Red Moscow

According to Konev's plan, at dawn, the troops who entered the attack position according to the order will launch a general attack on the besieged German army from more than a dozen areas at the same time.

But what was unexpected was that after dawn, no more than three troops actually went into battle. Because of this, Stemmermann was able to calmly transfer the troops in the areas that were not attacked to the areas where the fighting was fierce, and cooperate with the defenders there to repel the Soviet attack.

The battle started at 8:00 in the morning and continued until 11:00 at noon. All the attacks launched by the Soviet army were repelled without exception. And the slow-moving troops also became cowering when they saw that the friendly troops who had launched the attack earlier were repelled by the Germans. For a while, the situation on the battlefield fell into a stalemate.

Seeing this situation, Konev couldn't help being furious. He was furious at Lieutenant General Saluoxin, commander of the 37th Army, on the phone: "General Saluoxin, what did your army do? According to the combat order of the front army, you At least four locations should be attacked at the same time. But until now, why have you stayed still, do you want to go to a military court?"

Facing Konev's accusation, Sa Luoxin on the other end of the phone said with a bitter face: "Commander Konev, I also want to attack the enemy's defensive positions according to the order of my superiors. But it can't, my troops They were all supplemented before the start of the campaign. The recruits were basically recruited from the local area. They had not undergone systematic military training and had no combat experience, so they were forced to rush to the designated starting point of the attack overnight in the severe cold. This is simply an impossible task.”

"Then tell me, when will your troops be able to attack?"

Sha Luoxin thought for a while, and then replied cautiously: "We will wait for four hours at the earliest."

"What, wait another four hours?" If Sha Luoxin appeared in front of Konev at this moment, Konev would definitely grab what he could find in front of him and throw it at him: "Wait another four hours, God will It's getting dark. Do you think recruits with no combat experience can still display their combat effectiveness at night?"

"No." Sha Luoxin replied awkwardly, "But I will shorten the preparation time as soon as possible."

"I'll give you one hour." Konev said in an unquestionable tone: "After one hour, your troops must be in the designated position and attack the Germans, otherwise you will be dismissed." , Without waiting for the other party to speak again, he hung up the phone heavily.

"Comrade Commander," Zakharov walked over and said to Konev: "Not only the 37th Army, but also several other armies are in a similar situation. To be honest, although we have an advantage in strength, due to the large number of recruits , poor equipment, and it is indeed very difficult to quickly eliminate the stubborn Germans."

"No matter how difficult it is, we have to destroy them." Konev gritted his teeth and said, "In order to destroy the enemy in the Cherkasy salient, we used 1.2 million soldiers from the two fronts, and the enemy is full of plans. With only 60,000 to 70,000 people, it is equivalent to 120 people fighting against 67 people, if we still can't win, the Supreme Command will definitely be disappointed in us."

As the chief of staff of the front army, Zakharov knew very well that once the supreme commander himself knew the specific situation here, he would definitely be furious, and I am afraid that some people would be unlucky. In order not to be this unlucky boy, all he can do is to find a way to severely injure the enemies in the encirclement.

"Comrade Commander," Zakharov reminded Konev: "Our cavalry units have reached the attack position. Would you like to order them to attack immediately?" He asked this because Konev was not a cavalryman. Born, the feeling for the cavalry is not as good as Zhukov, Voroshilov and Budyonny.

"No," Konev rejected Zakharov's proposal without hesitation: "It is not the best time for the cavalry to attack." Seeing Zakharov's embarrassed look, he explained, "When the cavalry is preparing In the offensive area, the German army not only has a well-established position, but also has strong defensive firepower. If you attack rashly, the cavalry on horseback will become the target of the Germans. I don’t want my men to die in vain.”

"Okay." In fact, Zakharov was unwilling to let the cavalry go to death, but because many troops could not attack the German army at the specified time and place, he reluctantly proposed to Konev. this matter. Now that he was rejected, he did not stick to his opinion, but asked cautiously: "Then what should we do next?"

