In order to retaliate, the German army not only used more than a dozen tanks to launch shelling the building, but also summoned four bombers to bomb the building. Fortunately, when the enemy's shelling and bombing were in progress, the soldiers in the building were hiding in the basement. No matter how lively the outside was, it did not cause any losses.
About five minutes after the shelling and bombing stopped, Vasily received another report from the nearby building: "Comrade Sergeant, about two platoons of enemies were found on the west side of the building, and they were approaching the building under the cover of three tanks."
After Vasily put down the phone, he said to Sokov: "Comrade Commander, you can do it here for a while. I will take people out to repel the enemy's attack and come back."
After Vasily left, Selyosha asked with some concern: "Comrade Commander, do you need me to take someone to help Sergeant Vasily? I am worried that with his little force, he will not be able to block the enemy's attack at all."
"Don't worry, Selyosha." Many people would definitely not have any confidence in whether they could defend the Vasily Building, but these people certainly did not include Sokov. He knew very well that the Pavlov building in history was far inferior to that of the current one, and they could hold on to the enemy's siege for two months. Is Vasily not as good as Pavlov? Therefore, facing Selyosha's concern, he said confidently: "I think Sergeant Vasily and others will definitely be able to repel the enemy's attack."
Vasily left less than half an hour and returned to the basement. He happily reported to Sokov: "Comrade Commander, we have repelled the German attack, killed and injured more than 40 German soldiers, and also destroyed two tanks."
Sokov was not interested in how many German soldiers were killed. After all, there were only two platoons of German soldiers. Even if they were killed, would they be comparable to the ambush battle just now? What he was concerned about was how the other party exploded the enemy's tanks: "Comrade Sergeant, what anti-tank weapons do you have here?"
"There are only a few anti-tank rifles." Vasily just answered this question and immediately realized what Sokov was trying to ask, and quickly added: "But the tank that was just destroyed was not destroyed with anti-tank guns."
"It was not destroyed with anti-tank guns?" Vasily's words aroused Selyos' curiosity: "I want to ask, how did you kill the enemy tanks?"
When Vasily heard this question, he smiled faintly and replied: "I have reported to the division commander a long time ago that we have many passages here to lead to the outside world. When the enemy's tank cover infantry rushed over, two soldiers carried anti-tank grenades and touched the enemy's tanks through the sewer. They hid in the ruins and took advantage of the time when the tanks were driving, they decisively threw anti-tank grenades and killed the enemy's tanks."
Sokov has never had any good feelings about the anti-tank grenades used by the Soviet army. The grenades were too heavy. If they were not trained bombers threw them, they might blow him up. Thinking of this, he asked tentatively: "Sergeant Vasily, have the two comrades who blew up the tank, come back?"
"A soldier threw a grenade and was discovered by the enemy who was following him. He attracted a burst of guns and died on the spot." Vasiri replied with a serious expression: "And another soldier was also injured by shrapnel from the grenade. Fortunately, his injuries were not too serious. After bandaging by the nurses, there was nothing serious about it."
"Comrade Commander," Vasily remained silent for a moment after the report, and continued: "I think the Germans suffered such a big loss, and they would definitely not give up. They would send troops to continue attacking. It is not very safe here, so you should go back to Mamayevgang as soon as possible."
In fact, when the enemy planes bombed the building, Selyosha was worried, fearing that a blind bomb would penetrate the floor and fall into the basement and explode. Although the situation he was worried about was not happening at the end of the air strike, he always wanted Sokov to return to Mamayevgang as soon as possible. At this moment, he heard Vasily say this and quickly agreed: "That's right, Misha, this place is too dangerous. I think we should return to Mamayevgang as soon as possible."
"Lt. Selyosha," Sokov saw Selyosha making noises beside him, and said to him with a stern face: "We have fifty or sixty people. If we leave the building now, we will definitely be discovered by the enemy. If they attract airplanes or artillery bombardment, do you think we can still return to Mamayev's hill safely?"
Considering that the building is not safe, Selyoshaguang forgot to return to Mamayev from here, and there is a long way to go. If the whereabouts are really noticed by the Germans, they may be less than halfway through the German artillery fire or bombing, and they may even be intercepted by snipers on the road. Sokov's outfit, as long as he walks outside, is definitely the first target of the snipers.
After understanding this key issue, Selyosha felt a little regretful. How could he persuade Sokov to leave at this time? Isn’t this let everyone go out to die? He quickly said to Sokov: “Misha, you are right. If we leave the Vasily Building now, it is indeed possible to attract enemy attacks. I think we should wait until it’s dark before leaving.”
Seeing that Sokov was unwilling to leave, Vasily was extremely anxious: "Comrade Commander, if the enemy launches a fierce attack on the building again, I am worried that you will not be able to guarantee your safety..."
"Don't worry," Sokov was quite moved to see Vasily care about his safety. He said to him with a smile: "Aren't Seryosha's guards here to protect me? Even if the enemy rushed to me, I could still pick up the gun and fight them face to face. You know, not long ago, I often had to go to the battlefield with a gun."
In order to reassure Vasily, Sokov also asked Selyosha to take his men to the ground floor to arrange defenses, so that even if the Germans crossed the minefield and rushed into the building, they could resist for a while.
Selyosha left, and the phone ringing on the table rang. Vasily quickly grabbed the microphone and put it in his ear and said loudly: "I am Sergeant Vasily."
Captain Andre's voice came from the receiver: "Comrade Sergeant, is the division commander still there?"
"Yes, Comrade Captain." Vasily glanced at Sokov and asked tentatively: "Are you going to talk to the division commander?"
Before Andrei could reply, Sokov reached out to take the microphone, put it in his ear and said, "Captain Andrei, I am Sokov, is there anything wrong?"
