Red Moscow

Less than two hours after the 3rd Guards Airborne Division entered Romania, two divisions of the 20th Guards Army under the 4th Guards Army also broke through the joint defense line of the German and Romanian troops from the south of Vingeny, swaggeringly. Crossed the Prut River and entered Romania.

Konev was overjoyed when he learned that the troops of the 20th Guards Army had also entered Romania. He said to Zakharov: "Comrade Chief of Staff, Romania sent representatives to negotiate with us two days ago to discuss the transfer of Bucharest For undefended cities. But judging from the negotiation process, they seem to have little sincerity."

"How come?" Zakharov asked curiously.

"The condition they put forward is to let all our troops withdraw from Romania, and then they will officially declare Bucharest as an undefended city."

"Nonsense, this is simply nonsense." Zakharov said angrily after hearing this: "If all our troops withdraw from Romania, they will not be threatened at all, even if all cities are set as undefended cities, What's the use?"

"That's right," Konev said: "The German army can continue to stay in Romania, but our army has to withdraw completely. They just require us to meet the requirements for withdrawing troops before setting Bucharest as an undefended city. What's the point of that, if it's just a trick to deceive yourself and others?"

"Then what should we do?"

"What else can I do?!" Konev said categorically: "Naturally, more troops will be sent into Romania. At that time, I will see if the Romanian representatives will become honest and sit down obediently to negotiate with us. .”

"This is a good idea." Zakharov nodded and said, "I will immediately call the commanders of the 4th Guards Army and the 57th Army and ask them to speed up their advance and capture as many troops as possible in a short period of time." Area."

"Wait a minute," Konev called Zakharov who was about to leave, and said with a serious expression: "You contact Koroteyev, the commander of the 52nd Army, and ask him what he is doing. For so long, his troops have not broken through the enemy's lines."

Hearing what Konev said, Zakharov also felt that Koroteyev should be beaten. The 52nd Army launched an offensive at the same time as Sokov's 53rd Army. Now Sokov's troops have entered Romania, while Koroteyev's troops are still standing still.

"Don't worry, Comrade Marshal." Zakharov nodded and said, "I will truthfully convey your meaning to General Koroteyev and urge him to speed up the pace of attack."

An hour later, Sokov, who was commanding the troops to fight, received a call from General Koroteyev: "General Sokov, I am Koroteyev, sorry to bother you."

Sokov hurriedly covered the receiver with his hands, called Trofimenko to him, and said to him: "Comrade Deputy Commander, I want to talk to Koroteyev, and you will take command for me for a while."

"No problem," Trofimenko replied briskly, "I'll take care of everything."

After arranging the work, Sokov let go of his hand covering the microphone and asked curiously, "General Koroteyev, what can I do for you?"

"General Sokov, there are so many things you can do for me." Koroteyev said bitterly, "I just received a reprimand from Marshal Konev, saying that if I still can't break through the German army The line of defense, I will be court-martialed.”

Sokov was taken aback when he heard what Koroteyev said, and then asked cautiously, "General Koroteyev, what happened? It's serious enough to go to court-martial?"

When Sokov said this, he didn't pay attention to controlling his volume, so that everyone around him heard what he said, and couldn't help casting curious glances at him.

"General Sokov, the situation is like this." Koroteyev explained to Sokov: "Some time ago, my troops and your troops launched a river crossing operation at the same time and successfully established a landing field in the right bank area. .But during this time, your troops continued to advance by leaps and bounds, and even entered Romania. My troops, now less than fifteen kilometers away from the river bank, have still been unable to break through the enemy's defenses."

Hearing what Koroteyev said, Sokov couldn't help scoffing. You know, his troops have advanced hundreds of kilometers, and even entered Romania, while General Koroteyev's troops are still standing still. No decent results were achieved at all, no wonder Konev threatened to send him to a military court. If it was him, he would probably apply to his superiors to replace him with someone else.

"General Koroteyev," Sokov asked politely, "if you have any requests, please feel free to ask. If I can help, I will definitely help you."

"General Sokov, I hope you can send troops on the left to attack the rear of the German army in front of me, so that they can't look at each other from head to tail, so that I have a chance to break through their defense line."

"Sending troops to attack the rear of the German army is a matter of great importance." If Koroteyev had made such a request to Sokov's troops a day or two ago, he would have agreed without hesitation, but now The troops have just left the garrison area and are advancing forward. At this moment, asking them to turn around and go back to support the friendly army will definitely cause unnecessary panic. Therefore, Sokov said cautiously: "I will not give you a formal reply until I discuss with the members of the headquarters."

Hearing that Sokov rejected him, Koroteyev couldn't help feeling a little disappointed, but there was nothing he could do about it. Whoever made his subordinates so disappointing and fought for such a long time couldn't break through the German army The line of defense is simply embarrassing.

But he still forced a smile and said: "Thank you very much, General Sokov, I am waiting for your good news."

As soon as Sokov put down the phone, Sameko leaned over and asked curiously, "Comrade Commander, is it General Koroteyev calling?" Seeing Sokov nodding in confirmation, he continued , "I don't know what he wants from you?"

"Korodeyev said that since his troops broke through the German river defense position, they stayed by the river and were unable to move forward." Sokov explained to Sameko: "For this matter, He was reprimanded today by Marshal Konev, who even threatened to court martial him."

When Sameko heard this, he understood what was going on: "Comrade Commander, I understand. He called you, did he want us to send troops to attack the rear of the German army, so as to reduce the resistance of their frontal attack?"

"Yes, that's what he meant."

"Hey," Sameko said regretfully, "Why didn't he say a day or two earlier, when we still had enough troops to mobilize. Now that all the troops have moved forward, which troops to turn around?" Support, I am afraid it will cause unnecessary confusion."

