Burning Moscow

Just after dawn the next day, the German offensive on Zhytomyr began again. Bayi Middle School ★ Wen Wang √く√√くく

On the streets of Zhytomyr, the commanders of the 67th and 9th Guards Division, relying on solid fortifications, stubbornly resisted the German offensive, making the enemy pay one or more for every metre forward. The cost of life.

Almost all the elite German troops who were good at street fighting were lost in Stalingrad or Kharkov. These soldiers with no street fighting experience still bravely carried their weapons against the dense bullets in the field. go forward. It didn't take much effort, and on the way they charged, they were covered with layers of soldiers who died in battle. Since the street is within the range of our army, no one dared to treat the wounded soldiers. They could only stand on the battlefield and wait for death, or be mercifully replaced by guard soldiers who could not bear to watch them in pain and wailing. One shot.

At noon, the commander of the 2o8th Division, who commanded the battle, saw that the casualties of the troops were too great, and ordered to stop the offensive and temporarily withdrew from the city to take a rest. At the same time, the Air Force was called to bombard the buildings on the edge of the city indiscriminately, hoping to kill all the commanders and fighters of our army who were stuck in these buildings.

However, the German commander quickly discovered that he had miscalculated. Their bomber had just reached the sky over Zhitomir, and before they had time to dive and drop bombs, our fighter plane that had not been seen accidentally appeared in the air. After a fierce battle, more than 20 German bombers were shot down, and the remaining bombers were thrown away at random, and then turned around and flew away westward.

Seeing enemy bombers fleeing, and our air force was bombing the German army assembled outside the city, Tawart Kiradze, who was commanding troops in the city, was a little bit unable to sit still. He called me and asked for instructions: "Commander Comrade, the enemy's bombers were beaten away by our fighters, and the ground troops were also driven away from the city by us."

"I know all of this." I knew that Tawart Kiradze had said to me that he must have some thoughts, so I asked in return: "Comrade Commander, what do you think, come and listen?"

"Comrade Commander, I want to use the artillery units that have been hidden recently." Tavart Kiradze said straightforwardly: "Since Zhitomyr's air superiority has returned to our hands, when we use artillery, Don't worry about being bombed by the enemy."

"Is it just using artillery to bombard the enemy, comrade commander?" I guessed that he might want to take advantage of the frustration of the German offensive and counterattack the enemy, so he asked jokingly: "If that is the case, the Air Force commanders and fighters will be able to attack the enemy. If the enemy blows up, you don’t have to waste cannonballs."

When I said this, Tawart Kiradze immediately became anxious: "No, Comrade Commander, it's not what you think. We will not only carry out artillery bombardment on the German forces assembled outside the city, but also take the opportunity to counterattack. To take back all the lost positions."

"I agree with your proposal!" Hearing Tawart Kiradze a little anxious, I said generously: "Comrade Commander, but I want to remind you that even if a full-scale counterattack is launched, there are still people in the city. Put down enough defensive forces to prevent the enemy from taking advantage of our attack and launching a counterattack in unexpected places. What kind of situation will arise at that time, you must consider all these things."

After I finished speaking, Tawart Kiradze immediately replied: "Don’t worry, Comrade Commander, I will let the 9th Guards Division complete this counterattack, and the Guards 67th Division has been in the recent battle. The attrition is relatively large, so I will leave the defensive task in the west of the city to them to complete."

"You are very thoughtful, Comrade Commander." I urged him: "When the enemy is blown away by our air force, take action immediately."

The German army must have never dreamed that after the shelling was over, our army would suddenly attack the positions they occupied, and was beaten in a hurry. After a short period of resistance, they fled to the second position in embarrassment and reorganized a new defense.

After reading the battle report on the front line, Bezikov said excitedly: "It's great, the soldiers of the Guards are really great. I didn't expect them to regain the position they lost the previous two days so quickly. I believe it will wait. At night, our troops will be able to regain all the lost positions."

