Red Moscow

Although Smirnov knew that Sidolin had been Sokov's role, he was still skeptical about his appointment as the chief of the Intelligence Department: "Although Colonel Sidolin is an excellent chief of staff, he Is it appropriate to entrust such an important department to him without any experience in working at the Group Army Command?"

"It's nothing inappropriate." Seeing that Smirnov didn't seem interested in his proposal, Sokov guessed that the other party must not know about Sidolin's past experience, so he added: "Lieutenant Colonel Sidolin, no, it's already a Colonel now. He was General Chuikov's chief of operations before he became my chief of staff."

"General Chuikov?!" Smirnov asked in surprise, "Is it General Chuikov, commander of the 8th Guards Army?"

"That's right, that's him." Sokov continued: "At that time, I said that I didn't have a suitable chief of staff to assist me in commanding the battle, so General Chuikov sent Comrade Sidolin over."

Since Sidolin once had the experience of being the director of operations, there would naturally be no problem with letting him be the intelligence director of the group army. Smirnov nodded and said, "Okay, Comrade Commander, I agree with your proposal to let Colonel Sidolin be the Chief of Army Intelligence. But there is currently no suitable candidate to replace him. I think we can wait to eliminate him." After the German army in the encirclement is eliminated, it will not be too late to let him take office."

"Yes." Sukov saw that Smirnov did not object to his proposal, and felt that it would not be a problem if Sidolin took office a few days later, so he nodded and agreed: "Then wait until our army annihilates the enemies in the encirclement." , let Colonel Sidolin come over and take office."

Smirnov picked up the phone on the table and called the 41st Guards Division stationed at Height 239.

As soon as the phone call was made, Smirnov reported himself and said, "I am Smirnov, Chief of Staff of the Group Army. Who are you?"

"Hello, Comrade Chief of Staff! I am Political Commissar Afanasi!" A slightly old voice came from the other end of the phone: "Do you have any instructions?"

"Hello, Colonel Afanasy." Smirnov said, "Where is Mr. Kurishenko?"

"He went to the 126th Regiment of Lieutenant Colonel Duharin to inspect the regiment's fortifications." Afanasy said in a complaining tone: "From the current situation, it is impossible for the Germans to approach our 239th Heights." , why do we need to build so many fortifications? You know, the weather is too cold now, and a pickaxe can only make a white mark on the frozen soil. In order to complete the tasks assigned to us by our superiors, many of our commanders and fighters are exhausted. down."

"Colonel Afanasy," Smirnov said emphatically after waiting for the other party to finish speaking: "Whether the enemy will reach your defense area or not, the fortification indicators required by your superiors must be completed without compromise. Understand? "

Hearing that Smirnov got angry, Afanasy could only bite the bullet and reply: "Understood, Comrade Chief of Staff, we must complete the defense tasks assigned to us by our superiors without compromise."

Seeing that Afanasy did not contradict himself, Smirnov slowed down his tone, and continued the topic just now: "I called you to inform you of two things. One is that the new commander of the army has arrived, Some of the original combat deployments may be adjusted, I hope you can have a psychological preparation in advance."

"A new commander has arrived?" Afanasy asked pleasantly, "Comrade Chief of Staff, can you tell me who it is?"

Smirnov glanced at Sokov, who was sitting next to him, and said into the microphone: "It's Lieutenant General Sokov." Maybe he felt that his expression was not accurate enough, and added, "He was in the defense of Stalingrad. , once commanded your 41st Guards Division, and Colonel Sidolin was his chief of staff at that time..."

As soon as he said this, Smirnov heard an exclamation from the receiver: "Chief of Staff Sidolin, come here quickly!"

"What's up?"

"General Smirnov said that the new army commander is General Sokov!"

Smirnov soon heard a change in the voice on the receiver, "Hello, General Smirnov, this is Colonel Sidolin. May I ask if what you said is true?" Because of excitement, Sidolin Lin's voice trembled a little.

"That's right, what I said is true." Smirnov glanced at Sokov again, and asked tentatively, "Colonel Sidolin, do you want to have a few words with him?"

