The war will break out at three o'clock in the morning on June 22, Eastern European time in the Soviet Union, and this time is getting closer and closer.
Moscow had determined that the German army would attack, but it was still unable to completely determine the time of the German attack a few hours before the war broke out.
The officers and soldiers of the 284th Infantry Division have no more illusions. All they have to do is wait quietly. The military column is moving towards Minsk, and troops are still heading to the border in a steady stream. The infantry division has replenished some heavy weapons, and even
There are a lot of mines.
"All of you, while digging trenches, must bury all our various mines in front of the positions before June 22." Division Commander Pugachev's order was absolute, and he believed very much in what Yang Mingzhi provided.
Prescient information.
However, most of the troops were not as dedicated as the 284th Division, and many troops were not ready for war.
"These new recruits have even just learned how to shoot. It is also because of this that the Soviet Union mobilized young people of appropriate age indiscriminately, which resulted in the death of all men in a generation." Yang Mingzhi could only complain to himself. No matter what, the mobilized soldiers were comrades-in-arms.
By the time the war began, he knew very well that a large number of soldiers would be killed and the entire infantry division would be severely depleted.
No matter so much, since the war is coming, let's enjoy the tranquility before the war until the evening of June 21, when Yang Mingzhi rushed to the division headquarters.
The staff officers were very optimistic about the war, and this sentiment was undoubtedly a kind of medicine for the division commander. Yang Mingzhi slammed the table angrily and said loudly: "Comrades, the war will break out tomorrow. A big city like Minsk will be the capital of the German army."
As the target of rounds of attacks, our positions are likely to be hit by air strikes as well."
Pugachev raised his head. During these days when he was stationed in the village of Badijinskaya, the possibility of war seemed to be only approaching as stated in various documents, but life here was still peaceful.
"Comrade Berekov, your superiors have not reported the date of the enemy's attack, so how can you insist that it is tomorrow?" the political commissar questioned.
Yang Mingzhi couldn't give a reason. He couldn't say that the war in the next four years would come to the city. I have no idea. At present, the division commander was the only one who was interested in what he said. The other people would regard him as a madman. Therefore, he only said that this was a
It's a guess, but the result won't be much different.
The atmosphere in the division headquarters was very delicate, ranging from pre-war tension to eagerness for the war to come.
Pugachev immediately ordered the soldiers to sleep peacefully. No matter what the situation will be tomorrow, if the Germans want to fight, then get up and fight.
That night, Yang Mingzhi pushed his wife up and insisted on setting up a tent outdoors.
"Brother, why are you doing this? It's so nice to live in the house."
Yang Mingzhi didn't listen to her complaints and pointed directly at the moon in the sky. "My dear, the war will break out in a few hours. This area will be the focus of enemy planes' attacks. I don't want us to be bombed to death in the room."
"
The tent was set up quickly, and there was a lot of snoring in the military camp. Yang Mingzhi's nerves were tense, and his wife in his arms had already fallen asleep.
The Soviet-German war was about to break out. Looking at his lovely wife, countless families were separated and destroyed because of this war, and I fell asleep thinking about him.
On June 22, time entered the early morning of Sunday. Students from various schools in the Soviet Union went home to spend the weekend, graduates began a new day of study, young people in Moscow walked to the Red Square, and people along the Black Sea coast began to gather at the seaside, Leningrad
It was still daytime, and the factories in Stalingrad continued to spit out black smoke.
At 3:45 in the morning, the first ray of sunshine shone in Moscow, and just 40 minutes ago, the Axis Army with a total number of 4.3 million invaded the Soviet Union, and the Great Patriotic War broke out.
The German Air Force was the first to cross the border. They attacked all the airfields they found. Most of the aircraft were directly destroyed on the ground, so that only a few aircraft of the Soviet Air Force could take off for combat. The Soviet pilots fought hard, but eventually had to make an emergency landing due to exhaustion of fuel. Some even choose to ram into enemy tanks and kill themselves.
Stuka dive bombers and Henschel bombers, under the cover of fighter jets, bombed Soviet big cities according to pre-war plans. In the skies above Minsk, Vilnius, Kiev, and Smolensk, enemy planes appeared in the sky unscrupulously. Drop bombs.
A violent explosion not far away broke up the early morning tranquility, and the assembly horn sounded in the military camp.
Yang Mingzhi woke up and the war had begun.
Pugachev ordered all junior officers to rush to the division headquarters, and soon a telegram from his superiors was sent. This was the order forwarded by Pavlov, commander of the Northwestern Front Army, to Stalin. "With immediate effect, the Germans have torn up the peace treaty, and the war has begun. , all troops meet the enemy and defeat the enemy."
Pugachev looked around, "Comrades, do you understand? War has broken out, and everyone is ready to fight."
Belekov's (Yang Mingzhi) prediction came true, and the political commissar and those who had ridiculed him before had nothing to say. They didn't care about anything else and rushed to their own defense zones to reorganize their armaments one by one.
Yang Mingzhi also arrived at his unit, and the special anti-tank battalion was assembled.
He held a draft plan in his hand, which was a tactical arrangement for the battalion in the blocking battle after the enemy broke through the first line of defense and came into contact with the 284th Infantry Division.