Compared with Bezikov’s elation, I looked much calmer. I knew in my heart that the Germans were not so easily defeated. Don’t look at them retreating so fast now, because they were caught off guard by us. When they recover, the battle will enter a stalemate.

Seeing that I was silent, Kistyakov hurriedly asked with concern: "Comrade Commander, what's wrong with you? Why do you hear that our troops win victory, but also look depressed."

I sighed softly, and then asked Bezikov, "Chief of Staff, how is the situation north of the city? Is the enemy still attacking the defense zone of the 3o9th Guards?"

"Yes, the Germans are still attacking." Bezikov said a little puzzled: "The enemy in the west of the city was repelled by us. What happened to the enemy in the north of the city? Not only did they not retreat, but they increased their offensive force. General Tawart Kiradze has transferred one of the two regiments deployed at the rear of the regiment."

"It was the 2o8th Infantry Division that was repelled in the west of the city, while the seventh armored division of the German army was in the north." At this time, I didn't conceal my thoughts and told them my worries: "Although from the current situation, the counterattack of the 9th Guards Division went smoothly, once the Germans entered the armored units, the situation on the battlefield would be reversed. I hope that our troops will not be driven into the city by the enemy again. Just fine."

"No, Comrade Commander." Bezikov comforted me: "Now the air supremacy is in our hands. In the face of our powerful counterattack, the enemy to the west is just lingering."

"The offensive in the west of the city is temporarily set aside. Let's study how to stop the German offensive in the north of the city." I pointed to the map and said: "The Seventh Armored Division would rather risk the bombing of our fighters than stop the offensive. Analyzing the situation, their determination to seize the north of the city is very firm. Once the north of the city is broken by them, the defending army in Zhitomir will be divided into two parts. I am worried that this will cause chaos in the army. "

"Then what should we do?" Bezikov asked anxiously.

"Call General Tavart Kiradze and ask the artillery to turn the muzzle and fire at the German assembly area in the north of the city. The fighting spirit of the Germans must be destroyed with fierce artillery to ensure that the north is safe and sound."

"Understood, I'm going to call General Tawart Kiradze."

The 7th Armored Division in the north of the city was hit by our army's fierce artillery fire, and suffered huge casualties, and had to temporarily stop the attack on the north of the city.

Hearing that the 7th Armored Division’s offensive had stopped, I couldn’t help but breathe a sigh of relief. Then I called Sergeikov, the commander of the 51st Guards Division, and asked him about the situation in the city. After hearing his voice, I immediately asked, "Comrade Colonel, what's the situation with you? Has the enemy really stopped attacking?"

"Yes, Comrade Commander, the enemy's offensive has been suspended." Sergeikov reported to me excitedly on the phone: "Major Shumakov reported to me that in front of his position, except for the burning There was nothing left except German tanks and German corpses everywhere."

"Good job, comrade colonel, your soldiers are good." After praising him, I then ordered: "You should use this time to repair the wounded and prepare for the next round of German offensive. "

"We have already begun to do this." Sergeikov asked hesitantly: "Comrade Commander, with the emergence of our air force, I feel that the situation on the battlefield has undergone a fundamental change. Will we soon Are you about to launch an offensive against the Germans?"

"Comrade Colonel, who told you about this?" I was a bit dissatisfied with his hearsay: "Although we have regained the initiative on the battlefield due to the emergence of the Air Force today, when it comes to launching a battle against the enemy Offensive, I think the time is not yet ripe."

"Why?" He was puzzled by what I said, and he asked curiously: "Since we now have the cooperation of artillery and air force, it should be no problem to defeat the German troops outside the city."

"It is not enough to just defeat the enemy, they will soon regroup in a new location," I thought of saying, "It's better to break one finger than one finger" when I said it, and Sergeikov didn't necessarily understand it. , Can only use the simplest possible words to say: "After they regroup, they will attack us more fiercely. Therefore, in the battle, we must eliminate as much of their active force as possible."

