Chapter 1764

  Shortly after the German attack was repulsed again, six 155mm howitzers of the 11th Army began to shell the high ground. Although these heavy artillery are deployed ten kilometers away from the highland, their hit rate is much more accurate than the tanks and assault guns parked in front of the highland. into the air.

  As soon as the German artillery bombardment started, Tsarev ordered his men: "Quickly find out the location of the German artillery positions, and then suppress them with artillery fire."

   A few minutes later, the staff officer who had calculated the positions of the German artillery positions reported to Tsarev: "Comrade General, the positions of the two German artillery positions have been calculated."

   "Very good." Tsarev nodded and said, "Suppress them with artillery fire immediately to reduce the pressure on the defenders on the high ground."

"Comrade General, I'm afraid this is a bit difficult." The staff officer said with a look of embarrassment: "The artillery position of the last round of shelling has not moved at the moment, and may have moved. And the new artillery position that is shelling the high ground at the moment has already surpassed our army. The range of the artillery, I am afraid there is nothing they can do."

   After listening to the staff officer's report, Tsarev was so angry that he slapped the table, but there was nothing he could do. He knew very well in his heart that although the heavy artillery in his hand could hit ten kilometers away, the chief of staff's statement proved that the newly discovered German artillery positions should be beyond this range.

  Because the German infantry used the cover of artillery fire to charge towards the high ground, the Soviet commanders and fighters who stood firm could not stay in the artillery holes, but could only brave the fierce artillery fire and open fire on the rushing enemy.

  Due to the great power of the German artillery, the defenders suffered heavy casualties. The battle lasted less than ten minutes, but the battalion standing on the high ground had more than half of its casualties.

  The head of the regiment saw that the situation was not good, and hurriedly reported to the division commander Stirlitz: "Comrade commander, the enemy's artillery fire is too fierce, and the defenders on our high ground suffered heavy casualties. Please ask for artillery support, please ask for artillery support."

  The divisional artillery regiment of the 116th Division, although it had already been deployed, was equipped with 76.2mm cannons. It could bombard the German infantry in front of the highlands, but it was unable to hit the German heavy artillery positions. Therefore, Stirlitz could only ask Sokov for help, hoping that the artillery units of the group army could suppress the German heavy artillery in the distance.

After listening to Stirlitz's request, Sokov immediately ordered Smirnov: "Comrade Chief of Staff, immediately contact the artillery commander and let them suppress the enemy's heavy artillery." Then he said to Stirlitz , "Colonel Stirlitz, I have asked the chief of staff to contact the artillery commander and ask them to suppress the German heavy artillery. I believe that your plight will be alleviated soon."

   But soon after Sokov said this, he was directly slapped in the face. Smirnov, who had just finished calling Tsarev, reported to Sokov with a bitter face: "Comrade Commander, the situation is not very good. General Tsarev said that the enemy's heavy artillery is deployed too far away. The range of the artillery is not enough to suppress them at all."

   Not only Sokov heard what Smirnov said, but also Stirlitz on the other end of the phone. He suddenly became anxious: "Comrade commander, if the enemy's heavy artillery cannot be suppressed, I am afraid that the enemy will soon break through our position."

  The importance of Highland 239, Sokov knows better than anyone else. Since the artillery of the army group can't suppress them, he can only find another way. Hearing Stirlitz's anxious words, he quickly comforted the other party and said: "Comrade Colonel, don't worry, I will definitely find a way to deal with the enemy's artillery. But before that, you must find a way to hold your position, understand? "

   "Understood, Comrade Commander." Stirlitz knew that Sokov would not talk nonsense, so he quickly agreed: "I will hold the position at all costs."

   Sokov still believed in Stirlitz's guarantee. If a division couldn't even hold the 239 highland, it showed that the division commander's level was not good enough, and he could consider replacing it.

   The artillery of the group army can't be counted on, so they can only ask the artillery commander of the front army, General Fuming, for help. After the call was connected, Sokov said politely: "Hi, General Fumin, I'm Sokov. I have something to ask you!"

  Foming had already received Konev's order to ensure artillery support for Sokov's troops. Therefore, after hearing what Sokov said, he knew that the other party wanted to ask for artillery support, and he didn't go around in circles, but asked directly: "General Sokov, should we directly bombard the position 200 meters in front of the 239 Heights?"

