On the east bank of the Neman River, the road to the north runs almost parallel to the riverbank.

On the road, the tank units with no end in sight were heading south.

This tank unit was subordinate to the 10th Tank Regiment of the 5th Tank Division of the USSR.

At the time of the outbreak of the war, the 5th Tank Division was stationed in the northern area of Alitus on the east bank of the Neman River.

Having learned of the report of the German invasion, the task of defending the area of Alitus naturally fell on the 5th Tank Division.

When the German Army's 7th Panzer Division began its attack on Alitus, the 9th Tank Regiment, which also belonged to the division, was the first to join the battle, and the 10th Tank Regiment then moved south in the direction of Alitus.

The vast column of tanks drove across the road, and the smoke and dust raised in the sky had not yet cleared, and in the poplar forest on the east side of the road, on a thick poplar tree close to the edge of the forest, a thin man sat on a branch, clinging to the trunk of the tree.

He craned his neck to look north of the road, and then to the south where the tank column was heading, and then bowed his head and shouted under the tree:

"The Russians are far away, and they can come out."

Hearing his shouts, six heads silently emerged from the bushes under the aspen trees.

"After this fight, we can go home and rest, and we will go." A man with a Marxist beard waved his hand and shouted.

As he rushed to the road, the bearded man did not forget to raise his head and shout to the tree: "Younas, be on guard. ”

"Got it."

Six men sprinted swiftly onto the road, two in groups of three and swooped down on the power pole on the side of the road.

Armed with the hacksaws in hand, each of the three teams "takes care" of a telephone pole.

In the sound of sawing wood, the hacksaw quickly sank into the thigh-thick telephone pole, and the white sawdust was also sprinkled all over the root of the telephone pole.

"Poured, poured, be careful." The bearded group was the first to make a breakthrough. Contentedly watched as the tall telephone pole in front of me fell to the side of the road

The other two groups did not lag far behind, and successively lowered the poles.

Changing into pliers, he cut the telephone line on the telephone pole with a click, and quickly rolled it up and carried it to his shoulder, and the bearded man shouted: "Mission accomplished, go home and sleep." ”

Six people returned to the woods. Plug the phone cord into the bushes and hide it.

Younas slipped down the poplar tree, as sharp as a monkey, and joined the six men under the tree.

The figures of the seven men disappeared into the dense woods, leaving only three sawn power poles on the highway to bear witness to their previous visit

Colonel Fedorov set up his headquarters in the village of Vasd, about five kilometers from the river, and out of the dilapidated log cabin where the division headquarters was located, there was a large forest of poplar trees.

As soon as the sky was brightened, Luftwaffe reconnaissance planes circled over the Alitus area, and in order to prevent the division headquarters from being attacked by air raids, he had to set up his headquarters on the edge of the woods, preparing for the danger that would occur. You can always use the woods outside the house as a shelter.

Colonel Fedorov was well aware of the importance of the city of Alitus on the west bank, and if the city, especially the two bridges over the Neman River, were lost, the Germans would be able to move straight in, and Vilnius, an even more important transportation city behind it, would be put under the threat of the Germans.

The phone call from his immediate boss, Major General Kurkin, commander of the 3rd Mechanized Corps, made him feel a lot of pressure.

"Comrade Fedorov, you are an old party member and a veteran fighter. I hope that you will fully realize the importance of the city of Alitus, where the troops of the 2nd Tank Division are engaged in fierce battles with the enemy's tank units in the area of Rasenia. The 84th Motorized Division is also in this area, I can't send reinforcements to you for the time being, you can only rely on your troops to fight with the 126th Division, and you must hold Alytus and block the way for the Germans to advance until you receive a new order. ”

Colonel Fedorov said: "I understand the importance of the task. On behalf of all the fighters of the 5th Tank Division, I assure you that we can accomplish this difficult task, and even if the most unfortunate consequences arise, I will blow up the bridges and prevent them from falling into the hands of the Germans. ”

"You're right. Even if the city of Alytus was occupied by the Germans, the two bridges could not fall into the hands of the Germans. But beware, we still have troops fighting the enemy in the city of Alitus, and even if we want to blow up the bridge, we will have to wait for the comrades on the opposite side to withdraw before carrying it out. ”

Hearing Major General Kurkin's instructions, Colonel Fedorov felt a swelling in his brain, the battle in the city of Alitus was in full swing, the battle lines on both sides were already in a mess, and it was completely unrealistic to want to wait for all the troops on the opposite side to withdraw and then blow up the bridge.

"Doodoo"

Colonel Fedorov was about to voice his concerns, when he suddenly heard a continuous busy sound coming from the microphone.

At such a critical moment, the phone was disconnected, which is really unreasonable.

Hanging up the phone with a bang, Major General Fedorov shouted to the communications staff officer beside him: "The telephone line leading to the military headquarters may have been blown up by artillery shells, immediately ask the communications battalion to send someone to check the telephone line and restore the communication line with the military headquarters as soon as possible." ”

"Report, the vanguard of the 10th Tank Regiment has arrived."

Colonel Fedorov nodded, satisfied with the efficiency of the march of the 10th Tank Regiment.

