Red Moscow

Chapter 2497

As Asia, who had participated in the Battle of Stalingrad, when Sokov said this, she suddenly realized that she had taken it for granted. How could the strength of the troops be based solely on the troop numbers? In my own memory, I once treated a captain. I heard from the other party that the 82 soldiers in his company came from more than 30 different companies, which shows how many troops were wiped out in the battle.

"Well, that's true. The war broke out very suddenly, and the original structure will definitely be disrupted." Asiya turned to look at Gavrilov and asked: "Comrade Major, which fortress were you in at that time?" ?”

"I was in the Kobrin Fortress in the north. At that time, I accommodated about a thousand troops, mainly soldiers from the 44th Infantry Regiment and some anti-aircraft artillery." Gavrilov said: "As for the commander, In addition to me, there was Ivan Akimchkin and the instructor Nikolay Nesterchuk.”

In the movies Sokov watched, it was unclear how many soldiers Gavrilov had gathered at that time, so Sokov always thought that he only took in two to three hundred people, and then relied on this limited force. , to resist the German attack. But now that he learned that the other party actually had thousands of men and even anti-aircraft artillery, he suddenly became interested: "Comrade Major, how did you deploy the defense at that time?"

"I have just said that because the superiors did not pay attention to the construction of the fortress, there is not even a cannon in the Kobrin Fortress. It is difficult to deal with the German tanks with only the light weapons we use." Frilov said: "So I sent a second lieutenant named Kramko, with dozens of soldiers, to the open space outside the fortress and planted a large number of mines, including anti-tank mines and infantry mines. These mines It played a big role in our next battle.”

Sokov waited for Gavrilov to finish speaking, and did not immediately ask what the purpose of these mines was. Instead, he asked tentatively: "Comrade Major, you just said that some of the troops you took in were anti-aircraft gunners. Right?"

"That's right." Gavrilov nodded and said in a positive tone: "They use 37mm rapid-fire anti-aircraft guns, about 24 of them, all placed in the yard of the military camp in the west of the fortress."

“Oh, there are 24 37mm anti-aircraft guns.” Sokov asked, “I wonder how much ammunition they are equipped with?”

“Each anti-aircraft gun was equipped with 120 rounds of artillery shells. Unfortunately, they were all lost in German shelling before enemy planes appeared.”

“Comrade Major, let me ask you another question. If these anti-aircraft guns are not destroyed by German artillery fire, how do you plan to use them?”

“If these anti-aircraft guns are not lost in the German bombardment, then when the enemy bomber formation appears over the fortress, I will order the anti-aircraft artillery to fire and try to knock down one or two enemy planes.”

When Gavrilov was speaking, he was surprised to see Sokov shaking his head repeatedly. Realizing that he might have said the wrong thing, he stopped talking and asked tentatively: "Comrade General, did I say the wrong thing?" ?”

“Comrade Major, have you ever thought about using these anti-aircraft guns to deal with German tanks?”

Hearing what Sokov said, Gavrilov was stunned for a moment, then shook his head and said: "How is this possible? The military camps in the western part of the fortress are all anti-aircraft guns, not anti-tank guns. How can they be used for this?" What about the German tanks?”

 Sokov held his forehead, feeling speechless. I really didn’t expect that Gavrilov still had the same old thinking. He only thought that anti-aircraft guns were used to deal with enemy aircraft, but he never thought that this kind of anti-aircraft guns could be used for horizontal fire and could also be used as anti-tank guns, and the rate of fire was faster. Quickly, if they are all put into battle, there is no problem in killing dozens of German tanks with more than 2,000 artillery shells. They can completely turn the open space in front of the Kobrin Fortress into a graveyard for German tanks.

"Comrade General," Gavrilov saw the dissatisfaction on Sokov's face. Not knowing what he said wrongly, he asked cautiously: "What would you have done if you had been in the Kobrin Fortress?" Take command of this battle.”

 Sokov is thinking about finding a way to point out errors in Gavrilov's defense without hurting him. Since he took the initiative to ask, Sokov was not polite and said bluntly: "Comrade Major, I thought at first that as the defensive side, you only have rifles, submachine guns and a small number of light and heavy machine guns. I feel that such a defensive battle is No matter how tenacious we fight, it will only prolong the time for the fortress to fall. But what I didn't expect is that you actually have 24 37mm rapid-fire anti-aircraft guns in your hands. These are powerful defensive weapons, but it is a pity that you wasted them in vain."

