Red Moscow

About an hour later, Ponedelin called Sokov and reported to him: "Comrade Commander, all our troops are ready to attack the German front. We are waiting for your response." Last order!"

Before replying to Ponedelin, Sokov turned his head and asked Tsarev who was sitting at the table chatting with Smirnov: "General Tsarev, are your artillery ready?"

"Yes, Comrade Commander." Tsarev nodded. "A howitzer artillery division, two self-propelled artillery regiments and six Guards rocket battalions are ready to fire."

"Fire, General Tsarev."

After Sokov gave the order to fire, he said into the microphone: "I have ordered the artillery to fire, and after our artillery breaks up the assembled German army, you can launch an attack again, so that you can break through at a very small cost. German defensive positions."

As the order to fire was issued, shells flew across the sky and flew towards the direction where the German troops were assembled.

Shells and rockets of different calibers fell like hail. The offensive was canceled, and the German troops who hadn't had time to evacuate were immediately enveloped by artillery fire.

The sound of guns rumbled, and shrapnel flew across. After learning that there was no need to attack the Soviet positions, these German soldiers were about to return to their respective stations, but they were suddenly attacked by artillery fire. Many officers and soldiers had no time to hide and evacuate. It was lifted into the sky by the air wave of the shell explosion, and fell down heavily, turning into a mutilated corpse.

Compared with the Soviet commanders and fighters who are about to attack them, these officers and soldiers of the German army can be called elite. However, the Soviet army did not compare marksmanship with you, and did not compete with bayonets. They just bombarded them with artillery fire from a distance.

Seeing that the situation was not good, the German commander quickly issued an order to evacuate and retreat in order to reduce the casualties of the troops.

But it was too late. Under the bombardment of the Soviet army, the assembled troops fell into chaos long ago. The officers and soldiers ran around like headless flies, each looking for a safe place. The orders of the German commanders could not be conveyed at all. go down.

Standing in the observation post, Ponegerin saw through the binoculars that the German army had fallen into chaos, and he couldn't help applauding. Then he put down the binoculars, came to the table, picked up the phone, and called Chuvashov and Shechtman respectively, telling them that the German army had fallen into chaos under the attack of artillery fire. Get ready for battle and attack the enemy as soon as the shelling stops.

Sokov received a call from Ponegerin and knew that the German army had fallen into chaos under the heavy artillery fire, so he called Burgos, the director of the armored forces: "Comrade Colonel, the German troops assembled , has fallen into chaos under the powerful artillery fire of our army. You immediately notify the commanders and fighters of the tank brigade, and immediately attack the enemy's position as soon as the artillery fire stops."

"Comrade Commander," Burgos carefully reminded Sokov, "the Germans have a lot of anti-tank fighters. If we don't have infantry to cooperate, I'm afraid we won't be able to advance very far."

"Don't worry, Colonel Burgos." Sokov said with a smile: "Behind your tank brigade, there will be three infantry divisions following. Our officers and fighters will kill them immediately."

While the bombardment was still going on, the two tank brigades commanded by Burgos had already crossed the position held by Ponegelin's troops and headed towards the position where the artillery was in full swing.

The reason why he led the tank unit to attack at this moment was because he understood Sokov's tactics, which was to quietly approach the enemy when the German army was shelled and unable to observe the battlefield, and immediately launched an attack as soon as the shelling was over.

If it is an infantry soldier, it must stay two hundred meters away from the shelling area so as to be hurt by the artillery fire of its own people. But if it is a tank unit, there is no such scruple. Let alone 200 meters, even if it is only 50 meters, as long as it is not directly hit by artillery fire, the flying shrapnel will not be able to harm the occupants of the tank.

Seeing that the tank troops were advancing forward, Ponegerin quickly ordered the infantry to follow up. Even if they could only stay two or three hundred meters away from the enemy's position, the impact would be greatly shortened. distance.

As soon as the shelling stopped, those German officers and soldiers who survived the shelling found that the Soviet tanks were approaching rapidly, and immediately used anti-tank guns to deal with the rushing tanks.

