Red Moscow

After dawn, the sky suddenly began to snow.

Snow powder, like white sugar, sprinkled down from the sky one after another. In a short while, Sokov's hat and shoulders were covered with snow.

Seeing this scene, Shtemenko shouted: "God bless Russia!"

Following his shout, the surrounding officers and soldiers also shouted: "God bless Russia!"

Sokov knew that this was a custom handed down from the Tsarist era, and he would say this when it snowed, similar to what we say "auspicious snow heralds a good year".

"Yes, Comrade Deputy Chief of Staff." After getting into the jeep, Sokov said with a smile: "Although our planes cannot take off due to the heavy snowfall, and the march of our troops will also be affected, but it does not affect our Offensive is very beneficial."

"That's right, that's right," Shtemenko agreed with this point very much: "The snow powder in the sky, not the heavy snow, will seriously affect the field of vision of the defenders. When they find our attacking troops At that time, our commanders and fighters had already rushed in front of them."

"However, such heavy snow will also have an impact on our offensive troops." Smirnov, who was sitting in the co-pilot's seat, turned around halfway and said, "I'm worried that the offensive troops will lose their way in the heavy snow."

"There is no need to worry," Sokov said: "The attacking troops can rely on the compass to identify the direction and approach the enemy's position quietly. When the guns sound, the nearby troops will know where to move. "

"What about the shelling preparations before the attack?" Smirnov asked tentatively, "Does it need to be cancelled?"

While Sokov was pondering, Shtemenko beside him said: "Comrade Sokov, I think General Smirnov's proposal is worth considering. If the visibility of both sides is affected by this snowstorm, why not go to How about launching a sneak attack on their position without the enemy noticing it?"

Sokov tapped his knee lightly with his fingers, thinking quickly in his mind how to adjust the battle plan. After a while, he raised his head and said to Smirnov, who was sitting in the co-pilot's seat: "Comrade Chief of Staff, if the artillery preparations are cancelled, many of our combat plans need to be adjusted."

"The situation on the battlefield is changing rapidly. As commanders, we must adjust the original combat plan in a timely manner according to the changes in the situation."

After listening to Sokov's statement, Smirnov had a bottom line in his mind, and he asked tentatively, "Why don't you order the two airborne regiments near Uman to attack the enemy's position in advance."

"Yes." Sokov nodded, and added: "Comrade Chief of Staff, you inform General Afunin and ask him to order the other two divisions to consider the area as quickly as possible, lest the vanguard troops seize the enemy's territory." After the position, there is not enough force to defend it. If the captured position is lost again, it will have a negative impact on the morale of our army."

"Understood, Comrade Commander." Smirnov opened the car door and said to Sokov, "I'm going to contact General Afunin." After speaking, he got out of the car and walked quickly to the communication vehicle behind .

The driver leaned over and closed the door, keeping the cold out of the car, then turned to ask Sokov, "Comrade Commander, shall we leave with the Chief of Staff?"

"Yes." Sokov said in an affirmative tone: "We will continue our journey after the chief of staff has contacted General Afunin."

After waiting for five minutes, the car door was opened by Smirnov from the outside. But he didn't get into the car immediately, but patted the snow off his shoulders with his hands before getting into the car. After closing the car door casually, he said to Sokov: "Comrade Commander, I have already contacted General Afunin."

Sokov knew that such a temporary change of plan would definitely have some impact on the 18th Guards Army, so he asked urgently, "What did he say?"

"He said that the units of the 3rd and 4th Guards Airborne Divisions have now reached the starting point of the attack." Smirnov replied: "Since our original order to him was to serve as the second echelon, I contacted him At the time, he was arranging for the construction of fortifications."

"The situation has changed now, and there is no need to build fortifications anymore." Sokov asked: "After the 18th Guards Army moved forward, can the other two armies make up for the defensive gap left by them in time?"

"It's hard to say, Comrade Commander." Smirnov shook his head and said, "Look, how much snow is falling outside, it will definitely greatly slow down the marching speed of our troops. Also, today's The temperature is relatively high, and the snow powder will soon melt after falling on the ground, which will make the road muddy again and make it more difficult for our armored vehicles to move."

