"

  However, the German lieutenant snorted heavily again, tilted his head to the side, and didn't want to talk to Sokov at all.

   "I use my reputation to guarantee that if you share useful information, I will send someone to send you to a prisoner-of-war camp and give you the treatment you deserve as prisoners of war."

   "Your reputation?" The German lieutenant glanced at Sokov out of the corner of his eye, and said disdainfully, "How much is your reputation worth?"

  When the translator relayed the words of the German lieutenant to Sokov, he said angrily: "Comrade Commander, he is really too arrogant. Otherwise, let me teach him a lesson and give him a lesson he will never forget."

"No need." Sokov waved his hand at the translator, and then said to the German lieutenant: "Let me introduce myself, my name is Sokov, and I used to command troops in Kursk, Belgorod and Kharkov Fought against your army. It is said that my name is a taboo in the upper echelons of your German army..."

  Before Sokov finished speaking, the German lieutenant stood up abruptly and asked tremblingly, "Could it be that you are General Sokov, the former commander of the Russian 27th Army?"

   "That's right, it's me."

The originally rebellious German lieutenant, after confirming Sokov's identity, immediately became respectful: "Please forgive me, General Sokov. I don't know your identity. I just offended you. Please forgive me. .”

"Sit down, Mr. Lieutenant." Sokov greeted the other party to sit down, and continued the question just now: "Please tell me how much troops you invested in this night attack, and how you sneaked into the vicinity of Height 239 of?"

  Everyone thought that the German lieutenant was so respectful to Sokov that he would definitely answer this question truthfully. But what they didn't expect was that the German lieutenant shook his head and said with pain on his face: "Sorry, General Sokov, I have no right to reveal the secrets of our army."

Seeing that the German lieutenant refused to tell the truth, everyone was a little disappointed, but Sokov asked confidently: "Mr. Besides the 105th Grenadier Regiment, there should be the 5th Walloon Assault Brigade of Lieutenant Colonel Lippert, right?"

As soon as Sokov's words came out, the German lieutenant showed a shocked expression on his face. He instinctively said, "My God, how did you know?" on the mouth.

From the reaction of the German lieutenant, Sokov knew that what he said was correct. In addition to the officers and soldiers of the 105th Grenadier Regiment of the 72nd Infantry Division, the German troops who participated in the night attack on the 239 Heights tonight also belonged to the The 5th Walloon Assault Brigade of the Viking Division, roughly calculated, can only have about 4,000 troops invested by the German army.

   "Come on!" Seeing that he couldn't ask anything from the two of them, Sokov called to the soldiers standing behind them: "Put them down first!"

  (end of this chapter)