Red Moscow

Konev hurriedly looked down at the map in front of him. After looking at it for a moment, he couldn't help frowning: "Comrade Sokov, according to the information we have, the German army has assembled a large number of troops near Jingji Town. If you send too few troops, It will be wiped out by the enemy; if you send too many troops, it will affect your existing defense zone."

Sokov didn't know that under the current situation, sending troops deep into the hinterland of the German army is no different from sending them to death. But as an army commander, he must consider the overall situation. Only by allowing the troops of the 7th Guards Army to cross the Dnieper River as soon as possible and establish a landing field on the right bank, then their own troops will not fight alone. In order to achieve this strategic goal, he felt that the risk was worth taking.

Therefore he solemnly said to Konev: "Comrade Commander, if our troops do not move resolutely in the direction of Kinky and allow the enemy's artillery to continue to block the Dnieper River there, General Shumilov's near If the 7th Guards Army cannot cross the river, then your plan to establish a new landing field on the right bank will be stranded."

Konev was moved by Sokov's heartfelt words. Since the outbreak of the war, he has been dismissed from his post because of his disadvantage in commanding the Western Front. If Zhukov hadn't defended him, he might have followed in the footsteps of General Pavlov. In the past two years, he has been ups and downs and has not been reused. In the end, he was assigned as the commander of the grassland front army of the reserve team. Finally, in the Battle of Kursk, the excellent performance of the troops gave him a lot of points in front of Stalin, but now if it is too late to establish a new landing field on the right bank of the Dnieper River, I am afraid that the superior will be dissatisfied with himself.

"Okay, Comrade Sokov. I agree with your plan. You will advance to Jingji Town, clear the artillery deployed by the German army there, and cover General Shumilov's troops to cross the river." Since Sokov solved his own problems, Konev would naturally not owe him: "If you need anything, just call me."

"Comrade Commander of the Front Army," Sokov originally wanted to make some conditions to Konev. Since the other party offered it, he would naturally not miss such a good opportunity: "Because our troops lack the support of tanks and artillery, if we want to carry the There may be no small price to pay for the onslaught of the German army. Therefore, I ask you to let the air force provide us with air cover."

"No problem," Konev would naturally not refuse Sokov's small request: "I will call General Goryunov and ask him to provide air support to your troops."

After figuring out the reason why Sokov's troops did not attack overnight, Konev put down the phone, looked up and asked Zakharov who was standing in front of him: "Comrade Chief of Staff, what do you think about this matter?"

Zakharov overheard the conversation between Sokov and Konev, and when he heard Konev ask himself, he immediately replied without hesitation: "I think Comrade Sokov's consideration is completely correct. Yes. If the 7th Guards Army cannot cross the Dnieper River as soon as possible, it may be difficult to expand the results of the battle just by relying on the landing field opened by the 27th Army."

"You are right." Konev waited for Zakharov to speak, and said thoughtfully: "I remember that the Leningrad Front organized troops to cross the Neva River early last year in order to break the siege of the city by the German army. , trying to tear a hole in the enemy's encirclement. Unfortunately, they only occupied a small beachhead on the other side of the Neva River.

In such a narrow area, if too few troops are placed, it is impossible to break through the enemy's encirclement; but if heavy troops are assembled, the Germans only need to use artillery to bombard them indiscriminately, which will cause huge casualties to the troops there. Because of this, although the Leningrad Front obtained a landing field on the other side of the Neva River, it was still unable to break through the enemy's defense.

Although the landing area established by Sokov's troops on the right bank of the Dnieper River is large, it is very difficult for us to carry out a powerful assault on the enemy in this area because there are too many forests, lakes and swamps. Therefore, we must open up a new landing field to distract the attention of the German army, so that our army can effectively expand the occupied area on the right bank. "

From what Konev said, Zakharov realized that he was determined to open up a new landing field on the right bank, so he carefully reminded him: "Comrade Commander, General Shumilov should still be waiting for you at this moment." Please see if you can tell him what Comrade Sokov said, so that he can understand it."

"That's right, I should call General Shumilov." Konev picked up the phone and turned to Zakharov and said, "Let him do everything possible to cross the Dnieper River so that Soko The husband's army will not fight alone."

