Yershakov was shocked. He did not expect that the counterattack organized by three infantry divisions would end in failure without even a day. His regiment would also serve as a battlefield firefighter to cover the retreat of friendly troops.
Seeing Yershakov staring at the map in a daze, Sokov raised his hand and slapped him heavily on the back, and said unhappily: "Lieutenant Colonel Yershakov, I am explaining your mission to you. Don't be distracted at this time."
Sokov's slap woke Yershakov from his sacred tour. He quickly blushed and replied, "I'm sorry, comrade, I'm distracted. Please continue to assign tasks."
Originally, the order of Yershakov's regiment to take over the defense of friendly forces only required a call. The reason why Sokov called Yershakov here to arrange the mission was entirely because the German army had just entered the battlefield, and the soldiers had no experience in dealing with this form of tank. If they really encountered it, they would easily suffer a big loss.
"You will see a heavy tank that the Germans have newly put into the battlefield on the battlefield." Sokov patiently explained to Yershakov: "This tank not only uses 88mm caliber artillery, but also has strong lethality, but also has thick armor that makes anti-tanks trouble. As far as I know, the armor on the front is 102mm, and the armor on the side and back is also 82mm thick, which means that our existing anti-tank guns and anti-tank rifles have no way to deal with it."
When Yershakov learned that the German army had launched a heavy tank with strong firepower and armor protection, his face changed: "Comrade Commander, how should we destroy the enemy's tank?"
"The Tiger tank uses a gasoline engine, and you can use a molten bottle to deal with it." Fortunately, Sokov remembers that the Tiger tank uses a gasoline generator, so he naturally thought of a corresponding solution: "As long as the engine catches fire, no matter how thick the armor of this tank is, it will be useless."
"I understand, comrade of the division commander." After hearing the performance parameters of the Tiger tank, Yershakov was suddenly at a loss. At this moment, when he heard Sokov's solution, his smile returned to his face: "I will ask the soldiers to kill it with a moor bottle and let all the new German tanks go to hell."
Seeing Yershakov regaining his confidence, Sokov nodded with satisfaction and said to him: "Comrade Lieutenant Colonel, it's getting late, take action, I wish you good luck!"
…………
When Yershakov led his troops to the position of the 351st Regiment, most of the positions of the regiment had been lost, and two of them had basically lost their combat effectiveness. Lieutenant Colonel Sassico, who was on the verge of despair, took advantage of the Germans' attack to explain the funeral to the regiment chief of staff in the regiment command post: "Comrade Chief of Staff, at present, the entire regiment has only the third battalion's system is relatively complete. You can take them down first. I and the first battalion and the remaining soldiers of the second battalion will leave you to cover you."
"Captain, you should take the third battalion to retreat." The chief of staff of the regiment never dreamed that in the face of the German offensive, although the soldiers of the 351st Regiment were extremely brave, they still did not resist for an hour. Seeing that the position was in danger, anyone who stayed to cut off the rear would definitely have a life-threatening end. Therefore, he said firmly: "I will stay for cover."
Just as the two were arguing, an officer wearing a steel helmet ran in from outside and shouted excitedly at Sassico: "Captain, reinforcements, reinforcements have arrived!"
"Reinforcements have arrived?!" After hearing the officer's report, Sasico and the Chief of Staff were stunned. After a while, Sasico asked, "Is it the 339th Regiment or the 347th Regiment?"
The chief of staff of the regiment understood the reason why Sassiko asked this. In the morning offensive battle, the 339th Regiment, who was responsible for the first offensive mission, suffered heavy casualties. Even if it was sent, the effect it could play was very limited. He secretly prayed in his heart that if the division commander could send the 347th Regiment to reinforce, there would be a chance to alleviate the current adverse situation.
"No." The officer shook his head and replied, "It is the 125th Regiment of the 41st Division of the Guards, Lieutenant Colonel Yershakov, who is heading towards us."
When Sassico learned that the reinforcements commander was coming to him, he quickly stood up and said to the regiment chief of staff: "Comrade Chief of Staff, let's go out to welcome the commanders of friendly troops."
"No need, I'm here myself." Before Sassico and his chief of staff walked out of the command post, Yershakov had already walked in from outside. Looking at the two lieutenant colonels standing in front of him, he could not tell who was the regiment commander from his military rank, so he could only ask with a smile: "I am Lieutenant Colonel Yershakov, the leader of the 125th Guards Regiment. I wonder which one is the regiment commander?"
"Hello, Lieutenant Colonel Yershakov." Sasico stepped forward and held the other party's hand, and said politely: "I am Lieutenant Colonel Sasico, the leader of the 351st Regiment. I am very happy to see you!"
