Burning Moscow

It is very easy to give orders to subordinate troops. But when the troops were mobilized, something unexpected happened. In the 308th Division stationed in the city of Vornovakha, the commanders and fighters were stationed in the surrounding villages in units of companies or battalions. Since the communication equipment was only equipped to the battalion level, after receiving the order, Gurtyev had to send a large number of people on motorcycles or trucks to convey the departure order to the companies that did not have communication equipment.

At noon the next day, when the 22nd Guards Division, the Tank Brigade, the Artillery Regiment, and the 171st Infantry Division had all pulled out to the designated locations, Gurtiyev's troops had not yet completed the assembly.

After reading the telegram sent by Akhromeyev, Vitkov was so angry that he took off his military cap, fell on the table fiercely, and said cursingly: "Damn, this Gurtyev What do you want to do? The order to start was issued last night, but now more than ten hours have passed, and their division has not yet assembled. If he misses the opportunity, wouldn't he be afraid of going to a military court?"

I stared at the map on the table, quietly considering the various possible situations. After Vitkov had finished speaking, I called Akhromeyev in front of him and told him: "Major, you go to Gu General Ertiyev sent a telegram, asking him to immediately lead the assembled troops to the designated location, leaving the political commissar Lieutenant Colonel Svirin to continue to gather the troops." At this point, I lowered my voice, as if talking to myself. I also want to say to everyone: "Although the straight-line distance from Vornovaja to Poloy is not far, but with such a heavy snow, the troop’s marching speed will be greatly affected, and there will be three more passes on the road. A small town occupied by the German army. Not to mention the capture of Poloy before dark, it’s even a question of whether it can get there."

After Akhromeyev left, Vitkov put the military cap that had been thrown on the table back on his head. Sitting at the table again, he asked me for instructions: "Comrade commander, this won't work. If the 308th Division is delayed too long, then the defenders of Poloy will take the opportunity to strengthen their defenses. Increase our siege. Difficulty. If Manstein deploys reinforcements from other places to strengthen Kuban’s defenders, then our next battle will be difficult to fight."

"Yes, Comrade Oshanina." Kirilov also helped. "From your new order to the departure of Gurtyev’s 308th Division, it will take an hour at the earliest, plus delays on the way. It’s impossible to complete the plan to capture the city of Poroy before dark. Do you think that after the 22nd Guards Division captures Huli Eberle, let General Bantai Leyev send troops south to attack Poirot? Yi?"

Although the affairs of Akhromeyev and Pougachev made me feel bad about Pantaiyev, under the current circumstances, the division is still the most powerful unit in our army, with continuous The ability to fight, otherwise Kirilov would not specifically make such a proposal to me.

I stared at the map without saying a word for a long time, and felt that Kirilov’s proposal had some truth, but if it was really implemented. But it's not necessarily as easy as we imagined. Although the German army has only one company in the cities of Hulière and Boroy, if we cannot follow the plan, we will attack the two cities at the same time. If Manstein has a vigilant heart, the next battle will be difficult to fight.

I thought for a long time, and finally made a difficult decision. I raised my head and said to Vitkov: "Comrade Chief of Staff, send a telegram to General Bantai Leyev, and transfer Major Godunov’s New Third Regiment to the south. With the cooperation of Major Perskin’s tank battalion, To capture the city of Boroy." Although I know that it is a taboo to divide the troops before the battle begins, in order to occupy and consolidate our starting position as soon as possible, I can only bite the bullet and take this risk.

"What happens after taking Poloy?" Vitkov listened to me. Immediately asked with concern: "Let the New Third Regiment stay in the city to take charge of defense?"

"The New Third Regiment is composed of assault engineer battalions with strong combat effectiveness. Their specialty is siege and land grabbing rather than passive defense." Regarding Vitkov's proposal. I immediately refused without hesitation: "In addition to leaving a company in the city waiting for the troops of the 308th Division to take over, the regiment’s main force and tank battalion continued to move south. Find a suitable area to launch a battle formation and be responsible for guarding. Possibly from Tokmak’s German armored units."

