Burning Moscow

() The excitement shown by Meretskov and Starikov was very short-lived. (Phoenix Dance Literature Network) After all, the Neva cluster of the Leningrad Front Army began to cross the river, and the battle on the high ground under the command of Golovchiner was just the beginning, and they had more important things to do.

Starikov asked the correspondents to move several important telephones to the conference table. In this way, he and Meletskov could receive the reported battle report by telephone without moving their positions. Give orders to the subordinate units.

Meretskov talked with the Chief of Staff Stelimach of the Front Army Headquarters and Military Commissioner Zaporozhets, and the Neva group began to cross the river, and they were ready to receive the good news of the Volkhov Front assault troops. At the same time, Remind them to maintain good communication with the Command Headquarters and the subordinate units. If there is any important military information, they must call the 8th Army Command in time to notify him.

General Starikov spoke with his men and gave them a series of orders. For example, if the 19th Guards Division and the 140th Infantry Brigade were frustrated when attacking the high ground, which unit should take over the offensive mission. If the high ground is conquered by our army, which unit should take over.

When the two were on the phone, I was standing not far from them. Although I frowned when I heard certain orders, knowing that if the troops were mobilized in this way, after the commanders assigned positions after the forcible march, their combat effectiveness would be greatly reduced due to exhaustion. Without a certain period of rest, they would not be able to do so. Play its due role in the fierce battle. But these thoughts are just a flash of my thoughts. I know my identity very well in such a large-scale battle of hundreds of thousands of people. The superior commander did not ask my opinion before. I am not qualified to make any comments.

At this time. After the phone call, Meretskov suddenly asked Gagan sitting aside: "Comrade General, I want to ask you, how many special shooters are there in your army at the moment?"

General Gargan might not have thought that Meretskov would suddenly ask this question. He seemed a little flustered. Then he hesitated to say: "Report to the general, there are probably fifty or sixty members of our army who can be called a super shooter. "

Hearing his answer, Meletskov frowned. Somewhat displeased: "Comrade Gagan, as early as the end of June, in order to prepare the front army for offensive, we once held a special shooters meeting, requiring all units to have at least 50 special shooters per brigade after the launch of the campaign. The standard of 100 people per division. But what about your 4th Guards Corps? Seven infantry brigades and one infantry division can only provide fifty or sixty special marksmen. It seems that you can complete the tasks assigned by your superiors. How good. I don’t know if it’s your ability, or if you didn’t take the command of the Front Command into heart at all."

Confronting Meletskov's reproach. Gargan became more flustered, and he wiped the sweat from his forehead desperately. While defending himself, he said, "Comrade Commander, you know that more than half of my troops are recruits. They have only undergone brief military training. On the battlefield, it is already very good to be able to target the enemy and shoot bullets. As for Where the bullet flew, only heaven knows. And training special-class shooters is not a matter of overnight, their growth takes a long time."

Meletskov said with a gloomy face: "Comrade Gagan, in the battle tonight or later, these super shooters are needed to show off their power, but you told me that it takes time to train. Special grade shooter. You know, now we are fighting fiercely with the Germans. We don't have so much time for you to slowly develop special grade shooters."

General Starikov, who had just finished the call, heard what the commander of the front army said. He quickly put down the microphone and said something nice to his old friend to resolve Gargan’s embarrassment: "Comrade General, General Gargan’s situation is understandable. Yes. After all, his recruits were factory workers, collective farm clerks, and even young students studying a few months ago. They have not undergone systematic military training, so they must be selected from among them. Enough super shooters, this is unlikely."

Hearing Starikov's defense for Gargan, Meletskov didn't refute it, but asked calmly: "General Starikov, how many super shooters can you appoint in your group?"

This time it was Starikov’s turn to be embarrassed. He replied distressedly: "Comrade Commander, you also know that my group army has been fighting since the beginning of the battle. The reduction in the number of troops is very severe, and it may not be able to attack you. Provide enough super shooters."

Hearing them repeatedly mention the term super shooter, I immediately thought of snipers, and wondered if Meretskov planned to let these sharpshooters kill the German commanders and artillery, so as to achieve the purpose of reducing the German combat effectiveness.

But before I could figure out the problem, the phone on the desk rang, and it was Stelimach who called from the front headquarters. He reported to Meletskov: "Comrade Commander, according to the news from the Leningrad Front, the troops of the 55th Army took part in the battle across the river. The 43rd Infantry Division and the 268th Infantry Division are one on the left. Right crossed the Neva River and launched a fierce attack on the Dubrovka area on the west bank of the river. In front of them was a German SS division. In order to block the Neva cluster that came to join us, the Germans sent out a large number of The tanks and planes of China carried out indiscriminate bombing of the offensive troops. The fighting was very intense. Every step forward, our army has to pay huge sacrifices.

