Red Moscow

After waiting for Sokov to finish speaking, Trofimenko paused for a moment, and suddenly had a bold idea: "Comrade Commander, I have an idea."

"what idea?"

"What if our airborne troops landed in Romania instead of Poland?" Trofimenko said, "For example, if they landed near Bucharest, would Romania be scared to surrender directly to us?"

"Comrade Deputy Commander, your idea is good." Sokov said with a wry smile, "But if you put it into action, it's somewhat unrealistic."

"Why?"

"Now the 18th Guards Army has two Guards Airborne Divisions, which are the most elite airborne troops in our army." Sokov said: "Their total strength is more than 20,000. Even if we have enough transport planes, we can transport They have all parachuted near Bucharest, can their presence influence the situation in Romania?"

After Sokov finished speaking, he deliberately paused for a moment to observe Trofimenko's reaction. Seeing that he was lost in thought, he continued: "If the defenders in Bucharest are all Romanian troops, according to their current Under the circumstances, Bucharest may indeed be easily occupied by our airborne troops.

But the actual situation is that the Germans have heavy troops stationed in Bucharest. Once they find that our army's airborne troops have airborne near the city, they will immediately send troops to clean them up. The airborne troops with only light weapons can't beat the German army equipped with tanks, armored vehicles and artillery. At that time, we can only consume our precious troops in vain. "

Trofimenko just had a sudden whim. After listening to Sokov's explanation at this moment, he knew that he was thinking too much. Now that the Ponedelin battle group has entered Romania and is expanding the occupied area in an orderly manner, there is really no need to be in Bucharest What kind of airborne is going on nearby.

"Comrade Commander," Sameko came forward, holding a telegram in his hand, and reported excitedly, "General Afunin, commander of the 18th Guards Corps, has telegraphed that Colonel Konev's Guards paratroopers The 3rd Division has successfully crossed the border and officially entered Romania."

"This is really good news." Knowing that another troop has entered Romania, Sokov's smile grew wider: "Chief of Staff, immediately call back General Afunin and let them gain a foothold in Romania as soon as possible. , to accommodate more troops crossing the border."

"Okay, Comrade Commander. I'm going to report to General Afunin."

"Wait a minute." When Sameko was about to send a telegram, Sokov stopped him: "Don't forget to send a telegram to General Kravchenko to inform him of the progress of the 18th Guards Army. Also ask him, when will his troops enter Romanian territory?"

Looking at Sameko's back, Trofimenko gave Sokov a thumbs up: "Comrade Commander, your move is really wonderful. If General Kravchenko knows that the 18th Guards Army has Entering Romania, I will definitely not be convinced in my heart, and I will definitely let the troops advance faster, so as to strive to enter Romania in the shortest possible time."

The phone on the table rang without warning, and Sokov, who was closest to the phone, instinctively grabbed the receiver: "I'm Sokov, where are you?"

"Hello, Comrade Sokov, I'm Zakharov." Zakharov's joyful voice came from the receiver: "I have some great news to tell you."

"Extremely good news?" Sokov couldn't help being taken aback: "What great news?"

"The troops of the 4th Guards Army and the 57th Army have already defeated a division of the German army near Wengen, and three divisions of Romania, and are rapidly advancing towards the border. If nothing else, they are in the sky Before it gets dark, they will be able to enter Romania smoothly."

"What, Comrade Chief of Staff of the Front Army, what did you say?" Zakharov's words shocked Sokov. He was just imagining that after the 18th Guards Army, Kravchenko's 6th Tank Army could also Recently entered Romania. Unexpectedly, Zakharov unexpectedly told him that two other army groups had almost reached the Romanian border, which was unbelievable: "Can you say it again?"

Zakharov didn't notice Sokov's strangeness, and thought that the other party really didn't hear clearly, so he repeated what he just said, and finally said: "Comrade Sokov, your Southern Front Corps can step up. , don’t wait until the friendly troops have entered Romania, you haven’t reached the border yet.”

