Red Moscow

"Stay hidden and on standby?!" Hearing Sokov's order, Fomenko was a little dazed. He was worried that Sokov might make a slip of the tongue, so he quickly reminded the other party, "Comrade Commander, you want to say that Rusuv Should the regiment go to reinforce the friendly army?"

"No, General Fomenko." From Fomenko's words, Sukov heard that the other party had misunderstood him, and explained to him: "What I said was to let the Rusuv regiment stay hidden and wait for my next order." One step order, do not participate in any battles for the time being."

"But why is this?" Fomenko couldn't understand Sokov's intentions, he said puzzledly: "You know, the towns of Ratsve and Jingji were captured by the commanders and fighters of the Rusuf Regiment. They watched the enemy take these two towns back, and I was worried that it would affect the morale of the troops."

"That's right, the towns of Ratsve and Jingji were indeed captured by the commanders and fighters of the Rusuf Regiment." Sokov did not deny what Fomenko said, but he went on to say: "But the defense was handed over last night. If it is given to the 15th Guards Division, even if it is to resist the German attack, it is the business of the friendly army. If we rashly put the troops into battle, I am afraid it will cause some unnecessary disputes."

Fomenko thought about Sokov's words carefully, and found it very reasonable. If the defense had not been handed over to the friendly army, there was no way to participate in the battle in the face of the German attack. Now that the towns of Ratswe and Jingji are already the defense area of ​​the 15th Guards Division, it seems a bit unnecessary for the Rusuf regiment to participate in the battle again.

He paused for a moment, and then asked tentatively: "Comrade Commander, since the Rusuf Regiment does not need to participate in the battle, why not withdraw them, but let them continue to stay outside the town of Ratesve?"

"The Germans can't wait to launch an offensive, proving that they want to regain the lost riverside stronghold in the shortest possible time." Sokov shook his head and said: "And the 15th Guards Division stationed here, is it capable? It is still unknown to stop the enemy's attack. I let the Rusuf regiment stay on standby to prevent the German army from occupying the town of Ratswe and advancing to the area where we are now."

"Comrade Commander," after figuring out Sokov's intentions, Fomenko couldn't help but worry about the safety of his subordinates: "If the Germans really captured the towns of Ratesve and Jingji from the 15th Guards Division, , then even if Colonel Rusuf's troops stay nearby, it may be difficult to block the enemy's attack."

"If you fight in a hurry and there are no fortifications to rely on, then there is a high probability that you will not be able to stop the enemy." Sokov explained to Fomenko: "So when you send a report to Colonel Rusuf, remind him to hide as soon as possible. Disintegrate the fortifications in the area, so that even if the enemy defeats the friendly army and rushes towards them, they can rely on the fortifications to resist for a while."

"If the enemy is really strong enough to easily break through the defense of the 15th Guards Division, I am afraid that even if the Rusuf Regiment has fortifications to rely on, it may be very difficult to block the enemy." Fomenko asked tentatively. Cove: "Comrade Commander, would you like to send troops to reinforce them?"

"Don't worry, General Fomenko."

Sokov knew very well in his heart that once it really started, it would be basically impossible for a regiment of Rusuf to block the morale of the German army. However, it does not seem necessary to send reinforcements in that direction too early. After all, the southwest direction of the city is still threatened by the German army, and the 188th and 384th divisions that they have placed there dare not use it easily.

"I only have three divisions in my hands now, and two of them are placed in the southwest direction of the city to prevent the enemy from attacking from that direction. And in the city, there are only your two infantry regiments that are not full. Used to strengthen the Rusuf Regiment?"

Now that Sokov had heard about the deployment of two divisions in the southwest of the city, Fomenko hurriedly said: "Comrade Commander, I think it would be a bit too wasteful to deploy two divisions in the southwest of the city."

"Why?" Sokov asked back.

"The reason is very simple." Fomenko replied: "If Chigirin was captured by other friendly forces, then the German army would definitely not be reconciled to the loss of the city, and would definitely send troops to carry out continuous attacks. But now your troops have liberated the city, I think the Germans would never dare to act rashly after knowing this.”

