Red Moscow

The fighting power displayed by the two new female fighter squadrons has greatly exceeded everyone's expectations. In just two days, they successively shot down fifteen aircraft and damaged six aircraft, while their own side suffered no losses.

After Rokossovsky learned of the results of the women's fighter squadron, he also called Sokov specifically. He smiled and said: "Misha, I think your luck is really good. I was worried that I would add two women's squadrons to you. At best, it would be better than nothing, and it would not have much effect at all. Who knows that in just two days , so great results have been achieved.”

"Comrade Commander of the Front Army," Sokov waited for Rokossovsky to finish, and said with a smile: "We have interrogated the captured German pilots. According to their confessions, after learning that the White Rose of Stalingrad appeared, , all the pilots seemed very panicked, deeply afraid that they would encounter Lieutenant Lilia."

"The white rose of Stalingrad?" Rokossovsky couldn't help asking curiously when he heard this: "What's going on, what is the connection with Lieutenant Lilia? Why are German pilots afraid of her? "

Although Rokossovsky is the commander of the front army, he doesn't know many things at all. Sokov quickly explained to him: "Lieutenant Lilia shot down many German planes in the air battle, including theirs. Including the ace of her ace. Because the lilies were painted on both sides of her fuselage, but the enemy mistook it for a white rose, so she was nicknamed the 'White Rose of Stalingrad'."

"So that's the case." Rokossovsky nodded, and then finished: "I heard that she is the first Queen's pilot in our army, no matter what, you must ensure her safety, understand ?”

Sokov remembered that Lilia died in 1943, but he couldn't remember the exact date. In order to prevent this beautiful white rose from withering, Sokov decided to use his ability to protect the life of the other party with all his strength. Hearing what Rokossovsky said at this moment, he quickly and loudly replied: "Don't worry, Comrade Commander of the Front Army, I believe that the pilots of the aviation division will protect her safety as much as they love their eyes."

"Misha, according to the information we obtained from our reconnaissance." Rokossovsky continued to ask Sokov: "The officers and soldiers of the Imperial Division and the Skeleton Division can only get 300 grams of bread a day. It seems that your blockade is Very effective."

Sokov couldn't help but smile when he heard Rokossovsky's praise. Rokossovsky asked again: "When are you going to launch an attack on the enemy?"

"Tomorrow, Comrade Front Army Commander." Sokov quickly replied, "Our troops are ready to attack and will launch an attack on the enemy's position at six o'clock tomorrow morning."

Rokossovsky didn't ask about the specific offensive steps, because he knew very well that according to Sokov's character, he would definitely adjust the combat deployment according to the specific situation on the battlefield. He only said one sentence into the microphone: "Then I wish you good luck!" After finishing speaking, he hung up the phone directly.

Seeing Sokov put down the phone, Witkov asked him for instructions: "Comrade Commander, do you need to prepare for artillery fire before tomorrow's attack?" According to Witkov's thinking, Sokov always believed that the artillery fire before the attack Preparation is a kind of waste. It consumes a lot of shells. Not only can it not destroy many enemy fortifications, but it can't kill a few enemies. It is better to use the shells in more important places.

Unexpectedly, just after he finished speaking, Sokov nodded unexpectedly, and then said: "Before the attack tomorrow morning, you can prepare for ten minutes of artillery fire."

"What, you need ten minutes of artillery preparation before the attack tomorrow?" Hearing what Sokov said, Vitkov couldn't help being stunned. Wasted in this senseless shelling? Why did you suddenly change your mind this time?"

Lunev on the side listened, and asked Vitkov curiously: "Chief of Staff, the artillery preparation before the attack is to destroy the enemy's fortifications and kill the enemy's vital forces. How can it be said that it is a waste of shells?"

"Comrade Military Commissar, let me explain this to you." Seeing Lunev's curious question, Sokov explained to him: "Usually when our army's shelling starts, the enemies in the first line of defense, They will retreat to the second line of defense. After the bombardment of our army is over, they will return to the first line of defense to block our attack. So don't look at our army blowing up the enemy's position before a large-scale attack There was a sea of ​​fire, but there were not many enemies on that position, and our artillery shells could only destroy some insignificant fortifications, and did not cause much damage to the enemy."

