Red Moscow

Early the next morning, a general walked into the headquarters from the outside.

Sokov was originally talking to Smirnov and Yakov. When he saw the person coming, he stood up from his seat, greeted him quickly, and said, "Comrade Chuvashov, why are you here?" ?”

It was none other than Chuvashov, commander of the 98th Guards Division, who had just been promoted to major general not long ago because of his outstanding military exploits. At this moment, seeing Sokov walking towards him, he stopped quickly, raised his hand to salute him, and said respectfully: "Hello, Comrade Commander, Major General Chuvashov, commander of the 98th Guards Division, reports to you. , I obey your orders, please instruct!"

After Sokov stepped forward to return the salute, he pulled his hand from his forehead, then shook hands enthusiastically, and asked, "I really didn't expect, I haven't seen you for a few months, and you have become a general!"

Chuvashov glanced at Sokov's epaulets, and the smile on his face became wider: "Comrade Commander, I have become a general. But you have changed from a major general to an admiral."

After the two exchanged a few pleasantries, Sokov directly asked the other party why he came: "Chuvashov, why don't you stay in the 27th Army and come to me?"

"Borrow!" Chuvashov replied briefly: "Because the German army's defenses on the other side of the Transnistria were too tight, the two forced crossings we initiated all ended in failure. Last night I suddenly received a message from the commander. General Trofimenko's call, let us go down the river, cross the Transnistria by our way, launch a surprise attack from the side of the German river defense position, and cover the friendly troops on the left bank to cross the river."

Sokov quickly pulled the map on the table in front of him, then asked Chuvashov, "Chuvashov, tell me about your plan?"

"My plan?" Chuvashov was confused by Sokov's question. He asked puzzledly, "What plan?"

"How do you plan to attack the Germans?" Seeing that the other party didn't understand what he meant, Sokov could only point it out to him: "You can't just cross the river and attack the Germans with great fanfare, right?"

"Isn't it right to do this?" It may be that Sokov has been away from the 27th Army for too long. Even an old subordinate like Chuvashov has forgotten his usual combat style. Chuvashov was at a loss. Said: "But the order given to us by the superior is to attack from the side of the German river defense position."

"That's right, the task of your division is to attack the flanks of the German river defense positions." Sokov patiently explained to Chuvashov: "But the tactics used are different, and the casualties paid by the troops and the results achieved will be very large. difference."

Sokov's words reminded Chuvashov. He remembered that the former commander in front of him had always been different in his style of commanding operations. Get the biggest wins. This can be seen from the casualties of troops in battle before and after Trofimenko took over the 27th Army.

"Comrade Commander," after thinking about this, Chuvashov hurriedly asked Sokov humbly, "Then what should we do?"

Sokov is very aware of his identity. Although he is Chuvashov's old superior, he is not qualified to command the troops of the 27th Army as the commander of the 53rd Army. Therefore, he can only give him some suggestions tactfully. .

"Comrade Chuvashov, although I can't direct you now, I can give you some advice." He pointed to the map and said to Chuvashov: "Although the main defensive forces of the Germans are located in the German On the Nester River, once they find our troops appearing on the flanks, they will definitely strengthen the flank defenses. If you carry out a strong attack, I am afraid that you will pay huge casualties.

Therefore, I suggest that your troops should use the cover of the terrain to quietly touch the German river defense positions. When you are close to the German position, launch a surprise attack, so that the Germans can be caught off guard. "

"General Chuvashov." After listening to the side for a while, Smirnov couldn't help but say: "You know, in order not to affect the speed of the march, you didn't carry any heavy weapons. If you expose the If you violated your own intentions and launched an attack on the German defense line, I am afraid you will pay a very heavy price."

When Sokov was still the commander of the 27th Army, he once commanded the 53rd Army, so Chuvashov still knew some of the main commanders in the army. He waited for Smirnov to finish speaking, and then continued: "General Smirnov, what you said is very reasonable. In the past, I didn't think carefully. I just thought about how to complete the tasks assigned to us by the superiors as soon as possible, but I didn't think about it." Consider doing so, which may cost the troops a great sacrifice."

