Red Moscow

As soon as he returned to the headquarters, the director of the communications corps came to report to him: "Comrade Commander, Marshal Konev's call."

Seeing the microphone on the table, Sokov hurriedly rushed over in two steps, grabbed the microphone, and said, "Hello, Comrade Marshal, I'm Sokov."

"Comrade Sokov," Konev asked with a smile on the phone, "I heard you picked up Mr. Morozov?"

"Yes, Comrade Marshal." Sokov replied, "I just brought someone to meet him at the airport, and I have brought him back."

"How is the old man, are you easy to get along with?" Konev worried that Morozov would become too old and his temper would become weird. If he said something excessive, it might make Sukov unbearable, so he reminded him kindly Sokov: "If you think the old man has a bad temper, don't be angry, just tell me, and I will find a way to get him back to Moscow."

"Comrade Marshal, the old man is nice and easy to get along with." Sokov knew what Konev would ask next, so he took the initiative to say: "Because the old man has the experience of being a sniper before, so I let him and Liu De Mira and Vasily worked together to train snipers in the army."

"Oh, you arranged for him to train snipers?!" Hearing that Sokov had settled the old man, Konev was taken aback for a moment, and then said happily: "This is not bad, it also satisfies his desire to go to the front line." , and there is no danger to life."

"Comrade Marshal," Sokov continued, "The old man is a precious asset of our country. Since he is in my defense zone, I will naturally find a way to protect his safety."

"You're doing the right thing, Comrade Sokov." After praising Sokov, Konev paused for a moment, and then went on to say: "I received a call from Koroteyev, saying that his troops are With your cooperation, you have successfully occupied the German position on the right bank of the Transnistria, and are now rushing to repair the fortifications to prepare for a possible counterattack by the German army."

"Comrade Marshal, I don't think the chances of the German army launching a counterattack are very high." Sokov heard Konev mention the position on the right bank, and he took the initiative to say: "The German army has been further weakened after being attacked by us. Now Our frontal enemies are basically the Romanian army.”

"Oh, the enemies in front of you are mainly the Romanian army?" Konev is really not clear about the situation that Sokov said, at least on his combat map, the enemy numbers displayed are basically The German army is the main force, but the Romanian army, which is a slave country, is rarely marked, "Is what you said reliable?"

"Totally reliable, Comrade Marshal." Sokov explained: "This is the conclusion we learned after our reconnaissance."

"Will there be any deviation?" Konev must have a good idea of ​​the distribution of German troops before formulating the next battle plan: "Is it possible for your scouts to mistake the German troops for the Romanian troops?" Woolen cloth?"

"This is absolutely impossible, Comrade Marshal." Faced with Konev's questioning, Sokov explained: "After the intelligence feedback from the scouts came back, I also checked with Lieutenant Colonel Abrani of the Romanian 59th Regiment. However, he believes that the information provided by our scouts should be very accurate."

"So, as long as we continue to attack, we can quickly advance to the Romanian border." After Konev said this to himself, he asked Sokov bluntly: "Comrade Sokov, your troops When can we attack again?"

"It's hard to say." Seeing that Konev didn't mention the weapons and ammunition, Sokov gently reminded him: "If the superior can replenish us with enough weapons and ammunition, I can launch a new round of attack in the afternoon. .But if we don’t get supplies, we just sit there and wait.”

He once again mentioned the reason why he could not attack without ammunition: "Without enough ammunition, the weapons in the hands of our commanders and fighters are not much stronger than fire sticks. If we want to destroy the enemy, we can only fight with them with bayonets."

Although Konev also understands the truth that soldiers are expensive and fast, he is even more aware that if the troops do not have enough weapons and ammunition, if they want to break through the German defense line and win the final victory, they can only use human lives to fill it. He couldn't do such a thing, so after a long silence, he said: "Now the railway line leading to you is undergoing emergency repairs. If everything goes well, it will be open to traffic by the morning of the day after tomorrow at the latest .”

