Chapter five hundred and eighty-four Lotharheim's new policy
The Soviet army's new defense line is being established, and the soldiers have begun a new round of digging soil and cutting down trees.
In previous battles, ammunition consumption was not serious because a batch of weapons and ammunition were seized, and the logistics support problem was not big.
The Soviet army did not need to dig holes to build a trench defense system like the German army. They only needed to build large and small foxholes in the forest. The small trees were cut down, and only the thick branches of the big trees were cut off, which together with the soil
Build a machine gun position. The entire unit is also spread out, and the width of its defense is as long as two kilometers! According to the plan, the defense line is also divided into three layers, with the headquarters located at the back.
After the troops settled down, Balzen sent a platoon of Lavrenti's troops north. They had two tasks, one was to act as sentries, and the other was to clean up the previous battlefield.
These thirty people will go straight to the battlefield where there was a crazy exchange of fire and was blown into a sea of fire. They are mentally prepared for another encounter with the German army, so this small team is equipped with quite excellent equipment.
They set out on the morning of March 27th and headed north all the way. The destination was very easy to identify and they arrived at the target at only 9 a.m.
Everything was indeed as expected, and a small group of German troops were also cleaning up the battlefield. After a brief exchange of fire, the two armies immediately retreated. Soon, the messy battlefield, full of craters and charcoal, was bombarded again.
At the German position four or five kilometers away, regimental commander Lotharheim could only get angry about the situation.
The two Eastern battalions entered the forest, and only 700 of the more than 1,000 men returned, and each was in a very bad physical and mental condition. Lawrence's infantry battalion suffered small losses, and fighting in a muddle for a long time was nothing more than a waste of bullets, and it also created another attraction for cowards. As for Lawrence's infantry battalion, it suffered little losses.
The losses for those who were used as baits were huge. A little calculation showed that the total number of casualties and total strength of the troops was at least 400.
The 7o7 Division was deployed here and suffered such losses for the first time it came into contact with the enemy. Even though 70% of the losses came from Dongfang Battalion. Even so, the casualties were still too bad!
Now, the Soviets are back! They actually encountered the troops cleaning up the battlefield.
Lotharheim ordered the bombardment! Looking at the thick smoke and dust rising from the forest in the distance, his nervousness finally calmed down. Putting down his binoculars, he said to himself with relief: "Now you know how powerful we are, right?
! If you try to take a step forward again, you will be killed by our artillery fire!"
As the leader of the regiment, he knew that this "fishing operation" was a complete failure, not only losing troops but also severely damaging the morale of the troops.
The division commander Hertzmann was so angry that he yelled angrily on the other end of the phone for a long time. Losaheim could only listen to his superiors venting their emotions in silence. The next order was very simple, that is, all military orders of the German troops on the front line should be obeyed by the division.
department!
The smoke and dust after the bombardment was gradually being blown away by the wind, and Lotharheim returned to his semi-crypt forward headquarters. The battle plan failed, so much of the anger towards Lawrence disappeared. The regiment's chief of staff is still recovering from his injuries.
His condition is very bad.
The army lacked an excellent regimental chief of staff. At this critical moment, Losaheim had no choice but to invite Lawrence over.
…
For Lawrence, he has really encountered an opportunity in life. There are very few staff officers in the infantry regiment, and there are even fewer outstanding staff officers who are strategic and really understand the army. Lawrence prides himself on being somewhat resourceful, but now he is replaced by the regiment commander.
Of course, when you are promoted, you have to perform well.
A new military meeting was convened urgently after the bombardment. Lawrence rushed over in a hurry, and Losaheim announced in front of many people that he was temporarily disbanding Haldemann's work!
The room was already a little cold, and the atmosphere became even colder after saying this. After a moment of silence, a staff officer suddenly stood up, pointed at Lawrence's nose and said with disdain: "The chief of staff is still alive! Even if he is
When it comes to choosing the temporary chief of staff, it’s his turn to choose no one! He is a famous fool who has failed time and time again! Is there no one left in our infantry regiment?!"
"That's right!" Another person stood up and shouted: "If his people had been braver yesterday, the enemy could have escaped calmly? The losses of the first battalion were very small. His so-called serious losses are nonsense. He
It’s cowardice!”
This was simply overwhelming and everyone expressed strong dissatisfaction with the group leader's decision.
But, this is an order! Opposing Lawrence were a group of battalion commanders and several staff officers. Including the battalion commander of the Eastern Battalion, these two also pointed the finger directly at Lawrence himself. "If you had been braver, the enemy would not have withdrawn."
Let's go. We won't suffer huge losses when it's our turn! The best weapons have been given to you. You represent the Third Reich, but you are really embarrassing the empire!"
Faced with the overwhelming accusations, Lawrence remained silent. This was not because he was speechless. Even the captain and deputy captain had nothing to say, so the group could only bark.
Lotharheim slammed the table angrily, and the lid of the tea cup was knocked off.
"Enough! This operation was a misjudgment. If I am responsible, it is also my responsibility. I actually listened to the prisoner of war's plan, and that damn prisoner of war even killed and injured our regiment chief of staff! I am doubting all of this now.
It's all a ploy by the Soviets on the opposite side, and we've been stupidly fooled. Now the order given to us by the division headquarters is very simple. Everyone is like a turtle, holding on to the position. We are not allowed to organize troops to attack!
Lawrence is not the scapegoat for the failure of this operation, and in my opinion, he is the only one with some wisdom at the moment. Do you people just want to curse endlessly?!"
Seeing that the regiment leader was angry, the rest of the people just had to shut up. In fact, most people knew that the regiment leader did not like the 1st Battalion Commander Lawrence. This was an old man from the 7o7 Division. His missions had failed many times, and he
He was a lucky guy who couldn't be killed. How did he survive? Only the soles of his feet could be understood by his oily soles, so he got the title of coward.
Lawrence was sprayed for a long time, and he felt like a pressure cooker about to explode. Fortunately, the group leader spoke for him, and the pressure was relieved.
He calmly said to everyone with a smile: "No matter what you think of me, at least my battalion suffered the least casualties in this failed operation. Now the chief of staff has to continue to recover from his injuries, and the remaining tactical planning commander asked me to come. At the beginning, I
I refused. But this is his decision, and I can only accept it, because it is just an order!"
It is true that the army does not need democracy. The order of the regiment commander is an absolute order, and disobedience is against military regulations.
Lawrence also knew that the reason why he was able to take the position was that the infantry regiment had no brains!
So he temporarily took up the job of chief of staff of the regiment, and the first thing he did was to change the current defense methods.
In addition to helping Lawrence up, this meeting also discussed a new defense policy. Lawrence naturally proposed his "logging plan".
The so-called "logging plan" is to clear the forest through logging, no matter what method is used, to knock down the big trees as quickly as possible, so as to open up the jobs and give the enemy nowhere to hide.
Although this plan was more or less difficult to implement, the position was too close to the forest, and the enemy could even move within the range of the rifle! Lotharheim hated this real threat to the German army.
There were many voices of opposition, and Losaheim finally decided on a new policy. "Now everyone shut up, everyone in the Eastern Battalion, order everyone to work as lumberjacks, one battalion and two battalions, and the officers and soldiers bring explosives to me