Chapter 905 Enemy Night Attack (Part 2)

Watching Starcha call the regiment headquarters and inform the front and second-line positions that a third of the commanders and fighters must be transferred into the positions. Sokov felt that this matter still needs to be communicated with the troops on the left and right wings, otherwise it will really wait until The Germans carried out a sneak attack, and the fight here was in full swing, and the troops next to them didn't know what happened.

  As soon as Starcha finished making the call, Sokov asked, "Comrade Lieutenant Colonel, can you communicate directly with the division headquarters on this phone?"

   "Yes." Starcha nodded and replied, "According to your order, all battalion-level command posts can directly contact the division headquarters."

  After receiving Starcha's accurate reply, Sokov told him: "Get me through the division headquarters immediately. I have something important to explain to the chief of staff."

After the call was connected, Sokov did not go around in circles, and said directly to Sidolin who answered the phone: "Comrade Chief of Staff, I am now at the forward position of the 124th Regiment. We have just captured a German scout. According to the His confession, I think the enemy may carry out a sneak attack on our division positions. You immediately call Lieutenant Colonel Papchenko of the 122nd Regiment and Lieutenant Colonel Yershakov of the 125th Regiment and order them to draw three points One of the troops, put into combat positions, in order to prevent possible German attacks."

In fact, Sidolin had always been worried in his heart that the German army would not be reconciled to the defeat during the day and would send troops to carry out sneak attacks at night. Hearing Sokov's order at this moment, he quickly replied: "Don't worry, Comrade Commander, I will immediately notify the two Let them prepare for battle to prevent possible sneak attacks by the German army."

  After a short pause, Sidolin said into the microphone again: "Comrade commander, I think the frontier is too dangerous. I'm afraid it will be difficult to guarantee your safety. Why don't you go back to the division headquarters first?"

  If the German scouts hadn't happened, maybe Sokov would return to the division headquarters immediately after inspecting the positions of the other two regiments. But at this moment, he felt that he could not leave, "Comrade Chief of Staff, I have ordered the commanders and fighters to enter the position. If I leave at this time, I am afraid that everyone will have a bad association and affect the morale of the troops. I decided to stay."

   "Okay. Now that you have made your decision, I respect your decision." Sidolin sighed secretly, and said, "Comrade commander, the frontier is too dangerous, you should be more careful."

  ...

  Time passed by every minute and every second, but there was no movement in front of the position. The thought of his soldiers lying in the trenches in the ice and snow made Starcha feel restless. He simply stood up, walking back and forth in the not spacious command post with his hands behind his back.

"Comrade Lieutenant Colonel," Sokov looked at him and said, "Although you have been sitting for a long time, getting up and walking around can restore blood circulation and make people awake. However, in such a narrow space, you walk back and forth like this Walking around will affect others."

Starcha quickly returned to Sokov, and said with a smile: "Comrade commander, you see our soldiers have been lying in the snow for more than two hours, and the enemy has not moved at all. I am worried that they will Frozen, do you think it is enough to let them withdraw and only leave some soldiers as guards?"

Sokov understood Starcha's mood very well. He raised his hand and looked at his watch, and said, "Comrade Lieutenant Colonel, I know that it is very hard for the soldiers to stay outside, but even if they want to evacuate, they have to wait until the early morning." Let’s talk after three o’clock. If there is no movement from the enemy by then, you can tell them to retreat to rest.”

   "Comrade battalion commander," Sokov turned his head and asked a battalion commander: "Do you have flares in your battalion?"

   "No." The battalion commander shook his head after looking at Starcha and replied, "Our battalion hasn't had time to equip it yet."

"How can this be done, Lieutenant Colonel Starcha." Knowing that there were no flares on the ground of the first battalion, Sokov said to Starcha with a straight face: "It's so dark outside, if the Germans really attack us How can the soldiers in the trenches see the enemy clearly if they attack?"

   "Chief of Staff," Starcha immediately realized his negligence after being reminded by Sokov, and quickly picked up the phone: "Immediately send someone to send two boxes of flares to the front, and the speed must be fast!"

   After receiving the call, the chief of staff of the regiment did not dare to neglect, and quickly ordered the manpower to send flares to the first battalion at the front. Although Starcia said to send two boxes, he took it upon himself to send five boxes. The chief of staff did not expect that it was precisely because of his self-assertion that the 1st Battalion used the illumination of the flares to eliminate more enemies in the ensuing battle.

