Chapter 38 Big Shot
Yuri's guess was correct. The German vanguard was almost chasing after the group of deserters. However, the first threat to the position of the 209th Battalion did not come from the ground, but from the sky.
The German planes were very rampant. The huge position that the 209th Battalion spent several months digging out became the stage for them to perform bombing and dive-strapping techniques. Although there was an anti-aircraft roof built of logs on the position, each company still inevitably suffered casualties.
The 52-k anti-aircraft gun that was towed from the Lutsk radar station was hidden in the forest by Yuri. He did not intend to use the remaining dozen or so shells on air defense, as the effect would not be great anyway. Therefore, even though German planes bombed the positions repeatedly, this anti-aircraft gun never fought back.
Two batches of German planes ravaged the sky over the position for nearly an hour. Around 8 o'clock, with smoke and dust rising from the northwest, a German force equipped with tanks and motorcycles finally appeared in the narrow strip of land outside the Bredev Forest.
The battle became intense as soon as the two sides came into contact. The German artillery fire raged on the 2nd Company position close to the woods on the right side like plowing the land. The rising smoke filled the entire battlefield. Then, under the cover of two tanks, the German infantry began to advance to the front of the position and set up firing points supported by G34 machine guns at three important locations along the way.
Yuri was at the lookout of the command post, closely observing the battle situation ahead through a telescope. At this time, the importance of communication was reflected. Because there was no radio station for communicating with the subordinate companies, he had no way to give commands to the subordinate companies in real time based on the battle situation.
Fortunately, the soldiers of the 2nd Company had gained actual combat experience in the previous battle to guard the Lutsk radio station. In addition, the company commander, Lieutenant Anastasia, was also an experienced grassroots commander. Therefore, facing the German attack, the 2nd Company's counterattack was also very sharp.
This German vanguard obviously did not expect that the Soviet defensive position had dug an anti-tank trench 5 meters wide and more than 2 meters deep. When a tank covering the infantry moved in front of the anti-tank trench, the front half of the vehicle suddenly rushed into the trench, and the entire gun barrel was stuck in the mud.
The high raised rear end of the vehicle instantly exposed the infantry following behind, and several of them were knocked down by the machine guns on the Soviet position.
Another tank responsible for clearing the way sensed the danger and stopped less than 5 or 6 meters away from the anti-tank trench, turning its gun barrel towards a machine gun fire point on the Soviet position, trying to destroy it with one shot. At this time, two shells came from the woods on the flank, one hitting the track on the rear flank of the vehicle, and the other hitting the side and rear of its turret.
The two shells from the flank were fired by Soviet tanks hiding in the woods. They were armor-piercing shells. The tracks of the German tank were first blown off, and then a hole was punched through the side of the turret. It was estimated that the shells that penetrated the cabin ignited something. About two or three seconds later, the German tank exploded violently, and the entire turret was lifted into the air, rolling and falling into the anti-tank trench not far away.
"Beautiful!" In the command post at the rear, Yuri saw the scene clearly through the telescope and couldn't help but pump his fist and shout excitedly.
The German tank stuck in the anti-tank ditch could not struggle out. The tank soldiers in the cockpit risked opening the hatch and tried to escape from this living coffin, but they were all shot dead without exception.
The destruction of two German tanks obviously boosted the morale of the 2nd Company. Lieutenant Anastasia even tried to prevent a counterattack to expand the results of the battle, but the result was not good. The firepower points preset by the German army on the route of advance played a very good blocking effect. After paying the price of more than a dozen people, Lieutenant Anastasia gave up the attempt to counterattack and retreated back to the defense line.
The German army's first attack was successfully repelled, but Yuri was very clear that this attack was most likely just a tentative attack. Although the 2nd Company repelled the German army, its firepower had been completely exposed, even including two tanks hidden in the jungle.
If nothing unexpected happens, the German army will definitely bombard the tanks hiding in the jungle with artillery fire. At the same time, the main problem they have to solve is the anti-tank trenches that lie across the front line of the Soviet position.
As expected, with the withdrawal of the first wave of offensive, German artillery fire began to cover the edge of the jungle. In addition, the location of the anti-tank trenches was also the focus of their bombing.
What was strange was that after this round of shelling that lasted nearly ten minutes, the Germans did not attack immediately. Not only did they not attack, they also withdrew several supporting firepower points that they had set up in the first attack.
As the German army gave up the attack on the 209th Battalion's position, the battlefield on the edge of the Bredev Forest returned to tranquility. From 9 a.m. to 5 p.m., for several hours, Yuri, who was on high alert, did not see a single German soldier.