Lunev, who knew the truth for the first time, couldn't help being stunned after listening to Sokov's explanation. After a long time, he tentatively asked Sokov: "Comrade Commander, according to what you said, our army's artillery preparations for the enemy's positions before each large-scale attack are of no use at all?"

"It can't be said that, if thousands of artillery shells are fired at the same time and bombard the enemy's positions, some of the enemy's defensive positions can still be destroyed." Sokov continued: "Once the fortifications are destroyed, those enemies who return from the second line of defense , It was too late to rush to repair the fortifications, and our troops rushed up."

"Oh, so that's the case." After listening to Lunev, he nodded thoughtfully, and said, "No wonder I checked your battle records every time, and basically didn't mention how long it took before the attack. Artillery preparations, it turns out that you have never prepared for artillery fire at all."

"Comrade Commander," Vitkov saw that Sokov did not answer his own question, so he raised his question again: "Since we have never used artillery preparation in our previous attacks, why did we use it this time? "

"Comrade Chief of Staff, as a commander, we must know how to adjust tactics in a timely manner according to the situation on the battlefield." Sokov explained to Vitkov and Lunev: "The enemy on the first line of defense , when being bombarded by our army, it will definitely move to the second line of defense. I plan to order the artillery fire to extend the fire after ten minutes of shelling, so that the enemy will think that our offensive is about to start, and wait for them to return from the second line of defense When the time comes, use new rockets to attack them. In this way, a large number of enemy infantry can be wiped out."

"That's right, that's a good idea." Regarding what Sokov said, Vitkov only thought for a moment before realizing the advantages of this tactic, and said excitedly: "Usually when our army's artillery fires extended fire , it means that the infantry will start to attack. The enemy is very familiar with our tactics. When they see the extension of our artillery fire, they must think that our army is preparing to attack. Block us. At this time, our army surprises us with rocket attacks, which can wipe out a large number of the enemy's vital forces and make the next battle easier."

"Comrade Commander," Witkov patted the map twice, and said regretfully, "I think if the troops deployed in the north were not the 67th Guards Division but the 41st Guards Division, maybe we The attack launched can become more smooth. As long as they quickly detour to the back of the Skeleton Division, they can cut off the enemy's retreat. If we are lucky, we can wipe out these two elite divisions of the German army."

"Yes, I also regret it. I didn't think carefully at the time." Sokov took the commanders and fighters of the 41st Guards Division and withdrew from behind the enemy. , It will definitely cause more casualties, so he took his own initiative and transferred his troops to the defense area of ​​the 71st Guards Division. Now that he was about to launch a counterattack against the German army, he discovered that the enemy the 41st Guards Division was facing was the Skeleton Division.

However, it is already done, and it is too late to change. If the troops are mobilized at this moment, it will cause unnecessary chaos. So Sokov said to Vitkov: "Chief of Staff, according to the original plan, the 67th Guards Division of Major General Merkulov launched an attack on the Imperial Division. An hour after their battle began, nearly The 41st Guards Division then launched an attack on the Skeleton Division's defense zone."

As a soldier, what I am most happy to see is that my troops continue to attack the enemy one after another. Therefore, when he heard Sokov's order, Witkov responded very loudly.

The next day it became clear that two minutes before six o'clock, Colonel Miyakotin, the commander of the artillery division, called Sokov and asked Sokov for instructions: "Comrade commander, when will we start shelling the enemy's positions? "

"Is everything ready?"

"Ready."

"Very good," Sokov raised his hand and looked at the watch on his wrist, and said to Miyakotin, "Now there is still one minute and thirty seconds before the shelling starts. Order your subordinates to get ready."

As soon as Sokov's voice fell, he heard Miyakotin's voice giving orders on the other end of the phone: "The shelling will start soon, order all the artillery positions to be ready to fire."

