Burning Moscow

General Stelimach walked behind Meretskov and lifted his hand to open the curtain hanging on the wall, revealing the military map that was originally blocked. He picked up the explanation stick leaning against the wall, held it in his hand, turned and said to the people present: "Comrade Commander, please look at the map."

Because the place where I was sitting was too far from the map, I couldn't see the name of the place on it, so I could only see the blue and red arrows that represented the enemy and ourselves. I wanted to go closer, and just leaned forward and wanted to stand up, but when I saw other people sitting in their seats, I dispelled the idea of ​​going over and watching. If you can't see clearly, you can't see clearly. Anyway, the Chief of Staff will explain the battle deployment.

After everyone looked at the map in silence for a few minutes, the voice of the commander of the Front Army, Meretskov, rang again: "Major General Stelimach, would you please tell us about the enemy's strength and defense." I saw some commands. The Ministry took out paper and pen from the briefcase to make a record. He immediately stopped: "No one is allowed to record what the chief of staff said." The commanders listened to him and put the pen and paper obediently. Into the briefcase.

Stelimach faced us and explained it without looking at the map: "Comrades, the new campaign we are about to launch, due to the location of our campaign, was chosen at the Schlusselburg-Signavino salient. Comrade commander called it the "Battle of Signavino Bulge".

This protrusion was formed in September 1941 when German troops went out to the south shore of Lake Ladoga. The advantage of choosing this direction is that it is the closest route from the southeast to the Neva River and Leningrad, as seen on the map. The thickness of the enclosure here is the thinnest. Unfortunately, the topography of this protrusion is the same as that of other regions. Very unsuitable for offensive operations. The peat quarry here is very large, extending from the shore of Lake Ladoga to the village of Signavino. To the south of the village of Signano are dense forests and large swamps, which are difficult for infantry to pass here. This severely restricts the mobility of the army, but it is very beneficial to the defending party. The only dry place in this direction is the Signavino plateau, which is ten to fifteen meters above the surrounding plain. Naturally, it became the enemy's main position on the offensive route of our army. And the enemy can observe the situation within a few kilometers from the high ground. ..."

Hearing this, I said to my heart that what the Chief of Staff said was not the same as what Captain Boroda had conveyed to the commanders below during the temporary military meeting in the division. It seemed that the launch of this new campaign was imminent.

"... In the past eleven months, all the German occupying forces have done is to make the Schlusselburg-Signavino outburst an unbreakable fortress. They use all kinds of terrain. Along with rivers, lakes, deep trenches and swamps, highlands and forests, defensive positions were built, and many resistance hubs and support points were set up. Artillery and mortar companies were arranged in the center of the resistance hub. The density of anti-tank artillery per square meter There are seven or eight doors on the front of the kilometer. The personnel set up barbed wire and mines in the front of the position in the strong shelter. This way, the terrain that is not conducive to attack becomes easier to defend and difficult to attack...."

The chief of staff explained here. Meletskov waved his hand at him, motioned him to pause, then stood up, stood on the table with both hands, and said to everyone: "Comrades, commanders. Maybe someone will ask, since we are facing a Locations that are not conducive to offensive. Why should the front army rush to launch a new campaign?"

When Meletskov said this, he paused, as if waiting for a commander present to echo him. But everyone here is very clear in their hearts that the commander does not really want to ask the question and ask people to answer it. This is just a self-questioning and self-answering speech technique, so no one stupidly jumped out to be the first person. bird.

Seeing that no one was speaking, Meletskov continued to say: "As we all know, although most of the commanders of the 2nd Assault Army jumped out of the encirclement of the Germans, the whereabouts of the commanders and deputy commanders of the Army are still unknown. We are all tired and need to stop to rest and take a good breath.

