"What, your battalion is missing?" Chuvasov was shocked after hearing this: "When did this happen?"
Shamrih could only repeat what he just said again, and finally said: "According to my experience, they should have got lost in the process of crossing because they were not familiar with the road."
"Lost?!" Chuvasov scratched the back of his head and said with an embarrassed look on his face: "If we are really lost, it would be really troublesome. Where can we find it in such a large area and only one camp?
them?"
"There are nearly five hundred people in one battalion. We can't just disappear without explanation." Seeing Chuvashov's delay in expressing his position, Shamrih couldn't help but be a little anxious: "Comrade division commander, hurry up and send people to conduct a search nearby.
.I am worried that if it is delayed any longer, problems may arise.”
"Where's the radio?" Chuvasov suddenly remembered an important question: "Didn't you use the radio to contact them?"
"Our regiment's radio station has been calling, but we still can't get in touch." Shamrih said with a serious expression: "I guess the radio station may be damaged, so we can't get in touch."
"This matter is very serious. I need to report it to the army commander immediately." When Chuvashov picked up the phone, he suddenly remembered that his army had now been placed under the temporary command of Ponejelin, so he changed his mind and let the communication
The soldiers contacted the headquarters of the 41st Guards Division and prepared to report the matter to Ponijelin.
When Ponedelin received the call from Chuvashov, he couldn't help but be stunned. You know, it is normal for a battalion to be wiped out in a fierce battle. But now the missing troops are executed
But they are interspersed missions, so finding them is a top priority.
Thinking of this, he quickly asked: "General Chuvasov, I wonder what measures you have taken? Have you called them through the radio? Have you sent out troops to search?"
After hearing Ponedelin's series of questions, Chuvashov quickly replied: "Comrade Lieutenant Colonel, I have already asked Lieutenant Colonel Shamrih. He said that there has been no response to the radio call. It should be that the radio station of the 1st Battalion was damaged.
As for sending out personnel to search, I haven't done it yet. After all, the area where they disappeared is too large, and it is far from enough to rely solely on the troops I have."
"Comrade General, the disappearance of a battalion is not a trivial matter." Knowing that Chuvashov had not taken any effective measures to deal with the missing troops, Ponedelin couldn't help but feel a little angry: "You can send more reconnaissance teams to them.
Search the missing area and you may be able to get effective clues."
"But……"
"It's nothing!" Don't forget that Ponejelin only holds the rank of lieutenant colonel now, but after all, he has been a group army commander. At this time, the momentum of the former senior commander comes out: "
Send people to search immediately. If they cannot be found before dark, you will be punished."
Ponyjelin put down the phone and thought for a while, feeling that this matter should not be taken lightly. After all, the troops are fighting in unfamiliar areas. If a battalion goes missing without searching for its whereabouts, then it won't be long before several division commanders become
The polished commander.
After thinking about this clearly, Ponedelin called Sokov and reported the matter to him.
This news also surprised Sokov. He quickly asked: "Lieutenant Colonel Ponedelin, who is the commander of the missing battalion?"
Fortunately, Ponedelin specifically asked Chuvashov, so he could easily answer Sokov's question: "The battalion commander is Major Yakuda."
"Major Yakuda? It turns out it's him." As soon as he heard the familiar name, Sokov immediately contacted the scene where Shamrih led a group of sailors to fight the enemy with bayonets at Mamayev Heights, and Yakuda
Major happened to be one of them. Now there are not many sailors left in those days. Sokov couldn't bear to watch Yakov die too, so he ordered Ponedelin: "Send troops immediately until they disappear."
Search the places and be sure to find them. Do it.”
"Yes!" Ponejelin agreed, "I will pass on your order immediately."
Just after finishing the call with Ponijelin, the phone rang again.
Sokov grabbed the microphone, put it to his ear and said: "I am Sokov, where are you?"
"Hello, Comrade Commander." General Afnin's voice came from the receiver: "I have something important to report to you immediately."
"Is there anything important?" Sokov thought, Sokiriani, who was in charge of the strategy of the 18th Guards Army, had been captured without bloodshed. What else could be important? However, he still asked calmly:
"Comrade General, it's something important."
