Red Moscow

The 1st Armored Division, who came to relieve the siege, carried out a violent shelling of the positions of the 122nd Guards Regiment before the offensive began in order to break through the Soviet defenses as soon as possible.

As soon as the shelling began, the position of the 122nd Guards Regiment was completely covered by German artillery fire. The shells poured down on the position like raindrops. If anyone can see through the smoke and fire, he can see the ground. The number of craters increased rapidly at a speed visible to the naked eye.

The German army used all heavy artillery, and every impact point was blown out of a deep pit. If there were people near the pit, they would have been wiped out long ago, and even the stumped limbs and arms could not be found. Fortunately, when the shelling started, the defenders hid in the anti-bomb holes dug just two days ago, so the casualties were almost negligible.

Papchenko, who had participated in the defense of Stalingrad with Sokov, even built the regiment command post at a depth of five or six meters underground. Staying inside, the sound of rumbling cannons above his head was inaudible.

Chief of Staff Major Sukharev looked up at the top of his head, smiled and said to Papchenko: "Comrade commander, the Germans may never have imagined that we will set up the command post in such a position, unless they use the track Cannon, otherwise it will not pose a threat to us at all."

After hearing this, Papchenko said with a smile: "When our division stood firm on the Mamayev Post, it relied on perfect underground fortifications to deal with German shelling and bombing, which greatly reduced the casualties of the troops. Otherwise, the With our troops of less than 10,000 people, how could it be possible to hold on to Mamayev Post for three or four months.”

The shelling ended soon. Sukharev received a call from the first battalion. After learning that the German army in October Town had dispatched 20 tanks and a battalion of infantry, he didn't take it seriously at first, but after listening to the following The report turned pale with shock. He hurriedly reported to Papchenko: "Comrade commander, the first battalion reports that the German tanks stopped at a position 800 meters away from our position and used artillery fire to cover the infantry's charge."

"What a cunning enemy," Papchenko said through gritted teeth after listening to the report: "Their tanks are parked so far away, even if our anti-tank guns hit them, they cannot penetrate their frontal armor. On the contrary , Once our anti-tank position is exposed, it will be directly destroyed by tank fire."

He grabbed the phone and muttered: "This situation is very important, and we need to report it to the teacher immediately."

Kurishenko, who received his call, told him in a regretful tone after learning about the situation on the battlefield that since the divisional artillery regiments were all equipped with 75 or 76.2mm artillery, it was impossible to penetrate German tanks at long distances. Therefore, it is impossible to provide him with artillery support, but to order him not to hold out, and to find a way to destroy the German infantry.

After Papchenko put down the phone, he said to Victor and Sukharev: "Deputy regiment commander, chief of staff, division commander said that the artillery caliber of the divisional artillery regiment is too small to penetrate the armor of German tanks at all. So order us not to be able to hold on, just destroy those enemies who are close to the position."

As the deputy head of the regiment, Victor thought about many things. Instead of staying in the position and passively resisting wave after wave of German attacks, he would rather find a way to hurt the enemy so that they would not dare to attack again. Launching an attack, he tentatively said: "Comrade commander, I have a bold idea, I wonder if you are willing to listen."

Papchenko is now thinking about how to hold the position. Since the deputy head has an idea, he naturally wants to hear it before deciding whether it is worth adopting: "Speak, comrade deputy head, tell me what you think."

"We can ask the army headquarters directly for help." Victor said: "Although the artillery regiment of the division does not have heavy artillery, the artillery of the army does. If we can get their support, then the defensive battle will be much easier to fight. "

"However, if you do this, it is tantamount to leapfrogging." Papchenko said: "If the teacher finds out, it may not be very good."

"Comrade commander, we are trying to find a way to hold the position. As long as we can defeat the enemy, even if the division commander knows about it, he won't say anything." Seeing Papchenko's worries, Victor emphasized to him: "In any case, you are an old subordinate of the commander. From what I know of him, as long as you make a request to him, he will definitely agree."

Sokov was quite surprised when he received the call from Papchenko. You must know that although the other party is his old subordinate, it is obviously against the rules to make a leapfrog phone call like this. But since the other party can call himself at the risk of being punished, it shows that he has something important to do.

"Colonel Papchenko, you call me, what's the matter?"