One word awakened the dreamer, and Fomenko's words made Sokov suddenly realize that he seemed to have overestimated Manstein and his generals a bit. They have suffered so many defeats under their own hands, and they have long since turned pale when talking about themselves, and they all try their best not to fight against them. Now that their own troops occupy Qijilin, in order to avoid greater losses, the Germans may shift the focus of their attack to other directions.

"General Fomenko, you're right. I've gotten into this matter, and I haven't considered the issue comprehensively enough." Sokov said to Fomenko: "You should send a telegram to Colonel Rusuf first, and don't make him wait in a hurry. gone."

While Fomenko was on the phone, Sokov called the division chief of staff and asked, "Comrade chief of staff, is the telephone line connected to the 188th division?"

"Yes, Comrade Commander." The division chief of staff replied respectfully: "In order to facilitate your command of the troops, I have ordered the communications corps to connect to the telephone lines of the 188th and 384th divisions overnight. You can communicate with the other two at any time." The teacher is on the phone."

Sokov said hello inwardly, and then told the division chief of staff: "Please let the communications soldier connect to the headquarters of the 188th division. I want to talk to Colonel Koyda."

Two minutes later, the 188th Division headquarters got on the phone: "Hello, Colonel Koyda, this is Sokov."

"Hello, Comrade Commander." Keida on the other end of the phone asked respectfully, "What instructions do you have?"

"How is the situation, have you found any traces of the Germans in front of your defense zone?"

Koyda replied unhurriedly: "Comrade commander, apart from some destroyed tanks and combat vehicles, as well as a large number of German corpses, there are no other enemies."

"Very good, very good." Knowing that no trace of the German army was found in front of the defense zone in Koida, Sokov agreed with Fomenko's statement even more. Now his name is enough to deter the German army. They had to focus their attack on the direction defended by the 15th Guards Division.

After pausing for a moment, Sokov asked tentatively: "If the battle in other directions is tight, how many troops can you use?"

Although Koyda did not know why Sokov asked this question, he replied truthfully: "Comrade commander, since the southwest of the city is jointly defended by our division and the 384th division, I only need to place one regiment at the front. , is sufficient to resist a possible attack by the enemy."

Sokov was very satisfied with Koyda's answer. He nodded and said, "In addition to leaving one regiment, the other two regiments should withdraw to the city as soon as possible to rest."

"Is there any combat mission?"

"There will be." Sokov did not tell the other party the truth, so as not to make it known in a short period of time, which would be very detrimental to the secrecy work: "I will send your division's troops into battle at the right time."

Since all the troops of the 188th Division were behind the defense zone of the 384th Division except for a regiment stationed at the front, after receiving Sokov's retreat order, these troops were immediately assembled urgently, and then followed the designated route towards the city. retreat.

The retreat of the 188th Division attracted the attention of the commanders and fighters of the 384th Division. A battalion commander realized that the problem was a bit serious when the friendly troops were retreating in a large scale, so he jumped directly to report to Gritsenko.

When Gritsenko learned that the main force of the 188th Division did not even say hello, he began to retreat, feeling that he was abandoned. He hastily ordered the communications soldier to connect to Sokov's phone, preparing to give him a small report on Koida.

Sokov heard that it was Gritsenko who called him, and asked in surprise: "General Gritsenko, you call me, what's the matter?"

"Comrade Commander, I would like to ask." Gritsenko asked angrily, "Why did the main force of the 188th Division retreat and hide in the city without even saying hello?"

After figuring out what was going on, Sokov said with a smile: "General Gritsenko, you are right. The main force of the 188th Division has indeed withdrawn into the city. But the situation is different from what you imagined. They withdrew to the city because there might be fighting in other directions, and I intended to send them into it."

Knowing that the main force of the 188th Division had retreated into the city, and that Sokov was planning to use them in other directions, Gritsenko couldn't help but blush, and excused himself with some embarrassment: "I'm sorry, Comrade Commander, yes I was mistaken. I thought they thought the south-west of the city was too dangerous and sneaked back into the city."

After defending himself, in order to reverse his image in Sokov's heart, Gritsenko asked cautiously: "Comrade Commander, I wonder what direction you plan to use them?"

