Seeing Starcha call the regiment command and informing the frontier and second-tier positions that one-third of the commanders and fighters would be drawn into the position, Sokov felt that this matter still needed to be communicated with the troops on the left and right wings, otherwise when the Germans carried out a sneak attack, the fight here would be very fierce, and the troops next to him did not know what had happened.
As soon as Starcha finished calling, Sokov asked: "Comrade Lieutenant Colonel, can you speak directly with the division headquarters on this phone?"
"Yes." Starcha nodded and replied: "According to your order, all battalion-level command posts can directly contact the division headquarters."
After receiving Starcha's accurate reply, Sokov instructed him: "Immediately transfer to the division command. I have important things to explain to the Chief of Staff."
After the phone was connected, Sokov did not go around in circles and directly contacted the phone Cydolin, who was directly addressing the phone, said: "Comrade Chief of Staff, I am now on the front line of the 124th Regiment. We have just captured a German reconnaissance officer. According to his confession, I think the enemy may launch a sneak attack on our division's position. You now call Lieutenant Colonel Papuchinko of the 122nd Regiment and Lieutenant Colonel Yershakov of the 125th Regiment, and order them to draw one-third of the troops into combat posts to prevent possible attacks by the German army."
Sidolin was actually worried that the German army would not be willing to fail during the day and would send troops to carry out sneak attacks at night. At this moment, he heard Sokov's order and quickly replied: "Don't worry, comrade Commander, I will immediately notify the two regiment commanders to prepare for combat to prevent possible sneak attacks by the German army."
After pausing for a moment, Cidolin said to the microphone again: "Comrade Commander, I think the frontier is too dangerous. Your safety may be difficult to guarantee. Why not go back to the division command first?"
If there hadn't been any German scouts, Sokov might have returned to the division command immediately after inspecting the positions of the other two regiments. But at this moment, he felt that he could not leave. "Comrade Chief of Staff, I have ordered the commanders and fighters to enter the position. If I leave at this time, it would probably cause bad associations for everyone and affect the morale of the troops, so I decided to stay."
"Okay. Since you have made a decision, I respect your decision." Cidolin sighed secretly and said, "Comrade Commander, the frontier is too dangerous, you should be more careful."
…………
Time passed by minute by minute, but there was no movement in front of the position. When he thought of his soldiers lying in the trenches in the snow, Starcha seemed restless. He simply stood up and walked back and forth in the not-so-wide command post with his hands behind his back.
"Ltd Colonel Comrade," Sokov looked at him and said, "Although I have been sitting for a long time, I can get up and walk properly to restore blood circulation and make people sober. However, in such a narrow space, if you walk back and forth like this, it will affect others."
Starcha hurriedly returned to Sokov's side and said with a smile: "Comrade Commander, you see that our soldiers have been lying in the snow for more than two hours, and the enemy has not moved at all. I am worried that they will be frozen. Do you think they can withdraw and leave only some soldiers as a warning?"
Sokov understood Starcha's mood very well. He raised his hand and looked at his watch and said, "Comrade Lieutenant Colonel, I know that it is very hard for the soldiers to stay outside, but even if they want to retreat, they have to wait until three o'clock in the morning. If by then, there is no movement from the enemy, you can let them all retreat and rest."
"Comrade Battalion Commander," Sokov turned to ask a battalion commander: "Do you have flares in your camp?"
"No." The battalion commander looked at Starcha and shook his head and replied, "Our battalion has not yet been equipped."
"How can this be done, Lieutenant Colonel Starcha." Sokov said to Starcha with a stern face: "It's so dark outside. If the Germans really attack us, how can the soldiers staying in the trenches see the enemy clearly?"
"Chief of Staff," Starcha immediately realized his negligence as soon as he reminded Sokov, and quickly picked up the phone: "Send someone to send two boxes of flares to the frontline immediately, and it should be fast!"
After receiving the call, the chief of staff of the regiment did not dare to neglect, so he quickly ordered people to send flares to the battalion on the front. Although Starcha said he would give two boxes, he took his own initiative to deliver five boxes. The chief of staff did not expect that it was precisely because of his own initiative that the battalion used the flares' lighting to eliminate more enemies in the subsequent battle.
