Red Moscow

"What about our other defense zones?" Sokov asked.

"The main defense area will be taken over by Lieutenant General Koroteyev's 52nd Army."

"Very good." After listening to Smirnov's words, Sokov decisively issued a new order: "Comrade Chief of Staff, immediately issue orders to all units, and be sure to prepare for departure before seven o'clock. "

"Comrade Commander," Smirnov thought that Sokov hadn't heard his words clearly, so he reminded him in a low voice: "The troops taking over the defense of Golovanivsik Town will arrive after ten o'clock in the morning. According to the Based on the current road conditions, it would be good if they arrived at noon. In addition, I estimate that the change of defense in the main defense area will not be carried out until the afternoon at the earliest. You want the troops to be ready for departure before seven o'clock, yes Isn't it a little too early?"

"It's not too early, Comrade Chief of Staff, it's not too early at all." Sokov shook his head and explained to Smirnov: "The German troops that were hit by us are gathering in the Uman area. That is to say, in our In the current defense zone, it is impossible to have an organized German army again, so we only need to leave a small number of troops here, waiting to hand over the defense to friendly forces, while other troops should hurry up and advance to the Uman area. Complete the new offensive deployment in the shortest possible time."

Just when Smirnov opened his mouth to say something, Shtemenko was the first to speak: "I think Comrade Sokov is right. Instead of letting the large troops wait in an area where fighting is unlikely, it is better Taking advantage of the chaos of the Germans, push the front line to the depths of the Uman area. This way, the final attack on Uman can be launched in the shortest possible time."

"One more thing." Sokov waited for Shtemenko to finish, and added: "Comrade Chief of Staff, you also know that the Germans have a lot of missile launch sites in the Uman area. There are a large number of troops here, and another missile attack will cause huge casualties to our army.

If we quickly advance the front to the depths of the Uman area, it will inevitably threaten the safety of these missile launch sites. In order to prevent these missile launch positions from being completely destroyed by our army, the Germans will definitely transfer these missile positions, thereby eliminating the threat to our army. "

Smirnov had personally experienced the power of the missile. He had thought more than once that if the missile landed and exploded closer, no one would have survived in the army headquarters.

"I understand, Comrade Commander." Smirnov no longer made any comments, but nodded and said, "I will immediately issue an order to the troops, so that they are all ready to go before seven o'clock."

While Smirnov was on the phone, Shtemenko asked Sokov curiously: "Comrade Sokov, can you tell me about your plan?"

Sokov nodded, pointed to the map and introduced to Shtemenko: "I plan to temporarily stop the attack on the Uman area, but try to launch a new attack after the three armies are assembled."

Hearing Sokov's intention to suspend the attack, Shtemenko frowned slightly: "Why don't you consider capturing Uman on the march. According to the information I got, most of Uman's defenders were transferred to the To the north, to stop the troops of the First Front Army going south. You know, the Germans heard that the troops from the north were commanded by Zhukov, so they would naturally put the main defense direction in the north. Now, what we suffered from the attack from the south There will be much less resistance."

"Comrade Deputy Chief of the General Staff, I agree with you." Sokov waited for Shtemenko to finish, and patiently explained to him: "Marshal Zhukov's troops started the offensive ahead of us, and it was inevitable that the Germans would There is an illusion that the attack from the north is the main direction of attack. And our attack from the south is nothing more than a diversion operation. In this case, our comrades from the First Front Army captured Uman , is entirely possible.”

Seeing that Sokov's views coincided with his own, Shtemenko couldn't help showing a smug smile on his face. But the next moment, his smile froze on his face, and he only heard Sokov say: "However, our strength near Uman is too weak now, even if we try to capture this city on the way, it will end in failure." Therefore, I think the vanguard should stop all attacks and turn to defense on the spot, and then attack the city after the main force arrives."

"Your offensive strength is weak, and the Germans' defensive strength will not be too strong." Shtemenko pointed to the direction south of the city and said, "I guess they only have the strength of one regiment in this direction. , with your strength, I believe that you can break through the German defense line and establish a stronghold in the city."

