The explosion first alarmed the sentry on duty. Just as he was standing at the sentry post looking towards the explosion point, he suddenly heard someone behind him asking: "What's going on? Where did the explosion come from?"
The sentry turned around and saw that it was the company commander who was checking the sentry. He straightened up hurriedly and replied: "Report to comrade company commander that the mine used for warning in the north has exploded."
When the company commander heard what the sentry said, he quickly walked to the sentry post and looked into the distance. However, due to the lack of moonlight, all he saw was a vast expanse of white and no moving objects.
"Comrade Company Commander," the sentry approached him and asked in a low voice: "Is it a small animal that came out to look for food and accidentally stepped on the mine we laid?"
"This is impossible." As soon as the sentry's words came out, he was overruled by the company commander: "The only animals that can be seen in this area are hares. You know, rabbits are more cunning animals than foxes. How can they guess landmines?
No, I need to report this situation to the battalion commander immediately."
After receiving the report, the commander of the second battalion guarding the high ground did not dare to neglect. He called the regiment headquarters and reported the matter to Grushiko on duty.
After listening to the report of the second battalion commander, Glushko remembered that Sokov had mentioned many times that Highland 239 might become the focus of the German attack. At this moment, the landmine used as a warning in the distance suddenly exploded. Maybe it was
A small enemy force came over. In order to find out what was going on, he ordered the second battalion commander: "Comrade Major, you immediately order the mortar platoon to fire a few rounds at the location where the mine exploded to see if there is any movement."
The second battalion commander was a little hesitant about the order issued by Glushko: "Comrade deputy commander, is it too loud to fire at the explosion site at this moment? How about I send a few people over to check it out?"
"No." Glushko said firmly: "Since we have guessed that the enemy may come for a sneak attack, sending soldiers over to check now is equivalent to letting them die."
"But if we fire rashly and our superiors blame us, what should I do?"
"Comrade Major, I think it is necessary to remind you. I am the deputy commander of the 126th Regiment. The battalion commander must obey the orders of the deputy commander, not the other way around. Do you understand?" Glushko continued: "If it is true,
If something goes wrong and my superiors want to hold me accountable, I will take the responsibility."
With Glushko's words, the second battalion commander did not dare to neglect and quickly ordered the mortar platoon to enter the position and prepare to shell the place where the mine exploded. In order to obtain first-hand information, the second battalion commander personally came to the position
Go up, raise the telescope and look into the distance, trying to figure out what is going on.
"Fire!" Following the artillery commander's order, four 82mm-caliber mortars began to fire. The shells that came out of the chamber made a "whoosh" sound as they broke through the air and flew quickly towards the target.
The second battalion commander saw through the telescope that the artillery shell exploded in the snow, lifting up large swaths of snow and sending up several dazzling fireballs. After the explosion, the bushes near the explosion point were ignited. He used the light of the fire to
Using the lighting, I looked at the nearby snow and found it was quiet, with no movement at all.
After the mortar platoon leader directed the mortar to fire three consecutive rounds, he came to the second battalion commander and asked him for instructions: "Comrade battalion commander, should we continue shooting?"
Seeing that there was no movement after the shelling, the second battalion commander thought that the new deputy commander must be a little nervous, so he said to the mortar platoon leader: "Stand where you are and wait for my further orders."
Then the second battalion commander picked up the phone on the side and reported the situation to Glushko: "Comrade deputy commander, we fired three bursts of each gun at the area where the mine exploded, but no movement was found near the explosion point.
There were no traces of people or animals. The landmine explosion just now was probably just an accident."
"Comrade Major, it's not up to you to decide whether it was an accident or not." But Glushko said rudely: "A three-shot burst for each gun is too few, so I'll fire six shells each."
The first level of the official rank was overwhelming. Although the second battalion commander did not believe Glushko's judgment, the other party was his superior. He really did not dare to disobey the order he gave. After putting down the phone, he called the artillery platoon leader
When he came to the front, he ordered: "Comrade Lieutenant, aim at the target just now, and fire six more shells with each gun."
The shelling of Highland 239 not only woke up the commander of the 126th Regiment, Lieutenant Colonel Harin, but also woke up Kurishenko in the division headquarters. He sat up from the cot, looked at Sidorin who was sitting at the table and made a phone call and asked
He said: "Comrade Chief of Staff, what happened outside? Where is the artillery fire?"
