Under the threat of Soviet artillery, the Polish shooters became more cautious and did not shoot with complete certainty. Pen × fun × Pavilion www. ｂｉｑｕｇｅ。 ｉｎｆｏ

The whole night became more boring and long.

At the same time, a regiment of troops sent by General Shimigwe was preparing to cross the river in the upper reaches of the Gava River, more than ten miles from the city.

Rows of rafts were placed on the banks of the Gava River.

The Polish soldiers wielded shovels and hoes in full swing.

On the east bank of the Gava River, a Soviet sentry was leaning against the top of a huge pine tree more than two hundred meters from the riverbank.

I saw smoke and dust billowing behind the positions of the Polish army, and horse-drawn carts pulling various supplies piled up in the rear.

The sentry raised his binoculars and carefully scanned the scattered fortifications behind the position, where people were constantly coming and going. There were also some guys covered with a thick linoleum cloth, but the long and round shape, and the leakage of some linoleum cloth chips, all indicated that there was a cannon inside.

The sentries immediately passed on the news, and after verification, it was finally determined that the Polish troops had moved the artillery over.

"The Poles are ready to cross the river in the upper reaches of the river? Do you see that the artillery has already been transported from the other side? The bayonet division commander asked with a solemn face.

"Divisional commander, we did not see the enemy carrying artillery, but the enemy did build a large number of offensive positions upstream, including many artillery positions. We found out that the enemy had hidden a large number of artillery pieces inside, probably secretly brought in by the enemy overnight. The officer replied.

"We can't let them build the fortifications under our noses so easily, we have to do everything we can to delay their progress." The bayonet division commander gushed endlessly, and the two neat beards were sharp.

"Order: Our army should use the night time to send small detachments to raid the camp of the Polish army, burn their accumulated supplies, ammunition, wood demolition, ships, artillery・・・・・・ we must keep them on the guard at night, reduce their morale and work efficiency."

"Yes, sir." The officer immediately replied resolutely: "However, the enemy's preparations in the early stage are very sufficient, and I hope that the commander can send troops to support." Moreover, the number of enemy artillery is too large, our regiment only has four old 76.2mm howitzers, which are less powerful and slow to fire more than ten years ago, and it is difficult to fight the enemy's artillery. ”

"Well, you have a regiment of troops, and I'm sending an infantry regiment to support you. Artillery? I will order the artillery regiment directly under the division to move to the rear of your position and provide you with fire support. The bayonet division commander said.

"Sir, if you do this, you will severely weaken the forces and firepower in the city of Daugavpils. We had only two divisions in total. In this way, three regiments were sent out at once outside the city, and we had only two artillery regiments that were not in order. Now send them over to guard the banks of the river, if lost there, we will not have enough firepower to defend the city. A staff officer in his thirties said in a hurried tone.

"Are we going to abandon the riverbank and stick to the city? Without artillery support, the river bank would have fallen quickly. Are we going to give up the opportunity to inflict heavy losses on the enemy on the banks of the river? Another young staff officer immediately objected brutally.

"The focus of our army is on the defense of the city, and as long as the city is in the hands of our army, it is nothing if the river bank is lost. The banks of the river should be defended, but we must not expend too much force on the banks. In this area, the enemy can attack from any part of the river, and our artillery can only take care of a little, which is very easy for the enemy to crack. The middle-aged staff officer argued with reason.

"Your passive defense is simply not able to withstand the enemy army. We should try to wipe out a third of the enemy's forces on the banks of the river, so that we can take the initiative in the next battle of the city's defense. This kind of military plan of yours is escapism! The young officer sharply criticized.

As soon as he heard the doctrine of escapism, the middle-aged officer's heart immediately became cold: these days, it is a very dangerous thing to wear a doctrine hat, hey, let them go!

The other division commander listened to the opinions of the two people, frowned and thought for a while and said, "I still give you a batch of reinforcements according to the arrangement of the division commander Bakel." However, the artillery could only be placed behind the riverbank position and dispersed to avoid losses in an artillery battle with enemy artillery. In the event of a situation, this group of guns must first be transferred to a safe position. ”

After some deliberation, the arrangements for the upper reaches of the Gava River were finally settled.

The clattering footsteps sounded, and Ivan strode in, his eyes bloodshot and reported: "Sir, our regiment has found an unusual movement of the enemy downstream, and we have come to report it for instructions." ”

"What's going on downstream?" Division Commander Bakker asked.

"The day before yesterday and last night, there were special sharpshooter units of the enemy army lying in ambush in the grass on the opposite bank of our position, firing accurately at our troops, and our troops defeated the enemy's attack after hard fighting. But the enemy also inflicted huge losses on our troops. And the enemy has been sending people to dig tunnels in the back, and I don't know what the hell is going on inside. I would like to ask the division commander to send a group of reinforcements. Ivan said simply.

"Is there anything else? Did you find traces of enemy artillery? Bakker asked.

"Enemy artillery has not yet been found." Ivan could only answer honestly.

"Since no enemy artillery was found, it was probably just harassment by the enemy. The command has just moved an artillery regiment upstream, and there are no more troops to support you. Division Commander Markle patted Ivan's division commander and comforted him and said: "You have worked hard, but these harassments are just to interfere with the normal defense of our army, I hope you can deal with it reasonably and do not need to overreact." ”

Ivan saw the colleague next to him standing on the side contentedly, and pleaded in a low voice: "Sir, the enemy's sharpshooters are not a single or several, but dozens of people organized individually. This thing is definitely not normal・・・・・・"

"Commander Ivan, we already know about this, but I hope you can understand that everything in the command is for the sake of the overall situation. If there are any other special circumstances, we will send troops to support you. Markle stopped Ivan and said, "This time, the enemy has a larger operation in the upper reaches of the Gava, and their focus is likely to be upstream. ”

Ivan breathed a sigh of helplessness in his heart, barely kept a normal face and said to Markle: "My subordinates understand, I'll go back first." ”

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