Red Moscow

But before the call, the chief of staff asked Tsvetayev another question: "Comrade Commander, before I call, there is an urgent problem that needs to be resolved."

"what is the problem?"

The chief of staff glanced at Sokov, and then continued: "The two troops are fighting in the same area, and there must be a unified command. Now the 300th Division does not belong to our army system. After the 87th Division is transferred, it is their command. What about us, or do we command them?"

When Tsvetayev heard the words of the chief of staff, he felt that it made sense. After nodding slightly, he asked Sokov curiously: "General Sokov, tell me, who should command the two troops deployed in the same area?" Who will fight?"

"General Tsvetaye, I don't think this should be a headache." Sokov replied with a smile: "Although it is a coordinated operation, it does not attack the enemy's defense zone at the same time. There should be no need for a unified command." The reason why I ask you to send troops to this area is just to prevent the strength of the 300th Division from being insufficient to block the attack of the Viking Division. The task of the 87th Division is to send troops to support the 300th Division when the situation is critical."

"Comrade Chief of Staff," Tsvetayev said to his chief of staff after Sokov finished speaking: "Have you heard what General Sokov said? The 87th Division used to assist friendly forces in defense, not to attack the enemy." A joint attack does not require any unified command. You immediately call the 87th Division and ask them to go to the Fesky collective farm as soon as possible."

Seeing that Tsvetayev was not angry about the 300th Division, on the contrary, he was quite cooperative, Sokov couldn't help but be full of doubts: "Comrade General, are you really not angry with me?"

Tsvetaev asked back with a smile: "General Sokov, why am I angry with you?"

"Because of me, the superior assigned the 300th Division to our command." Sokov knew that he would never hide from Tsvetayev that he forcibly recruited friendly troops, so he simply said truthfully: "Aren't you angry? ?”

"To be honest, when I first heard the news, I was very angry." Since Sokov was honest with himself, Tsvetayev did not hide it. After he told Sokov to sit down, he continued He continued: "But I quickly figured it out. The higher-ups assigned the 300th Division to your command. There must be a comprehensive consideration. Even if I get angry, I can't change the established facts. You are a legend in our army. I think there are only advantages and no disadvantages in being on good terms with you. Are you, General Sokov?"

Sokov didn't know how to interface, so he just grinned.

"General Sokov, you may not know yet. In a while, our army will be transferred from the Voronezh Front to the Southern Front." Tsvetayev reminded Sokov, "If you have any coordinated operations Suggestion, it is best to put forward it now. Otherwise, when we are transferred to the Southern Front Army and then want to cooperate, I am afraid it will not be as easy as it is now."

Sokov deeply agrees with Tsvetayev's statement. I am familiar with Zhukov, and Zhukov can speak for himself in front of Vatutin, so the 300th Division can be placed under his command so easily. If the assault group army was placed under the command of the southern front army, he would not even have the opportunity to communicate.

He asked cautiously: "General Tsvetayev, is the news that you are about to transfer to the Southern Front reliable?"

"Reliable, completely reliable." Tsvetayev said in an affirmative tone: "We have heard the wind, and we will be transferred to the Southern Front by the end of this month at the latest."

Knowing that the Assault Army would be placed under the command of the Southern Front Army, Sokov was somewhat disappointed. Originally, this army was close to him, and it could still serve as an Olympic aid. If they were really transferred, then he would have one less army to rely on. Thinking of this, he continued to ask Tsvetayev: "Comrade General, can you tell me about the deployment of your army?"

The chief of staff, who had just finished the call, heard Sokov's question and immediately asked vigilantly, "General Sokov, why are you asking this?"

From the tone of the chief of staff, Sokov realized that his words had caused ambiguity to the other party, so he explained: "The thing is, the reason why I want to know about your deployment is because you are adjacent to our combat area." " He pointed at the map on the table with his hand, and said to everyone: "We have just opened up a landing field on the east bank of the Ude River, but we don't have enough troops to launch an attack from there. If we can get your help, trust us Combined forces will be the first to storm Kharkov."

