Red Moscow

Sokov, who was far away in Kremenchug, did not know that the bearded and Antonov in the Kremlin were discussing to promote his rank after this battle was over. At this moment, the enemy crossing the upper reaches of the Dnieper River is launching a frenzied attack in the defense zone of the 28th Guards Division.

As the number of German troops crossing the river increased, the hidden German bombers reappeared above the battlefield and bombarded the defensive positions of the Guards Division indiscriminately.

Seeing a dense formation of enemy planes in the sky, the commander of the guards immediately ordered all the troops to carry out fortifications to avoid the air strikes of the enemy planes. In fact, even if he didn't give an order, the former commanders and fighters hid in the air-raid shelters dug in advance to avoid the bombing of enemy planes.

Before crossing the river, the German army had conducted ground and aerial reconnaissance of the 53rd Army's defense line. At this moment, the German bomber fleet came prepared to carry out high-density bombing of the Soviet positions they had detected. The German bombers who dropped bombs crazily, seeing that they did not encounter the anti-aircraft fire from the ground, became more courageous, lowered their altitude one after another, and frantically strafed the Soviet positions with their airborne machine guns.

All of a sudden, the positions of the guard division were filled with gunpowder smoke and flames were everywhere.

Knowing that the positions of the Guards Division had been bombed, Sokov quickly told Derevyanko: "General Derevyanko, the enemy planes are frantically bombing the positions of the 28th Guards Division. Slow down the marching speed, and at the same time pay attention to concealment to avoid unnecessary losses."

"Understood." Derevyanko agreed, and then walked to the communication area, preparing to ask the radio operator to send a report to the two mobilized infantry divisions, telling them to slow down their marching speed and pay attention to air defense to avoid being attacked by the enemy.

After waiting for Derevyanko to leave, Sokov turned and told Sameko: "Chief of Staff, please help me connect with General Goryunov. We need their help now."

The air force's phone was quickly connected, and when he heard Goryunov's voice coming from the receiver, Sokov said a little excitedly: "General Goryunov, our defensive positions are now under attack by enemy planes." Bombing like crazy, I need air force support."

"Which area was attacked by enemy planes?"

"The riverside defense position in the northwest of the city." Sokov replied: "A large number of German troops crossed the upper reaches of the Dnieper River and launched a crazy attack on the position of the 28th Guards Division. I hope you can send your air force as soon as possible. Provide us with the necessary air support."

Before the fighter planes of the 5th Army of the Air Force took off, the German army had already completed the bombing of the guards' positions and turned around and flew towards the airport. The air force left, and the ground troops, which had already been ready to go, attacked the position of the second battalion of the 88th Guards Regiment under the cover of tanks.

The position of the Second Battalion had long been razed to the ground by the German bombing, and many commanders and fighters were buried in the bombed-out air-raid shelters. The surviving observation post on the position saw the enemy swarming towards its own position under the cover of the tank, and quickly blew the whistle, hoping that those comrades hiding in the air-raid shelter could enter the position in the shortest possible time and block the enemy attack.

However, a long time after the whistle sounded, only a few dozen soldiers emerged from the warm floating soil, warriors who looked like clay figurines, and entered their fighting positions one after another without shaking off the thick soil The muzzle is aimed at the direction the enemy is coming from, and as soon as they enter the effective range, they will immediately fire without hesitation.

The enemy came very quickly, and within five minutes, they rushed to a place only seventy or eighty meters away from the position. At this time, sporadic gunfire sounded from the second battalion's position, and some German soldiers who were rushing forward fell to the ground in response, while the rest continued to rush forward.

The number of soldiers left in the second battalion position is limited, and there are individual soldiers whose weapons were blown up in the enemy's shelling or lost when they crawled out of the mud. The sparse firepower on the ground could not stop the Germans from rushing up. Soon, German soldiers rushed into the position of the second battalion.

Facing the rushing enemy, the commanders and fighters of the Second Battalion were extremely brave and tenacious. Some soldiers who lost their weapons bravely rushed towards the enemy. When they were close to the enemy, they did not hesitate to ignite the fuse of the grenade. After a loud bang, the soldier fell into the smoke with one or even several German soldiers.

Although the commanders and fighters are very tenacious, they are limited in number after all. Dozens of people died in just a few minutes, and around the remains of these soldiers were the bodies of more German officers and soldiers.

