red moscow

Chapter 2978

While the anti-tank artillery regiment was replenishing its manpower and anti-tank guns, the Germans were not idle. They transferred more tanks and armored corps from other places, as well as two companies of infantry, preparing to launch a new offensive after completing their assembly.

When the German attacking force, consisting of tanks, armored vehicles, and infantry, came into view, the newly arrived artillery battalion commander lost his composure and immediately shouted at his men, "On my command, load high-explosive shells! Fire!"

As the order was given, 24 shells were fired from the barrel, flying towards the distant German attacking column. After the shells were fired, the artillerymen did not wait for them to land; they quickly ejected the spent cartridge cases, loaded new shells, and continued firing at the enemy.

The shells traced arcs through the air before landing in the German attacking ranks, sending up towering columns of mud! If the blasts hit infantry nearby, a few unfortunate soldiers would be sent flying with screams; if they hit tanks or armored vehicles, they would suffer little damage, except for the mud kicked up and the shrapnel rattling against the armor plates.

Standing in the observation post, Stavsky couldn't help but turn to Yevremenko beside him and ask, "Major, why did you open fire so early this time? According to my judgment, the enemy is at least one or two kilometers away from your position, right?"

Yevremenko was quite displeased to see the newly arrived artillery battalion firing on the German attacking column without his permission. Just as he was about to call and criticize them, he overheard what Stavsky had said.

He stopped holding the microphone and began to ponder: firing at a distance of one or two thousand meters, even if it hit a German tank, would only scratch it and would not be able to penetrate the tank's frontal armor plate at all. How could the artillery battalion commander make such a basic mistake?

Seeing Yevremenko standing there in a daze, Blinov couldn't help but interject, "Comrade Major, the enemy is still so far from the position, and the new artillerymen are already firing. Is it because they are used to long-range firing?"

Bulinov's words were a wake-up call for Yevremenko. The newly arrived artillery battalion was just an ordinary artillery battalion, completely lacking anti-tank experience. Now, seeing the enemy attacking their positions, they immediately opened fire, without even considering whether the shells, hitting the enemy tanks at such a distance, could destroy them.

Having figured this out, Yevremenko called the newly arrived artillery battalion commander.

"Comrade Captain," Yevremenko said calmly, without getting angry, "the enemy is still far from our positions, why are you opening fire so early?"

The artillery battalion commander was taken aback by Yevremenko's question: "Comrade Major, shouldn't we open fire immediately when we see the enemy charging towards us?"

“Comrade Captain, I feel it’s necessary to remind you of something,” Yevremenko said sternly. “Your battalion’s current mission is no longer to destroy enemy fortifications or to conduct intercepting fire against attacking enemies, so the time to fire the artillery cannot be too early.”

Worried that the other party might not understand his meaning, he emphasized again: "You are now anti-tank artillery, and your main task is to destroy enemy tanks and armored vehicles. If you fire at too far a distance, even if you are lucky enough to hit the target, the armor-piercing shells will not be able to penetrate the frontal armor of the enemy tank, and you will only waste the shells. Do you understand what I mean?"

Fortunately, the newly arrived artillery battalion commander was not a stubborn person. Upon hearing Yevremenko's words, he immediately realized that there was a problem with his command and quickly admitted his mistake: "I'm sorry, Major, it was my fault. I shouldn't have let the artillery fire too early."

After hearing this, Yevremenko said understandingly, "You know that's enough. Let the soldiers temporarily stop shelling and wait for the enemy to get closer before firing again!"

The artillery battalion commander did not speak immediately. After a moment of silence, he hesitated and said, "Major, I don't think it's necessary to temporarily stop all the artillery fire. We can keep a few artillery pieces to bombard the German attacking formation."

Just as Yevremenko was about to say something after hearing what the artillery battalion commander said, he heard the other man continue, "Behind the enemy's tanks and armored vehicles are quite a few infantrymen. If we let the enemy get closer before we attack, I'm worried that those infantrymen will easily rush to our side."