Gavrilov misunderstood what Sokov wanted to express, and explained in a panic: "Comrade General, I have just said this specifically. Before the enemy planes appeared, these anti-aircraft guns were destroyed by German artillery fire. ”

"Anti-aircraft guns are not just used to deal with enemy aircraft." Sokov said with some resentment: "You also specifically emphasized that there is not a single gun in the fortress. If I were you, I would order someone to kill them. These anti-aircraft guns were moved to the fortifications, and when the German army launched an attack, they used horizontal fire to destroy the German tanks. You know, the 37 mm caliber artillery was enough to destroy any type of German tank at that time."

Gavrilov heard this and his eyes widened in surprise: "What, the anti-aircraft gun can also be used as an anti-tank gun?"

"That's right." Sokov said in an affirmative tone: "A few months after the outbreak of the war, anti-aircraft guns and anti-aircraft machine guns began to be used to deal with the German army. But in the battle of Stalingrad, anti-aircraft guns were used to attack The German tank tactics became popular. Several women's anti-aircraft artillery regiments leveled their 85mm anti-aircraft guns and used them to deal with German tanks." He originally wanted to tell Gavrilov that when Rommel was in Africa, he used The 88mm anti-aircraft gun came to deal with the British tanks and defeated the British army. Later, considering that Gavrilov might not know who Rommel was, he took the Battle of Stalingrad as an example.

After listening to Sokov's words, Gavrilov raised his hand and slapped himself **** the forehead, and said angrily: "Comrade General, I really didn't expect that anti-aircraft guns can also be used as anti-tank guns with horizontal fire. If I Had I known this, maybe I would have moved these anti-aircraft guns to the fortifications and used them as anti-tank guns, as you said. Even if the fortress cannot be defended in the end, we can destroy more enemies."

Gavrilov soon continued his story: "On June 23, the German army launched a fierce attack on the fortress again. The focus of their attack was the Kobrin Fortress and the Central Fortress, with the purpose of destroying the defenders of these two fortresses. Split them so that they cannot respond to each other; at the same time, intersperse and divide the central fortress to eliminate the defenders in the fortress one by one.

On this day, the German army launched a total of 8 attacks on the central fortress, but they were all repulsed by our army. Political Commissar Fuming even commanded the 84th Infantry Regiment to conduct several counterattacks, but regrettably, the enemy was never driven away. Exit the fort. While fighting, the defenders in the central fortress did not give up contacting their superiors through the radio. When they never received a response, they had no choice but to send a message in clear code to express that they were still fighting and to request support from their superiors..."

When Sokov heard this, he began to think in his mind that the Western Front Army at that time was in a mess. Regardless of whether they received a distress telegram from the Brest Fortress, they would not be able to take any action because the then Commander of the Western Front Army General Pavlov, a member of the army, had become panicked. Facing the German attack, he did not immediately organize effective resistance. Instead, he hid in the group army below, trying to quickly break away from contact with the enemy. It was precisely because the Western Front suffered a complete defeat that made Stalin so angry that he was able to kill Ma Di with tears in his eyes and directly execute his former beloved general.

Just listen to Gavrilov continue: "...While the central fortress was fighting, we also tenaciously repelled the multiple attacks launched by the German army on the Kobrin Fortress, and the mines we laid in advance not only killed many The few German soldiers even blew up a few tanks.

 When the enemy suffered a setback, they quickly launched a new attack. On the afternoon of the 23rd, the 1st Battalion of the German 135th Infantry Regiment, with strong support from German artillery fire from across the Bug River, finally broke into the western barracks of Kobrin Fortress. We could only adopt the tactic of retreating while fighting, and retreated to the eastern barrier at noon on the 24th, relying on the fortifications in the munitions warehouse to resist. "

“Comrade Major,” Asiya heard this and asked tentatively: “Then when did you let the women and children go out and surrender to the Germans?”

