At eleven o'clock in the morning, the telegram from the Guerrilla Republic was delivered to the headquarters of the Kovpak Corps in Mozyr.
At this time, Kovpak himself had left Mozyr, walked through the wilderness he had charged into a few hours ago, and arrived at the forest south of the city.
Half of the soldiers also carried a large amount of trophies, especially a large amount of clothes, tied with hemp ropes on their backs, and returned to the forest to wait. Some others dug pits in the wilderness to bury their dead comrades.
Only a few soldiers were on the front line of the battle, and their dusty faces were sore from the flames. Even so, they still fired deterrently across the river to announce to the Germans that the Soviet army was still defending the city.
In fact, the wall of fire used by the German army to protect themselves, firstly, it did force the Soviet army to be unable to continue the attack, and secondly, it also obstructed its line of sight.
Because of a perforated eardrum and low adrenaline levels, he realized that the Kalinkovich train station was safe and that the army was on its way back to support. The commander of the German 100th Army, Gunter, had to face an unbearable headache.
.I was even given three doses of anesthetic in a row, which made me feel better.
He did not know that the Soviet army had begun to retreat, especially taking the bloody battle of Lechica that had just ended as an example. He pessimistically believed that the German army would also have to fight the Soviet army in a bloody battle south of the Mozyr River in order to win. He did not know that the Soviet army would win again.
Where did a new force come from? Borisman of the 74th Division, who had withdrawn across the river, explained that he believed that this force was the same Soviet army that defeated the infiltration force of the 74th Division twelve days ago.
Therefore, the German army made this judgment, that is, after the Soviet army defeated the roundabout and infiltrating German troops, they began to move north. They hid in the swamp mud and planned to attack Mozyr at the appropriate time. The Soviet army's plan is now
It seems successful.
Borisman comforted and said: "Don't worry, as long as the Soviet army defends the city, they will take wings. Our army can completely surround them!"
"You should worry about the railway bridge to the west!" In the pain, Hangte still understood the importance of the railway bridge. If the stone bridge was blown up, the engineers could build another iron bridge on the pier. However, if the railway bridge was blown up,
, the repair work also takes a lot of time.
Borisman patted his chest and assured: "Don't worry, our 74th Division is indeed incompetent in terms of combat effectiveness. However, I have deployed my elite troops and a large number of heavy weapons at the railway bridge. If the Soviet army attempts to capture it, it will only leave a large number of corpses."
"Alas..." Gunte was really worried about Borisman. He did not praise this man's self-confidence and sighed silently: "I hope the Soviet army will not attack there. It is best for them to stick to the city and stop escaping! Let's
I will annihilate you properly."
At the end of the sentence, Hangte gritted his teeth. Why? The three infantry divisions under his command had been fighting for three full days. The changes in the battle situation in these three days were far beyond Hangte's imagination. The total casualties of the 100th Army reached
An astonishing 4,500 people were killed. Sadly, there were more than 100 wounded soldiers lying in the hospitals in Henan City. It is feared that they were all killed by the Soviet army together with the doctors and nurses.
It is equivalent to say that the 100th Army, which originally had an army of 50,000, lost one-tenth of its strength in just three days, not to mention the main battle force was lost.
Could this kind of war be the norm on the Eastern Front? He had long heard that the troops entering the Eastern Front always used cruel methods against civilians in the occupied areas. He originally despised the soldiers who massacred civilians, but now he has gradually begun to despise them.
I understand the behavior of those people. The large-scale death of comrades will make soldiers crazy. They will use civilians as targets to vent their anger. It will not be surprising what crazy soldiers do, let alone those who listened to Dr. Gobert’s propaganda speech.
The soldiers also felt less guilty for massacring civilians.
Now, Hunter bared his teeth and told Borisman his attitude: "We must make the enemy on the other side of the wall of fire pay the price of annihilation! The blood debt must be paid with blood!"
For a moment, he had forgotten that his troops actually had only one mission - to recover Lechica.
The 100th Army paid the price of 4,500 casualties. Didn’t they also achieve their combat objectives? What’s more, they fought all the way to Svetlogorsk and Zhlobin in the north, and even attacked the city of Bobruisk.
Weren't all the Soviet guerrillas severely beaten and driven away?
Therefore, Wagner, the commander of the local garrison, and even Kube, the top person in charge of the army stationed in Belarus, were satisfied with the 100th Army. Even if the 100th Army lost 4,000 people, the casualties of the Soviet guerrillas exceeded 10,000.
The 100th Army destroyed the troops of the Soviet 6th Army, which had been a headache for Wagner for a long time. At least he had reason to believe this. The enemy suffered unprecedented heavy losses and wanted to make a comeback. Is there still a chance?