Before the flare was delivered, the third company commander who was on the position called and reported to the battalion commander who answered the call: "Comrade Battalion Commander, there seems to be movement in front of our company's position, but it's too dark and we can't see anything."
"Comrade Commander," the first battalion commander quickly covered the microphone with his hands and reported respectfully to Sokov: "The third company commander reported that there was movement in front of their positions, but because it was too dark, he could not see anything clearly."
"Comrade Battalion Commander, please pass it to him." Sokov said to the battalion commander: "We will send the flares immediately, let them pay attention to observe and not let the enemy get close to the position."
The battalion commander quickly moved his hand away from the microphone and said loudly: "Captain 3rd Company, continue to monitor closely, be careful not to let the enemy approach our position. I will send someone to send you flares."
Since there was a strange movement in front of the position, no one could sit down without any more. As soon as the battalion commander put down the phone, he instructed him: "Send someone to pick up the soldiers who send the flares immediately and transfer them to the frontline as soon as possible."
The matters that the regiment commander and battalion commander personally inquired were very efficient. In less than five minutes, a box of flares was sent to the third company's position. Seeing the flares coming, the third company commander quickly ordered the soldiers to fire one to illuminate the front of the position.
When the launched flares slowly fell from the air, they illuminated the open space in front of the position. The third company commander narrowed his eyes and observed carefully, and saw that there was quiet everywhere on the open snow-covered ground, and no moving objects could be seen.
When the flares went out, the soldier who fired the flares next to him said with relief: "Comrade Commander, it seems that we are too nervous. How could the Germans launch an attack in such cold weather?"
Although the third company commander had not noticed anything in his observation just now, he always had an ominous premonition in his heart, as if he was stared at by a group of wild beasts hiding in the dark, and he always felt his scalp numb, his heartbeat, and his vest was chilly. Thinking of this, he ordered the warrior: "Try two more flares."
"Comrade Commander," the soldier thought that he had not discovered anything just now. Even if he fired a flare, he would probably not get anything. It was so cold outside that it would be better to find a way to go back to the shelter to sleep early, so he reminded the third company commander: "Didn't you just saw it just now? There was nothing outside."
"Yes, I didn't see anything just now." The third company commander said to his warrior: "But I always feel uneasy in my heart. You can shoot two more flares and let me observe carefully."
Seeing that the third company commander was stubborn, the warrior was not good at saying anything, so he could only raise his gun and fire the signal flare. However, he did not fire two flares in a row, but after the first one was fired, the second one was fired in two or three seconds, which could extend the lighting time.
In the lighting of the flares, the third company commander carefully observed the minefields in the distance again, but still saw nothing unusual. "Is it because I am nervous?" While thinking this, he turned his eyes to the barbed wire mesh further away. At this time, he found something was wrong. Several barbed wire mesh had been cut open, which could accommodate several people in parallel. Just as he was about to observe it carefully, the flare was extinguished.
"Speed two more."
"Comrade Commander, we have all fired three flares, but nothing has been discovered."
"Don't talk nonsense, follow my orders and continue firing." The third company commander lowered his voice and rushed to the warrior, "I saw that the barbed wire in the distance seemed to have been cut a few gaps."
When the soldier heard the third company commander say this, he quickly adjusted the launch angle so that the flares launched could illuminate the terrain of the barbed wire mesh more clearly. As soon as the flares were launched, the soldier quickly opened his eyes wide and looked at the position where the barbed wire mesh was located. Sure enough, he saw several barbed wire mesh cut with notches.
The third company commander observed more carefully than him and found traces of crawling on the snow inside and outside the gap. Seeing this, the third company commander understood that there must be many German soldiers who had crawled in along the cut wire mesh. They should be wearing white camouflage clothes and lying in the snow, making it difficult for them to find their specific location.
This time, as soon as the flare was extinguished, the third company commander quickly called the battalion command post to report: "Comrade Battalion Commander, several gaps have been cut open on the barbed wire at the front of our company's position, and there are traces of crawling in the snow near the gap."
