After learning that their last stronghold near the Red Army Village had fallen, the German army immediately dispatched a group of bombers to bomb the Red Army Village. However, when these bombers passed through the defense zone of the 125th Regiment, Yershakov was not willing to let them go easily, and immediately ordered the newly established air defense position to fire and intercept them.
With Yershakov's order, twelve four-unit 14.5mm anti-aircraft machine guns fired at the same time. Since Sokov once taught the air combat tactics of gathering fire shooting, anti-aircraft machine guns did not fight each other as before, but locked in a target and fired at the same time.
In less than five minutes, four JU-88 bombers were shot down, and two others were injured.
The remaining pilots saw that the planes on their side were falling down one by one, and they didn't know what new weapons the Soviet army had equipped. They were worried that they would suffer greater losses in the bombing of the Red Army village as planned, so they threw away the bombs they carried and turned around and returned.
When Sokov saw the umbrella flowers blooming in the air, he quickly issued an order to Samoilov: "Comrade Lieutenant, do you see those skydiving pilots? Take people to catch them immediately. If you cannot capture them alive, you can choose to kill them on the spot."
"Comrade Commander, you are right." Samoilov told Sokov: "It is not easy to train pilots. If we eliminate or capture one, they will have one less pilot. Because the new pilots who are newly added are not very technical and tactical, the threat to us can be greatly reduced."
"Okay, don't talk nonsense, hurry up and catch the pilot." Sokov urged the other party, "If the enemy finds a place to hide, it will not be easy to catch them again."
After Samoilov left, Sokov called Yershakov: "Comrade Colonel, how about it? Have the results of your regiment been counted?"
"Yes, comrade of the division commander." Yershakov said proudly: "We shot down four enemy planes and injured two. After the remaining enemies hurriedly threw away the bombs, they all fled. The report was completed."
"Is the report done?"
"Yes, comrade instructor, all the reports have been completed."
"What about your losses?" Sokov asked into the microphone: "For example, how many people have you killed and how many weapons and equipment have you lost by the enemy's bombing?"
Hearing the question Sokov asked, Yershakov remained silent for a long time before answering awkwardly: "Report to the division commander, our regiment lost three anti-aircraft machine guns in the bombing just now, sacrificed more than 120 soldiers, and injured more than 200 people, one-third of the casualties were all soldiers of the anti-aircraft machine gun company."
"Comrade Colonel, immediately mobilize the power to supplement the anti-aircraft machine gun company." Sokov reminded Yershakov, "Through today's battle, we can understand that the troops equipped with anti-aircraft machine guns play a more powerful role in the battlefield."
"I understand, I will supplement them immediately."
"Wait a minute, comrade Colonel." When Sokov was about to hang up the phone, he suddenly remembered another thing and asked quickly: "By the way, has your regiment really emptied all the anti-aircraft machine guns in the warehouse?"
"Of course, comrade of the division commander, we have moved out all the anti-aircraft machine guns." Yershakov explained to Sokov: "Now the aircraft that deal with the enemy are all artillery of various calibers. Anti-aircraft machine guns are rarely used, otherwise we would not have found this batch of inventory in the warehouse."
"The bombing just now should have caused a lot of losses to your fortifications. Take the time to repair it immediately, and be sure to establish a complete defense system before the enemy arrives."
After Vitkov followed the headquarters of the 41st Guard Division to the Red Army Village, he immediately found Sokov and asked him for instructions: "Comrade Commander, where are you going to place Colonel Sivakov's 71st Guard Division?"
"I think it's deployed to the south." Sokov said carelessly.
"But the southeast direction of the Red Army Village is Donetsk, where one of our guard divisions is. If another division is placed in the south of the city, would it be a bit waste? In my opinion, it would be better to place them in the north of the city."
"Not waste at all," Sokov pointed to the map and said to Vetkov. "Chief of Staff, look, there are no strong troops between the Red Army Village and Donetsk. If the enemy finds that this is our weakness in defense and directly sends troops to attack, then our troops in the Red Army Village will be in danger of being cut off from the rear. The reason why I put the Sivakov division here is to avoid similar situations."
"Well, Comrade Commander." Weitkov felt that Sokov was justified, so he did not object, but instead said according to his meaning: "Then according to your wishes, place the Sivakov division on the south side of the Red Army Village to protect our flanks."
Since the division headquarters of the Guards Division has moved to the Red Army Village, the radio stations and telephone numbers to contact the outside world have been set up in just a lot of time.
As soon as the phone was set up, Sokov received a call from Rokosovsky. Rokosovsky asked in surprise on the phone: "Misha, has your troops really occupied the Red Army Village?"
"Yes, comrade Commander of the Front Army, we did occupy the Red Army village." Sokov asked back without knowing the reason why Rokosovsky asked, "Is there something wrong?"
"You just won Donetsk before dawn; before dawn, you liberated the Red Army village again. The interval between the two victories was too short, and it was normal for someone to question it."
"Comrade Commander of the Front Army," Sokov was shocked and sweated in a cold sweat when he heard Rokosovsky say: "Does anyone suspect that we falsely report the results?"
"Someone has indeed raised such doubts, but the base camp has already figured out the results you have achieved through its own channels, which is completely true." Rokosovsky said to the microphone: "What are your plans for the next step?"
"Kharkov is too far from us," Sokov said to Rokosovsky: "Even if we want to help the troops there, we are still powerless. Before we get there, the enemy might have occupied Kharkov."
"What are you going to do?" Rokosovsky asked.