Sokov knew that Konev was waiting for his own statement when he said this, but he was not in a hurry to make any guarantees to the other party, but asked tentatively: "Comrade Marshal, can I ask, what is your new policy?" What's the battle plan?"

"There is no new combat plan." Konev replied: "It is still the original plan, to wipe out as many of the German forces as possible, liberate more land, and make preparations to drive the enemy out of our land. "

Knowing that there was no new battle plan, Sokov felt more at ease. He was worried that Konev would suddenly add combat missions to himself, which would disrupt the combat plan he had already designated. "I understand, Comrade Marshal," he said, "We will start a new round of attack as soon as the weapons and ammunition from our superiors arrive."

After waiting for Sokov to put down the phone, Trofimenko asked cautiously, "Comrade Commander, I wonder what new mission Marshal Konev has assigned us?"

"Comrade Deputy Commander, there are no new tasks." Sokov looked at Trofimenko and said, "Our combat plan is still the same as before. At the same time as a line of defense, more land will be liberated, and our people will be liberated from the enemy's iron heel."

"Then when will the superiors plan to replenish our weapons and ammunition?" Trofimenko continued to ask: "If there are not enough weapons and ammunition, our offensive may be seriously affected."

"I've already asked Marshal Konev. He said that the railway department is rushing to repair the road, and it will be open to traffic the morning after tomorrow at the latest. By then, there will be a steady stream of supplies delivered to us."

"Comrade Commander, I have an idea." Trofimenko said to Sokov: "See if we can send engineering troops to repair the railway lines in the defense zone. In this way, the military ranks can be shortened." The opening time, so that our army can get supplies as soon as possible and launch an attack on the enemy?"

Trofimenko's proposal made Sokov think for a while, and he felt that it was quite reasonable, so he nodded and said: "Comrade Deputy Commander, your proposal is very reasonable. I think so, the 27th Army The engineering unit of the 53rd Army will continue to stand by for the repair of the railway line.”

Trofimenko has no objection to Sokov's arrangement. After all, the engineering unit of the group army still has a lot of work to do. If they are all sent to repair the railway line, then work such as paving roads, building bridges and clearing mines Do you still want to do it?

"Okay, Comrade Commander," Trofimenko replied bluntly, "I will immediately order the engineering corps to participate in the repair work of the railway line."

The work here is almost busy, Yakov came to the command post unsteadily, and after greeting Sokov, he said straight to the point: "Misha, I'm going back to Moscow."

"Ah, you are going back to Moscow now?"

"Yes." Yakov nodded, and said, "Most of the hovercraft can't continue to work. I want to send them back to the weapon equipment department as soon as possible for a thorough overhaul. If it is really impossible to repair, we will destroy them directly. .”

"Hey, what a pity." Knowing that the hovercraft will be destroyed after being sent back to Moscow, Sokov felt very sorry: "If it can be repaired and continue to be used to transport supplies, it will relieve our combat cluster weapons. The difficulty of running out of ammunition."

"It can't be helped, Misha." Yakov felt the most uncomfortable when the hovercraft was about to be destroyed. Yakov has been a participant in every mission the hovercraft has performed since its inception. These hovercraft have become a part of his life. Ever since he learned that the hovercraft will be destroyed after he returned to Moscow, his heart is also very heavy: "I am also carrying out the orders of my superiors. You should be clear in your heart that I am sorry for these What is the feeling of the hovercraft?"

"Is there really no room for recovery?" Sokov asked unwillingly: "Although the hovercraft have been out of order for a longer and longer time, if a thorough overhaul is carried out, they may be able to make them look like new again. "

"An order is an order, there is no room for bargaining." Yakov said to Sokov with a heavy heart: "Misha, I'm sorry."

Looking at Yakov's leaving back, Sokov's heart was extremely heavy. Both Smirnov and Sameko have seen the magic of the hovercraft with their own eyes, so they naturally understand the status of this new type of transportation in Sokov's mind.