"Since our main force did not launch an attack on the designated area according to the original plan, the Germans will definitely concentrate on attacking Height 239, open a gap from there, jump out of our encirclement and join forces with the German troops who came to meet us." Konev He said solemnly: "Comrade Chief of Staff, please inform General Fuming that you must ensure artillery support near Height 239. Since we cannot effectively contain the German troops, we can only use powerful artillery firepower to suppress them."

…………

Sokov left the Front Army headquarters before dawn and returned to his own headquarters.

Considering that the 116th Division has suffered more than half of its casualties after the fierce battle, and if it continues to fight, I am afraid that it will have to retreat to the rear to make up for it. Therefore, Sokov transferred the 262nd Division, which is slightly weaker in combat effectiveness, to take over their defense. Anyway, today A general offensive will be launched, and the German army will be overwhelmed by then, and the attack on Height 239 will definitely be greatly weakened.

But Sokov never dreamed that the combat tasks assigned by Konev to the troops below were not carried out faithfully. As a result, Stemmerman could mobilize more troops to participate in the attack on Height 239.

In order to attack and break through Highland 239, Stemmerman mobilized all the heavy artillery in the army. After establishing the artillery position, he bombarded Highland 239 indiscriminately, turning the small hill into a sea of ​​flames.

In the past, the German army waited until the shelling was over before starting from the offensive position. But since Stemmerman knew that Sokov had served as the commander of the 53rd Army, he felt that he had to adjust his tactics, otherwise he would never even think about breaking through the encirclement. Therefore, while the shelling was still going on, the German troops participating in the offensive moved secretly to the high ground. When the shelling ended, they were only more than 200 meters away from the Soviet position, and they could rush into the trenches with just one charge.

This tactic was originally launched by Sokov. If it was his old troops who stood firm, they would definitely have discovered the Germans' intentions early and made necessary countermeasures. It's a pity that the troops holding their positions at this moment are the 252nd Division with weak combat effectiveness. When they were bombarded by the German army, they all hid in the anti-gun holes, and there were no observation posts in the trenches. As a result, after the shelling ended, before the smoke cleared, the Germans rushed into the trenches and engaged in fierce hand-to-hand combat with the defenders.

After paying a great price, the Soviet army finally drove the enemy out of the position. In addition to the casualties of the commanders and fighters, even the division commander was seriously injured.

After Sokov heard the news, he was silent for a moment, and asked the division chief of staff who called him: "Comrade division chief of staff, can your division commander continue to command the battle?"

The chief of staff of the division glanced at the division commander lying on the stretcher covered in blood, shook his head and said, "No, he can't continue to command the troops for the time being."

"Comrade Chief of Staff of the division," Sukov thought for a moment when he learned that the division commander could no longer command the troops because of injuries, and then said into the microphone: "Listen, you take over the command of the troops temporarily, and I will send People passed by. Do you understand?"

"Understood, Comrade Commander." The division chief of staff quickly replied: "Until the new division commander arrives, I will temporarily perform the duties of the division commander."

Sokov put down the phone, called Smirnov in front of him, and said to him: "Comrade Chief of Staff, the situation at Hill 239 is very bad. The 252nd Division that stood firm just had a fierce battle with the enemy, and even Even the division commander was injured. You see, who should be sent to temporarily act as the division commander?"

Hearing Sokov's question, a series of lists immediately appeared in Smirnov's mind, and he wanted to choose one and recommend it to Sokov. But after going through it carefully, he shook his head regretfully. These people are either not capable enough, and they are not qualified for the position of teacher at all; and those who are capable enough are now holding important positions, and they cannot be allowed to give up their existing positions. To act as an agent for a teacher or something.

"I'm sorry, Comrade Commander." Smirnov shook his head and said, "I really can't find a suitable candidate to serve as the commander of the 252nd Division."

Seeing that Smirnov couldn't name the candidate he wanted to recommend, Sokov took the initiative and said, "Then I will let General Kirillov take up this position. What do you think?"

When Smirnov heard the candidate recommended by Sokov, he didn't have much opinion. After all, the other party was the commander of the army before the war, so he said cautiously: "I think General Kirillov is a suitable candidate, but I don't think so. I know if he is willing." After finishing speaking, he picked up the phone in front of him, dialed a number and said, "I am Smirnov, and I would like to ask Lieutenant Colonel Kirillov to come to the headquarters. The commander has work to do. Arrange for him."