Sidorin quickly covered the microphone with his hand and reported to Kurishenko: "Comrade division commander and deputy commander of the 126th Regiment Glushko reported that a warning mine planted in the northeast of the highland exploded.
He suspected that there must be enemies hiding nearby, and was ordering mortars to bombard that area to find out whether there were any enemies lurking."
"It's ridiculous, it's simply ridiculous." After listening to Sidorin's words, Kurishenko said displeasedly: "The Germans are trying to break out of the encirclement in the north, how could they appear here? How could this new deputy appear here?
The regimental commander was really confused. He didn’t know what was going on and sent people to check, but he ordered people to fire. If the neighboring troops were alerted, I would have to shamelessly explain to others."
"Comrade Commander." Sidorin had an ominous premonition in his heart from the moment he heard the sound of cannon fire. At this moment, seeing Kurishenko's impatient look, he quickly and carefully reminded him: "Otherwise, we
Report this matter to Comrade Commander?"
"I think it's okay." Kurishenko thought gloatingly, and reported the matter to the Army Group Headquarters to see how the new commander handled the emergency: "Comrade Chief of Staff, it's up to you to report this matter.
Bar."
When Sokov was woken up from his dream, he was quite angry. But when he heard that the situation was discovered in the direction of Highland 239, his whole body suddenly became energetic, and even the anger that was being accumulated disappeared without a trace.
He took the microphone from Smirnov's hand, and when he heard Sidorin's voice, he asked straight to the point: "Sidolin, what happened?"
"Comrade Division Commander," Sidorin habitually called Sokov in his former position: "I received a report from Lieutenant Colonel Glushko, deputy commander of the 126th Regiment, that a mine exploded northeast of the highland.
, which was a warning mine. In order to find out what happened, he ordered a mortar platoon to shell the area."
From Sidorin's tone of voice, Sokov guessed that the shelling must have had no effect. However, in order to find out what was going on, he still asked knowingly: "Did you find anything after the shelling?"
"No, nothing was found." Sidorin replied: "The Second Battalion stationed on the high ground carefully observed the shelled area, but there was still no movement. I thought something might have happened somewhere.
question."
"Comrade Sidorin, don't jump to conclusions so easily." Sokov thought for a while and then asked: "How far is the shelling area from the high ground?"
"Please wait a moment, Comrade Commander." Sidorin said: "Let me ask Lieutenant Colonel Glushko."
Less than a minute later, Sidorin's voice came from the receiver again: "Comrade division commander, I have already asked. They use an 82mm mortar. The muzzle velocity of this artillery is 196 meters per second.
The rate of fire can be as high as 20 rounds per minute, and the maximum range is 2,850 meters. Their shelling position is about 900 meters to 1,200 meters away from the high ground."
"Sidolin," Sokov waited for Sidorin to finish and asked again: "If you were a German commander and wanted to carry out a night attack on our positions, how far away would you lurk your troops on the high ground?
?”
"If I want to achieve a surprise effect, I will definitely ambush the assault troops within 500 meters of the high ground." Sidorin said: "In this way, we can rush into the opponent's position in the shortest time." At this point, he
Something suddenly occurred to me, and I couldn't help but trembled all over. Then I said with a trembling voice, "Comrade division commander, you mean that the enemy is already lurking five hundred meters away from the high ground, not where we are shelling?"
"That's right, Sidorin." Sokov stated his thoughts straightforwardly: "It's completely ineffective for you to bombard targets thousands of meters away, because there are no enemies there at all. You should shorten the distance of the bombardment.
, focus on bombarding the four to five hundred meters in front of the high ground to eliminate those lurking enemies."
"Okay, comrade division commander." Sidorin said: "I immediately informed Lieutenant Colonel Glushko and ordered his mortar platoon to shorten the bombardment distance and focus on bombarding positions four to five hundred meters away from the high ground."
"Just one mortar platoon is not enough." Sokov said: "Immediately order the 89th Guards Artillery Regiment to target the position four to five hundred meters in front of Highland 239 and carry out a saturation bombardment!"
Unexpectedly, Sidorin seemed hesitant after listening to Sokov's order: "Comrade division commander, if we are shelling the area in front of the high ground at this moment, will the noise be too big? If friendly forces are alerted and they ask, what should I do?
how to answer?"
