"You! You should be a child! Wait!" Kovpak turned his head suddenly and asked Rudnev beside him: "You are a propaganda person. Have your superiors promoted a child who has won the title of Hero of the Soviet Union?"
"Yes!" Rudnev said decisively: "To be specific, there are two. This girl is wearing the Gold Star Medal. Please wait a moment."
Rudnev's notebook recorded all the telegrams sent by the guerrilla movement headquarters. He vaguely remembered receiving the fact that the highest medal was awarded to a young guerrilla. After a simple search, he successfully found the information about Na
Tasha's record.
"Ah! Girl, are you Natasha? We received a telegram from our superiors and heard that you are a very good sniper."
After all, she is a Belarusian and a child under the age of seventeen. She has always longed to be recognized by more comrades.
Natasha saluted again, acknowledging all this. However, Commander Yang Mingzhi's instructions quickly came to mind, and she suddenly became humble: "My honor is nothing. As long as I can drive away the *** for my motherland, I will
I will continue to fight on the front line!"
Balzenko made no secret of his pride. He patted Natasha briefly and introduced: "She alone is worth an infantry battalion. Her bullets can easily kill an enemy a thousand meters away. She can destroy the enemy alone."
Pass the German tanks. So you don’t have to worry too much about that open area, our Natasha will use precise bullets to eliminate the enemy’s fire points.”
"I hope so. I don't want her thin shoulders to bear too much pressure. Besides, I think she is already very tired."
"I will be patient." Natasha responded decisively: "A real sniper, a real hero of the Soviet Union, will not be intimidated by this difficulty."
"No! My child, you'd better rest a little first and leave the fighting to us adults as much as possible."
After all, Kovpak was fifty years old. It was really sad to live to such an age and fall into a tragic world war. Specifically, during the First World War, he was as young as Natasha and was imprisoned.
In the turbulent youth, if you think about it, being alive is a kind of happiness.
Natasha is only sixteen years old. No matter what kind of fighting genius she is, Kovpak understands from his experience that children of this age are the most impulsive. If a young hero is injured, it will be difficult for him to express his gratitude to Ponomarenko.
Make a deal!
The entire regiment took action, and the three main brigades, relying on the cover of the forest, gradually headed towards the edge of the forest.
The Corps' reconnaissance team has been observing for a long time. They noticed that the German troops operating outside the city did not strengthen their defenses. Many people were just wandering around with guns on their backs. From time to time, a carriage passed by, which was loaded with a large amount of suspicious goods.
Apart from that, there is nothing else suspicious.
"For several hours, no enemy has tried to walk into the forest where you are ambushing?"
"No, really not. I don't think the German army has the slightest defense against our arrival."
"Haha! It seems we have the upper hand. What do you think? Comrade Balzen!"
The conversation took place deep in the woods, and Kovpak used his location as a frontline command post.
Balzen had no doubts about the reconnaissance of his colleague Versigola. Based on the battle in early May, the German troops entrenched in Mozyr were a new group of idiots. It was precisely because of their stupidity that they had to serve as a garrison in the occupied area.
This kind of low-quality troops are ruthless in killing civilians. Once a war breaks out, their combat effectiveness is quite poor.
"I recognize Comrade Versigola's reconnaissance, but I also have to reach the edge of the forest. I am not going to confirm the reconnaissance results with my own eyes, but as an observer to ensure that the rockets can hit the target. At the same time, you should also
We organized the offensive troops and launched an attack under the cover of rocket launchers. Although this is very risky, if we want to hit the bridge with very few casualties, this is the only way we can do it."
Kovpak nodded: "I tried my best to avoid fighting the enemy head-on. Now I have no better choice, so I'll just act like this. I will use the first brigade as the first echelon."
The dawn illuminated the forest, and the world fell into mist, with visibility reaching one thousand meters. Before the fog dissipated in the morning, six thousand Soviet troops arrived at their respective positions.
For the ordinary soldiers of the Kovpak Corps, they will launch the Ula Charge for the first time like a regular army.
After Rudnev's desperate propaganda, the two thousand soldiers who were responsible for the first attack echelon and the most powerful first brigade were greatly inspired. They wiped the spurs of their guns and checked the bolts of their guns every time.
Every bullet was wiped clean. They took the time to eat dry food and wait for the order to attack.
They also learned that the first round of attacks would be launched by rocket launchers. Isn't this the regular army model for fighting?
Not only the offensive troops are waiting to see, but also the various rocket launcher teams that have calculated the ammunition and launch tube direction and elevation angles are eager to get permission to fire.
