Red Moscow

When Sokov received the call from Smirnov, he thought there was some good news, and asked with a smile: "Comrade Chief of Staff, call me at this time, do you have any good news to tell me?"

"Comrade Commander," Smirnov said with a heavy tone after hesitating for a moment, "I think I may have brought you bad news."

Sokov knew that Smirnov was a prudent man and never made jokes. Since he said that, something must have happened, so he hurriedly asked, "Comrade Chief of Staff, tell me quickly, what happened?"

"The attack on the town of Golovanivsik failed." Smirnov said: "A regiment that participated in the battle originally had more than 1,900 people, but less than 300 people retreated."

"What, more than 1,600 people were lost in one battle?" Sokov was shocked by the news. He slapped the table hard and asked angrily, "It's just nonsense. Which regiment is participating in the attack this time, and who is the regiment leader? "

"It's the 699th Regiment of the 233rd Infantry Division of Colonel Yesenin." Hearing that Sokov got angry, Smirnov did not dare to say the name of the regiment commander. If it is not handled properly, it may have a negative impact on the morale of the troops."

Sokov agrees with Smirnov's statement. The progress of the right wing today has not been smooth. Now that it has suffered such a big loss outside the town of Golovanivsik, it is impossible to say that it will not affect the morale and morale of the troops. What to do now is to find a way to minimize the impact of this matter.

Smirnov heard that Sokov had been silent, and asked cautiously: "Comrade commander, are you still there?"

"Yes, Comrade Chief of Staff, I am still here." Sokov replied: "I am considering what measures to use to minimize the impact of this loss."

"Do you have any good ideas?"

Sokov frowned and thought about it. When he accidentally saw Yakov who was chatting with Sidolin in a low voice, a bold idea immediately popped up in his mind: "Yakov, your hovercraft has been repaired. Yet?"

"Under maintenance." After Yakov answered the question casually, realizing Sokov's intention in asking this question, he tentatively asked: "Misha, you don't want these transport ships to carry your troops to what?" place?"

"Yes, that's how I think about it." Sokov stretched out his hand to Sidolin and said, "Colonel Sidolin, please pass me the map."

Sidolin got up in a hurry, took a map from nearby, and put it in front of Sokov: "Comrade Commander, the map."

After thanking Sidolin, Sokov pointed to the map and said to everyone: "It is only ten kilometers away from our place to the town of Golovanivsik. to launch an offensive in such a way as to catch the Germans by surprise."

Seeing that everyone seemed to have something to say, Sokov said first: "I plan to let Yakov's hovercraft take them there, so that they can go around to the back of the town in half an hour at most."

"A hovercraft can carry 30 fighters, and now I can provide 12 transport hovercraft, which means 360 people." Yakov said to everyone: "Plus two assault hovercraft..."

"Yasha, your calculation is wrong." Sokov interrupted Yakov's words. "The transport hovercraft carries 30 fighters, which means that they carry a small amount of weapons and ammunition. If each person is equipped with double ammunition base, then the number of people that the hovercraft can carry will be reduced accordingly.”

"Comrade Commander," Sidolin interjected, "I think it is possible to transfer a battalion from our division, carry new rockets and rockets, and take Colonel Yakov's hovercraft to the town of Golovanivsik as soon as possible. From the rear, launch a surprise attack on the enemy. If the troops on the front can cooperate in time, I think the town will be taken."

Sokov nodded, and said to the microphone that had not been put down: "Comrade Chief of Staff, you have heard it all, I plan to transfer a battalion from the 41st Guards Division and go around to the town of Golovanivsik. From the rear, carry out a sneak attack on the enemy. When the troops in the front hear the sound of gunfire from the other side of the town, they immediately launch an attack, attacking back and forth with the sneak attacking troops, and must seize the entire town before dawn."

"I understand, Comrade Commander." Smirnov nodded first, then remembered an important matter, and hurriedly asked, "I wonder how you plan to deal with the regimental commander who failed in the attack?"

According to Sokov's thinking, commanders like this who are ineffective in combat should be mercilessly dismissed. But now that the battle is imminent, it is a big taboo for military strategists to change generals before the battle, so he plans to wait until the battle is over, and then settle accounts with the regiment commander.

