Red Moscow

Seeing that the situation was not going well, some German soldiers raised their hands high and tried to surrender. When the commanders and fighters of the company rushed up were in a state of high tension, how could they tell whether the Germans who appeared in front of them were continuing to be stubborn or laying down their weapons and surrendering to themselves? . Therefore, as long as it is an enemy that appears in front of him, he will not stay.

There were still many German soldiers who were about to surrender, but seeing their comrades who were about to surrender were beaten to death in the trenches by the Soviet army without explanation, they had no choice but to give up their plans to surrender and continue to rely on fortifications to resist.

If the German army occupied the position before the shelling began, maybe they could really rely on fortifications to contain the Soviet counterattack. But today's fortifications have long been almost destroyed by German artillery fire. In such fortifications, the German soldiers could not organize a decent resistance at all, and could only use the tactics of fighting while retreating to withdraw from the high ground.

After regaining the high ground, Narva immediately ordered his subordinates to rush to repair the fortifications. He knew very well that with the existing fortifications, there was no way to stop another onslaught of the German army. After arranging all this, he called Mikhaiev and reported truthfully: "Comrade Battalion Commander, although we have successfully regained the position, the fortifications on the high ground have been completely destroyed by the enemy's artillery fire. If If the enemy launches such an attack again, I am afraid we will not be able to stop it."

Regarding what Narva was worried about, Mikhaiev had already taken countermeasures: "Captain Narva, your company fought very well just now, pretending to abandon the position on the front slope, and wait for the Germans to enter the reverse slope position. They were caught off guard again. If the enemy attacks again, you don’t have to hold your ground, you can adopt a tactic of fighting back and forth, retreat to the second line of defense, and let other troops stop them.”

If it was another army, Mikhaiev's words might ruin his future. The army educates commanders and fighters: Facing the enemy's attack, they need to be nailed to the position like a nail, and they are not allowed to retreat a step. It is better to let the bones be exposed in the wilderness than to give up an inch of land to the enemy.

In Sokov's army, as long as the enemy can be effectively eliminated, some unimportant areas can be abandoned when necessary, forcing the German army to divide its troops for defense, so as to reduce their force for frontal attack. Facts have proved that Sokov's approach is very effective. Sometimes giving up some unimportant positions can also consume a large amount of the German army's vitality.

Sokov, who was staying in the headquarters, was sitting at the table before, studying the enemy's next move with Managarov. Sokov put the battle report aside, pointed to the map and said to Managarov: "Comrade General, judging from the current situation, the German army is preparing to attack the landing site on a large scale and drive our troops into the Dnieper River."

Since the information obtained by Sokov was shared with Managarov, he also understands the distribution of the enemy and the enemy on the battlefield today. He waited for Sokov to finish, and immediately added: "If the prisoner is not lying, your troops are now facing the three divisions of the German 1st Army. They are now facing the Mechanized Army, the 73rd Infantry Brigade, and the 73rd Infantry Brigade at the same time. The 254th Division's position launched an attack, which seemed to be going hand in hand, but there must be one path that is their real main direction of attack."

After waiting for Managarov to finish speaking, Sokov did not express his position immediately, but asked instead: "Comrade General, which unit's defensive zone do you think the Germans will choose as a breakthrough?"

"It goes without saying," Managarov pointed to the location of the 73rd Brigade on the map, and said with confidence: "The weakest of the three areas under attack today is commanded by Major Guchakov. The 73rd Infantry Brigade. According to the analysis of me and Chief of Staff Derevyanko, this is definitely the area where the enemy will break through first. I suggest sending more troops to this area immediately to consolidate the line of defense.”

Sokov smiled lightly and said: "Comrade General, my thoughts are just the opposite of yours. Although the 73rd Infantry Brigade has only four infantry battalions, one artillery company and one machine gun company, the total strength is more than 2,000 people. But I It doesn't feel like the Germans will be the first to break through from their defenses."

Seeing Sokov's rebuttal to his statement, Managarov asked humbly: "Then where do you think the defense is most likely to be broken by the enemy?"

"On the far left of our line of defense is General Solomatin's 1st Mechanized Army. If the Germans are really likely to break through the line of defense, then I think the first breakthrough by the German army should be their defense zone."

"It's impossible!" Hearing what Sokov said, Derevyanko suddenly stood up from his seat and said loudly.

Seeing the eyes of countless people, they were all attracted by Derevyanko, Managarov coughed heavily, and said with some displeasure: "Chief of Staff, don't get excited, listen to what General Sokov said .”

"I'm sorry, General Sokov. I got a little emotional, please forgive me!" Derevyanko, who was criticized by Managarov, quickly apologized to Sokov, but he still insisted on his opinion: "So General Lomakin's 1st Mechanized Army has more than 20,000 troops, and no matter how I look at it, I don't think the Germans will give priority to breaking through their defense lines."

Seeing that Derevyanko refused to admit defeat, Sokov said politely: "Comrade Chief of Staff, to win on the battlefield, you need to look at many factors. I admit that among the troops in the three areas under attack, Solow General Ma Jing's 1st Mechanized Army is the most powerful, but they are also the most dull defensive tactics."

Hearing Sokov's criticism of Solomatin's 1st Mechanized Army, Derevyanko almost had a fit again, but fortunately Managarov noticed and pulled his sleeve lightly, making him realize , now the troops near the Dnieper River, let alone the 1st Mechanized Army, even the 53rd Army, are all under the command of the young general in front of him. He can only shut up obediently, wanting to hear what Sokov will do next. say something.

Sokov continued: "During the battle to hold outpost No. 1, the defensive tactics of the Mechanized 21st Brigade were quite dull. When the enemy started shelling, the commander did not move the troops to a safe reverse slope position in time, and It was to let them stay in the position to suffer from the enemy's shells, which resulted in a large number of unnecessary casualties in our army. For a small position, the brigade paid the casualties of two battalions.

Look at the defensive operations of the 73rd Brigade today. When the enemy's shelling started, the commander moved the troops to a safe reverse slope position in time to avoid the enemy's shelling. Although the fortifications on the position were all destroyed by the enemy's artillery fire, the casualties of the commanders and fighters were minimal..."

After patiently listening to Sokov's analysis, Managarov nodded vigorously and said affirmatively: "General Sokov, you are right. There are many factors that determine victory or defeat on the battlefield. If you use them reasonably Tactics, minimizing the casualties of the troops will determine the time for us to hold on. Although Solomatin has a large number of troops, but he does not know how to use tactics rationally, his position may indeed be the first to be broken through."

He turned to Derevyanko and said: "Comrade Chief of Staff, we need to change our old ideas, otherwise we will be eliminated in the future because we are outdated."