"That's right, comrade of the division commander." Andrei couldn't help but breathe a sigh of relief when he heard Sokov's voice, and quickly explained: "I saw enemy planes wandering over you. I was worried about something, so I wanted to call and ask, but the telephone line was blown off. I quickly sent two correspondents soldiers and sacrificed near the building... Thank goodness, the comrades in the communications class just restored the telephone line so that I could only call you."
"Comrade Captain, I will inform you about what happened here." Sokov said to the microphone: "A enemy passed through the street on the north side of the building. I ordered Vasily and others to use the terrain to use mortars and machine guns to teach the enemy a lesson, killing more than 200 German soldiers. The enemy may have dispatched planes to bomb us in order to retaliate. Fortunately, we were all hiding in the basement, and the enemy's bombs could not hurt us at all."
After confirming that Sokov was safe and sound at the moment, Andrey felt much more at ease. He continued: "I just received a call from the Chief of Staff, and he asked me to ask you when I can return to Mamayev."
"If you leave the building during the day, the target is too large, you may be bombarded or bombed by the enemy." Sokov heard the question asked by Andrei, and repeated the words just now: "For the sake of safety, I think it's better to wait until dark before leaving."
After Andrei put down the phone, he called the eighth company commander Yegor and ordered him: "Comrade Lieutenant, when it gets dark, you will take a squad to the Vasily Building, and be sure to pick up the division commander from there."
"Don't worry, Comrade Battalion Commander." Sokov stayed at the forefront, which made the grassroots commanders feel uneasy, afraid of any danger that would happen to him. At this moment, hearing Andre's order, Yegor quickly replied: "I will definitely send the division commander and the others back to Mamayev's hill safely."
Sokov, who was staying in the basement of the building, naturally understood that everyone wanted to leave here early, so when it darkened, Vasily found a soldier as a guide. He took the guard platoon, Shurka and the little boy to leave the Vasily building and quietly headed towards Mamayev hill.
Not long after walking, I heard someone in front of me asking in a low voice: "Is there a comrade in front of me?"
Hearing someone talking, Selyosha was afraid that there would be a danger, so he hurriedly blocked Sokov. Sokov felt that the voice was very familiar, and frowned and thought for a moment, immediately figured out who it was. He quickly pushed Selyosha away from him and asked to the opposite side: "Is it Lieutenant Yegor?"
"Yes, comrade in the division commander, it's me." Yegor led several soldiers out of a pile of bricks and rubble, came to Sokov, straightened his body and reported, "I am ordered to send you back to Mamayev hill."
Hearing Yegor say this, Sokov couldn't help but smile and shook his head. He knew very well that all the commanders, including Andre, would not want to return to Mamayev's post as soon as possible, so that their shoulders would not be so heavy. Thinking of this, he waved his hand to the other party and said, "Lieutenant Yegor, then please help your people to lead us in front."
When he set out again, Yegor kept walking on Sokov's side. His idea was very simple. If he encountered an enemy on the road, he could quickly block Sokov and block bullets for him.
After walking for a while, maybe he felt that it was too boring to rush to the road, Yegor asked in a low voice: "Comrade Commander, I heard that the battle in the factory area is going very fierce?"
"Although you are fighting here, it can only be considered a pediatric department compared to the factory area." Sokov said to Yegor with a side face: "In some areas where the battle is fierce, one battalion will be fully exhausted in an hour."
"Ah?! The battle there is so fierce?" Sokov's words scared Yegor. He asked in a panic: "So can our troops block the enemy's attack?"
"It will be blocked, lieutenant." Sokov said confidently in order to help the soldiers establish their confidence in victory: "Although the enemy has the upper hand now, the final victory still belongs to us."
Yegor was half-believing and half-doubting about what Sokov said, but the other party was his superior, so he did not dare to refute it. He could only pretend to be very confident and nodded constantly.
Sokov guessed from the other party's expression that he did not completely believe what he said. He coughed gently and continued, "Comrade Lieutenant, think about it, why did the enemy's attack in the old city and Mamayevgang in the south of the city not only not strengthened, but became weaker and weaker?"
Sokov's words stopped Yegor. He thought about it for a long time but couldn't come up with an answer. He could only ask with a wry smile: "Comrade Commander, what is the reason?"
"Because we used the correct tactics in the early battles, and the soldiers fought bravely, which made the enemy hurt and scared. Therefore, the area we defended was a penalty area for them and was easily unwilling to get involved." Sokov smiled and said, "If we did not teach the Germans a lesson in the early stage, I think the tragic level of the battle here would not be worse than the factory area in the north of the city. Do you understand?"
"I understand, comrade of the division commander." After hearing Sokov's explanation, Yegor agreed happily: "I believe your words, the final victory of this war will definitely belong to us."
Under Yegor's leadership, Sokov's troops successfully passed through the defense zone of the Third Battalion. Although there were many commanders and fighters of the Third Battalion hidden in the ruins, they saw that they were leading the way, so they did not fire any shots and let the troops pass by.
After walking for more than an hour, the soldiers who were exploring the way forward came back to report to Yegor: "Comrade Commander, a small army appeared in front of him, as if it were ours. The squad leader had personally brought people over to contact him."
"Aren't we from camp?"
"Not like." The soldier of the newspaper shook his head and said, "This unit seems to be from Mamayevgang."
After waiting for a few minutes, Sokov saw several people walking towards him. He narrowed his eyes and tried to see who was coming with the help of the faint light. However, he heard Selyosha on the side say excitedly: "Misha, it is Major Tenev, the commander of the guard battalion. It seems that the Chief of Staff and they are worried about your safety and specially sent him to greet us."
Chapter completed!