But, comrades commanders, no! Although I also want the commanders to have a good rest, replenish their troops and weapons and equipment before launching a new campaign against the Germans. However, the current situation is bad. The reason why the base camp decided to launch a new campaign at this time is that in addition to having a good desire to break through the Leningrad blockade, it also hopes that our front army will carry out active actions in the northwest to contain the enemy. The heavy-armed bloc made it impossible to transfer its forces to the south, because a decisive battle was underway in the south at that time.

We chose this direction for two purposes: First, under smooth circumstances, we can reach the Neva River within two or three days. Because the front army currently does not have the strength to carry out a longer battle. Second, in addition, we launch an offensive in a direction that the enemy does not expect, which can ensure the suddenness of the first assault and gain an advantage with this. "

After Meletskov finished speaking, Chief of Staff Stelimach said immediately: "Yes, it is because of the current bad situation that we have to launch the Battle of Sinavino Bulge as soon as possible to contain the German Army Group North. Group, so that it can't draw troops to go south."

Having said this, he turned around and pointed at the map with an explanation stick, and began to explain to everyone: "Comrade commanders, please see, our offensive direction is selected to the south of Signavino Heights. The offensive force will be divided into three. Echelon. The first echelon is the unit of the 8th Army newly incorporated into the Front Army." At this point, he stretched out his hand to the side and introduced to everyone: "This is Major General Starikov, commander of the Army." Hearing his introduction, Feijuninsky stood up next to a dark and grim major general, saluted everyone, and sat down again.

After the chief of staff introduced General Starikov, he went on to say: "According to the plan, the 8th Army will use the 6th Infantry Corps of Guards as the main attack after the start of the battle. Their target is Sinia. The station south of Vino, and annihilated the German army holding on to the highlands of Signavino.

Serving the second echelon is the 2nd Assault Group. The group army was commanded by the former commander General Krykov. Due to the heavy losses of the 2nd Assault Group in the Battle of Liuban, it is in the stage of reconstruction. At present, there are only the 327th Infantry Division of Colonel Anchufeev and the 58th Infantry Brigade of Colonel Zizaliv.

Behind the 2nd Assault Group was the 4th Guards Infantry Corps, which served as the third echelon, under the command of Major General Gagan. The task of this department is to quickly attack after the first and second echelon tears open the enemy's defense line, strengthen the assault force, expand our army's achievements, complete the entire breakthrough and reach the task of joining forces with the Leningrad side.

Adopting this kind of battle layout is to take into account that it must be within a short period of time. Overcome its strong fortified positions when the enemy may continue to increase resistance. Therefore, the task of the first and second echelon is to break through the entire depth of the enemy's defense, and the task of the third echelon is to destroy the enemy's reserve team in the final stage of the battle. The essence of the campaign attempt was to rush towards the Neva River before the enemy's reinforcements transferred from other locations arrived.

Of course, in order to prevent the tragedy of the Second Assault Group being besieged in the Battle of Liuban, the tragedy happened again. The commander of the front army deliberately prepared a strong reserve team to deal with unexpected events. This reserve is composed of 5 infantry divisions and 1 infantry brigade, and will be deployed at the junction of the 8th Army and the 54th Army on the south side. "

Stelimach stopped when he talked about it. He held the explanation stick in both hands and said to everyone: "This is all about the deployment of the battle of the Signavino Bulge. Who has any questions, you can raise it on the spot." I'll answer."

General Yakovlev, commander of the 52nd Army, stood up and asked: "Comrade Chief of Staff, I would like to ask, fighting in such an area requires a lot of artillery and tanks. It provides necessary fire cover for the offensive troops. I don’t know, the front army can currently be in battle. How much of this technical equipment can be used?"

Stelimach smiled and replied: "General Yakovlev, your question is very good, I will give you a detailed answer. We currently have 12 artillery regiments and 9 mortar regiments. There are 4 independent mortar battalions, 3 m-13 Katyusha artillery battalions, and 7 m-30 Katyusha artillery battalions. The density of artillery can reach 100 per kilometer."

After listening to the chief of staff's explanation, there was a burst of relaxed emotion in the room. You must know that this density of artillery firepower is the first time in a battle with the enemy.

