Red Moscow

Ever since he received Braginski's report and learned that the German troops on the right had begun to mobilize, Sokov knew in his heart that he had a great chance of winning this battle. But out of caution, he did not get carried away by this, but solemnly said to Pornejelin and Sidolin: "Deputy commander, chief of staff, I still say the same thing, the situation on the battlefield changes rapidly, as long as you We cannot claim victory until the battle is over. Understand?"

"Comrade Commander is right." Ponegelin echoed: "If you are blindly confident because the situation of this battle is in our favor, you will easily make the mistake of underestimating the enemy. You know, sometimes wounded beasts bite people It will hurt more."

An hour later, Sidolin received a call from Myakov. The other party spoke very quickly: "Comrade Chief of Staff, the situation seems to be a little bad. My scout told me that the German army in front of my division has received reinforcements and seems to be preparing to launch a counterattack against our department."

"Great, this is really great." Sidolin couldn't help applauding when he learned that the German reinforcements had reached the front of the 3rd Division. But the next moment, he realized that what he said might make Miyakov have a bad association, and he quickly explained: "Lieutenant Colonel Miyakov, according to the information we have, this enemy is from our army. right wing. As long as you can contain them, the balance of victory will be tilted towards our army."

"But Comrade Chief of Staff," Miyakov said in embarrassment after hearing this: "We have fought for such a long time, the troops have suffered a lot of casualties, and the commanders and fighters are also very tired. If the Germans launch a counterattack at this time, I'm afraid we..."

His words came to an abrupt end here, but Sidolin understood what he wanted to express: Not only did the commanders and fighters of the division pay a high price, even the division commander died in the battle, which would affect the morale of the troops . If the strengthened German troops launch a strong counterattack at this time, the 3rd Division may be defeated.

"Don't worry, Lieutenant Colonel Miyakov." Sidolin comforted the other party and said, "We have already issued an order to Liuzhikov's 211th Infantry Division to let them go to replace you as soon as possible. If before they arrive, The enemy will launch a counterattack, you must block it. Do you understand?"

"Chief of Staff, please tell Comrade Commander." Myakov replied loudly: "The area we have already occupied will never be taken away by the Germans."

After waiting for Sidolin to put down the phone, Sokov stared at the map and said, "Chief of Staff, tell Colonel Braginsky again that the troops transferred from the right wing have entered the defensive position on the left wing and are preparing to attack the second wing. The 3rd Division launched a counterattack, let him act quickly and take down the reservoir dam as soon as possible."

"Colonel Braginsky." After connecting with the headquarters of the 109th Division, Sidolin said straight to the point: "The enemies transferred from the front of you have now entered the front of the 3rd Division. Comrade Commander ordered , let you seize the reservoir of the Narew River immediately, and take advantage of the enemy's depleted forces to seize their defensive positions."

"I finally waited for this moment." Braginski said: "I immediately ordered the small troops to attack."

Braginski immediately contacted the troops hiding near the reservoir after finishing his call with Sidolin. At this moment, the number of troops attacking the reservoir has increased from one company to two companies, under the command of a deputy battalion commander. Braginsky said straight to the point: "Comrade Captain, I order you to attack the reservoir now. Remember, the reservoir must be taken at all costs, and the enemy must not be allowed to blow up the reservoir. If the Germans blow up the reservoir, You just come back to see me with your head up. Got it?"

"Comrade commander." Hearing what Braginsky said, the deputy battalion commander quickly assured him, "I assure you, the reservoir will be taken down. If the Germans really blow up the reservoir, you don't need to deal with me." , I'll shoot myself in the head with a gun."

"Okay, stop talking nonsense." Braginsky said into the microphone: "Hurry up and act. Whether our army can successfully capture the triangle depends entirely on whether your actions are successful."

The battle to seize the reservoir has been heated up from the very beginning. According to the plan of the deputy battalion commander, a platoon would be sent to attack first, kill the German blasters, and then gradually eliminate the enemies on the reservoir dam. Unexpectedly, when the sneak attack was about to succeed, a more alert German soldier escaped from the hands of the Soviet army and sounded the alarm in time, turning the sneak attack into a storm.