"In our original plan, the armored units did not participate in the attack." Sokov said: "Now we can let the infantry speed up the march, rush to the starting point of the attack as soon as possible, and cooperate with the 18th Guards Corps to launch an attack on Uman. .”

When the car started, Shtemenko suddenly asked: "Comrade Sokov, you have adjusted the time of the attack, do you need to report to the Front Army Command?"

"There is no need for this at the moment." Sokov replied: "After all, we don't need to cooperate with friendly forces today. When we launch an attack can be decided according to the specific situation. There is no need to report to the front army headquarters at any time."

What Sokov said made Shtemenko unavoidably think highly of him. After the war broke out, as a representative of the base camp, he went to many fronts, but found that most of the commanders lacked initiative. Before receiving orders from their superiors, he dared not do anything, and even watched helplessly. warplane.

"Comrade Sokov, I want to ask you a question."

"Excuse me, Comrade Deputy Chief of Staff."

"If, what I mean is if." Shtemenko asked cautiously: "If you order an army to garrison a certain place to confront the enemy, no one is allowed to attack without your new order. But one day, the commander of the defending army found a huge fighter in front of him, but he couldn't get in touch with you temporarily. In desperation, he took the initiative to attack the enemy and won the victory. How would you deal with him? "

"Comrade Deputy Chief of Staff, as I just said, the situation on the battlefield is changing rapidly." Sokov explained: "If you want to win, you must adjust your deployment in time according to the specific situation. If you see a fighter Even if there is no order from the superior, it is still possible to take offensive actions without authorization."

After hearing this, Shtemenko said with emotion: "Comrade Sukov, I only now understand why the troops you commanded before achieved more results than other troops. It is because of your commanders , Know how to adjust combat deployments according to changes in the battlefield situation, instead of blindly executing untimely orders."

Besides, in the suburbs of Uman, Afunin, who received Smirnov's order, immediately sent people to call the three division commanders of the 3rd and 4th Guards Airborne Division and the 41st Guards Division to his army commander. Department, ready to assign them the next task.

"Comrade commanders, I'm starting to assign combat missions now." Seeing that all his subordinates had arrived, Afunin said, "I just received a call from the chief of staff, General Smirnov, saying that some adjustments to the offensive operations are needed. .”

Hearing that the battle plan was to be adjusted, the three division commanders immediately realized that their troops might not be used as a reserve team, but directly participated in the attack. So everyone focused their attention on Afuning, hoping to hear the news they wanted to hear from him.

"Because of the heavy snowfall, the original attack plan needs to be adjusted accordingly." Afuning said: "Our army was originally in the second echelon, but now the snowfall outside has limited visibility, so the superior decided to use the original storm attack. turned into a sneak attack."

"Sneak attack is good. This is the strength of our airborne troops. It is guaranteed to catch the Germans by surprise." Major General Rumyantsev said with a smile: "Comrade Commander, which troops you plan to use as the main attack, just talk."

After giving the order, Afunin wanted to ask: "How is your ammunition supply?"

"The ammunition brought by the superior is being distributed at the moment." Colonel Konev answered first, "We will definitely not delay the offensive operation later."

After hearing this, Afunin nodded slightly, and continued: "Today's attack will be led by Colonel Konev's 3rd Airborne Division, and Major General Rumyantsev's 4th Airborne Division will be the second echelon. The task is to take advantage of the heavy snow outside and the limited visibility of the defenders outside Uman, quietly approach the enemy's position and launch a surprise attack on them. Once the breakthrough is completed, the 3rd Division continues to rush forward, and the 4th Division is in time. Keep up, fill the vacancy left by the 3rd Division, and prevent the Germans from taking advantage of the loopholes. How about it, do you understand?"

"Understood, Comrade Commander." Konev and Rumyantsev both stood up and replied.

"Comrade Commander," seeing Afunin ignoring his own existence, Kurishenko was a little anxious: "What about us? What is the mission of our 41st Guards Division?"

Afunin walked up to Kurishenko, looked into his eyes and said: "General Kurishenko, the mission of your division is to serve as the reserve force of the whole army. You and your subordinates can stay in the warm shelter." Here, you can also seize the time to build unfinished fortifications."