The commander of the 88th Guards Regiment, who was staying in the second-line observation room, couldn't help putting down his binoculars when he saw this, and after wiping his tears with his hand, he turned around and said to the signal soldier: "Report to the division headquarters that the enemy has occupied the position of the second battalion." , are preparing to advance to our position."

The communications soldier agreed, and told the communications soldier on duty at the division headquarters what the regimental commander said in detail.

The division commander couldn't help frowning after listening to the report of the communications soldier. He ordered the communications soldier on duty with a straight face and said: "Get in touch with the 88th Regiment immediately and order them to counterattack. Be sure to take the position occupied by the enemy and give me back it." return."

After giving the order to the 88th Regiment to counterattack, the commander of the guards felt that the loss of the position was of a serious nature, and it was necessary to report to the headquarters so that Managarov also knew what to do.

The person who answered the phone was Derevyanko. When he learned that the second battalion had lost its position, he couldn't help becoming angry: "What, the second battalion lost its position? Where is the second battalion commander? I will send him to a military court!"

After waiting for Derevyanko's roaring explanation, the guard commander said in a heavy tone: "Report to Comrade Chief of Staff, all members of the Second Battalion were killed, and no one retreated from the front line."

The words of the commander of the guards, and the words that Derevyanko was about to attack, were all blocked in his mouth and could not be said again.

"Chief of Staff," Managarov couldn't help asking seeing that Derevyanko was silent, "what happened?"

"Comrade Commander," Derevyanko hastily covered the microphone with his hands, and reported to Managarov, "The position of the Second Battalion of the 88th Regiment was lost, and none of the more than 500 commanders and fighters in the battalion survived."

In this kind of battle in which the two sides have invested tens of thousands of troops, the sacrifice of a battalion of several hundred people is nothing more than a set of numbers to the superior commander. But after hearing the news, Managarov stood up from his seat, took off his big-brimmed hat, bowed his head to the northwest, and mourned for the sacrificed soldiers.

When the people around saw Managarov doing this, they also stood up one after another, took off their big-brimmed hats or helmets, and mourned in silence towards the northwest, mourning the sacrificed soldiers in their hearts.

After everyone stood up straight and put their hats back on their heads, Managarov said to Derevyanko: "Comrade Chief of Staff, order the 89th Regiment to assist the 88th Regiment in counterattacks, and we must take back the lost positions. .”

Just when Derevyanko promised to pass on Managarov's order truthfully, Sokov raised his hand to stop him: "Wait a minute! Comrade General, I don't think it is suitable to fight back at this moment?"

"Why?" asked Managarov.

"The reason is very simple," Sokov explained: "The enemy is concentrating all their efforts on attacking the positions of the Guards Division. If you attack on this matter, it means that you have to fight against the Germans and fight head-to-head to consume."

Seeing that Sokov actually opposed his plan, Managarov couldn't help but frowned slightly: "General Sokov, shall we just watch the enemy occupy our position?"

"Comrade General," Sokov knew that Managarov's education was to face the enemy's attack, and he had to be nailed to the position like a nail, and he was not allowed to retreat a step. Now that the first-line positions are lost, we should organize forces to counterattack and regain the lost positions. "I said not long ago that our purpose is to consume the vital strength of the German army, and we don't care about the gains and losses of a city or a place. If we let the 88th and 89th regiments launch a counterattack at this time, we will start a confrontation with a powerful and aggressive enemy. Attack, I am afraid that our army will pay more casualties than the enemy."

After listening to Sokov's words, Managarov gritted his molars and asked, "General Sokov, please tell me, what should we do, should we just carry out passive defense?"

"Of course it can't be a passive defense." Sokov said confidently: "Comrade General, didn't you ask the commander of the Guards to transfer the Guards Artillery Regiment to the battle area? To attack, you can order artillery fire to intercept and shoot, destroying as much of the enemy's vital force as possible. And when the German army retreats, order the troops to attack to inflict maximum damage on the enemy."

"Okay, General Sokov. Since you said so, then do as you say." Managarov felt that what Sokov said was somewhat reasonable, and his troops were now under his command. , agreed to his statement, and told Derevyanko to say: "Comrade Chief of Staff, according to Sokov's instructions, ordered the 88th Regiment to stand firm and resolutely block the German attack. When the enemy attacked, the artillery regiment carried out Artillery interception, destroying as much of the enemy's vital force as possible..."

