News of the Soviet occupation of Orlovka soon reached Paulus' headquarters.
After reading the report, Paulus did not get angry. Instead, he stared at the map for a while, then turned and asked Schmid, who was standing in the middle of the room: "Chief of Staff, have you figured out the number of this Russian army?"
"
Schmid shook his head and replied: "Your Excellency, Commander, since we have not sent out ground troops to attack, we cannot know the number of this Russian army for the time being. However, according to the reconnaissance of the Air Force, the number of Russian troops stationed in this area is probably
There are five to six hundred people."
"The Russians occupied Orlovka with the intention of joining Rokossovsky's troops here." Paulus said sternly: "We must not let their plot succeed."
"Your Excellency, Commander," Schmid asked cautiously, "Then what should we do now?"
"Immediately order the troops to restore their lost positions and cut off the connection between this Russian army and other areas." Paulus picked up an explanation stick by the wall and drew a circle at Orlovka's position: "Wait for them
After becoming a lone army, we will concentrate our superior forces to launch an attack and be sure to annihilate them all."
"Understood, Your Excellency, Commander." Schmid replied respectfully, "I will go and lay out the orders right away."
…………
Half an hour later, the 120th Guards Regiment, which was standing on the third and fourth lines of defense, came under fierce shelling from the Germans. In an instant, the entire defense line was blown into a sea of flames, with shrapnel flying and soil flying.
The regiment commander hid in the reinforced concrete fortifications of the third line of defense and shouted hoarsely into the microphone: "...Comrade division commander, we have been violently bombarded by the enemy. It seems that they are preparing to attack us..."
After receiving the report from the troops, Guryev stared at the map in front of him for a moment, and then said in a stern tone: "Comrade Colonel, it seems that the enemy wants to regain their lost position. I now order you to hold it at all costs."
Position, you are not allowed to retreat even one step. Do you understand?"
After hearing Guryev's order, the regiment leader hesitated for a long time and then answered bravely: "Understood, I will find a way to hold the position."
"Comrade Colonel," Guryev was deeply afraid that the regiment commander would violate his orders, so he emphasized to him: "Once the two lines of defense you are holding are lost, then the 73rd Infantry Brigade that went to Orlovka will
, there is a danger of being cut off by the enemy, so you must do everything you can to protect their flanks."
"I understand, Comrade Division Commander." Guryev's words made the regiment leader realize the seriousness of the problem, and he quickly said: "We will find a way to defend this place."
The enemy's shelling on the third and fourth directions were all seen by Sokov standing on the hill. After observing with a telescope for a while, he said to Bely standing next to him: "Colonel Bely
, it seems that the Germans want to regain their lost defense line."
"That's right." Bely agreed with Sokov's statement: "Once they seize these positions, they can cut off our retreat and make us a lonely army."
"Even if the Germans cut off our route to the south, we can still choose to retreat eastward when necessary..." Sokov said here, and suddenly remembered that Belly had been back for so long, and he had not yet learned from him about the situation to the east.
After seeing the defense situation, he quickly asked: "By the way, Colonel Bely, how many troops are deployed in the defensive positions to the east?"
"Colonel Gurdiev deployed a battalion to defend there." After hearing Sokov's question, Bely replied casually: "Even if the enemy launches an attack there, we can rush there in time to provide support."
Sokov heard that a battalion was deployed on the eastern defense line. He instinctively thought that even if the battalion suffered heavy casualties, there might still be one or two hundred men. As long as they could hold off the enemy for half an hour, he would have enough time.
Bely's tank battalion was sent to support. But what he and Bely never dreamed of was that the number of Gurdiev's battalion was only equivalent to a platoon, and it was okay to serve as a guard. If he wanted to block the enemy's attack,
It's simply impossible.
In the current situation, what Sokov had to consider was how to use the troops he had to hold on for a longer time in an area that was not conducive to defense, waiting for reinforcements that might theoretically appear. He no longer cared about the east.
Instead, he pointed to the small village in the northwest and asked: "Colonel Bely, why haven't the two tanks you sent in that direction come back yet?"