Sokov knew very well that the possibility that Shtemenko mentioned existed. However, the number of troops entering the city is limited. Once the Germans launch a frantic counterattack, this support point will soon be lost, and the troops who stick here will not escape the fate of annihilation.

"Comrade Deputy Chief of Staff," Sokov said sternly, "I believe that with the combat power of the airborne soldiers, it is entirely possible to break through the German defenses and establish a stronghold in the city of Uman. But what next? Their numbers With limited troops and almost exhausted ammunition, how long can we last in the face of the crazy counterattack of the German army?"

Shtemenko fell silent after hearing this, while Sokov said while the iron was hot: "Comrade Deputy Chief of Staff, look at how hard the battle in Golovanivsik was. We have mobilized one and a half divisions successively. So far, the entire town has not been completely taken down. I think the battle in Uman is more cruel and tragic than the battle in a small town."

"So, you plan to wait until the main force of the group army reaches the Uman region before attacking the enemy?" Shtemenko asked tentatively, "Is my analysis correct?"

"Of course it is correct, Comrade Deputy Chief of Staff." Sokov felt the need to give further explanations to Shtemenko, asking him to order his combat intentions: "Although at this moment the outpost troops will launch an attack on Uman, can we obtain Certain battle results. However, due to their lack of troops and ammunition, and the lack of heavy firepower support, even if they barely occupy a support point in Uman City, they cannot expand the battle results, but there is a danger of annihilation of the entire army.

And the main force of our army arrives outside the city, and then launches an attack on the enemy. Even if they have enough time to strengthen their defense, they will be difficult to sustain under our strong firepower. When we launch an attack again, we will be able to expand rapidly results. "

For Sokov's statement, Stemenko had to consider it carefully. After thinking for a long time, a smile appeared on his face: "You are indeed very comprehensive in thinking about the problem. We just want to send troops to occupy a support point before the enemy recovers. And you are not only considering Establish a support point, but also think about how to expand the results of the battle."

He paused for a moment, then continued to ask: "Comrade Sokov, please tell me the truth, if you attack Uman, how long will it take to take it?"

"I think it should be won in three days." Smirnov, who had just finished calling, answered first.

"Three days?!" Hearing the deadline, Shtemenko raised his eyebrows: "Can you take Uman in three days?"

"Comrade Deputy Chief of Staff," Sokov said based on the analysis of the situation on the battlefield, he felt that Uman's defense force was limited, especially the defense force facing his own direction, which was even weaker. If he really launched an attack, his own The troops are fully capable of taking it down in a short period of time. The three days that Smirnov said was somewhat conservative. He hesitated for a moment, and then said decisively: "I think if our army goes well, the battle can be resolved in 30 hours."

Hearing what Sokov said, both Shtemenko and Smirnov showed expressions of astonishment. Smirnov said that three days was already shocking enough, but the time that Sokov said was even more outrageous.

Shtemenkopi asked with a smile: "Comrade Sokov, are you really sure that you can take Uman within 30 hours?" Without waiting for Sokov to answer, he said directly, "If there is If you are sure, I will report to the base camp and say that you can take Uman within 30 hours."

Sokov felt a little guilty when he heard the other party say this: "Comrade Deputy Chief of Staff, I think to be on the safe side, it is better to report it in three days. If something unforeseen happens during the battle, 30 hours There's simply no way to resolve the fight."

The reason why he said this was because he considered that his time to take over the 53rd Army was limited, and commanders at all levels could not implement the orders issued by him without compromise. Another point is that there are too many recruits in the army, and the combat effectiveness has been severely diluted, so that the combined combat effectiveness of the 49th and 57th armies cannot compare with the 18th Guards Army of Major General Afunin.

Shtemenko didn't have time to ponder Sokov's psychology. After all, he came here as a representative of the headquarters this time, only to observe how Sokov commanded the battle, and could not participate in direct command. So he said without hesitation: "Okay, then I will report to my superiors that you can liberate Uman within three days."

