Because it was not far from Vilnius, the 16 Peter-2 dive bombers were loaded with only three-fifths of the fuel and took off with the maximum bomb load, and each plane was loaded with more than a ton of bombs! Eight of them carried six FAB100 aviation high-explosive bombs in each of their three internal bomb bays, four in the fuselage compartment, two in two magazines at the rear of the engine nacelles, and four FAB-250s on four hardpoints under the wings. Pen × fun × Pavilion www. ｂｉｑｕｇｅ。 ｉｎｆｏ

Each of the eight modified bombers had a FAB-1000 weighing nearly a ton under its belly, but only one FAB-100 was in the nacelle behind the engine. The FAB-1000 bomb is not too heavy for the Peter-2 in terms of weight, but due to design reasons, the aircraft needs to be internally reinforced before it can be mounted, which makes these eight special Pe-2s can only carry about 1,200 kg of aerial bombs when they attack.

However, these special models are prepared for bombing fixed-point solid targets, and some targets of 100 kg and 250 kg aerial bombs can not be gnawed, and the power of FAB-1000 is very large, and such a modification is worth it.

At an altitude of 3,000 meters, a group of Jacques flew from the field airfield into the same course, and a total of eight fighters escorted them.

Visibility in the sky was good, and after more than ten minutes all the pilots were already able to see the burning city in the distance. Captain Fignier, the leader of the dive bomber group who led the group, checked the Vilnius ground air charts to determine the route of entry: today he is the navigator. On the bulkhead in front of him was a color postcard, which all the bomber navigators and pilots had memorized in their hearts at the airfield emergency sortie preparation meeting.

There are many postcards of this kind in all units, especially the bomber units, which are collected by the logistics units and intelligence departments from the civilian population and used as a reference for the troops when they fight.

In the cabin, on top of this postcard is a huge red castle - Gchiminas Castle - set against a snowy background. Like a beautiful landscape, the photographs show its prominent position at the top of Mount Gediminas: although the hill is not high, the castle is not only beautiful in such an environment, but also a bit rock-solid.

Around the photo, you can see a small area of the city, all of which are old buildings that have a history of hundreds of years at a glance. When the commander of the aviation regiment showed Figuernier this picture at noon today, Comrade Lieutenant suddenly had a little trouble turning his head -- once his bombers had set their sights on him, there would be absolutely no problem in completing their mission, but it was a pity to turn such an ancient castle into ruins.

However, his expression of pity became a handle for the regiment commander to reprimand him, and the regiment commander reprimanded him for the need to strengthen his thinking: not to think about how many people would be sacrificed to capture this castle by infantry alone, but to think about the construction?!

Not only did he say this, but also scolded him for being free and comfortable in the sky, having superiority, and not caring about the lives of his infantry comrades?!

A review book, but also profound!

The words of the regiment commander made Figuernier hold a fire in his stomach, but he could only sprinkle it on the head of the fascists. The lieutenant understood very well that if he raised the bar with the regiment commander for this matter, the divisional political committee would definitely call him, and then he would probably be the captain of the brigade.

But looking back, Fignel felt that he really had some problems in his mind: why he was sorry for the castle in the first place, and did not think about how much of a threat its existence was.

When the target location was determined a few kilometers away, Figuerniel didn't think much about the nest in his heart: "Go back and write a check, do a good job, I don't think the boss will trouble me with this." ”

Thinking to himself, he said loudly into the intercom: "All attention, make sure that you are the target: the red castle at the top of the hill!" Each twin aircraft enters the attack course and destroys it completely! ”

There were occasional anti-aircraft shells flying in the air, those should have been fired by the 37-mm anti-aircraft guns deployed by the Germans at various commanding heights, but they were not violent, and it was obvious that their own long-range artillery in the urban offensive and defensive battles had long regarded those commanding heights as key targets, and there were not many anti-aircraft guns left.