When Sokov heard this, he was very unconvinced, and he retorted: "Chief of Staff of the Front Army, no matter how fast the two army groups you just mentioned move, I am afraid they will not be able to enter Romania ahead of my troops."

Hearing what Sokov said, Zakharov seemed to have something in his words, and asked quickly: "Comrade Sokov, what do you mean, can you explain clearly?"

"Comrade Chief of Staff of the Front Army," Sokov was full of confidence when Afunin reported the results not long ago. He said proudly: "Not long ago, the 3rd Guards Airborne Division under the 18th Guards Army had It has successfully crossed the border, entered Romania, and is advancing towards the nearest town."

"Ah, the 3rd Guards Airborne Division has also entered Romania?" Sokov's report shocked Zakharov. He was silent for a long time before asking in an uncertain tone: "Comrade Sokov, are you Is what you said true?"

"It's completely true, Comrade Chief of Staff of the Front Army." Sokov knew his subordinates very well, and would never deceive himself about this kind of thing, because fabricating such a lie would be easily exposed. So he said confidently: "If you don't believe it, you can send someone to verify it."

"I really didn't expect the 18th Guards Army to be so fast." Zakharov said in a slow tone: "Comrade Sukov, in fact, the reason why the 4th Guards Army and the 57th Guards Army were able to advance to the Near the national border, it is also related to the 6th Tank Army."

"Oh, it has something to do with the 6th Tank Army?" Sokov asked in surprise, "What's going on?"

"It's like this. After being defeated by the 4th Guards Army, an armored regiment of the German army retreated in the direction of Wengen. As a result, it encountered troops from the Tank Army on the way. After a fierce battle between the two sides, the armored regiment of the German army After the annihilation of the regiment and the failure of the enemy's attempt to form a new line of defense near Wengen, the defensive positions of the combined German and Romanian forces were breached by the 57th Army and the 4th Guards Army."

"Oh, so that's the case." After figuring out what was going on, Sokov said with a smile: "Comrade Chief of Staff of the Front Army, I think General Kravchenko will be very happy if he finds out about this. After all, they The military action taken hastened the rate at which friendly forces penetrated enemy lines."

"Comrade Sokov," Zakharov continued, "Once a few troops enter Romania, in order to quickly expand the results of the battle, I consider letting the troops concentrate on operations. What do you think?"

Sokov did not express his attitude immediately, but asked humbly: "Chief of Staff of the Front Army, if these troops are all concentrated, how do you plan to use these troops?"

Before Zakharov called Sokov, he had already thought about the tactics of troops entering Romania, so he said it clearly. After talking for almost half an hour, he finally stopped and asked, "How about it, Comrade Sokov, what do you think of my plan?"

"Chief of Staff of the Front Army, I think it is very inappropriate to combine the three armies and one guard army under such circumstances." Now that Zakharov asked for his opinion, Sokov said unceremoniously He pointed out the drawbacks of the concentrated use of troops: "When you enter Romania from the vicinity of Wengeny, forests, lakes, and swamps stand in front of the troops, which are not conducive to the deployment of our mechanized troops, nor are they suitable for large corps operations.

If we really concentrate our forces and launch an offensive against the enemy in this area, the enemy only needs to occupy some commanding heights to block our army's advance with firepower. At that time, our army will not only be slow to attack, but will pay a heavy price for every step forward. "

Seeing that Sokov rejected his plan, Zakharov felt somewhat unhappy, so he asked displeasedly, "Then tell me, what should we do?"

"I think we can develop in several directions at the same time," Sokov heard the displeasure in Zakharov's tone, and explained to him: "In this way, not only our troops can be fully deployed, but also our forces can be fully utilized." At the same time, it can disperse the enemy's forces, so that they have to divide their forces and carry out defensive operations in many areas."

"Comrade Sokov, aren't you afraid that after our troops are dispersed, we still won't be able to break through the enemy's line of defense?"