In the evening, the battle reports from the front line came back one after another. Since our main attack direction is the city of Hulière and Boroy, the reconnaissance is also mainly concentrated in these two directions. Unexpectedly, the 308th Division encountered a sudden attack from the small German troops stationed in the small town while advancing towards the city of Poroy. After the troops were hit, the entire marching queue was disrupted, and the commander was unable to organize an effective counterattack in a short period of time. Only after watching the Germans bite us hard, they calmly withdrew from the battle. .

Within four hours, the 308th Division exchanged fire with small German troops seventeen times, killing 29 German officers and soldiers, while our side suffered 315 casualties. When I saw such a battle report, I was so angry that I slapped the telegram on the table, resisting the urge to curse, and walked back and forth in the room with my back on my back.

"Comrade Commander," Pugachev's voice suddenly came from the door, and I stopped and turned my head to look in the direction of the sound, only to see the new combat division walk in with a smile of joy. Seeing that I noticed him, he raised a piece of paper in his hand at me and said loudly to me: "Comrade Commander, good news. Major Godunov has called in a telegram that the new three regiments he led have succeeded. The city of Poroy has been captured, and all the defenders in the city have been cleared."

When I took the telegram in his hand, I asked casually: "How is the situation with General Bantai Leyev? Has the city of Huliebele been taken down?" Thinking of the strength of a regiment of Godunov, Can easily capture the city of Poroy, then the troops led by Bantai Leyev, consisting of the first regiment, the second regiment, and the tank brigade and artillery regiment, occupying the city of Huliebele is even more of a piece of cake. Up.

Unexpectedly, after listening to my question, Pugachev slowly shook his head and replied: "According to the latest battle report, the city of Huliebele is still in fierce fighting. The German army just reinforced reinforcements at noon today. The strength of two companies was lost, and our scouts did not discover this in time. So that the current battle is stuck."

Hearing the unexpected news, I just sighed and didn't mean to blame Captain Trafkin in the slightest. After all, their reconnaissance area is too large, and the small-scale mobilization of the German army. It is entirely possible that they are in their blind spot for reconnaissance. I glanced at the telegram, handed it to Vitkov, who was standing next to him, and asked Pugachev: "Major, where is the 171st Division of Colonel Andryushenko?"

"Report to the commander that they have reached the northeast of the city of Huliebele and are on standby." Pughachev knew that I would not suddenly ask where a unit was, and would definitely have my own consideration. So after reporting the whereabouts of the 171st Division. Then he asked curiously: "Do you have a new arrangement for them?"

"Major Pugachev, since they are not far from Poloy city, then you should report to Colonel Andryuschenko. Let him immediately lead the troops south to take over the defense of Poloy city." Here, I felt like I was a little indifferent to Gurtiyev’s 308th Division, and then said, “After the defense is completed, let the colonel transfer the 149th Infantry Regiment to the 308th Division.”

Seeing Pughachev's departure, Vitkov said with emotion: "Comrade Commander, this way. Maybe the divisions' defense positions will be re-adjusted."

I nodded and said affirmatively: "Yes, Comrade Chief of Staff. That's for sure. Let the 171st Division and the 308th Division swap the defenses. As for the 22nd Guards Division, it doesn’t matter whether it can be captured tonight. The city of Hulière must launch an attack on the city of Kuban tomorrow."

"Understood." Hearing what I said, Vitkov said immediately: "I will give your order to the troops as soon as possible." He raised the telegram that I had just handed him, adding: "In Gaidar. The four regiments of the school, after clearing out the remnants of the German army in Fulda, left a company to defend. The main force of the regiment also set off overnight and rushed to the city of Huliebele."

The battle of Pantai Leyev's division attacking the city of Huli Eberle. It ended at two in the morning, except for a few German troops who escaped. The remaining defenders were either killed or captured alive. Pantai Leyev sent a telegram asking me for instructions. Say the troops are too tired, do you take a break for one or two days before launching an offensive on Cuban?