"Rumyantsev, the commander of the 4th Guards Airborne Division, reported to me," Afunin said on the phone: "He said that Lieutenant Colonel Pavel's 15th Regiment accidentally discovered two people while searching in the north of the city.
Friendly soldiers."
"Two friendly soldiers?" Sokov couldn't help but be stunned, and then asked: "Where did these two soldiers come from, and which army they belong to?" He thought there were deserters in the army, and his tone of voice was naturally a little heated.
.
"After cross-examination, Lieutenant Colonel Pavel learned that they were soldiers of the 1st Battalion of the 296th Regiment of the 98th Guards Division."
When Sokov heard this, he couldn't help but trembled. Then he raised his voice and asked: "Comrade General, what did you just say? Can you say it again?"
Afnin thought that Sokov really didn't hear clearly, so he repeated what he just said again, and finally said: "Comrade Commander, although I don't know where the 98th Guards Division is fighting. But according to those two
A soldier said that their battalion accidentally entered the German defense area and is now surrounded. If troops are not sent to rescue as soon as possible, there is a danger of the entire army being annihilated."
Through Afunin's narration, Sokov could already conclude that the missing Yakuda Battalion was near the defense area of the 4th Guards Airborne Division. He quickly said: "Comrade General, I just received information that the 98th Guards Airborne Division
One of our battalions disappeared while on a mission to penetrate from the south of the city. I have ordered them to send troops to search and find out what happened."
"But since the soldiers they sent for help have appeared near the area where you are operating, you might as well let them be your guides and lead a group to rescue the besieged friendly forces."
"Okay," Afnin said cheerfully: "It happens that Bavel's 15th Regiment is nearby, so I will send them to rescue them."
Sokov put down the phone and immediately checked to the north of Sokiriani to analyze whether the missing battalion was in the area mentioned by General Afnin.
"Comrade Commander," Smirnov came over and asked Sokov curiously: "Are you looking for the area where the missing troops may appear?"
"That's right, Comrade Chief of Staff." Sokov nodded and replied truthfully: "There is a German defensive position between the two cities. I am thinking whether they lost their way in the forest.
, and finally accidentally broke into the German defense zone?"
Smirnov stared at the position of Sokov's finger. After looking at it for a long time, he slowly nodded and said: "I think this possibility is very high. Now that General Afnin has dispatched the 15th Regiment, why not let Bo
Lieutenant Colonel Nejelin also took action and sent a regiment to search in this direction. If the missing battalion really encounters the Germans here, the reinforcements from the two regiments can still be of great use."
After Sokov agreed to Smirnov's suggestion, he picked up the phone, connected to Ponedelin's headquarters, and said straight to the point: "Lieutenant Colonel Ponedelin, I just received a call from General Afnin.
, he said that he found two soldiers to the north of Sokiriani. The soldiers told him that they were from the 1st Battalion of the 296th Regiment of the 98th Guards Division. Because the troops were exchanging fire with the dominant German army, they were ordered to come out for help.
.”
"What, north of Sokilyani?" Ponedelin quickly took a map, carefully checked the location Sokov said, and then replied: "Comrade Commander, the two cities are not far apart.
Twenty kilometers, but the forest covers an area of only one hundred square kilometers. An army unfamiliar with the terrain may indeed lose its way."
At this point, he paused intentionally, reorganized the words in his mind, and continued: "I will immediately notify General Chuvashov and ask him to send troops to search and advance in that direction. At the same time, I will also mobilize nearby
The 126th Regiment of the 41st Guards Division also headed to the area."
Sokov was very satisfied with Ponedelin's arrangement. After humming, he ordered: "Lieutenant Colonel Ponedelin, since you have made the right decision, then execute it."
When Chuvashov received the call from Ponedelin, he was studying the possible location of the first battalion with Shamrich. After he answered the phone, he found that it was very close to his own analysis, so he asked Shamrich
Said: "Lieutenant Colonel Shamrih, Division Commander Ponejelin just called to say that Comrade Commander analyzed that the missing battalion may have strayed into the German defense zone in the southwest of the city, and we need to send troops to rescue immediately."
Knowing that the first battalion might be trapped by the German army, Shamrich could not help but be anxious. After saying goodbye to Chuvashov, he hurriedly returned to the regiment, urgently gathered the troops and took them to rescue the trapped battalion.