Before the flares were delivered, the third company commander who was staying at the position called. He reported to the battalion commander who answered the phone: "Comrade battalion commander, there seems to be movement in front of our company's position, but it's too dark. Can't see anything."

"Comrade Commander," the first battalion commander quickly covered the microphone with his hand, and reported to Sukov respectfully: "The third company commander reported that there was movement in front of their position, but because it was too dark, everything was seen." Not sure."

   "Comrade battalion commander, please forward it to him." Sokov said to the battalion commander: "We will send flares over immediately, let them pay attention to observe, and don't let the enemy approach the position."

  The battalion commander quickly removed his hand from the microphone, and said loudly: "Commander 3, continue to monitor closely, and be careful not to let the enemy approach our position. I will send someone to send flares to you right away."

  Since there is a strange movement in front of the position, everyone can't just sit and do nothing. Starcha waited for the battalion commander to put down the phone, and then ordered him: "Send someone immediately to pick up the fighters who delivered the flares, and transfer them to the front as soon as possible."

  The head of the regiment and the battalion commander personally intervened, and the efficiency was very high. In less than five minutes, a box of flares was sent to the third company's position. Seeing the flares approaching, the third company commander quickly ordered the soldiers to fire one to illuminate the front of the position.

   When the flares fired slowly fell from the sky, they illuminated the open space in front of the position. The third company commander squinted his eyes and observed carefully, and saw that the snow-covered open ground was quiet everywhere, and no moving objects could be seen.

  When the flares went out, the soldier who fired the flares said with relief: "Comrade company commander, it seems that we are too nervous. How could the Germans launch an attack in such cold weather?"

Although the third company commander didn't find anything during the observation just now, he always had an ominous premonition in his heart, as if he was being targeted by a group of wild beasts hiding in the dark, and he always felt his scalp tingling and his heart beating faster , The vest is chilly. Thinking of this, he ordered the soldiers: "Fire two more flares."

   "Comrade Company Commander," the soldier thought that he hadn't found anything just now, and even if he fired flares again, there might be nothing to gain. It's so cold outside, it's better to find a way to go back to the shelter early and go to sleep, so I reminded the third company commander: "Didn't you just look at it, there is nothing outside."

   "Yes, I didn't see anything just now." The third company commander said to his soldiers: "But I still feel uneasy in my heart. You fire two more flares and let me observe carefully."

   Seeing that the third company commander was stubborn, the soldiers couldn't say anything, so they could only raise their guns and fire signal flares. However, he didn't shoot two flares in a row, but after the first one was fired, he fired the second one every two or three seconds, which could prolong the lighting time.

   Under the illumination of the flares, the third company commander carefully observed the minefield in the distance again, but still saw nothing unusual. "Could it be that I'm oversensitive?" He thought about it, and turned his gaze to the barbed wire fence in the distance. At this glance, he found that something was wrong. Several barbed wires had been cut to accommodate several people in parallel. Just when he was about to take a closer look, the flares went out.

   "Fire two more."

   "Comrade Company Commander, we have fired three flares, but nothing has been found."

   "Don't talk nonsense, follow my order and continue to launch." The third company commander said to the soldiers in a low voice: "I see that the barbed wire in the distance seems to have been cut a few gaps."

  The soldiers heard what the third company commander said, and quickly adjusted the firing angle so that the fired flares could more clearly illuminate the terrain around the barbed wire fence. As soon as the flare was fired, the soldiers quickly opened their eyes wide and looked towards the location of the barbed wire. Sure enough, they saw that several gaps were cut in the barbed wire.

  The third company commander observed more carefully than him, and found traces of people crawling on the snow inside and outside the gaps. Seeing this, the third company commander understood that there must be a lot of German soldiers who had crawled in along the cut barbed wire. They should be wearing white camouflage suits, lying on the snow, so that it is difficult for them to find their specific location.

This time, as soon as the flares went out, the third company commander hurriedly called the battalion command post to report: "Comrade battalion commander, several gaps were cut in the barbed wire fence at the front of our company's position, and there were people crawling on the snow near the gap." trace."