Kirilov had been staying in the wooden house not far away, and hurried over after receiving the notice. Walking into the command post, he raised his hand to salute Sokov and Smirnov, and then reported loudly: "Report to the commander, Comrade Chief of Staff, Lieutenant Colonel Kirillov is here on order, please give instructions!"

Sokov glanced at the rank of lieutenant colonel on Kirillov's shoulders, and said kindly: "Hello, General Kirillov. Now the commander of the 252nd Division was injured in the battle and can no longer command the troops. I I plan to send you to take over his position, what do you think?"

"I resolutely obey your orders, Comrade Commander." Kirillov said respectfully, "I will not disappoint your expectations." After a short pause, he added, "I want to ask, are you Are you going to let me take office alone, or allow me to bring a few people with me?"

"It goes without saying that in order to open up the situation as soon as possible, you must bring a few more people there." Sukov understood what Kirillov meant, and emphasized to him: "The candidates are selected from the training class's students. Choose from here to see if there are any good seedlings."

"Okay then." Since Sokov agreed to his own situation, Kirillov was not polite: "I have taken a fancy to eight commanders. I wonder if you can give them all to me?"

"Yes." Sokov readily agreed to Kirillov's request. Anyway, so far, only six people have gone to the 41st Guards Division, and the rest of the students are still waiting for assignments. They followed Kirillov to the 239 Heights to exercise, which will be of great help to their future growth. "Those students who haven't been assigned yet, you can choose whatever you like."

Seeing that Sokov agreed to his request so readily, Kirillov also heaved a sigh of relief. He was really worried that Sokov would reject him. If he went to the 252nd Division alone, it might take a long time. Time will open up the situation. But now that the war is critical, how can there be so much time for himself. Now that I have a student to go with me, it means I have a helper, no matter what work I do, it will be much more convenient.

"Lieutenant Colonel Kirillov." In front of outsiders, Sokov still called the other party's current military rank: "This time I let you take the post of division commander, I really wronged you."

"I'm not wronged." Hearing what Sokov said, Kirillov quickly replied, "I'm very touched that you trust me so much. Don't worry, I will definitely live up to your expectations."

Sokov was not interested in this kind of cliché, and he said to Kirillov: "Comrade Lieutenant Colonel, in order to break through the encirclement of our army, the enemy launched heavy shelling on Height 239, and while the defenders were avoiding the shelling, they secretly moved. Go to the high ground. As soon as the shelling ended, we immediately launched an offensive, which caught our army by surprise. And your predecessor was injured when he personally led the guard battalion to counterattack when he knew that the German army had rushed to the position."

"He acted really heroically..."

"Brave?!" Sokov interrupted Kirillov without waiting for him to finish, and said with a sneer, "I think he is stupid. Doesn't he know that he is the leader of the first division, and he is like An ordinary officer went to charge like that, but because of his injury, the command system of the troops was in a certain degree of confusion. You remember, you are the division commander, not the company commander or battalion commander. You don't need to charge, you just You need to stay in your command post and command the troops well. Do you understand?"

"I fully understand, Comrade Commander." Kirillov nodded and said, "Don't worry, I won't take anyone to charge casually."

"Continuing the topic just now, since the Germans are using shelling to approach your position secretly, how do you defuse their threat?"

"Comrade Commander, I have an idea." Kirillov gestured on the map and said, "When the enemy bombards, I plan to transfer my troops to the two wings of the position. When the enemy's infantry launches an attack, we attack from the two wings. They can be quickly routed and their attempts to take the high ground crushed."

"Lieutenant Colonel Kirillov," Smirnov raised his own doubts about what Kirillov said: "When the enemy is shelling, you don't let the commanders enter the artillery holes, but disperse them to the left and right of the position. Don't you worry that the artillery fire will cause them greater casualties earlier?"

"I have carefully observed the terrain there." Kirillov replied with such an expression: "The left and right wings of the defensive position are exactly located on the arc of the positive slope. The number of enemy shells falling is not much. The troops are hidden there and stand by. It is undoubtedly the most suitable."