As of July 29, the top brass of the local German garrison believed that the German victory was unstoppable. After all, the 100th Army was an invited guest army. William Kube had to make a choice, that is, he must ask the 100th Army to
After the war ended, they immediately headed north to Mogilev and carried out their biggest task non-stop - to reinforce the 9th Army.
However, the Soviet army stormed Mozyr, which suddenly interfered with Kubet's plan.
However, the mission of this unit to reinforce the front line cannot be changed, and Mozyr cannot be lost. In desperation, Kube learned of the mysterious Soviet army's sneak attack on Mozyr on the morning of the 30th and had to report it to his superiors.
That is to say, Wolf Lair reported that the reinforcement operation of the 100th Army may be postponed.
…
"A large number of German troops rushed towards Mozyr? The enemy finally fell into the trap!"
Putting down the telegram and newspaper, Kovpak immediately dispatched a dozen signalmen and gave a firm order: "Go and notify all units to terminate any search, and stop burying the bodies of soldiers that have not yet been buried. The entire army immediately withdrew to this forest.
, and then ask all the captains to come to me to report on their duties!"
The Soviet troops in the city did not want to fight and withdrew one after another. The last troops to withdraw were in a hurry and almost did not get any loot.
Half an hour after Kovpak issued the order, the troops returned to the woods.
The faces of the soldiers were filled with happiness and joy, especially those from the regular army. They joined the guerrillas on the spot after their troops were dispersed a year ago. The subsequent battles were mainly based on ambush warfare, but this time
, the troops finally fought like regular troops.
A considerable number of soldiers found some clothing in the city, and the largest number of them were actually the underwear of the German soldiers, and the eagle emblem had not been cut off. It was really enjoyable to have comfortable clothes to wear in hard battles. As for the above*
**Peugeot, wait until the battle is really over and then handle it yourself.
Regarding the seizure of weapons, the Soviets suffered hundreds of casualties in this battle, and the German casualties did not exceed 500. The battle was indeed vigorous. As the Germans personally blew up the bridge, the fierce fighting was forcibly suspended, and all the surviving Germans withdrew.
Go to the other side of the river.
The Soviet army picked up a total of more than 200 intact rifles, as well as three ZB6s and two MG4s. These were all light weapons. The Soviet army also seized some heavy weapons, namely two 80mm mortars and six boxes.
Thirty rounds in total.
In terms of capture and cost, the statistics show that the Soviet army suffered a loss.
From a tactical point of view, this battle completely achieved the goal of "encircling Wei and rescuing Zhao".
So when the captains of each group gathered together, Kovpak said impassionedly: "Comrades, we have successfully completed the tasks assigned by our superiors. Now, our troops retreating from the north of Lechica have no worries at all.
.Because it was our offensive that forced the main force of the German army to move towards Mozyr with all its strength.
We do not have the ability to directly collide with these troops. The commander has issued an order for our troops to withdraw in full now!"
When the word "retreat" was spoken, the commanders who had just won the battle looked embarrassed.
Kovpak noticed this situation and asked one person: "Captain of the Second Battalion, Comrade Popdrinko, it seems that you are a little dissatisfied."
"Yes...yes! Why do we have to retreat? We can still continue to fight! As far as I know, the Kalinkovich train station is only three kilometers northeast of our army. Is it possible that the wall of fire and Pripe
Can the Te River block our way? We can definitely find a way to cross the river. If we can destroy the train station, wouldn't it be a greater victory?"
"Stop being greedy!" Kovpak asked loudly: "Isn't what I just said clear enough? Let me say it again, now, the two main divisions of the German army are moving towards Mozyr with all their strength. They even gave up on Hom
Niqi, we must also reinforce Mozyr. We must retreat! Besides, we must carry out the order!"
In response, Popdelenko said nothing.
These commanders who have been on the battlefield for a long time have a great desire for battle. Although there is some resistance in their hearts, they still have to obey orders at present.
Kovpak looked around again: "Is everything clear? We must retreat, and retreat now. I know that we still have a certain amount of time to further attack the enemy. In order for our army's retreat to go smoothly, we must act decisively.
.
Comrades, now go back and make statistics on the situation of your various brigades, and rest in the forest until twelve o'clock sharp, when we all leave. One more thing, all the wounded are brought to the trucks at the rear, and the wounded are evacuated first."
There were still more than twenty minutes left before the retreat, and the soldiers packed their bags one after another. Just like Popdrinko, many soldiers were war-loving in their hearts. The order occupied half of the city of Mozyr, and the Germans could not help but counterattack.
I just gave up. Although this action was to support the large forces in the east, wouldn't it be very cowardly to withdraw from the city at the cost of four to five hundred lives?