Anti-tank guns are indeed a sharp weapon against tanks, but in the shelling just now, most of the original dozen or so anti-tank guns were destroyed by the artillery fire, and the remaining few anti-tank guns had to stop the attack of the two tank brigades Assault, that is simply a fantasy.

Seven or eight tanks were lined up, and the machine guns on the vehicle were splashing bullets, rolling towards the positions occupied by the German army. The Soviet commanders and fighters following the tanks, although covered by tanks, still maintained sufficient vigilance. After running for a while, they lay down on the spot, fired, and covered the tanks to attack and move forward.

The German army that had already fallen into chaos, except for a few soldiers who occupied favorable terrain and stubbornly resisted, the rest fled to the rear one after another. I don't know whether they want to escape farther and farther from the battlefield, or plan to retreat to the next line of defense to continue resisting? But for them, as long as they do not surrender, it is only a matter of time before they are wiped out by the Soviet army.

Pornegerin did not expect that the shelling disrupted the deployment of the German army. If the tank troops charged forward, the German defense would collapse in an instant, and there would be no decent resistance at all. He originally wanted to take the German positions, so he was satisfied. But at this moment, he decided to adjust his deployment and rush as far as he could into the enemy's depth, completely disrupting the German defensive deployment.

However, this matter is of great importance. Before adjusting the deployment, it must be reported to Sokov. So he hurriedly called the headquarters, preparing to report his new plan.

After hearing Ponegerin's new plan, Sokov began to think in his mind: "If Pornegerin's troops want to rush to a place where the German defenses go deeper, then I have to deploy more troops to cooperate with them. "

After thinking it over clearly, he first called Afuning and asked bluntly: "General Afuning, how many troops can you use now?"

Although he did not understand why Sokov asked such a question, Afunin replied truthfully: "Except for the 3rd and 4th Guards Airborne Divisions and some directly subordinate troops, I have no available troops. .”

Sokov considered that there was a Romanian army in the city of Otac, so he didn't need to leave too many troops for defense, so he said to Afunin: "General Afunin, let me tell you one thing, your right-wing Bo The three divisions of Negelin's department have already launched an attack on the frontal German defensive positions, and the progress is now very smooth.

Their offensive must have attracted the attention of the German troops in many areas. And the enemy facing you may have weakened defenses. I think if you attack at this moment, the chances of breaking through the enemy's defense are very high. "

Hearing this, Afuning immediately regained his spirits. He also felt that this was the best time for him. A considerable part of the German troops who were blocking his front had probably been transferred to the fighting area, so that their defense would become weaker. Weakened, as long as one's own troops make a surprise attack, they may achieve unexpected results.

Afunin, who wanted to understand this, was eager to try, but he still had some concerns: "Comrade Commander, what you said is very reasonable. But if our two divisions move forward, the defense zone will be empty again, and no one will defend it at that time." .”

"You don't have to worry about this." Sokov comforted the other party and said: "The Romanian army stationed on the left bank is the 52nd regiment commanded by Colonel Udrea. According to my observation, this army is the most friendly to us. You guys It is entirely possible to hand over the defense area to them, and then you command the remaining troops of the 18th Guards Corps to quickly rush to the German defensive positions."

"Is the Romanian army really reliable?" Afunin still said worriedly: "If they turn against each other on the battlefield, we will be in a situation where the enemy is on the front and back. At that time, the troops who have lost their logistical supplies will be no matter how many they have. , and could not escape the end of being annihilated by the Germans."

"General Afunin, you are too pessimistic." Sokov said into the microphone: "According to my observations during this period, in the Romanian 18th Division, the most reliable unit is Colonel Udrea's. The 52nd Regiment, you can safely and boldly hand over the position to them."

"Okay, Comrade Commander." Now that Sukov has already reached this point, it would be cowardly to continue to evade. Afunin did not want to be charged with this inexplicable crime, so he agreed decisively. He said: "The 3rd Guards Airborne Division will launch an attack on the frontal German defense line in 40 minutes. At the same time, Major General Rumyantsev's 4th Guards Airborne Division will also quickly move forward. .”