"Lavrenti, you lead the first company to help the 2nd Infantry Regiment. Yevgeny, you lead the second company to help the 3rd Infantry Regiment. And I am responsible for leading the 3rd company to guard the core of the defense line. Remember, your task is not to shoot the enemy infantry, only the tanks He is your prey."
Yang Mingzhi split his own team so that he could effectively destroy the enemy's leading tank troops. Many old men didn't know the scene of the enemy's armored group assault. They could only deal with them with heavy weapons. Now Yang Mingzhi knew that the entire infantry The safety of the teacher actually depends heavily on the RPG in hand.
After the war broke out, the soldiers responded very quickly and quickly entered their combat positions one by one.
They have laid all kinds of mines on time, but unfortunately not many have been issued by superiors, and the overall planting density is not good. Pugachev did not put all his defense hopes on new weapons. Combat anti-aircraft guns and 76 mm caliber infantry guns, They are all pretty good anti-tank weapons.
But his plan soon changed drastically, as the second round of German air raids began to focus on the Soviet assembly areas.
The battlefield of the 284th Infantry Division is just outside Minsk. The village of Badijinskaya here is an excellent landmark. After all, it is surrounded by a large amount of open land. The grains have just begun to germinate after the sowing season, and they will inevitably be Enemy tanks crush.
Now, the dive bomber group focuses on attacking the artillery regiment of the infantry division. The artillery regiment under Pugachev has some heavy-duty weapons, 152mm howitzers and 122mm howitzers. They are huge and have little camouflage. On this plain He became a direct target.
Countless aerial bombs fell, and the ground was shaking. Yang Mingzhi saw billowing black smoke coming from the direction of the artillery regiment, and the enemy planes were indeed focused on attacking there.
After the enemy plane finished its mission, it did not forget to return to the Soviet position to fire another burst of bullets. Yang Mingzhi ordered his troops to quickly move into the trenches, and no one of his troops was killed.
However, the 284th Infantry Division suffered heavy losses in this air attack, and more than half of the heavy artillery of the artillery regiment was lost. Many artillerymen died before they could figure out the situation. They piled up the shells laxly and even caused fatal explosions.
Pugachev's hair stood up in anxiety. "Order the troops to quickly check the casualties. Order the division's field hospital to do all they can to rescue the wounded."
This order also said to Yang Tao, "Husband, let me go, our comrades are bleeding."
But Yang Mingzhi didn't want her to leave, so he ordered as the battalion commander: "You are my woman, and you are the health worker directly under my battalion."
Yang Tao did what he said. The girl had left the division's field hospital establishment, and now her immediate boss was her husband. This was an order from the commander-in-chief and her husband. She must first check the casualties of the soldiers in her unit.
Yang Mingzhi was very pleased that only five of his own people were injured in the enemy air strike. One of them was hit in the arm by an enemy bullet. The bullet passed through the flesh and the bleeding had stopped. He saw his wife wrapping the soldier in gauze. She was very skilled.
Skilled, after all, this is your job.
However, the casualties of other troops were very bad. Although the war had begun, there were still several days before the enemy came into contact with the Minsk garrison. According to statistics, the 1st Artillery Regiment suffered the most serious losses due to the explosion of the ammunition depot. In the end, only three of the heavy artillery
The 152mm howitzer can be used. The Second Artillery Regiment suffered slightly lighter losses, but many artillery pieces were scrapped.
Artillery is the guarantee of the army's firepower, and now Pugachev is facing very high pressure. After the air raid, casualties exceeded 500 people. Many soldiers saw the enemy's planes swooping and attacking, accompanied by huge roars and heavy aerial bombs being dropped.
Then there was a violent explosion.
It was already the third day that the war broke out. Many people who did not die immediately in the air raid began to suffer from bad conditions. By the afternoon, many people had vomited blood and died.
"This is because the shock wave of the explosion injured the internal organs. At that time, many people did not appear to be injured on the surface, but their internal organs were actually failing." Yang Mingzhi explained to his wife, and also warned his own people that when lying down when encountering enemy shelling, they should try to stay in a push-up position.
Avoid the shock wave.
This is the experience summed up in the war, but now only a small number of Soviet troops have been on the battlefield. For the large number of recruits in the 284th Division, this is their first and last time on the battlefield. The tragic situation after the air raid is also the first time they have encountered it.
At this time, panic spread among the soldiers, and some even started talking about failure.
It is very important to stabilize the morale of the military. Political Commissar Batykin came up with wartime regulations. "Comrade division commander, according to the regulations, anyone who disrupts the morale of the military shall be shot on the spot!" Pugachev has not been so tough, but allowed the rumors to develop, and the recruits
The psychological defense line will collapse quickly, and the position will naturally collapse.
The two soldiers were found guilty of betrayal and were shot in public.
Pugachev told the troops decisively: "Comrades, we are the Soviet Red Army. We do not allow cowards in our ranks. Anyone who talks about defeat will still be shot according to regulations!"
Yang Mingzhi looked indifferent. He firmly believed that he and his wife would successfully survive the war years.
Naturally, he wanted to make a living in this troubled world, but he also knew that danger was everywhere. So Yang Mingzhi looked up at the sky and looked at the scorching sun. "God, since you sent me to this era, you will never