Red Moscow

"This doesn't work, and that doesn't work either." Seeing that all the suggestions put forward were rejected without exception, Lunev, who had never said a word, couldn't help being anxious: "Then what should we do?"

As soon as Lunev's words came out, the entire headquarters became silent.

"Commanders, commanders," despite Sukov's usually resourceful appearance, he was also helpless in the face of this kind of thing, so he could only ask everyone with a wry smile, "Do you have any other solutions?"

"Comrade Commander!" At this moment, Lieutenant Colonel Dobrushin, the commander of the 62nd Marine Brigade with the least presence, stood up: "I have an ingenious idea, and I don't know whether to say it or not."

"Lieutenant Colonel Dobrushin!" Sokov said enthusiastically, "We are now thinking of ways to deal with the Germans. You can say whatever comes to your mind. Even if you say something wrong, no one will blame you."

"We can use the method of underwater reconnaissance, let the scouts cross the river from the bottom of the water, sneak into the German defense zone quietly, and carry out effective reconnaissance."

"Underwater reconnaissance?" Sokov asked a little puzzled: "Comrade Lieutenant Colonel, can you be more specific?"

Dobrushin nodded and continued: "We can remove the filter tank in front of the gas mask and connect more bellows to the bellows to make it a long tube. At the end, fix a wooden pontoon.

Once that's done, we can have Scouts don a gas mask, tie bricks to the soles of their feet, and quietly dive into the water. They can breathe through hoses with buoys, along the uneven, muddy river bottom, and enter the German defense zone from the bottom of the water without anyone noticing. "

"This is a good idea." Sokov praised the other party, and said while the iron was hot: "Lieutenant Colonel Dobrushin, there are quite a few sailors in your marine brigade. I believe they are good at swimming. I think this scout Let the mission be completed by your brigade.”

Seeing that his proposal was approved by Sokov, Dobrushin showed a look of joy on his face. He quickly stood up and replied in a loud voice: "Comrade commander, please rest assured that my subordinates will definitely Can successfully complete the reconnaissance mission."

If it was before, seeing Dobrushin take over the reconnaissance mission in a big way, the rest of the division commanders would definitely complain and even sing against him. But this time after Sokov's order was issued, no one expressed any disagreement. It seemed that everyone felt that to complete this kind of underwater reconnaissance mission, the sailors of the Marine Brigade were undoubtedly the best candidates.

"Comrade Lieutenant Colonel," Sokov said to Dobrushin, "Our army will soon launch an attack on Belgorod, so you must race against time to figure out the enemy's defense situation in the city and report back as soon as possible. , so that we can formulate a corresponding attack plan according to the situation of the German troops in the city."

"Comrade Commander, don't worry." Dobrushin assured Sokov, "As soon as I return to the brigade, I must arrange capable fighters to carry out this important reconnaissance mission."

The task of reconnaissance is great, and the next step is the problem of artillery cover.

"Comrade artillery commanders," Sokov's gaze this time rested on the two commanders of the First Artillery Division and the Second Artillery Division, "If we want to attack the city from the west of Belgorod, , Can your artillery preparations destroy the German coastal fortifications in the first place?"

Hearing Sokov's question, the two artillery division commanders looked at each other, Colonel Terenga, the commander of the First Artillery Division, stood up and said solemnly: "Comrade commander, you need to know that if artillery fire is needed to destroy a certain target , First of all, the artillery needs to know the specific location of the target, so that we can achieve the purpose of destroying the target when we conduct shelling."

"I understand." Sukov heard the tone of Terenka's words, nodded and said: "Once Lieutenant Colonel Dobrushin's subordinates complete their reconnaissance mission, I will give priority to letting you artillerymen know the enemy's firepower." distribution."

"That's a good relationship," Terenga said with a smile on his face, "As long as we can know the exact location of the enemy's firepower, then we can completely destroy the German fortifications in the first round of shelling and cover our infantry to cross the river smoothly." .”

As soon as he mentioned crossing the river, Sokov immediately thought of the river with a width of 150 meters. If the bridges were not seized and the troops were only transported by boats, not only would the number of people crossing the river be limited each time, but it would also be impossible to allow tanks, including tanks, to cross the river. heavy weapons across the river. Thinking of this, he turned his head and asked Sameko: "Chief of Staff, if the enemy blows up the bridge on the river after our offensive begins, what can you do to transport the tanks and artillery to the other side of the river?"

"Comrade Commander," Faced with Sokov's troublesome question, Sameko was not worried at all. He turned his eyes to an elderly lieutenant colonel and said with a smile: "This professional As for the question, I think it’s better for the Chief Engineer to answer your question. I believe his answer will satisfy you.”

