Red Moscow

When the 41st Guards Division entered the Safran area, Ponegerin asked Sukov the question in his heart: "Comrade Commander, I don't understand something. Now the entire 18th Guards Army Here, the 41st Guards Division is the worst both in terms of equipment and personnel. Why do you want them to be the vanguard? If you use any of the other two Guards Airborne Divisions, you can survive without air support today. to seize positions held by the Germans in the event of an emergency."

"The reason is very simple." Sokov replied: "Lieutenant Colonel Ponejerin, you are right, the 41st Guards Division is indeed the worst in the 18th Guards Corps in terms of personnel and equipment.

I let the 41st Guards Division be the vanguard and stationed in the Safran area in advance, considering that they would not encounter too high-intensity battles. New fighters can overcome their fear on the battlefield in small-scale conflicts, which is very helpful for improving the combat effectiveness of the division. Placing a weak force in Safran can also paralyze the enemy. "

"It can also play a role in paralyzing the enemy?" Pornegelin asked in confusion, "What do you mean?"

"The Germans know that I am now the commander of the 53rd Army. Once they find that Safran has a unit belonging to me, they will be more vigilant." Sokov explained to Ponejielin: "They will even send troops, Launch a tentative attack on the defenders. If the defenders are found to be strong in combat, they will definitely mobilize heavy troops to confront them, and in this way, it will bring great obstacles to our attack."

Ponedelin waited for Sokov to finish, and asked tentatively: "Comrade commander, does that mean that when the enemy launches a tentative attack on our defense zone, our troops must deliberately appear vulnerable so that Let the enemy relax their vigilance?"

"No, this is absolutely not possible." Unexpectedly, Sukov shook his head after hearing this and said: "If our troops stationed in Safran are too weak, maybe the Germans will turn from a feint attack to a formal attack. Take it away from our army. This will make our army lose an ideal offensive position."

"It's not easy to grasp the scale." Pornegelin said with emotion: "If you fight too hard, the Germans will mobilize heavy troops to guard against our army; Enter a strong attack and seize our army's offensive position."

"Comrade Lieutenant Colonel," Sokov said to Ponegerin with a smile when he saw Ponegerin's worry-free look, "Let's leave this kind of matter to General Afunin. He is an old commander. , has rich combat and command experience, I believe he has a way to solve this problem."

Said that Cao Cao Cao Cao will be here, Sukov just mentioned Afunin's order, he called.

Afunin said on the phone: "Comrade Commander, I am honored to report to you that I just received a telegram from General Kurishenko that the 41st Guards Division has successfully entered the Safran area."

Sokov couldn't help being taken aback, and then asked back: "General Afunin, how many telegrams have you received from General Kurishenko?"

"One serving!"

"One copy?!" Sokov couldn't help raising his voice: "This is impossible."

Afunin didn't know why Sokov's tone changed suddenly, but he replied truthfully: "That's right, Comrade Commander, General Kurishenko just sent me a telegram. No, I Having just received his telegram, I am calling to report the good news to you."

Sokov couldn't help frowning when he heard this. He thought that he had received several telegrams from the 41st Guards Division, but Afunin, Kurishenko's immediate boss, had only received one telegram. This thing is far too abnormal.

But considering telling the truth at this moment, Afuning would have bad thoughts. Therefore, after complimenting the other party a few words, he asked back: "General Afunin, when will your army headquarters and two airborne divisions be stationed in Safran?"

"Tomorrow, Comrade Commander, we will not be able to reach the Safran area until noon tomorrow at the earliest." Afunin explained to Sokov: "The road is too difficult to walk, and our marching speed cannot be raised at all."

"Well, I know." Sokov said briefly: "Safran is right on the edge of the German defense zone, and fighting may break out at any time. It is absolutely necessary for the main force of the 18th Guards Army to enter the position early. "

After finishing the conversation with Afunin, Sokov saw that Smirnov was already sitting at the table, sighed softly, and then said: "Comrade Chief of Staff, I think Kurishenko seems to be interested in Afunin. General Ning has resistance?"