With a ball of grass on his head, Balzen looked at the blurry city with his binoculars, "Compared to just now, the visibility is a little lower."
Versigola, an old Cossack with a beard who did not have a close relationship with him, suddenly said: "The fog will begin to dissipate after a while."
"No problem, wait until 7:30, and the rocket launchers will take the lead in attacking. By then, the weapons near the city will be blown away by the blast!"
"Well, I hope so."
"It must be so!" Balzen smiled again, "Although we are scouts, once a war breaks out, I will take the lead in the charge. Since your people are all Cossacks, I hope..."
"Don't worry, we are very brave."
Balzen didn't waste any more nonsense and arrived as scheduled at 7:30. Through the radio, he sent a firing order to the rocket launcher in the rear.
As in previous battles, the significance of the first round lies in the distance test. The firing angle and direction have been calculated, but these calculations are based on the map as a reference, and a test firing is required for specific details.
The rocket launcher team fired one skillfully. The rocket carried a long tail of white smoke and flew towards Mozyr with a sharp whistling sound.
Everything was so sudden, everything came without any warning.
The drowsy German Army Commander Gunter, who had been staring wide-eyed all night, was finally going to have a nervous breakdown. "They should be able to get the following surprises in the morning, so I don't need to keep insisting. I can't stand it anymore and I have to take a nap."
Sleep."
As soon as Hang Te went to bed, he was startled awake by violent explosions and strong vibrations.
Thousands of soldiers from the Kovpak Corps who were watching the battle witnessed a horrifying scene. A weapon holding white smoke fell unbiasedly into the urban area. The sound of the explosion was very alarming, and the rising black smoke was even more terrifying.
.
The explosion caused a strong air wave and heat energy also acted on a large area.
Balzen smiled with satisfaction: "Your arsenal is really a crouching tiger, hidden dragon, and there is actually a group of mathematicians. Your calculations are so correct!"
After he muttered, he turned his head and saw Versigola's shocked old face.
"Hey! Brother Cossack, are you scared?"
"Yes... yes, it's really shocking."
"The shock is yet to come. I immediately ordered the troops to shoot out all the remaining 21 rounds of ammunition. Please keep your ears open to welcome the warm air wave!"
Balzen issued an order for full fire, and all the launchers were busy. These Monkey Catfish rockets, which saved metal materials and made the shell thinner, actually had their flight performance weakened and their range unfortunately reduced. In order to make up for this,
To deal with the deficiencies, the arsenal loaded more high explosives.
Its fragmentation damage relies almost entirely on the bag of broken shell casings stuffed into the projectile body. Its main damage lies in the instantaneous blasting power of more than ten kilograms of explosives, making the rocket a complete high-explosive bomb!
To deal with reinforced concrete urban buildings, only high-explosive bombs with large charges can bring huge damage.
A large-scale bombardment began. A large number of rockets dragging white smoke whizzed past the heads of the Soviet soldiers. All the missiles had only one target - the southern city of Mozyr.
The area south of the city is the command post of the 100th Army and the 74th Division. The empty houses in the city have become dormitories for soldiers. The bombing came very suddenly, and many soldiers and even "civilians" who migrated from the west to serve the German army
, they became the main victims in this round of bombing.
The rockets hit the city one after another at a nearly vertical angle, and they concentrated in an area with a radius of about one kilometer. The explosion caused significant damage to the city buildings on the spot, and the air waves swept across the streets. Many German soldiers simply
It was blown away and fell heavily to the ground.
Because the streets in the city were generally narrow, and a large number of German officers and soldiers left their residences, they continued to take care of thousands of horses on the other side of the river. The rocket only caused more than a hundred casualties at first, but the secondary damage it caused
, but it brought a series of troubles to the German army.
The horse is frightened!
These animals have been trained to endure the sound of bullets. They work dutifully for the German army. Maybe they also know that they are participating in human war.
After all, horses are still livestock, and the loud explosion noise stimulates their escape instinct. If a horse is frightened, a few soldiers can subdue it, but thousands of war horses fall into a frenzy. They knock open the stables, break the reins, and even
Knocked down many soldiers who were trying to subdue them.
German officers and soldiers with a little common sense did not dare to rashly stop the agitation of thousands of war horses. Just a few decades ago, the cavalry used lances to attack places. The powerful momentum could easily kill people.
So on the north bank of the Pripet River, the German defenders and horses were in chaos.
People are people after all, and a battalion commander yelled at his panicked men: "Idiots, leave those horses alone. Now the Russians are hitting us with rocket launchers, and they will attack soon!"
