Chapter 675: Use enemy weapons to eliminate the enemy (Central)
Although Sidolin reported to Sokov that the artillery company led by Porochenko would arrive in two hours, Porochenko knew that the military situation was urgent and kept urging the artillery along the way to speed up the marching. It took only one hour and twenty minutes to arrive at Liumian Street.
Porochenko, brought by Guchakov, came to the room where Sokov was. Seeing the familiar figure in the room, he hurriedly stepped forward to salute: "Report to the division commander, Lieutenant Porochenko, the commander of the artillery company, was ordered to come, please instruct!"
"Hello, Lieutenant Porochenko." Sokov stood up and shook hands with Porochenko, and said with emotion: "The Chief of Staff said it would take you two hours to get to Liumeng Street. Who knew that it would be here so soon, your movements were quite quick."
Hearing Sokov's praise, Porochenko grinned and replied: "Comrade Commander, the soldiers of the artillery company have not performed combat missions for more than a month. Every day, just staying in the tunnel, seeing infantry comrades fighting against the enemy, I have been holding up a lot of energy in my stomach. Today I finally waited for the combat mission, so everyone wants to show it well."
Seeing the high morale of the artillery company, Sokov was very satisfied. He looked at Porochenko and asked, "Comrade Lieutenant, how many people are there in your company?"
“There are 74 people.”
When Sokov learned that there were less than a hundred artillery companies, he felt a little disappointed. He then asked, "Are they all old artillery soldiers with combat experience?"
Porochenko shook his head and replied, "Only one-third are old artillery soldiers with rich combat experience, and the rest are just replenished in the army."
Sokov did not expect that the artillery company that had been hidden by him would be so bad now. He smiled bitterly and shook his head, waved his hand at Porochenko and said, "Forget it, just be less veterans. Anyway, this time you are asking you to shoot at close range. Even if you are new recruits, the hit rate will not be low."
"Fire a gun at close range?" Porochenko was stunned for a moment when he heard Sokov say this, and then asked tentatively: "Comrade Commander, are you planning to use the "cannon bayonet" to deal with the enemy?"
"Yes, this time I still plan to use the tactic of "cannon bayonet" to deal with the enemy at close range. But the only difference is that we used to attack and the enemy defend, but this time it was replaced by us defending and the enemy attack." Sokov said this, shook his head at Porochenko and said, "Let's go, comrade Lieutenant, I will take you to meet those anti-tank guns."
Selyosha and Agranov had long deployed the seized thirteen anti-tank guns in five buildings according to Sokov's order. Depending on the geographical location, some buildings had three guns, while others had only two. Seeing Sokov coming, Selyosha and the others quickly came from their hiding place.
Selyosha reported to Sokov: "Comrade Commander, the anti-tank guns have been arranged in place, just waiting for the artillery."
"This is Lieutenant Porochenko, the commander of the artillery company." Sokov pointed at Porochenko and said to the two: "Seryosha is very familiar with him. This is the first time Captain Agranov has seen him. I will bring him here to familiarize himself with the environment first. Later, his artillery will enter the artillery positions."
When Sokov saw all the artillery and arranged it on the first floor of the building as he ordered, he turned his head and said to Porochenko: "Comrade Lieutenant, I think the best placement of anti-tank guns is to be in the basement, so that the enemy's direct aiming artillery fire cannot hit it."
"Comrade instructor, please forgive my presumptuousness." After hearing Sokov's words, Porochenko said with some amusement: "The basements of these buildings only have the air windows exposed on the ground, and if the artillery is placed in the basement, it will not be able to attack outdoor targets at all."
Seeing that Porochenko misunderstood his meaning, Sokov quickly explained: "Comrade Lieutenant, you don't understand what I mean. If time allows, I plan to set up a platform in the basement and place the anti-tank gun on it, and the muzzle can just stick out of the window. Because the gun is placed at a low position, the enemy tanks cannot be hit at all..."
