The German 722nd Division Wolf Regiment with a total strength of 1,400 men. Like the friendly Ludwig regiments, they were a little slower to move because www.biquge.info they carried some heavy weapons.

Ten 75-mm field guns were pulled by war horses, and a large number of wagons were loaded with baggage. The garrison of this unit was relatively close to Gomel, so they crossed the Dnieper and traveled a long way to get to their present position.

When the division headquarters received information that the battle had been lost, the latest order was to ask Wolf to find the retreating Ludwig and the brothers of the 715th Division, and their mission changed completely.

The original offensive operation turned into defense, and the fighters of this regiment were very unwilling.

Wolf was more rigorous, he summoned the main officers of the regiment and ordered them: "You restrain your troops, and everyone must do their part when the task is changed." Intelligence errors, enemy sorties, no matter what methods they used, all three of our regiments suffered defeat and were forced to retreat! No one must leave anything to chance, the enemy is likely to be in pursuit, and we must fight if necessary! ”

This precautionary shot also made the majority of soldiers put their mentality in a correct position, and the whole regiment advanced in the tortuous gaps between the forests, sparing many detours and still trying to advance southward.

As the temperature rises, the snow and ice melt a lot during the day, and the artillery moves sluggishly after the roads begin to get muddy.

In order to find friendly troops as soon as possible, Ludwig sent a battalion to organize a huge skirmish line, which was like a large fishing net, just to join the friendly army earlier.

After Hoffmann and Ludwig met, the map showed that they were getting closer and closer to the road, and that they would be able to reach their original station by another forty kilometers. It's just that in the current situation of the soldiers, they have traveled this distance for at least two days!

The early morning mist still covered the land, and some people froze to death this night. Hoffman had no choice but to abandon these dead soldiers and lead the living to move on.

In the morning, the soldiers were eating, when suddenly a gunshot broke the silence.

A nervous Hoffman immediately stood up. "What's going on? Could it be that the enemy has appeared? ”

A large number of soldiers subconsciously clenched their weapons, and the machine gunners also aimed the barrels of their guns in suspicious directions. However, the gunfire was only once, and then everything returned to normal.

Hoffmann and Ludwig did not dare to take it lightly, perhaps the enemy was nearby, and they were approaching like ghosts.

After a while, I saw a few soldiers returning with a grin, and their actions attracted the attention of many people. The thing was carried all the way up to the prefect Hoffman, and upon closer inspection, it turned out to be a sheep.

"Schafezurlinken, dasgluckwirddirwinken (Sheep on the left, good luck beckons)," Hoffmann says happily.

Ludwig scratched his head, "It seems that God is on our side, and we have good luck early in the morning, and maybe we will soon meet friendly forces." ”

"That's right! We are already close to the road, and the Wolf Regiment will find us, and then our strength will be increased again, and all difficulties should come to an abrupt end. ”

"Unless, the crazy Soviets will hit the stone with an egg. Waiting for the road is our world, and the so-called 284th Division of the Soviet Army will not rush to attack. Ludwig patted his comrade on the back as an encouragement.

The origin of this sheep is probably that it ran out of the villagers' homes, and then disappeared into the forest to forage freely, as if it became a wild sheep.

But this is a sheep, a symbol of good luck! The German in the face of adversity brought unexpected encouragement, and the development of events really proved that luck was really good!

Hoffman's vanguard collided head-on with the search party of the Wolf Regiment in the small plain between the woods, and the two noticed each other for a while, subconsciously thinking that it was the enemy, until they saw each other's identical helmets and confirmed their identities.

Hearing that they had already met with friendly forces, Hoffmann and Ludwig jointly ordered the whole army to speed up.

"Our allies have bread, butter, and even wine! There was everything we needed there! These simple words were the best command, and in order to have enough to eat, the four thousand men hastened forward, and under the drive of desire, they forgot all the pain, and they scrambled for fear that they would run too slowly and not be able to eat.

After groping in the forest for a long time, the people who had worked hard and hard finally reconciled with their allies.

Wolf and his soldiers, facing this group of "hungry wolves" in tattered clothes and eyes full of food cravings, were full of incredulity.

Wolf himself did not expect that the situation of his comrades was far worse than he thought! He immediately ordered a part of the grain in the baggage to be divided, first of all, to give these fellows who were "on the verge of starvation and exhaustion" a respite.

He also immediately met with the other three regimental commanders, and now the four regiments were officially reconciled, and the military meeting began immediately.

Wolfe's mind was in a mess when he learned of the actual losses of the friendly troops: "What a surprise, we are four regiments of 10,000 people, and now you tell me that we have only brought 4,000 men." In other words, we have already lost three thousand people in this battle! ”

"It's a loss of 4,000 people!" Hoffman pointed out: "The only armored battalion of our 715th Division has also been lost, and that force has expanded to 1,000 men, and it was annihilated by the enemy!" Many people were chased and intercepted in the hope of swimming across the Dnieper, but hundreds of people froze to death! ”

What Hoffman said was also one of the pieces of information that his division commander had previously informed. The Germans in the lower reaches of the river occupied the city, and the defenders of its crossing discovered strange floating objects on the surface of the river, which turned out to be human corpses and dead Germans. The nameplate on the neck of the corpse indicates its identity and confirms the enormous loss.

Here, Hoffmann and Ludwig do not exaggerate, they illustrate the enemy's way of fighting, especially the characteristic surprise tactics, which completely break with the convention.

Hoffman pointed to the surrounding forest and said, "Maybe now the enemy is lying in ambush nearby, they are prowler in the forest, and we are fighting professional hunters." We may be able to chase and intercept the Soviets like antelopes on the plains, but in the forests we have a natural disadvantage. ”

"So that's why you're continuing to retreat?" Wolf was unhappy with the colleague's justifiable remarks of defeat.

Hoffman immediately choked: "You have not fought with the enemy, and you have no idea their terrifying combat power!" We have never been trained in forest warfare, and the enemy is an expert in this! ”

Seeing that he was unmoved, Hoffman shook his head and said the order he received: "Our 715th Division ordered us to retreat, I don't know what your 722nd Division arranges." The defeat of this operation was a foregone conclusion, and instead of completing the task of annihilating the guerrilla brigade and the personnel of the Soviet Gomel city committee, we provoked the so-called 284th Soviet Division from the swamp. Before, they did evil on the highway, and even slaughtered the city of Lechicha! I think you should heed the advice and let us retreat together. ”

"That's right! My logistical baggage is basically completely lost, the enemy's assault is extremely fast, the will to fight is high, and its firepower density should not be underestimated! "Ludwig was in the spirit of his comrades in the 722nd Division at the same time, and he thought that his words carried more weight." The situation we are currently encountering must be difficult for the division headquarters in the rear. If we continue to fight in this forested place, we will suffer even heavier losses if we know almost nothing about the terrain! In the future, the road can only be guarded by other divisions, and we will become a disgrace to the group army. ”

Wolf was unmoved, and roared and said: "Who is the shame, I think you are!" I don't have the authority to shoot an officer of the same rank, and if one of my subordinates makes such a failed statement, I will be punished on the spot. ”

"I'm kind of persuading!" Ludwig continued.

"Withdraw, withdraw! I'm not going to be a coward. Wolf's eyes were full of disdain, and he continued: "You are not willing to continue the battle, afraid of the pursuers behind you? Then we will be responsible for blocking the enemy, so go back! I'll cover up. (To be continued.) )