The chief of staff knocked the explanation stick on the wall with a backhand, and loudly stopped everyone from whispering: "Comrade commanders, please be quiet, please be quiet. Next, I would like to call on the commander of the 8th Army, General Starikov. , To introduce to you the situation of the tank units under his jurisdiction."

The room suddenly became quiet, everyone's eyes were cast on such a thin general. After he got up, he followed the example of Meletskov, put his hands on the edge of the table, leaned forward slightly, and said with a smile: " Dear commanders, my 8th Army was newly incorporated into the front army together with Fejuninsky’s 54th Army when the Volkhov Front Army was rebuilt at the beginning of June. Today, I took the opportunity of a meeting to discuss with each other. The commanders of the group army will meet and get to know each other, and then they will be able to fight side by side better in the future.

In the sequence of our group army, there are currently 2 tank brigades and 5 independent tank battalions. A large part of the tanks are kv heavy tanks. Although this heavy tank is much slower than the t-34, it can give full play to its advantages of thick armor and fierce firepower in this kind of attack. Perhaps it is because we have such a good offensive weapon that the commander of the front army will let our group army serve as the first echelon of the battle. "

Meletskov listened to him, smiled and said, "General Starikov, do you have any difficulties?"

Starikov shrugged and said: "Difficulties, naturally there are. For example, there are not many roads in the forest, and the muddy roads make it difficult for all kinds of transportation to pass. The railways can only bear all the burden. I If all of the tanks of the United States want to reach the starting point of the offensive, they must rebuild the road. Once the road to the rear is repaired, the material supply we need can be guaranteed so that the troops can fight effectively. All of this takes time. Come and prepare."

After listening to Meletskov’s silence for a while, he said, “According to the command of the high command, the battle will be launched in early August. Because the high command will replenish the weakened corps during this period and provide the front army with A sufficient number of supplementary companies, tanks, rocket artillery units, artillery shells, and material and technical equipment. Comrade General, there are still twenty days away, enough for you to build roads and gather troops."

Having said that, he stood up and said to everyone: "This is the end of today's meeting, comrades commanders. You can go back to your troops."

I followed the crowd outside the door, and complained to Koshevoi who was beside me as I walked: "Comrade Colonel, after talking for a long time, in this battle, apart from the three attacking echelons, it seems that there is no our 59th Army and you. What is the 52nd Army?"

Koshevoi replied vaguely: "The head of the front army has his own plan. Maybe he will send our two armies up. Didn't you receive the order to gather the troops some time ago?"

"Received. I am busy gathering the troops during this time, and I am going to go to the designated location as soon as possible."

Koshevoi nodded and said, "That's right. Since the troops are assembled, it must be used for offensive or defensive purposes in a certain direction. You can wait slowly, maybe there will be an order soon. Up."

Seeing that we were about to walk out of the shelter along the steps, suddenly a second lieutenant officer ran up to me, blocked my way, and asked breathlessly, "Excuse me, are you Major Oshanina?"

I looked at the second lieutenant with such a strange face~www.wuxiaspot.com~, nodded, and asked a little dazedly: "Yes, I am Oshanina. What do you want me to do?"

"Major Oshanina, I am looking for you on the order of Commander Meretskov. The commander said that I have something to discuss with you. Please bring me to his office."

"Major Oshanina, then I will leave first." Koshevoy saw that Meretskov had sent someone to look for me, so he whispered to me, and then he was about to walk outside.

"Wait for me, okay?" I was a little panicked about Meletskov's sudden summons.

"There is no order for me to go to the commander's office." Koshevoy reached out to me, "Good luck, we will have a period later." After shaking hands with me, turned and stepped onto the steps and walked out of the shelter.

Seeing Colonel Koshevoy leave, the second lieutenant urged me again: "Comrade Oshanina, please let me go, otherwise, Comrade Commander will be anxious."

Hearing what the ensign said, I nodded helplessly and said, "Okay, comrade ensign, let's go."

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