Red Moscow

The 254th Infantry Division was progressing smoothly. Less than a quarter of an hour after the offensive began, the division commander, Colonel Shechtman, called Sokov: "Comrade Commander, the 762nd Regiment of our division has successfully occupied the German army. The first line of defense, the troops are developing in depth."

It stands to reason that Sokov should have smiled when he heard such good news, but he raised his hand to look at his watch and asked solemnly, "Colonel Shechtman, how strong is the resistance of the German army?"

"It collapses at the first touch, and there is no decent resistance at all." Shechtman did not notice the strangeness in Sokov's tone, and still reported excitedly: "Seeing the commanders and fighters of our division approaching the position, I have been frightened for a long time. The enemy, who made only sporadic resistance, retreated hastily."

If the 254th Division attacked the position of the German infantry division, Sukov thought it was normal for such a situation to occur. But now they are attacking the positions of the German elite armored divisions. Even if the shelling just now caused huge casualties to the German army, as long as there are one or two tanks surviving at the front, the Germans will rely on this as a basis to carry out tenacious resistance. It may collapse at the touch of a button, and there must be some conspiracy in it.

"Colonel Shechtman," Sokov felt that he had to remind Shechtman, lest the German army underestimate the enemy because the German army retreated too quickly, and then fell into the enemy's trap, and the loss outweighed the gain. "Don't you think the enemy's behavior is a bit abnormal?"

"Isn't it normal?!" For Sokov's concerns, Shechtman obviously didn't take it to heart, he said confidently: "Our troops launched an attack on the German positions immediately after the shelling. It is inevitable for the enemies who have woken up from the shelling of our army to see our commanders and fighters appearing in front of them before the smoke clears."

Seeing that Shechtman didn't understand what he meant, Sokov didn't go around in circles with him, but said bluntly: "Comrade Colonel, if you are attacking the position of the German infantry division, it is entirely possible that this situation will happen." It’s possible. But don’t forget that your division is now attacking the defense zone of the German armored division. If you use infantry to attack the armored division, even with the support of artillery, it is impossible to win so smoothly.”

Shechtman broke out in cold sweat, and he asked nervously, "Comrade Commander, what do you mean, the Germans may have set a trap for us?"

"It's not a trap." Although Sokov didn't know that Manstein was commanding the German army in front of him remotely, he still judged that the German army might have a shortage of troops, so he had to abandon some irrelevant positions and shrink its troops. The way to resist the Soviet attack. He said to Shechtman: "The Germans may have insufficient troops, so they can only abandon some insignificant positions and concentrate their troops in important areas. As for you, it is possible that because you have to divide your troops to guard the occupied areas, This reduces the strength of the attack."

"Then what should we do?" Shechtman felt that what Sokov said was very reasonable. As long as the troops were deployed to hold on to the occupied areas, the force used for attack would be greatly weakened and compete with the assembled German army. He will definitely suffer a big loss, so he hurriedly asked Sokov about the solution: "If we leave the troops to defend, it will not weaken the offensive strength, but in this way, our rear may be cut off by the enemy at any time." .”

"You don't have to worry about that." After seeing through the intentions of the German army, Sukov naturally came up with a way to deal with them: "I will order Khokhlov's 182nd Division to follow up and let them take over your defense In this way, you don't have to worry about being taken back by the Germans during the attack.

I order you now, continue to attack, bite the retreating enemy tightly, and prevent them from having time to form a new line of defense. do you understand? "

"I fully understand, Comrade Commander." Shechtman had a kind of blind trust in Sokov, so when he heard his order, he immediately replied unequivocally: "We will firmly bite the retreating troops." Enemies, don't give them time to build a line of defense."

After finishing the conversation with Shechtman, Sokov called Sameko to him, and said to him: "Comrade Chief of Staff, judging from the current situation, the German armored division is shrinking its forces to counter the attack of our army. .Once they have completed the assembly of their forces, I am worried that Shechtman and the others may suffer losses. Therefore, I have ordered the 254th Division to push forward desperately, bite the retreating enemy firmly, and not build a line of defense for them time."

