Red Moscow

"General Sokov," Derevyanko asked Sokov with a smile, "I want to ask a question. Who will win the final victory when one of your divisions meets an infantry division of the German army?"

Derevyanko's question reminded Sokov of a brain-dead post that later generations saw. The person who posted the post should be a Japanese elite. He asked a question in the post: A battalion of the German army in World War II encountered a brigade of the Japanese army. Who will win the final victory.

Probably because no one replied to his post, he just asked and answered after himself. It is said that a battalion of the German infantry division is composed of three companies of 140 people, a heavy weapon company of 200 people and a service unit; while a brigade of the Japanese army is composed of a brigade headquarters of 30 people and a transport squadron of 110 people. Four 181-man infantry squadrons, a 174-man machine gun squadron, and a 55-man artillery squadron are far beyond the German army in terms of numbers and equipment. From this, he came to a conclusion that when the Japanese and German armies fought, it must be the Japanese army that won the final victory.

Sokov thought of this stupid post at this moment, and just wanted to say: I am! Just relying on the 38 big covers, crooked machine guns and a few infantry artillery in the hands of the Japanese pirates, they want to deal with the well-equipped and well-trained German army. You know, the Soviet army who beat the Japanese pirates all over the place in Nuomenkan was also beaten by the Germans to the north.

To the question raised by Derevyanko, Sokov replied very seriously: "General Derevyanko, don't see that the troops under my command have achieved good results in previous battles with the German army. But I I still have to tell you responsibly that if the force is equal, our chances of winning are not high."

After listening to Sokov's answer, Derevyanko asked again: "General Sokov, since you also admit that your troops have a low chance of winning under the condition of equal strength. How can you guarantee that the infantry Can the 73rd Brigade hold its ground against an enemy stronger than them?"

Faced with Derevyanko's doubts, Sokov continued: "If we fight against the Germans with equal strength, our chances of winning are indeed not high. But if we are fighting defensively, the German army must at least dispatch Only with troops several times stronger than ours can it be possible to seize our position."

Seeing Sokov speak so confidently, Derevyanko wanted to ask a few more questions, but was stopped by Managarov raising his hand: "Comrade Chief of Staff, stop discussing this meaningless question. I believe General Sokov, he said that if the 73rd Rifle Brigade can hold its position, it will definitely hold it."

Managarov turned around and said to Sokov: "General Sokov, it seems that the Germans are preparing to launch a large-scale attack on the landing site, but your troops are still on the way. Only with the existing strength, you can Hold the landing site?"

"There shouldn't be a problem." Sokov never engages in passive defense. Since the enemy can attack him, he can also attack them. Seeing that Managarov was worried about his troops, he comforted him and said: "Comrade General, the reason why my troops can achieve good results in every defense is because we are not conducting passive defense. The enemy attacks us during the day, and when we arrive At night, I sent troops to attack them. In this way, the enemy's original attack plan was disrupted, thereby reducing the pressure on our frontal defense forces."

Managarov still has a different view on Sokov's statement: "General Sokov, since you want to disrupt the enemy's offensive deployment, why don't you take the opportunity to launch a counterattack after the enemy's offensive is frustrated? Maybe so If you do it, you can achieve even greater results.”

"No, Comrade General." Hearing what Managarov said, Sokov immediately realized that this was the difference in tactical thinking between himself and the opponent, and quickly said: "If you counterattack from the front, you may get some results in the early stage. However, with the increase of German fortifications, as well as the strengthening of troops and weaponry, our counterattack will come to a standstill. Once our offensive is frustrated and the enemy takes the opportunity to launch a counterattack, our counterattack will end in failure. At the same time, a large number of elite troops will be lost.

As for sneak attacks at night, not too many troops are used, and visibility after dark is limited. Even if we fight, it will be difficult for the enemy to find out our details, so that they dare not act rashly. In this way, our troops can retreat undisturbed after completing the sneak attack. "

After hearing Sokov's statement, Managarov thought for a long time, and finally nodded and said: "General Sokov, maybe you are right. Attacking at night is more likely to throw the Germans into chaos. greater success can be achieved.”