"Of course, of course." Sidolin said impatiently: "General Smirnov, can I have a word with the commander?"

Smirnov quickly covered the receiver with his hand, and asked Sokov politely: "Comrade Commander, Colonel Sidolin would like to chat with you, do you think it is okay?"

"There's nothing wrong with it." Sokov held out his hand to Smirnov and said with a smile, "Give me the microphone."

"Hello, Colonel Sidorin. I'm Sokov, it's great to hear your voice again!"

"Hello, Comrade Commander." Although Sidolin knew that Sokov was now the commander of the army group, he still used the original address, which seemed more cordial: "I never thought I would have the opportunity to fight with you again."

"Colonel Sidolin," Sokov said into the microphone, thinking that the military situation is urgent now, and it is not a good time to reminisce about the old days, "I seem to have some resistance to your superiors' instructions just now!"

Without waiting for Sidolin to answer, he continued: "We can't be resolute in carrying out orders from superiors just because the enemy might not show up. Just think about it, if your division doesn't follow the regulations and build the fortifications, the enemy won't come. Naturally, everyone is happy. But what if it comes? What do you rely on to block the enemy's attack?"

"I'm sorry, Comrade Commander." Hearing what Sokov said, Sidolin immediately realized the seriousness of the problem: "We were wrong. But because the weather is too cold, it is difficult for our existing tools to dig through the permafrost. "

"Then what do you think I can do for you so that the soldiers can easily dig through the permafrost?"

"I think it can only be bombed with howitzers!" Sidolin replied: "The craters made by the shells can make it easier for our soldiers to build trenches."

Sokov thought in his heart that if the German army rushes to Height 239 regardless, they must use powerful artillery fire to suppress the opponent, and absolutely cannot waste artillery shells on building fortifications. Thinking of this, he shook his head and said, "I don't want to, Comrade Sidolin, you can't use howitzers to blow up the frozen soil. You can think of other ways."

Unexpectedly, Sidolin said a little dumbfoundingly: "Comrade commander, to tell you the truth, we have thought of all the methods we can think of, but the results are not very satisfactory. No, the division commander went to the 126th regiment in person, and The commanders and fighters of the regiment have gone to study how to build fortifications."

"Sidorin," Sokov thought for a while while holding the microphone, and then said, "You can try to light a few fires at the place where the fortifications were dug. After the fires are extinguished, the permafrost should become soft. Then It should be easy to build the fortifications at that time."

"That's a good idea." Sidolin said, "We can try."

After a pause, Sidolin asked again: "Comrade Commander, just now General Smirnov said that there are two things to inform us. One is about your appointment, so what is the other?"

When Sokov heard that Sidolin also called himself the commander, he did not speak in an official tone, but said truthfully: "I applied for a batch of artillery from the Weapons and Equipment Department. These artillery should be not far from you. It will be sent to your defense area soon, and after you have finished counting, report a number to me."

"A batch of artillery is going to be sent to our defense area?" Sidolin couldn't help being surprised and delighted when he heard the news: "Comrade commander, I would like to ask, how much of this batch of artillery can be distributed to us?"

"No matter how many artillery pieces there are in this batch, all of them will be handed over to your division for use."

"Great, this is really great." Sidolin said excitedly: "With this batch of artillery, even if the enemy attacks our defense zone, there is no need to worry that they will break through our defense line."

After putting down the phone, Sokov said to Smirnov: "Comrade Chief of Staff, our artillery is still too weak. If the German army fails to break through from the north, turn around and break through from us. Can't live."

"Comrade Commander," Smirnov waited for Sokov to finish speaking, and carefully reminded him: "You have already contacted the Armament Department and obtained an unknown number of Bofors field guns. If you call again Go ask for help, I'm afraid even Colonel Yakov is powerless."

"Comrade Chief of Staff, what you said is very reasonable. It is useless to call Yakov again at this moment. We can only solve the problem of our army's insufficient artillery fire through other means."

"Comrade Commander, what are you going to do?"

"Naturally ask for help from the Front Army Command. I think we should be able to obtain strong enough artillery support near our defense zone." After Sokov finished speaking, he ordered Smirnov: "Comrade Chief of Staff, you immediately give The division commander called and informed them of my assumption of the post of commander."