Yevremenko thought about the artillery battalion commander's suggestion and agreed, saying, "Comrade Captain, you are absolutely right. Then let's leave one cannon to continue firing, and the rest of the artillery will be put on hold for now."

“Yes, Major.” Seeing that Yevremenko had agreed to his proposal, the artillery battalion commander readily said, “I will pass on your orders immediately.”

The artillery fire from the Soviet positions quickly subsided, with only 10 cannons still firing at the German infantry at a leisurely pace.

Stavsky remarked to Yevremenko, "Comrade Major, it seems this new artillery battalion commander has quite a bit of combat experience. He knows to use artillery fire to eliminate the enemy's infantry first, and when the enemy's tanks rush to our position, the tanks, without the cover of the infantry, can easily be destroyed by our soldiers."

Yevremenko smiled and nodded, agreeing wholeheartedly with Stavsky's statement: "Comrade Stavsky, you are absolutely right. Don't be fooled by the tanks' imposing advance; once they lose the cover of the infantry, our anti-tank troops can destroy them very easily."

The ensuing battle became somewhat incomprehensible to Yevremenko and the others.

As the German infantry suffered increasing losses, the enemy's offensive slowed down, eventually stopping more than a kilometer away from their positions.

German tanks lined up and fired their tank guns at the Soviet anti-tank gun positions.

At such a distance, even if Soviet artillery shells hit the frontal armor of German tanks, they could not penetrate them. Meanwhile, shells fired by German tank guns, if they exploded near an anti-tank gun, could destroy the entire anti-tank gun position.

Seeing the German tanks parked at a distance, firing at the position, Stavsky stamped his feet in frustration: "Damn it, this is unbelievable! Why have the German tanks stopped?"

“Yes, it’s really strange,” Blinov said with a frown. “The enemy tanks are stationed so far away that even if our anti-tank guns hit them, they can’t penetrate their frontal armor. But the shells fired by their tank guns can easily destroy our anti-tank gun positions.”

Just as Yevremenko was considering whether the artillery should temporarily relocate and wait for the German tanks to approach before returning to their positions to retaliate, the roar of aircraft engines filled the air. Hearing this, Stavsky became excited and exclaimed, "Did you hear the sound of aircraft engines outside? Could it be planes sent by the higher-ups specifically to support today's counter-offensive?"

But Yevremenko frowned: "Comrade Stavsky, I'm afraid you'll be disappointed. Based on my experience, the planes outside are probably German Ju-88 bombers. The enemy probably feels that their ground offensive is not going well, so they have sent out a bomber formation to provide air support for the ground troops."

Stavsky was skeptical of Yevremenko's words. He called Blinov and they went out of the observation post together, looking up at the sky. They spotted the planes in the air, which were indeed German Ju-88 bombers.

After the Ju-88 bomber formation approached, it immediately lowered its altitude and began bombing Soviet positions.

As Stavsky and Blinov left the observation post, Yevremenko called the battalion commanders below, instructing them to immediately move their artillery to avoid losses during the German bombing.

Rokossovsky, who was at headquarters, quickly learned that the German army had dispatched a large number of Ju-88 bombers to bomb the Spas-Lyukhovsky area.

He immediately ordered the communications soldier to connect to the observation post of the anti-tank artillery regiment. Upon hearing someone answer the phone, he immediately got straight to the point: "I am Lieutenant General Rokossovsky, the army group commander. Where is Comrade Stavsky?"

"Hello, Commander!" Yevremenko hadn't expected Rokossovsky to call his observation post personally. After a brief moment of panic, he quickly replied, "Comrade Stavsky and his assistant are currently outside my observation post counting how many enemy planes are bombing our positions."

"Nonsense, utter nonsense!" Rokossovsky said angrily. "Since the enemy is bombing your positions, you don't let him take cover, but instead allow him to run outside and count the number of enemy planes. If something dangerous happens, can you take responsibility?"

Upon being criticized by Rokossovsky, Yevremenko blushed and said awkwardly, "Comrade Commander, I'll call him in right away!"