"Comrade Commander, your call." While Sokov was chatting with Managarov and others, Sameko held the receiver and said to Sokov, "It's Commander Konev."

Knowing that it was Konev's call, Sokov realized that there must be something important, so he quickly got up and walked to Sameko's side, took the microphone and whispered in his ear: "Hello, Comrade Commander of the Front Army, I'm Sokov, what instructions do you have?"

"I heard that the German army launched an attack on the right bank landing field with three divisions of the 1st Army?" Konev asked on the phone: "Is there anything I can do for you?"

Now that Sokov is commanding the troops of the two armies, he naturally faces many difficulties. He originally wanted to find a suitable opportunity to ask Konev for help, but he didn't expect that the other party would take the initiative to call, so he said smoothly: "Comrade Commander of the Front Army, you should know that now I and the troops of the 53rd Army They are continuously marching into Klemenchug. Having more troops is very beneficial for us to defeat the incoming enemy. But at the same time, it also brings a serious problem, that is, our supplies are not enough to support a large-scale war battle."

The difficulties raised by Sokov are not what Konev is worried about now. According to the report of the Minister of Logistics of the Front Army, the subordinate trains and cars are all in high-load operation. Especially the car soldiers, use the method of two people to dispatch the car, so that the car will not stop. But even so, the patrol team still often saw trucks parked on the side of the road, and the two drivers sat motionless inside. At first they thought something happened to them, but when they walked over and questioned, they found out that they were too tired , Unknowingly fell asleep.

"Comrade Sokov, I am also very clear about the difficulty you mentioned." Konev said helplessly: "You also know the condition of our roads. It was covered in dirt on sunny days and mud on rainy days, but now it is being attacked by enemy planes. The bombing has made it more difficult to navigate. If it rains, it will turn into a quagmire, making it very difficult for vehicles to pass.

Railway transportation is quite fast, but there are only one or two lines that can be used. Even if our trains run back and forth day and night, the materials transported cannot meet the needs of the frontline troops. "

Hearing Konev's question, Managarov also whispered to Derevyanko: "Comrade Chief of Staff, General Konev is right, if the road conditions don't change, no matter how much we have vehicles, I am afraid that they will not be able to provide enough supplies for the frontline troops in time."

Managarov's words fell into Sokov's ears, and a bold idea suddenly appeared in his mind: "Comrade Commander of the Front Army, I want to ask you a question."

"Ask," Konev said reasonably.

"Do you use coal or wood for heating and cooking in Moscow today?"

"Using wood for heating and cooking was a thing many years ago." Although Konev didn't know why Sokov asked this question, he replied truthfully: "Nowadays, coal is used."

"What about the used cinders?"

"Not sure." As a military commander, Konev must have no idea about these things in the city. "Comrade Sokov, why are you asking this?"

"Comrade Commander of the Front Army, this is how I think about it." Since Konev asked, Sokov didn't go around in circles, so he expressed his thoughts: "I know the road conditions on the outskirts of Moscow very well. If you want to Changing it to cement road or asphalt road, one is that the cost is too high, and the other is that it takes too long, we can’t wait that long.”

"That's true." Konev nodded and said, "Even if we work overtime to repair the road, as long as the enemy comes to bomb or shell, the hard work of our road workers will be in vain."

"If those abandoned cinders can be laid on the roads in the suburbs, it only needs to be rolled back and forth a few times with a road roller, and it will become an easy-to-pass road." Sokov continued: "Not only is the cost low, It didn’t take long. Even if we were under enemy fire, we could re-lay the road in the shortest possible time.”

After Sokov's suggestion was finished, Konev couldn't help being silent. He repeatedly considered what Sokov said in his mind, how feasible it is to use discarded cinders to pave the road. After thinking for a long time, he did not give Sokov an affirmative answer, but said ambiguously: "Comrade Sokov, I will report your proposal to the superiors. As for whether they agree with your approach in the end, it is not All I can handle."