Seeing that his intentions were exposed, the deputy battalion commander immediately organized troops to charge towards the dam along the road in order to take down the reservoir as soon as possible. However, several machine guns erected by the Germans on the dam formed a crossfire network, blocking the way forward for the Soviet army.

The first charge launched by the Soviet army failed without incident. Nearly half of the commanders and fighters of the charge company fell on the way to the charge.

The first company commander returned to the deputy battalion commander, and said to him loudly: "Comrade Captain, the enemy's firepower is too fierce. If there is another charge like this, all my men will die."

As the second company commander of the reserve team, he also said to the deputy battalion commander: "Comrade Captain, the first company commander is right. The enemy's machine gun fire has blocked our way forward. If we charge forward regardless, I am afraid everyone will die. There's no way to take down the reservoir dam either."

Seeing that the attack didn't work, the deputy battalion commander was also anxious. After the two company commanders had finished speaking, he asked back, "What can you do? Let's talk about it!"

The first company commander said: "Use the mortars and machine guns we carry to suppress the enemy's firepower and cover the troops' charge."

The second company commander added: "I agree with the first company commander's opinion, but I would like to add one more point. Our current priority is to prevent the Germans from blowing up the reservoir dam, so it is necessary to send people to kill the German blasters .”

The deputy battalion commander looked at the building where the German bombers were hiding, shook his head slightly, and said, "Second Company Commander, don't you see that the German bombers are all hiding in the buildings behind the machine gun fire points? Rushing to their hiding place, I'm afraid there will be a lot of price to pay."

"Or, let's bombard the building directly with mortars." The second company commander once again put forward his own plan: "As long as the building is blown down, the same effect can be achieved."

"The mortars we carry are good enough to fight against infantry and sandbag fortifications." Unexpectedly, after hearing this, the deputy battalion commander shook his head again and said, "It is impossible to destroy those reinforced concrete buildings."

After a brief silence, the first company commander spoke: "Comrade Captain, normally speaking, the German blaster is the biggest hidden danger. If we don't eliminate him, he may blow up the dam at any time. But we can change the angle and come to solve this problem."

The deputy battalion commander heard something from the tone of the first company commander, and asked quickly: "First company commander, do you have any good ideas?"

"Look." The company commander pointed to a corner on the dam and said to the two men, "That's the wire that detonated the explosives. Even if we can't eliminate the German bombers, as long as the wire is cut, he can't detonate the explosives." .”

"That's right, that's a good idea." The deputy battalion commander nodded and said, "As long as we send someone to cut the wires, the enemy won't be able to detonate the explosives on the dam."

But it didn't take long for the three of them to be happy, and they fell silent again. Because they found that the position of the wire was just within the blockade of the German machine gun fire, and the commanders and fighters who went to cut the wire might die at any time.

But the next moment, the company commander stood up and said: "Comrade Captain, this is the only chance to keep the reservoir dam, and we have to take this risk."

The deputy battalion commander frowned and said cautiously: "It's in an area blocked by German firepower. Comrades who go on missions may not have a high chance of surviving."

"You are right, Comrade Captain." The company commander said bitterly: "No matter how dangerous a task is, someone must carry it out, so why don't you entrust this arduous and glorious task to our company?" Finish."

Seeing that the first company commander offered to volunteer, the deputy battalion commander stared at him for a long time, finally nodded slowly, and said: "First company commander, I will order mortar and machine gun fire to cover you. Go ahead, can we keep the reservoir? It's up to you."

While mortars and machine guns opened fire to suppress the German firepower on the dam, the first company commander sent two soldiers to cut the wires connecting the explosives and detonators.

After receiving the order, the two fighters moved towards the designated target in a crawling manner. But their actions were quickly discovered by the Germans. From the window of the room where the blaster was hiding, a machine gun protruded and fired at the two soldiers. A soldier was unfortunately hit by a bullet while crawling and died on the spot.

Another soldier was also hit in the calf by a bullet, but he endured the pain and dragged his bleeding injured leg to the wire. He took off the pliers hanging from his waist and prepared to cut the wire.

But if he wanted to cut the wire, he had to lie on the ground, but he couldn't use any force. He could only try to lift his upper body, preparing to cut the wire with the weight of his body. But before he could exert any force, a series of bullets flew towards him and hit him. He stopped abruptly, his body froze in mid-air for a moment, and then fell directly on the wire, blood staining the nearby ground.

