Red Moscow

News of the Soviet occupation of Orlovka quickly reached Paulus' headquarters.

After reading the report, Paulus did not fly into a rage, but stared at the map for a while, then turned and asked Schmid, who was standing in the middle of the room: "Chief of Staff, have you figured out the number of this Russian army? "

Schmid shook his head and replied: "Your Excellency, since we haven't sent ground troops to attack, we can't know the number of this Russian army for the time being. But according to the reconnaissance of the Air Force, the Russian army stationed in this area probably There are five or six hundred people."

"The Russians occupied Orlovka, intending to meet Rokossovsky's troops here." Paulus said sternly: "We must not let their plot succeed."

"Your Excellency," Schmid asked cautiously, "then what should we do now?"

"Immediately order the troops to restore the lost positions and cut off the connection between this Russian army and other areas." Paulus picked up a explaining stick by the wall and drew a circle at Orlovka's position: "Wait for them After becoming a lone army, we will concentrate our superior forces to launch an attack, and we must wipe them out."

"Understood, Your Excellency Commander." Schmid replied respectfully, "I'll go and arrange the order."

…………

Half an hour later, the 120th Guards Regiment, which stood firm in the third and fourth lines of defense, was heavily shelled by the Germans. In an instant, the entire defensive line was blown up into a sea of ​​flames, shrapnel shot and mud splashed.

The head of the regiment hid in the reinforced concrete fortification of the third line of defense, and shouted into the microphone at the top of his voice: "... Comrade Commander, we have been heavily bombarded by the enemy. It seems that they are preparing to attack us..."

After receiving the report from the troops, Guriyev stared at the map in front of him for a moment, and then said in a stern tone: "Comrade Colonel, it seems that the enemy is trying to recover their lost positions. I now order you to hold on to it at all costs." The position is not allowed to retreat a single step. Do you understand?"

Hearing Guriyev's order, the head of the regiment hesitated for a while, and answered bravely: "Understood, I will find a way to hold the position."

"Comrade Colonel," Guriyev was deeply afraid that the regiment commander would violate his orders, so he emphasized to him: "Once the two lines of defense you are defending fall, the 73rd Infantry Brigade going out to Orlovka will , there is a danger of being cut off by the enemy, so you must do everything possible to protect the safety of their flanks."

"I understand, Comrade Commander." Guriyev's words made the regimental commander realize the seriousness of the problem, and he quickly said, "We will find a way to hold this place."

The enemy's shelling in the third and fourth directions was seen by Sokov standing on the hill. After observing with the binoculars for a while, he said to Bely who was standing beside him: "Colonel Bely, it seems that the Germans want to regain their lost line of defense."

"That's right." Bely agreed with Sokov's statement: "Once they seize these positions, they can cut off our retreat and make us a lone army."

"Even if the Germans cut off our southward retreat, if necessary, we can still choose to retreat eastward..." Sokov said here, and suddenly remembered that Bely had been back for so long, and he hadn't asked him about the situation in the east. Regarding the defensive situation, he quickly asked: "By the way, Colonel Bely, how many troops have been deployed in the defensive position to the east?"

"Colonel Gurdiyev deployed a battalion there to defend." Bely heard Sokov's question, and replied casually: "Even if the enemy launches an attack there, we can rush there in time to support."

Sokov heard that a battalion had been deployed on the eastern defense line. He instinctively thought that even if the battalion suffered heavy casualties, there might still be one or two hundred people. As long as they could block the enemy for half an hour, he would have enough time. Send Pieley's tank battalion to rush to support. But what he and Bely never imagined in their dreams was that the battalion under Gurdiyev was only equivalent to a platoon, and it was okay to serve as a guard. It was impossible to block the enemy's attack.

In the immediate situation, what Sokov had to consider was how to use his own forces to hold on for a longer period of time in areas that were not conducive to defense, to wait for theoretically possible reinforcements. He no longer cared about the direction to the east, but pointed to the small village in the northwest, and asked, "Colonel Bely, why haven't the two tanks you sent in that direction come back yet?"