"No, Comrade Chief of Staff of the Front Army." Sokov said confidently: "The German army is the most effective force in Romania today, but their number is limited, and they will definitely find a way to concentrate their use in one direction. If we put The troops on the southern front are all concentrated in one area to fight, and the Germans can arrange a tight defense in that direction, so that our offensive will be frustrated.

But if we disperse our forces, it means that the forces used by the Germans for defense will also have to be dispersed. In this way, they have limited defensive forces at various locations, and they cannot block our army's offensive. The defense lines they have established will not last long before they will be broken one after another. "

Zakharov was silent, he thought for a long time, and felt that Sokov's words made sense. He nodded slowly, and said: "Comrade Sokov, I think what you said is somewhat reasonable. How about it, I will discuss it with Marshal Konev to see what his intentions are, and then decide whether to put the southern front The combined use of several armies."

When Sokov put down the phone, Trofimenko asked impatiently, "Comrade Commander, what did General Zakharov say?"

"He told me that the 57th Army and the 4th Guards Army have already approached the national border from the area south of Wengeny and can enter Romania at any time."

"Ah?!" Trofimenko was shocked after hearing this: "Where did these two army groups come from? Why did they hit the border without making a sound?"

"Comrade Deputy Commander, according to my analysis, they should be the troops of the Front Army Command as a reserve force." Seeing Trofimenko's puzzled face, Sokov analyzed to him: "The 52nd Army is on our left flank. Step by step, they eroded the enemy's defense area and advanced towards the border. The two army units serving as reserves, taking advantage of the enemy's attention and being attracted by friendly forces, unexpectedly broke through the enemy's defense line and reached Wenger Inner and southern regions."

"I seem to have heard him say that he intends to concentrate and use the troops on the southern front. Is that true?"

Sokov felt that Trofimenko might have heard the conversation between himself and Zakharov, and asking this question now was just to let him explain it to him in detail.

But Sokov was not impatient because of this. On the contrary, he patiently explained to him: "Comrade Deputy Commander, General Zakharov intends to integrate two combined armies of various arms, one tank army, and one guard army. Come to think of it, fighting in Romania should be influenced by our combat group. He simply thought that by concentrating so many troops together, he could quickly break through the enemy's defense line and push deep into Romania."

"Is there something wrong?" Trofimenko vaguely heard some conversations between Sokov and Zakharov, but at the most critical moment, a staff officer came to report to him and interrupted his listening At this moment, he wanted to figure out why Sokov opposed this plan: "With so many troops concentrated, I don't think the enemy has the ability to stop them."

"My deputy commander, in theory, this is the case, but General Zakharov ignored the terrain in Romania when he came up with this plan." Sokov said: "Look, after passing Prut After the river, there are forests, lakes and swamps everywhere, and the troops can't spread out at all. That is to say, even if there is a firefight with the enemy, it can only be a division or a regiment under a certain army group, and the rest of the troops can only be blocked behind , Watching the comrades in front of the front and the enemy fight to the death, but I can't help much.

Once the Germans find the location where our army is assembled, they can dispatch the air force to bomb the area, or use artillery to bombard it, causing huge casualties to our army.

It was out of such considerations that I decisively rejected General Zakharov's plan and did not intend to hand over the 6th Tank Army and the 18th Guards Army to his command. In order to avoid a large number of casualties in the enemy's bombing or shelling from time to time. "

After some explanations from Sokov, Trofimenko finally realized: "No wonder you object to General Zakharov's concentration of troops. This is the reason."

"That's right." Sokov continued: "But if the troops are separated, with the group army as the unit, and each chooses a direction as their own combat area, it will force the German army to divide its limited forces and place them in various areas. Defend."

"What about the Romanian army?" Seeing that Sokov kept talking about the German army, but didn't mention the Romanian army at all, Trofimenko couldn't help reminding: "They have a lot of troops!"

"The current Romanian army is in a state of disunity. No matter how many people there are, there is nothing to worry about." Sokov said disapprovingly, "I think that as long as our troops approach the city, Romania in the city will Stop resisting, obediently lay down your arms and surrender to us."