Chapter 89 Borodino
The 32nd Infantry Division commanded by Colonel Polosukhin did not originally belong to the 16th Army, because Yuri did not see the code name of this unit in the previous combat sequence of the 16th Army. Presumably, it was transferred here just in the last two days.
As far as Yuri knew, the original commander of the 32nd Infantry Division was Berzalin. It was under Berzalin's command that this unit participated in the "Zhanggufeng Incident" in 1938. However, Berzalin is now in Leningrad, and the division commander of this unit is Polosukhin.
Colonel Polosukhin was not a good speaker and had a rough personality. He liked to swear and there were not many officers in the army who got along well with him. When Yuri arrived at the headquarters of the 32nd Infantry Division, the colonel complained to him that the militia units assigned to him by the army headquarters were simply a burden, and that the so-called tank battalion had only four tanks.
Well, after personally inspecting the militia, Yuri understood Polosukhin's complaint: the so-called militia had a total of three battalions, and all the soldiers were workers at a machinery factory called "Hammer and Sickle" half a month ago. Before arriving in Borodino, the militia of these three battalions had only received some basic training, and they didn't even know how to use mortars.
As for the tank battalion, they escaped back from the direction of Vyazma. The tanks they once had were basically destroyed. The only four remaining tanks had some problems, and one of them could not even be driven.
Although he complained, Polosukhin knew that Yuri could do nothing about it, so he was just complaining to the person who came from the command center.
That night, Yuri rested in the camp of the 32nd Infantry Division. Early the next morning, he began to inspect the infantry division's deployment in the Borodino area.
Although Polosukhin had a bad temper and was not very good at speaking , judging from the deployment of the troops, he was still very good at military command. He divided his position into several parts, but concentrated the artillery and tanks and hid them in the woods on both sides of the position. In this way, the artillery forces on both sides of the position could form crossfire on the front line of the infantry and block the invading German tanks to the greatest extent.
Yuri stayed in Borodino for two days, inspected the deployment of the 32nd Infantry Division, wrote a report, forwarded it to the army headquarters, and asked for the next order.
According to Yuri's guess, the situation in the Borodino area is not very critical at present, because according to the feedback from the scouts, no German troops have been found in the Kolocha River area. As the combat staff of the army group, there is no need for him to stay here.
However, after Yuri submitted his report, the notice he received the next day was not to let him return to the headquarters, but to let him continue to stay in Borodino, in the 32nd Infantry Division. At the same time, the army headquarters sent five young people and asked Yuri to lead them to familiarize themselves with the techniques of building the defense line.
Needless to say, the five young men are all military cadets, and all of them are students from the Lenin Military Academy. The oldest one is only 21 years old, still a teenager.
Such an order made Yuri feel very helpless. He, a combat staff officer, was actually turned into a military academy teacher, and a military academy teacher who led students on the front line.
However, Yuri did not raise any objections to the army headquarters, not because he did not want to, but because just as he received the order and had no time to react, the battle of Borodino broke out.
…
In the bunker made of logs, Yuri held up a telescope and looked through the observation hole at the defensive position in the distance.
On the vast snowy plain, tanks were seen slowly approaching the Soviet positions in their respective formations. Behind the tanks, scattered infantrymen were working closely together. Through the telescope, one could even see the red faces of some German soldiers who were frozen.
“Pah pah pah…”
There was a noisy sound of gunfire coming from the machine gun firing point in front of the position. The gunfire changed its tone after being echoed by the woods, and it sounded like someone hitting a wooden board with a hammer.
"Scale 85, cluster fire!"
On the flank of the command post's bunker is an anti-tank artillery position. Staying inside the bunker, Yuri could hear the slightly hoarse roar of the artillery commander.
“All of them…”
The dull sound of artillery fire rang out instantly, shaking the entire bunker. Through the telescope, two German tanks that were on the move were blown into scrap metal, and another tank had its tracks blown off and the body of the tank was on fire. A tank driver with blood all over his face opened the turret cover and tried to get out of the turret that was emitting thick smoke, but he was stuck by something and could only get half of his upper body out and couldn't move. The flames soon came out from his lower body and burned more and more fiercely. The tank driver's body struggled violently in the flames, or twitched, until the flames swallowed him up, and then he stopped moving.