If Sokov hadn't reminded him, Bely would have almost forgotten about it. He hastily called the operator and called Sereda through the radio. After calling for a while, the operator finally got in touch with Captain Sereda. Bely asked loudly into the microphone: "Comrade Captain, how is the situation there? Why haven't you come back yet?"

"Reporting to the Colonel..." It may be that the signal is not good, and the voice coming from the earphones is intermittent: "We...found the enemy...fighting...now we..."

From Sereda's intermittent words, Bely had no idea what the other party was talking about. He hurriedly asked the operator: "Comrade operator, is there any way for me to hear exactly what Captain Sereda is saying?"

The operator shook his head and said with a wry smile, "I'm sorry, Comrade Colonel, maybe the signal here is not good, and I can't make the call better."

Hearing what the radio operator said, Belei was so angry that he threw the headset and the microphone to him, and then said to Sokov: "Comrade Brigadier, Captain Sereda and the others haven't come back for a long time. I guess they may have met What trouble. I'll take someone to see what happened."

The situation in the small village was unclear, and Sokov didn't want Bely to take risks, so he stopped him: "Colonel Bely, I think it's better to let Lieutenant Valenra's ball tank go to see, and I'll let another squad Infantry, go with them in armored vehicles."

Bely had no objection to Sokov's arrangement, so he nodded in agreement. Seeing that Bely had no objection, Sokov turned around and told Guchakov: "Guchakov, you immediately inform Lieutenant Valenra and ask him to take a squad of infantry to the small village in the northwest to find out what is going on there. what's going on."

After Guchakov left, Sokov looked northwest and said to Bely with emotion: "We are only a dozen kilometers away from General Rokossovsky's troops. If I have a With a powerful tank force and a sufficient number of infantry, maybe I will directly lead my troops to continue northward and try my best to join forces with his troops."

Bely grinned, and said: "Comrade Brigadier, if someone else said this, I would think he was bragging. But I think it is entirely possible for you to say this. You lead a tank battalion and several hundred In one day, the infantry broke through four directions in a row, and smoothly advanced to the Orlovka area, which is really not easy."

Hearing Belyi mention his record, Sokov felt somewhat proud. But not long after he was happy, the expression on his face became gloomy again. In fairness, he prefers to fight mobile warfare and lead the troops to attack the weak links of the German army, rather than lead the troops to fight against the Germans in such an area that is not conducive to defense.

When he saw the familiar spherical tank and an armored vehicle full of soldiers heading northwest, he thought silently in his heart: "I hope Lieutenant Valenra and the others can figure it out as soon as possible, Captain Sereda and the others What the hell happened in that small village."

Sokov raised his binoculars, first looked at the south where the gunpowder was filled with gunpowder and the rumble of artillery, and then looked to the southeast, where there were commanders and fighters from the 308th Infantry Division, who were hurrying to repair the fortifications. He thought to himself: "When we are attacked by the German army here, Gurdiyev can send troops to support us; and when they are attacked by the enemy, we can also provide them with help. It is better than concentrating all the troops in the One place is vulnerable to enemy shelling and bombing."

But when he saw the tanks parked behind the hill, he couldn't help frowning again. Tanks parked on the reverse slope can certainly avoid enemy shelling. But if the enemy launches an air strike, these tanks will become targets of enemy planes, and they must be transferred to a position that is both safe and convenient for attacking.

Thinking of this, he turned to Bely and asked, "Comrade Colonel, our tanks are here, and they are easy targets for enemy planes. Where do you think they should be hidden?"

Hearing Sokov's question, Bely was silent for a long time, and finally said: "Comrade Brigadier, anyway, we don't have many tanks, why don't we spread them out and use them as fixed forts?"

If it is in other places, using the tank as a fixed turret, Sokov has no objection. But here in Orlovka, he didn't think about holding on for a long time at all, so there was no need to use the tank as a turret. Therefore, his eyes looked around for a while, and finally stopped in the northwest direction.