"Then what about the positions they occupied?" Sameko didn't hear the conversation between Sokov and Shechtman. He didn't know that Sokov planned to order the Khokhlov Division to follow up, and asked worriedly: "Leaving troops for defense will definitely weaken their offensive power; but if they don't leave troops, they may be taken by the Germans."

"Comrade Chief of Staff, the Germans voluntarily gave up some unimportant positions and retreated back, just wanting to throw such a difficult problem on us." Sukov sneered and said contemptuously: "But they never dreamed of it, and I will see through them Trick. You now call Colonel Khokhlov, the commander of the 182nd Division, and order his troops to attack immediately to take over the positions occupied by the 254th Division and nail them there like nails.”

"But according to our plan, the 182nd Division is the second echelon. They should only enter the battlefield when the 254th Division suffers major losses and is unable to move forward." Sameko reminded Sokov: "At this time Isn't it too early to put them on the battlefield? Besides, we don't know whether the division is ready for battle so far."

What Sameko meant was that the commanders of individual divisions felt that their troops would not go into battle for a few days anyway, so they would be very perfunctory when preparing for battle. Unless it is before the start of the battle, there will be temporary cramps.

Sokov naturally understood what Sameko wanted to express, smiled slightly, and then said: "Even if the 182nd Division is not ready for battle, it doesn't matter much. Anyway, their task today is to take over the land occupied by the 254th Division." Position. As long as they enter the position, they will naturally have a sense of urgency, and even if we don’t urge them, they will surely make all preparations for battle in the shortest possible time.”

Sameko agrees with Sokov's statement. As long as the 182nd Division enters the position occupied by the 254th Division, even if no one urges them, the commanders and fighters will be vigilant and hurry up to prepare for battle. "You are right, Comrade Commander. As long as the 182nd Division enters the position, they can consciously prepare for battle even if they are not supervised."

When Khokhlov received a call from Sameko and learned that they were about to enter positions occupied by the 254th Division, he couldn't help but panic because, as Sokov and Sameko guessed, they I feel that the battlefield is still far away from me, so I can't help being a little lax.

At this point, he could only truthfully say to Sameko: "Comrade Chief of Staff, our division is not yet fully ready for combat. Maybe it is not appropriate to go into combat at this moment?"

"There is nothing inappropriate." Sameko said carelessly: "The German armored division is shrinking its forces, trying to concentrate superior forces locally to counterattack our offensive forces.

In order to prevent the 254th Division's attack from being frustrated, the comrade commander has ordered them to bite the retreating German army tightly and not give them a chance to build a new line of defense. Due to the concentration of forces to attack the enemy, the 254th Division did not have extra strength to defend the positions occupied by them.

After discussing with the comrade commander, I feel that it is very necessary for your division to enter the battlefield and take over these positions to relieve the 254th Division from worries. "

Khokhlov knew very well in his heart that since Sameko had already said this, if he evaded it again, he would be too ignorant of flattery, so he could only bite the bullet and say: "Okay, Comrade Chief of Staff , I obey the orders of my superiors. But because our division is not fully ready for combat, I plan to send Lieutenant Colonel Goryachkin’s 246th Regiment first to take over the occupied areas from the 254th Division.”

For Sameko, as long as there were troops to defend the German troops occupied by the 254th Division, it did not make much difference whether the troops performing the task were a division or a regiment, so he replied bluntly, "That's fine. But Colonel Khokhlov, if I were you, I would still bring all the troops into the designated position in the shortest possible time."

"I understand, Comrade Chief of Staff." Hearing what Sameko said, Khokhlov replied with some embarrassment: "I will deploy the entire division to the designated location as soon as possible."

The 254th Division's offensive went smoothly, and the commanders and fighters of the 300th Division also attacked the German positions under the cover of artillery. Under Sokov's arrangement, the artillery's style of attack this time was different from that of the armored division just now. As soon as the shelling started, the infantry launched an impact on the enemy's position. When they approached the enemy's position, the artillery fire began to extend forward, and the German army hid in the shelter and could not come out when they heard that the artillery fire outside had not stopped, so that the Soviet commanders and fighters rushed into the trench smoothly.