When Shtemenko called Moscow, Ponedelin approached Sokov and asked in a low voice: "Comrade Commander, the German army has been operating in the Uman area for a long time. With our current strength, we must It is not an easy task to win in three days. The deputy chief of staff reported to his superiors that we can liberate the city in three days. If we cannot complete the task by then, what should we do?"

Regarding Ponejielin's worries, Sokov said disapprovingly: "Don't worry, Lieutenant Colonel Ponejielin. The town of Golovanivsik was attacked by our army, but the German army did not send troops to support it. I judged It can be seen that the German army's defensive strength in the south of Uman is limited, and when we concentrate the troops of the three armies and attack from two areas at the same time, we can quickly rush into the city of Uman."

Speaking of this, Sokov stopped, glanced at Stemenko who was on the phone, and said in a low voice: "Lieutenant Colonel Ponedelin, since you are an old soldier, you naturally understand the traditions of the Russian army. When we take a city, as long as the flag is planted on the top of the municipal building, it means that the city is occupied by us."

"Well, it makes sense." Ponegerin felt that what Sokov said made sense. If it is true that the task of occupying the city cannot be completed within three days, you can use this tradition of the army to attack the city by planting flags. Declare the occupation of the city.

Sokov was reluctant to occupy a city by planting flags. After all, this was only a nominal occupation, not a real complete control of the city. Unless it is a last resort, he will never use this method to complete the occupation of Uman.

When Sokov was about to speak after seeing Shtemenko finish the phone call, a communications officer hurried over and handed a newly received telegram to Smirnov.

Smirnov took the telegram casually and browsed it with his head down. After watching it for a while, surprise appeared on his face, and he quickly started to look at it again, as if worried that he missed some important information.

"Comrade Chief of Staff." Seeing this, Sokov quickly asked, "What information makes you so happy."

"Comrade Commander, the telegram is from Lieutenant Colonel Baryshev of the 15th Guards Airborne Regiment." Smirnov reported to Sokov excitedly: "Half an hour ago, a man from Ukraine The civilians in Manchester have arrived at their defense zone. The civilian claims to be an intelligence officer of the underground resistance organization, and he has important information to pass to our army commander."

"What kind of information?"

"It is said to be information related to the Uman city defense." Smirnov explained: "Since the other party provided a microfilm, they don't have developing equipment there, so they can't know what the specific information in the film is."

The corner of Sokov's mouth rose slightly: "Comrade Chief of Staff, if this member of the underground resistance organization really provides us with a detailed city defense map, it will be of great help to us in liberating Uman."

"Comrade Commander," Smirnov suggested to Sokov, "should immediately send a telegram to Lieutenant Colonel Baryshev, asking him to send the intelligence agents and the film immediately. We have the equipment for developing the film here." , so that we can find out what kind of information is in the film.”

To Smirnov's proposal, Sokov readily agreed: "Yes, yes, immediately send a telegram to Lieutenant Colonel Baryshev, asking him to send over the intelligence agents and the film."

"Comrade Sokov, you're lucky." Shtemenko walked over and said to Sokov with a smile: "If this intelligence officer can really provide the German army's city defense information, it will be very helpful for you to liberate the city. .”

Hope rekindled in Sokov's heart. Don't look at him vetoing the 30-hour solution to the battle in front of Shtemenko, but if the intelligence agent can really provide himself with a detailed city defense map of Uman, Then you can formulate targeted combat plans based on the deployment of the German army, and use troops more reasonably in siege operations.

Smirnov quickly came back from the communication area and reported to Sokov: "Comrade Commander, in addition to returning a telegram to Lieutenant Colonel Baryshev, I also sent a telegram to Major General Afunin and Rumyen respectively. Major General Tsev called and asked them to send someone to pick up the vehicle transporting the intelligence personnel along the way to ensure that the information can be safely delivered to the command post."