After Papchenko reported his situation, Sokov nodded and said: "Colonel Papchenko, General Kurishenko has already told me about the situation you mentioned. When the artillery fire cannot destroy the German tanks, it is the best defense plan if you cannot hold on and choose an opportunity to destroy the enemy's infantry."

"Comrade Commander," Papchenko said, "didn't you always teach us not to use passive defense in battle, which would put us in a passive position to be beaten. I want to use active defense to attack a large number of people. Draining the vital strength of the enemy, but needing your help."

"Tell me, Colonel Papchenko." Papchenko's words aroused Sokov's curiosity: "How can I help?"

"Although the artillery of the artillery regiment belonging to the division cannot destroy the German tanks, the artillery units of the group army are equipped with heavy artillery." Papchenko said carefully: "If they fire, there is a chance that they can destroy the German tanks and quickly smashed the German attack."

"Okay, Comrade Colonel." Sokov carefully tasted what Papchenko said, and felt that it was quite reasonable. I have always focused on the defense of Highland 239, and did not pay enough attention to the defense in the southwest direction. You must know that the deployment of the artillery positions of the group army is originally aimed at the southwest direction. It is very easy to provide them with artillery support. Wanting to understand this, he said into the microphone: "I will let the artillery of the group army provide artillery support for you as soon as possible, but you must provide accurate shooting parameters for the artillery, so that the shells will not fall on your own heads."

Ten minutes later, the artillery of the group army fired at the German army attacking the position of the 122nd regiment. The dense shells exploded in the German queue, and the soldiers near the bombing point were wiped out on the spot; many soldiers who escaped the blasting point had their heads cut off or their chests were pierced by the shrapnel flying around.

The attacking troops, which were originally orderly, suddenly became chaotic after being hit by the fierce artillery fire of the Soviet army. Many soldiers were blown out and didn't know how to hide on the spot, but ran around like headless chickens. Until it is blown down by a new shell. As for the tanks that stopped and fired in the distance, the situation was not much better. Unlucky tanks were constantly destroyed by the roaring shells or overturned by the air waves. The shells of the Soviet army even directly destroyed the ammunition truck, triggering a chain explosion.

When the relief troops attacked by the German 1st Armored Division were bombarded by Sokov's department, Konev called the General Staff to report the German army's attempt to break out.

After Antonov learned about the situation in the Cherkasy area, he called Vasilevsky, who had just returned from the foreplay, and went to Stalin's office together to report the latest situation on the battlefield to the Supreme Commander himself.

Seeing the former and current chiefs of staff coming to his office, Stalin asked casually while lighting his cigarette butt: "Do you have anything to do?"

After the two looked at each other, Antonov stepped forward and said respectfully: "Comrade Stalin, the German troops in Cherkasy have begun to break through."

"Oh, the Germans have begun to break through." Stalin took a cigarette butt that he had just lit, and came to the map by the wall, looked up at the map of the situation of the enemy and the enemy, and asked casually: "They still try from the direction of Vatutin?" Breakthrough?"

"No, Comrade Stalin." But Antonov shook his head and said: "The Germans failed to break through from the defense zone of the Ukrainian First Front Army, so they chose the new direction of breakout to the south and tried to open the way from there." Passage, rush to join forces with the defenders of October Town."

"It's not easy for them to achieve this goal." Stalin put his cigarette butt in his mouth and said contemptuously: "They must first capture the highlands of Komarovka before they can continue to advance southwest. I believe that in the future With the combat effectiveness of our troops, it should be no problem to keep them in this area for two to three days."

Hearing what Stalin said, the muscles on Antonov's face twitched violently a few times, and he hastily cast a begging look at Vasilevsky, beckoning him to help him explain.

Seeing Antonov's gaze, Vasilevsky nodded in understanding, and then stepped forward and said, "Comrade Stalin, let me introduce you to the situation in the Komarovka area."

Seeing Vasilevsky's initiative to ask to speak, Stalin's eyes flashed with surprise, but he still agreed to the other party's request: "Please speak, Comrade Vasilevsky."

"Comrade Stalin, Komarovka has fallen." Vasilevsky came to the wall, picked up the explaining stick leaning against the wall, pointed to the map and said: "The enemy's Viking Division and the 72nd Infantry Division, cross the Komarovka, rushed directly to the 239 Heights. Here they started a firefight with the 53rd Army commanded by Sokov."