"Anyway, we have nothing to do now," Sokov said to Chuvashov: "Then let's study how to attack the German river defense positions."

Fortunately, after the vanguard of the 41st Guards Division crossed the river, they were not idle. Papchenko sent several reconnaissance teams to the upstream and downstream to reconnaissance the German river defense positions. Although the complete map of the river defense formation has not been obtained so far, the information obtained is enough for Sokov to make reasonable suggestions to Chuvashov.

"Chuvashov, look here." Sokov pointed to a position on the map, and said to Chuvashov: "This is a commanding height, and the Germans have placed four artillery pieces on it, which can not only bombard the left bank Friendly troops, even if you attack from the flank, you will be killed by artillery fire from the high ground."

Chuvashov wrote down the position of the German artillery on the paper with a pen, nodded and said, "Understood, I will send a small team to eliminate the German artillery positions before the offensive begins."

Unexpectedly, after hearing this, Sokov asked back with a smile that was not a smile: "Comrade Chuvashov, how do you plan to deal with the German artillery position, is it to blow it up?"

Chuvashov nodded vigorously, and replied truthfully: "Yes, it must be blown up to eliminate the threat it poses to our army."

"As I said just now, you came here with light equipment this time and did not carry any heavy weapons." Sokov asked calmly, "If you encounter the solid German fortifications when you attack the river defense position , what are you going to do?"

"Blow it up," Chuvashov replied without hesitation: "Order the soldiers to carry explosive packs or cluster grenades and rush up to blow up the enemy's firepower."

Sokov asked with some embarrassment: "Comrade Chuvashov, the Germans set up more than one firepower point in the river defense fortification. If you want to send soldiers to blast it, not only will the action be slow, but the casualties will also be absolutely high." Inevitably."

"Then what should I do to reduce the casualties of the troops while reducing the casualties?"

Facing Chuvashov's humbly asking for advice, Sokov also gave him advice: "Haven't you already occupied the artillery positions of the Germans? The artillery is in the hands of the Germans, and it is a threat to us. But if it falls into our army's In your hands, it will be transformed into a kind of boost. After you occupy the German artillery positions, you can completely turn your guns, bombard the solid firepower points in the river defense positions, cover the troops on the opposite bank to cross the river, and cooperate with your troops to seize the river defense positions."

Sokov's words suddenly made Chuvashov's thoughts clear: "I understand, Comrade Commander, I understand. Now that the German equipment has been seized, it must be put to use and used to severely attack the Germans. enemy."

"It's good that you understand." Sokov looked at Chuvashov and said, "I have full confidence in your capture of the German riverside position."

Sokov suddenly remembered that the 98th Guards Division was formed by two marine brigades and one infantry brigade, and there were always many brave sailors, so he asked curiously: "By the way, Chuvashov Comrade, how many soldiers are there in the division now, and what percentage of them are sailors?"

Hearing Sokov's question, Chuvashov sighed and said: "Comrade Commander, the 98th Guards Division has basically become an army. The sailors who used to have an advantage in numbers now only have one left." Company. In order to preserve this little seed, I incorporated them all into my guard battalion."

"What, there is only one company of sailors left?" Sokov was shocked when he learned that the sailors, who originally accounted for two-thirds of the total force, now had only one company left: "Could it be that after the sailors sacrificed, they didn't carry out any operations?" Corresponding supplement?"

"Among the supplementary soldiers in the group army, there are indeed quite a few sailors, but they are all incorporated into other units, and our division is all recruited by the army, so the number of sailors in the division is getting smaller and smaller."

"How could this be?" Sokov said with a wry smile, "You know, before I was sent to Moscow due to my injuries, your division was still fully staffed, and the sailors still accounted for most of them. Unexpectedly, Now there is only one company left."

