The Germans captured Homnich in August, the southernmost town on the Moziri-Lechica road, which was small and inhabited. Pen @ fun @ pavilion wWw. ｂｉｑUｇE。 ｉｎｆｏ

In peacetime, the town was inhabited by just over 10,000 people, since the German army launched a surprise attack on the Soviets in June. The town's inhabitants and men joined the army, while a large number of women and children retreated inland with their families.

The German Army Group Center was in the direction of Belarus, and they quickly occupied the roads, and as for Khomnych, the Germans destroyed the resistance of the city with only a small number of troops.

Because the battle had been lost, morale had collapsed, the commander died, and a large number of besieged Soviet troops had to surrender. In Khomnych, only more than 200 militiamen and lost Soviet soldiers remained, demoralized, poorly fed, and even worse ill-weaponized.

The Germans annihilated the defenders in a few hours of fighting with only two battalions of troops, and even more tragically, the Germans suffered only more than fifty casualties.

But the strategic value of the city is almost none, because of its swamps further south, which is a moat, and even more so the natural dividing line between Belarus and Ukraine. There is only endless mud and ponds, and even on the map of the USSR, there are few villages in the swamps.

Because of the strategic negligence of the Germans, the swamps they considered worthless had become a haven of refuge. The environment here is enough to hide tens of thousands of people, and the Soviet military and political organizations still carry out their duties. Moreover, all Soviet refugees who withdrew here were provided with safety and humanitarian treatment.

With the 284th Division's series of operations, the Germans became more and more troubled by the Soviet partisans.

John Kube of Belarus was tasked with managing the Belarusian occupation forces, restoring the economy, providing a stable rear for the huge German soldiers, and providing a steady stream of looting supplies to the front.

In the Pripet Marsh, there must have been a large number of partisan strongholds, among which the "Marsh Guerrilla Brigade", which was mentioned, was the strongest.

Because the German-controlled town of Homnitsch, which was close to the swamps, suddenly turned into a strategic salient.

It is located in the northeast of the marshland, due east of the Dnieper.

According to the plan of the German 715 Division, an infantry battalion with a large amount of supplies advanced towards Homnitch.

The battalion commander, Gustav Batistan, led a force composed entirely of active soldiers, and because of the defeat in the last one, the Russian renegades were not used this time.

All the men in this unit were dressed in snow camouflage, everyone wore white cloaks, and even the steel helmets were covered with white cloth.

"We were so lucky, we really don't know how those people at the front fought the Soviets in their summer uniforms. This damn snow has seriously delayed the march, and this bitter cold! It's not how the current Homnich garrison is stationed in such a harsh environment! During the break, he complained to his officers.

The battalion rested in the snow, and the pure white camouflage hid their tracks. There were no Soviet scouts on the road from the road to Homnich, and it stands to reason that the Soviet troops in the swamps could not detect them.

However, the Germans seemed to have neglected the operational capabilities of the Soviet underground spy organization.

At the place where the German 715th Division was stationed, the movement of troops was seen by the spies, and the information was immediately reported to the underground party in Lechicha.

The information was immediately transmitted to the 284th Division.

The radioman faithfully recorded the code from afar, and the translation had to be handed over to the chief.

In November, due to bad weather, Yang Mingzhi did not have any plans for military action, and if he did, the whole army would be transferred to strategic defense. It's best to spend the entire winter resting and recuperating to build up strength.

It was clear that the enemy was not going to do what he had envisioned, and he was immediately informed of the advance of a German unit to the south.

Yevlov invited Yang Mingzhi to the division headquarters: "The current situation, at least one battalion of German troops is advancing in the southeast direction, and their movements are unknown for the time being. But I think it's likely that these people are going to be stationed or in Homnitch. ”

Yang Mingzhi immediately stood by the wall where the map hung, and the town of Homnich was just northeast of the barracks.

"Is this the latest intelligence?"

"That's right, in fact, the enemy was already in action yesterday. If we extrapolate them from the speed of our march, the Germans will arrive tomorrow at the earliest. ”

"Is it the purpose of a battalion of German troops stationed in such a city to put pressure on us?" Yang Mingzhi pinched his chin and thought.

"Maybe." Yevlov speculated: "We have sentinels in that direction. In the past, our attack route was never in that direction, and for Homnich, the sentinels actually had only one company of defenders there. The citizens were basically evacuated, and only some women and the elderly were left who couldn't leave. ”

"Just a company, do they feel that the troops are too small, and they are afraid that as soon as we rush up, the city will be occupied by us."

Yevlov nodded: "That's what I thought. Since the Germans seem to be increasing their troops here, otherwise they would easily freeze to death when they go out in such a cold time. So, since they have increased their troops, it would be cowardly for us to say nothing. ”

Yang Mingzhi looked sideways at his excited look, and he had the same look in his eyes on the eve of several previous military operations.

