red moscow

Chapter 2977

The German armored forces' offensive in the Spas-Lyukhovsky area ended in failure due to fierce resistance from the Soviet 289th Anti-Tank Artillery Regiment.

Faced with such a defeat, the Germans were certainly not going to give up easily. After nearly an hour of rest, they launched another attack on the Soviet positions.

Meanwhile, Blinov had finished photographing the destroyed German tanks and was discussing with Stavsky whether to stay and continue the interview or return to the army group headquarters to see if they could send today's news report and photos back to Moscow for the newspaper to do the layout.

Stavsky did not give an immediate answer, but instead looked at Yevremenko, who was not far away, and asked, "Comrade Major, do you think I should stay and continue the interview, or return to the army group headquarters to submit the report?"

Although Yevremenko secretly hoped Stavsky would leave so he wouldn't have to worry about ensuring his safety, he hesitated for a moment when asked the question, and then said tentatively, "Comrade Stavsky, you have already witnessed firsthand how our artillerymen use anti-tank guns to destroy enemy tanks. I think your interview here can come to an end."

His words were quite clear: your interview is over, you can go to another place to conduct the interview, there is no need to linger here.

Blinov clearly understood Yevremenko's implication and quickly said to Stavsky, "Comrade Stavsky, I think our interview with the anti-tank artillery regiment is over. We can go to another place to conduct the interview."

But Stavsky only glanced at him, and said with lingering interest, "Although we witnessed firsthand how the anti-tank gunners destroyed enemy tanks in the battle that just ended, I feel it's far from enough. We should stay here and watch the next battle."

Seeing that Stavsky was unwilling to leave and wanted to stay and watch the battle unfold, Yevremenko's face immediately turned sour. As an anti-tank artillery commander, he knew very well that the German armored forces, having suffered losses here, would not give up easily, and the ensuing battle would be exceptionally fierce. Whether he himself could survive the fighting was a question, let alone protect an unarmed journalist.

“Comrade Stavsky.” Yevremenko pondered for a long time before finally deciding to persuade Stavsky to leave this dangerous place: “The enemy’s attack on us has failed, but they certainly won’t give up. I’m sure their attacks will intensify in the coming days, and this place will become extremely dangerous. For your safety, I suggest you leave as soon as possible.”

Before he could finish speaking, Stavsky shook his head vigorously: "Comrade Major, I don't want to leave here yet. I want to continue watching how you repel the German attack. This is not only a great news source for me, but also a good source for a novel. Only by observing more can I make every character in the book come alive when I use this material to write a book in the future."

Just as Yevremenko was about to say a few more words of persuasion, the German attack began again.

This time, the Germans did not immediately deploy tanks, but instead used artillery to bombard the Soviet anti-tank gun positions, attempting to destroy these obstacles that were hindering the tanks' advance through concentrated artillery fire.

After the half-hour shelling ended, Yevremenko immediately called his chief of staff and instructed him: "Comrade Chief of Staff, contact the battalion commanders immediately and find out their casualties."

The losses suffered by the anti-tank artillery regiment during the shelling were quickly tallied. Three guns were destroyed, and two were damaged and required repair before they could be used again.

After hearing the statistics on the losses, Yevremenko's expression turned grim. Only an hour or two into the battle, his anti-tank artillery regiment had lost half of its anti-tank guns. If the fighting continued like this, his regiment might be wiped out before nightfall.

After some thought, he called his chief of staff: "Comrade Chief of Staff, I've thought about it. More than half of our regiment's anti-tank guns have been lost, and the upcoming battle will be extremely brutal. In order to prevent the enemy from passing through our positions, you should immediately send the infantry battalion soldiers into the positions to assist the anti-tank gun comrades in holding the positions."

When Yevremenko put down the phone, Stavsky said with some surprise, "Comrade Major, you actually have an infantry battalion? I've never heard of it before."

