During the daytime battles, because of the incompetence of the Soviet Army, it was never possible to advance the front to a distance sufficient for artillery shelling of German airfields, and the heavy responsibility of destroying German airfields fell on the Soviet Air Force.

Waves of aerial bombs rained down on the German field airfield, blowing up the runway as desolate as the surface of the moon, and the rudimentary navigation buildings were reduced to rubble in the overwhelming bombs.

The sappers of the 10th Panzer Division were full of energy and engaged in a tug-of-war with the Soviet Air Force, taking advantage of the bombing of Soviet Air Force bombers to toil, rebuilding airfields from the ruins again and again.

Every time the bombers of the Soviet Air Force visited the airfields again, they found that all their previous bombing was done in vain.

In this tug-of-war, the Soviet Air Force, which was finally defeated.

Their presence was warmly welcomed by the German anti-aircraft artillery units guarding the airfield, and every bombing was warmly welcomed by countless anti-aircraft shells, and the Luftwaffe fighters also faithfully guarded the sky over the battlefield, competing with the anti-aircraft gunners on the ground for the "victory point".

In a single day, the Soviet Air Force paid a heavy price in the loss of 74 fighters, bombers, and attack planes in just one mission to bomb the airfield.

With the joint operation of the Luftwaffe and air defense forces, the 46th Panzer Corps finally won the final victory in the defense of the airfield.

Amid the continuous sound of gunfire, another night quietly descended on the battlefield.

While the stars were quietly blinking, the Luftwaffe transport plane formation flew to Pustoshka again, as agreed, to send a detachment of heavily armed paratroopers.

The paratroopers assembled on the outskirts of the airfield, then drove into the city of Pustoška under the guidance of their guides, and disappeared into the streets.

At 3:40 a.m. the next morning, the stars had just left the night. The last transport aircraft formation landed in the city of Pustoshka and sent the last battalion of paratroopers.

Standing outside the basement where the military headquarters was located, Admiral Scheer greedily breathed in the fresh morning air.

Looking at the paratroopers passing by in front of him, saluting him intently, Admiral Scheer was even more confident in the victory of the next battle plan.

His lieutenant walked out of the basement and stood behind him.

"General. There was a call from the headquarters of the Imperial Division, the Führer had just repelled a Russian attack, and General Hausser wanted to ask if the Führer could retreat according to the original plan? ”

"Yes, remember that the German regiment in the south also contracted the defensive line according to the original plan, and went to the city to rest for a while, and it was the turn of the paratroopers to play next." Admiral Scheer said.

"General, it's dawn, and the air force of the Russians will soon come and bomb here. You'd better not stay here. ”

The adjutant looked up at the eastern sky, and fifty meters away, at the unrecognizable buildings on both sides of the street, with only a pile of broken walls and piles of rubble, and said worriedly.

"It's dawn, and the Luftwaffe lads will soon arrive, and by that time, it's not just us who have to worry about our safety." Admiral Scheer said with a smile.

Accompanied by the order of Admiral Scheer, the city of Pustoshka was eastern. Along the two roads leading to Velikiye Luki, countless soldiers of the Imperial Division in camouflage uniforms emerged from the dense forest. On foot, or in tanks, armoured vehicles, and trucks, they hurriedly withdrew to the city of Pustoska.

The sappers remained last, making their way on the roads and in the dense forest, ready to leave an impressive farewell to the enemy.

On the way to retreat, the soldiers of the Imperial Division's head regiment showed relieved expressions.

Passing through the suburbs of Pustoška. The soldiers of the Führer's Regiment were surprised to find that there were already more foxholes on the soft ground of the suburbs.

In some of the relatively intact buildings, through the four large open windows, you can clearly see the green one-piece combat uniform. Soldiers wearing steel helmets without brims and white eagle insignia on the left side of the steel helmet hid inside, staring murderously at the road and the dense forest behind them.

Riding in an armored car, as soon as he crossed the small bridge over the Agron River, the head of the Führer's regiment, Colonel Kepler, was surprised to see that his immediate superior, Lieutenant General Paul Hausser, commander of the Imperial Division, was waiting for him.

