Red Moscow

Ershakov was in total shock. He did not expect that the counterattack organized by the three infantry divisions would end in failure without even a day. His regiment would also serve as a battlefield fire brigade To cover the retreat of friendly forces.

Seeing Yershakov staring at the map in a daze, Sokov raised his hand and slapped him heavily on the back, and said displeasedly: "Lieutenant Colonel Yershakov, I am giving you a mission. , don't be distracted at this time."

Sokov's slap woke Ershakov from his fugue, and he blushed quickly and replied, "I'm sorry, Comrade Commander, I was distracted. Please continue to assign tasks."

Originally, the Yershakov regiment was ordered to take over the defense of the friendly army, and it only needed to make a phone call. The reason why Sokov called Yershakov here to assign tasks was entirely because of the Tiger tanks that the German army had just entered the battlefield. The soldiers had no experience in dealing with this type of tanks. It is easy to suffer a lot.

"When you are on the battlefield, you will see a new type of heavy tank that the Germans put into the battlefield." Sokov patiently explained to Ershakov: "This tank not only uses 88mm guns, but also has a powerful gun. In addition to lethality; there is also thick armor that makes anti-tank hand a headache. As far as I know, its frontal armor is 102mm, and the side and back armor are also as thick as 82mm. That is to say, our existing anti-tank guns, Anti-tank rifle, there's nothing you can do with it."

Knowing that the German army had launched a heavy tank with powerful firepower and strong armor protection, Ershakov's face changed: "Comrade commander, how should we destroy the enemy's tanks?"

"The Tiger tank uses a gasoline engine, and you can use Molotov cocktails to deal with it." Fortunately, Sukov remembered that the Tiger tank used a gasoline generator, so he naturally thought of a corresponding solution: "As long as the engine misfires, the No matter how thick the armor is on a tank."

"Understood, Comrade Commander." After hearing the performance parameters of the Tiger tank, Ershakov felt a little overwhelmed. Now that he heard the solution Sokov said, the smile returned to his face Above: "I'll let the fighters kill it with Molotov cocktails, and to hell with all the new German tanks."

Seeing that Ershakov regained his confidence, Sokov nodded with satisfaction, and said to him: "Comrade Lieutenant Colonel, it's getting late, act now, I wish you good luck!"

…………

When Ershakov led the troops to the position of the 351st regiment, most of the regiment's position had been lost, and two of the battalions had basically lost their combat effectiveness. The commander of the regiment, Lieutenant Colonel Sasiko, who was on the brink of despair, took advantage of the time when the Germans stopped attacking, and explained the funeral to the chief of staff of the regiment in the regiment command post: "Comrade chief of staff, at present, only the third battalion in the regiment is relatively complete. , you take them down first, and I and the remaining soldiers from the first and second battalions will stay behind to cover you."

"Regimental Commander, you should take the 3rd Battalion to withdraw." The chief of staff of the regiment never dreamed that in the face of the German offensive, although the soldiers of the 351st Regiment were extremely brave, they still could not resist for an hour. Seeing that the position was in jeopardy , whoever stays behind will definitely end up dead, so he said resolutely: "I will stay and cover."

Just as the two were arguing, an officer wearing a steel helmet ran in from the outside and shouted excitedly at Sasiko: "Regiment commander, reinforcements, reinforcements are here!"

"The reinforcements have arrived?!" Hearing the officer's report, Sasiko and the chief of staff were stunned. After a while, Sasiko asked, "Is it the 339th regiment or the 347th regiment?"

The chief of staff of the regiment understood the reason why Sasiko asked this question. In the offensive battle in the morning, the 339th regiment, which was responsible for the first attack mission, suffered a lot of casualties. Even if it was sent, it could play a very limited role. He secretly prayed in his heart, if the division commander could send the 347 regiment to reinforce, then there would still be a chance to alleviate the unfavorable situation in front of him.

"No." The officer shook his head and replied, "It's the 125th Regiment of the 41st Guards Division, and their regiment commander, Lieutenant Colonel Yershakov, is coming towards us."

Knowing that the commander of the reinforcement army was coming towards him, Sasiko quickly stood up and said to the chief of staff of the regiment: "Comrade chief of staff, let's go out to meet the commander of the friendly army."

"No need, I've come myself." Before Sasiko and his chief of staff walked out of the command post, Yershakov had already walked in from the outside, looking at the two lieutenant colonels standing in front of him, he could not Identifying who is the head of the regiment from the military rank, he could only ask with a smile: "I am Lieutenant Colonel Yershakov, the head of the 125th Guards Regiment. Who is the head of the regiment?"

"Hello, Lieutenant Colonel Yershakov." Sasiko stepped forward to hold the opponent's hand and said politely: "I am Lieutenant Colonel Sasiko, the commander of the 351st Regiment. Nice to meet you!"