Knowing that the German army that broke through Komarovka was fighting with the 53rd Army under the command of Sokov at Height 239, Stalin let go of the boulder in his heart, and even showed a little smile on his face: "I think the Germans are fighting in the millet. Sha must not be able to take advantage of anything here."

"You are right, Comrade Stalin." Vasilevsky echoed: "The German army originally wanted to take advantage of the darkness to launch a surprise attack on Height 239. But because a soldier was approaching the height, unfortunately he stepped on a The target was exposed. Since the exploding mine was far away from the position, almost everyone believed that the person who detonated the mine might not be a person, but a small animal such as a rabbit or a fox.

But Sokov insisted on his point of view and ordered the army artillery to shell the area where the mine exploded. When the shelling was over, he found no trace of the Germans in that area. He judged that the enemy might be lurking five or six hundred meters away from the position, so he ordered the artillery to shift the direction of the shelling and bombarded the possible lurking area again.

But this shelling still found nothing. General Konev felt that Sokov was making a fuss, and while ordering the other party to stop the shelling, he asked him to go to the Front Army Command for a review after dawn. "

After hearing this, Stalin couldn't help interjecting and asked, "Could it be that Misha really judged that something went wrong?"

"How is this possible, Comrade Stalin." Vasilevsky said with a smile: "We later learned that the Walloon assault brigade was performing the latent mission. The target. However, our shelling caused huge casualties to them, even Lieutenant Colonel Lipett, the brigade commander, was killed.

It's a pity that we didn't know the effect of the bombardment at all at the time. Even Sokov, who believed in his own judgment, saw that the bombardment had no effect, and he inevitably doubted his own analysis. Fortunately, the surprise attack launched by the German army later proved to everyone that Sokov's judgment was completely correct.

As I have just said, the Walloon Assault Brigade, which performed latent missions, suffered heavy casualties in the shelling, so the task of raiding our army's positions can only be completed by the 105th Grenadier Regiment of the 72nd Infantry Division. The enemy's assault was discovered by us in time, and corresponding measures were taken. Although the enemy once occupied Height 239, after a fierce battle, the enemy who occupied Height 239 was wiped out. "

When Vasilevsky spoke, Stalin remained silent, his face reflected in the flickering light of the pipe. After the other party finished speaking, he removed the pipe from his mouth, slowly exhaled a puff of smoke, and asked the other party: "Comrade Vasilevsky, now you can tell me how Komarovka fell. ?”

"Sneak attack, or sneak attack." Vasilevsky said with a serious expression: "The German army adopted the tactics of sneak attack. First, they sent out capable scouts, killed our sentries, and then controlled all communication equipment, and then carried out large-scale troops. The sneak attack took Komarovka Heights and several nearby villages in just a few minutes. Due to the good concealment of the Germans' actions, when the battle for 239 Heights started, Komarovka was defended nearby. The troops in the area don't even know that the high ground has fallen."

"Which army is in charge of defending the Komarovka area?" Stalin asked angrily after hearing this: "Their commanders should be sent to military courts."

Before Vasilevsky could speak, he turned to Antonov again: "Comrade Antonov, we managed to surround tens of thousands of enemies in Cherkasy, but we must not let them escape. Immediately call Vatutin and Konev and order them to make sure that no Faxi Temple bandit escapes from the encirclement."

"Okay, Comrade Stalin." Antonov replied respectfully: "I will pass on your order to the two commanders of the Front Army." After saying this, he remembered that he should defend Komarovka The commander of the army said a few good words, and then said cautiously: "Also, I think the fall of Komarovka, the 5th Guards Airborne Division, which was in charge of defending that area, is indeed responsible to some extent, but it is not necessary. Send the division commander to a court-martial."

"When a large corps fights, military discipline must be strict, otherwise we will not be able to win the battle." After Stalin finished speaking, seeing Antonov's embarrassed expression, he slowed down and said, "It's okay if you don't go to the military court. But the commander of the division should be replaced."

"No problem." Seeing that Stalin no longer insisted on sending the commander of the Airborne Division to a court-martial, Antonov couldn't help but heaved a sigh of relief, and hurriedly said, "I'll arrange this."