Smirnov, who had just finished the phone call, didn't hear the conversation between Sokov and Afunin at all, so he didn't know what happened, so he tentatively asked, "Comrade commander, what happened?" ?”

Sokov did not immediately answer the question, but asked instead: "Comrade Chief of Staff, how many telegrams did the 41st Guards Division send us before entering Safran?"

Smirnov calculated silently in his mind, and then replied: "Five telegrams were sent to us. Comrade Commander, is something wrong?"

"Comrade Chief of Staff," Sokov said helplessly, "Kurishenko sent us five telegrams, while Afunin only sent him one telegram after he was stationed in Safran. "

"Comrade Commander, you can't make a mistake, right?" Smirnov said with some surprise: "The 41st Guards Division sent us five telegrams, how could it be possible to send only one telegram to the Army Command? "

"Comrade Chief of Staff, haven't you seen the problem yet?" Sokov finally got to the point, "This means that Kurishenko is not convinced by Afunin and is unwilling to accept his command, so he reported to work At that time, he crossed the military level and reported directly to us."

"Leapfrog reports, no matter what the starting point is, are inappropriate." Gorokhov, who seldom speaks in the headquarters, interjected: "Comrade commander, I think that when you have time, you should carefully tap the Commander, don't let them develop such a bad habit."

Sokov didn't want to put an end to similar things, but he had been in the 53rd Army for a short time and hadn't gained enough prestige. Even if he specifically greeted the commanders below, others might try to prevaricate him.

He frowned and thought for a while, then said: "In two days, Yakov's second batch of weapons should arrive. I will go to Safran with him and talk to General Kurishenko face to face. Advise him not to skip the report casually in the future."

Although the two were talking about Kurishenko's leapfrog report, both Sokov and Smirnov knew very well in their hearts that Kurishenko was not willing to let Afunin command him, so they adopted this method to express their dissatisfaction.

Knowing that Sokov was going to see Kurishenko in Safran in two days, Smirnov immediately guessed his other intentions, and asked cautiously: "Comrade commander, are you planning to command this army in Safran?" Attack again?"

"Is there anything wrong?" Sokov felt that his current headquarters was more than a hundred kilometers away from the front, and all enemy situations could only be known through reports from the front. If there is poor communication, the fighter may be missed: "General Rokossovsky once said that the headquarters should be located close to the front. In this way, when the commanders and fighters are fighting, they can see the commander and themselves. Together, it's a morale booster."

"However, it's too dangerous to stay at the front." Smirnov said euphemistically: "Our headquarters can move forward, but we can't get too close to the front line, otherwise, if something goes wrong, the entire group army will appear because of the command system." problem, and plunged into confusion."

Although Sokov has been injured more than once on the battlefield, and he has not recovered from the last injury. However, as his first big battle after his comeback, he felt that he should still command from the front so that he could quickly establish his prestige. He said to Smirnov: "Comrade Chief of Staff, I have already made up my mind, so you don't need to persuade me anymore. Before the offensive campaign begins, I will establish a forward headquarters in the Safran area and direct the operations there. But don't worry, I will pay attention to my own safety, if something happens to me, you will take over my command."

Seeing Sokov's firm attitude, Smirnov knew that no matter what he said, he would not be able to change Sokov's mind, so he could only regretfully say: "Okay, Comrade Commander, I respect your decision. Establish a forward command At that time, I suggest that Lieutenant Colonel Pornegelin and the cadets serve as your deputies to assist you in command."

Of the dozens of trainees that Sokov brought from the Frunze Military Academy, only half of them are now assigned to the army, and the other half stay in the headquarters every day as staff officers. Hearing Smirnov's suggestion at this moment, Sokov nodded slightly and said: "Okay, I will only take Ponedelin, Muzichenko and the students to the Safran area to establish a forward headquarters. , there will be no changes to the existing staff in the headquarters."

While Sokov was arranging the manpower for the establishment of the forward command, Konev unexpectedly called.