The anti-tank gun fire exposed the position, and some of the German tanks in front of the position slowed down, turned their guns and headed towards this side.
"Mark 80, cluster fire!" The artillery commander gave the order again, his voice hoarse and frantic.
"Boom!" A German tank opened fire, and the shells whizzed over. Yuri subconsciously squatted down and hid himself in the bunker.
The shell exploded at the bunker's lookout, and broken concrete fragments poured into the bunker. The entire bunker was filled with dust in an instant.
Yuri shook off the dust and gravel on his head, opened his mouth wide, and used the movement of his lower jaw to adjust his buzzing ears, but the effect was not very significant. His ears still made a buzzing sound as if a train was running.
Standing up again, Yuri raised the telescope again and looked towards the front of the defensive position. The German tanks were still slowly moving towards the front of the Soviet position, but the defense line arranged by Polosukhin was very effective. The artillery fire on both sides of the position caused great damage to the advancing German tanks. Yuri had reason to believe that with the current wave of offensive, it would be impossible for the German army to break through to the front of the Soviet position.
After a few more minutes, the tinnitus began to subside. Yuri put down the binoculars and walked towards the exit of the bunker.
There is a staircase leading up to the exit, and after going up, there is a trench that is one and a half meters deep. The defense line of Borodino was built during the rainy season in October, and now the tunnel is full of ice.
Yuri walked out of the bunker and was about to go to the artillery position next to him when he suddenly heard the faint sound of a telephone ringing in the bunker. In the position where gunfire was raging, the sound could not be heard clearly.
Yuri hesitated for a moment, but finally turned back and answered the phone.
The call was from the army headquarters, and the voice on the line was obviously that of Rokossovsky.
"What's the situation over there?" Yuri had just put the receiver to his ear when he heard Rokossovsky's hurried voice on the phone.
"The German offensive is fierce, but Colonel Polosukhin's command is very effective," Yuri said. "I believe the Germans will not be able to advance a single step before the end of today."
"Is that Comrade Lieutenant Colonel Yuri Arkhipovich?" There was a moment of silence on the line, and then Rokossovsky asked again, "Where is Comrade Polosukhin? Where did he go?"
"Report to the commander, Comrade Polosukhin has gone to the position on the left wing. He wants to observe the German offensive and see if he can find an opportunity to launch a counterattack."
"Very good. It is correct to actively seek opportunities for counterattack instead of passively defending," Rokossovsky first affirmed Polosukhin's idea, and then said, "However, Comrade Yuri Arkhipovich, please tell Colonel Polosukhin to be careful not to be greedy for merit and rush into battle. Your primary goal is to defend Borodino, not to repel the German attack."
"Yes, Comrade Commander, I will tell him," Yuri said.
"In addition, I have another piece of bad news to inform you. Please be prepared," Rokossovsky continued on the phone. "Borodino, where you are defending, is the main attack direction of the German Imperial Armored Division. They are advancing rapidly towards your position. You will encounter a brutal battle tomorrow at the latest."
Yuri held the phone in silence for a while, before finally asking: "Can we get reinforcements?"
"If this is your request, I am afraid I can only regretfully refuse you, Comrade Yuri Arkhipovich," Rokossovsky said, "I don't have any reserve troops to draw out to support you."
"What about support from the Air Defense Force?" Yuri asked again.
"The main force of the Air Defense Force is in the Tula direction, and they can't help you." Rokossovsky was silent for a while and spoke again.
"Okay, I understand, Comrade Commander, I will pass on the message to Comrade Colonel Polosukhin," Yuri said.
"Good luck to you, Comrade Lieutenant Colonel Yuri Arkhipovich," Rokossovsky said finally and hung up the phone.
After hanging up the phone, Yuri felt complicated. He was a little nervous and a little excited.
The Imperial Armored Division is the top elite among the German armored forces. In Yuri's previous life, he knew how this armored division was almost destroyed in the Battle of Moscow. Now it seems that although the trajectory of history has changed, some destined things will still happen.
The battle between the Imperial Armored Division and the 32nd Infantry Division is about to be staged again, but no one knows what the final result will be. Of course, what Yuri is most concerned about is whether the Imperial Armored Division will still advance along the highway towards Moscow.
