A scout hurriedly joined the large group from the front. He saluted the regiment commander Kovpak in a panic and said tremblingly: "Sir! Many dead people were found in front! Very many! Very many!"
"Dead man? Comrade, please calm down and speak slowly."
"Yes! They are dead people, a huge number. Our captain said that the troops discovered a German massacre scene."
When Kovpak was fighting in Ukraine, he discovered mass graves made by the enemy. Most of the dead were ordinary villagers, either because they assisted the guerrillas or simply out of anger. The German army killed the entire village, men, women, old and children.
The tragedy is difficult to describe in words.
He knew that the enemy was trying to use this terrible method to curb the development of the guerrillas and deter the civilians under the rule from attacking the German army. Naturally, the German army's long-cherished wish was difficult to realize, so the German army became more unscrupulous in killing innocent people.
There is no difference in the style of the German defenders in various places. The German troops in Ukraine are ruthless and ruthless, and the German troops in Belarus are the same.
Kovpak quickly asked his adviser Balzen: "You attacked here ninety days ago. Did you also find evidence of German massacres?"
"Yes." Balzen nodded, "We did not find mass graves, but we found something even more terrifying. The enemy set up a killing factory in a small town along the railway line. I saw with my own eyes that they sent civilians into the crematorium.
It is absolutely unimaginable for you to imagine that human ashes are piled into a hill."
This was the first time Kovpak heard such a statement, and he was greatly shocked.
"Scout!"
"arrive!"
"You...you lead the way and take me to Versigola!"
Before the war, there was a Jewish community in Petrikov, a small town along the Pripet River. As early as the Tsarist Russia, there were a large number of Jews living in the Russian Empire. These people who spoke Yiddish lived together in groups.
Many cities have their own communities.
Before the war, the population of Petrikov was less than 4,000, but there were nearly 2,000 Jews among them.
As Stalin announced the end of the persecution, apart from requiring them to ban illegal activities, the Belarusian Soviets had no restrictions on their daily lives. They were Soviet citizens, and their secular life was not much different from that of mixed Belarusians and Ukrainians.
However, the arrival of the German army completely changed everything.
After the collapse of the Soviet army, the civilian population was left to the invaders. A few resistance heroes sacrificed their lives or went into the forest to fight guerrillas, while the remaining citizens had to survive under the iron heel of the invaders.
The occupying forces quickly began the cleanup work. They first used coaxing and threats to prevent the Jews in the city from escaping. They also asked the Belarusians and Ukrainians in the city to expose the hiding Jews. This was a common trick of the German army. Quite a few civilians, in order to
To protect themselves, they reported their Jewish neighbors without hesitation. As for the outcome of their neighbors, they had no time to think about it.
Not all Belarusian-occupied areas were like Slutsk, where the SS killed Jews and all resisters directly on the streets.
The troops stationed in Petrikov have always been the troops of the 74th Division. The division commander Borisman was a member of the Wehrmacht after all, and he initially refused to engage in massacres.
Because there were not many human resources available, although the freedom of the Jews was restricted, allowing them to work would not only relieve some of the logistical pressure on the troops, but also serve as a disguised means to control them.
Time went on like this until 194. After the battle from the end of April to the beginning of May, Borisman was finally willing to carry out the "cleaning" task that William Kubet had arranged long ago.
Borisman no longer intended to squeeze the value of their labor, and his troops suffered great losses. A prisoner of war under his control was actually destroyed by the enemy, and all the prisoners escaped. He received severe condemnation in the military circles, and his allowances were also reduced.
He was suspended for two months. This punishment seemed very weak, but it had a huge psychological impact on him.
Therefore, in early May, Yang Mingzhi led his troops to quickly withdraw south, and Borisman aimed his butcher knife at Petrikov's Jews.
On May 10th, all the Jews were ordered to cross the stone bridge and enter the forest south of the city.
The German army escorted these Jews. When they saw a huge pit in the forest, they instantly understood their fate.
Many people gave up resistance after seeing the machine guns set up by the Germans, and some cried in tears.
Just like the tragedies that occurred everywhere, the German army ordered men, women, and children to take off their clothes and then shot them like mowing grass. When performing this task, the SS troops from Lechica supervised and participated in the entire process. Yes, it was exactly
Those guys from the SS59 regiment who will be completely wiped out in July.
The leader of the group, Blücher, even praised Borismann's firm attitude, which was worthy of praise.
