Chapter 2022:

  Chapter 2022

  The 122nd brigade under the command of Victor attacked Baranovic very smoothly. The main force of the defenders in the city was restrained by the attack of Batov's troops, so that the defense in the direction they attacked could be described as riddled with holes.

  First, during the offensive, one or two platoons of commanders and fighters passed through the gaps in the German defenses, went around behind the defense line, flanked the frontal attacking troops, and easily captured these positions.

  In this way, the commanders and fighters of the 122nd Brigade quickly captured the German defensive positions outside the city at a speed visible to the naked eye, and advanced towards the city step by step.

  Pornegelin was worried, and came to Victor's temporary headquarters in person, and asked straight to the point: "Comrade Lieutenant Colonel, how is the progress of your troops?"

"Very well, Comrade Deputy Commander." Victor replied confidently: "I originally thought that even if the main force of the defenders was transferred to General Batov's side, we must seize the enemy's outer positions. It will also take a lot of time and pay a lot of money.

But after the attack really started, I found that the enemy was not as strong as I thought, and their defense line was full of loopholes. Our soldiers can easily enter their defensive positions through these loopholes, and cooperate with their comrades who are attacking from the front. To destroy the enemy on the line of defense. "

   "Lieutenant Colonel Victor, according to your judgment, how long will it take for you to rush into the city?"

Victor thought for a while, and then replied decisively: "Comrade Deputy Commander, I really want to tell you that my troops can rush into the city and start street fighting with the enemy within an hour. But considering that there may be some uncontrollable factors, so I think there should be no problem entering the city after three hours."

  Just after reporting the situation to Ponegelin, the radio operator sitting in the corner suddenly said, "Comrade Brigadier, I have received a call from the Army Group Command. Comrade Commander wants to speak to you."

  Hearing that Sokov was going to talk to him, Victor hesitated for a moment, and then turned his questioning gaze to Ponegerin to see if he agreed to answer the phone himself.

  Pornegelin naturally understood what the other party meant, so he nodded slightly, expressing his agreement to answer Sokov's call.

   "Hello, Comrade Commander." Victor put the headset to his ear and asked respectfully into the microphone, "Do you have any instructions?"

   "Lieutenant Colonel Victor," Sokov said, "I just received a telegram from the deputy commander, saying that your infantry brigade will take over the main offensive task. How is the current offensive going smoothly?"

"It went very well, Comrade Commander." Victor said with a smile: "The soldiers have already broken through the German army's many defensive positions outside the city of Baranowicz, and the enemy seems to be unable to hold it. In two or three hours, my troops will be able to enter the city smoothly."

"Good job, Lieutenant Colonel Victor." After listening to Victor's report, Sokov said with satisfaction: "When Baranovic is captured, your rank will be promoted to another level. I'll take matters into my own hands."

Knowing that he would be promoted to military rank after the battle, Victor immediately became excited: "Comrade Commander, please rest assured that I will never disappoint your expectations. To break through the outer positions of the German army outside the city of Baranowicz and rush into the city as soon as possible to fight the enemy in the streets."

In the Army Group Headquarters, after putting down the phone, Sokov said to Sidolin: "Comrade Chief of Staff, the offensive in the direction of Baranovich went more smoothly than we imagined. Now Comrade Deputy Commander sends Lieutenant Colonel Victor The 122nd Brigade of the People's Liberation Army is the main attack, and it seems that they are expected to be the first troops to break into the city."

"Comrade Commander, our forces in Baranovich are still too weak to be compared with General Batov." Sidolin said to Sukov: "If they attack with all their strength, they will be the first to attack The troops entering the city should belong to the 65th Army."

"Comrade Chief of Staff," Sokov disagreed with Sidolin's statement: "The victory or defeat on the battlefield depends not only on the strength of troops and equipment, but also on the use of tactics by the commander. If the strength of the troops is In the case of equal equipment, it depends on which commander is more capable.

  Victor is my classmate at Frunze Military Academy, I still know his ability. Since he said that he hoped to be the first army to rush into Baranovich, he must have thought carefully, and I believe he will definitely do it. "

Sidolin was very fond of the students from the Frunze Military Academy, and at the same time recognized their abilities. Now that Sukov said that Victor had the ability to command the troops to enter the city first, he also No more objections. However, he still reminded Sokov: "Comrade Commander, I am thinking about a question. If our troops are really the first to rush into the city, will they offend General Batov?"