   "Have you found where the enemy is lurking?" the battalion commander asked quickly.

   "No." The third company commander replied: "They may be wearing white camouflage clothing. Even if we use flares to illuminate, it is difficult to detect their specific positions."

"Major, send the mortar platoon in the battalion over immediately." After learning that the enemy had broken through the barbed wire and had climbed in, Starcha immediately ordered a battalion commander: "Let them face the place where the enemy may be lurking. Shelling, I don't believe shells can't blow them out."

   A few minutes later, the four 82mm mortars of the mortar platoon of the battalion were set up in the trenches of the third company. The artillery platoon leader went out to check the distance, and then reported a series of data to his subordinates. The gunners adjusted the shooting angle of the muzzle according to the parameters of the platoon leader, and then began to load and shoot. The shells whistling out of the chamber shot rapidly towards the possible hiding place of the enemy.

  The shell exploded in the snow, and pillars mixed with black soil and white snow powder rose into the sky. At the same time, there were also black shadows flying away. They were German soldiers lurking in the snow.

   Seeing that the Soviet army had discovered their lurking, the German soldiers naturally would not lie down and wait to die. They got up from the snow one after another, formed a sparse formation, and rushed towards the Soviet army's position.

   "Ready to fight!" The third company commander raised his pistol, shouted in a very majestic manner, and then said to the soldiers who fired flares beside him: "Whenever I ask you to fire flares, you can fire them again."

  The sneak attacking German soldiers approached the Soviet position step by step, but the third company commander still remained silent. He was going to put the enemy into the best range before opening fire. His calmness made the soldiers beside him anxious: "Comrade company commander, when will you fire the flares? The enemy is less than a hundred meters away from us."

   "Don't worry, wait for the enemy to get closer before attacking." The third company commander said calmly: "They can't run fast in the snow, we can bring them closer."

  But when the German army rushed forty or fifty meters away from the position, the third company commander yelled: "Fire!" Then he took the lead in firing a shot at the enemy. The soldiers next to them did not dare to neglect, and quickly fired flares into the air, so that the comrades in the trenches could clearly see where the enemy was.

  As the flares lifted into the air, the charging German soldiers were exposed to dazzling light, while the soldiers in the trenches clearly saw where the enemy was, and they pulled the trigger without hesitation. All of a sudden, gunshots sounded like popping beans, and countless weapons with muzzle flashes fired desperately from the trenches, knocking down the German soldiers who rushed up.

Sokov, who was staying in the command post, heard the gunshots outside, immediately grabbed the assault rifle in his hand, and said to Starcha and the first battalion commander: "The enemy is coming up, you immediately issue orders to the soldiers. Order them all to enter the position and prepare to repel the enemy's attack."

As the order was issued, the commanders and fighters who were still staying in the shelters and anti-bomb holes raised their weapons one after another, ran into the trenches, entered their combat positions, and shot at the German troops exposed to the light of the flares. , knocking them down one by one like a target.

  As the battle started, the positions on the left and right wings also called to ask what happened. Sokov said to Starcha: "Comrade Lieutenant Colonel, please tell the troops on the left and right flanks that the enemy is attacking the forward positions of your regiment, and let them guard their positions and not meddle in their own business."

"Comrade Commander," Starcha heard Sokov's off-screen voice, and quickly asked tentatively, "If the German army concentrates its forces to launch a fierce attack on us, I am afraid that with our current strength, it may be difficult to stop it." enemy attack."

"Don't worry, Comrade Lieutenant Colonel." Regarding Starcha's worries, Sokov comforted him and said: "It is night now, and when the enemy is attacking, he cannot get the support of artillery and tanks. Come in, I'm afraid it won't be that easy."

"But…"

Starcha wanted to defend something, but was interrupted by Sokov: "There is nothing wrong with it, I know you want the troops on the left and right wings to support you, so as to increase the chances of holding the position. But have you ever thought about it? In such a dark night, let the troops from the left and right wings come, how do you identify friend and foe? What if your own people fight with your own people, what should you do?"

   After being reminded by Sokov, Starcha realized that this was really the case. If friendly troops came to reinforce them, in such a dark environment, it would be impossible to identify the enemy. If it is true that our own people fight with our own people, it will be a joke.

  (end of this chapter)