Red Moscow

Without Stemenko, Sokov would not have been able to change Konev's decision at all. But since the deputy chief of staff is here, he can persuade Konev, maybe things will turn around.

Sure enough, when Shtemenko talked with Konev for ten minutes, he put down the phone and said with a sigh of relief: "Comrade Sokov, I have already communicated with Marshal Konev. He said that he has issued orders to other troops. It is very difficult to change the order to attack in advance."

Hearing what Shtemenko said, Sokov couldn't help but feel a little disappointed. But what the other party said next rekindled his hope: "However, Marshal Konev thinks your statement is very reasonable. In order to seize the city as soon as possible, he doesn't mind taking a compromise."

"What kind of compromise?"

"Marshal Konev told me that according to the new order, the participating troops will attack the German fortifications after the artillery preparations are over." Shtemenko said: "He is going to make a fuss about the artillery preparations."

"Make a fuss about artillery preparations?" Sokov asked at a loss, "Is Marshal Konev planning to prolong the time for bombarding the enemy's positions?"

"No, no, no, Comrade Sokov, you guessed wrong." Seeing that Sokov, who has always been very accurate, also made a mistake in judgment, a smile appeared on Shtemenko's face: "The time for artillery preparation It’s the same, but it’s divided into two parts.” Without waiting for Sokov to ask again, he continued, “The time for artillery preparations is still at six o’clock, and the shelling will be suspended after one hour, and will start again at nine o’clock. The shelling will officially end at ten o'clock."

After Shtemenko finished speaking, he carefully observed Sokov's expression, and saw that he was beaming, and asked tentatively: "Comrade Sokov, are you satisfied with this arrangement of Marshal Konev?"

"Satisfied, of course satisfied."

Sokov just nodded twice, and suddenly realized that his actions might misunderstand Shtemenko, and quickly explained to the other party: "Comrade Deputy Chief of Staff, you may not know. Every time the German army is attacked When our army shelled, except for a few observation posts, the rest of the officers and soldiers would retreat to the second line of defense along the traffic trench to avoid the shelling. After the shelling of our army was over, they returned to the first line of defense again, ready to fight against our army Prepare to attack."

Stemenko, who stayed at the General Staff all year round, saw every day that a certain area was occupied by the Soviet army or occupied by the German army. But how the specific battle was carried out, he did not know. After listening to Sokov's narration, he nodded with a dazed face, and said: "The Germans are really cunning. They moved to the second-line position as soon as our artillery bombardment started, which means that all our artillery shells fell through the air. Even if they can destroy the defense line Some of the fortifications on the ground, but their vitality has not suffered any loss."

"Then is there any way to deal with this kind of tactics of the Germans?"

"It's very simple." Sokov already had a certain amount of experience in how to bombard the German positions. When he heard the question from Shtemenko, he replied with confidence: "After the bombardment has been going on for a while, the artillery is deliberately extended or even It is to stop the bombardment, so that the Germans think that the area just finished shelling is safe. When they return to the first-line position through the communication trench and prepare to resist our army's attack, they will bombard the area again with artillery fire, which will cause them huge casualties. "

"This method is good. The Germans thought that our army's shelling had stopped, and returned to the front line to deploy defenses. We took advantage of their relaxation of vigilance and suddenly launched a surprise attack on them. We will definitely achieve good results." Shi Jie After Menko praised Sokov's statement, he asked back: "Have you ever used this method in actual combat?"

"I have used it." Sokov, who had used this tactic many times and caused huge casualties to the German army, replied proudly: "Comrade Deputy Chief of Staff, to tell you the truth, I came up with this tactic."

Hearing what Sokov said, Shtemenko didn't feel that the other party was too proud, but thought it was a matter of course. If it wasn't for him not being able to often figure out a good way to deal with the German army on the battlefield, would he be able to achieve such a brilliant record and be promoted from an ordinary corporal to a general in just two years?

Shtemenko looked at his watch and said to Sokov: "Comrade Sokov, the time for artillery preparations is running out. Look, should we go to the front?"