"Okay, Comrade Commander, I'll call right away."

When Sokov waited for Smirnov to make a call, he turned around and asked the silent Ponegerin: "General Ponederin, do you have any different views?"

"No." Ponegerin shook his head and said, "If I were in your position, I would have made the same decision." Having said that, a bitter smile suddenly appeared on his face, "When the troops were in When the Uman area was attacked by the enemy, I once asked for help from my superiors, but unfortunately, the higher authorities were in a situation where they could not help us. I could only watch my troops being attacked by the enemy. Break down and annihilate one by one."

"General Ponegerin, I know that the Uman area is an eternal pain for you." Sukov knew that Ponegerin had a knot in his heart, so he made a promise to him carelessly: "As long as you cut The enemies in the encirclement of Erkasy have been annihilated, and our army will attack the Uman area next, and then you will have a chance to avenge your hatred."

"Really?" Upon hearing that the troops would beat the Germans in the Uman area in the future, Pornejelin lost control of his emotions: "Can we really teach the Germans a lesson in the Uman area?"

"That's for sure, General Pornegering, and I assure you on my honor that we will pay the Germans blood."

After comforting Ponegerin, Sokov ordered the director of the communications corps to help him connect to the headquarters of the front army.

"Comrade Sokov," Konev asked bluntly after the call was connected, "have you taken over the command of the troops?"

"Yes, Comrade Front Army Commander, I have officially taken over the post of Commander of the 53rd Army Group."

"Very good." Konev asked in a kind tone, "Is there anything I can do for you?"

"Comrade Commander of the Front Army, the artillery firepower of the 53rd Army is too weak. If the enemy breaks through from the north to the south, then our defense zone will be the area where the enemy will focus on breaking through." Sokov said to the topic: "If there is no strong With artillery support, it may be very difficult for us to block the crazy enemies."

"Well, what you said is very reasonable." Konev waited for Sokov to finish speaking, and said: "The 53rd Army paid huge losses in the early battles. The weapons and equipment are poor, and it will indeed be a big loss to fight against the German army with such strength. How about this, I will call the artillery commander of the front army and let him talk to you."

Sokov soon heard Konev calling on the other end of the phone: "General Fumin, General Fumin, please come to me." Then he heard Konev say, "The person who spoke to me The man is Lieutenant General Sokov, commander of the 53rd Army, and he wants to talk to you about artillery support."

"Hi, General Sokov. I am Lieutenant General Fumin, Commander of Artillery of the Front Army." The artillery commander asked politely on the phone, "May I help you?"

"Comrade Artillery Commander," Sokov said, "If the German army launches an attack on the 239 Heights where our troops are stationed, I hope to get the support of the front army's artillery, otherwise we will not be able to stop the enemy's attack at all."

Fumin asked on the phone: "General Sokov, what do you hope I can do for you?"

"It's very simple." Sokov said: "When the German army launches an attack on Height 239, I hope you can provide them with strong artillery support."

"Powerful artillery support?!" Fuming said with a smile: "General Sukov, your statement is very vague. I don't know how to call it powerful artillery support?"

"At least three to four base bombardments are needed." Sokov thought for a while, then gritted his teeth and said, "This is the only way to stop the crazy German attack."

"My God!" But Fuming exclaimed after hearing Sukov's words: "Do you know the concept of three or four base shells?"

Sokov is not an artilleryman, so naturally he doesn't know how much a base number of shells is, but in order to prevent the German army from breaking through from Height 239 desperately, he can only open his mouth like a lion and give Fuming a vaccination first, so that he can Have a mental preparation in advance. "General Fuming, I know my proposal is a bit excessive, but in order to crush the Germans' intention to break out, strong artillery support is absolutely necessary."

Although Fuming was dealing with Sokov for the first time, he knew very well in his heart that the other party would not be able to talk nonsense. Since he proposed that shells with three or four base numbers were needed, he must have had a brilliant idea, so he lit The head said: "Well, General Sokov, it may take me a while to stockpile shells so that I can provide you with strong artillery support when necessary."