The combat effectiveness of the two independent regiments that had withdrawn was indeed poor. This chaotic scene alone is the best proof of this.

"Idiots! Stop messing around and stay with me to defend the city!"

Lavrenti roared, his roar easily drowned out by the noise of the shelling.

There was also a large amount of smoke and dust rising from the west of the city, as well as the deafening sound of bombings, which further aggravated the chaos of the army.

"Damn it, if we let them escape, the commander will have to kill me!" Rafe made up his mind. If no one acted evil at this time, the entire team would be in danger of collapse.

Lavrenti shook his neck: "Brothers, follow me, we must prevent this group of people from retreating!"

He led more than 300 soldiers and quickly moved to the riverside.

In the name of "city defense commander", Lavrenti ordered the people of the Independent Regiment to stop crossing the river. More than 300 people bravely stood on the river bank while diving. They used the black muzzles of their rifles and submachine guns to force them onto the raft.

All the people came down.

This coercive measure achieved good results, and even the three rafts that were slowly crossing the river with their maximum load capacity had to be withdrawn.

However, there are always people who want to be independent. Three soldiers forced themselves onto the raft and ignored Lavrenti's orders. After they left the river, they started paddling desperately in an attempt to escape.

"Assholes! Are you going to be deserters?! Come back quickly, or we'll shoot!" Lavrenti yelled.

Perhaps it was because the cannon was too loud that they could not hear it, or perhaps they selectively ignored it, but Lavrenti's order had no effect.

"Damn it, machine gunner, shoot those three deserters to death!"

Deserters, their escape in a critical situation is a great blasphemy to the fighters and sacrifices. Three mg34s poured firepower towards the target, and the three people who struggled to paddle died on the spot.

The Soviet army generally enforced battlefield discipline by grassroots political commissars and military courts. It was rare to conduct a surprise execution of deserters like Lavrenti's.

The deserters were executed and the whole situation immediately stabilized.

"Comrades, if you dare to escape, those three people will be punished. Now we must ambush in this riverside area. After the enemy artillery is over, the Japanese will attack again. We must reoccupy the position and attack them head-on!"

Lavrenti didn't know how many people heard his roar. Since everyone saw the execution of deserters, no one should take the risk again.
Chapter completed!