The arrival of the gunboat once gave the German defenders at Chernobyl more confidence. At that time, the Germans clearly realized that there was a powerful guerrilla force in the swamps to the north. Later, everything became clear.
This guerrilla group is indeed powerful. They even broadcast to all directions day and night, claiming that they are called the "Guerrilla Republic".
The senior officers of the occupying army looked down upon the so-called guerrilla republic, while the rank-and-file soldiers and non-commissioned officers took it very seriously.
There is no other reason. Those who clean up the guerrillas are all grassroots soldiers. They know that if they relax, they are likely to be killed or captured during a patrol. They are also the most aware of the barbaric methods of the guerrillas, especially in the swamps.
Those "lunatics" were even capable of fighting a regular infantry division, but the results were astonishing that they could still win.
I am afraid that only by dispatching several regular divisions and tens of thousands of troops can the swamp be cleared.
But in May, the crusade against the guerrilla republic was definitely asking for trouble. Especially for the defenders of Chenoby, not only did they have to face increasing pressure from city defense, but even gunboat patrols became a dangerous gamble.
The two gunboats have long faced a situation where the Dnieper River freezes in winter and ships cannot move, and the river bed upstream is very shallow, with the water depth in most sections of the river less than two meters. Besides, the captured gunboats are very powerful and small in tonnage.
This typical Russian weapon requires sufficient draft!
For a long time, the German defenders at Chernobyl had no intention of driving gunboats to the upper reaches for reconnaissance! They were not worried that the gunboats would be sunk, and were more interested in going to fight the Soviets on the river. What they feared most was
The gunboat entered the shallow water by mistake. You must know that the possibility of this situation is not small, and once it runs aground, it will be difficult to escape!
Fortunately, after the spring floods came in full force, especially the two consecutive days of rain in May, the river water surged, allowing gunboats to patrol.
So, in the panic of everyone, a puff of smoke appeared from the sharp bend of the river, and then the phantom of the gunboat appeared.
Tepunov was still commanding from the shore at this moment, and their paratroopers were very close to the gunboat.
He was shocked and shouted: "What's going on! This is our gunboat!"
"Bah! It belongs to the Germans now!" Political Commissar Zalaski said regretfully, and then handed the binoculars to the brigade commander. "Look at the flag flying on the gunboat, that is the German flag!"
Tepunov took a closer look: "Yes! This is the German flag! There is also a flag, yellow and blue! This should be the flag of Ukraine! It is the Ukrainian puppet army!"
"Brigadier! Give the order now! We may have to sink it!"
Tepunov looked solemn: "No! We still have to wait for the commander's order. Unless the enemy takes the initiative to fire on us, we will keep observing! Pass my order to put the entire brigade on alert and order all rafts to cross the river quickly!"
…
On the other hand, this gunboat was manned by a German squadron with only ten people. After the Germans captured the gunboat, they carried out some modifications. The four water-cooled Maxim M1908s were left intact, and the Germans fired two MG34s.
The frame is welded to the hull. In this way, their general-purpose machine gun can be carried around with them, or it can be fixed and installed as heavy firepower. Therefore, the firepower of this gunboat has been increased.
This gunboat is powered by a gasoline engine with up to 1,800 horsepower, and its speed can reach 20 knots. Since the captain is still worried about touching debris on the river bottom, and they are responsible for patrolling, the speed is kept at a slow six.
section. In this squad, Zmelman, the squad leader and captain of the boat, had a very subtle attitude towards this patrol. He was not worried that he would encounter the enemy, because since he arrived in Ukraine, he had only seen Russian prisoners of war.
This strong self-confidence makes them dare to move forward.
The gunboat has powerful firepower, and the enemy will only look at it from afar if they see it. Therefore, he needs to use some means to attract potential enemies to the river, and then use the weapons on the boat to kill everyone, and maybe also give himself and his subordinates
Brothers, all won an Iron Cross Second Class.