Sokov pointed to the village where the ball tank was driving, and said to Bely: "Comrade Colonel, I have an idea, hide all your tanks in that village, and wait for the enemy's tank troops to attack our position." When you attack, you attack from their flanks and beat them hard. What do you think?"

Bely raised his binoculars, glanced at the village, silently calculated the time needed for the attack, then nodded and said: "Comrade Brigadier, that's a good place to attack, but unfortunately we don't know yet. As for the situation in the village, we can only wait for Valenra's report before deciding whether to hide the tank there."

After more than half an hour, Valenra got in touch with Bely through the car radio. When Bely heard Valenra's voice, he immediately asked excitedly: "Comrade Lieutenant, have you arrived at the village yet?"

"Yes, Comrade Colonel," replied Valerie. "We have reached the village."

"What's the situation in the village?" Sokov learned that Valenla and the others had entered the village, so he couldn't wait to say: "Report to me immediately."

"When we entered the village, we found that the two tanks driven by Captain Sereda and the others had been destroyed. All the infantry who accompanied the tanks were sacrificed." Valenra said in shock, "It seems that not long ago, there was a There was a fierce battle, in addition to our sacrificed soldiers, there were more than 20 German corpses.”

"Where is Captain Sereda?" Sokov learned that the troops that entered the village earlier had been wiped out, so he quickly asked, "Is he still alive?"

"Yes, Comrade Brigadier." Valerie replied respectfully, "Captain Sereda is still alive, but he is seriously injured and cannot tell us what happened in the village just now."

"Search the village immediately to see if there are any hidden German troops." After giving Valenra the order, Sokov asked Guchakov to call Tenev up.

After Tenev came in front of him, Sokov said to him with a serious expression: "Major Tenev, you immediately send a company of troops to the small village in the northwest to assist the troops there in defense. "

"Comrade Lieutenant Colonel," Tenev said with some embarrassment after hearing the mission assigned by Sokov, "If a company is dispatched to the village, the defense here will become weak. If the enemy launches an attack, I am worried... ..."

"You don't have to worry, Comrade Major." Sokov interrupted him without waiting for him to finish, "If all the troops are concentrated here, the enemy's shelling and bombing can cause us a lot of damage. Casualties. Therefore, we have to consider spreading our forces and defending in different areas."

After saying these few words, Sokov said to Bely again: "Comrade Colonel, you will lead all the tanks and guard companies and go to that village to hide."

After Bely learned that his subordinate was seriously injured, he wished to rush over to have a look. At this time, the order given by Sokov was in line with his intentions. He nodded vigorously and said, "Okay, Comrade Brigadier , I will lead the remaining tanks and go to the small village to hide with the soldiers of the guard company."

"Colonel Bely." Seeing that Bely was about to leave, Sokov urged from behind: "When you get to the village, remember to contact me and tell me what happened in the village."

"Don't worry, Comrade Brigadier." Bely nodded and replied, "I will."

When the remaining ten or so tanks and a company of infantry were heading towards the small village, Guchakov asked Sukov cautiously: "Comrade brigade commander, once the tank battalion and this infantry company leave, what will happen to the troops on the ground?" The defense force becomes weak, if the enemy takes the opportunity to attack, can we stop it?"

Sokov turned to look at Guchakov, and said expressionlessly: "Comrade Guchakov, we put the tanks here. Once they are bombed by enemy planes, these tanks will become their targets. Now put They hid in that village, and besides being able to evade the air strikes, they could also rush out of the village unexpectedly when the enemy attacked and hit their flanks hard. Do you understand?"

After Sokov's explanation, Guchakov suddenly realized, and quickly nodded and said: "It's still Comrade Brigadier who is thoughtful, admiration!"

Sokov hid the tanks in the village, and besides the reasons he told Guchakov, he also planned to use them to cover the infantry assault to the north, to break through the enemy's defenses and rush to Orlo in case of a bad situation Maly Ivanovka, a dozen kilometers north of Vka, joined Rokossovsky's troops.