"Wait, wait here." Sokov replied: "When we wait for the enemy to counterattack us, we will use the existing fortifications to repel their attacks."
"Your idea is good, but the enemy's strength is not weak." Rokosovsky reminded Sokov: "The imperial troops who fought with our army during the day have taken the initiative to withdraw from the battle. According to the intelligence analysis, they should be heading for you."
When Sokov heard that the imperial master was coming towards his defense zone, he was also scared, but he quickly stabilized his emotions and asked tentatively: "I wonder how much time the enemy has to reach us?"
"According to the Air Force's report, there are a fast column of about a hundred armored vehicles and more than twenty tanks heading towards you. According to the distance and the enemy's march speed, they will arrive at your defense zone at noon tomorrow. How about it, are you confident to block them?"
"As long as my troops arrive on time, I will definitely have the confidence to block the enemy."
"But what if the other two guard divisions cannot arrive on time?" But Rokosovsky was obviously not satisfied with his reply, so he continued to ask: "Can you defend the Red Army Village with your existing troops?"
"It's very difficult," Sokov did not make any vague answers when he heard Rokosovsky's question, but said truthfully: "But we will do our best." In order to delay the German marching speed, Sokov asked Rokosovsky, "I don't know if the air force can be sent to launch air strikes on the moving German rapid column. Doing so can effectively slow down the enemy's advancement."
"Well, I will immediately send an air force to carry out air strikes on the marching German columns, delaying their pace of advance."
As soon as Sokov dropped the phone, he immediately said to Vetkov: "Chief of Staff, the situation is not good. A German rapid column of more than 100 armored vehicles and more than 20 tanks is coming towards our defense zone and will arrive at us at noon tomorrow. Ask the troops still marching when will they reach the designated area."
But he issued another order to the Chief of Staff of the Division: "Comrade Colonel, although Commander Rokosovsky agreed to send planes to attack the enemy column, for the sake of safety, we should still send a small team to fight along the way layer by layer to slow down the enemy's advance speed."
"Comrade Commander, I understand what you mean." Sidolin followed Sokov for a day or two, so he naturally understood what he meant. He quickly replied: "I immediately sent an anti-tank team to defend along the way and intercepted the German rapid column in advance."
Witkov happened to hear the following words and asked with heart, "Can it work if it sends a small army to stop the robbery?"
"If the German troops are marching, I send an anti-tank team, which is equivalent to letting the soldiers die." Sokov explained to Vitkov: "But the enemies coming to us now are all armoured vehicles, and the rockets that our division has priority equipment are the most effective against the enemy's tanks and armored vehicles."
…………
The marching speed of the Imperial Division is still very amazing.
The fast column consisting of more than 100 armored vehicles and more than 20 tanks is only more than 80 kilometers away from the Red Army Village at this moment. If the armored vehicles are allowed to advance at full speed, they can rush into the Russians' defensive position within two hours at most. However, the existence of the tanks slowed down the advancement of the entire army.
The road was originally difficult to walk, but halfway through, the army was actually air strikes by the Soviet army. Although the armored vehicles and tanks on the road were evaded in time, under the fierce attack of the Soviet army, three tanks and more than twenty armored vehicles were still blown up, with more than 120 soldiers casualties.
In order to arrive at the Red Army Village as soon as the Soviet plane left, the German commander left a small army to treat the wounded, and the remaining armored vehicles and tanks continued to advance.
But not far away, the moving armored vehicle was destroyed by a rocket flying out of the forest. The soldiers on the vehicle instantly turned into a group of firemen, and they jumped out of the armored vehicles. Some ran aimlessly, fell down, and got up again until they finally exhausted their strength and fell to the ground and began to burn. Some soldiers, after their bodies were on fire, rushed directly into the nearby snow piles in order to extinguish the flames on their bodies.
When he noticed that there were small Soviet troops in the forest, the German commander immediately ordered the troops to search in the forest, but found that there was no gain in addition to a few footprints.
Since the Soviet army had left, the Germans took back the troops searching in the forest and continued to advance towards the Red Army village.
But not far away, they were attacked by the Soviet rocket launcher again. This time, the reimbursed was an open-circuit tank. The tank was surrounded by fire in an instant, and no one of the crew inside could run out.
The German army had no choice but to send troops into the forest to search again. However, the members of the anti-tank team all had rich experience in guerrilla combat. They did not stay in one place without moving, but after one strike, they quickly transferred their positions and waited for the arrival of the enemy in a new position.
In this way, the German rapid defense forces, almost every time they advance a few hundred meters, they will be attacked by nearby rocket launchers, and the number of destroyed tanks and armored vehicles will be increasing. Given that the sky is getting late and the Soviet attacks are becoming more and more frequent, the German commander decided to change his original plan and instead camp in place, intending to wait for dawn to continue moving forward.
Sokov, who was staying in the Red Army village, learned that the German rapid column had already camped at the enemy sixty or seventy kilometers away from the city after falling and being attacked. He immediately felt much more at ease. He said to Cydolin: "Comrade Colonel, I don't know when the other guard divisions will arrive here. Therefore, the defense mission in the Red Army village can only be completed by our Guard Division."
"Comrade Commander, although this city is not big, the front of the defense is too wide." Cidolin said with some embarrassment: "If you want to defend yourself closely with the existing forces, I am worried that..."
"What are you worried about?" Sokov interrupted his later words without waiting for him to finish: "We can just use key defense. Since the enemy is coming from mechanized troops, it means they cannot pass those paths, so we only need to set up defenses on the main roads, which is enough to block their advance."
Chapter completed!