  Sidorin's worries are justified. In order to eliminate the heavy German army group in the Baranovich area, Batov invested a large number of troops and fought fiercely with the enemy. If at the end of the fight, you find that your troops are far inferior to your own in terms of strength and equipment, and have actually achieved the greatest results, you will definitely feel unbalanced.

   But Sokov's worries only lasted for a minute or two, and then disappeared. He waved his hands and said to Sidolin: "Comrade Chief of Staff, you are too worried. General Batov is a veteran soldier who has been in the army for more than 20 years. His mind is wider than you and I imagined." He should know that he relied on his own strength to capture Baranovich, so he will never feel resentment towards us just because my troops entered the city before him."

"Comrade Commander." Seeing that Sokov was not worried about having a grudge with Batov, Sidolin stopped mentioning the matter, but changed the subject in time: "Since the Germans are no longer attacking Minsk, do you see if we can transfer troops?" , to reinforce the troops attacking Baranovich?"

   I have to say that Sidolin's proposal is very attractive. With the addition of new troops, the process of capturing the city can be greatly accelerated. But Sokov still rejected Sidolin's proposal: "Comrade Chief of Staff, we have two infantry divisions and one infantry brigade in the Baranovich area, and our strength is sufficient."

Seeing that Sidolin seemed to want to say something, he raised his hand to stop the opponent: "Although the Germans temporarily stopped their attack on Minsk, we still need to maintain a sufficient number of troops in this direction. In this way, we We will be able to advance, attack, retreat, and defend, and firmly hold the initiative on the battlefield in our hands."

"Comrade Commander, you are right." Sidolin thought over Sokov's words carefully, and felt that what he said was very reasonable, "Now we have launched an attack on the German army in part, and we have enough reserves in our hands. When the Germans are about to lose their hold, they can give them a hard blow and completely defeat them."

He pulled the map in front of Sokov, pointed to the schematic diagram of the enemy's situation and said: "Comrade Commander, our 284th Infantry Division and 109th Brigade are now attacking the rear of the German army, causing them certain damage. Losses. You see, should we invest in new troops and increase our attack power?"

  Sokov did not express his position immediately, but asked thoughtfully: "Comrade Chief of Staff, do you plan to send those troops into battle?"

"Comrade commander, I think about it this way." Sidolin said: "I plan to put the 211th Division and the 118th Brigade into battle, and the artillery will provide them with artillery support, and the tank regiment directly under the group army will guide them in the new area. Attack."

After looking at the attack location envisaged by Sidolin, Sokov nodded and said with satisfaction: "The attack location is well chosen. Once the assault is effective, the enemy outside the city can be further divided, so as to completely wipe out the enemy for our army. The enemy creates favorable conditions. I have no objection, you go and assign tasks."

   Besides, in the Baranovic area, the siege battle is continuing.

  Victor, who had learned a lot from Sokov, actively used his brain and tried every means to speed up the progress of the siege. When he received a call from the commander of the third battalion, saying that the unit had captured five No. 4 tanks when it broke through the enemy's line of defense, a bold idea suddenly popped into his mind.

   "Comrade Major," Victor asked into the microphone, "Can the five German tanks still be used?"

   "I found someone to see that these five tanks are all in good condition." The commander of the third battalion replied on the other end of the phone: "But the fuel and ammunition are exhausted, otherwise the Germans would not easily discard them."

After learning that the five seized No. 4 tanks were still intact, Victor said: "Comrade major, I will give you a difficult task now, and immediately send people to find fuel and ammunition nearby to replenish these tanks. "

"Replenish fuel and ammunition for these tanks?" Hearing what Victor said, the commander of the third battalion asked in confusion: "Comrade Brigadier, do you still plan to let us drive these tanks into Baranovi?" Odd?"

   "What's wrong?" Victor said with a smile: "Think about it, if the Germans defending the city saw a few tanks of their own slowly driving into the city, what would they do?"

   "Needless to say, the barricades must have been removed to let the tanks enter the city."

"That's right, that's exactly what it is." Victor continued: "Comrade Major, think about it, our soldiers swaggered into the city with captured German tanks, and then took advantage of the enemy's unpreparedness, What effect will it have if they launch an attack from the rear?"