"It turned out to be like this, I understand." After Sergeikov understood what I meant, he then asked for instructions: "Comrade Commander, what is our next task for the 51st Division tonight?"

"Continue to defend the north of the city, nail it there like a nail, and I can't retreat one step." I was worried that Sederikov had misinterpreted my meaning and just let the troops defend passively instead of daring to cross the mine pool for half a step, so I reminded him Said: "When the conditions are ripe, you can also appropriately counterattack the enemy in front of you. In a word, you have to find a way to contain the elite German tanks here, so that they cannot withdraw, so as to wait for our comprehensive After the counterattack begins, it can be hit hard or even wiped out."

My phone call with Sergeikov just ended, and Bezikov, who received the latest report, ran over to tell me the good news. He was a little bit overwhelmed and said: "Comrade Commander, the battle in the west of the city is progressing so smoothly. Now the commanders of the 9th Guards Division have successfully occupied the second line of defense and are preparing to attack the third line of defense occupied by the Germans, which is the last line of defense."

Hearing that the 9th Guards Division had captured the two German defense lines in a row, I felt a little less worried, and even thought that I was a bit unreasonable. The enemy was defeated and retreated. Could it be that they still have the strength to deal with us? Are the offensive forces counterattack?

Thinking of this, I can't help regretting it a bit, thinking that my decision to force Tavart Kiradze to leave the 67th Division of the Guards in charge of the defense of the west of the city may be wrong. If the two guards were to attack the Germans at the same time, they should have recovered all their positions outside the city. Before the German counterattacks, they should have enough time to strengthen and perfect the fortifications.

However, for the sake of safety, I still tell Bezikov: "Chief of Staff, please call General Tavart Kiradze and ask him to transfer a few anti-tank lines to positions outside the city as soon as possible to counter the possibility. The German tank that appeared."

After Tavart Kirazzi received this order from me, he was busy immediately. Since the anti-tank companies were scattered in different blocks, it took a lot of time to gather them together. It will take the same or even longer time to drive to those positions occupied by our army.

Just when the city was in a mess due to the mobilization of the anti-tank company, the German counterattack began.

I was on the phone with Tavart Kiradze, and suddenly heard the roaring in his headquarters, I couldn't help frowning, and asked dissatisfiedly: "General Tavat Kiradze, what happened, your command Why is the ministry messed up?"

It took a while for Tawart Kiradze to report to me in a flustered tone: "Comrade Commander, I think we are in trouble. When we were attacking the third line of defense, a The German infantry of the regiment, supported by more than two dozen Tiger and Panther tanks, suddenly turned to counter-attack. Our commanders and fighters were suppressed on the open ground by enemy artillery and machine gun fire. The casualties of the troops are constantly increasing. "

"What about your artillery?" I heard that the enemy really launched a counterattack, and my guess became a reality. I couldn't help becoming a little impatient. I shouted into the microphone and said: "Let the artillery fire immediately and intercept the enemy with artillery fire. Tanks and infantry, cover our commanders and retreat to the second line of defense."

"Our commanders and the enemy are very close," the person speaking in the receiver suddenly became Povsky, and he said to me anxiously: "If you fire, you will accidentally injure your own people."

"Comrade Povsky, the situation is urgent. I can't think about that much." I thought of Chernoff's character. After occupying a position, except for leaving a small amount of troops to clean up the remnant enemy, the rest of the main force is to continue. Attack forward. If the German counter-attack is really successful, then the positions we won before we shed blood and sacrifice will retake them. Therefore, I decisively ordered: "If you don’t fire anymore, the enemy’s tanks will rush into our positions. The commanders and fighters who are suppressed on the ground by the firepower will be completely wiped out by the enemy. I order you to immediately fire the artillery and block the path of the German tanks with artillery fire to cover the retreat of the commanders and fighters of the 9th Division of the Guards. The retreat counts as much as possible." Continued.)