"Comrade Commander," Kurishenko was anxious when he learned that his troops had somehow become a reserve team: "Our division can definitely perform more important tasks. If you let us stay here to dig fortifications or build buildings, I am afraid that the commanders and fighters will be disappointed." Their emotions fluctuate, which is very detrimental to the next battle."

"General Kurishenko," Afunin said with regret, "In all fairness, I want your division to participate in the battle. But now there are no other troops near the area we control. If they all go into battle. Once the offensive goes wrong and the Germans take the opportunity to launch a counterattack, what kind of force do we use to stop them?

Moreover, the organizational system of your division is not complete, and there is still a unit fighting the enemy in the town of Golovanivsik. In my opinion, it is better to wait until your troops are rebuilt before considering whether to participate in the battle. Your immediate task is to rest and repair the fortifications. "

Hearing what Afunin said, Kurishenko felt lost in his heart, but he was helpless. An order is an order, whether right or wrong, I can only execute it unconditionally. Moreover, I do have a unit that is fighting the Germans in the town of Golovanivsik at the moment. It is still unknown when it will be restored.

Colonel Konev returned to his division headquarters, immediately summoned the four commanders of the 2nd, 8th, and 10th Guards Airborne Regiments, and the 2nd Guards Artillery Regiment, and began to assign tasks to them.

Major Rubimov, the commander of the artillery regiment, learned that he was about to launch an attack on the enemy's position, so he took a step forward, straightened his waist and said proudly: "Comrade commander, our artillery regiment is ready, just waiting for you." With a single order, we can cover the forward positions of the German army with artillery fire."

"The artillery is not available for the time being." Konev waved his hand at Rubimov, and said, "Our attack this time is to use the cover of heavy snow to carry out a sneak attack on the German positions. Even if it is accidentally exposed, the infantry will carry the The mortars, rockets and new rockets carried can cause huge losses to the German army."

Hearing what Konev said, Rubimov looked disappointed: "It's really unexpected that our artillery also has unemployment."

"Don't worry, Comrade Major, I haven't finished my words yet." Konev continued: "According to the combat mission assigned by the army, we will continue to rush to the city after breaking through the outer positions of the German army. According to me It is estimated that the Germans may choose some solid buildings as their firepower support points. At that time, your artillery can be used to directly destroy the enemy's firepower points with artillery from a distance."

After appeasing the artillery commander, Konev said to one of the commanders: "Lieutenant Colonel Fritzman, your 2nd regiment will be the vanguard of the whole division, and will take the lead in launching a sneak attack on the enemy's position. You must immediately attack the enemy's position. Back in the regiment, after a quarter of an hour, the attack will officially start, I hope your performance will not disappoint me."

"Don't worry, Comrade Commander." Knowing that his regiment was in charge of the first attack, Fritzman raised his mouth slightly, "I'll go back to the regiment to arrange the attack, and make sure to launch an attack on the enemy's position within the specified time. .”

Seeing that the 2nd Regiment had grabbed the first attack mission, Lieutenant Colonel Pingkov, head of the 8th Regiment, and Lieutenant Colonel Tongjihe, head of the 10th Regiment, couldn't help feeling a little anxious: "Comrade Commander, when will our regiment launch an attack?"

"Don't worry, although the 2nd regiment is responsible for the first attack mission. But after they break through the enemy's defense line, the troops will suffer certain casualties. Then I may transfer you to take over his offensive mission." Konev waved at the two of them. He waved his hand and said, "You will also prepare your own troops. When you receive my order later, you must be able to attack in time."

"Yes!" The two lieutenant colonels answered loudly, raised their hands in salute, and turned to leave.

A quarter of an hour later, the three battalions of the 2nd regiment were divided into three echelons and formed into skirmish formation. Then, under the guidance of the compass, the commander led the soldiers towards the enemy's position with great strides.

The commander of the regiment, Fritzman, did not stay in his regiment command post. He wanted to go to the enemy's position in person and tell Colonel Konev who was staying in the division command post the good news that his troops had occupied the enemy's position. . However, he did not follow the first battalion stupidly, but followed the troops far behind with the third battalion, which served as the third echelon.