"No, General Fumin." Sokov said hastily: "Now the German army has used heavy artillery to carry out heavy shelling on Height 239. Because the German infantry took the opportunity to charge, our commanders and fighters could only fight against the artillery fire. There were heavy casualties from the artillery fire."

   "Why don't the artillery of your group army suppress the enemy with artillery fire?"

   "We would like to," Sokov said with a wry smile, "but the location where the enemy's heavy artillery is deployed has exceeded the range of our army's artillery, so I can only ask you for help."

   "Report me the location of the enemy's artillery positions." Fuming said briefly, "I will deal with them."

Sokov hurriedly asked Smirnov for the coordinates of the German artillery positions, reported it to Fomin, and said: "General Fumin, please bombard the German artillery positions as soon as possible to reduce the casualties of the defenders on the high ground." ,please!"

   "Don't worry." Fumin assured Sokov, "I will reimburse the German heavy artillery positions within half an hour at most."

   However, the German artillery positions shelling the highlands have not yet been resolved. The German 1st Armored Division, which was originally stationed in October Town, launched an attack on the position of the 122nd Guards Regiment.

  The head of the regiment, Papchenko, reported to Kurishenko: "Comrade division commander, the enemy launched an attack after a five-minute artillery attack on our position."

   "What kind of force is the enemy using?"

Papchenko, who was staying in the observation post, replied: "I saw at least 20 tanks coming out of the German positions. Except for a few of the No. 4 tanks, the rest were Panther tanks. Followed by about a battalion of infantry. The tank stopped 800 meters away from our army's position, bombarded our regiment's position with artillery fire, suppressed our firepower, and covered the infantry's charge."

   "Find a way to kill the German tanks." Kurishenko said: "Otherwise, once they move, you won't be able to stop them even if you want to."

"No way, Comrade Commander." Papchenko frowned and said with a serious expression: "The position where the enemy tanks are parked, our anti-tank guns can't penetrate their armor at all; and the only few rocket launchers, And because the distance is too far, it is not useful at all.”

"I have seen, Colonel Papchenko, the situation there is really terrible." Kurishenko said: "The artillery equipped by the artillery regiment of the division is either a 76.2mm cannon or a 75mm Bofors field gun. Cannon, at a distance of 600 meters, it is impossible to penetrate the frontal armor of the German Panther tank."

He thought for a while and continued: "Colonel Papchenko, although the artillery we have cannot effectively penetrate the armor of German tanks, as long as they stay in place, they will pose a limited threat to us. You can First organize the commanders and fighters to eliminate the infantry rushing up, and then find a way to deal with the enemy's tanks."

  After finishing the call with Papchenko, Kurishenko immediately connected the phone of the Army Group Command and reported to Sokov about the German army's attack from the southeast.

"What, the Germans attacked from October Town?" Sokov, who was having a headache for the 269 Heights, frowned when he learned that the Germans had launched an attack from the southwest. The two divisions of the army were put into this area to participate in the battle.

"Yes, Comrade Commander." Kurishenko replied truthfully: "According to the report of Colonel Papchenko, the commander of the 122nd regiment, the enemy dispatched at least twenty tanks and a battalion of infantry. The tanks stopped at Farther away from the position, the artillery of the divisional artillery regiment could not penetrate the armor of the German tanks at such a long distance..."

   Listening to Kurishenko's report, Sokov thought again in his heart. If the existing weapons and equipment of the 53rd Army are not improved, then every time they encounter a battle, it will be a severe test. He was silent for a moment, and then asked: "General Kurishenko, I wonder what kind of combat order you gave Papchenko?"

"I told Colonel Papchenko that as long as the enemy's tanks stand still, the threat to us is relatively limited. The defenders on the position can concentrate their firepower and destroy the charging infantry. Find a way to deal with the German tanks."

   Sokov was still very satisfied with Kurishenko's arrangement. He thought that even if he was on the ground, he might only be able to issue similar orders. He nodded, and then added: "General Kurishenko, please tell Papchenko to let him stick to his position and not to attack easily. You know, infantry without tank cover, when encountering German tanks, Only to be slaughtered. See what I mean?"

   "Yes, Comrade Commander, I understand." Kurishenko replied very readily: "I will truthfully convey your order to Colonel Papchenko."