Or because the troops had just suffered a great humiliation, the officers and soldiers of the 74th Division calmly massacred 1,950 people. After all the "prisoners" were executed, this data was obtained by counting all the corpses.
Of course, Borismann was not happy about his "great achievements" at all, only Blücher was complacent. Perhaps what happened more than two months later was, in a sense, retribution for his behavior in May. The entire SS59 regiment
wiped out, the 74th Division suffered heavy losses.
The Jews in the city were quickly cleared out, and those who filled the soil for burial were the Belarusian and Ukrainian residents of the city. After they completed their work, everyone was in danger, fearing that they would be the next batch of people to be killed.
This was the "Petrikov Massacre" that occurred in May. It was precisely because of the discovery of mass graves that the atrocities were recorded.
Kovpak and Balzen became witnesses of the atrocities of the German army. When they arrived at the mass grave, they saw a large area of earth that had been turned over.
The air was filled with a disgusting stench. Seeing the officer's arrival, Versigola walked over with a heavy heart.
"It's so tragic! It's so tragic! This place is like a huge tomb. We dug up some highly decomposed corpses. We can tell from the corpses that the deceased are definitely Jews."
Listening to his words, Kovpak couldn't help but cover his mouth and nose.
"Are you sure that all those buried here are Jews?"
"Yes! You know, there is a place where the Jews are different from us. This is how I judge. Many people are buried here, and we even found the bodies of children. I think the enemy who killed them is now
The Petrikov garrison, they are all executioners and must be paid with blood!" As he spoke, Versigola's expression became ferocious, and his men also exuded a terrifying murderous aura.
But Kovpak's expression did not show anger. He raised his head and looked at the haggard corpses that were excavated, and sighed.
"If the enemy does something like this, we will record it in the book. This will be the best evidence when we liquidate the enemy in the future. Now it's time for us to attack. We must capture Petrikov Vershigo today.
Pull comrade!”
"arrive!"
"You continue to move forward and search for any bridges that can cross the river to avoid encounters with enemy patrols. Once you find a bridge, report it immediately. Act now!"
…
The news of the discovery of mass graves spread throughout the entire regiment in an instant. The low morale caused by the rain was brought to a new peak by the desire for revenge.
The light rain continued to fall, and everyone was extremely wet, and their legs were covered with mud. Everyone wanted to find the enemy, but also wanted to find a shelter from the rain. Capturing Petrikov would kill two birds with one stone.
It was also because of the rain that the German troops who were supposed to patrol stopped this morning. The heavy rain at night really affected this place. The originally relatively solid dirt road has now become a paste. It is still possible to walk, but carriages and jeeps are not allowed.
The law took action.
The Soviet army did not know how many people would guard the town. Kovpak conservatively estimated it to be a battalion, and consultant Balzen also agreed with this guess.
In fact, there were only 250 troops guarding the town.
The 74th Division does guard here, but because the town is a little far from the railway, its strategic value is not great. An infantry company belonging to the logistics force guards here, and there are more than a hundred people wearing armbands on their right arms, marked "Slavic Volunteers"
"Militia with the word "Militia".
Because Mozyr suffered a fierce assault on the 30th, Petrikov, which was very close to Mozyr, also strengthened its defense.
The so-called strengthening of defense refers more to the strengthening of the mental state of the soldiers. The company commander ordered his men to strictly observe various entertainments and prepare all soldiers for battle. Establish a city defense system, set up roadblocks, and place heavy weapons on stone bridges.
side.
The so-called fortification of the city is like a shirtless soldier wearing a layer of leather armor. Faced with a swinging battle ax, he still has no choice but to die.
The so-called heavy weapons of the defenders are an 80mm mortar and a handful of artillery shells, as well as four ZB6s and five MG1s. Yes, they are old guns like the MG1.
When Versigola personally led his troops to explore along the forest, they miraculously did not encounter any enemies along the way. Finally, they found a bridge and saw the town buildings not far away.
He wiped the telescope lens clean and saw the bridge 400 meters away (lens scale comparison), as well as the sandbags piled at the bridge head. Two German soldiers actually smoked under black umbrellas.
"Haha? *** elements, you are very leisurely? Your death has come! Ivan."
"Here! Sir!"
"You go and inform the legion commander that we have arrived at the bridge across the river, and the town is on the other side. I request that a raid be launched immediately!"