After saying that, Yevremenko shouted outside, "Comrade Stavsky, it's your phone, please come in!" However, his shout was drowned out by the sound of bombs exploding outside. Helpless, he could only put the receiver on the table, run out, grab Stavsky's hand, and whisper in his ear, "Comrade Stavsky, it's your phone. It's General Rokossovsky calling."

Although Rokossovsky did not ask Yevremenko to let Stavsky in to answer the phone during the call, Yevremenko was worried that Stavsky would be stubborn, so he could only say that Rokossovsky should let Stavsky answer the phone.

"Hello, General Rokossovsky." Stavsky entered the observation post, picked up the telephone on the table, and said loudly, "This is Stavsky. What can I do for you at this hour?"

"Comrade Stavsky, I heard that the anti-tank artillery regiment's positions have been bombed by the enemy. I was worried about your safety, so I called to inquire about your situation." Rokossovsky also raised his voice and said loudly, "How are you? Are you alright?"

“Very good, General Rokossovsky, I’m doing very well now.” Stavsky said with some pride, “I was just outside counting the German bombers, and guess how many I counted?”

"How many are there?" Rokossovsky asked directly, without beating around the bush.

"27!" Stavsky exclaimed excitedly. "The enemy has deployed a total of 27 Ju-88 bombers to bomb our positions, but the soldiers of our anti-tank artillery regiment are still fighting tenaciously."

Rokossovsky frowned upon hearing this, thinking to himself, "The artillery position has been bombed by the enemy. Shouldn't it be moving to a new position as soon as possible? Why is it still standing at a distance, continuing to fire at the enemy?" With that thought, he softened his tone and said to Stavsky, "Comrade Stavsky, please hand the phone to Major Yevremenko. I have something to ask him."

The microphone was quickly handed to Yevremenko: "Comrade Commander, what are your instructions?"

"Comrade Major, let me ask you something. Your position is currently being bombed by enemy aircraft. Why don't you move to a new location as soon as possible, instead of staying in place to continue shelling?" Rokossovsky said worriedly, "These artillery pieces that continue to fire will soon become the main targets of German bombers. Perhaps before the bombing ends, all of these artillery pieces will be lost."

Yevremenko sensed the anger in Rokossovsky's tone and quickly explained, "Comrade Commander, you misunderstand. When the enemy planes began bombing, I ordered the regiment's artillery to move. The few guns that remain to continue firing are hidden at the edge of the forest, making them difficult for the enemy planes to spot. These guns continue firing at the enemy, not only to directly eliminate enemy infantry, but also to deter German tanks and armored vehicles, preventing them from recklessly charging into our positions."

After listening to Yevremenko's explanation, Rokossovsky nodded in satisfaction and then said, "Comrade Major, once the enemy bombing is over, immediately arrange for someone to bring Comrade Stavsky and his assistant back. This is my order, understand?"

Yevremenko immediately understood Rokossovsky's meaning. If he directly persuaded Stavsky to leave, the latter would certainly refuse; but if he said it was Rokossovsky's order, Stavsky, no matter how unwilling he was, would have no choice but to leave and return to the army group headquarters. "I understand, Comrade Commander. As soon as the enemy bombing ends, I will immediately arrange suitable personnel to escort Comrade Stavsky and his assistant back to the army group headquarters."

The enemy circled over the anti-tank artillery regiment's position for more than half an hour, dropping all their bombs and running out of ammunition for all their machine guns before turning back and flying towards their airfield.

Although the battlefield was still filled with smoke and fire, Yevremenko immediately called his chief of staff and instructed him: "Comrade Chief of Staff, the enemy's bombing has ended. The German armored units stationed in the distance will soon launch another attack. Immediately order all artillery to return to their original positions and prepare for battle."

After hanging up the phone, Yevremenko turned to Stavsky and said, "Comrade Stavsky, the bombing is over now. I will send someone to escort you and your assistant back to the army group headquarters."

Just as Yevremenko had predicted, Stavsky shook his head vigorously: "No, my interview here isn't over yet, how can I leave..."

Before the other party could finish his long speech, Yevremenko said calmly, "This is the Commander's order. Please don't put me in a difficult position."

(End of this chapter)