Meletskov put down the microphone and said solemnly: "Comrades, the current situation is very serious. The troops of the Leningrad Front who crossed the Neva River to meet us were blocked by German tanks and aircraft artillery. By the river. It seems that in order to achieve the meeting of the two armies, we still need the troops of our front army to strengthen the offensive force."

At this moment, the phone in front of General Starikov rang. He picked up the microphone and listened for a while. He became excited and said excitedly: "Good job! Comrade Chief of Staff. Let the troops move forward. , We must seize the high ground, and then bombard the depths of the German defense with artillery fire to reduce the pressure on the troops crossing the river."

Put down the phone. He immediately reported to Meletskov: "Comrade Commander. Good news! My Chief of Staff has just reported to me. The 19th Guards Division’s troops have taken Signavino under the cover of tanks. The first line of defense in the highlands. At present, the commanders and soldiers are continuing to rush towards the second line of defense. The 140th Infantry Brigade is entering the first line of defense, preparing to participate in the final attack on the highlands except for a small number of troops left for repairs. "

"Great!" Regarding this sudden good news, Gagan jumped out to applaud, and at the same time gave Meletskov a suggestion: "Comrade Commander, look. Should we report the results of this battle immediately? To Comrade Stalin."

"Yes, Comrade General." General Starikov also echoed: "At present, the battle is in a stalemate. We should immediately report such good news to the Supreme Command."

Regarding the suggestions of the two men, Meretskov hesitated: "Our troops have just taken the first line of defense, and hurriedly reported victory to Comrade Stalin. If our offensive troops are blocked by the second line of defense, it will be too late. If there is no progress, Comrade Stalin will be criticized."

As soon as they spoke, the two of them were speechless. Everyone knows what Meretskov said is reasonable, although the attack of the 19th Guards Division has gone smoothly. But no one can tell what kind of situation will be encountered next. Stalin is very eager for a victory to come. But if anyone dares to deceive him and lie about the military situation, he will inevitably provoke his thunderous anger, and then he will be removed from his post or go to a military court.

After a while, Meretskov said tactfully: "General Starikov, please wait a while for the matter of reporting victory to Comrade Stalin. What you have to do now is to keep up with Colonel Golovchiner. Keep in touch and keep track of the progress of the battle on the high ground."

Time passed in our uneasy waiting. When the phone in front of General Starikov rang again, he quickly grabbed the microphone and said loudly, "Is Golovchiner Chief of Staff? I am S. Tarikov. How is the situation? The position has been taken down, great! Comrade Chief of Staff, you are really great! I want to give credit to you and the commanders of the 19th Infantry Division of the Guards...."

Having just said this, Meletskov has walked around to his side from the other side of the table and asked in a low voice: "Has our troops already occupied the high ground?"

Starikov didn’t care about covering the microphone, so he replied loudly: “Yes, Comrade Commander, the 19th Guards Division, under the cover of tank troops, has already occupied the second line of defense of the German army and is currently pursuing the suppression. Remnant enemy."

"Put me on the phone." Meretskov said, taking the receiver from Starikov, and said loudly, "Comrade Golovchiner, hello, this is Meretskov. I congratulate you and congratulate you! When I report victory to Comrade Stalin, I will specifically point out that you personally came to the forefront and led the 19th Infantry Division of the Guards to capture the Signavino Heights, which was entrenched by the Germans. The two fronts joined forces and broke the German siege of the city, and made immortal feats. After the battle is over, I will pay you credit and ask Stalin to grant you the honor you deserve."

When I heard Meletskov said that he would personally appeal to Colonel Golovchiner, General Starikov was also very excited, because the honor of the 19th Division of the Guards was also one of his. Take credit.

But Golovchiner's next report poured cold water on him, making his expression serious. The Chief of Staff of the Group Army reported hesitantly: “Comrade General, although only two of the KV tanks that participated in the attack were destroyed by German artillery fire, the remaining ones also failed one after another and could not continue to open the way for the infantry. These tanks are currently parked. Used as a fixed fort on the high ground."

"I understand ~www.wuxiaspot.com~ Comrade Colonel. What you have to do now is to seize the time to rest the troops and strengthen the fortifications to prevent possible German counterattacks."

Putting down the phone, he called Starikov and Gagan to the front of the map again, and began to assign combat missions to them. I listened carefully to every word he said and learned what was useful to me. In fairness, Meletskov is a commander with rich combat experience. Although he is not as capable as Zhukov in commanding operations, the formation of troops is absolutely in line with the rules of the Frunze Military Academy. The standard of the commanding tutorial.

After completing the deployment of the two of Starikov, he called Govolov, the commander of the Leningrad Front, and told him that the Volkhov Front’s troops had captured the Signavino Heights. It is preparing to launch an offensive into the depths of the German defense from three directions at the same time to support the Neva group's battle in the Dubrovka area.

Next, Meletskov and Govorov further studied specific issues such as the movement route of the troops, the time sequence of launching attacks, and the coordination of artillery fire. (To be continued...)

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