Red Moscow

When Kravchenko's 6th Tank Army advanced southward, something unexpected happened suddenly. It snowed heavily in the sky, and the way forward of the tank troops was blocked by snow.

After Sokov heard the news, he couldn't help but smile wryly. He didn't expect that Ukraine's climate was similar to that of Russia, and it would be April, but he said that the snowstorm would come as soon as it was said, without any warning in advance.

"Comrade Commander, what should we do?" Sameko said to Sokov: "According to the report of the meteorological department, the blizzard will continue for at least two more days. I am afraid that the operation of the Sixth Tank Army will have to be postponed."

Sokov did not express his opinion immediately, but asked everyone: "Which one of you stayed in Ukraine before the war?" When everyone heard Sokov's question, they all shook their heads, saying that they had never stayed in Ukraine before the war.

Fortunately, Smirnov reminded Sokov in time: "Comrade Commander, Ponederin served as the commander of the Army Group in Ukraine at the beginning of the war. He must have a good understanding of the situation in Ukraine."

A word awakened the dreamer, Sokov raised his hand and slapped himself on the forehead, and said annoyedly: "Yes, why did I forget Lieutenant Colonel Ponejielin, he stayed in Ukraine for a long time, many Everyone has their say.”

Afterwards, he told the director of the Communication Corps: "Help me contact the headquarters of the 41st Guards Division immediately, and talk to Lieutenant Colonel Ponejerin."

Besides, Ponegerin was about to set off with his troops to take over the defense zone of the 27th Border Guard Regiment in Romania, when he suddenly received a call from Sokov, and felt quite strange in his heart: "Comrade Commander, what's important?" something?"

"Lieutenant Colonel Pornegerin, you spent a lot of time in Ukraine before the war, right?"

"Yes, Comrade Commander." Although Ponedelin didn't understand what Sokov meant, he still replied truthfully: "I have been in Ukraine for almost twenty years. What do you ask about? What?"

"That's right, a blizzard suddenly fell in the direction of Wengeny." Sokov asked on the phone: "I want to ask, how long will the blizzard last in Ukraine at the end of March and the beginning of April?"

In any case, Bonegelin was also a commander, so he naturally considered things differently from ordinary people. Hearing Sokov's question, he was taken aback for a moment, and then he understood what the other party meant, and said, "Comrade Commander, you can rest assured. A snowstorm in this season will lead to a strong drop in temperature. In this way, The originally muddy and difficult roads will be frozen again, which is very conducive to the movement of our tank troops."

Sokov called Ponegerin just to find out, in such bad weather, whether the 6th Tank Army could advance to Wengen as planned and break through the border in advance. Hearing Ponegelin's explanation at this moment, my heart felt much more at ease.

After putting down the phone, the confident Sokov said to Sameko: "Comrade Chief of Staff, call General Kravchenko immediately and tell him that since the snowstorm is so heavy, let the troops stop and rest, and wait for the wind and snow to stop. It’s not too late to leave after that.”

"Comrade Commander," Seeing Sokov's absent-minded look on the matter, Sameko quickly reminded him: "The blizzard caused our troops to move slowly. If we stop the troops to rest, it may affect their entry into Romania. The time in the territory. I think it’s better to let them march in the snow, at worst, the speed will be slower.”

"Comrade Chief of Staff, marching in the snow has many disadvantages. If the tank breaks down on the road, even if you want to overhaul it, it will be a big problem." Sokov said: "I think it's better to wait for the blizzard to stop before driving. At that time, the road is already frozen. It is convenient for our tanks and various vehicles to travel."

"Okay." Seeing that Sokov had considered all the issues that should be considered, Sameko nodded and said, "Then I will call General Kravchenko immediately and tell him what you mean."

Kravchenko was worrying about the march of his troops before receiving Sameko's call. His chief of staff had the same idea as Sameko. The sudden blizzard slowed down the marching speed of the troops, but if they did not continue on their way, they would not be able to reach the designated location within the stipulated time.

But Kravchenko did not agree with the plan proposed by his chief of staff. He said eloquently: "Comrade chief of staff, there are many lakes and swamps on the way we march, and the snow will cover them. If we march in the snow, Then the tank may fall into a lake or swamp, and the additional loss of technical equipment will make our subsequent battles more difficult."

