Red Moscow

"That's right, I can see it too." Shtemenko also felt the same way. Since Sokov took the initiative to talk about it, he said logically, "Why don't we go to the frontier now?"

"I think it's okay." Sokov got up and said to Afunin who was busy standing by the table: "Comrade Commander, we are going to the front line now, you should say hello to the troops in front to avoid unnecessary misunderstandings. "

"Ah, we are going to the front line now?" Afunin said in surprise, "But the battle is still going on now, otherwise, when our troops reach the edge of the city, it will not be too late for you to go there."

"No, no, no." Sokov waved his hands and said, "Judging from the current situation, the troop is advancing very fast. I believe that when our convoy reaches the front, the vanguard is launching an attack on the city."

Now that Sokov had made a decision, Afunin was not easy to stop him, so he sent a guard company, together with the guard company led by Koshkin, to escort Sokov and Stemenko to the front.

The two of Sokov came outside and were waiting for the soldiers of the two guard companies to board the car. A major came to Sokov's car. After raising his hand and saluting, he said respectfully: "Hello, Comrade Commander, I am Major Rubimov, Commander of the 2nd Artillery Regiment of the 3rd Guards Airborne Division."

"It turned out to be Major Rubimov." Sokov opened the car door, got out of the car and shook hands with him, and asked in surprise, "Comrade Major, why are you here? Why aren't you with the main force of your division?"

"Comrade Commander, the situation is as follows." Major Rubimov explained to Sokov with a bitter face: "At the beginning, it was said that because of the heavy snowfall, it was planned to launch a sneak attack on the enemy's position, and there was no need for artillery at all. Our regiment will stay where we are and stand by.”

"Then where is your artillery regiment?" Sokov asked.

"It's not far from here."

Knowing that the artillery regiment was nearby, Sokov felt that they could be put to use now, so he immediately asked, "Comrade Major, can we set off immediately?"

Major Rubimov hesitated for a moment, then nodded and said, "If there is an order to start, it will only take a quarter of an hour at most to start."

"The 3rd Guards Airborne Division has rushed to Uman City at this moment, and it may need to attack the fortifications next, and it will not work without artillery." Sokov said to Major Rubimov: "Comrade Major, take your artillery immediately. Group, set off with me."

Hearing that Sokov asked him to act with him, Major Rubimov hesitated for a moment: "But, Comrade Commander, I haven't received an order from the division headquarters yet."

"Major Rubimov," Lieutenant Koshkin, who was standing aside, said coldly when he heard the other party say this: "Could it be that Comrade Commander personally gave you an order, and you are not willing to obey it?"

Major Rubimov stood at attention on the spot and replied loudly: "I resolutely obey the orders of Comrade Commander."

Sokov was very satisfied with Major Rubimov's statement. He nodded and said, "Comrade Major, I order you to return to your troops immediately and prepare for departure."

Rubimov agreed, turned around and walked away.

A quarter of an hour later, as Sokov's convoy headed for Uman, Major Rubimov's artillery convoy followed.

The convoy drove forward for half an hour before hearing intense gunshots and explosions.

Koshkin, who was sitting in the co-pilot's seat, turned to Sokov and said, "Comrade Commander, there should be a fighting area ahead. Look, do you want to stop here?"

"Yes." Although the heavy snow had stopped at this moment, visibility was still limited. Sukov worried that the convoy would continue to drive aimlessly like this, and might plunge into the enemy's defense line, so he decisively ordered: "Stop the convoy. .”

As a series of orders were issued, the convoy stopped, and the commanders and fighters got out of the car and lined up beside the car, waiting for further orders.

"Major Rubimov," Sokov greeted Rubimov who was standing not far away, called him in front of him, and ordered, "How far is it from Uman?"

Rubimov didn't know how far it was from Uman, so he replied with some embarrassment: "Comrade Commander, I will send someone to reconnaissance immediately, and I will report to you when I have news."

Just when Rubimov was about to send people to reconnaissance, an officer ran over with several soldiers, and asked loudly, "Which part are you from?"

"I am Major Rubimov, the commander of the 2nd Artillery Regiment." Rubimov stepped forward and asked, "Which part do you belong to?"

After seeing Rubimov's rank clearly, the officer immediately stood at attention, straightened his body and reported to him: "We are from the 10th Airborne Regiment, Comrade Major."