Hearing Sokov's voice, Konev said: "Comrade Sokov, I just received a call from General Goryunov, who said that his subordinates sent an air force to Safran to assist your troops in combat? "

"Yes, Comrade Marshal." Sokov replied truthfully: "The 41st Guards Division, which was ordered to advance to the Safran area, was stubbornly blocked by the German army and could not continue to advance. I asked Ryazano General Koff's attack aircraft regiment launched an attack on German ground positions."

Konev called Sokov, not to know whether the Air Force had dispatched to support the ground troops, but to know about the air fortress unveiled today: "Comrade Sokov, I want to ask, what is the air fortress? "

"Comrade Marshal, the thing is like this." Seeing that Konev was interested in the sky fortress, Sokov explained to him: "The plane can only attack the target on the ground by diving. If the target of the attack is not in the plane's In the attack area, if you want to destroy the opponent, you can only pull up the plane and dive again.

I just saw that in order to hit the target, the plane needs to dive repeatedly. I felt that the efficiency of attacking the target would be too low, so I suggested that General Ryazanov install the machine gun on the side of the plane, so that he could surround the target and conduct a condescending attack. shooting. "

"General Goryunov said that this modified transport aircraft is called an air fortress by you." Konev said: "After I just discussed with General Goryunov, the existing transport aircraft can be modified so that These aerial fortresses can play a greater role in future battles."

"Comrade Marshal, I don't think too many transport planes should be transformed into aerial fortresses."

"Why?" Konev did not understand Sokov's statement: "The air fortress that was put into actual combat has achieved good results in today's battle. Why should we limit the number of modified transport aircraft?"

"Comrade Marshal, first of all, transport planes are used to transport materials and soldiers." Sokov replied without humility: "If too many transport planes are modified, there will be a shortage of transport planes that originally transported materials and soldiers. In order to make up for this, the superior For some of the lost transport capacity, more aircraft would have to be added."

"Well, it makes sense." Konev said: "Keep talking."

"Secondly, the transport plane is slow and has weak armor. When carrying out a ground attack, it may also become the target of the German air defense weapons." Sokov said cautiously: "Maybe after the Germans learn that we have a large number of air fortresses , Even fighter jets will be dispatched to intercept them. If transport opportunities are carried by small, fast-flying fighter jets, it is like a sheep entering a tiger’s mouth, waiting for their fate to be slaughtered.”

Konev had to pay attention to Sokov's words, and he began to think about whether it was necessary to transform transport aircraft into aerial fortresses on a large scale. After a long time, Konev, who wanted to understand, sighed and said into the microphone: "You are right, Comrade Sokov. We only have a small number of air fortresses, which can attack the Germans by surprise. Attack. But if it is equipped on a large scale, the Germans will definitely pay close attention to the formation of the air fortress. Maybe the moment our airport takes off, the enemy will know it and immediately dispatch the air force to intercept it."

The plan to transform the sky fortress on a large scale was temporarily put on hold. Konev changed the subject and asked Sokov about his preparations: "Comrade Sokov, our offensive campaign will start in three days. Your troops should be ready." Yet?"

"Comrade Marshal, if I told you that we have made all preparations for battle, I would be lying to you." Sokov truthfully replied in order to let Konev understand the real situation: "I can only answer You said that my troops are entering the designated combat area one after another. I believe that they will all reach the designated positions before the offensive begins."

"The artillery and tank units of the Front Army are also advancing in the direction of Uman." Konev said to Sokov: "Before the offensive begins, we will provide you with sufficient artillery preparations to destroy the enemy's fortifications, and provide a comprehensive solution for the enemy's fortifications." Open a passage for your attacking force."

Although Sokov has not been to the frontier yet, he also knows that it is the season of spring thaw, and the Great Plains of Ukraine have turned into quagmire everywhere. risk. So he said to Konev: "Comrade Marshal, it is difficult to use tanks in the area we are attacking, so it is enough to provide enough artillery support before we attack."