Shumilov, who was standing by the telephone, heard the phone ringing, grabbed the receiver and put it to his ear, and said loudly, "I am Shumilov, am I Comrade Commander?"

Seeing that Shumilov was waiting for him by the telephone, Konev smiled and asked intentionally, "General Shumilov, have you been waiting for my call?"

Shumilov laughed dryly, and replied: "Comrade commander, you also know that if you don't understand the situation with General Sokov, even if you tell me to sleep, I won't be able to sleep."

"You, you!" Konev shook his head and said, "If I don't call, are you going to wait for dawn by the telephone?"

"How is that possible, Comrade Commander." Shumilov said with a smile: "I have already figured it out. If you don't call within an hour, I will definitely call you. After all, if you don't Knowing the true intentions of General Sokov, I feel uneasy."

"Comrade Shumilov," the next words related to the future of himself and the entire front army, Konev restrained the smile on his face, "I want to hear the truth from you, after dawn, how many troops can you get through? Dnieper?"

"I'm afraid it will be very difficult, Comrade Commander." Hearing Konev's question, Shumilov suddenly panicked: "The Germans blocked the river with artillery, and the pontoon bridge we built was destroyed by enemy artillery fire. I'm afraid we won't be able to send troops to the right bank."

Hearing Shumilov's answer, Konev felt very angry. For the sake of the overall situation, Sokov was willing to send troops to the vicinity of Jingji Town to destroy the artillery deployed by the German army there. As for Shumilov, just because the German artillery blocked the river, he seemed intimidated.

"Just because the enemy blocked the river with artillery fire, are you planning to give up letting the troops cross the river?" Konev asked sternly, "Did the enemy's artillery fire make you panic?"

Shumilov shuddered when he heard this, and then explained: "Comrade Commander, you have misunderstood. You should know that in the area where our army is located, it is very difficult to collect wood for bridges and rafts. , you have to drive more than ten kilometers away to cut down trees, which will take a lot of time..."

"Okay, General Shumilov," Konev interrupted Shumilov, "I understand what you said. I just want to hear a word from you now. How many troops do you have after dawn?" Can we cross the Dnieper?"

Since Shumilov can become the commander of the army group, he will naturally not be a slow-responsive person. He heard Konev ask the same question twice in a row, and realized that there must be some mystery in it. After organizing some vocabulary in my mind, I said cautiously: "Comrade Commander, I think that if General Sokov's troops can occupy the town of Ratsve, it will be very helpful for our department to cross the river. The strength of a division can be transported from the left bank to the right bank."

"The town of Latseve has been turned into ruins after the shelling." Konev said unhurriedly: "Even if it is occupied, it doesn't make much sense. The artillery positions deployed by the Germans in Jingji town can still be bombarded." The pontoon bridge you built."

"Then what should we do?"

"General Shumilov, let me tell you the truth. I have already contacted Comrade Sokov. He said that it does not make much sense to occupy the town of Ratsve at the moment. He intends to send troops to the town of Jingji to eliminate the German artillery, cover your main force across the Dnieper."

"What, General Sokov's troops will go out to Jingji Town?" Even if Shumilov doesn't look at the map, he knows the meaning of Sokov's troops going out to Jingji Town. You can't take the town, but you can also drive off the German artillery deployed nearby. In this way, their engineering troops can repair the bombed pontoon bridge in the shortest possible time, allowing the troops staying on the left bank to cross the river quickly.

"Yes, that's what he told me." After Konev finished speaking, he realized that Shumilov seemed to want to say something more, so he added: "General Shumilov, your 15th Guards Division Now they are still staying on the right bank, and when Sokov's troops go out to the vicinity of Jingji Town, they can order Sivalenko to cooperate with the actions of friendly troops and establish a new landing site as soon as possible. Do you understand?"

"Understood, Comrade Commander." Shumilov quickly replied, "I will give Sivalenko an order immediately."

After finishing the conversation with Konev, Sokov turned his head and asked Fomenko: "General Fomenko, I have already assured the commander of the front army that after dawn, a unit will go out to Jingji Town. Nearby. How about Colonel Russov's 254th Regiment, can this mission be accomplished?"

