In order to prepare for the coming eight thousand people, the transport team that had already transported horses and all supplies to the other side of the river lit bonfires in the afternoon and launched a large-scale roast potato feast.
During this trip, the transport team carried a large amount of food. In order to avoid confusion when distributing food, Fyodorov assigned some troops to work full-time on the distribution of military food. They baked potatoes or boiled them directly.
After the potatoes are processed and eaten, they are placed in different positions depending on the cooking method.
The bread shipped directly from Blacksmith Village and Catfish Village is also cut into thin slices, with an average of 200 grams per piece.
There were ten cauldrons converted from gasoline barrels. The soldiers fetched water from the river and then cooked a soup mixed with dried salted fish, canned sauerkraut, pickled radish, cabbage, onions and dried mushrooms over a high fire.
They also temporarily built a food distribution point. Because they moved some undamaged furniture from the town, the distribution point was decorated in a stylish way.
On the other side of the river, there was a lively scene, but the town was still in a mess.
Balzen and Rychev led their troops to temporarily set up defenses in the south of the town. As the German army was approaching with great momentum, whether the troops would move further south into the forest to fight the German ambush depended on the speed of action of the Kovpak Corps.
If they really delayed their arrival until August 8, the troops would really have to go south to proactively search for the enemy, forcing them not to attack the town.
The Soviet army faced the next battle with the most pessimistic possibility, and the soldiers were also mentally prepared to block the enemy.
After all, the war situation did not develop in the worst direction.
The sentry in the west of the city waved the flag signal. After a while, the sentry standing on the taller building in the town directly saw an astonishing number of people appearing in the distance under the reflection of the setting sun.
A guard frantically rushed into Fyodorov's temporary command post in the town.
"Brigadier! They're here! The people we've been waiting for have arrived!"
"That's great!" Fyodorov looked at his watch and saw that it was almost seven o'clock in the evening. He shook his neck and said, "Let's go! Come with me to meet that Kovpak."
Corps and thousands of refugees, their quick action in one afternoon surprised Balzen.
Balzen and Reichev, with a small entourage, ran directly to the west of the town. What happened next could be seen with the naked eye.
"Haha, they're already here, and they're still moving quickly! I really don't understand. You guys were dragging their feet yesterday and this morning, but your efficiency in the afternoon was like that of soldiers."
Reichev was puzzled by Balzen's muttering: "Are you talking about those guerrillas?"
"No! I mean refugees! We rescued a lot of women and children. Can you believe it? These people walked twenty kilometers in one afternoon! A bunch of hungry people walked twenty kilometers!"
"This... seems to be a real feat." Reichev was indeed surprised. He joked: "It seems that hunger can also be a motivation."
"Yes! They arrived in time, and they deserved the food we were prepared to measure. Next, you and I will take action. We have to escort all the refugees across the bridge!"
The place where the smoke is coming from is the town of Slovechna, and there must be endless potato bread in the town!
Whether they are soldiers or refugees, the town in front of them is the most important relay station on their way back, and it is the end of a stage.
Especially the refugees, with mothers dragging their children and young people dragging the elderly, struggling to pull flatbed trucks full of daily necessities in the grass. Together with the soldiers, they screamed and ran like charging towards the enemy's position. Many of them because of their inner feelings
Excited, shouting "Ula!"
Like thousands of hungry wolves, they rushed into the town crazily, assuming that they would see food immediately.
When they entered the town, they saw a large number of dilapidated buildings, but no one was at a loss or lost, because what was floating in the air was definitely the aroma of food!
The officers and soldiers of the 1st Guerrilla Brigade, who had been waiting for a long time, quickly controlled the situation, and then without any delay, every soldier shouted: "You cross the bridge to have dinner!"
When the soldiers were cleaning the battlefield, they not only took away the corpses of both the enemy and ourselves, but also cleaned up the streets a little.
They cleared a path for the refugees who were pouring in. Under the guidance of the soldiers, the refugees quickly walked towards the bridge in an orderly manner.
The operation to cross the river will last for a period of time. The first refugees to arrive on the other side will be immediately led to the food distribution point. Regardless of age, each refugee will receive five cooked potatoes, 200 grams of bread cubes, and a bowl of soup.