As a senior general, Tsvetayev is much more informed than Sokov. Not long ago, he heard that the first divisions that rushed into Belgorod and the divisions with outstanding results would be awarded to Belgorod. The honorary title of Master Rhodes. His troops had already missed the battle to liberate Belgorod, and now the result of capturing Kharkov was in front of him, and he was not willing to give up easily.

Thinking of this, he said to Sokov: "General Sokov, what can we do for you?"

Sokov picked up the red and blue pencils on the table, pointed at the second landing site with the tip, and said to Tsvetayev: "Comrade General, if you can move your troops to this area, you will be able to strengthen our forces." Attack force."

"General Sokov, I don't think you chose a good place to cross the river." Before Tsvetayev could speak, his chief of staff said first: "This area is the widest part of the Ude River. , but there is no bridge to cross the troops. Even if a pontoon bridge is erected, the enemy's artillery and aircraft will blow it up. In other words, our commanders and fighters can only cross the river by boat, and they cannot carry heavy weapons."

"Yes, General Sokov." Tsvetayev expressed support for the chief of staff's statement: "If heavy weapons such as tanks and artillery cannot be transported across the river, I am afraid that no matter how many infantry we have in the past, Nor is it a match for the German armored forces."

"General Tsvetayev, you can rest assured about this." Sokov saw that Tsvetayev was a little moved by his plan, but his only concern was that he could not cross the river with tanks and artillery, so he comforted him. : "We have special transport vehicles that can transport tanks and artillery there."

Hearing what Sokov said, Tsvetayev asked in surprise, "Did you get a large barge?"

"No." Sokov shook his head and said, "Except for some small wooden boats that can carry people, there are no large barges at all."

"There is no barge, so how can we transport the tank there?" Tsvetayev reminded Sokov: "You must know that the wooden boat cannot bear the weight of dozens of tons."

"General Tsvetayev," Sokov said with a smile on his face, "you don't have to worry about this. We have special transport vehicles that can transport such large weapons and equipment."

When Tsvetayev saw Sokov mentioning the special means of transport again, he couldn't help asking curiously: "General Sokov, I don't know what the special means of transport you are talking about?"

Although many people now know the existence of hovercraft, Sokov still wants to keep this secret. He can only say vaguely: "General Tsvetayev, if you want to see it, I can take it personally." You go to see our new means of transport. What do you think?"

Faced with Sokov's invitation, Tsvetayev, who was eager to see it, had no reason not to agree, and quickly nodded and said: "Okay, General Sokov, then I will follow you to have a look. "

Sokov glanced out the window and found that it was dawn, so he asked tentatively: "General Tsvetayev, if we set off now, won't we be attacked by the Germans?"

"General Sokov, you can rest assured." Tsvetayev comforted Sokov and said, "Now the air supremacy of the battlefield near here is firmly in the hands of our air force. Forget it. If they appear, our air force will take them all down without hesitation."

On the way to the new landing site, as Tsvetayev said, there were Soviet fighter planes and attack planes patrolling in the sky, and there were no traces of enemy planes at all, but Sokov still did not dare to relax his vigilance and was ready at any time Be prepared to jump out of the car in case of an air attack.

When we arrived at the Oud River, it was a busy scene, and the hovercraft was transporting commanders, technical equipment and various military supplies to the opposite bank in batches. The shells fired by the German artillery fell into the river and exploded, setting off jets of water that soared into the sky. However, the speed of the hovercraft is very fast, and these shells fired without a target cannot hit the target accurately at all.

Seeing the convoy appearing here, soldiers on duty immediately stepped forward to question them. But when he saw Sokov coming out of the car, he quickly took a step back, stood at attention and saluted Sokov.

"Comrade soldier," Sokov called a soldier who was very close to him, and asked politely, "Do you know where your division commander is?"

"Yes, Comrade Commander." The soldier replied respectfully, "Please allow me to lead the way for you."