"Comrade Chief of Staff, the battle is still going on. It is obviously inappropriate to change the regimental commander at this time." Sokov said into the microphone: "Let him stay in the army and deal with it after the battle is over. His problem."

"Okay, Comrade Commander." Smirnov felt more at ease when he heard Sokov say that he would not deal with the regimental commander for the time being. He finally said, "I will convey your thoughts to the 57th Army Commander General Chumakov."

Seeing Sokov put down the phone, Kurishenko hurriedly asked: "Comrade Commander, I wonder which battalion you plan to send to carry out this long-range raid mission?"

"I think let the 122nd Regiment carry out this task." Sokov was worried about what was going on in Kurishenko's mind, and explained to him specifically: "They have just replaced with assault rifles and new rockets. And rockets, it is perfect for them to attack the town of Golovanivsik."

Kurishenko said: "Then I will call Colonel Papchenko over, and you will assign tasks to him yourself."

"No need," Sokov waved his hand, and then directly assigned the task: "This task will be handed over to the second battalion of the regiment, and they will transfer 300 people to form a temporary assault battalion. Many lieutenant colonels are in charge."

"Okay, Comrade Commander." Sidolin stood up and said, "I'll call Colonel Papchenko and ask him to assemble the second battalion first."

"Do you need to prepare a batch of white towels for them?" Kurishenko asked, "It's just for identification on the arm."

"There is no need for this." Sokov shook his head and said, "The visibility at night is low, and the commanders and fighters can only see vague shadows when they are fighting. If they have to use white towels to identify them, they won't be able to see the opponent's arm clearly." By the time there were no white towels on them, the enemy had already shot at them."

"Okay, Comrade Commander, I'll listen to you." Kurishenko nodded and said, "It's really not an easy task to find hundreds of white towels in a hurry."

"Yasha," Sokov turned to Yakov and said, "You will take Lieutenant Colonel Victor to board the ship later, but you don't have to participate in tonight's offensive."

Yakov knew that Sokov was worried that he would be in danger, but the hovercraft unit was commanded by himself, and it was obviously inappropriate for him to sit here and hide while all the team members were out on missions. Thinking of this, he said to Sokov: "Misha, I must participate in this operation. After all, I am the commander of the hovercraft unit. But don't worry, I will pay attention to safety, so you don't have to worry about me."

The reason why Sokov didn't want Yakov to participate in the battle was because the risk factor on the battlefield was too high, and if something went wrong, he couldn't bear it and walked away.

At this moment, the other party insisted on going to the frontier, so he sternly said, "No, Colonel Yakov, I don't agree with you going to the frontier. You are an engineer and technician, not a combatant. If you go to the frontier, you will not only be unable to help If you are busy, you might even slow everyone down, so you should stay here and wait for the outcome of the battle."

Sokov's words immediately aroused Shtemenko's agreement. He also knew in his heart that as a representative of the base camp, he was staying by Sokov's side. If Yakov ran to the forefront and something happened, he would not be able to get rid of it. Therefore, he agreed with Sokov's proposal: "Comrade Yakov, I think Sokov is right. You are an engineer and technician, not a combatant. There is really no need to go to the front in person."

Seeing Sokov and Shtemenko persuade Yakov one after another, Sidolin also understood what was going on, and quickly kicked Kurishenko lightly under the table. When the other party cast a strange look at himself, he hurriedly gave him a wink, signaling that the other party also went to persuade Yakov.

Fortunately, Kurishenko was not too stupid, and immediately understood Sidolin's intentions, and joined the ranks of persuasion: "Colonel Yakov, I don't think you are suitable to participate in the battle."

"I'm not fit to fight?" Yakov asked back, "Why?"

"The reason is very simple." Kurishenko had studied Yakov's resume, and naturally knew that he used to be an artilleryman: "Yes, you did work in the grassroots army, but you were an artilleryman at that time. Now The late battle is fought by the infantry, and if you participate in such a night battle as an artilleryman, you can only play a limited role, and you may even implicate your companions."