After receiving replies from the long planes, Figuerner's bomber was the first to adjust course and enter the attack course. The pilot began to dive, and the dive angle was adjusted to 35 degrees, which was enough for such a large target.

In the western part of the city, the forward assault battalion of the 1043rd Infantry Regiment is on the front line east of St. Peter-Paul's Cathedral, repairing the dilapidated fortifications left by the Germans along Karnu Park, treating the wounded and regrouping.

The assault mission has been handed over to the other 3 infantry battalions, and the results of the assault battalion count have made the captain and battalion commander feel heartache: the total number of people still fighting in the battalion is less than 200 people, especially the four companies that are responsible for the sharp knife assault mission, and there are still 17 intact fighters left!

The four company commanders sacrificed 3, and the remaining one was bitten by shrapnel on the thigh, even if it was cured, it would become lame; The four deputy company commanders were all sacrificed!

Coming here from faraway Siberia, the lad left his life and blood here, much to the surprise of the captain, who had a thick gauze wrapped around his head—he knew almost all the men in the battalion, half of whom could be called by full name when the battalion arrived in Vilnius, of 582 men.

However, now is not the time to be sad, and urgently appoint the oldest of the surviving commanders at all levels to take the position of the fallen commander at the next higher level, regroup, and prepare to receive new orders from above.

At this time, the passage that had been blocked at the back was finally repaired by the sappers, the heavy equipment was pulled up, and the wounded were also sent to the rear field hospital as quickly as possible. After the medic treated the captain's wound, he was injected with antibiotics, but the captain did not retreat, he just took a shrapnel bite on his head, and he couldn't die, he wanted to stay here.

Bleeding a lot, the pale captain drank a bottle of saline with glucose, which made him not even have the time to take the injection, so he used a temporary alternative.

The medic's advice was still very effective, and after drinking the salt water for a while, I felt that my body was a little stronger again, and I began to run east and west to check the situation of each company.

A machine gun platoon of the 23rd Division, which was supplemented by a company, was stationed in the church, while four ZIS-3 76.2mm cannons were lined up in the open space outside the church wall, ready to shell at any time.

Seven more cannons were pulled up just now, but only three remained, and the other four were pushed up to take on the heavy duty of fighting the bayonets. The brave artillery lieutenant also stayed, for the cannon he commanded was only about half men, two of which were wounded, and their commander did not allow the bravest artillery group to continue to charge.

Shuklin, Granov, Glebov, and Rezeov were all exhausted, and Valekin was shot by a German machine-gun bullet from a relatively safe position on the rooftop, but fortunately only bruised his arm. Before receiving support, they exerted their super strength, effectively supported the infantry with accurate and ferocious artillery bombardment, and also gave a German mortar position to the end!

Schucklin was now the supreme commander of the small artillery group of four cannons, and while the assault troops ahead had suspended their attacks, he went to the roof of the church to observe the terrain.

Not only observers, but also artillery commanders should have in mind a general idea of the terrain of the area of operation, so that the maximum effect can be exerted during shelling.

When I reached the roof of the building, which was riddled with holes, I saw that the captain of the infantry with his head was also there, and he was looking at the park with his goggles.

Shuklin could see half of the city, but the already violent explosions and gunfire in the park had almost stopped, and both sides were building up energy. Even the artillerymen had a temporary ceasefire - whoever fired first would expose their position and be subjected to more intense counter-fire, waiting for orders on both sides to strike a new assault on the infantry.

Leaning down, he saw that the artillery lieutenant was on the side, and the comrade captain said to Shuklin: "I haven't had time to thank you today, you fought hard and accurately!" ”

Shuklin just nodded, not saying a kind word. The captain didn't bother to say too much politely, "Beyond the park is the Vilnya River, and there will be another attack before dark, and our regiment's task is to completely clean up the park and all areas north of it." ”

As he spoke, he looked at his watch, "There are still twenty minutes to attack." ”

"How many of you are left?"