When Sokov appeared at the headquarters of Major General Gritsenko, the other party was assigning tasks to his commanders. Seeing Sokov's sudden appearance, he couldn't help being taken aback, and quickly asked, "Comrade Commander, what instructions do you have?"

"General Gritsenko," Sokov asked while shaking hands with the other party: "How is your situation here?"

"The enemy is constantly attacking the landing field on the east bank." Gritsenko reported: "But our fighters stubbornly blocked the enemy's attack."

"Is there any difficulty?"

"There are difficulties, Comrade Commander." Gritsenko glanced at Tsvetayev who was standing behind Sokov, and said with some hesitation: "At present, there are no tanks that can be transported to the east bank to face the German armored forces." Assault, our casualties are a bit high."

Sokov noticed that Gritsenko kept looking at Tsvetayev, remembering that he hadn't introduced them to each other. According to the tradition, first introduced Gritsenko to Tsvetayev with a high rank: "General Tsvetayev, this is Major General Gritsenko, commander of the 384th Division."

"General Gritsenko, let me introduce you: this is Lieutenant General Tsvetayev, commander of the 5th Assault Army."

Knowing that the person standing in front of him was actually the commander of the Shock Army, Gritsenko was immediately in awe. He raised his hand to salute him, and said politely, "Hello, Comrade General, it's a pleasure to meet you."

After shaking hands with Gritsenko, Tsvetayev couldn't help asking curiously: "Comrade Commander, I'm curious, what kind of boat is running on the river, and why is it so fast?"

Faced with Tsvetayev's curiosity, Gritsenko dared not answer easily. Although the hovercraft has participated in battles many times, it is still a new type of confidential equipment. Before he obtained Sokov's permission, he could not casually It is not acceptable to tell anyone, even if the other party is the commander of the friendly army.

Sokov nodded at Gritsenko, indicating that he could tell Tsvetayev about it.

Gritsenko, who waited until Sukov acquiesced, said: "Comrade General, what you are seeing is a hovercraft, which was developed by our military industrial unit not long ago. Provided a great help."

Before coming here, Tsvetayev was still worried about how to quickly cross the Ude River with his troops. Seeing such a convenient hovercraft now, his worries eased a lot, but he still asked cautiously: Can this hovercraft carry tanks across the river?"

"Of course, Comrade General." Gritsenko gave Tsvetayev an affirmative answer, and then said cautiously: "However, due to the heavy weight of the tank itself, the speed of the hovercraft will be greatly slowed down."

"It doesn't matter, no matter how slow the speed is, it is faster than transporting by barge. What's more, we can't get barges here to transport the tanks to the other side."

What Tsvetayev said made Gritsenko feel at a loss. He looked at Sokov with puzzled eyes, trying to figure out what Tsvetayev meant when he said these words.

"Comrade Commander," Sokov said with a smile: "I have already discussed with General Tsvetayev about joint operations, but he is worried that there is no bridge in this area, and the tanks cannot be transported to the other side. Now that there are hovercraft, It is equivalent to solving his headache, and he can send tank troops to assist you in attacking as soon as possible."

"This is really great, Comrade General." Hearing this, Gritsenko couldn't help but be overjoyed: "I am worried that the troops do not have tanks, and it is very difficult to deal with the German armored forces. The landing field on the east coast can be expanded."

Now that tanks can cross the river, let alone infantry, Tsvetayev's worries are finally swept away. He turned around and ordered a communications staff officer who followed him: "Send a telegram to the headquarters immediately, informing the chief of staff to transfer the 315th Infantry Division and a tank brigade from the Seventh Tank Army to assist the friendly forces in expanding the landing field on the east coast."

Hearing the serial number reported by Tsvetayev, Sokov couldn't help being stunned for a moment, and then asked tentatively: "Comrade General, isn't the 315th Infantry Division the predecessor of the 8th Guards Division?"

"You are mistaken, General Sokov." Tsvetayev said with a smile: "The predecessor of General Panfilov's 8th Guards Division was the 316th Infantry Division, not the 315th Division."