Therefore, Rudnev, who had an insight into the military situation, approached Kovpak worriedly, but when he came, he saw Kovpak and Balzen talking about something.
"Old friend, the soldiers are a little dissatisfied with our sudden withdrawal, which makes me a little worried."
"Don't worry!" Kovpak smiled, his smile was unpredictable.
"Next we will go south along the Pripet River, and then find a ford to cross the river. If everything goes well, we will officially arrive at the Guerrilla Republic in three days."
"If you take a shortcut," Balzen interjected, "According to intelligence, the German army may also try to enter the city from the south of Mozyr through the ford. So the route you imagined is wrong."
"Comrade Rudnev, don't worry, the commander has given us a new retreat route. You just mentioned that the soldiers are somewhat dissatisfied with our sudden withdrawal from the battle. I also understand their attitude very well, and my soldiers are eager to
Is it useless to retreat when fighting the enemy? I don’t think so. Our army’s retreat is actually a process of diverting the attack.”
"Transfer the attack?" Rudnev sat down and stretched his head and asked, "Where to attack? Is this also the commander's order?"
"Not entirely!" After saying that, Kovpak put Balzen in front of the stage. "We just talked about it. Our army currently has more than 5,000 combat troops. They are well-equipped. The rations they carry plus the captured weapons are
We can still cope with the consumption of nearly a week. The commander has given us a circuitous route. In this case, we have a lot of initiative in how to take this route."
After working with him for a year, Rudnev understood the meaning of his smile: "Tell me, where shall we attack?"
Kovpak took out the map of the area proposed by Balzen and pointed at a point on the map: "Turov town, we will target this town. Our army will go west along the right bank of the Pripet River and annihilate
All German strongholds found, rescue all civilians found."
Speaking of this, Kovpak's eyes were bright: "Comrade Balzen just told me that just ninety days ago, our current commander, General Belekov, personally led the team to reach 20 kilometers west of our current position.
At that time, they blew up the train. At that time, our Comrade Balzen personally participated in that battle."
Rudnev didn't know much about Balzen. Just over two hours ago, he was suppressed by the German army in the streets. This guy led a hundred of his madmen to fight a bloody path. The Soviet army
To capture half of Mozyr, Balzen was the first to do so.
Isn't it too humiliating for this man with a stubble and a skinny face to lead a hundred people to fight?!
This was Rudnev's thought. Since some of this man's words have interested the regiment commander Kovpak, you might as well continue to listen to what he has to say.
Originally, Kovpak planned to obey the order completely and use a right hook to retreat in a roundabout way. After learning that three months ago, the 84th Guards Division's railway bombing operation was in the forest northwest of Mozyr.
They discovered prisoner of war camps established by the German army and even a killing factory. The Soviet army even captured a special map recording the location of the prisoner of war camps.
Balzen did not have the original copy of the map, but he knew that there must be such a facility in the northwest. Anyway, Kovpak had hit Mozyr, so he would go into that area to search. If thousands of prisoners of war could be rescued, the Soviet Union would
The army's huge personnel losses will be alleviated.
When Balzen explained to Kovpak, he couldn't help exaggerating. In the triumphal victory in early May, the Soviet army clearly rescued 8,000 soldiers and civilians, but in his words, it turned into rescuing 10,000 Red Army soldiers. He even claimed that it was really because of these soldiers.
The addition of the 6th Army enabled the 6th Army to continue fighting for forty days.
When he said this, it seemed that there were a large number of prisoner-of-war camps and concentration camps in the southwest of Mozyr and even along the railway line. It seemed that there were tens of thousands of imprisoned Red Army soldiers waiting to be rescued. Balzen was bragging, but he never thought that Co.
Puck no longer intends to fully implement the commander's orders.
When Kovpak explained the matter, he thought Balzen would dissuade him, but what he received was support.
"I am a close comrade-in-arms of our commander, and I know his character very well. If you can expand your results on new battlefields, then not only are you not disobeying orders, but you are actively using your subjective initiative," Balzen said.
Belekov, this general from a foreign land, is known for his flexible command. A few days ago, the corps was still facing the German army in Homnich, and he calmed down to understand some of the current battle situation. When he learned about the battle The battle actually started on June 20th, and the fighting process for the next forty days was extremely complicated. The Soviet army carried out a series of complex tactical operations, and Belekov was the only decision-maker.
When we met at the appointed time, Kovpak patted himself and stood up: "Comrade Rudnev, now you know my decision. Please comrade the grassroots political commissars and tell them to encourage the soldiers' fighting enthusiasm.
Now, we have to turn west along the Pripet River!" (To be continued)