Hearing that Sameko ordered his own life, the elderly lieutenant colonel quickly stood up and replied respectfully: "Comrade commander, as long as our vanguard successfully crosses and establishes a landing field on the opposite bank, even if the bridge on the river is destroyed by the enemy If it is blown off, our engineers can build a pontoon bridge on the river within an hour."

Although the director of the engineering corps has made it clear that the erection of the pontoon bridge can be completed in a short period of time, Sokov still asked uneasy: "Can your pontoon bridge allow tanks and heavy artillery to pass?"

"Yes, Comrade Commander, it is absolutely possible." In order to make Sokov confident in himself, the director of engineering continued: "In order to allow the troops to pass quickly, we can use a two-pronged approach, while sending people to repair the bridges that were blown up by the Germans." , while choosing a location with a smooth water flow to build a pontoon bridge. This will prevent infantry, tanks, and artillery from rushing across the river."

"Comrade Director of the Engineering Corps," Sokov waited for the other party to finish speaking, nodded with a smile, and said to him in an approving tone: "You are very thoughtful, if you can set up a barrier in time for the passage of infantry and technical equipment Bridge, when the battle is over, you and your troops will be rewarded."

A few years ago, Lieutenant Paul was honored on the hospital bed and was promoted to the rank of captain, which had long been spread within the group army. As the mid-level commander in the group army, the director of the engineering corps naturally knew about it. Hearing Sokov's promise at this moment, he couldn't help feeling ecstatic, but he still tried his best to control his emotions, and tried to say to Sokov in a calm tone: "Comrade commander, don't worry, after the battle starts , my engineering unit will never let you down."

The meeting continued for a while. Sameko felt that the details to be discussed were basically discussed, so he approached Sokov and asked in a low voice: "Comrade Commander, the meeting is almost over. Do you think it is time to adjourn the meeting?"

Seeing that Sokov nodded in agreement, Sameko stood up and said to the commanders attending the meeting: "Comrades, today's meeting ends here. After you go back, you will start to work according to the results of the discussion. All kinds of preparations. Before the battle officially starts, Comrade Commander and I will personally insist on the completion of your work. Well, let’s adjourn the meeting now.”

…………

Dobrushin returned to the brigade headquarters, called his most trusted commander of the third battalion, and said to him: "Comrade major, the commander ordered our brigade to send scouts to the opposite bank to conduct reconnaissance and find out the situation of the German army's defenses. , indicating the target for the artillery."

The third battalion commander waited for Dobrushin to finish speaking, and immediately said: "Comrade Brigadier, according to my observations, the enemy is closely monitoring the river. In addition to searchlights shining on the river from time to time, there are also patrol boats cruising on the river. .If we send scouts across the river, whether we are rowing or swimming, we may be spotted by the enemy."

"Comrade Major, don't worry, I have already considered what you said." Facing the worries of the third battalion commander, Dobrushin said with a smile: "It is indeed easy to be spotted by the enemy if you walk on the river, but if you Our scouts go under the water, so the enemy can't find them."

"Go through the bottom of the water?" The third battalion commander was taken aback for a moment, and then said pleasantly: "Comrade brigade commander, this is a good way. It happens that there are some soldiers in my battalion who used to be divers. Let them carry out this task." It's a perfect fit for the mission. But where are we supposed to borrow diving equipment? You know, there's no fleet around."

"Comrade Major, we don't have professional diving equipment. We can use simple diving equipment."

"Simple diving equipment?" The third battalion commander asked in confusion: "Comrade brigade commander, I would like to ask, what kind of simple diving equipment is it?"

"Simple diving equipment is to remove the filter tank in front of the gas mask, lengthen the bellows and fix them with screws, and fix a wooden buoy at the end of the bellows, so that our soldiers can breathe underwater through the gas masks.

As a senior sailor of the third battalion, after listening to Dobrushin, he instinctively thought of a key question: "Comrade brigade commander, the problem of underwater breathing has been solved, but what about the weighted shoes? Wearing weighted shoes, you can't walk very far, you will be floating on the water, and there is a risk of exposure."

"Comrade Major, I have considered your concerns a long time ago." Dobrushin said to the commander of the third battalion: "We can let the soldiers tie bricks on the soles of their feet, so that not only can they replace the weighted shoes, but also prevent Soldiers got stuck walking in the mud."

Seeing that Dobrushin had already considered this problem and came up with a solution, the commander of the third battalion felt a lot more at ease, and he quickly straightened his body and asked, "Comrade brigade commander, when should our battalion send out scouts? "