"Our regiment was ordered to take over your defense." Due to time constraints, Ershakov didn't say too much nonsense, but said bluntly: "Please withdraw from the position immediately after handing over the defense to me." .”

"Lieutenant Colonel Yershakov, please come here." Sasiko greeted Yershakov to the simple wooden table, pointed to the map on it, and introduced the situation to him, "Our position was originally as wide as 500 meters, and 700 meters in depth. However, under the strong German offensive, the area of ​​the position was greatly reduced, and now the width and depth are only 200 meters..."

"I see." Yershakov waited for Sasiko to finish, then nodded slightly: "We will defend this place at all costs to cover the retreat of the main force on the right wing."

"By the way, Lieutenant Colonel Yershakov, there is one more thing I want to remind you." The chief of staff of the regiment felt that it was necessary to introduce everything he knew to Yershakov, lest the newly arrived The friendly army suffers: "The enemy has a new type of tank. Our anti-tank guns and anti-tank guns can't do anything about it. Even the T-34 tank, which made the Germans frightened, is not his opponent. There are more than a dozen of them. The tank was destroyed."

Yershakov couldn't help being shocked when he heard what the regiment chief of staff said, and said in his heart: I didn't expect the Germans to really invest in the tank that the division commander said. Fortunately, they have found a way to do it. The tanks rushing over will not fall into the embarrassing situation of being helpless. Thinking of this, he smiled slightly and said, "Don't worry, we have found a way to deal with this tank. If it doesn't come, it's fine. Once it comes, discipline it to come and go."

Seeing Yershakov speak so confidently, Sasiko smiled wryly and shook his head, thinking that the lieutenant colonel is so underestimating the enemy that he will definitely suffer a big loss when he encounters the enemy's new tanks.

In fact, it is completely normal for Sasiko to think so. You know, since the Tiger tanks began to be equipped with troops, in order to prevent the enemy from discovering the weaknesses of the Tiger tanks, Hitler had issued strict orders to the troops, requiring that all Tiger tanks be parked together when there is no combat mission, and it is strictly forbidden for the tank soldiers to go back and forth. Outsiders approach. Moreover, all operating manuals were destroyed after reading, so that no one except the specially trained tank soldiers knew the mechanical structure and working method of the Tiger. As for the Tiger tank damaged in battle and unable to move, the tank crew must blow it up before giving up, so as to prevent it from falling into the enemy's hands.

If Sokov hadn't come from later generations, he wouldn't have known the weakness of the Tiger tank, which is that it uses a gasoline engine and only needs two incendiary bottles to make this majestic behemoth go to hell. Although Ershakov told his battalion and company commanders how to deal with the Tiger tank, it didn't mean he would tell Sasiko the secret.

After the two regiments handed over their defenses, Sasiko held out his hand to Yershakov and said sincerely: "Lieutenant Colonel Yershakov, I wish you good luck!" The direction of the Red October factory shifted.

After sending Sasiko and his remaining troops away, Yershakov ordered the communications corps to connect to the division headquarters and reported to Sokov: "Comrade division commander, our regiment has fully connected to the 351st. Regiment's defensive positions."

"How is the situation in the defensive positions?" Sokov heard the call from Yershakov, and immediately asked nervously: "Can the fortifications withstand the enemy's shelling and bombing?"

"I heard the introduction of Lieutenant Colonel Sasiko, the head of the regiment. Due to time constraints, their 1st regiment only dug a few trenches on the plain and a limited number of shelters. Before they had time to build strong fortifications, they were attacked by the enemy. Offensive." Ershakov introduced to Sokov with a serious expression: "Since there are no solid fortifications, and there are no barbed wire and minefields in front of the position, so facing the enemy's attack, the soldiers fought very bravely and bravely. In less than an hour of fighting, they lost nearly two-thirds of their casualties."

After hearing what Yershakov said, Sokov couldn't help but thump in his heart. He thought to himself: The 351st Regiment suffered two-thirds of casualties within an hour, and how long will the Yershakov Regiment hold out on the ground? It is still unclear how many people will be left after the blocking battle is over.

Ershakov saw that there was suddenly no sound from the receiver, so he guessed that Sokov might be worried about the fate of his regiment, so he forced a smile and said: "Don't worry, Comrade Commander, I have organized soldiers to repair and reinforce the fortifications. Dig a lot of bunkers in the trenches so that unnecessary casualties can be reduced when being shelled and bombed by the enemy. Also, the 351st Regiment had a lot of casualties, all caused by the damn heavy tanks, later Now we're going to teach the German tank crews a lesson that there's a price to pay for passing through our lines."

"Lieutenant Colonel Yershakov," Sokov said into the microphone, not knowing whether he would still see Yershakov alive after the blocking battle in the northwest was over, "I order you to live return!"