The soldier named Ivan first observed by himself, and then, with the reconnaissance captain's order, turned around to look for the large army.
Kovpak relied heavily on his reconnaissance team, just as Yang Mingzhi relied on his direct reconnaissance battalion. Therefore, Versigola and Balzen had equal status in their respective armies.
When the scout reported the major situation discovered, Kovpak issued an order to prepare for combat without saying a word.
But in terms of specific operations, through the scout's dictation of intelligence, consultant Balzen suddenly came up with a plan.
He told Kovpak: "Since the enemy's defensive firepower is obviously relatively weak, and the defenders are also looking leisurely. Therefore, we do not need to make a full-scale assault. Our army can organize precision shooters before attacking and focus on attacking the bridgehead.
After the enemy has cleared these biggest obstacles, the assault troops will quickly rush into the city."
After the Battle of Mozyr, Kovpak felt that his troops were relatively good at charging. If the enemy's superior strength was eliminated before the charge, the troops could avoid unnecessary casualties to a large extent.
"Okay! You have a lot of experience in urban combat. I will listen to you in this battle. I will organize precision shooters now."
Balzen nodded confidently: "Our 6th Army will also let Comrade Speroskina fight. Although she is a female Communist Youth League member, her fighting strength is as outstanding as Achilles in the ancient Trojan War.
.”
After some flattery, Kovpak became very interested in Natasha. As the commander of the army, he personally arrived at the front line of the war with a ball of grass on his head.
The thirty best shooters in the regiment were organized, and they all used Mosin Nagants. Since they did not get PU sights, they all could only aim mechanically.
Balzen also stopped five precision shooters. Unlike the others, all five of them, including Natasha, used SVT40.
At a distance of four hundred meters, the accuracy difference between the two guns is not big. Of course, if she wants to shoot at a distance of more than six hundred meters, Natasha will not hesitate to pick up the Mosin Nagant.
A total of twenty-five shooters were lying in ambush at the edge of the woods. Natasha was wearing a cloak and patting herself on the wet meadow. The whole world was gray and the forest was dark green.
Rainy days are definitely not a good day for sniping. Rain and saturated air will greatly interfere with the flight of warheads. Natasha prides herself on being able to adjust to the interference of these external factors based on her feelings.
In order to achieve a record of 400, she pressed her fair cheek against the butt of the gun. Wearing a cloak, she remained motionless, as if she had blended into nature. Next to her, Igor was also holding up a telescope whose lenses had just been cleaned. As the girl's latest
Witnesses who killed the enemy.
Kovpak did not believe that only twenty-five precision shooters could solve the bridgehead problem. He looked at the town on the other side of the river and saw some shaking figures.
According to his feeling, the German army only made some poor defenses at the bridge. As long as the bridgehead was destroyed, the defenders in the city could be wiped out in half an hour.
In order to avoid accidents, he organized three 80mm mortars for timely reinforcements. Since the recoilless rifles were completely unusable due to water-soaked chemicals, they could only rely on mortars for long-range bombing.
The officers and soldiers of one squadron will serve as a commando team, and the remaining units, while serving as reserves, will also be responsible for suppressing the German blocking fire in the city after the war begins.
There were no pre-battle lectures and no hesitation.
Kraft Parker looked at his watch, it was already six forty in the morning.
"Okay! Let's start fighting!"
Following his order, the officer responsible for commanding the precision shooters ordered: "Everyone is ready! Fire!"
The Soviet army launched a volley of gunfire, and twenty-five gunshots were fired almost at the same time, and the sound resounded in the distance.
The gunfire came very suddenly. The defenders in the city realized that it was gunfire and began to run out of their sheltered houses. However, when they finally understood what had happened, the Soviet assault troops had already occupied the bridgehead!
Basically, those twenty-five bullets knocked out the two small German machine gun fortresses. Natasha's farsighted eyes clearly saw that the target she was aiming at fell down.
"Igor, was it the target I hit?"
"It's hard to define, after all, everyone else has opened fire."
"well……"
The girl sighed slightly, because her siege battle was basically over. Because the rest of the time was completely handed over to the assault troops.
More than four hundred brave warriors rushed towards the bridge, shouting "Ula", their exaggerated feet stepped out of the mud, and they were not blocked, and they actually rushed to the bridge.
The battle progressed so quickly that Kovpak was surprised.
"Haha! Saved a few artillery shells. Bugler, blow the trumpet to attack! Full-scale attack!" (To be continued)