“Comrade Stavsky, if our anti-tank artillery regiment only has artillery and no infantry, it might be okay for dealing with German tanks, but if the tanks are followed by a large number of infantry, our anti-tank artillery regiment will become lambs to the slaughter.” Yevremenko explained to Stavsky, “Therefore, the higher command has specially assigned us an infantry battalion. During your stay, the infantry battalion has been hidden in the nearby forest, so it’s not surprising that you haven’t seen it.”

“Oh, I see.” Stavsky nodded and casually said, “Hopefully, once these infantrymen get into position, they can help the artillery brothers hold the line.”

"Don't worry, Comrade Stavsky." Yevremenko looked at Stavsky and said in a resolute tone, "We will definitely hold the position."

As enemy tanks and newly arrived armored vehicles charged forward, the remaining dozen or so anti-tank guns on the position opened fire in succession.

The Soviet anti-tank artillery was very accurate this time, hitting a target almost every five or six shells.

Enemy armored vehicles had relatively thin armor; once hit by artillery shells, they would immediately turn into burning iron coffins, remaining there engulfed in flames and billowing black smoke. Tanks fared better; some tanks, even after being hit, could still continue moving forward, and some would even stop and return fire after traveling a certain distance.

The enemy's attack lasted only a little over half an hour before being repelled again by Yevremenko's troops.

"Fantastic, Major!" Stavsky exclaimed excitedly upon seeing the enemy's armored forces repelled once again. "Your soldiers are truly outstanding. Although you lost nearly half of your anti-tank guns, they performed exceptionally well in the battle just now."

After giving a perfunctory reply, Yevremenko directly called Orel, the chief of the armored forces.

After the call connected, Yevremenko hurriedly said, "Comrade Chief of the Armored Corps, my anti-tank artillery regiment has repelled another attack by the German armored forces. However, we have lost more than half of our anti-tank guns. Could you please send us a new batch as soon as possible?"

Orel was also in a dilemma upon hearing Yevremenko's request. Logically, the anti-tank artillery belonged to the artillery corps and was already under the command of Major General Kazakov, the artillery chief, but for some reason, this unit had been placed under his command. Now, the anti-tank artillery regiment lacked anti-tank guns, which he couldn't provide himself, leaving him no choice but to ask Kazakov for help.

"Major Yevremenko," Orel said into the microphone, "I'll contact General Kazakov first to see if he'll provide you with anti-tank guns. If he's willing, you'll receive replenishment soon." "Comrade Chief of Armored Troops, thank you in advance," Yevremenko said. "With only half our anti-tank guns left, if the Germans launch two more attacks like this, my regiment will probably be disbanded before the battle is over."

After Yevremenko finished his call, Stavsky belatedly asked, "Major, you are clearly artillerymen, so why were you assigned to the command of the armored corps? This is simply absurd."

Upon hearing this, Yevremenko smiled wryly and said, "To be honest, I also want to figure out what's going on. My anti-tank artillery regiment clearly belongs to the artillery, but it's been assigned to the command of the armored corps chief. There must be some mistake somewhere."

Half an hour later, Yevremenko received a call from Orel: "Major Yevremenko, I just contacted General Kazakov. He said there is a reinforced artillery battalion deployed near you, equipped with 24 76.2mm cannons, which can be used as anti-tank guns."

"That's wonderful, that's wonderful, Comrade Chief of the Armored Corps," Yevremenko said with delight. "You've been a tremendous help to us." After a pause, he tentatively asked, "When will the artillery battalion arrive?"

"Major, don't be in such a hurry, I haven't finished speaking yet."

"Please tell me!"

“This artillery battalion deployed near you is idle because it has run out of ammunition and hasn’t received any replenishment. Therefore, this artillery battalion hasn’t had any combat missions for some time.” Orel cautiously asked, “Major, can you provide them with ammunition?”

“No problem, of course no problem,” Yevremenko said hastily. “Before today’s battle began, I had my battalion commanders equip each anti-tank gun with 100 rounds of ammunition. In addition, our current ammunition depot has 6,000 rounds of ammunition stored, including armor-piercing, high-explosive fragmentation, and high-explosive shells.”