   "The enemy's defense line will collapse immediately." The third battalion commander said with a smile: "Comrade Brigadier Commander, this is a good way. Our soldiers can drive German tanks and swagger into the city of Baranovich."

   But the next moment, the third battalion commander became frustrated again: "But, comrade brigade commander, if there is no infantry accompanying the attack, these tanks will soon be destroyed by the German anti-tank fighters."

Hearing what the third battalion commander said, Victor couldn't help laughing and scolding: "Comrade major, I said you were smart before, but now you are confused. Who told your tanks to attack the enemy as soon as they entered the city? You must wait for us." Infantry attacking the city, reaching a distance where they can join these tanks at any time, and then attacking the enemy by surprise, can achieve good results."

   "Understood, Comrade Brigadier Commander." The Third Battalion Commander waited for Victor to finish speaking, and said with a smile: "I have understood what you mean, and I will follow your instructions to launch an attack on the enemy in the city."

Bonegelin, who was sitting on the side, waited for Victor to finish the call, and said with a smile on his face: "Victor, I really didn't expect that you learned a lot from Comrade Commander. If it was anything else When troops attack a city, they consider how to successfully break through the enemy's defense line and enter the city in one or two charges. However, the consequences of doing so often lead to a large number of casualties for the troops.

   According to your tactic, let commanders driving tanks sneak into the city and choose a suitable location to hide. After the infantry approached the enemy's line of defense, they rushed out unexpectedly and attacked the enemy. In this way, the greatest victory can be achieved with the least casualties. "

  The order was issued, but it was very difficult to execute it. You must know that the reason why the German army discarded these five tanks was because the ammunition and fuel were exhausted, and no suitable supply location could be found nearby. Now after the soldiers sent by the third battalion searched around, they still couldn't find the fuel and ammunition needed for the tank. Without fuel and ammunition, these captured tanks are a pile of scrap metal.

  Victor had no choice but to turn to Ponegelin for help: "Comrade Deputy Commander, I wonder if you can provide us with a batch of fuel and ammunition, otherwise these seized tanks are just a pile of scrap iron."

   For Pornejeline, this is also a difficult task. But for the sake of victory, he felt that he should give it a try, so he called Onu Priyenko and asked bluntly: "General Onu Priyenko, are there any enemy troops in the area you occupy?" Warehouse? Is there fuel or ammunition for tanks stored in it?"

But unexpectedly, as soon as his words fell, Onupriyenko began to complain to him: "Comrade deputy commander, where is there such a thing in the area occupied by our division? Our division has been resting for a long time. I don't know when we can go back to fighting?"

Ponedelin ignored Onuprienko's complaints, but said to himself: "If you can get the fuel and ammunition needed for the tank within an hour, I can consider reorganizing your division. Go into battle."

Hearing what Poniedelin said, Onuprienko suddenly became excited: "Comrade Deputy Commander, I will immediately send people everywhere to find fuel and ammunition for tanks, and you just wait to hear my good news Bar."

  Seeing that Ponegerin hung up the phone, Victor tentatively asked: "Comrade Deputy Commander, can they really find tank fuel and ammunition?"

   "It's not easy to say." Poniegelin shook his head and said, "Besides them, I can also contact the 1st Guards Division to see what's going on with them."

When Tolstikov received a call from Ponedelin, he thought that the other party was going to assign him a combat mission, and he suddenly became excited: "Comrade Deputy Commander, did you inform our division to rejoin the battle?" ?"

"General Tolstikov, don't worry." Pornedelin said calmly, "It's not impossible to let your division go into battle, but you need to wait until the infantry brigade breaks through the German defense line and opens the door." Let’s talk about it after we have the passage into the city.”

   "When will the infantry brigade break through the German line of defense?"

"It's not easy to say," Pornegelin said embarrassingly: "The batch of German tanks captured by the infantry brigade today has no fuel and ammunition, and they cannot help them break through the enemy's defense line. I guess I will have to wait for these tanks to be replenished." After fuel and ammunition, there is a chance to break through the enemy's lines."

"Comrade Deputy Commander," Tolstikov finally saw a glimmer of hope, so he would not give up so easily, and quickly assured Ponejielin: "I will immediately arrange for people to find the fuel and ammunition needed for the tank. When I have good news, I will notify you as soon as possible."

  (end of this chapter)