Knowing that Sokov intends to send his troops to carry out this near-death mission, Fomenko can't help but fall silent. After thinking for a while, he said cautiously: "Comrade Commander, I believe that Colonel Rusuf and his subordinates will faithfully carry out your orders."

Sokov waited for Fomenko to finish, then turned to Koyda and said, "Colonel Koyda, since our battle plan has changed, when the Rusuf regiment advances towards Jingji Town, you can send a regiment to follow it." They act. The main purpose is to help them when the friendly army is attacking; or when the friendly army's attack is not going well, take the initiative to take over the friendly army's attack."

"No problem." Knowing that his troops were fighting, Koyda suddenly became excited, and he said excitedly, "Don't worry, Comrade Commander, I will transfer troops to follow the 254th Regiment to attack the German defenses. depth."

After assigning tasks to the two of them, Sokov asked casually, "Do you have any questions?"

"Yes, Comrade Commander." Koyda replied, "I would like to ask, who will be in charge of the unified command when the troops I send cooperate with friendly forces?"

Sokov glanced at Fomenko and replied: "Colonel Koyda, the regiment commanders under you are all lieutenant colonel ranks, and Rusuf's rank is higher than them, so naturally they should obey Rusuf's command."

"Well, yes, Comrade Commander." Koyda said with some displeasure: "I will resolutely obey your order and let all the commanders of the troops follow the command of Colonel Rusuf."

Although Sokov saw the dissatisfaction in Koida's heart, he deliberately pretended not to see it, and turned his head to ask Fomenko: "General Fomenko, what about you?"

"Yes, Comrade Commander." Regarding the matter of sending troops out of Jingji Town this time, Fomenko was still quite worried. You must know that the German army is constantly approaching the area where he is located, around Jingji Town It was even more crowded, and if the Rusuf regiment was really sent there, it was in danger of being encircled by the German army at any time.

"The Rusuv Regiment is a lightly armed regiment without tanks and artillery at all. If they want to take Jingji Town, they may have to pay a lot of casualties." When Fomenko said this, he couldn't help staring at Sokov: "I don't know what? How to deal with the enemy?"

"General Fomenko, it turns out that you are worried about this matter." Sokov waited for Fomenko to finish speaking, and said with a smile: "You can rest assured about this, I have already discussed with the comrade commander of the front army, he Let me directly contact the commander of the air force and ask the other party to dispatch a sufficient number of planes to provide us with the necessary air cover over the battlefield. It turns out that in addition to replenishing our troops, the superior also provides us with air cover."

"That's right, this is a promise made to me by the commander of the front army," Sokov said to Fomenko with a smile: "Although your troops do not have the support of tanks and artillery, as long as the air force is dispatched, the enemy's tanks and armored vehicles will appear. , will immediately become the target of the Air Force's attack."

Hearing this, Fomenko couldn't help laughing, and he said to Sokov: "Comrade Commander, others say that the Germans have strong combat effectiveness. But without the help of tanks, armored vehicles and artillery, their combat effectiveness will be reduced." It will be greatly reduced. I believe that the enemies of the 254th regiment can beat them to pieces.

Originally, I was quite worried about the 254th Regiment, but now it seems that I worry too much. Comrade Commander, I assure you that the Rusuf Regiment will be able to fulfill the tasks you entrusted to them. "

"Very good." Sukov agreed with Fomenko's statement, and said with a smile: "If the troops want to win the battle, the commander must first have confidence, otherwise the soldiers may see you all day sad, and maybe you will return." affects morale."

After Sokov assigned the task, he felt that he should communicate with his chief of staff, Sameko, about such a big matter, so that he would know what to do so that his superiors would not find out that he was leaving early.

Thinking of this, he picked up the phone on the table and put the handset to his ear: "Operator, this is Sokov, please help me get to the Army Command and Chief of Staff Sameko, I have something important to ask." Talk to him."

"Okay, Comrade Commander." The operator didn't dare to neglect, and quickly connected Sokov to the army headquarters.