Red Moscow

  Chapter 268 New Infantry Brigade (6)

  The battle in the east of the city lasted for more than two hours. Under the cover of tanks and artillery, the German infantry launched three consecutive charges to the position of the third battalion, but they were all repulsed by the commanders and fighters of the third battalion. Seeing that the 1st, 2nd, and 13th companies on the offensive mission had suffered heavy casualties, Colonel Weber could only sigh and order the troops to withdraw first to rest.

  Seeing that the enemy retreated, Andrei breathed a sigh of relief, then picked up the phone on the table and reported to Sokov: "Comrade Brigadier, the German attack has been repelled by us."

"If the Germans will attack again at any time, you must hurry up and repair the fortifications." Sokov said expressionlessly: "I have sent a tank company to hide on your left flank. When the enemy launches another attack, they will Assaults will be carried out from the flanks of the German tanks, and as long as the German tank units are eliminated, it will not be so easy for the enemy to take your battalion's position."

"Comrade Brigadier." Andrei was silent for a moment after listening to Sukov, and asked: "What if, what I said is what if our battalion is unable to hold its ground under the onslaught of the German army? ?”

"Alternately retreat into the city." Regarding Andrei's question, Sokov already had an answer in his mind: "The political commissar has already gone to organize the residents and build fortifications in the city. After you retreat into the city, you will use these fortifications." , Breaking it up into parts and engaging in street fighting with the enemy, consuming a lot of their vital strength."

   "Street fighting in the city?" Andre originally thought that Sokov would order him to hold the outer positions at all costs, but he didn't expect that the other party would let him lead the troops back into the city when he couldn't hold on. He asked with some concern: "Comrade Brigadier, there are too many recruits in my battalion. If they stick to their positions outside the city, they can still hide in the fortifications and shoot at the charging German troops because of the presence of veterans around them. But once they return to the city they are familiar with and fight in pieces, will there be a large number of deserters?"

"Lieutenant Andrei, you must be strict with military discipline." Hearing the possibility mentioned by Andrei, Sokov said with a serious expression: "As long as deserters are found, no matter what the reason is, they will be shot on the spot. Understand? ?”

  Andrei heard Sokov speak to himself in such a stern tone for the first time, and hurriedly replied: "Understood, Comrade Brigadier Commander, I will never be soft on cowards who appear in the battalion."

After listening to Andrei's statement, Sokov slowed down and said: "Captain Andrei, you should strengthen the political and ideological work in the battalion and tell every soldier that they are not only defending the motherland and Stalin, but also Protect their homeland, their loved ones. I think they understand this truth, and they can re-inspire their courage to fight the Germans."

  After finishing Andre's call, Sokov stared at the map and began to think about how to carry out street fighting. He planned to organize the troops into combat units in platoons and assign them to each building. As long as each squad is equipped with snipers, machine gunners and anti-tank players, they can cause great danger to the German army in the area they are defending.

Snipers can kill German commanders, machine gunners, and gunners from a long distance; machine gunners can continue to shoot at the assembled enemies, causing them heavy casualties; and the task of anti-tank fighters is to destroy the German tanks covering the infantry attack , so that the machine gunner can inflict maximum damage on the enemy.

Belkin returned to the command post in the evening and reported to Sokov the situation of the fortifications in the city: "...we have built barricades at every street corner; sandbags are piled up at the windows facing the street so that our soldiers can commandeer Kill and injure the enemies on the street..."

  After the report was over, Belkin sat down and took a sip of tea, and said with a worried face: "Comrade Brigadier, are we really going to fight the Germans?"

"That's right," Sokov nodded after Belkin finished speaking, and replied, "Don't look at our current total strength of more than 6,000, but our combat power has been greatly diluted. If we want to fight outside the city It seems impossible to block the enemy, so we can only retreat to the city and fight the enemy in the streets?"

"What about the residents of the city?" Belkin suddenly raised his voice and asked, "Comrade Brigadier, have you ever thought that once street fighting starts in the city, how many residents will die in the battle? Ten thousand, Twenty thousand, or fifty thousand, or eighty thousand?"

Belkin's words stopped Sokov. He remembered that in a document he had read, it was mentioned that before Stalingrad was in danger, Stalin issued an order prohibiting evacuation in order to prevent panic. Thousands of civilians died in this world-shaking war. There are now about 200,000 people in the city of Kursk. If he really engages in street fighting with the enemy in the city, the casualties of civilians will be an astonishing number.

Seeing that Sokov was silent, Belkin went on to say: "Comrade Brigadier, I have already considered it. In order to avoid harming innocent citizens in the following street fighting, I suggest immediate evacuation. We give every A week's worth of food was distributed to the residents, and they were asked to leave Kursk immediately and go to a safe place."

"Go to a safe place?" Sokov couldn't help sneering when he heard Belkin say this, and then asked: "Comrade my political commissar, have you forgotten that Kursk is a city deep behind enemy lines. Where shall our inhabitants be evacuated and handed over to the Germans?"

  Sokov’s rebuttal left Belkin at a loss for words. He only thought that in order to avoid unnecessary casualties of residents in the street fighting, he should evacuate as soon as possible, but he ignored that the city still exists behind the enemy’s rear. Even if the residents leave the city, they may not be out of danger, but they don't say how they passed through the enemy's defense zone. Even if they encounter the enemy on the road, they may be killed.

"Comrade Commissar, if we want to reduce the casualties of the residents in the city, we can only try our best to control the fighting in the outskirts of the city." Sokov looked at Belgin and said, "Only if we take all measures to keep the enemy out of the city, can we make the battle come true." The residents of the city avoided this catastrophe."

"Comrade Brigadier, your idea is correct." Belkin pondered for a long time, and finally said: "I think it is necessary to convene a meeting of all political workers, let them go deep into the combat troops, and encourage the commanders and fighters to be brave. To fight against the Germans, and to make meritorious deeds for defending the motherland. As long as the morale is boosted and the army is united, the combat effectiveness of the troops will be improved, and we will be more confident in keeping the enemy out of the city."

  (end of this chapter)