Seeing that Managarov assigned tasks to Derevyanko according to his instructions, Sokov felt very relieved. Although Konev arranged for him to command the 53rd Army, Managarov's qualifications are much older than himself. If he adopts delaying tactics for his orders, it may delay the fighter plane.

Sokov turned to Sameko and asked, "Comrade Chief of Staff, how is our counterattack force prepared?"

"It's all ready." After Sameko finished his answer, he asked tentatively, "Comrade Commander, you don't plan to start a counterattack now, do you?"

According to Sokov's plan, the counterattack troops deployed at the landing site will carry out limited counterattacks against the German positions under the cover of artillery fire after dawn tomorrow, consuming as much of the opponent's vital forces as possible. But now that the attention of the German army is concentrated on the defense zone in the northwest, the front of the landing field seems to have an opportunity at this moment.

"Now it's only two or three hours before it gets dark." Sokov said cautiously: "Before the counterattack begins, first use powerful artillery fire to bombard the German defensive positions, and then launch an attack. When we achieve certain results, It was already dark, and the Germans could not get support from planes, tanks, which would be very useful to our troops, both offensively and defensively."

"Okay, Comrade Commander." Sameko nodded, and then asked, "Then what time do you plan to launch the attack?"

Sokov raised his hand to look at the time, and replied, "Comrade Chief of Staff, why don't you contact the artillery and ask them to launch a fierce shelling of the already locked German positions in twenty minutes?"

"Comrade Commander," Sameko cautiously reminded Sokov after hearing what Sokov said, "Our infantry is about an hour away from the starting position. Look..."

"You don't have to worry about this, Comrade Chief of Staff." Sokov said carelessly: "Our army's shelling will not be less than forty minutes, and the infantry can completely move during this time. When the shelling is over, they will also enter Once the attack position is determined, an attack can be launched against the enemy's defensive position at any time."

"Comrade Commander," Sameko, who stayed in place, continued, "If the counterattack troops are allowed to go into battle immediately after a rapid march, the physical strength of the commanders and fighters may be affected. It is better to let the troops stationed at the front line first Attack the enemy, wait for their attack to stall, and then have counterattack troops to take over their attack."

What Sameko said made Sokov's eyes shine, yes, the three troops at the front can try to counterattack first. After their attack has stalled, the pre-arranged counterattack troops will go into battle. Facing the new force that suddenly joined the battlefield, the beaten German army must not be able to resist, and maybe it can expand the results of the battle.

After figuring this out, Sameko nodded and said, "Comrade Chief of Staff, your proposal is good. Just follow what you said, and let the frontline troops attack the enemy decisively after the shelling is over. The designated counterattack troops will follow behind. After the attack of the forward troops stagnates, they will take over their attack and must maximize the results of the battle.”

Seeing that Sokov agreed to his proposal, Sameko immediately passed the order to the various troops to get them ready to attack. On the other side, Managarov, after hearing Sokov's arrangement, leaned over and asked curiously: "General Sokov, if you advance the attack time, will it affect your original battle plan. "

"Comrade General," Sokov said with a smile, "judging from the current situation, the enemy has already concentrated its attention on your troops, while the troops on the front of the landing field have become weaker. We will attack at this time , you can catch the enemy by surprise and achieve greater results than originally planned.”

Derevyanko originally planned to ask Sokov to provide heavy artillery support for the Guards Division. When he heard his battle plan, he obediently shut up. He knew very well that as long as the southern front achieved good results, he could turn the situation in the northwest and make the situation more favorable to him.

Sokov noticed that Derevyanko was hesitant to speak, and understood that he wanted to get some help from himself, so he smiled and said to him: "General Derevyanko, don't worry, don't look at the guards fighting at the moment." It is very difficult, and the enemy's offensive is fierce. But as long as the air force's fighter planes enter the battlefield and attack the enemy in your defense zone, they will become lambs waiting to be slaughtered, and they will suffer heavy casualties under the bombing of aerial bombs and the strafing of vehicle-mounted machine guns."

"You are right, General Sokov." After hearing this, Derevyanko nodded with a smile and said, "With the air support provided by the Air Force, our Guards Division will definitely be able to smash the enemy's attack."