If Sokov hadn't reminded him, Bely would have almost forgotten about it. He quickly called the radio operator and used the walkie-talkie to call Sereda. After calling for a while, the operator finally got in touch with Captain Sereda. Bely sent the message to him.
Qi asked loudly: "Comrade Captain, how is the situation there? Why haven't you come back yet?"
"Report to the colonel..." Perhaps due to poor signal, the voice coming from the earphones was intermittent: "We... found the enemy... fighting... now we..."
From Shereda's intermittent words, Bely had no idea what the other party was talking about. He quickly asked the operator: "Comrade operator, is there any way for me to hear clearly what Captain Shereda is saying?"
The operator shook his head and said with a wry smile: "I'm sorry, Comrade Colonel, maybe the signal here is not good, and I can't make the call effect better."
Hearing what the operator said, Bely was so angry that he threw the earphone and microphone to him, and then said to Sokov: "Comrade Brigade Commander, Captain Sereda and the others have not come back for a long time. I guess they may have encountered someone."
What's the trouble? I'd better take someone to see what happened."
The situation in the small village was unclear. Sokov did not want Bely to take risks, so he stopped him: "Colonel Bely, I think it's better to let Lieutenant Valenla's spherical tank go over and take a look, and I'll let another squad
Infantrymen, go with them in armored vehicles."
Bely didn't have any objections to Sokov's arrangement, so he nodded in agreement. Seeing that Bely had no objection, Sokov turned around and told Guchakov: "Guchakov, go and notify Valenla immediately.
Lieutenant, ask him to lead a squad of infantry to the small village in the northwest to find out what happened there."
After Guchakov left, Sokov looked to the northwest and said with emotion to Bely: "We are only a dozen kilometers away from General Rokossovsky's troops. If I had a
With a strong tank force and a sufficient number of infantry, I may directly lead my troops to continue northward and try my best to join his troops."
Bely grinned and said: "Comrade Brigade Commander, if someone else said this, I would definitely think he was bragging. But when you say this, I think it is entirely possible. You lead a tank battalion and hundreds of soldiers
The infantry, within one day, broke through four directions in a row and successfully advanced to the Orlovka area. It is really extraordinary."
Hearing Bely mention his achievements, Sokov felt somewhat proud. But not long after he was happy, the expression on his face turned gloomy again. Frankly speaking, he preferred to fight mobile warfare and lead his troops to
Attack the weak links of the German army instead of leading the troops to fight the Germans in such an area that is not conducive to defense.
When he saw the familiar spherical tank and an armored vehicle full of soldiers heading northwest, he thought silently: "I hope Lieutenant Valenla and the others can figure it out as soon as possible. Captain Shereda and the others
What happened in that small village?"
Sokov raised his telescope and first looked at the south where the gunfire was filled and the roar of artillery fire. Then he looked to the southeast, where the commanders and fighters of the 308th Infantry Division were seizing the time to repair the fortifications. He thought to himself: "We
When the Germans attack here, Gurdiev can send troops to support us; and when they are attacked by the enemy, we can also provide them with help. It is better than concentrating all the troops in one place and being bombarded and bombarded by the enemy.
Bombing is strong.”
But when he saw the tanks parked behind the hill, he couldn't help but frowned. The tanks parked on a reverse slope could certainly avoid enemy artillery fire. But if the enemy carried out an air attack, these tanks would become targets for enemy aircraft.
Targets must be moved to a location that is both safe and conducive to attack.
Thinking of this, he turned around and asked Bely: "Comrade Colonel, our tanks are placed here and can easily become targets for enemy aircraft. Where do you think they should be hidden?"
Hearing Sokov's question, Bely was silent for a long time, and finally said: "Comrade Brigade Commander, we don't have many tanks anyway, why not spread them out and place them everywhere as fixed turrets?"
If the tanks were used as fixed turrets in other places, Sokov would not have any objections. But here in Orlovka, he had not considered holding on for a long time, so there was no need to use the tanks as turrets. Therefore.
, his eyes looked around, and finally stopped in the northwest.