Seeing the sacrifice of his subordinates, Lianchang stomped his feet in anger. Just when he was about to send people to carry out the mission again, he was stopped by a veteran: "Comrade company commander, the place is blocked by German firepower. No matter how many people are sent there, they will die."

"I know." Facing the veteran, the first company commander said angrily: "But if this wire is not cut, the German bombers hiding in the building can detonate the explosives placed on the dam at any time."

"Comrade company commander, the wire connecting the explosive and the detonator doesn't necessarily have to be cut with pliers." The veteran said, "We can also cut it in other ways."

"Other ways?" After hearing this, the company commander couldn't help being taken aback, and then asked back, "How do you break the wire?"

"It's very simple." The veteran pointed to the mortars that were bombarding the German firepower point not far away, and said, "We can blow up the wires with artillery fire. As long as the wires are broken, the Germans will have no way to detonate the explosives."

"That's right, why didn't I think of this." The company commander slammed his right fist into the palm of his left hand, and said excitedly, "This is a good idea."

But then he had a troubled expression on his face: "But the remains of our two soldiers are there. If shelling is carried out, will his remains be damaged?"

"In order to achieve the final victory," the deputy battalion commander walked over and just heard the conversation between the two, and said, "I believe that the spirits of these two soldiers will forgive us."

Hearing what the deputy battalion commander said, the first company commander couldn't say anything more, so he ordered someone to call in a mortar and fire at the location where the wires were. A few shells blasted past, and it really broke the frightening wire. Seeing that the wire was broken, the deputy battalion commander felt more at ease, and immediately ordered the troops to attack.

At this time, the communication soldier with the walkie-talkie came over to the deputy battalion commander: "Comrade Captain, the division commander wants to talk to you."

As soon as he put on the earphones, Braginsky's voice came out: "Comrade Captain, how is the situation there, has the reservoir dam been taken down?"

"Not yet, Comrade Master."

"Then why are you dawdling?" Braginsky said angrily, "Have you forgotten what I told you, if we can't take down the reservoir dam as soon as possible, we won't be able to continue to attack the enemy."

"Comrade Commander, the first attack we launched failed, and we are organizing the second attack now." The deputy battalion commander replied, "I believe we will be able to take down the reservoir dam this time!"

"Your actions are too slow. If you continue to delay like this, the Germans may blow up the dam at any time, and then everything you do will be useless."

"Comrade Commander, you can rest assured that the Germans are now unable to detonate the explosives planted on the dam."

"What's going on?" Braginski was taken aback, and then asked back, "What did you do to prevent the Germans from blowing up the dam?"

"I ordered the artillery to blow up the wire connecting the explosives and the detonator with a mortar." The deputy battalion commander replied quite proudly: "In this way, the Germans will never want to blow up the dam."

When Braginski heard that this was the case, a smile appeared on his face: "That's really great. As long as the Germans don't blow up the dam, the next battle will be easy."

After finishing the call, Braginsky called the chief of staff and told him: "Chief of staff, immediately give orders to the regiments to attack the frontal enemy immediately."

Hearing Braginsky's order, the chief of staff was dumbfounded: "Comrade commander, we have launched an offensive rashly before we have seized the reservoir dam. If the Germans blow up the dam, our attacking commanders and fighters will be flooded." Swallowed."

"You don't have to worry about this. The captain has already reported to me that they used artillery fire to blow up the wire connecting the explosives and the detonator. That is to say, the Germans could not detonate the explosives placed in the reservoir." Braginsky told the staff Chang said: "If the Germans know that we are attacking the reservoir, they will definitely send troops to reinforce it. Now there are only two companies attacking the reservoir, and they lack heavy weapons. I am worried that they will not last long, so we must attack in time and seize it as soon as possible. the enemy's position, and rescue them from danger."

After figuring out what was going on, the chief of staff quickly agreed, and was going to call the heads of the regiments to inform them to resume the attack. However, when he picked up the microphone, he also specially reminded Braginski: "Comrade commander, I think we should report the resumption of the offensive to Comrade Commander, so that he can know it well."