Just as Sokov was busy breaking the 2nd Company and the 1st row of the machine gun company that was drawn out, and into the 291st Infantry Regiment, Belkin called Oleg, who was about to join Sokov in the battle, and said to him earnestly: "Comrade Sergeant, when you attack later, you and the soldiers of the guard squad must ensure the safety of the battalion commander. Do you understand?"
After Oleg looked at Sokov not far away, he assured Belkin with a serious expression: "Comrade Deputy Battalion Commander, please rest assured that the soldiers of the guard squad are all ready to block bullets for the battalion commander. Even if we all sacrificed in the battle, we will never let the battalion commander suffer any damage."
Belkin held Oleg's hand tightly, shook it twice, and said, "Sergeant Oleg, good luck!"
After the offensive order was issued, although the artillery of the army was still firing in the town of Marklaki, the officers and soldiers of the 291st Infantry Regiment lined up loose attack formations and walked towards the town in the distance without hesitation with great strides.
Sokov carried a submachine gun and walked to the far right of the third row. Oleg was on his left, and more than a dozen soldiers from the guard squad walked in front and behind him. Halfway through the attacking queue, Sokov realized something was wrong. The soldiers of the guard squad in the front row all pushed to the right while they were moving, blocking in front of him. Oleg, who was on the side, kept turning his head to look at him, as if he was ready to pounce on him at any time.
"Scatter, all of them!" Sokov guessed from the reactions of Oleg and the soldiers that the other party was ready to block bullets for him at any time. Although he was moved, he still shouted loudly: "Don't squeeze together. If the German shells flew over, our group of people would be all finished."
When Oleg heard Sokov shouting, he waved his hands to the soldiers who were intentionally or unintentionally blocking the front, and they immediately restored their original loose formation.
When the attacking troops were still 150 meters away from the town, the artillery of the group army stopped the artillery. The soldiers immediately changed from brisk walking to trotting, and rushed to the German positions that were still emitting thick smoke.
The German observation post, who was dizzy by the artillery fire, saw that the Soviet artillery stopped and quickly struggled to climb out of the hiding place to see if the Soviet army launched an attack. When he poked half of his body from behind the ruins of a pile of bricks and rubble and looked out, the scene he saw shocked him: hundreds of Soviet commanders and fighters were jogging towards their location.
Just as he was about to open his mouth to shout, two bright bayonets stabbed into his chest and blocked what he wanted to shout in his mouth. The Soviet commanders and fighters who killed the observation posts, crossed the ruins on the edge of the town like a tide that was flooded with the embankment, and rushed to the town that was still covered by gunpowder.
"Comrade Commander, have you seen it?" Cherneshov, who was in the observation center from afar, saw that the troops led by Sokov had rushed into the town smoothly, and he couldn't help but cheered excitedly: "Major Sokov has led his troops into the town. He is so great, so great!"
When Rokosovsky saw the troops led by Sokov, he rushed into the town almost unscathed. Although he knew that there would be a fierce battle next, he couldn't help but laugh. However, with so many commanders and fighters in the Observatory, he tried hard to restrain his emotions and said in a plain tone: "You don't know how good Major Sokov is. It's normal that he can lead the troops into the town smoothly. What's the point of making a fuss about?"
Although Derepinsky handed over the command of the troops to Sokov, he was still uneasy. Therefore, he lay in the health team for a short time and ignored the dissuasion of the military doctors and insisted on running to the observation center. When he saw that the troops led by Sokov had not been blocked by the German army, he rushed into the town smoothly and was shocked.
Seeing his reaction, Chernesov smiled and said, "Lt. Colonel, don't look at Major Sokov's youth, but he is very good at fighting, otherwise I would not hand over the command of the division to him."
Telepinsky looked at the town with smoke in the distance and said with a wry smile: "In the last attack, one-third of our regiment suffered casualties, and even the chief and deputy regiment commander were sacrificed to barely approach the town; and when he led the troops to charge, no one lost any of them and entered the town so easily. It seems that Major Sokov is right, the tactics of us are outdated."
…………
After the troops entered the town, they took the initiative to divide into several teams without waiting for Sokov to order. Under the guidance of the soldiers under Grissa, they rushed along the streets and into different directions of the town. The commanders and soldiers of the machine gun company who participated in the battle also quickly seized the favorable terrain, mounted the machine guns, and were ready to shoot out the enemy that appeared at any time.
Sokov personally led more than a hundred people to rush along the street towards the church that was faintly visible in the distance. In his experience, the German army usually set up the command center in a relatively solid church.
They were running forward, and suddenly, from the broken buildings on both sides of the street ahead, a group of soldiers in wild gray uniforms rushed out, holding guns and running towards the entrance of the town.
"It's German, please hide." Sokov saw the groups of German soldiers appearing in front of him, and quickly shouted loudly, then flashed to the side of the road, squatted behind a pile of rubble, and shot at the Germans rushing towards him.
These German soldiers who were about to enter the town entrance position suddenly saw so many Soviet troops appearing in front of them and subconsciously shot at the crowd. With the sound of gunshots, the Soviet soldiers who had not yet reacted in the front row immediately fell down. But the soldiers behind quickly came to their senses and took the weapons in their hands and shot at the opposite side.
Because the incident happened suddenly, most soldiers did not have time to hide, but stood on the street and shot at each other. Amid the crackling sound of shooting, people from both sides kept falling into a pool of blood.
Hearing Sokov's shout, Oleg, who was behind the rubble on the roadside, shot at the German army in the distance, and shouted at his comrades who were still standing in the middle of the road: "Secret, hide quickly!"
With his shouts, the surviving Soviet soldiers flashed to both sides of the street, imitating Sokov and Oleg, hiding behind bricks and rubble, and shooting at the Germans who were still standing on the street.
Five minutes later, there were no German soldiers standing on the street in front. Sokov stood up straight and shouted at the soldiers hiding behind: "Comrades, keep walking with me, and walk against the buildings on both sides of the road."
Chapter completed!