As if they were about to rush to the ground, as if they were greedy for something, the bombers made a big circle around the battlefield, and then swooped down to the village of Saprekino, where the artillery positions of the Chinese army, where the tanks and motorized infantry of the Chinese army were assembled and ready to counterattack.

The sound of heavy bombardment was mixed with the explosion of mortar shells and shells, the sound of artillery and mortar fire, as well as the crash of the machine guns of the medium [***] team, the long fire of machine guns, and the sound of short fire of submachine guns. Tank groups, both Chinese and Soviet, exploded, and the air was filled with black scorched smoke, dust, and stench. It was as if the shaking earth was burning, and so were the broken walls. It's like on a huge oil pan, something is scorched, burned, and becomes a ball of fire that rushes up into the sky and falls heavily.

The pilots of the squadron were bombarding Soviet troops indiscriminately. However, one of the "Javelin" planes finally suddenly dived into the "White Tiger" tank of Major Mo Yongsheng. After Luo Yaning saw it, he quickly closed the car cover. There were no bomb explosions. Probably, the Javelin plane found out that it was its own tank and flew away...... When the Chinese plane flew in the direction of Smolensk, Lieutenant Luo Yanin opened the hood and breathed a sigh of relief.

At this time, the Chinese army broke through the German defense line southeast of Moscow and relied on the 4th Tank Army, effectively expanding the bridgehead. In order to help the Soviets regain the lost ground, the Germans immediately transferred 5 divisions from Army Group South Ukraine, including one armored division, 5 infantry divisions from Germany, three infantry divisions from Hungary, and six assault artillery brigades, to the area near Moscow. In order to deal with the counterattack of the German army, the Chinese army high command reorganized the troops.

On 11 May, the headquarters of the 6th Guards Tank Corps of the 3rd Janissaries Tank Army of the Chinese Army entered the defensive positions on the outskirts of the villages of Hilduf and Ograduv that had been captured earlier in the day. At this time, the beachhead was shaped like an irregular semicircle, with the Moran River in the middle. The 52nd Janissaries Tank Brigade defended the left flank. The dune soil made it difficult to dig fortifications that could conceal the full height of the tank, as the walls of the trenches were constantly collapsing. The Germans were similarly troubled by this. On many occasions, the Chinese observed the German "Panther" tank turning abruptly in the sand, and its weak side armor was exposed under the Chinese guns as the crew struggled to control the tank. In the skirmishes between Hildouf and Ogradov, the German "Panthers" suffered heavy losses. On May 11 alone, the 53rd Janissary Tank Brigade destroyed 8 German tanks". On May 12, the commander of the 53rd Guards Tank Brigade, Colonel Xu Xiangqian, and his chief of staff, Xiao Hua, deduced that the Germans would not continue to attack directly through the dunes, but would try to outflank the brigade, so they strengthened the flank.

Major Shan Kefeng's 2nd Tank Battalion faced open field. On the right flank, the "Gray Wolf" tanks of Captain Ma Buqing's 3rd Tank Battalion formed a defensive line with a deep, wide river valley and a dirt road leading from the village of Ogledov to the city of Staszow and the rear of the Chinese army. Behind the valley was the wetland, defended by the 97th Infantry Regiment of the 294th Infantry Division.

The dirt road provided a good access to the Chinese positions and attracted the attention of the Germans. In order to prevent the enemy from using this road, the commander of the Chinese brigade decided to lurk on an unnamed high ground with two "gray wolves" of the 3rd Tank Battalion, led by the deputy battalion commander Praetorian Guard Captain Elantra. The rest of the battalion's tanks were in the main defensive position 1 km from Ogledov.