"That's right, that's right, I think what everyone said makes sense." Although Sidolin had long wanted to persuade Yakov, but because his rank was too low, he could only wait for several people to express their opinions. Stand up to persuade Yakov, hoping that he will not go to the battlefield: "Colonel Yakov, you came to the front line this time to transport weapons and ammunition to our army, instead of fighting the enemy face to face with weapons."

Facing the persuasion of a group of people, Yakov's thoughts were shaken. Not long ago, he really wanted to join the long-distance raiding troops to participate in the capture of the town of Golovanivsik. But as soon as he expressed his thoughts, he was opposed by countless people. Faced with this situation, he could only choose to give up.

"Okay, okay," he raised his hands, signaling to everyone to stop talking: "Don't talk, everyone, can't I go?"

Seeing that Yakov himself said that he would not go out to participate in the night raid, Sokov breathed a sigh of relief. But just to be on the safe side, when Yakov took Victor and his troops to board the ship, Sokov deliberately sent Koshkin to go with him. The name is to ensure his safety, but in fact, he is worried that Yakov will jump on the hovercraft on a whim later and go to the town of Golovanivsik to participate in the battle, and then he will be helpless.

After watching Yakov and Koshkin leave, Kurishenko asked Sokov with some concern: "Comrade Commander, Colonel Yakov will not secretly board the ship and follow the assault battalion to participate in the battle?"

"No, General Kurishenko." Shtemenko shook his head and said, "I know Colonel Yakov. Since he said something, it will basically not change. So we don't have to worry about whether he will Board the ship secretly and follow the assault battalion to participate in the battle."

Kurishenko looked out the door and said with lingering fear: "If something happens to Colonel Yakov with us, I think the superiors will definitely investigate the responsibility."

"There is no doubt about it." After Shtemenko finished speaking, he turned to Sokov and asked, "Comrade Sokov, what are your plans for tomorrow?"

"I'm going to wait for the troops from the second echelon to take over our defense, and then move the headquarters forward." Sokov said: "As for the troops that have changed their defense, they will also be transferred to the front one after another. Anyway, we must If I want to rush into Uman in the shortest possible time, then I must maintain a strong enough force in the main attack direction."

Several people were talking, and Yakov, accompanied by Koshkin, returned to the division headquarters.

Yakov sat down opposite Sokov, and said with a relaxed expression, "Misha, I'm back. You should feel relieved this time."

"Don't worry, of course don't worry." Sokov greeted Yakov to sit down and asked tentatively: "Can the hovercraft return here before dawn?"

"I don't know." Yakov said angrily: "At least the two assault hovercraft will definitely not come back. The soldiers on board will use anti-aircraft machine gun fire to provide fire support for the attacking troops."

The transport hovercraft carrying the assault battalion, under the cover of two assault hovercraft, successfully arrived at a position one kilometer north of the town of Golovanivsik. As soon as the hovercraft stabilized, Lieutenant Colonel Victor, who led the team, called the commanders and fighters to disembark. After completing the assembly, they proceeded cautiously towards the town.

The reason why Victor chose to disembark at a place far away from the town is entirely because the hovercraft moves too much at night when it operates at night, and it may be discovered by the German army at any time. Therefore, the hovercraft stopped one kilometer away from the town, and then all the commanders and fighters walked towards the town on foot.

However, when Victor left, he also had an extra mind, specifically telling the commander on the assault hovercraft that once he saw the signal from him with a flashlight covered in red cloth, the hovercraft would rush to the edge of the town to support him. For his proposal, the commander on the hovercraft agreed and confirmed the contact information proposed by Victor.

Victor called the three company commanders of the assault battalion in front of him and arranged for them the direction of attack. The first company used a sneak attack method to sneak into the town, while the second company set up a position outside the town so that they could rely on it to resist after being discovered by the enemy. As for the third company, as a reserve team, it will carry out assault operations at critical moments.

After explaining the mission, Victor glanced at the three of them, and then asked, "Is the mission clear?"

"It's clear." The three company commanders replied in a low voice.

"Okay, now that your tasks are clear, go back to your respective troops and get ready to attack." Victor waved at the three of them: "Go back to your respective troops."

"Yes!" The three company commanders agreed softly, then turned and walked towards their respective companies.