Sokov originally planned to set up the observation point at the headquarters of the Third Airborne Division, where not only can he clearly observe the battle situation on the battlefield, but also ensure safety. But when Shitemenko saw the troops being mobilized on the road, he changed his mind: "Comrade Sokov, the third airborne division is moving forward. The original headquarters and observation posts will probably be dismantled soon. And moving forward, I think we also move the position of the observation post forward."

Now that Shtemenko had already spoken, Sokov could not object, so he could only bite the bullet and agree, and then ordered Koshkin, who was sitting in the co-pilot position: "Comrade lieutenant, let's go to the division headquarters of the 41st Guards Division." .”

When Kurishenko saw Sokov and Shtemenko appearing, he couldn't help being surprised. After he raised his hand and saluted, he asked in surprise: "Comrade commander, why did you come to me?" , his eyes unconsciously looked at Stemenko, wondering who this general was, and why he appeared in his headquarters with the commander.

Sokov saw that Kurishenko was observing Shtemenko, so he took the initiative to introduce him: "General Kurishenko, let me introduce to you, this is the deputy chief of staff and chief of operations Shtemenko General, he came to us to observe the battle as a representative of the base camp."

Knowing that the general in front of him was actually the deputy chief of staff, Kurishenko couldn't help being shocked, stood at attention quickly, raised his hand and saluted and said, "Hello, comrade deputy chief of staff, I didn't know it was you, if Please excuse me for being impolite just now."

According to the doctrine in the army, when reporting to a superior officer, the one with the highest position should be given priority. Don't see that the military ranks on the shoulders of Sokov and Shtemenko are both generals, but Shtemenko's general is much more valuable than Sokov.

"It's okay, Comrade General." Shtemenko didn't care about these details at all, but asked Kurishenko with a smile: "Are the troops ready to attack?"

Hearing Shtemenko's question, Kurishenko showed an embarrassing expression on his face: "Comrade Deputy Chief of Staff, our division's task is to hold our ground and not participate in this offensive."

"Oh, your division will not participate in this attack?" Shtemenko was a little surprised.

"Yes." When Kurishenko learned that the general in front of him was the deputy chief of staff, a bold thought came to his mind: "Comrade deputy chief of staff, our division has been sticking to the position of Safran. .At this moment, we are about to launch an attack on Uman, but our division has nothing to do. If we don’t participate in the attack, I’m worried that the commanders and fighters of the division will be emotional.”

"I think you are the one with emotions, General Kurishenko." Sokov unambiguously exposed the other party's true face, and said bluntly: "Don't you know that the orders of the superiors can only be executed, not used?" Come to bargain?"

"Comrade Commander," Kurishenko said aggrievedly, "Our division was the first unit to enter Safran, and it was also the main force resisting the German attack. Now we are finally going to attack Uman, but our division received Orders, but stand firm. I am a bit puzzled by participating in this campaign so passively."

"You stick to your positions, not passively participating in the battle." Sokov said sternly: "You must know that the German army has solid fortifications and a complete defense system in the Uman area. The offensive we launched may not be the first. It will be successful once. If we abandon all positions and launch an attack on the enemy, once the attack is frustrated and the enemy takes the opportunity to launch a counterattack, what kind of strength should we use to stop them?"

"General Kurishenko, you must know that whether you can stick to the current position is related to the success or failure of the battle. The fate of the entire battle may be in your hands, the entire battle! Do you understand?"

Kurishenko, who was still dissatisfied at first, became energetic after hearing what Sokov said, and quickly straightened his back and said: "Understood, Comrade Commander, I was wrong. I will lead the The troops hold their positions and will never let an enemy pass through our positions."

"That's right, General Kurishenko." Sokov was satisfied with Kurishenko's answer. After he praised the other party, he asked, "Where is your observation station?"

"There is an earthen slope two hundred meters away from here, and my observation post is set up there." Kurishenko understood what Sokov meant by asking, and explained specifically: "Standing there, you can see the whole area clearly." battlefield."

"Very good, then arrange someone to take us there immediately." Sokov said in an orderly tone: "Also, let the communications soldier lay a telephone line for us, and I will command the troops there."

"Comrade Commander," Kurishenko hastily persuaded Sokov to go to a nearby observation post, "I think you should go there after the offensive begins. Otherwise, once the Germans find someone going there, they will go there." Shelling, I must be responsible for your safety."