A few days ago, the soldiers were clearly dispatched, and the spirit of the bayonet is a hero, and a Ulla charge completely annihilated the exhausted German army, and the commander Henschel is still wielding a hoe as a coolie.

"No, no, no! Yevlov, are you suggesting that we will not do anything and liberate the city directly?! No! ”

"Why not? We have just received military assistance, and the morale of the fighters is high! Yevlov asked.

"Rabbits don't eat the grass next to the nest!" Yang Mingzhi directly pointed out that Homnich is now a salient. "My division commander, you should be more wise, I oppose you precisely because I am also a division staff officer, and I think more. Homnich penetrated deep into our zone of control, and the Germans were already aware of our presence. I can attack this town from three directions, and it's easy to take it. But then, we were too vulnerable to German retaliation, so it was our turn to defend the town. But will our logistical strength be able to compete with the Germans? ”

The war is not a one-off victory, and the ongoing war between the Soviet Union and Germany is entirely a comparison of comprehensive national strength.

"The logistics of the Germans were mainly trucks and horses, and what about us? Horses can only be armed with one cavalry battalion, and these horses are used as mules on weekdays. In addition to this, we can only rely on the two legs of the warriors, liberate Homnich and defend it, and we will be caught in a boundless war of attrition, and I will not fight such a stupid battle. ”

Yevlov was a martial artist, and he knew very well the hardships of survival in the swamp camp, and all the food was eaten on a budget, and all the supplies were rationed.

He understood what Yang Mingzhi said, and Yevlov said: "Therefore, we will not provoke the Germans and make Homnich a problem for them." They had to transport a lot of supplies to feed this force, and it was their logistics that were consumed, and we had nothing to lose. Do you mean that? ”

"Nope! I'm not saying I really don't ask. Yang Mingzhi pointed to the small circle on the map. Holmnich, we have to put pressure on it, it is better to force the enemy to continue to build up troops, and for this we only need some means. Let it be a logistical disaster for the enemy, but not for us. ”

The so-called means is raid warfare. Yang Mingzhi planned to make it better for the defenders stationed in this town not to have a day of peace, and there were many ways, such as sudden shelling at night and cold guns during the day. Even send out elite snipers to create terrifying pressure.

Thinking of this, Yang Mingzhi admired his imagination even more. Originally, when the Yankees were fighting on the plane, the sniper Zhang Taofang pressed the soldiers at the US military post with only one Mosin Nagant and did not dare to come out.

I don't know if Natasha's talent can be compared to him, but this time the German army increased Homnitsch, just giving the snipers a huge opportunity.

Yang Mingzhi smiled and explained his thoughts to Yevlov: "In the final analysis, we want to make those Germans feel terrible, and the sniper can do just that." We simply divided some of the best accurate marksmen and sent them into small groups to attack the Germans. I'm going to start a war with cold guns and cold artillery movements, let's fire guns during the day and guns at night. ”

Yevlov thought about it for a moment, and if it was from the perspective of the German army, he definitely did not want to encounter such an enemy.

"Okay, I agree with the plan. Speaking of snipers, your wife, Besica, and our beloved Natasha will do this mission, right? ”

"Nope! Bessica, I can't bear her. Working in a hospital is best for her than being a sniper. We are still slowly shifting our focus to the blacksmith village, where we will build a new barracks to garrison heavy troops. For the sake of safety, the hospital also has to be moved, and a talented person like Besica should protect the wounded. ”

Thus, Gustav Battistan had just arrived in Homnich, unaware that his whereabouts had already been detected by the Soviets. Even outside the city, in the snow, the Soviet partisan sentinels had already spotted the anomalies in the town from afar, and the German forces had clearly increased their strength.

German troops were stationed here, and they lived in the homes of former Soviet citizens. Because the occupation of the city took place only a modest war, most of the housing is still intact.

Gustav immediately put all his soldiers in order, standing on a high place, ordered: "There are a lot of Soviets in our south, they are very strong, let's not think of them as a rabble." Those people have already attacked many of our towns and are very tenacious. From now on, daily patrols will increase, and all of you will have to keep your eyes open.

The task given to us by the Commander was not only to station, but also to use us as observation posts. The core task of our 715th Division is to guard the safety of the road, and if the enemy attacks us, it will be an outpost battle. For the sake of the Third Reich, we must always be combat-ready. ”

Ninety percent of the soldiers of the 715th Division were young people born after the end of World War I, and their high morale was also the first time they participated in the war.

The failure of a few days ago is unclear to most people, after all, no one knows what happened. Henschel's company may be missing! In such extremely cold weather, it is not surprising that if you can't keep warm, a company will freeze to death. Gustav preferred to believe this rumor, and this time his men also carried more warm clothing.

But for them, the danger is looming little by little, and finally looms over terror. (To be continued.) )