On the east bank of the Gava River, a Polish scout stood on top of a tall beech tree and picked up a telescope to observe the camp of Koval's headquarters on the west bank. Pen × fun × Pavilion www. ｂｉｑｕｇｅ。 ｉｎｆｏ

Three flags of the same color fluttered fiercely in the wind.

"Sir, the highest place in the middle of the camp is the three flags."

"Everything went according to plan." Locke's nervous heart relaxed for a moment, and he ordered solemnly: "The whole army is hidden in place, no movement is allowed, the horses are watched, their mouths are tightened, and there must be no mistake." In the evening we will move again. ”

"Yes, sir." Officers of all ranks immediately replied.

So, in the dense forest less than three miles from the position of Ivan's troops, a group of Polish officers were carefully discussing the plan of the attack at night.

"Our main targets are enemy artillery, ammunition stockpiles, and command centers, and you find your own targets separately, so that ・・・・・・ other units ・・・・・・do the same," Locke arranged in detail.

As night fell, darkness plunged both sides of the river, and no one wanted to be exposed by the light of the fire, or even to the enemy's artillery

of blows.

The night was getting thicker and thicker, and Koval's mood was getting more and more nervous, so he couldn't help but take a few deep breaths and laugh to himself: It seems that my cultivation has not yet arrived home!

Taking advantage of the darkness of the night, Koval's independent regiment was making final preparations.

“1，2，3・・・・・・”

The wagon pulled the four 105mm howitzers, the treasure of the Independent Regiment, and a dozen Polish soldiers pulled forward and pushed them forward, allowing the wagon to move slowly along the dug trenches.

"It's here, it's here. Be careful, be careful・・・・・・ "The commander of the artillery company, Ivanovsky, commanded the soldiers to push the artillery to the preset position.

At ten o'clock in the afternoon, Koval ordered: "Eat at once." ”

The logistics troops distributed bread to a class, and all the soldiers devoured the bread.

At 10:30 p.m., Koval glanced at his watch and ordered: "All the soldiers' guns are safed and enter the position in order." ”

Groups of soldiers methodically followed the trenches to enter the established positions, and the officers stood in the middle of the ranks with strips of white cloth tied to their arms to maintain order.

"Lean the gun on your shoulder and sit there to rest." An officer held the barrel of a gun, rested it on the shoulder of the soldier to whom it belonged, and whispered in his ear.

"Hey, Yak, do you think we'll be able to cross the Gava River? Which class do you say will be the first to reach the other side of the river? A young Polish soldier leaned into the ear of a squinting soldier next to him.

"Don't talk too much, hurry up and rest." The squinting soldier clutched his rifle against his shoulder, and the mosquito could only hear the voice.

"Hey, what did you say?" The young soldier leaned over and asked.

Suddenly, an arm reached out, and a large hand grabbed his shoulder tightly and straightened his body.

The young Polish soldier reacted immediately, looked up, and felt a white strip of cloth tied to his shoulder, and continued upward, a serious face.

"Shut up." The officer said in a low voice viciously.

"Yes・・・・・・" The young soldier immediately closed his mouth, rested his rifle on his shoulder, and clenched it.

As the minutes ticked by, Koval stood at the observation post in the middle of the position and looked at the dark opposite shore.

At 11:30 a.m., all the officers came to report the situation:

"The second battalion is ready."

"The three battalions are ready."

"The artillery is all ready."

Koval announced with a solemn face: "At twelve o'clock, the attack will be launched on time, everything will be carried out according to plan, and I hope that all units can fight bravely, go forward one after another, and build the pontoon bridge on the enemy's position." ”

"Yes, sir." The officers saluted in unison.

The hands of a Swiss watch point to 12:00.

Hundreds of artillery pieces of different calibers opened fire simultaneously on the entire positions on the west bank of the Gava River, within twenty miles from the upper reaches of the Gava River to the lower reaches.

The loud roar was deafening and resounded through the sky.

A flare was fired over the positions of the Soviet troops, and at once the black robes of the Soviet troops were taken off, allowing them to appear in the field of view of the Polish troops.

Rifles and machine guns fired at the east bank at the same time, and the dense gunfire was incessant, which caught the Soviet troops by surprise.

"What's going on? What's going on? The commander of the bayonet division, while wearing a military uniform, ran into the command headquarters and asked.

"I am the commander of Max in the upper position, and the position of our army is under heavy bombardment by the enemy・・・・・・"

"I am the unit guarding the bridge over the Gava River, my unit is under artillery attack, please instruct ・・・・・・"

"I am the commander of Ivan in the lower positions, and my unit is under sporadic artillery fire."

One by one, the operators held the telephones and constantly recorded the situation reported by the various troops, and several staff officers stood in front of the map and constantly marked the situation of the Poles.

"Order all units to strengthen their defenses, resolutely resist the enemy's attack, and report on the battle situation on the front line at any time." The bayonet division commander ordered.

"Yes. Sir. ”

Koval stood at a hidden observation post and watched the troops' movements.

A few flares flew slowly over the Soviet positions on the opposite bank, and suddenly exploded, dyeing the sky on the east bank a miserable and desolate pale color, like a white hell of bones.

Dozens of precision shooters took advantage of this precious vision to aim their rifles at one Soviet sharpshooter after another.

The Soviet sharpshooters, who were lying in ambush on the east bank, were suddenly illuminated by flares, and the concealment was largely useless, and the Polish precision shooters were completely exposed.

In the previous three days of fighting, with excellent weapons, good combinations, and serious training, Koval had led his precision shooters to inflict heavy losses on Ivan's dozens of sharpshooters.

Although Ivan continued to replenish the number of sharpshooters, it only allowed their quality to deteriorate rapidly.

With the sudden use of flares, nearly half of the Soviet sharpshooters were wiped out at once.

Parker commanded the troops of the second battalion to rush to the river bank with various wooden platoons, stakes, and ropes.

In the midst of this darkness, the various Polish units carried out their tasks as planned.

Alex rushed to the predetermined crossing of the river and shouted, "Put the stake here and make it." ”

A Polish soldier stuck a stake in his hand at the bottom of the river at a depth of an inch and held on to it, while another stout soldier picked up a hammer and struck it with all his might.

"Hey, hey, hey." Three times in a row, the stake was firmly nailed into the dirt at the bottom of the river.

The stout soldier ran to the next stake.

The other soldiers dragged the rafts over and secured them with ropes to their stakes. The other soldiers dragged the platoon on.

When they got to the river, the soldiers put the rafts in the water and pushed them forward.

The entire pontoon bridge was built more than 20 meters near the west bank.