“Now that you have the shells, the problem is solved.” Orel said with a sigh of relief. “I will contact General Kazakov immediately and have him transfer that artillery battalion to your regiment’s defense zone and place it under your command.”

After putting down the microphone, Yevremenko said excitedly, "Fantastic, absolutely fantastic! I was just worried about the lack of anti-tank guns, but now the higher-ups are about to send us a reinforced artillery battalion with 24 76.2mm guns. With their assistance, we are even more confident in holding this place."

At this point, Yevremenko glanced at his watch, then said apologetically to Stavsky and Blinov, "Gentlemen, I need to return to the regimental headquarters immediately to arrange work. You can choose to come back with me or stay here at the observation post. It's up to you two to decide."

Blinov was eager to return to headquarters immediately, and he tentatively asked Stavsky, "Comrade Stavsky, what are your thoughts?"

“I’ll stay here,” Stavsky said without hesitation. “Comrade Bulinov, we’ve repelled the enemy’s second attack again. Don’t you think you should go out onto the battlefield and take some more valuable news photos?”

Hearing Stavsky's unquestionable words, even though Blinov was dissatisfied, he could only reluctantly agree: "Alright, Comrade Stavsky, I'll go out and take pictures now." After saying that, with a tragic air of "the wind howls and the Yi River is cold, the hero departs never to return," he turned and walked out of the observation post.

When Yevremenko returned to his regimental headquarters, the chief of staff looked at him with surprise: "Comrade Regimental Commander, why are you back? Did Comrade Stavsky leave?"

“No,” Yevremenko shook his head and said, “The photographer went to the battlefield to take pictures, while Comrade Stavsky stayed in the observation post to write his article.”

"Comrade Regimental Commander, you've come at just the right time." The Chief of Staff said to Yevremenko with a serious expression, "According to the latest statistics, my entire regiment only has 12 tank guns left that are still usable. If the Germans launch two more similar offensives, our defenses could be breached."

But Yevremenko, after hearing this, calmly told the Chief of Staff, "Comrade Chief of Staff, don't worry. Before returning to headquarters, I spoke with Colonel Orel by phone and reported our regiment's situation to him. He learned that we had suffered heavy losses of anti-tank guns, so he went to discuss with General Kazakov, the artillery chief, about transferring an artillery battalion from nearby to reinforce us. That reinforced artillery battalion is equipped with 24 76.2mm cannons."

"Comrade Regimental Commander, this is absolutely fantastic!" The Chief of Staff's eyes lit up after hearing Yevremenko's words, and he immediately said, "If that artillery battalion arrives, our strength will be restored to what it was before the start of the battle."

“Yes, that’s what I was thinking too.” Yevremenko raised his hand to look at his watch and frowned slightly. “Although the artillery battalion is nearby, I don’t know if they can get there before the Germans launch a new offensive.”

“Every minute is precious on the battlefield,” the chief of staff remarked. “It would be wonderful if they could arrive before the enemy launches a new offensive.”

"Oh, right, there's one more thing I forgot to mention."

"what's up?"

“This artillery battalion’s shells were all used up in the recent fighting and haven’t been replenished yet,” Yevremenko explained to the chief of staff. “Colonel Orel said he could send this artillery battalion to reinforce us, but we have to provide them with the shells they need.”

“That’s no problem.” The chief of staff had thought it was something important, but when he learned that the newly arrived artillery battalion needed to replenish its shells, he said casually, “Comrade Regimental Commander, when we were stationed here, we were prepared for a long-term defense. Therefore, we still have six thousand shells stored in our ammunition depot. Replenishing their shells is a piece of cake.”

“Alright.” Yevremenko nodded and continued, “Call the commander in charge of supplies and have him arrange for people to move the shells out of the ammunition depot. As soon as the friendly forces arrive, hand them over to them immediately.”

(End of this chapter)