The battle in the east of the city lasted for more than two hours. Under the cover of tanks and artillery, the German infantry launched three consecutive charges towards the position of the third battalion, but they were all repelled by the commanders and fighters of the third battalion. Seeing the soldiers on offensive missions
The 1st, 2nd and 13th companies all suffered heavy casualties. Colonel Weber could only sigh and order the troops to withdraw and rest.
Seeing that the enemy had retreated, Andre breathed a sigh of relief, then picked up the phone on the table and reported to Sokov: "Comrade Brigadier, the German attack was repelled by us."
"If the Germans will attack again at any time, you must seize the time to repair the fortifications." Sokov said expressionlessly: "I have sent a tank company, hidden on your left flank. When the enemy attacks again, they will
We will launch an assault from the flanks of the German tanks. As long as the German tank troops are eliminated, it will not be that easy for the enemy to seize your battalion's position."
"Comrade Brigadier." After listening to Sokov's words, Andrei was silent for a moment and asked: "What if, I mean what if, if our battalion is unable to hold its position under the fierce attack of the German army, what should we do?
?”
"Alternate cover and withdraw into the city." Regarding Andre's question, Sokov already had the answer in his mind: "The political commissar has organized the residents and built fortifications in the city. After you retreat into the city, you must use these fortifications.
, break them into pieces and engage in street fighting with the enemy, consuming a large amount of their vitality."
"Fighting street fighting in the city?" Andrei originally thought that Sokov would order him to hold the outer position at all costs, but he did not expect that the other party would actually let him lead his troops to withdraw into the city when he could not support it. He asked with some concern: "
Comrade Brigadier, there are too many new soldiers in my battalion. If they keep holding on to the position outside the city, because there are veterans around them, they can still hide in the fortifications and shoot at the rushing German troops. But once they return to the familiar place,
If the city is divided into parts and fought, will there be a large number of deserters?"
"Captain Andre, you must strictly enforce military discipline." Hearing the possibility mentioned by Andre, Sokov said with a serious expression: "As long as a deserter is found, no matter what the reason, he will be shot on the spot. Do you understand?
?”
It was the first time that Andrei heard Sokov speak to him in such a stern tone, and he hurriedly replied: "I understand, comrade brigade commander, I will never show mercy to the coward who appears in the camp."
After listening to Andre's statement, Sokov slowed down and said: "Captain Andre, you should strengthen the political and ideological work in the battalion and tell every soldier that they are not only defending the motherland and Stalin, but also
Protect their homes and their loved ones. I think if they understand this truth, they can regain their courage to fight the Germans."
After Andrei's call ended, Sokov stared at the map and began to think about how to conduct street fighting. He planned to form combat teams into platoons and assign them to each building. As long as each team was given
The detachments are equipped with snipers, machine gunners and anti-tank fighters, who can cause great danger to the German army in the areas they defend.
Snipers can kill German commanders, machine gunners, and gunners from a distance; machine gunners can continue to fire at the assembled enemies, causing them heavy casualties; and the anti-tank man's task is to destroy the German tanks covering the infantry attack.
, enabling the machine gunner to inflict maximum damage on the enemy.
Belkin returned to the command post in the evening and reported to Sokov the progress of fortification construction in the city: "...at every street intersection, we have built barricades; sandbags have been piled up at the windows facing the street so that our soldiers can
Killing enemies on the street from a high position..."
After the report was over, Belkin sat down, took a sip of tea, and said with a worried look: "Comrade Brigadier, do we really want to fight street battles with the Germans?"
"That's right," Sokov waited for Belkin to finish, nodded, and replied: "Although our total strength now exceeds six thousand, our combat effectiveness has been greatly diluted. If we want to win outside the city,
It seems impossible to block the enemy, so we can only retreat to the city and engage in street fighting with the enemy?"
"What about the residents in the city?" Belgin suddenly raised his voice and asked: "Comrade Brigadier, have you ever thought about how many residents will die in the fighting once street fighting breaks out in the city? Ten thousand,
Belgin's words stopped Sokov. He remembered that in a document he had read, it was mentioned that before Stalingrad was in danger, Stalin issued an order prohibiting evacuation in order to prevent panic. As a result, tens of thousands of people were killed.
Thousands of civilians died in this world-shocking war. There are now more than 200,000 people in Kursk. If he really engages in street fighting with the enemy in the city, the number of civilian casualties will be staggering.
Seeing Sokov's silence, Belkin continued: "Comrade Brigade Commander, I have already considered it. In order to avoid hurting innocent citizens in the subsequent street fighting, I suggest that we evacuate immediately. We will give everyone
Distribute a week's worth of food to the residents and ask them to leave Kursk immediately and go to a safe place."
"Go to a safe place?" Sokov couldn't help but sneered when he heard what Bergin said, and then asked: "My comrade political commissar, have you forgotten that Kursk is a city deep behind enemy lines?
Let our residents retreat somewhere and hand them over to the Germans?"
Sokov's rebuttal left Belkin speechless. He only thought that in order to avoid unnecessary casualties among residents in street fighting, he should evacuate as soon as possible, but he ignored that the city was still behind the enemy's rear. Even if the residents
Even if they leave the city, they may not be out of danger, but it doesn't matter how they pass through the enemy's defense zone. Even if they encounter enemies on the road, they may be killed.
"Comrade Political Commissar, if we want to reduce the casualties of the residents in the city, we can only try to control the fighting on the outskirts of the city." Sokov looked at Belgin and said: "As long as we take all measures to keep the enemy outside the city, we can
The residents of the city escaped this catastrophe."
"Comrade Brigade Commander, your idea is correct." Belkin thought for a long time and finally said: "I think it is necessary to convene a meeting of all political workers and let them go deep into the combat units to encourage the commanders and soldiers to be brave.
We fought against the Germans and made meritorious deeds in defending the motherland. As long as we boost morale and unite the morale of the troops, the combat effectiveness of the troops can be improved, and we will be more confident in keeping the enemy out of the city."