The original speculation about the plans of the Germans was confirmed by reconnaissance reports. Three reconnaissance units armed with tanks and motorcycles were sent to the routes where the enemy's movement was anticipated. Reconnaissance Report No. 53, dated 13 May 1945, issued by the staff officers of the 6th Guards Tank Corps, stated that on the night of 12 and 13 May, a sergeant of the 1st Company of the 506th Reading Heavy Tank Battalion of the German Headquarters Reserve was captured in the area west of Hilduff, and a soldier of the 10th Company of the 79th Motorized Regiment of the 16th Panzer Division was captured in the Boniki area. The captured sergeant said that at the Konetspol railway station, after the departure of the 506th battalion, an armored division with an unknown number began to unload the trucks. The 506th Reading Heavy Tank Battalion consisted of 3 tank companies and 1 supply company. The battalion arrived with 40 tanks, 20 "Panthers" and 20 "T-34s". About 30 tanks reached Khmelnik, others were faulty and needed repairs.

Feng? The arrival of Major Legat's 506th Battalion was significant. In March and April 1945, the battalion was reorganized at the Aldruff Training Center and equipped with the "King Tiger", the first heavy tank in Germany to be called the "Super Tank". Although the reliable surname of the "King Tiger" was low even by the standards of a new tank, the development of which began in 1943, was not yet fully completed, and the battalion left for the Eastern Front on April 5. Ten "King Tigers" broke down in a short 16-kilometer journey from the unloading point to the headquarters of the 16th Panzer Division near Khmelnik. On May 11, after two days of losses due to repairs and supplies, the battalion marched another two kilometers to Hilduf. Breakdowns continued, and by the time it was dark, only 11 of the 20 "King Tigers" were ready to start the assault on Staszov.

It should be noted that the 6th Janissaries Tank Army of the Chinese Army did not have an effective numerical superiority. Preparing for the Sassa attack on the Germans were 9 "White Tigers" of the 53rd Janissaries Tank Brigade and 20 "Gray Wolves" of the 52nd Guards Tank Brigade. The 51st Guards Tank Brigade, which was based in the north, had 11 "Gray Wolves" and 4 "White Tigers". In Stashuv there were 11 "White Tiger" heavy tanks and 1 "Xuanwu" heavy tank of the 71st Reading Guards Heavy Tank Regiment.

At midnight on May 13, the sound of tank engines in German positions was heard increasingly. Before dawn, the commander of the 53rd Janissaries Tank Brigade returned from headquarters to his tank, and his vehicle served as an observation post among the "gray wolves" of the 1st Battalion, hidden behind low sand dunes. In front of and to the right of the positions of the Chinese troops there was a river valley with a road leading to Staszow. To the left, there is a field of haystacks, where the Elantra tanks are hidden. At the mouth of the valley, it was the "gray wolf" of Lieutenant Kim Yongli. His crew consisted of the driver Tai Yiwu, the gunner Merwenlo, the radioman Rusin and the loader Hamill.

Colonel Xu Xiangqian and Elantra hid the tank in a haystack and ordered Kim Yongli to receive special orders to fire.

The next morning, the fog was thick and visibility was poor. From the observation post of the commander of the 53rd Guards Tank Brigade, neither the village of Ogledov, nor the valley nor the tanks hidden in haystacks could be seen. The silence of the morning was shattered by the increasing roar of the tank engine, followed by the crushing of the tank's tracks as it got closer. Heavenly, can you hear it? "Junkers" aircraft are flying close to Stashov. German artillery began to lick, shells flew high over the lines of tank brigades. German reconnaissance failed to mark the front-line position of the Chinese tank brigade or detect the ambush of the Chinese army.

On May 14, at 7 o'clock in the morning, under the cover of morning fog, the German army began to advance to the unnamed heights, with 11 "King Tiger" tanks and a small number of armored personnel carriers carrying infantry.

The voice of the Elantra came over the radio: "The tanks are coming, I can't see them, but I can hear them, they are crossing the river valley." The commander of the 53rd Janissaries Tank Brigade described the battle as follows: "A huge tank slowly drove out of the valley, bumped up and turned in the sand. On the left flank, Major Shan Kefeng shouted over the radio: —they are coming! I replied: - patience! Fire again at four hundred meters! ”

"After the first tank, a second giant beast also climbed up from the valley, and immediately a third reappeared. The first has already passed the location of the Elantra ambush. - Fire? He asked. - Fire! ”

"I saw some of the hay on the Kim Yongli tank removed, and the barrel was exposed. Shooting, cannon after shot: Kim Yongli is fighting! Through binoculars, I could see the black holes on the sides of these German tanks, and at first I saw only smoke, then flames. The third German tank turned to Kim Wynn, but was unable to move after a blow to the track, and then another blow completely eliminated it. I called by radio. At this time, the German howitzers began to fire, and immediately the valley reached Oglerdov, and the air was filled with smoke and dust. 'Junker' bombers and 'Messerschmitt' fighters appeared in the sky, and at the same time Chinese fighters also came. The air battle began......"

