"Hopefully, the Germans will believe that I am the main force."
Balzen was relatively optimistic about the future. A messenger troop he sent out returned to the team at 7:30 in the evening. Not only did these two people come back, but Lavrenti even lined up a platoon of soldiers, bringing with them a large number of bread cubes and ammunition.
The arrival of reinforcements and supplies suddenly solved Balzen's urgent need.
With more manpower, Balzen immediately began to build a fire array. The Soviet army created a large number of bonfires, with the number exceeding 200, and the current strength of the Soviet army did not even reach 200 people.
In fact, if the German army sent scouts to observe closely at night, they would be able to detect the Soviet army's deception. Of course Balzen took this into consideration, so it was impossible for the Soviet army to have a good rest this night, and they had to be on guard.
German night reconnaissance.
The fact is very funny, the German army itself is also very tired. Soldiers of the Waffen SS also need to rest. Under traditional thinking, soldiers are also resistant to night fighting. In their perception, it is the Soviet guerrillas who like to do despicable things at night.
sneak attack.
The German armored vehicles and a large number of machine gunners organized a strong machine gun defense line to prevent the main Soviet army's night attack.
Under this mutual suspicion, in the cold and dark night of early morning, the battlefield was actually very peaceful!
In this quiet state of the reconnaissance camp, most of the soldiers got sufficient rest, and their physical strength recovered well after eating a lot of bread and potatoes.
Balzen just set up a large number of bonfires. He didn't want to really stick here, so when the sky started to light up slightly, he ordered all the soldiers to wake up immediately and retreat immediately after breakfast.
The soldiers rolled up their blankets and ate baked potatoes. They didn't even have more time to wash their faces. In the cool morning, they continued to move westward with their few weapons, leaving only two
A squad of soldiers carrying four machine guns continued to act as bait.
Balzen only moved two kilometers west before ordering the troops to rest, and then ordered the troops to build a temporary defense line.
"In this way, the enemy will definitely chase me." Balzen's wishful thinking is that the German army will launch an attack during the day, first attracted by the firepower of those two squads, and then continue to fight with his own large army. As long as the enemy keeps pursuing
Situation, today, the German army will enter the trap!
Therefore, he gathered the soldiers who were worried about the future and emphasized today's task. An easy-to-understand vernacular gave the soldiers a solid backbone.
Of course, the biggest trouble faced by Balzen was that the telegraph machine was broken. Laf even had no spare telegraph machines in the very bad situation. The only communication the troops had had suddenly returned to the state of World War I, that is, relying on messengers to transmit information at great risk.
.
For example, the Iron Cross that Hitler received was due to his meritorious service in delivering intelligence. Balzen estimated that once the Waffen SS was successfully annihilated, the communicators who relied on their feet to deliver intelligence by running wildly would also receive the Patriotic War Medal.
He received medals to encourage the messengers, and ordered several people to deliver the message to Lavrenti's troops in the southwest as quickly as possible.
The Soviet army moved quietly at dawn, while the German operation officially began at seven o'clock.
The German army is usually very strict and has strict control over time. Blücher looked at his watch. At seven o'clock, he waved his hand, and the Panzer IV he was driving took the lead in taking action. The commander was exaggerated to take the lead.
In the brave spirit of a Teutonic warrior, all the Panzer III tanks that could continue to move forward were followed by half-track armored vehicles and as many as 2,500 infantry.
Blücher's current total strength is 2,600 people. As for the police regiment composed of Belarusians assigned to him, it is currently used as a logistics force. He really looks down on this group of Eastern volunteers. Besides, these brave men
The presence of the Eastern Volunteers will only hinder the assault, and they will be responsible for helping the 634th Division defend Roev.
More than 2,000 men from the Waffen SS and the task battalion of the 634th Division, accompanied by a total of forty various armored vehicles, formed an attack surface with a width of 1,500 meters, facing the bright Soviet army last night.
Attack on the camp.
All German officers and soldiers were mentally prepared to fight a tough battle. They no longer regarded this operation as a suppression of bandits, but a bloody battle with the Soviet regular army. Everyone was mentally prepared to become a sudden soldier. Because of this
The morale and combat effectiveness of the German army were at their peak.
No one knows how well the Soviet camp was defended. The tanks were running and firing as they advanced, and the German 80mm mortars were more than a thousand meters away from the Soviet camp, firing round after round of shells.
The firepower of the German army was very fierce, but it could not scare the two squadrons of Soviet troops who were left behind.
"Brothers! Don't be afraid, we continue to fire and continue to attract them!" A squad leader roared at the top of his lungs. His soldiers were also pumped. Four MG34 machine guns shot out green machine guns, and a large number of bullets were fired.
The tank steel plates crackled.
Because the distance was relatively long, the effect of the Soviet attack was basically to scratch the tank armor and add some scratches.
Only a few German soldiers were shot, and it only took a few seconds for the other German soldiers accompanying the armored vehicle to line up behind the armored vehicle.
The Soviet machine guns also revealed their position when they fired, and Blücher personally ordered the gunners to aim at a target and fire.
The 75mm tank gun fired a high-explosive round, which cleanly blew up a Soviet machine gun position. Then came the overwhelming shells from German mortars. Almost instantly, a Soviet infantry squad was wiped out.
The surviving infantry squad also lost two soldiers, and the last seven men immediately began to retreat under the leadership of the squad leader.
They fought and retreated, with the Germans in hot pursuit.
Soon, Blücher's Panzer IV had entered the Soviet camp arrogantly. He opened the roof and looked at the Soviet soldiers running away, but did not order concentrated firepower to eliminate them.
He pressed the radio he hung on his collar and ordered to his subordinates: "The Soviet army has completely escaped from their camp, and we have defeated their remaining troops. I ordered each vehicle to stop destroying the last enemy, and we only chase them.
Fight with their main force!"
Although Blücher also believed that his own troops were not very strong, he was still able to defeat the Soviet army. It was clear that the German army had the absolute initiative. In this situation, any commander would not feel that he had a great advantage.
Woolen cloth?
Blücher did not stop at the Soviet camp, nor did he bother to get out of the car to check for any abnormalities in the Soviet camp. Instead, he ordered the entire army to continue the pursuit.
Soon, Blücher finally collided with Balzen's temporary defense line.
The German army was advancing toward them in a mighty manner, and the troops were already engaging in firefights with them. Thanks to the relatively strong firepower and the cover of the woods, Balzen forced Blücher to slow down his advance.
But Blücher was by no means afraid of war. According to the German war concept, it was acceptable to reduce the casualties of soldiers through large-scale ammunition output. He ordered tank guns and mortars to launch artillery suppression. Dozens of them
The machine gun was even more frantic, projecting ferocious barrages into the woods.
Balzen gritted his teeth and insisted that he could have left immediately, but it was not appropriate for him to evacuate until the signal troops returned, unless the enemy's tracks were all driven five hundred meters in front of him, or the battle continued until eight o'clock in the morning.