Sokov's words made Porochenko's eyes lit up. He didn't expect that he could arrange artillery positions like this, and asked quickly: "Comrade Commander, then let's transfer the anti-tank gun to the basement now."
"Time does not allow." Sokov shook his head and rejected Porochenko's proposal: "It takes constant time to build a platform in the basement where anti-tank guns can be placed; and it takes time to transfer anti-tank guns to the basement. And the enemy cannot give us such a long time. I guess they will launch an attack again in more than ten minutes or even shorter."
While Sokov and Porochenko were talking, Agranov, who was standing aside, whispered to Selyosha: "Comrade Lieutenant, what's going on with the artillery company of the division? It seems that the Guards Division does not have this organization?"
"Captain, you don't know anything, please let me explain it slowly." Selyosha knew that Agranov had just arrived and did not know that it was normal to have such a unit, so he introduced to him: "As early as when we were still Istrian Battalion, there was an artillery platoon in the battalion, and the platoon leader was Porochenko. At that time, he was still a second lieutenant. Later, after being expanded into an infantry brigade, the artillery platoon also rose to the high ground and became an artillery company. Porochenko was promoted to the company commander, and his military rank was also promoted to the next level..."
Just as Agranov learned about the history of the artillery company in the division, Sokov and Porochenko's conversation came to an end. He finally asked: "Comrade Lieutenant, are there any problems?"
"Comrade Commander," said Porochenko with some embarrassment: "The artillery is deployed too scattered and difficult to command in combat."
"Comrade Lieutenant, I'm not to let you use volleyballs." Regarding Porochenko's question, Sokov replied: "Some anti-tank guns are used to deal with enemy tanks; some are used to deal with enemy infantry. In each building, you can assign experienced gunners to decide when to fire at the enemy."
This chapter is not over, please click on the next page to continue reading! "I understand, comrade of the division commander." Porochenko immediately expressed his opinion as soon as Sokov finished speaking, "I will go back and arrange personnel immediately and enter various artillery positions."
After Porochenko left, Sokov saw Seriosha and Agranov in front of him and said to the two with a serious expression: "Whether we can defend the Six-sided Street, the role of these anti-tank guns is crucial. Therefore, you must send effective personnel to protect the safety of these anti-tank guns."
"Don't worry, comrade of the division commander." As soon as Sokov finished speaking, Agranov replied: "I have arranged thirty soldiers in every building where anti-tank guns are installed. I believe they will surely ensure the safety of these guns."
"The situation here is similar," Selyosha followed, "I set off twenty soldiers in the two buildings where anti-tank guns were arranged." He was very afraid that Sokov blamed him for the small number of troops he arranged, and he emphasized specifically, "Comrade Commander, you also know the number of people in our company, which is already the limit I can arrange."
"The enemy may be attacking soon." Sokov raised his hand and looked at his watch, saying to the two: "You all go back to their respective troops to prepare. I will stay in my own command center. If you have any, remember to call me."
"Yes!" the two company commanders replied neatly.
...
A quarter of an hour later, the enemy's attack began.
The two assault guns were opened in front. After driving for a distance, they stopped and fired at the window of the room where the Soviet army might be hidden. After a loud bang, countless bricks and stone rubble fell from the air like rain.
After more than a dozen guns, the assault guns were bombarded, and saw that there was no movement in Liumian Street, and then slowly drove forward. The German infantry bent over and followed closely in a scattered formation.
In the building where Porochenko is located, there are three anti-tank guns, all of which are prepared to fire armor-piercing shells, specifically used to deal with German tanks or assault guns. Now seeing two assault guns heading towards him, he quickly issued an order to the artillery next to him: "The enemy's assault guns are coming, prepare for shooting immediately!"
After a while, the three gunmen commanders reported in turn: "Company Commander, the No. 1 gun is ready!" "No. 2 gun is ready!" "No. 3 gun is ready!"
Porochenko measured the distance between the two assault guns, and then ordered again: "No. 1, No. 2 to deal with the assault guns in front, No. 3 to deal with the assault guns in the back!" Although the moving targets in the rear were not easy to hit, he still only deployed an anti-tank gun to shoot, and used the main force to deal with the assault guns in front.