It turned out that in early May, Yang Mingzhi personally led a team to Leopovka, a small town along the railway west of Mozyr. During this period, in order to prevent German reinforcements from the direction of Mozyr, he ordered his men to release rockets against the city.
For a moment, it was history repeating itself! The battalion commander did not dare to show any signs of neglect. He did not receive any orders from his superiors and led his men without authorization, running towards the bridge with the weapons in hand.
At the same time, the violent bombing brought extremely violent vibrations, causing the headquarters of the 100th Army to collapse directly. Specifically, the first floor and above were collapsed, but Army Commander Hangte was in a good position and he withstood the splash.
Several of his staff officers were only slightly injured in the gravel attack.
Hangte slowly climbed up from the dust, feeling sleepy after being exposed like this.
"Gentlemen! Are we? Are we being attacked?"
"It should be." A staff officer with his face covered in blood stumbled over, "Sir, your ears are bleeding."
Hangte immediately took off his gloves and dug his right ear hole with his index finger. He felt that the fingertips were wet. He looked carefully at his fingers and saw that they were all covered in blood.
"Oops, maybe the eardrum is perforated. No wonder I feel in a trance and a little dizzy."
Before Hang Te was fully awake, several soldiers carrying rifles got into the collapsed headquarters.
"Sir! Our division commander asked us to pick you up and evacuate."
"What? Your division commander is Borisman?"
"Yes sir, the Russians are attacking. Their troops are very large and we must retreat tactically."
"Oh! My God, this is terrible news. Let's get out of this damn place."
Hangte still didn't understand the situation. When he went out, his ears were filled with gunshots and explosions, and his ears were already ringing. He just wanted to get out of this damn place, and besides, he only had two security guards at the moment.
It's just a battalion. He currently doesn't know the situation of the 74th Division's headquarters. Since Borisman sent people to support his retreat, the 74th Division must have completely chosen a tactical retreat.
The southern city of Mozyr might be able to be guarded. The buildings here are relatively dense, and the fighting turning into street fighting might be beneficial to the Germans. Gunte didn't think so much, because his ear was injured, and he gradually fell into unbearable pain.
In such a predicament, seeing that the deputy commander was still alive, he temporarily handed over the command of the guard battalion.
The entire city had just experienced an earthquake with a magnitude of six, all caused by rockets.
Thick black smoke rose up in the city, because the explosion had reached the soldiers' dormitories, and a large amount of combustible materials were burning. The air waves caused by the powerful explosion energy completely dispersed the fog with a radius of two kilometers, and the tragic clues of the city were revealed to those observed from a distance.
The Soviet army had a panoramic view.
Kovpak's sharp blade, the reconnaissance battalion directly under the corps, battalion commander Versigora, excitedly burst out with an astonishing roar along with the explosion.
The exaggerated behavior of this bearded old Cossack surprised Balzen, as if the explosion not far away was not as interesting as this old guy's excitement.
"How about it? Comrade Cossacks, you have seen it, this is the strength of our guerrilla republic."
"Yes! I saw it. It was as if the city was bombarded by a cluster of heavy artillery! Should we...should we launch an assault?"
"This... I should ask Comrade Kovpak for his opinion."
It can be said that the officers and soldiers of the Kovpak Corps are indeed a bit unfamiliar with the world. Their past battles were not very intense. Like regular army battles, the officers and soldiers accumulated a lot of courage, and when they saw the spectacular bombing scene, they were all stunned.
Time forgot everything, and a pair of eyes stared at the horrific scene that happened not far away.
Kraft Parker was attracted by the rising clouds of black smoke and could not calm down for a long time. When Balzen himself approached, he was still excited.
He put his hands on Balzen's shoulders and shook them wildly: "Haha! Comrade Balzen, is this the catfish rocket launcher you are talking about? It's really amazing. All the Germans should have been killed!"
"Sir, please calm down!"
"Calm down? I can't calm down."
"You must calm down!" Balzen broke free from his arm and punched him in the stomach. This was considered a violent method to force Kovpak to calm down.
"Oh, I'm sorry, I'm here to ask you, we must launch an attack. Attack while the German army is in chaos, we face a major fighter opportunity."
After being punched, the Kafpak man woke up, but the pain in his belly was unpleasant. This punch was very powerful, and only such a battle-hardened maniac could do it.
Kovpak endured the pain and issued the order for the troops to attack, especially the first brigade, which must rush into the city at a fast speed. (To be continued)