Seeing that Sokov was depressed, Sameko came over and put a hand on his shoulder, comforting him and said: "Comrade Commander, don't be sad, the hovercraft unit commanded by Colonel Yakov has completed Their historical mission. It may not be long before there may be a better means of transportation to replace them."

Sokov knew very well that, let alone a few months, even in ten or twenty years, there would be no means of transportation that could replace the hovercraft. : "Comrade Chief of Staff, you are right. With the innovative capabilities of the Weapons and Equipment Department, it may be possible to launch a new means of transportation in a few months, but it can also continuously transport a large amount of materials for us."

After chatting for a few sentences, let's get down to business. "Comrade Commander," Sameko asked, "Where do you think our next offensive direction should be?"

Sokov did not answer immediately, but asked instead: "Do you have any ideas?"

"We think the best offensive route is to go up the Transnistria to attack Khoting and Borshov."

"No, Comrade Chief of Staff, I don't think this route should be used for attack." After staring at the map for a while, Sokov rejected Sameko's proposal: "Look, this road is full of Lakes, forests, swamps and rivers are not conducive to the deployment of our troops. In the next offensive, if we do not get the support of tank troops, we will pay a heavy price for every step forward.”

What Sokov said, Sameko naturally knew that the reason why he insisted on proposing such a plan was entirely because of the fact that these places did not have the conditions to build strong fortifications, even if they relied on simple infantry attacks, they could still break through the German defenses . Seeing that Sokov rejected his proposal at this moment, he was not annoyed, but instead asked: "Comrade Commander, tell me, which direction should we attack?"

"Murovani Kurilevtsi's troops advanced westward, first to capture Khoting, then turned to the southwest, but liberated Chernivtsi." The Chernivtsi mentioned by Sokov is not already Be that city behind the defense zone. That Chernivtsi belongs to Ukraine, but the city that Sokov set as an attack target belongs to Moldavia, which is no more than 20 kilometers away from the Romanian border.

"What about Sokiriani's defenders?" After listening to Sokov, Sameko raised his own doubts: "If Lieutenant Colonel Ponejielin's troops change their attack direction, then it will block the nearby The way of the 18th Guards Army."

"Since the attack direction of Ponegelin's troops has been adjusted, the attack direction of the 18th Guards Corps will naturally also be adjusted accordingly." Sokov pointed to the map and said to Sameko: "They After taking Bricheni, we can continue westward and meet Ponedelin's forces at Chernivtsi."

Trofimenko leaned over and listened for a while, and after Sokov stopped talking, he expressed his opinion in a timely manner: "I think Comrade Commander's plan is very good. Just as he said just now, the German army in Dne There will not be any decent fortifications and not many troops in the upper reaches of the Stern River. If we continue to attack along the river, there will be a huge gap between the two troops. As long as the Germans find this gap and launch Attacking would result in the separation of the two armies."

"Attacking in the southwest direction overcomes this shortcoming. Not only does the Bonegelin battle group and the 18th Guards Army become a whole, they don't have to worry about being divided by the German army. And when they attack, they can also get troops from the left wing. Support from the 52nd Army."

"General Trofimenko, what you said is very reasonable." Sokov waited for Trofimenko to finish speaking, and agreed with him: "Ponedelin battle group and the 18th Guards Army As a whole, attacking to the southwest, it is enough to destroy the enemy's resistance along the way. At the same time, they will also receive support from the left flank."

"Chief of Staff," Sokov told Sameko after Trofimenko had finished speaking, "You immediately call Lieutenant Colonel Ponedelin and General Afunin and ask them to send scouts as soon as possible. Conduct reconnaissance of the area to be attacked and wait for the command to attack from the command."

"Okay, Comrade Commander." Sameko nodded, and said very cooperatively: "I will call the two commanders immediately to get their troops ready for battle."

Sameko had just left when Sokov got another call. When the other party reported his name, Sokov couldn't help being stunned, thinking to himself why did he call me?