With the order from Porochenko, three anti-tank guns opened fire at the same time. After the gun sounded, the shells did not hit the target, but landed next to the assault gun and exploded, and three mud pillars rose into the sky.
Seeing that the first round of shooting failed to hit the target, Porochenko couldn't help but feel anxious, but when he gave the order, he remained calm: "Reload and shoot again!"
In the second round of shooting, an armor-piercing bomb hit the first assault gun. When he saw a ball of fire rising from the front of the assault gun, Porochenko waved his arm excitedly and said loudly: "Recharge, continue shooting!"
Since an assault gun had been destroyed, then the next shot, three anti-tank guns aimed at the assault gun behind at the same time. Two of the three shells hit the target accurately. The assault gun that was caught traveled forward for more than ten meters, then stopped on the side of the road and burned wildly.
The German soldiers following behind the assault guns saw that the assault gun was destroyed by artillery fire, and hurriedly fired machine guns and retreated in a hurry. Although the machine gunners in the building fired in time, they only knocked down more than a dozen soldiers, and the rest fled back alive.
"Good, brothers!" Seeing that two assault guns were destroyed and the enemy who attacked the assault guns also fled, Porochenko waved his fists excitedly and said to his subordinates: "No matter how many tanks the Germans come, we can destroy them completely."
The results achieved by Porochenko and others soon reached Sokov's ears. He called Porochenko specifically and said with a smile: "Lieutenant Porochenko, you are doing well. When you return to Mamayev hill, I will order to reward your artillery company."
Porochenko was happy to hear that his troops would receive the award, but he still had one thing to worry about, so he took advantage of Sokov's happiness and asked carefully: "Comrade Commander, I have a request."
"Comrade Lieutenant," Sokov said instinctively when he heard Porochenko say this, "if you have any request, just say that as long as I can do it, I will satisfy your wish."
"That's right, comrade of the division commander." Porochenko said a little embarrassedly: "Although we are an artillery company, we have not had a chance to participate in the battle for a long time since all the artillery was lost. See if we can bring all these anti-tank guns back to Mamayev. At least when the German army launches tank attacks again in the future, we can destroy them condescendingly."
Porochenko's request made Sokov a little moved because there were no long-range anti-tank weapons on the Mamayev's shore, so he could only watch the enemy's tanks show their power at the foot of the mountain. If all these anti-tank guns are really brought back, if the enemy's tanks come again, they can be smashed into scrap iron after far away.
Just as Sokov was about to agree to Porochenko's request, he suddenly remembered an important thing: "Comrade Lieutenant, from Liumeng Street to Mamayev Hill, the distance is not close. How do you plan to get these anti-tank guns back without traction vehicles?"
Sokov's words stopped Porochenko. He only thought of asking Sokov to agree to his request and bring these anti-tank guns back to the Mamayev club, but forgot that under the current circumstances, he could not find any towing vehicles. Moreover, on the way he came, he had seen that the road was very bad. Even if he used people to push, it would be impossible to get these dozen anti-tank guns back to the Mamayev club in less than a day or two.
Although Porochenko did not speak again, Sokov had guessed the loss in his heart from his silence, and quickly comforted him and said, "Comrade Lieutenant, although we have no chance to bring anti-tank guns back to Mamayev this time, but if the enemy's artillery is seized in the future, I will definitely order someone to find a way to get them back and arm you again."
After hearing Sokov's words, Porochenko's mood improved again: "Comrade Commander, even if this batch of anti-tank guns cannot be transported back to Mamayev, it is very rewarding for us. Our new recruits were trained in the battle and gained valuable combat experience. When we have new artillery in the future, I think they will definitely play a great role."
Seeing that Porochenko had figured it out, Sokov felt much more at ease. He said to the microphone: "Comrade Lieutenant, although you have just destroyed two enemy assault guns, you can't be proud. The next battle will be very cruel. You and your subordinates must be mentally prepared."