Although it is still a matter of secrecy to mobilize Koida's troops to Latseve, for a division commander like Gritsenko, there is no need to hide it at all, because once the fighting in the north is tense, I am afraid that they will simply Cove also considered mobilizing the division to reinforce it.

"The enemy unexpectedly launched a powerful attack on the landing field established by the 7th Guards Army." Sokov said: "I am worried that once the enemy breaks through the defense line of the friendly army, they will rush to us, so I plan to strengthen the direction of defense."

Hearing Sokov's explanation, Gritsenko immediately understood what was going on, and quickly said, "Comrade Commander, do you plan to send our division to this area to carry out combat missions?"

"Don't worry for now, General Gritsenko." Sokov shook his head and said, "Now a regiment of the 84th Division is stationed outside the town of Ratesve. Line of defense, rushing to our defense zone along the road, the regiment can also play a role in blocking and delaying the advance of the German army.

The main force of the 188th Division of Colonel Koida can use the time the regiment bought for them to rush to the vicinity of the town of Latseve as soon as possible, consolidate the defense there, and resolutely crush the German offensive.

And the task of your division is to stick to the existing defensive zone. Although the enemy's attack has collapsed under the joint attack of you and the 188th Division, no one knows whether they will make a comeback, so there must be a reliable force staying here to monitor the enemy's movements. "

Originally, Gritsenko was feeling depressed when he heard Sokov say that he didn't plan to use their division, but he became happy again after hearing what happened later. Sokov's words meant that he trusted himself and his troops.

After making a phone call, Sokov realized that it was very inconvenient for him to command several divisions at the same time in a divisional headquarters. He was considering whether he should contact Sameko and let the communications corps The director sent someone to improve the communication system so that he could better command the troops.

"Comrade Commander," a radio operator sitting in the distance turned to Sokov and said, "There is your wireless call, and it is from General Shumilov, commander of the 7th Guards Army."

Hearing that it was Shumilov's call, Sokov immediately realized that it must be related to the landing site on the right bank, and hurried over to pick up the headset and microphone: "Hello, General Shumilov, this is Sokov. Cove."

"Hello, General Sokov." Shumilov said bluntly, "I think you must already know about the battle that took place in Jingji Town?"

"Yes, I know, General Shumilov." Sokov asked back: "How is the battle going there?"

"Jingji Town has fallen."

"What, Jingji Town has fallen?" Sokov instinctively raised his hand to glance at the time, and found that it had only been an hour and 20 minutes since the German bombardment started, and Jingji Town, which was defended by a guard regiment, Just lost: "So fast?"

Shumilov on the other end of the phone said sadly: "The soldiers of the Guards fought tenaciously against the powerful German offensive, but because the enemy's strength is too strong, they have been forced to go to the army after the battle. retreated."

"General Shumilov, I suggest that you immediately get all the troops assembled on the right bank across the river as soon as possible. The speed must be fast, otherwise it will be too late."

"It's too late." Shumilov said helplessly: "After the enemy captured the town of Jingji, they quickly deployed artillery positions and fired at the pontoon bridge on the Dnieper River. We rushed to the opposite bank, but only one company passed, and the pontoon bridge was blown into seven or eight sections by German artillery fire."

Hearing that the pontoon bridge was blown into seven or eight sections by the German artillery fire, Sokov couldn't help but feel sad for his friendly troops. Without the pontoon bridge, the troops who hadn't crossed the river could only stand on the left bank and watch helplessly. Sacrifice, yet powerless.

He sighed softly, and said: "In this way, the 15th Guards Division on the right bank has become a lone army. How long can they last under the strong German offensive?" He paused for a few seconds Then, he continued, "General Shumilov, why don't you call General Vasilienko and tell him that if Ratsve can't hold it, he can retreat to my defense area. I can assure him, It must save them from being annihilated or driven into the Dnieper."

"General Sokov, I called you just to ask you to help General Vasilienko. Would you like to?"

"Help them?!" Sokov did not rashly agree to Shumilov's request, but asked cautiously: "General Shumilov, I wonder how you plan to ask me to help them?"