Red Moscow

Seeing that Konev did not ask whether this kind of harassment operation would be successful, but worried about his own safety, Sokov was still quite moved. He quickly said: "Commander of the Front Army, please rest assured that although we I am facing Manstein's Southern Army Group, but I will not confront them head-on, but will use harassment tactics to deal with them.

If they are too strong, we will choose to avoid and not fight; but once we discover the weakness of the German army, we will concentrate our superior forces and launch an attack on the German army, trying to wipe out part of the enemy, so as to ease the pressure on our army to fight in the next stage . "

"Comrade Commander," Zakharov walked over to Konev and said, "I think Comrade Sokov's suggestion can be considered. If his troops can continuously harass the enemy and disrupt the enemy's deployment, it can be used for We have won more time. Whether it is the replenishment of soldiers, or the transportation of weapons, ammunition and military supplies, it will take a long time."

Konev stared at Sokov as if he hadn't heard what Zakharov said. After an unknown amount of time, he finally said, "You have recruited nearly 40,000 soldiers at once. I certainly cannot provide you with weapons and ammunition here. You can only find a way to solve it yourself."

"No problem, Comrade Commander of the Front Army." Sokov thought to himself, his troops have always relied on various seizures to arm themselves, and basically did not receive supplements directly from their superiors. While carrying out harassing warfare, you can find a way to let your subordinates search for the enemy's warehouses. As long as you find a few warehouses, the supply of weapons and ammunition will be solved. So he said confidently: "I will find a way to solve it."

"Comrade Sokov, I know what you're thinking." As Sokov's superior, Konev naturally understood what was in his mind, so he reminded him: "You have seized German warehouses many times before. , and use the weapons and ammunition inside to arm yourself. But in the next battle, it will not be so easy to find such a warehouse again, you need to be mentally prepared. Understand?"

"I fully understand, Comrade Commander of the Front Army." Sokov thought to himself, even if I can't capture it, I can use Yakov's line to obtain unplanned supplements, "I don't bother you about the issue of weapons and ammunition." gone."

"Well, since you are so confident, then I will agree to your request, and your department will be responsible for harassing the German army and disrupting their defensive deployment." After explaining the task, Konev specifically told Sokov : "Comrade Sokov, as the commander of the group army, for the sake of safety, I hope you don't just run to the front."

"Okay, okay." Sokov replied absent-mindedly: "Comrade Commander of the Front Army, thank you for your reminder, I will pay attention to this."

"Comrade Sokov," Zakharov waited for Konev to finish, called Sokov to the table, and said to him, "Let me introduce the current situation to you. Kharkov was liberated in 1919, but the troops of the Front continued to fight fiercely to the west, southwest and south of the city.

The 5th Guards Tank Army and the 53rd Army, which entered the battlefield through your defense zone, were counterattacked by the German 8th Army. The 8th Army, which abandoned Kharkov, still has a strong armored force. They are trying to recapture Kharkov through counter-assaults. "

Sokov believed in Zakharov's statement. Although the German army had hurriedly abandoned Kharkov and escaped from the city the day before, the centipedes were dead but not stiff. Still strong. After getting rid of the Soviet army, they regrouped and launched a new attack on the Soviet army.

"According to the information obtained by our reconnaissance," Zakharov continued: "Early before the Kharkov campaign began, the Germans used the Merefa, Uda, Muza, Orely, The favorable defensive terrain along the Volskra River created a large number of defensive areas and turned Merefa, Varki, Krasnograd, Poltava and other cities into obstacles that hindered our army from advancing A solidly defended zone on the way forward of the Dnieper.

The reason why the Kharkov region fought tenaciously and tensely was that Mustache tried his best to make his Donbass group get rid of our army's assault. Manstein, on the other hand, was always worried that our army would advance to the vicinity of Poltava before they retreated to the Dnieper. "

After staring at the map on the table for a while, Sokov looked up at Zakharov and said, "Comrade Chief of Staff of the Front Army, if my judgment is not wrong, the cities of Liubotin and Meriefa, which are still occupied by the Germans, Will the railway hub in this area be an obstacle for our army to advance to the Dnieper River?"

