Now, let's end the battle for Kharkov!

On April 22, 1942, the commander-in-chief of the Soviet Southwestern Front, Marshal Timoshenko, concentrated the 317th, 393rd and 250th Infantry Divisions, the 26th Cavalry Division, the 5th Guards Army and the 37th Tank Brigade to conduct a full-scale breakthrough operation east of Barvenkovo.

On the same day, the commander-in-chief of the Kharkov group in Germany, Ernst . Marshal Bream, who also threw in all the reserves in his hands, gave the order for a general attack!

The battle between life and death broke out here!

Soviet troops, fight for survival! Germans, fight for victory!

Wang Weiyi must meet the vitality of the Soviet army here to the greatest extent, win respite for the German army, and re-plan the war.

Even, it is to change the direction of history

He had to force himself to do it!

The fanatical Soviet soldiers who fought for survival met the equally fanatical German soldiers who fought for victory and glory!

In Ernst. Under the orders of Marshal Bream, countless German warplanes began to bomb the Soviet army indiscriminately, and this is where the greatest sorrow of the Russians lies!

They have courage and enthusiasm, but they have lost some of their superiority in weapons.

They could only brave the enemy's fierce attacks from the air, one futile concentration, one futile attack after another

Perhaps the most tragic was the Soviet 317th Infantry Division.

They were the first to reach the breakout site, but were the first to be strafed and bombed by the Luftwaffe.

Countless Soviet officers and soldiers fell in pools of blood, and they gathered together with great effort to shoot at the air. But none of this will work at all.

Before the 393rd Infantry Division arrived, a third of the officers and men of the 317th Infantry Division died alive at the hands of the German air.

And the bombing and strafing continued

"Field Marshal Richthofen is crazy!" Looking at the large groups of German fighters that appeared in the sky again and again, General Kleist let out such a sigh: "After the outbreak of the Soviet-German war. I've never seen such a violent aerial attack! ”

Wang Weiyi said with a straight face: "If he could have such a bombardment in Dunkelke, maybe the current war situation would not be like this."

General Kleist shrugged

He had never heard of any one that Field Marshal Richthofen was afraid of, but when Field Marshal Ernst returned, the German Air Marshal was like a mouse to a cat

The Germans, fully engaged in the offensive, were ready to end the fighting in Kharkov.

Tanks are rampant on the battlefield, assault guns are invincible on the battlefield, and soldiers are invincible on the battlefield!

The Soviet troops, who broke through the encirclement, suffered multiple blows from the Germans. Unable to concentrate at all, they were forced to throw their soldiers into the attack one by one.

But this is exactly what the Germans want!

Their defending forces easily defended their positions, and their attacking troops happily annihilated the enemy.

The balance of war was already unstoppably tilted in favor of the Germans

The Russians were clearly not reconciled to another defeat in their breakout battle. Until the last moment, they were still trying.

In particular, the 26th Cavalry Division under the command of Major General Nekginsky.

This is a cavalry division in the truest sense of the word

At a time when cavalry units were becoming increasingly unable to adapt to the battlefield and were quickly eliminated, this unit consisted entirely of cavalry. But he still stubbornly upholds his ancient and dignified traditions.

On the opposite side of them. It is the elite armed skeleton of the German army, the Fan Deveney battle group.

The German officers and soldiers of the 2nd Skeleton Infantry Regiment were stunned and overwhelmed for a short time when they saw countless war horses appearing on the battlefield.

What's wrong? Why are there so many cavalry on the battlefield now?

Ah, it's a real cavalry, not the kind of unit that just keeps the number of cavalry.

What are these cavalrymen doing here, without artillery cover?

"They're desperate," Colonel van der Winnie shook his head helplessly.

He sympathized with these Russians, and such a charge could only make this a big slaughterhouse.

But what could he do?

The German gunners entered the position. The German tanks moved into attacking positions, and the German machine gunners aimed ahead

Major General Nekginsky drew his command knife. Straight forward:

"For the honor of the cavalry, knights of the Soviets, advance!"

The knights on the war horses slowly instigated their war horses and slowly moved forward

Artillery fire rang out among them, and one by one the cavalry died in the artillery fire, but the miraculous thing was that the team was not in chaos.