Therefore, he ordered the whistle to be blown, firstly to attract the enemy, and secondly to see what kind of rare birds could fly out of the reeds.
Such a mentality was true. When the gunboat passed a corner, the sight in front of it shocked the entire gunboat.
The leisurely captain Zmailman was so frightened that he broke out in a cold sweat. He climbed up to the small observation tower above the cab like a wind and held up his binoculars to observe the large number of people on the water. He wiped his eyes in panic.
Make sure you read it correctly.
Then, he stuck his head and shouted to the people on the deck: "It's the Russians! We have found the Russian guerrillas! They are the idiots of the guerrilla republic! Brothers, prepare to fight! Prepare to fight! Fools, all are
Stop smoking, the machine gunner is ready to shoot!"
Zmailman instinctively realized that he had simply picked up a huge advantage! The enemy was clearly crossing the river on a large scale. What did they want to do? Could it be that they were going to conduct a military attack across the river?!
Zmailman ordered this, but his soldiers were quite worried.
The soldier holding a Maxim at the bow of the ship asked nervously: "Squad leader! We really want to shoot at them! There are too many of them! Now that we have discovered the enemy, shouldn't we report it to our superiors?"
"Bah! Our gunboats don't have radios at all! Schneider! Do you have a telegraph machine? Can you send a telegraph?"
"But squad leader! Once we open fire, they will fight back. I'm worried..."
"Shut up!" Zmailman yelled: "Are you new recruits cowards? The time has come to serve the Third Reich! Let's fire to kill some enemies first, and then turn around and evacuate at full speed! In this way, you young people will
You can get a medal!"
The desire to win the honor instantly overcame worries, especially for these new recruits, who joined the army on the Eastern Front just to gain the glory of Germany.
The machine gunner stopped talking nonsense.
Following Zmailman's order, the gunboat opened fire!
The 76mm cannon and three machine guns on the bow opened fire at the same time. At this moment, the gunboat was fully one kilometer away from Missi Ferry. Shooting from this position was still deadly.
The machine gun fired a large number of bullets, hitting the raft crossing the river. The shells exploded directly in the raft, causing violent splashes. However, the distance was too far, and the German firepower was fierce. The results were limited, but it completely disrupted the Soviet army's crossing of the river.
Rhythm!
The sudden attack greatly surprised Yang Mingzhi who was crossing the river. From his perspective, this damn gunboat simply opened fire as soon as it appeared!
The enemy's shooting was not accurate, and the person who was shot was really unlucky! All casualties came from the paratroopers, who were closest to the enemy after all. Some of them were shot and fell into the water, while others were hit by a large amount of water splashed by the shock wave of the shell explosion.
He was forced into the river.
Paratroopers are not supermen. Although they have outstanding breath-holding abilities and can swim, they fell into a river with a depth of only more than two meters, but the river mud turned into a disaster! They held their breath and pulled out their knives to try to cut off the heavy materials on their bodies, but
They all fell into the deep mud of the river. Those who fell into the river never came out again.
The enemy opened fire, and the paratroopers floating on the water immediately took off their weapons and fired at the gunboat. The people on the shore waiting to cross the river were not idle either. Under the command of brigade commander Tepunov, they immediately began to set up mortars!
This gunboat really became more and more courageous as the war progressed. Captain Zmailman was only thinking about killing the enemy and making meritorious service. Seeing the casualties among the Russians, he frantically ordered the helmsman to speed up and attack the enemy.
The gunboat began to accelerate, and its thin armor was immune to most of the Russian bullets. Some parts of the gunboat were hit, leaving bullet holes. The Russian counterattack also made the German machine gunners increasingly nervous!
Especially the one at the bow of the ship. He had no machine gun shield at all, so he could only continue to fire cautiously. He even opened his mouth and roared. After all, the 76mm main gun was right behind it. The rate of fire of this artillery was not satisfactory. Damn it.
The muzzle blast and violent sound waves! He could only avoid being injured by the shock to his head by continuing to roar and keeping the pressure on the seven orifices constant.