When the two were talking, Afunin came to visit and saw Kravchenko's frowning expression. He expressed deep sympathy: "General Kravchenko, you are right. Tanks cannot fight our soldiers." In comparison. No matter how bad the terrain is, our soldiers can find a way to pass, but tanks can't. To be on the safe side, I suggest that we wait until the blizzard has completely stopped before we continue on our way."

The chief of staff of the group army immediately retorted: "General Afunin, the 41st Guards Division under your command has entered Romania and became the first army to enter the border of another country. This is something to be proud of. The progress of our group army , has been far slower than expected, if the delay of the blizzard delays the fighter plane, I am afraid that Comrade Commander will not be able to explain it.”

Several people were talking non-stop, the phone on the table rang suddenly. The chief of staff reached out to grab the microphone and said, "This is the headquarters of the Sixth Tank Army. Where are you?"

"I'm Sameko." Sameko recognized the voice of the Chief of Staff of the Tank Army, and instead of going around in circles with him, he asked bluntly, "Is General Kravchenko there?"

"Yes, Comrade Chief of Staff. Please wait a moment, I will call him right away." After speaking, the Chief of Staff covered the receiver with his hand, turned to Kravchenko and said, "Commander, your phone number." When Kravchenko reached out to pick up the receiver, the chief of staff said in a low voice, "It's General Sameko."

"Hello, General Sameko." Knowing that Sameko was Sokov's assistant, Kravchenko asked politely, "Does General Sokov have any latest instructions for me?"

"Once you guessed it right, General Kravchenko." Sameko replied truthfully: "Comrade Commander has indeed given you orders."

"What instruction?"

"The troops stopped advancing and looked for a suitable place to camp on the spot." Sameko said on the phone: "Wait until the blizzard has completely stopped before moving on."

Although Kravchenko was eager to stop advancing immediately, he became uneasy when he received such an order. He tentatively asked, "General Sameko, is this true?"

"Of course it is true." After Sameko replied in an affirmative tone, he continued: "Comrade Commander said that the blizzard will reduce visibility and slow the march of troops. In order to avoid unnecessary losses, he specially issued this order. I ordered you to stop advancing temporarily and find a suitable place to camp on the spot. When the blizzard passes and the ground is frozen solid, making it easier for large-scale armored troops to move, it will not be too late for you to set off again.”

After figuring out why Sokov ordered the troops to temporarily stop advancing, Kravchenko was still grateful. The reason why the progress of his own troops was slow was because of the damn terrain, which was full of forests, lakes and swamps. The infantry marched okay, but his armored troops were struggling. If the road is completely frozen after the blizzard is over, it will be very conducive to the deployment of mechanized troops.

After thinking about this, Kravchenko quickly said: "Comrade Chief of Staff, please convey our agreement to the commander. After the blizzard is over and the ground is frozen hard, we will definitely speed up the march and make up for the delayed time. .”

"By the way, Comrade Chief of Staff." When the two were about to end the call, Kravchenko suddenly saw Afunin sitting aside, and quickly added: "General Afunin is right here with me, what do you want to say?" Did you tell him?"

"What I want to say to him is the same as what I said to you." Sameko said: "I also ordered him to stop advancing temporarily and choose a suitable place to camp at the same place. When the blizzard stops, we will hurry on our way immediately. "

Afunin waited for Kravchenko to finish the call, grabbed a telephone on the table in front of him, picked up the receiver and stuck it to his ear, and said loudly: "I am General Afunin, let my The Chief of Staff answered the phone."

The mission was clear. As soon as Afunin's chief of staff received the call, he immediately informed the commanders and fighters who were still marching in the snowstorm to stop advancing and choose a suitable location for camping.

After the order was conveyed, Afunin showed a relieved expression on his face. He said to Kravchenko: "General Kravchenko, in fact, even if there is no order from the commander, I will order the troops to stop advancing. When driving in a snowstorm, the troops can easily lose their way. If we breach the enemy's defense zone, I am afraid that we will suffer huge losses."