After reading it, I handed the telegram to Kirilov and asked noncommitantly: "Comrade Political Commissar, General Bantaiyev requested that the attack on Kuban be postponed for one or two days. How do you think about it?"

"No, absolutely not." Kirilov put forward his own objection without thinking, and said angrily: "Tonight's battle, due to the enemy's unexpected reinforcements, caused our troops to suffer a great loss. If so, Resting on the existing positions for a day or two is equivalent to giving the Germans in Kuban and Zaporos time to deploy, which is quite detrimental to our next battle. I suggest immediately generating power for Bantai Leyev. , Told him that the original order remains unchanged and the 22nd Guards Division must launch an attack on Cuban tomorrow morning."

"Comrade Chief of Staff," I saw Vitkov standing in a daze after listening to Kirilov's words, so I told him straightforwardly: "Immediately give General Pantai Lev a generator, saying that his request was Rejected. The original offensive plan remains unchanged. The 22nd Guards Division must launch an offensive on Cuban tomorrow morning."

When the day came on February 13, the 308th Infantry Division, after a night of fierce fighting, finally arrived at the new stationing location-Huliebele City. They will rest and rehabilitate here and will be responsible for covering the approach to the attack on Cuban. The right wing of the 22nd Guardian Division.

After hearing the news that the 22nd Guards Division had launched an attack on Kuban, I asked Akhromeyev: "Comrade Major, how is the situation in Poroy?"

As the chief of staff and chief of intelligence, Akhromeyev was already thoroughly familiar with these situations. Hearing my question at this moment, he hurriedly stepped forward and reported to me: "Comrade commander, the city of Boroy and its surroundings The villages and small towns in the country are all under the control of Andryuschenko’s 171st Division."

"What about Major Godunov's Third Regiment, and Captain Trafkin's reconnaissance unit?" I then asked.

"Reporting to the commander, Major Godunov’s troops and Trafkin’s reconnaissance troops merged in order to create favorable conditions for the organization of defenses and prevent a possible German surprise attack on the city of Poloy. Godunov asked Tokmak sent two powerful reconnaissance teams."

"Two powerful reconnaissance units?" Hearing this, Witkov couldn't help but curiously asked: "Comrade Major, I want to hear what kind of units are they. Can they block the attack of the German armored units?"

Akhromeyev turned around and said to Vitkov: "Comrade Chief of Staff, the two reconnaissance detachments sent by Major Godunov, one consists of 10 tanks and an infantry company on board. Commanded by Captain Trafkin; the other one consisted of 8 tanks and an infantry company, commanded by Major Perskin."

"That said, Godunov split the tank battalion of Major Perskin and used it." Hearing this ~www.wuxiaspot.com~Kirilov said: "Comrade Commander, I think Godu Major Nov’s arrangement is very correct. You must know that what he is commanding is a powerful assault engineer whose combat effectiveness far exceeds that of ordinary combat troops. I think it is appropriate for them to prevent a sudden German attack from being launched. "

Regarding Kirilov’s statement, I nodded in agreement and added: “Major Godunov’s arrangement is very suitable, but the remaining troops in his hand cannot stay in place and do nothing. They should find a suitable location to build a defense. Fortifications. You must know that if the German armored units of Tokmak were to be dispatched, it would be very difficult to block the enemy just by sending two reconnaissance detachments.” At this point, I looked at Akhromeyev and said. : "Major, go and give my latest order to Major Godunov immediately."

After Akhromeyev left, I fixed my eyes on the map and said to the remaining people: "I sent troops to cover both the left and right wings of the Pantaiyev Division, so that they can be Unscrupulously launched an attack on Kuban." Although I said it lightly, I still feel uneasy about whether Pantai Lev can successfully seize Kuban.

"Comrade commander, don't worry." Perhaps seeing that I still have scruples about this battle, Vitkov unexpectedly comforted me: "With the combat power of the 22nd Guards Division, plus the tank brigade and artillery. With the cooperation of the regiment, there is no problem in capturing Cuban.” (To be continued)