Red Moscow.

Chapter 2779

As Katukov expected, until dark, the German army did not advance towards the area where the defense line was being built. The commanders and fighters of the tank brigade were given enough time to build a complete defensive position.

When the construction of the defensive position was completed, the second echelon troops also rushed to the designated location.

Katukov was naturally overjoyed to see that all the commanders, fighters and equipment of the entire brigade had arrived, and he quickly redeployed the defense: the motorized infantry battalion and the 34th regiment mixed battalion were deployed side by side; each battalion strengthened a tank platoon, and the tanks Occupy flanking positions in the defensive area; the motorized infantry battalion is equipped with four 45mm anti-tank guns. Between the first and second echelon positions, there is an ambush of new T-34 tanks. The firepower density of anti-tank firearms is 12 units per kilometer of frontage; the firepower density of anti-tank firearms in the highway direction is the highest, reaching 20 units per kilometer of frontage.

At dawn, all troops entered the designated defense zones and made corresponding battle preparations.

At nine o'clock in the morning, after receiving a call from the observation post, the Chief of Staff reported to Katukov: "Comrade Brigade Commander, I just received a report from the observation post: The German army has about one regiment of infantry, surrounded by hundreds of tanks. Under the guidance, we are heading towards the area where our brigade is defending.”

After listening to the Chief of Staff's report, Katukov lowered his head and looked at the map, and then ordered: "Chief of Staff, inform the commanders on the front line that no one is allowed to fire without my order, so as not to expose the location of our defensive positions. ”

The chief of staff seemed very puzzled by Katukov's order: "Comrade Brigadier, the enemy has been advancing towards our defensive position. Even if we don't fire, they will notice it. Rather than being beaten passively, It’s better to take the initiative and fire at the enemy.”

"Comrade Chief of Staff," Katukov waited for the Chief of Staff to finish speaking before explaining to him: "I just went to check the defensive position of our brigade. It is well camouflaged. If you don't get close, you won't be able to find it at all. According to the enemy's common tactic, we use artillery first, and then use tanks to cover the infantry charge. If we expose our position too early, we will be hit by enemy artillery fire."

"Yes, yes, you are right." After hearing what Katukov said, the chief of staff immediately understood what he meant, nodded and said: "As long as our defensive positions are not exposed, then the enemy's artillery fire before the attack will If we are prepared, the role we can play will be very limited, thus reducing the casualties of our army.”

Katukov nodded slightly, then turned to look at Sokov and asked: "Captain Sokov, do you want to stay in the headquarters and read the battle report, or go to the front line to see the actual combat situation?"

"I think we should go to the front line." Sokov knew very well that the location of the brigade headquarters was more than ten kilometers away from the front line, and it was impossible to see the battle situation clearly, so he said simply: "I will go to the Ministry of Internal Affairs first." camp."

"Okay, Captain Sokov." Naturally, Katukov had no reason to disagree with Sokov's situation, but he still asked for his opinion: "Should the radio station you brought stay here? Follow you to the mixed camp? "

Sokov thought that the situation on the frontier was much more dangerous than here. If there was any problem with the radio station, he would not be able to contact Potapov directly. It was based on this consideration that he replied: "It is better to stay here. When the commander of the army issues any new instructions, you will be informed of them as soon as possible."

After leaving the brigade headquarters, Sokov took a car to the defense area of ​​the mixed battalion of the Ministry of Internal Affairs.

Seeing Sokov's arrival, Captain Korovin, the commander of the mixed battalion, asked in surprise: "Captain Sokov, why did you come to me?"

"Comrade Captain," Sokov shook hands with Korowin and said with a smile, "I want to come and participate in the battle myself."

"But, it's too dangerous here." As soon as Korowin said this, he immediately realized that he had said it wrong. He raised his hand and scratched the back of his head, and said a little embarrassedly: "I'm sorry, Comrade Captain, I forgot that you have captured prisoners single-handedly. For a German armored column, such a battle scene is nothing more than child's play for you."

"Comrade Captain, according to my judgment, the enemy's first attack direction is definitely not from you." Sokov said to Korowin: "But staying on your position, you can clearly see the enemy's entire territory. offensive process."

Korowin couldn't help but asked in surprise: "Captain Sokov, how do you know that the Germans' first attack position is not here?"

"Intuition, this is what my intuition tells me." Sokov continued without waiting for Korowin to speak: "If you don't believe it, we can wait and see."