  Highland 239 is still under heavy artillery bombardment by the German army at this moment. A shell landed in the trench and exploded, blowing up seven or eight soldiers near the bombing point to pieces. Before the gunpowder smoke cleared, the nearby health worker bent over and rushed over, trying to treat the wounded.

   When I got closer, I saw that there were only two soldiers with missing arms and legs lying around the crater. The other few people were completely gone, only the broken guns on the ground, indicating that several soldiers had existed here.

  A company commander rushed into the battalion command post and said to the battalion commander who was on the phone: "Comrade battalion commander, the soldiers suffered too many casualties, do you think you should give up your position and retreat?"

Hearing what the company commander said, the battalion commander straightened his face and said sharply, "Comrade captain, what are you talking about? Abandoning the position at this time is escaping the battle. There is no need to go to a military court to enforce battlefield discipline on you. Understand ?"

  The company commander lowered his head and said sadly, "Understood, Comrade Battalion Commander. But my company has 178 people, and now there are less than 20 people left. If the fight continues like this, our company will be cancelled."

The battalion commander roared: "Don't you understand? The regiment headquarters has issued a death order. Even if all our battalions die on the high ground, we must not hand over the position to the Germans! The order from the superior is clear. Anyone You are not allowed to take a step back, you must be nailed to the ground like a nail. It is better to let the bones be exposed in the wilderness, and absolutely not to take half a step back!"

After hearing this, the company commander wiped away the tears on his face with his big dusty hands, raised his head and said to the battalion commander: "Understood, Comrade Battalion Commander. I assure you, even if our company is all sacrificed on the battlefield, I will never take a step back.”

  The battalion commander waited for his subordinates to leave, and then said into the microphone: "Comrade commander, have you heard it? My company is almost wiped out. If we want to hold the position, we must get reinforcements."

The head of the regiment was silent for a while after hearing this, and then said: "Major, I will immediately transfer the third battalion to reinforce and stand firm with you. You must convey my words to every soldier and let them understand that we will never Can't retreat, we will definitely win the final victory!"

  After the battalion commander finished making the phone call, he took off the submachine gun hanging on the wall, bent out of the command post, and prepared to go to the battle in person. Unexpectedly, just as he walked into the trench and was bending forward and running forward, the fierce artillery fire suddenly stopped. Throughout the position, only the sound of various gun shots and grenade explosions could be heard.

  He stopped, looked into the distance in astonishment, and thought to himself: "What's going on here? Why did the German shelling suddenly stop?"

  The head of the third battalion, who was about to transfer to the position, became nervous when he heard the gunfire outside stopped. According to his judgment, it should be that the German infantry was approaching our position. In order to avoid accidental injury, the artillery in the distance stopped shelling. He quickly picked up the phone on the table, connected to the command post of the third battalion, and prepared to give an order to the commander of the third battalion, asking him to lead the troops to the top of the mountain as soon as possible to assist the first battalion in defensive operations.

  The heavy artillery of the German army naturally did not stop shelling for no reason, but the artillery commanded by General Fomin, according to the coordinates provided by Sokov, launched a fierce shelling of the area. In less than a minute, the German artillery position was blown into a sea of ​​flames, and all six heavy artillery were blown into parts.

  The German infantry without artillery cover is a living target. Seeing that the German artillery fire had stopped, the defenders on the position poked their heads out of the trenches and shot at the German infantry in front of the position with their weapons, knocking them down in pieces. Seeing that the situation was not good, the remaining soldiers turned around and ran back.

In the distance, William Stemmelman saw his troops rout again through the telescope, and he was furious at regular intervals. He picked up the microphone and roared angrily to Otto Giller, the commander of the Viking Division: "General Giller! , what happened to your troops? Why were they repulsed by the Russians again?"

   "Your Excellency, General," Otto Giler replied with a wry smile, "The Russian firepower is too strong. If there is no cover from your artillery fire, my men will not be able to charge up at all."

"General Giller, I order you to organize another attack." William Stemmerman emphasized in a stern tone: "Whether our army can successfully break through depends entirely on whether you can capture Height 239 and open a path for the entire army." aisle."

Perhaps because they were worried about the other party's concerns, they added a sentence: "The 1st Armored Division stationed in October Town has already launched an attack outside the encirclement. Our current priority is to rush over to join them and break the Russians. Damn encirclement."

  (end of this chapter)