God, these people really don't want to live anymore, thought the German soldiers.

Suddenly, Nekginsky shouted:

"Cavalry, charge!"

The originally slow war horse suddenly accelerated and rushed forward like crazy

Forward, cavalry! Forward, for the glory of the cavalry! Onward, for the sake of that ancient dignity!

Although each of them had no hope of victory, they were still charging without hesitation.

There is something that cannot be discarded, and that is called dignity!

Now they are maintaining the ancient dignity of the cavalry

All the weapons on the German positions began to fire!

There's nothing difficult about it! The machine gunners of the Germans swore an oath.

They could see the enemies fall from their horses like leaves, and they could see the horses neighing in pain.

However, the machine-gun slaughter could not stop the suicidal charge of the cavalry.

Horses on horse, horses on corpses, the knights kept shooting at the opposite side with their carbines, constantly waving their sabers in their hands. Let out a loud roar of "Ula".

The officers and enlisted men are exactly the same in this ranks.

They are also charging, and they are also suffering the test of death

German tanks appeared.

If possible, the German tankmen preferred not to have such a victory. This is not at all the war they imagined.

But war is war, and they still join in the slaughter

The earth mourns, and the sun and the moon have no light.

The color of blood envelops everything

The horses that had lost their masters were sadly searching for the battlefield, corpses overlapping each other, and the knights who had not yet died were wriggling in pools of blood.

Victorious cheers could not be heard from the German positions.

There's nothing to cheer about, it's just a simple one. But the most brutal killing.

The cavalry units, once glorious and invincible on the battlefield, have become vulnerable to steel.

Their glory is dying. But what is not lost is their indelible dignity!

From this point of view, all the Russians of the 26th Cavalry Division are undoubtedly worthy of respect

"Colonel, we captured a prisoner as if it were their general"

Van der Vinny after hearing this report. I tidied up my military uniform. Personally went to see the captive.

"Colonel Van der Winnie, 2nd Skeletal Infantry Regiment of the SS Skeleton Division!"

"Major General Nekginsky, commander of the 26th Cavalry Division of the Southwestern Soviet Front."

"Hello, General!"

"Hello, Colonel!"

The two of them behaved so politely, as if they were old friends who had not been seen for a long time.

Van der Vinny noticed that Nekkinski's abdomen was bleeding, and he called in a military doctor to bandage Nekginsky's wounds.

"Thank you, Colonel." Nekginsky said very politely: "I was injured and unconscious, and when I woke up I became your prisoner." Captain. I make a request to you, please allow me to commit suicide. All right? ”

"General, I'm afraid this will be very difficult to do." Van der Vinny said with some regret: "You know that you are a general, if you catch an enemy general and allow him to commit suicide"

"This is my last request." Nekginsky interrupted: "You don't know what the cavalry means to me, my soldiers are all dead, but I am still alive, I can't face myself. Even if you don't allow me to kill myself now, I'll look for every opportunity in the camp. But I beg you to give me such an opportunity, it is a request from an old cavalryman to you. Let me die with dignity! ”

Let me die with dignity, this is the request of an old cavalryman to you!

Van der Vinny's heart was so shaken that he even became a little emotional

"Give him a pistol and a bullet!" Van der Vinny decided not to worry about anything more, even if he would be confined or even demoted, and he decided to fulfill the old horseman's worst request: "General, allow me to salute you, you are a true knight!" ”

As he spoke, he raised his hand and gave a standard military salute to the venerable old cavalryman.

"Thank you, Colonel, I will be grateful." Nekginsky took the pistol and returned a military salute: "Long live the Soviets!" Long live the Bolsheviks! ”

"Long live Germany!"

Nekginsky smiled and pointed his gun at his head

One of the last cavalrymen on the battlefield ended his life in this way, and he also maintained his dignity in this way.

During his lifetime, he and Van der Vinny were enemies, but he used his own methods to earn the respect of his enemies.

The cavalry does not die, although sooner or later it will be completely eliminated.

This is an episode that happened on the battlefield in Kharkov, but it will surely be remembered by everyone forever:

The dignity of cavalry can be maintained with life!

The wind slowly blows across the battlefield.

Whimpering in the wind, one after another! (To be continued.) For mobile phone users, please go to read. )