.
Most of the many refugees have nothing, and they must bring tableware such as bowls and spoons. Most people use their own tableware to receive these rich foods. As for those who really have nothing, the captured German helmets are not the best."
"bowl"?
…
Finally, Fedorov met the famous guerrilla commander Kovpak.
I saw this middle-aged man with a goatee. His amiable appearance clearly meant that he didn't know his past.
Fyodorov did not dare to say that he had been a puppet soldier. After some mutual praise, he directly talked about the unit's next action plan.
"Uncle, I see that your army is very tired. With your current condition, it is not appropriate to fight the enemy. When your troops arrive on the other side of the river, eat quickly and return immediately at dawn tomorrow."
The rhythm developed too fast, and Kovpak squinted his eyes and looked at the other man next to the brigade commander. This man was wearing a special uniform, which was a paratrooper uniform, and he knew this clearly.
"Hey! Comrade, are you a paratrooper?"
"Yes, sir!" Reichev immediately saluted the standard military salute: "My paratrooper brigade commander Rychev."
"Very good. Seeing you means that the paratrooper brigade has also withdrawn." After saying that, his eyes saw Fyodorov again.
In fact, Kovpak has known about the 1st Guerrilla Brigade for a long time. He himself is not pedantic. Uniting all the resistance forces is a top priority at the moment, not to mention that these former puppet soldiers have really made great achievements.
However, he had objections to the guerrilla brigade's arrangements for his troops.
"Comrade, you asked us to withdraw early tomorrow morning! Could it be the Germans who have accelerated their actions?"
"No! I just hope that you and thousands of civilians can evacuate safely. No civilian should die at the hands of the enemy."
"Okay! My soldiers have made great sacrifices along the way. For three weeks, they have been either running or fighting. My soldiers need to rest, but we evacuated, and this town..."
"Throw it away!" Fyodorov said bluntly.
"Abandon? So decisive? Is this what the commander meant?"
"Yes. The commander has already issued an order. After the troops withdraw, all the small train stations and railway bridges in the town will be destroyed. Just now we received the latest order from the command. The commander ordered that our army should avoid fighting new enemies. Once
The civilians successfully evacuated, and the troops in the city followed suit."
"Is this an order from General Berekov?"
"Exactly the general's order."
Kovpak nodded, his original intention was to avoid German reinforcements.
If it is a commander of the regular army, he must have ordered a defensive hold on the town captured by the army. A smarter commander will order a retreat when he realizes that the entire army is obviously going to be annihilated. More commanders simply die with all their soldiers.
This kind of heroic behavior in response to regular combat is commendable. If there is no resistance or even sight of the enemy, and the occupied town is surrendered to the enemy, this is no different from a traitor.
After all, guerrilla warfare is not a regular positional warfare. Kovpak estimated that the general might have withstood a lot of pressure before ordering the troops to retreat as soon as possible!
He then asked: "I fully support the general's order. I just want to know who will come to the rear and who will be the rear guard."
"It's us!" Reichev said, "We are paratroopers, elites, and we will be the last to evacuate."
"Okay. With you at the rear, the more than five thousand civilians don't have to worry about anything! So when will you retreat?"
"It depends on how quickly you move. If you and the refugees evacuate quickly enough, we will evacuate at noon. We will set fire to the town, set the remaining buildings on fire, and finally blow up the bridges!"
"Sounds like an excellent plan, so don't wait any longer. I want to get to the other side of the river quickly." Kovpak then chuckled and untied his tattered leather jacket, "Look at my shriveled belly. I'm so scared."
I'm going to starve to death."
"Then hurry up and cross the river. You are a senior commander, and we have prepared a sumptuous meal for you." After saying that, Fyodorov winked, and a guard gave Kovpak a pack of cigarettes.
.
For soldiers on the battlefield, cigarettes can very well relieve anxiety. Kovpak blew out smoke rings and felt comfortable. He was in a good mood and strode towards the bridge.
…
Regarding the fact that the town was occupied by the Soviet army and the entire garrison was annihilated, the German army knew nothing until noon on August 7. When the 611th Division found that it could no longer make calls to the town, it realized that something was wrong.