Sokov pointed to the village where the spherical tank was heading and said to Bely: "Comrade Colonel, I have an idea to hide all your tanks in that village and wait for the enemy's tank troops to launch an attack on our position.
When attacking, attack from their flanks and give them a good beating. What do you think?"
Bely raised his telescope and looked at the location of the village. He silently calculated the time required for the attack. Then he nodded and said: "Comrade Brigadier, that is a good place to attack, but it's a pity that we don't know it yet."
How is the situation in the village? We can only wait for Valenla's report to come back before deciding whether to hide the tank there."
More than half an hour later, Valianla contacted Bely through the car radio. After hearing Valianla's voice, Bely immediately asked excitedly: "Comrade Lieutenant, have you arrived in the village?"
"Yes, Comrade Colonel." Valianla replied: "We have arrived at the village."
"What's the situation in the village?" When Sokov learned that Valianla and the others had entered the village, he couldn't wait to say: "Report to me immediately."
"When we entered the village, we found that the two tanks driven by Captain Sereda and his companions had been destroyed. All the infantrymen accompanying the tanks had been killed." Valenla said in shock: "It seems that not long ago, there was
There was a fierce battle, and in addition to our fallen soldiers, there were also more than twenty corpses of German soldiers."
"Where is Captain Sereda?" Sokov learned that the troops that entered the village early had been completely destroyed, and quickly asked: "Is he still alive?"
"Yes, Comrade Brigadier." Valenla replied respectfully: "Captain Shereda is still alive, but he was seriously injured and couldn't tell us what happened in the village just now."
"Search the village immediately to see if there are any hidden German troops." After giving the order to Valenla, Sokov asked Guchakov to call Tenev up.
After Tenev came to him, Sokov said to him with a serious expression: "Major Tenev, you immediately send a company of troops to the small village in the northwest to assist the troops there in defense.
"
"Comrade Lieutenant Colonel," Tenev said with some embarrassment after hearing the mission assigned by Sokov: "If a company is transferred to the village, then the defense here will become weak. If the enemy launches an attack, I am worried...
…”
"You don't have to worry, Comrade Major." Sokov interrupted him before he finished speaking: "If all the troops are concentrated here, the enemy's shelling and bombing will cause us a lot of damage.
Casualties. Therefore, we must consider dispersing our forces and conducting defense in different areas."
After saying these words, Sokov said to Bely: "Comrade Colonel, you will lead all the tanks and guard companies to hide in that village."
After Bely learned that his men were seriously injured, he couldn't wait to rush over and take a look. At this time, Sokov's order was exactly what he wanted. He nodded vigorously and said: "Okay, Comrade Brigadier.
, I will lead the remaining tanks and the soldiers of the guard company to the small village to hide."
"Colonel Bely," seeing Bely about to leave, Sokov warned from behind: "When you get to the village, remember to contact me and tell me what happened in the village."
"Don't worry, Comrade Brigadier." Bely nodded and replied, "I will do it."
When the remaining dozen tanks and a company of infantry moved towards the small village, Guchakov cautiously asked Sokov: "Comrade Brigade Commander, as soon as the tank battalion and this infantry company leave, what will happen to the position?"
The defense force has become weak. If the enemy takes the opportunity to launch an attack, can we stop it?"
Sokov turned to look at Guchakov and said expressionlessly: "Comrade Guchakov, we have placed the tanks here. Once they are bombed by enemy planes, these tanks will become the targets of their attacks. Now we will
They are hidden in that village. In addition to avoiding air attacks, they can also rush out of the village unexpectedly and hit their flanks hard when the enemy attacks. Do you understand?"
After Sokov's explanation, Guchakov suddenly understood, nodded quickly and said: "Comrade Brigadier is still thoughtful, I admire you!"
Sokov hid the tanks in the village. In addition to the reasons he told Guchakov, he also planned to use these tanks to cover the infantry's northward assault when the battle situation was unfavorable, break through the enemy's defenses, and rush to Orlo.
They met up with Rokossovsky's troops in Little Ivanovka, a dozen kilometers north of Vka.
This chapter has been completed!