USSR 1941

  Chapter 27 Deserters

   Deserters are inevitable.

   This was expected by Shulka or Major Gavrilov and others.

It is human nature to be afraid of death. The reason why the Soviet soldiers stood firm in the fortress was because they believed that there would be reinforcements and that the Soviet army would come back soon. A good performance before coming back will become the capital of the future... This is more on the instructor's mind.

  After knowing that there is no reinforcements, there will inevitably be some people who estimate that there is little hope of winning, so they choose to surrender.

  The current situation is even more serious: not only is there no reinforcements, but even the combat plan is known in advance by the enemy, what is worse is that the Soviet army cannot change the plan due to the situation.

   So breaking out is almost equivalent to sending to death.

  Under this premise, there will be more hesitant people who are determined to surrender to the German army, even if this process is also dangerous.

   After receiving the news, Major Gavlov and the instructor came to the front line to give another speech of justice, and the instructor even opened his voice to speak the truth.

   But these are not important. The important thing is that the deserters actually brought another important message to the German army... The Soviet army will continue to break out of the forest to the north as originally planned, and there is no other choice.

  On the other side, Colonel Lucas, head of the German 135th Infantry Regiment, who was in charge of attacking the Kobrin Fortress, looked at the opposite fortress with a telescope in the sunset.

The defense of the Soviet army surprised Lucas. Before the war, the German army had sent Brandenburg troops to infiltrate the Soviet defense line to scout the Brest Fortress. They knew that the Soviet army did not have many troops in the fortress, and the officers returned The city of Brest was on vacation, and more importantly, the German army even detected the various warehouses in the fortress and marked them one by one, ordering the air force to blow them up as soon as possible.

  However, even so, the Brest Fortress still stood in front of him like a stubborn stone.

This is a shame for the 45th Division. You must know that the German 45th Division was the first to break into war-torn Warsaw and Paris, France. At this time, it was damaged within two days in front of a fortress with a completely disproportionate strength and preparation. 153 people were killed, which already exceeded the total number of casualties of the division against Poland.

   Put away the binoculars, Colonel Lucas looked at the fortress in the distance, and asked the adjutant beside him: "How much time does 'Carl' need?"

   "It will take more than half an hour, Colonel!" The adjutant replied.

   Colonel Lucas nodded slightly.

  The so-called "Carl" is a German super-caliber mortar. Its total combat weight is 124 tons, which is equivalent to two heavy tanks, and even the shells weigh 2.17 tons.

   Colonel Lucas believes that under the bombardment of such mortars, everything on the Brest Defense Line will be wiped out

   "Colonel!" The adjutant asked: "Should we let them speed up the deployment, so that we can catch up before they break through..."

   "Do you think they will break through at seven o'clock, Andrea?" Colonel Lucas interrupted the adjutant: "The Soviets are not fools. They know that deserters will confess everything, so this information is worthless!"

  The adjutant nodded in agreement.

  But at this moment, the correspondent delivered a telegram to the adjutant.

  The adjutant glanced at it, then passed the information to the colonel with his eyes wide open, and said, "Colonel, I think you should read this!"

  Lukas read the content, and then immediately ordered: "You are right, Andrea, let them speed up. In addition, immediately transfer the second battalion to the north to reinforce the third company!"

   "Yes, Colonel!"

   Obviously, Shulka's strategy worked.

  To be precise, it was the intelligence brought to the German army by the second batch of deserters that played a role. The German army transferred a large number of troops to the north instead of other directions, which gave the Soviet army an opportunity.

Shulka on the other side is looking at the sky nervously. He urgently needs a watch. He is used to knowing the time at any time, and he can't adapt to the state of guessing the time... For the Soviet Union, which was backward in light industry, the watch It is very expensive, and of course it is a luxury for Shulka.

  Although this can't change anything, knowing the time is the same as not knowing the time, it makes Shulka feel at a loss.

   At this time, the battalion commander, Captain Venyakov, appeared in front of the soldiers, and then ordered in a low voice: "Soldier, follow me!"

  The soldiers picked up their guns and stood up one after another, but when they saw the battalion commander leading them to the south, they were puzzled.

"What happened?"

   "We're not going north!"

  …

   "Where are we going, Comrade Battalion Commander?" A soldier asked.

   "You don't need to know!" Captain Venyakov replied coldly.

   This was agreed in advance by the officers, who until now have been afraid to tell them the truth for fear that someone would surrender during the battle and reveal the plan to the Germans.

  Okunev whispered to Shulka: "It seems that we are going to the Bright Bridge. I understand. We are going to meet the comrades in the central fortress!"

   "Maybe!" Shulka replied.

  Okunev only guessed half right. They were indeed going to the Bright Bridge, but they were not going to meet the central fortress, but to fight back to the central fortress.

  Ten minutes later, the troops arrived near the Bright Bridge... The bridge has been occupied by the Germans, and they have built reverse trenches and reverse fortifications at both ends of the bridge.

The so-called reverse fortifications refer to the fortifications that provide fire cover on the other side of the river. This fortification is especially useful for garrisoning bridges. Behind them is a bridge and a river, which is equivalent to a last stand with no retreat.

  But it would be different if the reverse fortifications were built on the opposite bank. The firepower on the opposite bank can effectively spread out and cover each other, that is, the fortifications on one side of the bridge are mainly aimed at the other side, and vice versa.

  The advantage of this is that once attacked by the enemy, you can flexibly retreat along the bridge deck and use the narrow space of the bridge for effective defense, which makes it difficult for the enemy to break through its defense line.

  Of course, if both sides are attacked by the enemy at the same time... this tactic will be useless.

  The head of the bridge was dead silent. In the darkness, there was no spark or conversation, not even a German sentinel, only the sound of the river water.

  Obviously, the German army here got the intelligence that the Soviet army would attack the bridge, and they even knew the exact time, so they were ready for battle early in the morning.

   It's just that what they didn't expect was that... not only the Soviet army from one direction would attack here, but also the main force of the Soviet army.

  (end of this chapter)