"To be honest, I just said that traces of the Germans were found in front of your position. Because it was too late, I couldn't figure out the enemy's situation, and I was worried that I would suffer a loss if I attacked rashly, so I chose to shell." Sokov was worried that Sidorin had something to do.
Concerned, he also emphasized: "Don't worry, Colonel Sidorin. Anyway, you have enough artillery shells. Even if there is any mistake, I will come out and shoulder the due responsibility."
Kurishenko, who was originally opposed to the night bombardment, heard Sidorin say that Sokov was willing to endorse the matter, so he no longer had any scruples, and asked Sidorin to call the artillery regiment and focus on bombarding the first four highlands.
Five hundred meters away, eliminate the enemies that may be lurking there.
After the bombardment started, Sokov walked back and forth in the headquarters with his hands behind his back in order to stabilize his emotions, wondering whether his arrangements for tonight were correct? Smirnov did not speak, but quietly watched the walking back and forth.
Sokov was thinking, what should he do if it turned out that Sokov's judgment was wrong?
As time passed by, the ringing of the phone never came to mind. Sokov was a little out of breath. He stopped, picked up the phone and called the headquarters of the 41st Guards Division, and asked straight to the point:
"Sidolin, how is the situation?"
"Comrade Division Commander," Sidorin said with some hesitation: "We have been shelling the area four to five hundred meters in front of Hill 239 for half an hour, but we still haven't found any abnormal movement. Could it be...?
"
Although Sidorin did not finish what he said, Sokov knew very well that the other party was questioning the deviation of his analysis. After a brief pause, he shook his head and said through molars: "The bombardment continues, every door
The cannon is not allowed to stop until it has fired a basic amount of ammunition."
The movement here on Highland 239 must have alarmed the friendly forces on the left and right wings. They immediately reported the situation to the front army headquarters.
Soon, a call from the front army headquarters came to Sokov's headquarters: "Comrade Sokov, this is Zakharov. Please explain to me what the shelling you carried out in front of Hill 239 in the middle of the night was.
What do you mean?"
"Comrade Chief of Staff of the Front Army," Sokov had known that such a large-scale shelling would definitely alert the Front Army Headquarters. As expected, Zakharov immediately called to accuse us. He quickly explained: "Not long ago, I
My subordinates reported to me that a warning mine exploded in the northeast of Highland 239. I guessed that the enemy was preparing to carry out a sneak attack on Highland 239, so I ordered the artillery to bombard the position four to five hundred meters in front of the Highland. These
Locations are the most likely to hide troops."
"Then what was the result?" Zakharov asked in a mocking tone: "Tell me, how many enemies were eliminated?"
Sokov replied with some embarrassment: "Our shelling lasted for half an hour, but we haven't found anything yet."
"Then when do you plan to end the bombardment?"
"I have given an order to the 41st Guards Division. Each gun must fire at least a base number of shells. The bombardment is not allowed to stop before a sufficient number of shells are fired."
"Nonsense, simply nonsense." Zakharov heard this and said angrily: "Comrade Sokov, have you ever thought about it, if the artillery fires up all the shells, when the infantry needs artillery support, you should
what to do?"
"Comrade Chief of Staff of the Front Army, you can rest assured on this." Sokov said: "The artillery regiment of the 41st Guards Division has enough artillery shells. Even if each gun consumes a base number of artillery shells, the remaining artillery shells can still support a major battle.
A battle on a massive scale.”
"Okay, Comrade Sokov." Zakharov waited for Sokov to finish speaking, then sighed softly and said, "If the shelling you carried out did not achieve any effect, after daybreak, you can
I immediately rushed to the front headquarters and explained this matter to General Konev in person. Do you understand?"
"Understood." Sokov said with a bitter look on his face: "If the bombardment has no effect, I will go to the front army headquarters in person as soon as daybreak, review it with the comrade commander of the front army, and accept the due punishment."
Smirnov heard the conversation between Sokov and Zakharov. As soon as Sokov put down the phone, he asked with concern: "Comrade Commander, how about ordering the artillery to stop the bombardment?"
Sokov looked at Smirnov and raised his eyebrows: "Comrade Chief of Staff, why do you want to stop?"
"Our shelling has lasted for such a long time, but we still haven't found any abnormalities in front of the position." Smirnov said: "Continuing the shelling is just a waste of shells. It is better to stop this meaningless shelling.
"
This chapter has been completed!