"The tactics used by the new commander are very different from the tactics you used to." Chuvashov said with a wry smile: "As long as you can complete the tasks of your superiors, seize the designated positions, and annihilate the enemies who hold their positions, that's fine." No matter how great the sacrifice is, it is worth it.”

"It's just nonsense." Sokov was very angry after hearing this: "As a commander, if you want to win a battle, you must know how to use the least cost to achieve the greatest result. If you ignore the casualties of the troops and blindly act recklessly , Even if the victory is barely achieved, the heavy casualties of the commanders and fighters will cause the troops to lose their combat effectiveness."

"Comrade Commander," although Chuvashov could not speak ill of the current commander, he still bravely said what was in his heart: "Although you have been away for such a long time, the army once accepted your command. All the commanders and fighters still miss you and hope that you can go back and lead us again."

"It's impossible, General Chuvashov." Although Sokov said that he was always concerned about the old subordinates of the 27th Army, he obviously didn't want to let him go back to serve as the commander. One is that the running-in period between him and the commanders and fighters of the 53rd Army has just come to an end, and when the troops are starting to win steadily, there is absolutely no reason to walk away.

The second is that he went to the 27th Army, so who will command the 53rd Army? The combat effectiveness of this army has finally improved, and maybe because of his departure, it will be reduced to a low-level army again.

"Yeah, I also know that this is impossible, but what I said is true, commanders and fighters at all levels really miss you." Chuvashov looked at Sukov and said: "If it is possible, I hope you can go back to the army to see."

"Yes, Comrade Chuvashov, if I have a chance, I will go back and have a look." Sukov suddenly lowered his voice, and said in a voice only he could hear: "Look at my old friend from the past, look Are they still alive?"

Sokov didn't know. When he and Chuvashov were discussing how to seize the German army's river defense position in Transnistria, Zhukov, Vasilevsky and Several important figures in the staff department are discussing an important matter.

Standing in front of the map hanging on the wall, Shtemenko said to Zhukov and others: "Commanders, from the current point of view, the 53rd Army under the command of General Sokov still has a strong assault capability. They go on the offensive, they are fully capable, within a week, of entering Romanian territory."

Ivanov, the deputy chief of staff who had been sitting on the bench, asked in puzzlement after hearing what Shtemenko said: "Since the 53rd Army has such strength, why did it stop advancing?"

"The reason is simple." Shtemenko pointed to the map and explained to the other party: "Because the 53rd Army advanced too fast, the 27th and 52nd Armies on their left and right flanks have fallen behind by 30 to 50 kilometers. Marshal Nev said that if the 53rd Army was allowed to push forward, after a few days they would be a lone army deep in the belly of the German army, which could become a force if the Germans attacked from their flanks. Caught in a siege.

In order to avoid this worst situation, Marshal Konev has ordered the army to stop advancing and build fortifications on the spot to prepare for the German counterattack. "

"Isn't General Sokov good at winning battles?" Ivanov said a little unconvinced: "Even if he is temporarily besieged by the German army, I think he has the ability to persist until reinforcements arrive."

"Comrade Deputy Chief of Staff, let me remind you to pay attention." Vasilevsky suddenly said: "The 27th Army, which is now on the right wing of the 53rd Army, was once commanded by Sokov. When he was the commander, this army can be said to be able to conquer and fight well, and has won one victory after another.

But why after changing the commander, the combat effectiveness of this unit has been compromised. Even in such a major military operation as the liberation of Kiev, the 27th Army was unable to participate due to heavy casualties.

This time they were able to advance to the Dniester River because Sokov's 53rd Army handed over part of the occupied cities to them. If they rely on their own strength, they don't know how long it will take to reach the Transnistria.

Do you think that a unit with such combat effectiveness can rush to support it in time when it sees Sokov's 53rd Army being surrounded? I am worried that by the time they arrive at the place, the besieged troops will have already been wiped out by the enemy. At that time, it will deal a fatal blow to the morale and morale of our army. "

"Comrade Vasilevsky," Zhukov couldn't help interjecting when he heard this, "Do you have any ideas, why don't you let everyone hear them?"