When Sokov ended the call and put down the microphone, Smirnov suddenly said, "Comrade Commander, the 27th Army still has several divisions. Why don't you arrange combat missions for them?"

"Comrade Chief of Staff, look here." Sokov pointed to the map and said to Smirnov: "There are no friendly troops on the right flank of the 27th Army. It is bound to expose the weak right wing, making them vulnerable to attack from the flank."

Smirnov thought about it carefully, and what Sokov said made a lot of sense. If the troops of the Ukrainian First Front launched an offensive in the Uman area at this moment, it would be able to attract most of the attention of the German army, so that the right wing of the combat group would become safe. At the same time, more troops can be mobilized for frontal attacks.

Sokov is just an ordinary person. When assigning tasks, it is inevitable that there will be a situation where everything is secret. But the dialogue between Smirnov and him gave him new inspiration. Since the right wing cannot be used, I can use the left wing. You know, on the left side of your combat area is Koroteyev's 52nd Army. Now the troops of this army have successfully reached the banks of the Transnistria, making their left wing safe.

"Comrade Chief of Staff," Sokov said to Smirnov, "now General Koroteyev's 52nd Army is operating on the left flank of our combat group, which means we don't have to worry about the Germans coming from this direction. , launched an attack on us. Therefore, the 57th Army, which was originally deployed in this direction, is of little use.”

Smirnov immediately understood what Sokov meant, and quickly added: "Comrade Commander, I also have the same idea. It is absolutely possible to transfer two divisions from the 57th Army and deploy them to the right bank position as a reserve force. .”

"General Chumakov." After discussing some details with Smirnov, Sokov directly called Major General Chumakov, the commander of the 57th Army: "I am Sokov, and I have an important combat mission now." The task is to be deployed to your army."

"Comrade Commander," Chumakov hurriedly took out a pen and paper when he heard that there was an important combat mission, and was ready to record: "I'm ready, please tell me."

"Immediately mobilized Muzichenko's 233rd Division and Kirillov's 252nd Division, and rushed to the right bank of Otac to take over the defensive position there."

Chumakov couldn't help being taken aback when he heard this, and then reminded Sokov: "Comrade Commander, the task you assigned to our army a few days ago was to ensure the safety of the left wing of the combat group. If we deploy two divisions at once, we will Fear that they will not be able to stop the attack from the German army."

"You don't have to worry about this," Sokov said reassuringly, "The 52nd Army on the left has already advanced with us, that is to say, our left wing is very safe now, and there is absolutely no need to deploy too many troops in that direction. .”

"Okay, Comrade Commander." After Chumakov figured out what was going on, he also felt that there was no need to place an entire army on the left flank of the defense zone, and these troops could be put into more important battlefields. "I obey your order and immediately transfer the two divisions to the defensive position on the right bank of Otatz."

"Comrade Commander," Smirnov said excitedly to Sokov after waiting for Sokov to assign the task: "Judging from the current situation, the German army was disrupted by our army's sudden counterattack. In the next two or three days, they will not be able to carry out decent resistance at all, and then we will be able to liberate more of our cities from the hands of the Germans."

"Comrade Chief of Staff, we can't be blindly optimistic." Seeing that Smirnov was getting carried away, Sokov quickly reminded him: "If the Germans jump over the wall and arrest the city residents as human shields, then we will Knowing how to cast a mouse and not being able to deal with the enemy will inevitably affect the morale of our army."

"I don't think the Germans are so despicable, right?" Smirnov said in an uncertain tone, "Treat civilians as human shields, and if others find out, they will be laughed at."

Sokov sneered twice: "Comrade Chief of Staff, do you think the Germans are the kind of people who are afraid of being laughed at by others? I think the possibility of this situation is very high. We must first come up with a countermeasure to avoid being caught by the Germans." People are messed up..."

Hearing what Sokov said, Smirnov couldn't help but his eyes lit up, and he asked in surprise, "Comrade Commander, do you have any good ideas? Come and listen, and I'll judge whether it's suitable."