"Let them take cover in the demarcated positions, watch out for German air strikes, and wait for my orders."

While Colonel Fedorov was busy with the deployment of troops, outside the city of Alitus, Colonel Rosenberg was doing the same.

He rushed to the north of the city of Alitus, and as a colonel, he successfully obtained the supreme command of the German army north of the city, and two companies of No. 4 tanks immediately rushed into the city of Alitus to support the infantry in the city.

The No. 4 tank of the two companies, together with the iron fist and tank killers in the hands of the Germans, blocked the counterattack of the Soviet troops in the city.

In the corners of houses, in the bushes, in the windows of buildings, armor-piercing shells, iron fists, and rockets fired by tank killers flew out one after another, and anyone who dared to venture into the Soviet tanks was destroyed in the streets.

After repelling the Soviet counterattack, the 7th Motorized Battalion, with the support of tank No. 4, again switched to the offensive.

The offensive and defensive situation changed, and the Soviet tanks were transferred to the German tanks.

45 mm anti-tank guns, 76.2 mm anti-tank guns, and countless tanks were ambushed in various corners of the northern block, and every advance of Tank 4 was attacked from unknown directions.

The infantry of the 7th Motorized Battalion also struggled, and every block north of the city became an impenetrable moat, and every house became a strong bunker. Every window became a point of fire, and the entire city seemed to be transformed into a flesh mill against the 7th Panzer Division.

Colonel Rosenberg again contacted Major Schultz of the 1st Battalion and learned that the 1st Battalion, in conjunction with the 7th Motorized Regiment, was attacking the southern part of the city of Alitus, which was also not going well.

The Soviet troops in the city not only had a numerical superiority in warfare, but also had long been prepared. Taking advantage of their familiarity with the terrain, they repeatedly fought with the Germans on every house and every street, and they would not give up until the entire building was blown into ruins by artillery fire from both sides, and they would start a new round of bloody battles with the Germans over the ownership of the ruins.

Watching the sun climb step by step, slowly but surely to the commanding heights of the sky, Colonel Rosenberg's heart became more and more agitated.

I thought I could reach the east bank of the Neman River at noon, but now I haven't even touched the edge of the bridge.

In a field battle with the enemy on the opposite side, Colonel Rosenberg was confident that he could defeat his opponent in two hours, but now it dragged on for an morning.

Let the elite field troops get into this kind of urban street fighting. What a disaster.

Colonel Rosenberg thought again about the two bridges behind the city of Alytus.

The reconnaissance planes of the 16th Waffen-SS Air Artillery Division sent a telegram that Soviet convoys and infantry columns were passing back and forth on the bridge, and that reinforcements and supplies were constantly entering the city.

Not only were there large areas of woods on the other side of the river to hide, but the Soviets also set up a large number of anti-aircraft gun positions near the bridge, and the air raids on the Soviet marching columns had little effect. It was almost impossible to stop the reinforcements of the Soviets.

If this continues, the whole division or even the whole army will be blocked under the city of Alitus.

In this case. What should I do?

Colonel Rosenberg walked restlessly up and down the high ground, occasionally gazing at the smoke-filled city of Alytus.

Just as he was hesitating, Colonel Rosenberg saw the adjutant hurrying up to him and said, "Colonel, General Funk wants to talk to you. ”

Hearing that it was the division commander Feng Ke, Rosenberg hurriedly walked to the side of the communication vehicle, picked up the headset and put it on his head.

"I and the division headquarters will arrive in two hours. How's your progress there? ”

"It didn't go well, the Russians fought very stubbornly, and they built the whole city into a big bunker."

"The Russians and the weak French, unlike the old-fashioned British, we cannot underestimate the enemy. In a transport hub like the city of Alitus, strong resistance from the Russians was to be expected. What are you going to do? ”

"I interrogated the prisoners captured by the reconnaissance battalion. The enemy here has at least two divisions, one of which is a tank division, and I need more troops to storm the city. I need the 6th regiment, I need Grizzly assault guns to deal with the enemy. ”

"Let the precious tanks go to fight in the city, even if you can win, you will lose a lot, you have to think of other ways."

"Something else?" Colonel Rosenberg repeated in a low voice.

"You are the commander of the armored regiment, can you not fight without the tank? Don't forget what the teacher said, we must understand General Guderian's "Attention! tanks", also to study his "Infantry Offensive". ”

The commander of the 7th Panzer Division was none other than Rommel, who had made a name for himself in the French campaign.

Under Rommel's leadership, the 7th Panzer Division was called the Devil's Division by the Anglo-French forces, and the division's combat style was also the foundation laid during Rommel's tenure as division commander.

Rommel once published a book about his experience in World War I, called "The Infantry Offensive".

Alerted by the division commander, General Funk, Colonel Rosenberg suddenly opened his mouth.

Looking at the woods and shrubs scattered all over the banks of the Neman River, Colonel Rosenburg said to the adjutant: "You go to the battalion headquarters of the thirty-seventh armored reconnaissance battalion, and ask Major Koch to come to me, no, let's go together." (To be continued......)