On the battlefield, what is frightening is not fighting the enemy face to face, but not being able to see even a shadow of the enemy. The worst thing is that the 209th Battalion lacks the means of communication with the outside world and knows nothing about the situation on the entire battlefield. The anxiety is simply unbearable.
Lunch was eaten on the battlefield. The staple food was macaroni. Yuri forced himself to eat a portion to fill his stomach. After learning about the losses of the 2nd Company and sending out two more reconnaissance teams, he took another nap. When he woke up, it was almost five o'clock.
Yuri was awakened by Arkady because a big shot had arrived at the position, a very big shot, so big that it was beyond Yuri's expectations.
There were two sidecar motorcycles on the battlefield. When Yuri rushed out of the command post, six people were getting off the two motorcycles. Among the six people, only one short man with a bald head was wearing civilian clothes, and the remaining five were all wearing military uniforms, two of whom had military caps with blue edges and were political commissars.
Yuri was surprised when he saw the bald short man. He knew this man, whether in his past life or in this life. And he knew very well that he couldn't afford to offend this guy, whether now or in the future.
Climbing up the trench quickly, Yuri ran all the way to meet them, at the same time brewing his emotions and making a fear-inspiring expression.
"Comrade Nikita Sergeyevich Khrushchev, Yuri Arkhipovich Kulyokov, commander of the 209th Battalion of the 47th Infantry Regiment, reports to you!" Yuri ran all the way to the person, stood up straight, saluted with a standard military salute, and said loudly.
That’s right, the bald, short man in plain clothes among the visitors was none other than the famous Khrushchev, a big shot whom Yuri only dared to please but not offend.
"Where is your regimental headquarters?" Khrushchev's face was covered with dust. He was obviously not in the mood to appreciate Yuri's respect, so he asked bluntly.
"Levotsky, in Levotsky," Yuri answered hastily.
While answering this question, Yuri stared at Khrushchev.
"Lvozky?" When Khrushchev heard the name, wrinkles appeared on his dusty forehead. He turned his head and exchanged glances with the middle-aged man next to him with the major's badge.
"How long has it been since you last contacted the regiment headquarters?" asked the major.
"We have lost contact since this morning," Yuri answered truthfully, even though he didn't know the guy. "The Lutsk radar station guarded by our battalion was bombed by German fighter planes, and our communications were also cut off."
"Lutsk radar station?" Khrushchev frowned and asked, "Then how did you get here?"
"In order to prevent a possible attack by the Germans, Comrade Nikita Sergeyevich Khrushchev," Yuri replied, "our camp is outside the radar station, where the terrain is open and not on a key passage. After the radar station was destroyed, I expected that the Germans would launch an attack soon. In order to facilitate the blocking of the enemy's possible attack at any time, I chose to build a position here."
Khrushchev did not speak, but turned his head to look at the major. The major waved to a soldier behind him, who quickly handed him a military map.
Seeing the other party spread the map on the motorcycle, Yuri took the initiative to step forward, find out where he was, and said: "We are here, this is the intersection of the Bredev Forest and the swamp water network. I have ordered the soldiers to build positions in this narrow corridor to prevent the German army from attacking from the north of Lutsk through Kivertsi to Rovno."
The major carefully checked the map and found that, just as Yuri said, this narrow corridor was the only way for the German army to break through to Kivelzi. However, the premise was that the defense line of the Stel River was not lost. However, the 209th Battalion only had one battalion of troops, and it was an infantry battalion. It lacked heavy firepower support, so it was obviously unrealistic for them to defend the entire Stel River defense line. In this respect, the major thought that this ordinary-looking captain was very smart.
Of course, the most important thing is that at this moment, the entire Kovel-Volynsk front has collapsed, the German army has bypassed Lutsk and pushed its troops to the far suburbs of Rivne, the 209th Battalion can still stay in this place like a nail, which is extremely commendable.
Khrushchev was not ignorant of military affairs. He could read maps and understood what the major understood. Therefore, after looking at the map for a while, he took Yuri's telescope without saying a word and went directly to the observation post made of earth behind the trench.
"Around 8 o'clock in the morning, a German motorized regiment tried to pass through here and fought with us for nearly an hour," Yuri explained as he looked ahead of the position with a telescope. "We repelled their attack and destroyed two tanks. After that, no more Germans appeared."
The German troops that exchanged fire with the 209th Battalion in the morning certainly could not be a motorized regiment, and it was estimated that there were less than a battalion. However, it is irrelevant to brag at this time. The most important thing is that two German tanks were indeed destroyed.
