According to Sokov's prior vision, the German army could only draw enough troops to attack Lugansk after annihilated the Sixth Soviet Army and Popov rapid cluster.
But he soon discovered that his guess was wrong, and it was a big mistake. The 333rd German Infantry Division, which was supposed to be besieging Popov's rapid cluster, suddenly appeared near Lugansk. The 71st Guard Division, which had just entered the defense zone and had not had time to build a position, was attacked by the German army.
Due to the sharp drop in temperature in the past two days, the snow that had begun to melt was frozen again. Under the cover of artillery fire, the German tanks launched a charge towards the positions of the 210th and 213th Regiments of the Guards.
After their first attack was repelled, the German army dispatched a large number of planes to bombard the positions of the two guard regiments, turning the Soviet army, which had only simple positions, into scorched earth.
When Sokov learned that the north side of the city had been attacked, he was also anxious. He quickly called Shivakov and asked about their situation: "Comrade Colonel, how is your situation there?"
"Comrade Commander," because of the frequent occurrence of shells or bombs falling near the division command, Sivakov had to shout at the microphone at the top of his voice: "The enemy has planes in the sky, tanks and cannons on the ground, and is bombing indiscriminately at the position of our division. The two regiments currently on the front line have suffered more than half of their casualties. Look, should I put the 219th Regiment of the Guards, which is the second echelon, into battle?"
"Don't worry, Colonel Sivakov." Hearing that Sivakov was eager to put the reserve team into battle, Sokov quickly stopped him, "The enemy is bombing your positions. At this moment, the troops will be sent to the front line, which can only increase unnecessary casualties. I think it's better to wait."
After hanging up the phone, Sokov asked Vitkov in confusion: "Chief of Staff, tell me, why didn't the Germans attack from the west or southwest directions that were easy to attack but difficult to defend, but instead chose the north side that was easy to defend and difficult to attack?"
"Comrade Commander," replied Witkov: "If the terrain in the north was still muddy like the previous few days, the German army would definitely choose to attack from the west or southwest. But when the temperature dropped sharply in the past two days, those muddy places were frozen again, which would help their mechanized troops to develop. Moreover, they should know that our army basically has no decent fortifications in the north. As long as we break through the defense zone of the 71st Division of the Guards, we can quickly rush into the city..."
After Vitkov finished speaking, Bere asked Sokov tentatively: "Misha, why not lead the tank brigade to attack from the flank and teach the Germans a lesson?"
When he attacked the German flank with a tank brigade, Berre's suggestion was immediately approved by everyone. Cidolin also said excitedly: "The deputy commander is right. The enemy's attention is now concentrated in the north and he will not notice that we will attack from their flanks."
"The two tank brigades, artillery division and rocket artillery battalion that our superiors promised to us have not arrived for a long time." Sokov frowned and said, "Now our entire combat cluster only has one tank brigade of Colonel Bere. If it is consumed too early in the battle, how should we fight the next battle?"
"What should I do?" Witkov asked.
"Call Gorishne, the commander of the 75th Guards Division, and ordered him to transfer a regiment of troops to the north of the city." Sokov told Vetkov: "Once the German army breaks through the defense line of the 71st Guards Division, they must firmly block it and must not let the enemy rush into the city."
"What should I do with Colonel Shivakov's troops?" Vetkov asked Sokov for advice: "Did you just watch them be wiped out by enemy artillery fire?"
"Send reinforcements to the ground at this moment, and you will die." Sokov said firmly: "Immediately call Shivakov and order him to hold his position firmly at all costs and not be allowed to retreat without a single step."
After giving this order, he ordered people to call Samoilov and said to him: "Comrade Lieutenant, follow me to the church in the city center, where I will continue to command the battle."
Samoilov led the guard platoon to escort Sokov to the church. Sokov climbed up the bell tower of the church, raised his telescope and looked in the direction of the fiercest battle. He saw that the German artillery and bombing had ended, but the defenders' positions were still covered with layers of smoke. The German infantry in the distance were following the tanks and trotted towards the position.
When the enemy was still one or two hundred meters away from the Soviet position, the machine gun fire on the position opened fire, and some soldiers following behind the tank were immediately shot and fell down.
Seeing that the infantry was attacked, the German tanks hurriedly stopped and aimed at the fire point to fire. At the beginning, the bounce point was a little far from the machine gun fire point, but after firing two guns, the German tank soldiers found the right direction and bombed the machine gun that was shooting with one shot.
Seeing that the machine gun fire point on the Soviet position was destroyed, the German tanks continued to move forward, while the infantry got up from the ground and rushed forward with shouts.
If the attacked position is defended by the 41st Guard Division, at such a distance, the anti-tank hand should use a bazooka to attack the enemy tanks. However, Sivakov's troops were not equipped with such weapons. Faced with the rushing German tanks, they could only use the method of close-up, using anti-tank grenades and molten bottles to blow up the German tanks.
However, since the German tanks were followed by infantry, many anti-tank soldiers fell into the enemy's rain of bullets as soon as they left the position. More than 20 soldiers were often sacrificed to blow up a German tank.
When Sokov saw this scene, he couldn't help but feel angry. He quickly grabbed the microphone, connected the division headquarters of the 71st Guards Division, and asked loudly: "Col. Sivakov, where is your artillery regiment? Why not fire the artillery? Are you planning to keep the shells for a cub?"
"Comrade Commander," said Sivakov aggrievedly: "Our artillery regiments are all howitzers and no anti-tank guns. It is probably difficult to destroy German tanks."
"Cannons cannot deal with enemy tanks, can't they still deal with their infantry?" Sokov said angrily: "As long as you use artillery fire to destroy the infantry covering the tanks, the soldiers will leave the trenches and blow up the German tanks. Do you understand?"
"I understand, comrade Commander." Shivakov quickly replied: "I will immediately order the artillery to fire at the front."
A few minutes later, the rear of the German army, who was rushing towards the Soviet position, sparked a group of dazzling flames and smoke. The artillery of the 151st Guards Regiment began to bombard the attacking German infantry. The shells fell into the German infantry queue and exploded, causing the enemy to fly and flesh and blood, and corpses to spread all over the field.
Although the flying shrapnel made the German tank armor plates jingle, it did not pose much threat. However, the German tanks without infantry cover soon became prey for Soviet anti-tank players. With the explosions one after another, the German tanks parked in front of the positions caught fire and burned amid the explosions of anti-tank grenades or moor bottles, and rolled up smoke.
Chapter completed!