Shu Kelin was there when he cleaned up the corpses and treated the wounded just now, although he didn't know how much the assault battalion had lost along the way, but it would definitely not be small, so he asked.

"About two hundred, originally we were a reinforced battalion of five companies, four infantry companies fought out more than half, two machine gun platoons and fire platoons were basically reimbursed, and less than 20 survived."

Comrade Captain said tepidly, but his eyes were fixed on the west!

"Shuklin."

The captain shook the lieutenant's outstretched hand, "Kolenkov." ”

That's an acquaintance.

"The Vilnya River may be forcibly crossed at night, and so far I have not received an order to participate in the forced crossing." Shuklin inquired for news.

"We probably won't have to participate, the division wants us to be stationed in this area, and I guess you'll be used as long-range support artillery fire. Just now, people from the communication company of the regiment headquarters have already arrived, and they want to answer the telephone line here. ”

"Also, there will be some mortar units in the regiment to the front, just behind the woods over there."

Kolenkov pointed with his hand, and Shuklin looked in the direction, it was a good place to set up mortar positions.

The church was used as an observation post, not only to direct artillery strikes, but also to direct infantry combat. Cannons are not omnipotent due to ballistics, and many times mortars are more useful, so it seems that the higher authorities want to turn this place into an artillery position that can provide assault fire support to the 1043 regiment at any time.

This should be an order from the division headquarters, but I don't know what's going on, Shuklin hasn't received an order yet. However, this kind of chaotic situation is very common in battles, this is not a drill, and it is common for a group of people with different unit numbers to stick to the same trench in the same trench when they start a battle, and even when they charge, they will find that there are people from other divisions around them?! Not surprising.

During the Battle of Minsk, a lieutenant company commander commanded the company in the central district of the city for 1 week, and found that there were more than 130 people under his command, but only 17 of them were his original subordinates, and the number of the other people's troops actually spanned two group armies, 7 divisions, 16 regiments, and 47 companies from different numbers! Infantry, artillery, armor, medics..... a hodgepodge, even a veterinarian! But the veterinarian no longer treated mules and horses, and became a surgeon who could perform even simple operations, and he did it very successfully, and the medical corporal became his assistant, and even the wounded of nearby troops were carried to him for treatment.

Who let the veterinarian lead his mule, who arrived there a few days ago in a daze with two medical kits for mules and horses, and even a box of medicine for mules and horses!

The wounded can't be sent, for the soldiers, as long as they can treat the wounds, veterinarians can also be, veterinary medicine is also fine, anyway, it's better than nothing! At the end of the battle, the veterinarian comrade was awarded a Red Banner Medal for performing operations on more than 30 wounded within a week, treating N minor injuries, and having a success rate of more than 90 percent.

You must know that if there was no simple operating room, without the veterinarian who was not qualified to practice medicine, the more than 30 wounded would have sacrificed at least more than a third!

、、、、、、、

The roar of aircraft engines was heard in the air, and almost everyone looked overhead. Shuklin, seeing a group of planes descending in altitude, observed with a telescope, "It's our bombers, entering the bombing route." ”

Most of the people on the rooftops were staring at the plane's dive, not knowing where the bomb was going to land.

"The target is Mount Gediminas, the castle there!" Shuklin shouted at Kolenkov.

"It's ruthless from above, but it's okay this way, we can reduce the number of deaths."

Kolenkov also stared at the plane and replied loudly.

The aerial bombers were in two formations, diving at a small angle, and in the telescope, it could be clearly seen that at an altitude of less than 1,000 meters, several black bombs broke away from the plane and smashed into the top of the mountain.

A violent explosion, right in the middle of the castle, a huge explosion smoke cloud at least a hundred meters high!

"Heavy bombs, it must be more than 500 kilograms, it is possible that it is a thousand kilograms!" Shuklin watched the explosion excitedly, his mouth chattering as if to himself.