"That's right, Comrade Sokov." Zakharov agreed with Sokov's analysis: "Now the troops of General Rotmistrov and General Managarov are approaching Liubo. Jing City, prepare to take the city before the enemy recovers, and open a broad road to Poltava."

"If you want to win the city of Liubotin, you must first win Meriefa." Taking advantage of Zakharov's pause, Sokov once again expressed his opinion, "Merefa is not only a fortress, but also an important railway. The junction station, as long as it is still in the hands of the Germans, the enemy can guarantee the operation of the railway traffic in the area. Therefore, if you want to attack Liubotin City, you must take this railway junction station as quickly as possible. "

"You're right." Zakharov nodded and said, "However, Meriefa is a major defensive bastion to the south of Kharkov. The German army first strengthened the defenses in this area to ensure cover from the south. Kharkov. Besides, they also had a strong defense on the Muza River and its steep banks.

"If you want to open the road to Poltava as soon as possible, you must first capture the fortress of Meliefa and the railway transportation hub, and then attack the city of Lyubotin."

After listening to Sokov's proposal, Zakharov said lightly: "Comrade Commander has already arranged for the troops to attack Merefa, which is General Shumilov's 7th Guards Army. With their strength, It is not a big problem to take down the Meriefa fortress."

Unexpectedly, Sokov's expression changed after hearing this, "General Shumilov's 7th Guards Army?"

"Is there anything wrong?"

"Yes," Sokov said to Zakharov, pointing to the unit number marked on the map, "the unit closest to the south of the city is the 69th Army of Lieutenant General Kryuchenkin. The 7th Army must go through the defense zone of the 69th Army to attack Merliefa..."

"Comrade Sokov," Konev walked over and explained to Sokov: "After a long period of fighting, the troops of the 69th Army have experienced serious reductions in personnel. siege operations."

Sokov waited for Konev to finish speaking, and took the initiative to say: "Comrade Front Army Commander, if you trust me, you can entrust me with this task."

"Leave it to you to complete?" Konev looked at Sukov, his eyes full of doubts, "Can it be done?"

"Of course it can be done." Sokov replied very simply: "At the beginning of the year, I commanded the 21st Army to fight in this area, and I am familiar with the terrain here. If you give me the task of attacking Meriefa , I will definitely not live up to your expectations and win the Merefa Fortress and the railway transportation hub in a short period of time."

After whispering for a while, Konev and Zakharov nodded in agreement with Sokov's request: "Okay, Comrade Sokov, since you are so persistent, then I will release the task of liberating the Meriefa fortress." , leave it to your troops to complete."

"Comrade Sokov," Zakharov felt the need to say a few words, and after Konev finished speaking, he continued: "The enemy has blown up the bridge over the Muza River in order to stop our army's attack. .If you want to take Merefah, you must first find a way to cross the Muza River and climb to the steep, heavily guarded banks."

"Chief of Staff, you are worrying too much." Unexpectedly, after hearing this, Konev laughed twice, and said to Zakharov: "Did you forget that there is a hovercraft unit in his army, and the hovercraft can take him out?" The troops were quickly sent to the other side of the Muza River."

"Comrade Commander of the Front Army," Sokov said to Konev with a wry smile, "there are no more hovercraft units. Yakov has returned to Moscow with his men. In the next river crossing operation, we can only rely on Use your own strength to break through the German defenses along the river."

"What, Yakov brought people back to Moscow?" Konev was surprised when he heard the news. He asked Sokov in amazement, "When did they leave?"

"I just left today. I personally sent him and his subordinates to the train station."

After confirming the news of Yakov's departure, Konev couldn't help heaving a sigh: "Oh, it's such a pity. If they stay, it will make our offense go more smoothly."

"If they stay, they may not be able to help us."

"Why?"

"After the two battles in Belgorod and Kharkov, the spare parts of the hovercraft have been exhausted." Sokov explained to the two: "Even if they barely stay, they will not be able to participate in new battles. "

Sokov returned to his headquarters, immediately called Sameko and Lunev over, told them the task assigned by Konev, and finally asked: "What do you think? come out."