When the minute pointed to the position of twelve, Sokov yelled suddenly: "Fire!"

"Yes!" Colonel Miyakotin on the other end of the phone replied loudly, and then conveyed the order to fire to the subordinates around him.

After just a dozen seconds, there was rumbling gunfire outside. More than 80 artillery pieces of different calibers pieced together by the Artillery Division fired at the German positions outside the town of Roginsik. For a while, clouds of black smoke rose from the enemy's position from time to time, and the splashing muddy water turned the German officers and soldiers in the trenches into mud monkeys.

"Retreat, retreat quickly!" The German battalion commander on the ground heard the explosion sounded outside, and quickly gave orders to his subordinates: "Retreat to the second line of defense immediately!"

In fact, even if the German battalion commander didn't shout, the German officers and soldiers on the ground knew what to do. It's just that after the battalion commander gave the order, their retreat became more legitimate. In less than two minutes, more than 400 German soldiers on the position retreated along the traffic trench to the fortification near the town.

Merkulov held up the binoculars and looked at the German positions that were being shelled in the distance. He said to the chief of staff standing aside: "Tell the commander of the 196th regiment that if you encounter fire suppression from above the church again, Let friendly forces destroy it with bazookas."

"Understood, Comrade Commander." The chief of staff quickly replied, "I will pass on your order to the past."

Ten minutes passed in a flash, and the artillery fire of the artillery division began to extend to the enemy's second line of defense. The German battalion commander, who was hiding in the second line of defense, saw that the Soviet artillery fire began to extend, and quickly issued an order to his subordinates, telling them to return to their original positions immediately, preparing to stop the upcoming Soviet attack.

But what the German battalion commander didn't expect was that after he led the troops back to the front line, he didn't see the attacking Soviet commanders and fighters, but what he welcomed were more than a dozen rockets with long flame tails. In an instant, the German battalion commander and his men were shrouded in dazzling flames and choking smoke.

As a red flare rises into the air, the attack begins. The commanders and fighters who had been waiting for a long time jumped out of the fortifications where they were hiding, shouted "Ula" loudly, and rushed towards the enemy's position.

Sokov and Lunev were in an observation post not far away, using binoculars to carefully observe the troops charging forward. Although he knew that it was basically impossible to wipe out all the enemies in the fortifications with those dozen or so rockets, but he still had a chance in his heart, hoping that the commanders and fighters would be able to recover before the enemy recovered from the shelling. Successfully rushed into the enemy's trenches.

When the attacking troops were more than 50 meters away from the enemy's trenches, there was a sudden burst of gunfire from the position. The commanders and fighters who rushed to the front fell down in pieces like cut wheat, and the rest of the soldiers quickly fell to the ground. Lie down and shoot at the enemy.

However, these fighters with rich combat experience did not just lie on the spot and shoot, but also kept throwing grenades. When the enemy's sight was blocked by the smoke of the explosion, they quickly climbed up from the ground and adopted the tactics of short leaps. , quickly approaching the enemy's position.

Soon, some soldiers approached the 20-meter bombing position. When they threw grenades one after another into the enemy's trench, the sound of shooting in some areas stopped. The soldiers took advantage of this short time to quickly jump from the ground, rush into the trench not far away, and start a hand-to-hand battle with the enemies inside.

Seeing more and more commanders and fighters jumping into the trenches, Sokov felt that there was no problem in seizing the position, so he picked up the phone and connected the artillery division: "Hey, Colonel Miyakotin, Guards The troops of the 67th Division should have no problem capturing enemy positions. Now, your division will move west immediately to establish new artillery positions to provide artillery cover for the 41st and 71st Guards Divisions attacking the Skeleton Division."

"Understood, Comrade Commander, our artillery will be transferred immediately." After putting down the phone, Miyakotin immediately ordered the artillery chief of staff on the side: "The commander ordered us to transfer immediately and rush to the west to establish a new artillery position. Cover the infantry to launch an attack on the Skeleton Division. Hurry up, there are less than forty minutes left, and our shelling will begin."