In the violent explosion, the entire hill was faintly covered with scattered dust, and the pilots dropped very accurately, and several bombs accurately hit the center of the castle!

The second and third groups of bombers swooped down, and the tall tower of the castle collapsed in the second wave of explosions! When the four groups of planes dropped their bombs, the once majestic castle was gone, and all that remained was a ruin in smoke on the top of the hill!

"Here we go again!" Shuklin said, pointing to the air.

It was eight bombers, and the dive angle was very small, as if it were a gradual descent bombing. Every plane in sight dropped a swarm of bombs, but not as big as the one just now.

Dense explosions enveloped the entire hill, and several fell at the foot of the hill, and it is estimated that the glass of the former National Museum near there was completely reimbursed.

The tremendous power of the bombing of the aircraft shocked the hearts of all those who had never seen the same scene, and the power of the explosion of the aerial bomb was not comparable to that of ordinary shelling! The vast majority of the soldiers from Siberia had never seen such a scene, and they felt more shocked than everything they had experienced today, but unlike what they had been shelled themselves, what was left in their hearts now was exhilarating!

Because the castle of Gkiminas was the center of the city and the vantage point, the whole city saw the huge smoke that rose after the violent explosion there, like a huge sign, reminding everyone on both sides that the Red Army was determined to take back the city, at all costs!

The Red Army was excited, and the Germans, both the soldiers and the commanders, scolded the Russians for being crazy! The faces of the inhabitants of Vilnius were even more ugly - they were almost all Lithuanians, because the people who had moved in during the previous year's retreat had already retreated, and they did not want to leave: in their eyes there should be no difference between Germans and Russians.

However, the German occupation for most of the year has taught them that the Germans and the Russians are not the same! Although the Russians arrested some people after the troops entered the city, everyone knew that most of them were Polish nationalists who did not like the Soviet power and the Russians, and of course there were a small number of Lithuanian nationalists, the Russian secret police were not interested in ordinary people, and the soldiers patrolling the streets were often friendly to the citizens, often saying that the Soviets were family.

But since the Germans came, so have the hard days! Originally, when the Russians were here, although most of the daily necessities needed to be supplied by ticket, which made the citizens a little unaccustomed, the goods were quite sufficient, at least vodka could be bought at any time, and the price was cheap; There is no need to worry about security when you go out alone at night, you can forget to lock the door of the house, and there is not even a shadow of a thief or thief in the city!

The Russians are ruthless where they are, and those who disappear never come back, but the punishment for social tumors is even more severe, and the social order in Vilnius is unprecedentedly good. It's just that it's best to remember to bring your own documents when you go out at night, otherwise if you are stopped by the night watch, it will take half a day to come back.

Those who were not able to work at that time did not have to worry, the Soviets would be responsible, and each newly established community would take care of the old, weak, sick and disabled who could not work; Children have milk every day, but it is a ration, which is quite enough, whether it is rich or poor.

Originally, people in the factory area were worried that they might lose their jobs, because the Russians were rumored to move the factory to Minsk or Moscow, but in the end they did not move. Of course, the people who are still in the city and who used to work in a few large factories have lost their jobs - the Russians removed all the equipment they could when they retreated last year, and everything else was blown up.

"This is war, and it is difficult to explain it with the idea of peace." The Russians told them so.

And most importantly, Vilnius was originally home to tens of thousands of Jewish residents, making up a large proportion of the city's inhabitants. Originally, when the Russians came, they were worried that Soviet Russia would persecute them as often as they did in the tsarist period. Later, the Jews were relieved, and the Russians did not treat you equally, and did not care whether you were a Jew or not, and did not make any ethnic distinctions.

The Germans came, and all this changed! The Jewish neighbors who did not leave were evicted from their houses, their property confiscated, and they were reportedly sent to concentration camps; Some well-informed people also say that the Germans slaughtered Jews south of the city, directly with machine gun fire!

(Continue to ask for a guaranteed commuter pass.) (To be continued.) )