Just as the Soviet army was mobilizing troops intensively, a battalion trapped in the German defense area was once again attacked by the German army. It may be that the Germans suffered a big loss last time when they fought with bayonets. This time they learned to be clever and first used
Artillery bombardment, and then the infantry, under the cover of machine guns, launched an attack on the area controlled by the first battalion.
Fortunately, Yakuda took precautions and ordered people to dig trenches urgently and barely established a defensive position. The enemy's shelling caused little casualties to them.
At this moment, seeing the German infantry rushing toward his position under the cover of machine gun fire, he smiled and said to the instructor: "Comrade instructor, fortunately, tanks cannot be used here, otherwise we will not be able to stop their attack at all."
"Yes, Comrade Battalion Commander." The instructor agreed with Yakuda's statement; "We do not carry anti-tank weapons, and there are not many grenades around the soldiers. If the Germans really dispatch tanks
, I really can’t think of any weapons that can be used to deal with it.”
"But even so, the situation is not optimistic." Yakuda frowned and said: "Our ammunition is almost out. If the enemy rushes over, we can only fight with them again with bayonets. I'm worried that once the Germans know that we have no ammunition,
, they will stop the attack and use artillery fire to bombard our positions. The troops will definitely suffer heavy losses by then."
"Comrade Battalion Commander, maybe all of us will die here today!" The instructor looked at Yakuda and asked solemnly: "Are you afraid?"
"Death is something that everyone is afraid of." Yakov looked at the approaching enemies and said seriously: "But in order to defeat the invaders, even if everyone sacrifices, it is completely worth it."
The German infantry quickly rushed to the position, but except for a few scattered shots fired by the soldiers in the trenches, most of the soldiers remained silent. It was not that they were frightened by the Germans rushing up, but because of the guns.
There are only a few bullets left in it and cannot be wasted easily.
The next moment, hand-to-hand combat began again.
This time, the Soviet commanders and fighters used rifles with bayonets. On the contrary, the MP40 submachine guns and 98K rifles without bayonets held by the Germans did not have an advantage in hand-to-hand combat.
Not having any advantage in weapons, and not being as good as the Soviets in stabbing skills, the Germans suffered much heavier casualties this time than last time. When they retreated, they left behind nearly 300 corpses.
Seeing the corpses of German soldiers lying scattered on the battlefield, Yakuda couldn't help but smile. He said to the instructor: "Instructor, you see that the Germans have dropped so many weapons again, and we can hold on for a while longer." Then, he
Give orders to the soldiers and seize the time to collect weapons that can still be used.
While the soldiers were collecting weapons, the instructor asked Yakuda in a low voice: "Comrade Battalion Commander, I have made a rough calculation and found that there are 219 people left in the battalion including the wounded. Among the 182 wounded, there are
33 severely wounded men who were unable to move. I am worried that if we are all killed, the Germans may turn against these wounded men?"
Yakuda has not considered the issues that the instructor is worried about. But there is no way. Now he has limited troops. Even if he wants to transfer them, he cannot allocate manpower. Moreover, even if he has enough manpower, he can use it to evacuate the wounded.
, but he was also unsure about which direction he should go in order to escape from the German encirclement.
When the German army launched another attack, they were still more than a hundred meters away from the position. Intensive gunfire rang out from the position, knocking down more than a dozen soldiers at the front, and the remaining soldiers hurriedly fell to the ground.
.
However, the German machine gunners quickly suppressed the Soviet firepower with intensive firepower. Seeing this, the German soldiers lying on the ground got up from the ground one after another, using short leaps to quickly approach the Soviet position.
.
At this time, a dense sound of gunfire came from the south. For a moment, Yakuda thought he had heard it wrong, and thought that the sound in front of the position was coming from the south. However, he soon discovered that the sound of gunfire was getting louder and louder.
It's getting clearer and louder.
"Battal Commander, look quickly." The instructor beside him suddenly shouted excitedly: "Reinforcements, our reinforcements are here!"
Yakov looked in the direction where the gunshots came from, and sure enough he saw hundreds of Soviet commanders and soldiers, holding weapons and shouting "Ula", rushing over from the side of the Germans. The Germans were still charging.
When the soldiers found the Soviet troops appearing from the side, some fell down on the spot, while others turned around and ran away. The scene suddenly fell into chaos.