The commanders and fighters who entered the trench quickly came to the bunker where the German army was hiding, and without shouting inside, they took out a few grenades, pulled the strings and threw them directly in. After the loud noise of "Boom, Boom, Boom" was over, before the smoke inside cleared, the officers and fighters rushed in with their weapons in hand, and fired at the place where the sound came out.

In this way, the commanders and fighters of the 300th Division quickly cleared the defenders on the first line of defense with almost no casualties, leaving a small number of troops for defense, and the remaining commanders and fighters rushed directly to the first line of defense that was being covered by artillery fire. Second line of defense.

After receiving a telegram from the division commander, Colonel Weisbach, Sameko excitedly reported to Sokov: "Comrade Commander, good news, the 300th Division captured the German infantry division with almost no casualties. The first line of defense is now advancing to the second line of defense."

"Today's offensive went well." After listening to Sameko's report, Sokov showed a smile on his face: "It is estimated that before dark, the defense line built by the two German divisions will be completely destroyed by our army." Destroy it, and the road to Alexandria is open to us."

"Yes, Comrade Commander." Sameko agreed, "I didn't expect that today's attack would be so smooth."

"The reason is very simple," Sokov explained to his chief of staff with a smile: "We had 40 minutes of artillery preparation before attacking the German armored division. When the German infantry division was bombarded by our army, Naturally, they would instinctively think that the shelling of them would last at least half an hour. But they never dreamed that the artillery fire would be extended after less than ten minutes, and the officers and soldiers in their first line of defense, They are still hiding from the shelling of our army, so that the commanders and fighters of the 300th Division can block them in the shelter and eliminate them one by one."

"Comrade Commander, the tactics you use are really great." Sameko and Sokov have been partners for a long time, but he still feels that he cannot see through him, and he can always come up with some ingenious ideas. thing. He said with emotion: "Even if I were the commander of the German army, I am afraid that the way I deal with this situation is the same."

The attack organized by Sokov was of course aimed at breaking through the German defense line to the south of the landing field, but what he was more concerned about at the moment was the Mikhaiev Battalion hanging in the city of Pavlish. He asked Sameko, "Chief of Staff, Major Guchakov, are they ready to attack?"

"They have been prepared for a long time. They have been waiting for your order." Sameko said to Sokov: "They are more worried about the safety of the Mikhaiev camp than we are. You know, they are just formed after all. In the near future, if a battalion is lost in an organized manner, it may affect the reputation of the army..."

"Chief of Staff," Sokov said, seeing that the attention of the German army on the south side of the landing field was drawn to the two areas under attack. Even if the German defense area opposite the infantry brigade was attacked, the Germans would not be able to spare any strength to send reinforcements. Now that the time is right, there is no need to wait any longer, and he decisively issued an order: "Let Major Guchakov launch an attack immediately, and must enter the city of Pavlish before dark, and fight with the guards standing there. The armies converge."

Sameko had been waiting for Sokov's order, and quickly replied loudly: "Yes, Comrade Commander, I will immediately call Major Guchakov and ask his troops to launch an attack immediately."

Askel, who was staying at the brigade headquarters, learned of the smooth progress of the 254th and 300th divisions through familiar officers in the headquarters. He raised his hand and looked at his watch, and asked Guchakov anxiously: "Comrade Brigadier, the friendly forces are progressing smoothly, when can we launch an attack on the enemy?"

Gutchakov didn't know when he could launch an attack, so he couldn't answer his question, so he changed the subject and asked, "Comrade Chief of Staff, is there any new news from Captain Mikhaiev?"

"There is no new news at the moment." Askel shook his head and said, "However, according to the content of the last telegram, the Germans may not have enough troops to attack them, and they just sent troops to stand firm at the front and rear gates of the warehouse area. , to prevent them from retreating."

Although this information has been known for a long time, after hearing Askel repeat it again, Guchakov still wants to express his opinion: "Since the Germans are unable to attack them, they are safe for the time being. Comrade Chief of Staff, Don't worry, Comrade Commander knows well, and will naturally give us an order when it's time to attack."

As soon as he finished speaking, the phone on the desk rang.

The ringtone seemed to be the horn of the attack. The two stood up at the same time, and reached out to grab the microphone together, trying to figure out whether the call was related to the attack.