"Comrade Chief of Staff, you are right." Sokov also said with some embarrassment: "The reason why I didn't immediately agree to General Koroteyev's request is that I had the same considerations as you."

Trofimenko also came over and tentatively said: "Comrade commander, if we deploy troops to support the 52nd Army at this moment, it will disrupt our original combat plan and cause a series of unpredictable adverse reactions. So I personally think that it is best not to go for reinforcements, at least in the last few days, not to go to reinforce General Koroteyev. Even if we want to save, we need to wait for the situation on our side to stabilize."

"I agree with Comrade Deputy Commander," Sameko echoed. "I also think it is the most appropriate choice to send troops to support Koroteyev after our situation stabilizes."

Although Trofimenko and Sameko had the same opinion, Sokov did not immediately adopt it. Instead, he turned his attention to Smirnov, who was sitting aside and insisted on working despite his injuries: "Comrade Chief of Staff, your What about opinions?"

"Comrade Commander, I just want to ask you a few questions." Smirnov looked up at Sokov and said slowly, "Is that okay?"

"Of course!" Sokov replied very readily.

"If we don't help the 52nd Army break through the German defenses, then there will always be a combined German and Romanian army on our left flank." Smirnov asked, "Am I right?"

"Yes, you're right." Sokov nodded, and said in an affirmative tone: "If we don't eliminate this enemy, then our left wing will always be threatened by the enemy."

"The enemy on our left flank is currently unable to pose a threat to us because General Koroteyev's 52nd Army is holding them back. Right?"

"Totally correct." Sokov agrees very much with Smirnov's statement. If General Koroteyev's 52nd Army hadn't held back the Germans on the flanks so that they could not free up their hands to attack their own flanks, I'm afraid I have to deploy a considerable amount of troops to defend, how can I let some of them enter Romania in such a short period of time.

Seeing that Sokov approved his statement, Smirnov did not continue to ask, but said briefly: "I have finished my words, and it is up to you to decide how to make a decision."

After listening to Smirnov's two questions, Sokov understood his intentions, nodded and said, "I see, Comrade Chief of Staff, do you think we should send troops to support General Koroteyev... ..."

"Comrade Commander," Sameko interrupted Sokov before he could finish, "If we send troops to reinforce General Koroteyev now, it will disrupt our original combat deployment. "

"Comrade Chief of Staff," Sokov looked at Sameko and said, "The combat deployment has been disrupted. We just need to readjust the plan. But if Koroteyev is not supported, he will be trapped by the German army for a long time." Some areas. Once his troops cannot attack for a long time, the morale and morale of the army will inevitably be hit. If the German army takes the opportunity to launch a counterattack, his troops may be defeated.

If the 52nd Army is defeated, our left wing will be completely exposed to the enemy. Once the Germans have the initiative, they can attack our flank at any time, leaving us with no time to respond. Therefore, in order to eliminate the threat of our flank as soon as possible, I think it is absolutely necessary to send troops to support General Koroteyev. "

"So, are you planning to deploy troops to support Koroteyev?" After Saying this, Sameko saw Sokov nodding in affirmation, and continued: "Then which troops should be deployed to support?"

When Sokov was considering whether to transfer his own troops or Trofimenko's, he heard Smirnov say: "Comrade Commander, I think it is possible to draw from General Melekhov's 49th Army. For example, the 116th Infantry Division of Colonel Stirlitz and the 130th Infantry Division of Colonel Surodenko."

"I agree." Now that Smirnov had offered to propose troops that could participate in the war, Sokov agreed without hesitation: "In accordance with the opinion of the chief of staff, Colonel Stirlitz's 116th Infantry Division and the 130th Infantry Division of Colonel Surodenko rushed to support General Koroteyev's troops, assisting them in breaking through the enemy's defenses and encircling the retreating enemy."

"Understood, I'm going to contact General Melekhov right now." After remembering what Sokov said, Sameko turned around and went to the communication area, picked up a phone on the table, and prepared to contact Melekhov. Let him mobilize the strength of two divisions and go back to support General Koroteyev's troops.

And Melekhov's reaction was within Sameko's expectations. When Melekhov learned that he would draw two divisions from his own army to support Koroteyev, he immediately became anxious: "Staff Comrade Chang, according to the original plan, all my troops will enter Romania within two days. If I really go to support General Koroteyev, I am afraid that I will not be able to reach the designated location for a week."

"General Melekhov," Sameko said calmly, "Since the plan has changed, the original order to enter Romania within two days has been cancelled. You first draw the 116th and 116th Infantry from the army. The 130th Division ordered the two division commanders to immediately take the troops south to reinforce General Koroteyev's troops."

"Okay, Comrade Chief of Staff." Since Sameko has made the order so clear, if Melekhov does not carry out the order, he may be directly dismissed by the other party. He doesn't want to be known as such, so he is still humble He shook his head and said honestly: "I immediately dispatched two infantry divisions and ordered them to prepare for battle quickly and rush to reinforce friendly troops as quickly as possible."

After making the phone call, Sameko came back and reported to Sokov: "Comrade Commander, I have contacted General Melekhov, and he has promised to dispatch troops and rush over to support friendly forces as soon as possible."

"Very good." Seeing that Sameko had done what he ordered, Sokov nodded with satisfaction, and continued: "As long as we cooperate with the friendly forces to destroy the enemy on our left wing, then our front will be completely connected. You no longer have to worry about your flanks being in danger of being attacked by the enemy."

He pointed to the map and said to everyone: "After General Koroteyev wiped out the enemies in front of them, he can quickly advance to Romania. By that time, we can have as many as seven troops entering Romania. A group army. I think it will be very difficult to stop our attack with the current strength of the German and Romanian troops."