"It turned out to be Lieutenant Colonel Tongjihe's subordinate." Rubimov reached out to shake hands with him, and then asked, "Where is your regimental commander?"

The officer casually glanced at Sokov and Shtemenko who were standing next to him. After seeing the ranks of each other clearly, the sweat on his head was pouring out. He hurriedly turned to face the two, and said with some embarrassment: "Two generals, I'm sorry, I didn't see you just now..."

"It doesn't matter." Sokov waved his hand at the other party and asked, "Where is your commander, Lieutenant Colonel Tongzihe?"

"In a forest about 200 meters away from here."

"Very good," Sokov nodded, and then told the other party, "Take us there."

Hearing Sokov's order, the officer became hesitant. I have never seen the two generals in front of me before, is it appropriate to take them to the regiment headquarters rashly?

Seeing the officer standing there in a daze, Rubimov walked over and slapped him on the back of the head: "This is our commander, General Sokov, what are you doing in a daze, why don't you hurry up and take him to see your regiment?" long."

When the officer learned that the general in front of him was Commander Sokov, his attitude became more respectful: "Comrade Commander, please follow me, and I will take you to our regiment commander."

"Comrade Major," Sokov and Stemenko specifically instructed Rubimov when they left, "Send someone to scout the nearby terrain as soon as possible, and choose a location where you can build an artillery position."

"Yes, Comrade Commander." Rubimov straightened his body and replied, "I will send someone to scout the nearby terrain immediately."

Unexpectedly, when Sokov and others came to the regiment command post, they unexpectedly met Colonel Konev, the division commander who had just arrived here.

"Comrade Commander," Konev raised his hand to salute Sokov and said, "I received a call from the Army Commander and knew that you and Comrade Deputy Chief of Staff had come to the front, so I ran over to greet Lieutenant Colonel Tonzikh in person. , let him receive you well. Unexpectedly, you will arrive as soon as I enter the door."

"Hello, Colonel Konev." After shaking hands with the commander of the same name as Marshal Konev, Sokov asked, "How is the progress of your division?"

"After several hours of fighting in the 2nd Regiment, the commanders and fighters became exhausted, so I asked them to stop advancing and rest on the spot. The 8th Regiment took over their attack, and now the regiment has arrived less than two kilometers away from the city. s position."

"It was a good fight." Sokov listened to the movement outside, and asked Konev: "Comrade Colonel, is this the commanders and fighters of the 8th Regiment exchanging fire with the enemy?"

"Yes, Comrade Commander." Konev nodded and said, "Now that the snow has stopped and the field of vision has become wider again, the enemy's fortifications are built on the city walls, and they can block our advance with condescending firepower. path of."

"Oh, the enemy built fortifications on the city wall?" Sokov asked, "Did you see it with your own eyes?"

"Yes, Comrade Commander." Konev replied in a positive tone: "I saw it in my observation post."

"How far is your observation post from the enemy's city wall?"

"About three kilometers."

"Comrade Deputy Chief of Staff," Sokov waited for Konev to finish, then turned to Stemenko and said, "The observation post three kilometers away from the front is perfect for us. I wonder if you have any Interested in going over and taking a look?"

"No, no, no, Comrade Commander, you must not go." Hearing that Sokov was about to go there, Konev hurriedly waved his hands and said, "Enemy shells will fall there at any time. If you go, your life will be in danger." of."

"Colonel Konev, please tell me." Sokov looked at Konev and asked, "How far is your division headquarters from the observation center you just mentioned?"

"Less than fifty meters, Comrade Commander."

"Comrade Colonel, your division headquarters is less than 50 meters away from the observation post, so there must have been times when it was bombarded by the enemy?" Sokov paused for a moment to observe Konev's reaction. Seeing him nodding his head in agreement, he continued, "You are not afraid of the enemy's artillery fire, so I have nothing to fear."

"But, Comrade Commander, your identity is different..."

"Okay, needless to say." Sokov raised his hand and interrupted Konev's words, and said to him: "Your divisional artillery regiment is outside, you can arrange a firing position for them, and the artillery will come in." Cover your infantry attack."

Knowing that the artillery regiment was outside, Konev had a surprised expression on his face: "Comrade Commander, are you telling the truth?"