"Yes, Comrade Sokov." Shtemenko also agreed with Kurishenko's statement, and he said to Sokov: "We might as well have someone lay the telephone line first, set up the radio antenna, and wait After the artillery preparations start, it’s not too late to pass.”

"Okay." Sokov felt that what Shtemenko and Kurishenko said made sense, so he said kindly; "Then it won't be too late to go there after the artillery preparations start."

Seeing that Sokov agreed to wait for the shelling to start before going to the observation post not far away, Kurishenko couldn't help but secretly heaved a sigh of relief. He hurriedly called Sidolin and told him: "Comrade Chief of Staff, arrange immediately. The communications corps laid telephone lines and erected antennas for the observation post.”

Sidolin had just finished assigning missions to the signal corps, when suddenly the sound of rumbling guns came from outside. He walked quickly to the lookout and looked towards the German positions in the distance. The posture goes straight to the sky.

Seeing that the German positions were under heavy shelling, Sidolin raised his hand and looked at his watch. When he found that it was six o'clock, his face showed a look of astonishment. He turned to Kurishenko who was standing not far away: "Comrade commander, what time is your watch?"

Kurishenko glanced at his watch and replied casually, "Six o'clock!"

The next moment, he was shocked: "No, didn't the artillery preparations start at seven o'clock? Why did it start at six o'clock? Could it be that there is something wrong with my watch?"

"Mr. Comrade, my watch is also at six o'clock." Sidolin said: "It is possible for one person's watch to have a problem, but it is impossible for two people's watch to have a problem." After finishing speaking, his eyes stayed on Sokov body, waiting for the other party to give him an answer.

Hearing what Sidolin said, Sokov realized that it might be Smirnov's negligence, and he did not notify the 41st Guards Division of the advance of the shelling time. The opponent may have considered that the 41st Guards Division did not participate in the attack, so whether the attack time has been adjusted is irrelevant to them.

"Comrade Sidolin, I think it may be our negligence in work." In order to dispel the other party's doubts, Sokov took the responsibility on himself: "The superior adjusted the time for artillery preparation. Due to my reasons, there was no Let this matter be communicated to you in a timely manner.”

"Oh, so that's the case." After figuring out what was going on, Sidolin tentatively asked: "Since the preparation for the artillery fire has been advanced by an hour, does that mean that the ground attack after the shelling will also be advanced by an hour accordingly? "

"That's not going to happen." Sokov did not tell Konev about the private competition with Zhukov, but said euphemistically: "Comrade Sidolin, you should know that every time the Germans are bombarded by our army At that time, the main force will be transferred to the second line of defense. No matter how violent our bombardment is, we can only destroy some fortifications, and the damage to their soldiers is very limited. The reason why the artillery preparations are in advance today is to prepare to end the first battle at seven o'clock. One round of shelling, and when the Germans think our ground attack is about to start, when they are back in position, we will launch a second round of shelling on them."

Sidolin used to be Sokov's chief of staff, and he had indeed seen Sokov use this method to wipe out a large number of active German forces. Naturally, he had no doubts about his statement, but he still expressed his heart Thought: "Comrade commander, although our division is not involved in this attack, we should inform us of such matters in advance. Otherwise, if the commanders and fighters below smell it, we don't know how to reply to them."

"That's right, it was my negligence this time, and I will definitely pay attention next time to avoid making similar mistakes again."

Sidolin knew Sokov well, and felt that it was impossible for him to make such a low-level mistake, and he must have suffered it on behalf of others. However, this matter has passed, and there is no need to pursue it, so he tentatively asked: "Comrade Commander, how many people did you bring here today?"

"I only brought one guard platoon." Sokov replied briefly: "Anyway, they are all in their own defense zone, so there is no need to worry about any danger, so I didn't bring more people. If you really bring a guard company or more The target is too big, if the German artillery strikes us, we will definitely suffer heavy losses."

"I'll send a company to guard the observation post later." Sidolin said, "Comrade Commander, don't worry, I'll tell them to stay hidden and they won't be spotted by the enemy."