"Have you discovered the enemy's lurking position?" the battalion commander asked hurriedly.
"No." The third company commander replied: "They may be wearing white camouflage clothes, and even if we use flare lighting, it will be difficult to get their specific location."
"Major, immediately transfer the mortars in the battalion." After learning that the enemy had broken through the barbed wire and had already crawled in, Starcha immediately ordered the battalion commander: "Let them shoot at the places where the enemy might be lurking. I don't believe that the shells can't blow them out."
A few minutes later, four 82mm caliber mortars of the battalion's mortar platoon were set up in the trenches of the third company. The artillery platoon leader probed his head and looked out for the distance, and then reported a series of data to his subordinates. The gunners adjusted the shooting angle of the muzzle according to the parameters of the platoon leader, and began to load and shoot. The whistling shells shot out of the bore quickly at the position where the enemy might be hiding.
The shells fell into the snow and exploded. The pillars mixed with black soil and white snow powder soared into the sky. At the same time, black shadows flew away. They were the German soldiers lurking in the snow.
Seeing that the Soviet army discovered their lurking, the German soldiers would naturally not sit there and wait for death. They all got up from the snow, lined up in sparse formations, and rushed towards the Soviet army's positions.
"Prepare for battle!" The third company commander raised his pistol, shouted in great majesty, and then said to the warrior who fired the flares beside him: "When will I let you fire the flares? You can fire again."
The German soldiers who were sneaking into the Soviet army step by step, but the third company commander remained silent. He was about to put the enemy into the best range and fire. His calmness made the soldiers next to him anxious: "Comrade Commander, when will the flares be launched? The enemy is less than one hundred meters away from us."
"Don't worry, wait until the enemy gets closer before fighting." The third company commander said calmly: "They can't run fast in the snow, so we can put them closer."
But when the German army rushed to the position forty or fifty meters, the third company commander roared suddenly: "Fire!" and then took the lead in firing a shot at the enemy. The soldiers next to him did not dare to be negligent and quickly fired flares into the air so that the comrades who were staying in the trenches could clearly see where the enemy was.
As the flares took off, the German soldiers who were charging were exposed to the dazzling light, while the soldiers in the trench clearly saw the enemy's location. They pulled the trigger without hesitation. For a moment, gunfire sounded like bean-like gunshots, and countless weapons flashing with muzzle flames were shot desperately from the trench to knock down the German soldiers who rushed up in groups.
Sokov, who was in the command center, heard the sound of gunfire outside, immediately grabbed the assault rifle and said to Starcha and the first battalion commander: "The enemy is coming. You immediately give orders to the soldiers to let them all enter the position and prepare to repel the enemy's attack."
As the order was issued, the commanders and fighters who were still in the shelter and anti-aircraft shelter carried their weapons and ran into the trenches, entered their combat positions, and shot at the Germans exposed to the light of the flares, knocking them down one by one like shooting a target.
As the battle began, the positions on the left and right wings also called to ask what happened. Sokov said to Starcha: "Comrade Lieutenant Colonel, please tell the troops on the left and right wings that the enemy is attacking the frontier positions of your regiment, so that they can defend their positions and not meddle in other people's business."
"Comrade Commander," Starcha heard Sokov's voice out of the picture and asked tentatively: "If the German army concentrates its strength to launch a fierce attack on us, I am worried that with our existing strength, it will be difficult to block the enemy's attack."
"Don't worry, comrade Lieutenant Colonel." Sokov comforted him about Starcha's concern, "It's night now. When the enemy attacks, they don't get the support of artillery and tanks. It's probably not that easy for a group of infantry to rush in."
"But……"
Starcha wanted to defend something, but was interrupted by Sokov: "There is nothing, I know you want the troops on the left and right wings to support you to increase the chance of defending the position. But have you ever thought about how to identify the enemy and me when you let the troops on the left and right wings come in such a dark night? What should you do if your own people fight with your own people?"
After Sokov reminded him, Starcha found that this was really the case. If friendly forces were asked to come to reinforce, they would not be able to identify the enemy and us in such a dark environment. If they really fight with their own people, they would be a joke.