While the two were talking, the rumble of cannons was heard not far away.

"Comrade Captain," just when Korowin was about to ask where the gunfire came from, the deputy battalion commander reported to him: "It is the position of the motorized infantry battalion on our left wing, which is being shelled by the enemy."

Knowing that it was the direction of the friendly army's position and was being shelled by the Germans, Korovin immediately ran out of the command post with a telescope and went outside to find a suitable place for observation. Since Sokov went to the front line to check on the progress of the battle, he naturally would not stay in the command post, so he ran out with Korowin.

The two came to an observation position with a wide field of vision, raised their binoculars and looked at the friendly positions.

Since the commanders and fighters of the motorized infantry battalion deployed a large number of camouflage nets when building fortifications, the German artillery did not know the specific location of their positions. Although the artillery fire was fierce, very few shells hit the trenches or fortifications.

Seeing this situation, Sokov couldn't help but nodded secretly. It seemed that Katukov not only had a good attack, but also had many clever ideas in defense. The commanders and fighters followed his instructions and camouflaged their positions so that the enemy's artillery could not confirm the specific location and could only cover this area with artillery fire. This artillery shelling method with extremely low hit rate, in addition to wasting artillery shells, was unable to cause substantial damage to the Soviet positions.

After the bombardment ended, the smoke slowly dissipated, and German tanks, armored vehicles, and infantry skirmishers appeared in the distance.

"The Germans are attacking." Korovin put down the telescope in his hand, turned to Sokov and said: "Captain Sokov, do you think the comrades of the infantry battalion can block the enemy's attack?"

"Comrade Captain, you are worrying too much." Seeing that Korovin did not have much confidence in blocking the enemy's attack, Sokov comforted him and said: "I once experienced a battle, and the Germans were not covered by tanks. An infantry battalion, but the troops holding the position are a worker The barracks only had rudimentary light weapons and some Molotov cocktails, and no anti-tank guns. However, in the face of the German attack, although they paid a high price, they still destroyed half of the German tanks and killed hundreds of German soldiers. repulsed the enemy's attack."

When Sokov said this, he looked at Korowin and asked with a half-smile: "Now, in the position of the motorized infantry battalion, there are not only anti-tank guns, but also several tanks. Do you think they can block the enemy's attack?" ?”

After Sokov's comparison, Korovin felt that his worries were a bit unfounded. A poorly equipped engineer battalion can block the German attack and destroy German tanks. Then there seems to be no big problem for a motorized infantry battalion equipped with tanks and anti-tank guns to block the German attack in front of them.

Under the cover of tanks, the German infantry quickly approached the position of the motorized infantry battalion. 300 meters away, there was no movement in the suspicious area that had been shelled.

200 meters away, there was still silence.

The German commander who led the attack couldn't help but wonder: "Is there no Russian defensive position in this area?"

150 meters, still no movement.

When the German troops entered the position only 80 meters away, the Soviet tanks and anti-tank guns hidden in the position opened fire.

In the first round of shooting, two tanks and three armored vehicles were hit and set on fire. The soldiers, covered in fire, jumped out of the car, screaming and running in different directions.

The experienced soldiers took off their burning uniforms as they ran; while the inexperienced soldiers ran around waving their arms and even bumped into the infantry who were marching normally, causing their bodies to burst into flames.

At this time, various weapons on the position opened fire. Amidst the firing of submachine guns, rifles, pistols and machine guns, the German infantry exposed within the range were shot and fell to the ground. Seeing that the situation was not good, the remaining soldiers either lay down on the spot and fired back, or hid behind the moving tanks.

The tanks and anti-tank guns on the Soviet position continued to fire, scaring the tanks into making an S-shape to avoid the oncoming shells. But as soon as the tank dodged like this, the infantry hiding behind the tank were exposed to the Soviet firepower, and many of them fell immediately.

Only 80 meters, the German army only advanced 50 meters and could no longer move forward.

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The reason for this situation is very simple. The commanders and fighters of the motorized infantry battalion first used intensive firepower to separate the German tanks and infantry so that they could not support each other, and then used tank guns and anti-tank guns to attack the advancing tanks. German tanks carried out the attack, and infantry firepower harvested the lives of German officers and soldiers who lost the cover of the tanks.