After Sukov put down the phone, seeing Managarov and others looking at him, he smiled and explained to everyone: "Everyone, using cinders to pave the road is just a temporary idea of ​​mine. We will know after the test. Now, we will continue to discuss the defense of the landing site on the right bank, after all, this is our top priority."

"Comrade Commander," Sokov had just finished, Sameko interrupted: "The 300th Infantry Division is getting off at the station in the city. You see, should they stay in the city or be transferred immediately to the Landing field?"

"Are there any enemy planes above the landing site?" Sokov realized that his expression was not clear enough after finishing speaking, and added, "What I want to ask is whether there are any enemy reconnaissance planes?"

"No."

Although Sameko said that no enemy reconnaissance planes were found in the sky over the landing site, Sokov still considered that the 300th Division was transferred to the right bank landing site at this moment, and that it might be attacked by the enemy during the march, in order to avoid unnecessary casualties , He said to Sameko: "The 300th Division has just arrived in Klemenchug. The commanders and fighters must be very tired. Let them take a good rest and wait until after dark before moving to the landing field."

Sameko nodded, indicating that he had taken down what Sokov said, and continued to ask: "Then where do you plan to deploy them?"

Sokov stared at the map in front of him, looking at the numbers of the troops deployed on it. Starting from the left side of the landing field, Solomatin's 1st Mechanized Corps; Guchakov's 73rd Infantry Brigade; Shechtman's 354th Infantry Division and Fomenko's 84th Infantry Division, here Behind the two divisions was Khokhlov's 182nd Rifle Division.

After looking at the defense map for a while, Sokov raised his head and said to Sameko: "Comrade Chief of Staff, since we have just discussed where the enemy may break through, we should strengthen the defense in this area. In my opinion, let Weiss Bach's 300th Infantry Division, behind the 73rd Infantry Brigade and the Mechanized Corps."

After recording Sokov's order, Sameko nodded and said, "Comrade Commander, your deployment is very appropriate. After all, Colonel Weisbach used to serve as the deputy brigade commander of the 73rd Infantry Brigade. The brigade is in danger during the battle, and I am afraid he will send troops to support him before we give him an order."

Sokov didn't think too much about it. He just thought that the German army's offensive is fierce today. Whether it is the defense line of the mechanized army or the infantry brigade, it may be torn apart by the German army. Putting a new force here can block the enemy at any time. The gap opened by the Germans. At this moment, I heard Sameko mention the relationship between Weisbach, the commander of the 300th Division, and the infantry brigade. He couldn't help but smile a little, and then said: "Comrade Chief of Staff, what you said reminds me. Colonel Weisbach He used to be the deputy brigade commander of the infantry brigade, although he has left now, but once the infantry brigade has something to do, I think he will definitely rush to reinforce without hesitation."

Originally, Sokov was still a little worried. Although the infantry brigade was an elite unit, the number was too small after all, only more than 2,000 people. Once it is attacked by the German army, the defense line may indeed be broken through. Putting the 300th Division behind them now is tantamount to eliminating their worries.

"Comrade Commander, do you need to speak to Colonel Weissbach?"

"About what?" Sokov asked back.

"Don't you need to remind Colonel Weissbach that once the infantry brigade or the mechanized army is in danger, they need to rush for reinforcements as soon as possible?"

"It's not necessary." Sokov shook his head and said, "Anyway, Colonel Weissbach is an old soldier and an old commander. If he encounters such a situation, he doesn't know how to deal with it. , I’m afraid I’m going to consider changing to someone else to take up the post of division commander.”

"The 300th Division?!" Managarov heard the designation mentioned by Sokov, and couldn't help asking curiously: "General Sokov, the 300th Infantry Division you mentioned turned out to be an assault division of the Voronezh Front Army." 5th Army, right?"

Hearing what Managarov said, Sokov couldn't help but thump in his heart. He secretly said that good things don't go out, and bad things spread thousands of miles. It seems that Managarov knows something about the 300th Division, so he nodded his head and answered. Said, "Yes, that's them."

"Can they do it?" Managarov asked full of doubts: "You know, when carrying out such an important mission last time, the entire division could drink to the point of losing combat effectiveness, so it is appropriate to let them serve as the reserve team? "