"Asia, don't worry, I'll get to this point soon." Gavrilov continued: "At noon on June 26, the central fortress, aware that we were still fighting, dispatched a 120-man troop , trying to break through the enemy's siege and enter the Kobrin Fortress to join us. But unfortunately, due to the enemy's strong firepower, most of the commanders and fighters who rushed over fell under the enemy's guns, and only five or six of them made it to the fortress. , reported to me the situation in the central fortress.

In the early morning of June 27, the German army intensified their offensive efforts. Not only did they use heavy mortars to bombard our forts, they also dispatched bombers and dropped heavy aerial bombs in an attempt to completely destroy our fortifications.

Although many buildings in the fortress collapsed under the enemy's shelling and bombing, we living people still hid in the solid fortifications and fought tenaciously against the oncoming enemies, repelling them time and time again. charge. "

Both Sokov and Asiya participated in the Battle of Stalingrad, and also held on to Mamayev Heights for more than two months, where the battle was the most brutal. They could at least experience the tragic feeling described by Gavrilov. War scenes. He coughed lightly, and then asked: "Comrade Major, when did the Germans persuade you to surrender?"

"It's June 29th, Comrade General!" Gavrilov said: "Seeing that the Germans were still unable to eliminate us hiding in the fortress, they adopted the method of inducing surrender and issued an ultimatum to us through the radio, demanding We surrender within the stipulated time, otherwise they will 'grind the whole fortress into powder'."

“Has anyone surrendered after hearing the German broadcast?” Asiya asked nervously.

"Yes," Gavrilov hesitated for a moment, then nodded slowly and said in a difficult tone: "Although the German army occupied many areas of Kobrin Fortress, there are still individual combat groups in these areas. During the battle. After they heard the German army's persuasion to surrender, they probably felt that there was no way out if they continued to fight, so they took the initiative to put down their weapons and walked out of their hiding place. At that time, the commanders and fighters in the eastern fortress saw these soldiers who put down their weapons and surrendered. Tried to shoot them but I stopped him."

 “Why?” Asiya asked puzzledly.

Gavrilov glanced at Asiya and said with a painful expression: "Because I think if we continue to fight, all the people in the Eastern Fortress will die. You must know that in addition to the commanders and fighters, there were many women and soldiers in the fortress at that time. My children, I have no right to let them follow us to die. I do not allow the soldiers to shoot those who surrender, just to send the women and children of the eastern fortress out."

“Comrade Major,” Sokov sighed softly and said to Gavrilov: “It must have been painful when you made this decision, right?”

"Yes, after I convinced everyone to let the women and children go out and surrender, I looked at their backs. My mind was blank. My trachea seemed to be compressed. It was very uncomfortable to have it blocked in my throat. My heart was nervous at first. It was beating wildly, and then it felt like it was being stabbed with a knife." Gavrilov gritted his back teeth and said: "I know very well that even if the Germans did not shoot them when they walked out of the eastern fortress, But it is still impossible for them to survive until the day of the war.

 Subsequent facts proved that my guess was not wrong. They were imprisoned in a concentration camp, and a year later, they were transferred to other concentration camps and then all shot. I estimate that my wife and adopted son Kolya also died in the German concentration camps. "

"No, Comrade Major." Sokov waited for Gavrilov to finish and immediately refuted his statement: "I always believe that your wife and children are still alive, and you will be reunited with them sooner or later. of."

"I hope so." Gavrilov said with a wry smile: "When all the women and children in the eastern fortress left, we still stayed in the fortress and refused to surrender to the Germans. The Germans waited for the time specified in the ultimatum. Once they arrived, they continued bombarding the fort with heavy high-explosive shells in an attempt to collapse the fortifications and eliminate us all.”

"I will tell you the rest." Sokov said: "Although most of the fortress was destroyed by German heavy artillery shells, the surviving commanders and fighters were still fighting. July 12 , when the eastern fortress was completely lost, the major gathered a dozen soldiers and continued fighting on the outer fortifications of the northwest fortress. Among the ruins, they persisted for another 11 days, until July 23, when Zafri, who was injured and extremely weak, Major Love was unfortunately captured by the Germans. Major, am I right?"

"That's right, Comrade General." Gavrilov nodded and said, "What you said is basically true. I was captured by the Germans on July 23 after being wounded."

 (End of this chapter)