"Our regiment is ordered to take over your defense." Due to the tight time, Yershakov did not say much nonsense, but said bluntly: "Please withdraw from the position immediately after handing over the defense to me."
"Lieutenant Colonel Yershakov, please come here." Sassicko greeted Yershakov to the simple wooden table and pointed to the map above to introduce the situation to him. "Our position was originally five hundred meters wide and seven hundred meters deep. However, under the powerful offensive of the German army, the area of ​​the position was greatly compressed, and now the width and depth are only two hundred meters left..."
"I understand." After Sassakov finished speaking, he nodded slightly: "We will defend here at all costs and cover the retreat of the main force on the right wing."
"By the way, Lieutenant Colonel Yershakov, there is one more thing, I want to remind you." The Chief of Staff felt it was necessary to introduce what he knew to Yershakov to avoid the newly arrived friendly forces' losses: "The enemy has a new type of tank, and our anti-tank guns and anti-tank guns have no way to deal with it. Even the T-34 tank that made the Germans frightened was not his opponent. More than a dozen of them were destroyed in front and behind."
When Yershakov heard the chief of staff of the regiment say this, he couldn't help but be shocked, thinking: I didn't expect that the Germans really had to devote themselves to the tanks mentioned by the division commander. Fortunately, they had found their way. The soldiers would not be in a helpless situation when facing the tanks rushing over. Thinking of this, he smiled slightly and said, "Don't worry, we have found a way to deal with this kind of tank. If it doesn't come, it will be gone. Once it comes, discipline it will never come back."
Seeing Yershakov speaking so confidently, Sassico shook his head with a wry smile, thinking that this lieutenant colonel underestimated the enemy so much that he would definitely suffer a great loss when encountering the enemy's new tank.
In fact, it is completely normal for Sassico to think so. You should know that since the Tiger tanks started to equip the troops, in order to prevent the enemy from discovering the weaknesses of Tiger tanks, Hitler issued strict orders to the troops, requiring that all Tiger tanks be parked centrally when there is no combat mission, and people other than tank soldiers are strictly prohibited from approaching. Moreover, all operating manuals are destroyed after reading, so that no one except specially trained tank soldiers know the mechanical structure and working methods of Tiger tanks. As for Tiger tanks that are damaged and cannot be moved in battle, the tank soldiers must blow them up before giving up to prevent them from falling into the enemy's hands.
If Sokov had not come from later generations, he would not know the weakness of the Tiger tank. It was because he used a gasoline engine. Only two molten bottles were needed to make this arrogant behemoth go to the ghost. Although Yershakov told his battalion commanders about the way he dealt with the Tiger tank, it did not mean that he would tell Sassico the secret.
After the two regiments handed over the defense, Sassakov reached out to Yershakov and said sincerely: "Lieutenant Colonel Yershakov, I wish you good luck!" After that, he led his troops to the direction of the Red October factory.
After sending Sassico and his remaining troops away, Yershakov ordered the correspondents to answer the phone number from the division command and reported to Sokov: "Comrade Commander, our regiment has fully connected the defensive positions of the 351st Regiment."
"How is the situation in the defensive position?" Sokov heard the call from Yershakov and immediately asked nervously: "Can the fortifications withstand the enemy's shelling and bombing?"
"Lieutenant Colonel Sassico, the regiment commander, was introduced by Lieutenant Colonel Sassico, because of the tight time, their 1st Regiment had just dug a few trenches and a limited number of shelters on the plains. Before they could build solid fortifications, they were attacked by the enemy." Yershakov introduced to Sokov with a serious expression: "Because there were no solid fortifications and no barbed wire or minefields in front of the position, the soldiers fought bravely and hardly in the face of the enemy's attack. In less than an hour of battle, nearly two-thirds of them were injured or killed."
After hearing Yershakov's words, Sokov's heart was stuttering. He thought to himself: Two-thirds of the 351st Regiment suffered casualties within an hour, and it is still unclear how long the Yershakov's Regiment will last on the position, and he doesn't know how many people they can have left after the blocking battle is over.
Seeing that there was no sound in the earpiece, Yershakov guessed that Sokov might be worried about the fate of his regiment, so he said with a smile: "Don't worry, comrade, I have organized soldiers to repair and strengthen fortifications, and dig a large number of bunkers in the trenches so that they can reduce unnecessary casualties when they are bombarded and bombed by the enemy. Also, there are many casualties in the 351st Regiment, which are caused by the damn heavy tanks. We will teach the German tank soldiers a lesson later to let them understand that if they want to pass through our positions, they must pay a price."
Chapter completed!