The battle only lasted less than half an hour. The remains of 11 tanks and 26 armored vehicles were burning in the position. The ground was strewn with the corpses of dead German officers and soldiers in various shapes. Seeing that the attack was unlikely to be effective, the German commander could only issue an order to retreat.

As the German troops retreated, battle reports were quickly reported to the brigade headquarters.

After reading the battle report of the infantry battalion, the chief of staff excitedly reported to Katukov: "Comrade Brigade Commander, our infantry battalion has successfully repelled the enemy's attack and destroyed 11 of their tanks and 26 armored vehicles. Also killed more than two hundred German infantry."

After listening to the battle report, Katukov smiled and nodded, and then ordered the chief of staff: "Chief of staff, tell the infantry battalion commander not to be proud, seize the time to repair the bombed fortifications, and prepare for a new round of German attacks. "

While the infantry battalion was repairing the fortifications, Korovin returned to the battalion command post.

When the deputy battalion commander saw Korowin returning, he quickly asked: "Comrade battalion commander, have the enemies been repulsed?"

"Yes, the enemy who attacked the friendly positions has been repulsed." Korowin said to the deputy battalion commander: "Let the soldiers prepare for battle. If the enemy finds that the infantry battalion cannot make a breakthrough, they may open the breakthrough." Turn to where we are.”

When Korovin handed over the task to his deputy battalion commander, Sokov was trying hard to recall the information about the Mtsensk tank battle. There seemed to be no mention of the results of the mixed battalion of the Ministry of Internal Affairs in this battle. Maybe it was Because they were not defending the main areas, no decent battles took place.

Two hours later, the German army launched another attack on the Soviet position, trying to break through the infantry battalion's defensive position in one fell swoop.

But what the enemy never expected was that when their tank troops rushed towards the infantry battalion position, Katukov ambushed a dozen tanks left in the forest on the flank of the battlefield, and unexpectedly launched an attack from the flank. As we all know, if a tank soldier stays in the tank, he can only observe the movement outside through the periscope, and his field of vision is very limited. Because of this, they did not notice the tank troops rushing out from the side at all, and they immediately paid a heavy price.

Seeing the friendly forces launching an attack from the flank, the tanks deployed on the infantry battalion positions also launched a counterattack against the enemy, using tank guns to destroy German tanks or armored vehicles, and using vehicle-mounted machine guns to shoot at the infantry who appeared within the range. For a time, the enemy was beaten until they were crying like ghosts.

After the German attack was repelled again, Katukov carefully reviewed the latest battle report and decisively issued an order: "Comrade Chief of Staff, inform the motorized infantry battalion to withdraw from existing defensive positions after dark. , moved to the preset position of the First Military Village."

Hearing Katukov's order, the chief of staff couldn't help being stunned: "Comrade Brigadier, what's going on? Our army has obviously won the battle, why should we abandon our current positions and attack the people of the First Military Village?" What about the planned retreat?”

"The reason is very simple, Comrade Chief of Staff." Katukov said: "The infantry battalion caused huge losses to the German army in today's battle. The enemy will definitely not give up. If our guess is correct, they will definitely concentrate The superior artillery and air power carried out indiscriminate bombing of the infantry battalion's positions. You and I both know that the positions where the infantry battalions are located are temporary field fortifications, and they are simply unable to compete with the German artillery and air force and remain there. , it can only increase casualties.”

"Okay, Comrade Brigade Commander." Although the Chief of Staff was still a little reluctant to give up the current position, since it was Katukov's order, he could only execute it unconditionally: "I will call the infantry battalion immediately. Get them ready to evacuate their positions after dark."

Sokov stayed in the mixed battalion position of the Ministry of Internal Affairs until dark, and did not see the enemy launch a new attack on the infantry battalion position. He felt that today's battle should come to an end, so he returned to the brigade headquarters to understand first Let’s take a look at the results of today’s battle, and then report to Potapov.

Unexpectedly, as soon as I walked into the headquarters, I heard the chief of staff calling: "...What's going on? Didn't I tell you to withdraw from the position immediately after dark? Why are you still standing still? Do you want to Can’t you resist?”

When Sokov heard about the retreat, he couldn't help but feel a little bit in his heart. He thought to himself: Could it be that a certain section of the tank brigade was responsible for being broken through by the German army, and he had to choose to abandon the position in the end?

With such doubts, he stood behind the chief of staff, waiting anxiously for the other party to finish the call quickly so he could ask what was going on?

(End of chapter)