The armored car stopped next to Lieutenant General Hausser, and Colonel Kepler jumped out of the car, and after exchanging greetings with Lieutenant General Hausser, Lieutenant General Hausser asked: "Do you have any thoughts about the previous battle?" ”

"I think the forests of the Russians are terrible, especially at night. I swear if God could fulfill me

One wish, I must have chosen never to spend the night in the forests of the Russians. ”

Lieutenant General Hausser asked curiously: "Why is this wish, is it the night offensive of the Russians that has left you with painful memories?" ”

Colonel Kopler shook his head and denied: "No, no, no, on the contrary, it is we who have left the Russians with painful memories. I'm going to say another thing, you look here. ”

Colonel Kepler said, pointing to the back of his left hand.

"And here, here, and here."

Colonel Kepler's hand was pointed over his neck, chin and cheek, and Lieutenant General Hauser clearly saw pimples ranging from one to two centimeters in diameter.

"Look at our poor Lieutenant Chopin, what has become of him?" Colonel Kepler said, pointing to his lieutenant.

Lieutenant General Hausser looked at Lieutenant Chopin, who was known as the first beautiful man in the Führer's regiment, and was surprised to see that Lieutenant Chopin's right eyelid was swollen like a king-sized peach.

"It is no exaggeration to say that the combat effectiveness of every Russian mosquito is equal to that of a squad of Russian infantry. I'd rather face a squad of Russian infantry alone than a single Russian mosquito, these damn vampires, I'm fed up with them. Colonel Kepler said.

"Congratulations, Colonel Kepler. You have been bitten by four bags but you can still stand in front of me, which means that you have withstood the siege of four squads of Russians, and your combat effectiveness has stepped into the ranks of supermen. Lieutenant General Hausser teased with a smile.

"Honorable Mr. Lieutenant General, you are definitely not here to award me a medal, tell me, what tasks do you want me to complete?"

Lieutenant General Hauser put away the smile on his face, solemnly stretched out two fingers and waved them at Colonel Kopler, and then said, "Two missions." The first task is to take your men with you in this river. Well, our Excellency the Polish Governor has just changed the name of the river, and it is called the Agron River. Your mission is to take your men and set up defenses on the west bank of this river. If you see the Green Goblin on the other side of the river. That is, those paratroopers retreated, remember to receive them to withdraw safely to the west bank, and then, not a single Russian infantry, not a single Russian tank to cross the river. ”

"The Agron River? The name is somewhat familiar. Why did the Lord come up with the idea of renaming such a featureless river? Is there any special meaning? Colonel Kepler said.

Lieutenant General Hauser shrugged his shoulders, shook his head and said, "I don't know, maybe it's just for the sake of sound." ”

"I'll explain, General." A voice rang out behind Lieutenant General Hauser.

Colonel Kepler looked behind Lieutenant General Hausser and saw a man dressed in green, yellow, and brown camouflage. Waffen-SS captain with an STG42 assault rifle on his back.

"Captain Nietzsche, does Your Excellency the Governor have any special meaning for naming this river? I'm curious too? Lieutenant General Hausser asked.

Captain Nietzsche first gave a military salute to Colonel Kepler, and then said to Lieutenant General Hausser: "The River of Agron, also known as the River of Pain, is the river that divides the human world and the underworld in Greek mythology. His Excellency the Governor renamed the river the Agron with the obvious intention that any Russian who crossed the river would become the undead, and we. Will play the role of the Grim Reaper. ”

"I see, I love the moral of that. I love the name. Lieutenant General Hausser said.

"Captain Nietzsche, this is Colonel Kepler, the head of the Führer's regiment, and this is the adjutant at His Excellency the Governor-General, Captain Nietzsche." Lieutenant General Hausser enthusiastically introduced the two to each other.

After both of them bowed their heads, Lieutenant General Hausser said, "Colonel Kepler, your second mission is. Let Captain Nietzsche and his comrades join your troops and let them fight on the front lines. This task was personally assigned to me by His Excellency the Governor. His Excellency the Doge did this with the intention that he would collect first-hand information on the battlefield through Captain Nietzsche. I give you this task, and you arrange the location of their operations. ”

Colonel Kepler looked behind Captain Nietzsche and asked suspiciously, "Where are your comrades?" How many of you are there? When are they coming? ”

"Including me. In total, we had eight people, including two drivers, six combatants, and a Type SDKFZ251 armored car. Captain Nietzsche said.