"Comrade Commander," Sameko said after a moment of silence, expressing his concerns: "Since the enemy has blown up the bridge over the Muza River, if we want to cross the river, we have to cross the river. The other side of the river is steep. On the river bank, even if our troops can break through the enemy's firepower and reach the opposite bank smoothly, if we want to climb the steep river bank, I am afraid that we will pay a lot of casualties."

"You are right." Sokov did not deny Sameko's concerns, but expressed his thoughts: "I plan to deploy tanks or artillery by the river and directly bombard the enemy with artillery fire. firepower point, opening a breach for our assault force."

"Comrade Commander is talking about forced crossing," Lunev next to him asked with a smile, "But I know, you must have other plans, so why not tell us about them."

Seeing that Lunev had guessed his intentions, Sokov smiled a little embarrassedly, and then said: "Comrade Military Commissar, you are right, you can't just fight and rush, you have to know how to use your brain. Only in this way can we effectively reduce unnecessary casualties in the troops and achieve greater results.”

Pointing to the map, he said to the two: "According to my observations, there is a relatively gentle section of the upper reaches of the Muza River. We can choose to sneak across there. After the troops have crossed the river, we can go down the river quietly. Approaching the fortress of Meliefa, the Germans were caught off guard."

"How about it, Comrade Chief of Staff." Lunev waited for Sokov to finish speaking, and said with a smile: "I knew that Comrade Commander had a plan in his heart, let alone that there is only one river in front of us. There are ten and eight, and he can command the troops to cross the river smoothly."

Facing the high hat that Lunev put on himself, Sokov laughed dryly twice, and continued: "We must attack the Meriefa Fortress quickly, otherwise the enemies in Liubotin City will have enough time to come Fortify their fortifications. Our allies will pay an even greater price when they take the city."

Sameko said disapprovingly: "Comrade commander, don't worry. Although Meriefa is also a fortress, it is not large in scale. With the combat effectiveness of our troops, it should not be a big problem to take it within two days. "

But Sokov's thoughts were different from Sameko's. He thought of the famous Brest Fortress. After the fortress was suddenly attacked by the German army, the remaining commanders and fighters in the fortress still fought with the Germans for several days when ammunition, food and even water were seriously lacking. Major Gavrilov, one of the commanders of the fortress, stood alone in the fortress for thirty-two days, and was finally captured by the German army when he was wounded.

"Comrade Chief of Staff," Sokov said to Sameko with a serious expression: "Even if the fortress of Meriefa is small, we cannot take it lightly. Once our attack is held back by the Germans, it will affect the The friendly army's attack on Liubojing City disrupted the overall deployment of the Front Army Command."

After Sokov finished speaking, Lunev also added: "Comrade Chief of Staff, I think the commander is right. No matter how weak the enemy is, we must not underestimate the enemy when attacking, otherwise we will suffer a lot. of."

Sameko restrained the smile on his face, and asked Sokov seriously: "Comrade Commander, what do you think?"

"We have to prepare with both hands." Sokov said: "One is to arrange for troops to smuggle from the upper reaches, and then go down the river to clear the German defense line along the river, so that our main force can cross the river smoothly. The second is to do a good job in the front Prepare for the storm. The Germans have suffered a lot from me. Knowing that the troops attacking Merliefa are under my command, they will definitely strengthen the defense along the river. By then, no matter how well prepared we are, the smuggling may become difficult. Cheng Qiangdu."

"Then how many troops do you plan to invest?"

"Too many troops is not conducive to deployment. But if there are too few, the attacking force will appear weak." Sokov said thoughtfully: "I plan to invest in two infantry divisions, one infantry brigade, plus the first artillery division and A tank brigade."

Sameko heard that there was an infantry brigade in the army mentioned by Sokov, so he knew it was Guchakov's 73rd infantry brigade. Where is the infantry division joining the battle?"

"Major General Fomenko's 84th Infantry Division, and Colonel Khokhlov's 182nd Infantry Division." Sukov said without hesitation: "The other four infantry divisions serve as the second echelon. , and throw them into battle.”