This had been expected by Shulka or Major Gavrilov and others.
It is human nature to fear death. The reason why Soviet soldiers held on in the fortress before was because they believed that there were reinforcements and that the Soviet army would fight back soon. Some people even thought of taking advantage of this time to fight with the large army.
Perform well before coming back to become a capital in the future... The instructor is thinking more about this.
After knowing that there were no reinforcements, some people would inevitably estimate that there was little hope of victory, so they chose to surrender.
The current situation is even more serious: not only are there no reinforcements, but the combat plan is known to the enemy in advance. What's worse is that the Soviet army is unable to change the plan due to the situation.
So breaking out of the siege was almost equivalent to committing suicide.
Under this premise, more hesitant people will decide to surrender to the German army, even though this process is also dangerous.
After receiving the news, Major Gavlov and the instructor came to the front line and gave another righteous speech. The instructor even opened his voice and spoke a lot of truth.
But these are not important. What is important is that the deserters actually brought another important information to the German army... The Soviet army will continue to break through the forest to the north as originally planned, and there is no other choice.
On the other side, Colonel Lucas, the commander of the German 135th Infantry Regiment, who was responsible for attacking the Kobrin Fortress, was looking at the opposite fortress with his binoculars in the sunset.
The Soviet defense surprised Lucas. Before the war, the Germans had sent Brandenburg troops to sneak into the Soviet defenses and reconnoiter the Brest Fortress. They knew that there were not many Soviet troops left in the fortress, and the officers had not returned.
The city of Brest was on vacation, and more importantly, the Germans even scouted the various warehouses in the fortress and marked them one by one, ordering the air force to blow them up as soon as possible.
However, even so, the Brest Fortress still stood in front of him like a stubborn stone.
This is a shame for the 45th Division. You must know that the German 45th Division was the first unit to break into the war-torn Warsaw and Paris, France. At this time, it was destroyed in two days in front of a fortress with a completely disproportionate strength and preparation between the enemy and ourselves.
There were 153 casualties, which already exceeded the total casualties of the division in the Polish campaign.
Putting away the telescope, Colonel Lucas looked at the fortress in the distance and asked the adjutant beside him: "How much time will it take for 'Karl'?"
"It will take more than half an hour, Colonel!" the adjutant replied.
Colonel Lucas nodded slightly.
The so-called "Karl" is Germany's super-large-caliber mortar. Its total combat weight is 124 tons, which is equivalent to two heavy tanks. Even the weight of the shells reaches 2.17 tons.
Colonel Lucas believed that under such mortar bombardment, everything on the Brest Defense Line would be wiped out.
"Colonel!" the adjutant asked: "Should we ask them to speed up their deployment, so that we can catch up before they break through..."
"Do you think they will break out at seven o'clock, Andre?" Colonel Lucas interrupted the adjutant: "The Soviets are not fools. They know that deserters will confess everything, so this information is worthless!"
The adjutant nodded in agreement.
But at this moment, the correspondent delivered a telegram to the adjutant.
The adjutant glanced at it, then handed the information to the colonel with his eyes widened, and said: "Colonel, I think you should take a look at this!"
Lucas read the content and then immediately ordered: "You are right, Andrea, let them speed up. In addition, immediately transfer the second battalion to the north to reinforce the third company!"
"Yes, Colonel!"
Obviously, Shulka's strategy worked.
To be precise, the information brought to the German army by the second batch of deserters came into play. The German army moved a large number of troops to the north instead of other directions, which gave the Soviet army an opportunity.
Shulka on the other side was looking at the sky nervously. He urgently needed a watch. He was accustomed to knowing the time at any time and could not adapt to this situation where he needed to guess the time... For the Soviet Union, which had a backward light industry,
Watches are very expensive, and of course they are a luxury for Shulka.
Although this can't change anything, knowing the time is the same as not knowing the time, but it makes Shulka feel at a loss.
At this time, the battalion commander, Captain Venyakov, appeared in front of the soldiers and whispered: "Soldier, follow me!"
The soldiers picked up their guns and stood up, but when they saw the battalion commander leading them towards the south, they were all puzzled.
"What happened?"
"We're not going to the north!"
…
"Where are we going, comrade battalion commander?" a soldier asked.
"You don't need to know!" Captain Venyakov replied coldly.
This was agreed upon by the officers in advance. Because they were worried that someone would surrender during the battle and reveal the plan to the Germans, they still dare not tell them the truth until now.
Okunev whispered to Shulka: "It seems we are going to the Bright Bridge. I understand, we are going to meet the comrades in the central fortress!"
"Maybe!" Shulka replied.
Okunev was only half right. They were indeed going to Bright Bridge, but they were not going to meet the central fortress, but to fight back to the central fortress.
Ten minutes later, the troops arrived near Bright Bridge...the bridge had been occupied by the Germans, and they built reverse trenches and reverse fortifications at both ends of the bridge.
The so-called reverse fortifications refer to the fortifications that provide fire cover on the other side of the river. These fortifications are especially useful for garrisoning bridges. The reason is that there is no advantage in using conventional fortifications to garrison the bridge head. Not only does it have no advantage, it is even at a disadvantage, because
Behind them is a bridge and a river, which is equivalent to a last-ditch battle with no retreat.
But it's different if you build reverse fortifications on the other side. The firepower on the other side can effectively cover each other. That is, the fortifications on this side of the bridge are mainly aimed at the other side, and vice versa.
The advantage of this is that once attacked by the enemy, you can flexibly retreat along the bridge deck and use the narrow space of the bridge to effectively defend, which makes it difficult for the enemy to break through its defense line.
Of course, if both sides are attacked by the enemy at the same time... this tactic will be ineffective.
The bridge was completely silent. There was no spark or conversation in the darkness. Not even the German sentry could be seen. There was only the sound of the river water.
Obviously, the German troops here got intelligence and knew that the Soviet army would attack the bridge. They even knew the exact time, so they were ready for the battle early in the morning.
However, what they didn't expect was that...the ones attacking here would not only be the Soviet army from one direction, but also the main force of the Soviet army.