Sokov stayed in his headquarters until the afternoon. He felt that Ponegerin's troops had entered the defense zone of the Romanian 27th Border Guard Regiment at this moment, so he ordered someone to call Pornegerin, wondering if the troops had reached the designated area. Location.

But after the operator called for a while, there was no response from the other party. He could only report to Sokov: "Comrade Commander, the other party's radio did not respond. It should be during the march, and the radio was not turned on."

"Continue to call." Sokov told the operator, "In any case, you must get in touch with them."

"It's a pity that the weather today is too bad." Smirnov said with emotion: "Otherwise, you can request the Air Force to dispatch to carry out reconnaissance on the ground."

"In such bad weather, not to mention our planes, I am afraid that the German planes will also be unable to take off." Sukov just said halfway, when he suddenly realized that something was wrong, "It's not right. The place that suffered from the blizzard is Krakow. Where Vchenko and the others are. The sky is clear to the north, and there is no speech for thousands of miles. How could there be a reason why the signal cannot be received. "

Sokov said to Sameko: "Chief of Staff, you give an order to the Air Force of the Front Army to immediately send two reconnaissance planes to search in different places. Be sure to find the whereabouts of the 41st Guards Division."

Just when Sameko picked up the phone and was about to call the Air Force and ask them to send out a reconnaissance plane, a staff officer came from the communication area and reported to Sokov: "Comrade Commander, I just received a report from the Guards No. According to the telegram from the 41st Division, they have successfully occupied the defense area of ​​the 27th Frontier Regiment and are building fortifications in advance to prevent possible counterattacks by the enemy."

"Great, really great." Sokov said to Sameko: "As long as our troops stick to the newly occupied positions, it means that we have established a reliable landing field on the right bank of the Prut River. That way, we can use this as a starting point for offense."

"I thought that after the establishment of the combat group, our offensive targets were mainly Germans. But somehow, all we contacted were Romanian troops, but the German troops disappeared. Now it seems that they should all be transferred. Vinnitsa area, from where we are going to launch an attack on Marshal Zhukov's troops to save them from defeat."

Speaking of Zhukov, Smirnov immediately became interested. He leaned over and said, "I think Marshal Zhukov will be very happy to see so many enemies attacking him."

"Why are you happy?"

"The reason is simple. The more enemies you eliminate, the greater your contribution to the motherland, and it will even be recorded in history." Sokov explained to Smirnov: "So the more German troops besieging the First Front , which means that more Germans came to die by themselves.”

"Since the battle of Kursk, the elite troops of the German army have been consumed little by little in the battles launched by our army. I believe that it will not be long before the German army will definitely recruit temporarily in order to make up for the shortage of soldiers. There are a lot of recruits. It might be okay for these recruits to look at the gate, but if you want them to go to the battlefield, hehe...it is equivalent to sending military exploits to our army."

"That's right, that's right." Sameko agreed with Sokov's statement: "Wars do not depend on the number of people, but on weapons and equipment and technical and tactical levels. The elite German army has already They have been wiped out by us in sevens and eights, and the new recruits now recruited can't be compared with the previous veterans in terms of technical and tactical level or combat experience. This is probably the reason why our recent battles have been smooth. After all, what we are facing is A bunch of poor fighting Romanians."

"After entering Romania, the 41st Guards Division temporarily transferred to defense on the spot, and seized the time to rush to repair various fortifications. Maybe it won't be long before they can be used."

"Comrade Commander, do you think that the Germans will be able to mobilize their troops to go south after the battle has been fought?" Unexpectedly, after hearing this, Gorokhov said disapprovingly: "I think that in the next battle, The enemy we are facing is the Romanian army. Facing the powerful offensive of our army, they cannot stop it at all. As long as the soldiers surrender, the remaining officers will not be surprised. If they are willing to cooperate with us, we will naturally It is welcome; but if there is hostility towards us, then I'm sorry, and we can only wipe them all out."

"Comrade Military Commissar, you are so optimistic." Sokov explained to him: "The pro-German faction in Romania, seeing that their master is going to die, will definitely not let it go, and will ask the German commander they know, Redeploy troops into Romania to counter our army's offensive."