During the day on May 14, Major Shan Kefeng's 2nd Tank Battalion engaged German tanks west of the heights. By dark, the 53rd Guards Tank Brigade took up defensive positions to the south 300 meters east of Ogledov and was preparing to move towards Hilduff. At 10 p.m., two tanks of the 3rd Battalion, supported by a mechanized infantry company, attacked the village, and by 8 a.m. the following morning, the village had been cleared of the Germans, and the 3rd Battalion then occupied a defensive position on the edge of the village. The German tanks, which had retreated during the earlier offensive, were captured in the village, only to discover that the tanks that burned in the morning were not "Panthers". However, there was not enough time to identify the tanks, and the first reports reported the capture of three Panthers. The 2nd Tank Battalion, the 2nd Tank Company of the 71st Reading Guards Heavy Tank Regiment, and the 289th Infantry Regiment moved towards Zaras at 9 a.m. The "King Tiger" tanks deployed west of Ogledov held back the attacking Chinese infantry with artillery fire. A platoon of "White Tiger" tanks, led by Lieutenant Li Min, joined the battle. Immediately, one German tank caught fire, and the other was destroyed. The Chinese infantry entered Ogledov without resistance, and in the village, the tanks of the 3rd Tank Battalion had already cleared the remnants of the enemy.

At the same time, seven "King Tigers" attacked the positions of the Chinese army on the heights. Janissary Lieutenant Wu Da, who was waiting near Mokre, was in his "White Tiger" tank, and when the German tank approached seven or eight hundred meters, he began to shoot. After being hit several times, the first German tank caught fire, and the second was destroyed. Other German tanks reversed and retreated. Wu Da rushed at the enemy and opened fire on the edge of the forest. After another tank caught fire and burned, the Germans retreated.

Soon the "Tiger King" attacked again, this time targeting Poniki, and the "White Tiger" of Janissaries Lieutenant Pei Yuming was lying in ambush on the position. At a distance of 1000 meters, he opened fire. After the third shell was fired, a German tank caught fire. Recognizing the danger, the Germans retreated.

During the three days of continuous fighting on May 14, 15 and 16, in the Staszow and Hilduf areas, the 6th Janissary Tank Corps destroyed and captured 24 German tanks, 13 of which were the latest German "King Tigers" to enter the battle.

On May 17, in the Zaras region, a prisoner of the 506th heavy tank battalion was captured. He said that the 506th Reading Heavy Tank Battalion, formed in Germany, had 40 new tanks: 20 "King Tigers" and 20 "Panthers". The battalion arrived in the Khmelnik region two weeks ago. Currently, there are no more than 506 tanks in the 26 battalion, the others are either burned or destroyed.

The Germans analyzed the reasons for their defeat, von? Legat lost office. The newspaper of the 6th Praetorian Tank Corps, Call to Battle, described the battle at the bridgehead as described by Sandome: "After the first encounter with our supertanks, the Germans created their own hulking beasts: 'Tiger', 'Panther' and 'Ferdinand'. These tanks were inferior to ours, as evidenced by recent battles, where the German retreat was littered with wreckage of the 'Tiger' and other weapons. The new King Tiger tank does not intimidate our soldiers. In the first encounter, our tank crews and artillery proved the absolute superiority of our weapons over the so-called secret weapons of Germany. Our brave tank crew, under the command of Jin Yongli and Wu Da, each destroyed some 'King Tiger' tanks. The results of the battles on the Soviet front showed a clear superiority of Chinese tanks over German tanks. Our 'tanks' have better artillery, better terrain passing ability and better steadfastness. ”