Captain Nietzsche had just finished speaking, when a SDKFZ251 turned an intersection in the street behind him and rumbled towards them.

Seeing the PAK40 anti-tank gun on the front of the armored vehicle, Colonel Kepler said: "Since this is a sub-model, your task is to stay on this road, cooperate with the troops stationed here, control this bridge, and not let a Russian vehicle cross the river, unless it is a ghost car." ”

"Guaranteed to get the job done." Captain Nietzsche gave Colonel Kopler a dashing salute, and then politely bid Lieutenant General Hausser.

While Colonel Kepler was busy arranging positions on the west bank of the Agron River, two KV-1 heavy tanks slowly but surely drove towards the city of Pustoshka on the road where they had fought and garrisoned.

Behind them, about twenty infantrymen, armed with submachine guns and rifles, cautiously followed the tanks.

In the dense forests on both sides of the road, countless Soviet infantry figures appeared in the shadows.

Slowly driving for a full 500 meters, both the tank driver and the infantry following them raised their vigilance.

Turning the bend in front of you is the battlefield, where there are German anti-tank guns and tanks, and there are unknown how many infantry are hidden in the dense forests on both sides.

On the other side of the curve, the black plume of smoke rising from the trees is the best proof of this.

The two KV-1 tanks were one behind the other, slowly approaching the corner, and when they were about to turn in fear, an infantry suddenly rushed out of the forest, ran to the first tank, pulled out a grenade, and smashed the tank's steel plate with a clang.

The first tank stopped, and the commander got out of the turret with half of his body, and shouted dissatisfiedly: "What do you want to do?" Comrade Private. ”

"Comrade commander, the Germans withdrew. There was not a single German on the road or in the forest ahead. Our battalion commander asked me to tell you that you can speed up and not worry about running into enemies. ”

The captain's face was full of surprise.

"Thank you, private, thank you battalion commander for me, tell him I'll be right away."

Seeing the order for the private to leave, the two KV-1s immediately rushed through the bend at twice the speed of the previous one, and sure enough, they did not encounter any attack.

On both sides of the road, some of the infantry came out of the forest, looked at the two big guys who were late, and teased: "You guys are so fast, you are about to catch up with the horse-drawn cart." ”

Ignoring the constant taunts around them, the two tanks continued along the road, surrounded by infantry behind them, towards the city of Pustoshka until they encountered the obstacle they least wanted to see.

In the middle of the road, billowing smoke billowed from the power compartment of a KV-1 tank, and drops of green liquid kept dripping from the steel plates, which was the paint that melted into liquid at high temperatures, and a wave of heat could be felt from a distance of more than ten meters.

On the ground around the tank, which had been turned into an oven, two bodies lay horizontally.

The tanker's hat on the corpse's head indicates the identity of the two corpses.

The two KV-1 tanks stopped one after another, and in the first tank, four tankers jumped out one after another, and they ran to the two corpses, and in pairs they moved the corpses to the left side of the road and put them away, and then returned to the tanks.

The KV-1 tank was re-activated, re-angled, and drove towards the burning wreckage of the tank, and landed on the rear left rear of the tank, and the wrestling match between the two KV-1 tanks began.

With the roar of the engine, the KV-1 tank, which was stuck in the middle of the road, slowly slid to the right side of the road, until it rolled over to the side of the road along the slope on the right side of the road, and the wrestling was over.

After overturning the wreckage of four tanks blocking the road in a row, the road to Pustoshka was completely opened.

Two KV-1 heavy tanks were preparing to rush straight into Pustoshka when a piercing whistle suddenly sounded behind them.

Four BA-10 armored vehicles appeared behind them, and the driver's arm was sticking out of the window, waving them to get out of the way.

Two KV-1s wisely drove to the side of the road to make way for the scouts behind them.

However, less than five minutes later, the KV-1 tank led by a new mission.

Along the road, when it caught up with the four BA-10 armored vehicles, an armored car was seen lying sideways on the road, with the left front wheel missing.

Two minutes later, looking at the wreckage of the armored vehicle that had been pushed into a roadside ditch, the commander of the KV-1 tank looked into the distance of the road and cursed: "Damn the Germans, damn mines." ”

"We need sappers, let sappers come." The commander shouted to the surviving armored vehicles on the side of the road. (To be continued.) )