"Of course it is true." Shtemenko smiled and said to Konev: "We came here with the artillery regiment of your division. The commander, Major Rubimov, is sending people to scout the terrain and plans to deploy artillery nearby. Where is the position?"

Hearing that Shtemenko said Rubimov's name and military rank, Konev realized that what Shtemenko said was true, so he quickly called a staff officer and asked him to go outside to find Rubimov .

Not long after, Rubimov appeared at the headquarters. Seeing his appearance, Konev immediately said: "Comrade Major, come to me."

After Rubimov came to his side, he pointed to the map and said: "Comrade major, our vanguard has reached the outside of Uman, but it is blocked by the wall and the fortifications on it. I order you, immediately Establish artillery positions nearby, use artillery fire to suppress the defenders, and cover our commanders and fighters from attacking."

"Wait a minute, Comrade Colonel." Just as Rubimov was about to turn around and leave, Sokov suddenly asked Konev, "How far is this from the German walls?"

"At least five kilometers."

"Five kilometers?!" Sokov repeated the number, and then said: "I think it is not an easy task to destroy the enemy's fortifications on the city wall at such a distance."

"Then what should we do?"

"Move the artillery position forward." Sokov said: "Deploy the artillery near the observation post, and use direct fire to destroy the German fortifications."

"Direct shooting?!" Don't look at the troops commanded by Sokov before, it has long been common practice for artillery to shoot directly, but in other troops, this kind of usage of artillery is rare, at least at the moment in Sokov Neither Konev nor Rubimov in front of them had ever used artillery in this way. Konev asked cautiously: "Comrade commander, is it possible?"

"Whether it's okay or not, you'll know if you try it." After Sokov finished speaking, he urged Konev: "Comrade Colonel, I order you to immediately deploy the artillery to a position closer to the city wall. Directly aimed shooting was used to destroy the German defensive positions on the city wall."

Half an hour later, Sokov and Shtemenko came to the observation post of the 3rd Airborne Division, and observed the situation on the battlefield through binoculars from here. At this moment, the attack of the 8th Airborne Regiment had been repulsed by the German troops on the city wall. The commanders and fighters dispersed, bent over and ran back with their weapons.

Seeing that Sokov had been observing the fortifications on the city wall, Shtemenko couldn't help asking: "Comrade Sokov, it seems that the German fortifications on the city wall are not good for our army's attack. They can use it condescendingly." Cross fire, blocking the road of the attacking troops, causing huge casualties to our army."

"Comrade Deputy Chief of Staff," Sokov put down his binoculars, turned his head to look at Shtemenko, and pointed to the red city wall in the distance with his hand, and said, "If the Germans deploy their fortifications in other locations, it will affect our army's strength." The threat may be greater. But now they actually set up fortifications on the city wall, it is simply courting death."

Shtemenko asked puzzledly, "How do you say that?"

"If it is still the era of cold weapons, the defenders only need to stand on the city walls, and they can use the height of the walls and walls to kill opponents with bows and arrows. But now it is in the era of hot weapons, and the fortifications and firepower points are placed on the walls. It can only be a joke, the tall city wall in front of our artillery is simply the best target. I believe that the artillery regiment belonging to the division is enough to wipe out the front city wall and the defenders on it."

When Shtemenko heard that what Sokov said seemed to make sense, he nodded and continued to listen to the other party's opinions.

I just heard Sokov continue: "If the Germans still have firepower points near the city wall, then when the city wall is destroyed by our army's artillery fire, the splashed masonry and rubble can still kill and injure the enemies exposed outside the fortifications."

"That's right, that's right," Shtemenko couldn't help nodding with a smile when he heard this: "That's true. No matter how strong the city wall is, it can't withstand the bombardment of artillery fire. It doesn't even need to hit the target directly, as long as the city wall is blown down , then the defenders on the wall will be buried alive under the rubble."

Sokov picked up the phone on the table, connected to Konev's division headquarters, and asked bluntly: "Comrade Colonel, is the artillery deployment in place?"

"Yes, Comrade Commander, the artillery is in place and ready to fire at any time."

"I ordered that all the artillery be aimed at the city wall in front." Sokov clenched his right fist and swung it down violently, while shouting loudly: "Fire!"