Constantine? Konstantinovich is now worried about the safety of the two crossings on the Dnieper, Solovievo and Racha. After he learned at the command post that Colonel Malinin wanted him to return to the headquarters as soon as possible, he was anxious to find out why he was urgently looking for him, and immediately called Malinin, and learned from his intermittent, half-plain, half-secret answer that the Chinese army had indeed occupied two crossings, and the Soviet troops had been driven back to the west bank of the Dnieper. Now, the two armies of Generals Kurochkin and Lukin are isolated and completely cut off, and because there are no crossings to transport ammunition and food, they are on the verge of total annihilation and cannot hold out for long.

Rokossovsky sat in an open-top car and felt the coolness of the early morning as he drove away. The road is flanked by forests, and from time to time you can see waves of oats and wheat in small treeless fields, and in some places you can see potato fields with white flowers. It makes you feel like the car is passing through the scent of flowers...... Yes, the war has not yet reached this corner...... He remembered Alexander? Ilyich? Lidyukov, it was he who led a small contingent to resist the attack of the Chinese army, holding the Solovievo crossing.

"All hope fell on him." It was as if I saw Lidyukov, who was half a hundred years old, again. He had a high forehead and was prematurely bald. His eyes are always slit, and he has a fat nose on his kind face. Born into a family of village teachers, Lidyukov completed the sixth grade at a secondary school in the Gomel region and joined the Red Army at the age of 19. Studying, fighting, and studying, graduated from the Military Academy, stayed on to teach tactics. Later, he successively served as battalion commander, regiment commander, tank brigade commander, and commander of the 1st Moscow Infantry Division. In the battles for the evacuation of Sverdlovsk and the defense of Kuibyshev, it was already quite famous. He is sophisticated, shrewd, and daring to fight. If it is said that Lidyukov could not hold the crossing, then it means that the situation has reached a point where it is out of control and cannot be recovered.

From the command post to the headquarters of the army group, it was only 8 km. The headquarters is located on the side of the Minsk-Moscow road, in a deep valley crisscrossed by ravines and sparsely wooded. On the slopes of the valley dug a number of strong and reliable shelters, with bomb shelters, cellars, and bunkers to hide cars and horses. Canvas tents were erected on some flat ground.

He returned to the headquarters and glanced at the map of the chief of staff, Colonel Malinin, and became more and more frightened. The map is a magic mirror for the soldiers, not only of the settlements, roads, hills, and rivers of the area, but also of the situation in the area once an experienced staff officer marks the situation in red and blue pencils. Rokossovsky knew better that the seizure of these two crossings on the Dnieper River by the Chinese army meant that the two Soviet armies in the Smolensk region would inevitably be annihilated, and that the two groups of the Chinese army, Yaltsevo and Yernia, would inevitably converge into one assault force. This is what the strategists of the Chinese [***] have been thinking about for a long time, that is, the necessary conditions for the possibility of moving troops deep into the encirclement and annihilation of the Soviet army.

"Mikhail? Sergeyevich," Rokossovsky said to Colonel Malinin, "it would be a puss if we could not expel the [***] team from the Solovievo crossing." ”

Rokossovsky picked up the map on the table and hung it on the wall of the bomb shelter made of logs. The map has rings at the corners and four wooden pegs nailed to the walls. This alone shows that everything is in order with this staff under the leadership of Colonel Malinin.

"Did you report what happened to Marshal Timoshenko?" Rokossovsky asked Malinin.

Mikhail? Sergeyevich lowered his head, sighed deeply, and replied without raising his eyes: "It was he who first told me about the situation." Lidyukov managed to get in touch with him. We have lost contact with Lidyukov. ”

"Scolded, marshal?"

"No...... Reprimanded. Also asked about you. I say, you will be able to drive the enemy troops out of Yaltsevo. He said that Solovyevo is currently the most critical point on the Western Front. He said that if we could not defeat the enemy, he would personally go out and lead the soldiers to attack. ”

(To be continued)