Under normal circumstances, it is impossible for telephone lines to be cut off by wind and rain, not to mention the weather has been sunny these two days! The defenders reported that they were besieged by a huge number of enemies, and the enemies would definitely attack the city during the day.
Could it be that the town has been captured by the enemy?
The German army was also moving step by step, and the four demobilized infantry battalions gathered in the city in the afternoon. At this time, who doesn’t know the importance of quick action? Due to the unknown situation, the 611th Division first opened a
Emergency military meeting.
"We don't have the authority to mobilize the air force, we don't even have the authority to mobilize even a reconnaissance plane! We don't even know what is happening to that damn town now!"
The division commander expressed his anger in the conference room, while the others were anxious. Most people's attitude was surprisingly consistent, that is, they acquiesced that the town had been lost.
The next problem is no longer to reinforce the defenders, but to send troops north to regain the town.
No matter what, the town of Slovechna must be under German control!
The division commander's attitude was very clear: "That town can be wiped off the map, but the railway line must be intact. We need that railway branch, even though it is often destroyed by guerrillas. Out of military responsibility, Kiev ordered us to ensure that the town remains intact
In the hands of our army, if we fail, I and everyone here will be sinners!"
Whether it was out of military honor or fear of being held accountable by a military court if they failed, everyone fully supported going north.
There were four battalions of the temporarily formed infantry regiment, and their weapons and equipment were further improved due to the changes in the situation. This alone did not satisfy the senior officers of the 611th Division at all.
They believe that the troops are going to have a fierce battle with the remnants of the Soviet 84th Guards Division. In order to gain an advantage in the war, they must organize more troops. If the defense troops in other areas are removed without authorization, there will be loopholes in the Kiev defense circle. Division Commander
Don't dare to do this.
Where are the more troops? Maybe the city's security police should help!
Yes! Those security police!
The 611th Division decisively mobilized the public security police of Ofri Chicheng and surrounding towns overnight. This method can increase the combat strength by more than 300 people.
That alone was not enough! The 611th Division further mobilized, and the Ukrainians who served as auxiliary forces for the division were simply armed by assault.
After some operations, on the evening of August 7, the German army pieced together a northbound force of up to 500 people.
This number made the Germans quite satisfied. Whether they could recapture the town in one go was still unknown. Of course, since they had not received any telegrams from the town defenders, they might have resorted to radio silence.
The 611th Division headquarters still had a glimmer of illusion, that is, the defenders had suffered heavy losses but were still defending the town. They were very willing to believe that there would be no major problems in their operations launched the next day.
This night was crucial for the Soviet and German armies.
Both sides had very limited understanding of each other, and serious miscalculations occurred. The battle was fought in a confused manner, which was quite common on the Eastern Front.
The German army took advantage of the night to make preparations. The 611th Division could not mobilize more regular Wehrmacht soldiers, but it could mobilize all vehicles. There were many freight carriages in the city, and all trucks supported the front line.
The 611th Division decided that when the army set off the next day, it would first organize all the carriages to form a "mobile battalion." Because the road to the town was more than 30 kilometers, the march on foot would have to go until the evening. If it were a carriage, it would not be possible.
It took four hours to reach the destination, and the soldiers could still maintain good physical strength.
According to the preliminary plan, the German army could allow three companies to reach the town as quickly as possible. The Soviet army knew nothing about this situation.
In the area north of the town of Slovechna, there were more than 10,000 Soviet soldiers and civilians! They lit a large number of bonfires on the north bank of the river. At night, the camp was filled with snores.
The hungry people ate a huge amount of food, and all the food distributed was wiped out. The Soviet army did not deliberately reduce the food supply because the children were young, so that every child had a round belly. Maybe this was the most they had eaten in a year.
Full for once!
Many refugees knew the army's next decision before falling asleep. Since the army's strength had exceeded 5,000 people, and with a good meal, the anxiety among the refugees disappeared. Everyone strongly agreed to evacuate immediately at dawn that day, and believed that they would evacuate immediately at dawn.
There will be no danger in future journeys.
Guerrilla Republic, are there really endless potatoes in this place? The refugees no longer have any doubts, because they learned that the potatoes as big as their fists that they have eaten are everywhere! (To be continued)