Red Moscow

The preparations for artillery fire by other troops took two hours, two and a half hours, or even three hours at every turn, and they had to destroy hundreds of thousands of shells at a time. The artillery preparation of Sokov's troops can be done with stinginess. Usually fifteen to twenty minutes after the shelling, the troops that approached the enemy quietly under the cover of artillery fire have already entered the attack position. Launch an attack on the enemy's position.

This time, while the artillery preparations of the friendly forces continued, the shelling of Sokov's troops had stopped, and 25 transport hovercraft full of commanders and fighters, under the cover of 5 combat hovercraft, quickly rushed to the opposite side of the swamp.

Due to the complex terrain in the swamp, the speed of the hovercraft cannot be compared with the speed of the river. But even so, it took only five minutes for 30 hovercraft to pass through a swamp with a width of 800-1,000 meters and enter the German defense zone.

Since most of the enemies on the high ground near the edge of the swamp had already evacuated, the first batch of commanders and fighters who disembarked did not spend much time and easily occupied all the high ground at a very small cost.

Seeing the red flag raised on the high ground and the hovercraft returning to transport the second batch of soldiers, Sokov breathed a sigh of relief, and said to Belkin beside him: "Belkin, my troops can pass through the swamp so smoothly. , Occupying the forward positions of the German army, you are indispensable. When the battle is over and the merits are rewarded, you will definitely get a valuable medal."

Hearing Sokov's praise, Belkin grinned and said, "Misha, don't forget, you invented this hovercraft. If you want to say who has the most credit, of course it must be you."

"I just provided an idea, but the weapons and equipment department produced the hovercraft. Without their cooperation, this kind of transportation tool would not have come out." Sokov looked at the hovercraft that was getting closer and closer, and said with emotion Said: "The initial hovercraft can only carry 30 soldiers at a time, but now it has increased to 40 people, that is to say, at least one thousand people can be sent to the opposite side of the swamp at a time, which greatly shortens the passage of our troops. Swamp time."

"Misha, I'm thinking about one thing." Belkin waited for Sokov to finish speaking, and said, "If you push forward too fast, will there be any problems?"

Sokov asked blankly, "What's wrong?"

"As far as I know, usually after the shelling is over, the air force will bomb the enemy's rear." Belkin reminded Sokov: "If your troops charge too fast, they will rush to the second line of the German army in one fell swoop. When the Space Force bombs, isn't it possible to hit your troops?"

Belkin's words shocked Sokov into a cold sweat. He clearly remembered that during the Stalingrad defense war, Chuikov went to the countryside to receive a troop that had just arrived from other places in a military column. Unexpectedly, as soon as the troops got out of the car, a group of Soviet bomber planes came and bombed the ground troops violently. As a result, nearly half of the friendly troops who had just arrived fell to their own air force before entering the battlefield. under the bomb.

Although the offensive campaign had only started for half an hour, Sokov knew in his heart that the air force responsible for bombing the German positions was probably already in place, and he would fly to the designated location to bomb immediately after an order. If one's own troops rush in too fast and just occupy the area that the air force originally planned to bomb, then there may be accidental bombings.

Thinking of this, he picked up the phone on the table and ordered the messenger to connect to Rokossovsky's call: "Hello, Comrade General! I'm Sokov."

"It's Misha!" Rokossovsky heard the call from Sokov, and asked with a smile: "I heard that your preparation time for artillery fire has never been long. I don't know if you plan to bombard the enemy's positions this time." How long?"

"Reporting to Comrade General, our artillery preparations are over." Sokov reported to Rokossovsky respectfully: "Now the vanguard has occupied all the high grounds of the German army on the edge of the swamp. If it arrives, it will immediately advance deep into the enemy's defense to capture the enemy's second line of defense."

After listening to Sokov's report, Rokossovsky fell into shock. Other troops were still preparing for artillery fire, but Sokov's troops had already occupied the first line of defense of the German army. Although he knew that Sokov would definitely have a dazzling performance in this Operation Bagration, he did not expect it to be so dazzling.

He was stunned for a long time before he asked tentatively, "Misha, haven't you been counterattacked by the enemy?"

"Not yet, Comrade General." Sokov replied: "When our shelling began, the enemy must have hid in their positions and dared not move. But they never dreamed that we have a hovercraft that can quickly pass through the swamp and can In just a few minutes, thousands of commanders and fighters were transported from one side of the swamp to the other. As a result, we were caught off guard, and before we could even react, our troops occupied their outposts .”

"This hovercraft is really a treasure." After Rokossovsky said this with emotion, he realized that Sokov's call to himself was definitely not for showing off, but because he had other things to ask for himself, so he He asked tentatively, "Misha, what do you want from me?"

"Comrade General," Sokov said: "According to past experience, every time the artillery preparations are over, the air force will bomb the enemy's position again. I am worried that my troops will advance too fast and break into the bombing The region, causing unnecessary losses, may affect the morale and morale of the troops."

"Oh, it turned out to be like this." After Rokossovsky figured out what was going on, he comforted Sokov and said, "Misha, don't worry, I will immediately notify the Air Force to stop bombing the offensive you are in charge of." area, so as not to cause accidental bombing. Look, is this okay?"

"Of course." As long as the Air Force does not bomb its own combat area, it can avoid accidental bombings. However, Sukov considered that in the coming battle, there must still be a lot of air force cooperation, and he quickly added: "If we need air force support, I will call you to make a request."

"I think it's okay." Rokossovsky nodded and said, "Although I canceled the air force's bombing mission in your combat area, if you need air cover, just ask me, and I'll send another Air Force to support you."

After finishing the call with Sokov, Rokossovsky held the microphone and spoke for a while, and then made a decisive decision to ask the communications soldier to help him connect to the 3rd Army Headquarters. Zhukov, who was there, called and informed him of the results of Sokov's troops.

After the call was connected, Zhukov asked with a smile: "Koschka, are you too anxious? You called to ask about the results as soon as the artillery preparations before the attack started. Let me tell you, in this powerful Until the artillery preparations are over, there will be no results for the time being."

"When it comes to the results of the battle, it can't be said that there are no." Rokossovsky said lightly: "At least Misha's 48th Army has now occupied the front-line position facing the enemy, and is now preparing to develop in depth against the enemy. "

"What, what, what did you say?" After hearing this, Zhukov asked in surprise, "Koschka, is what you said true? Misha's troops have already broken through the first German line of defense?"

Before Rokossovsky could answer, he asked himself and answered: "This is unlikely. You know, our army's artillery preparations are not over yet. How could he break through the enemy's line of defense? Isn't he afraid of being attacked by our army?" Was it accidentally injured by artillery fire?"

"Comrade Marshal," Rokossovsky explained, "Misha's troops had very little time to prepare artillery fire before attacking. This is because he said that every time the artillery bombardment started, the captured enemy would retreat through the communication trenches. As far as the second line of defense, the shells fell on the uninhabited positions. So he changed his tactics and used short-term shelling to destroy the enemy's fortifications, and let the troops quietly approach the enemy's positions under the cover of the shelling. In this way, as soon as the shelling stops, they can immediately charge and occupy the enemy's position before the enemy returns to the position."

"Then he did the same thing today?"

"Almost." Rokossovsky continued: "As soon as the bombardment was over, his troops quickly crossed the swamp in the hovercraft he got from the Weapons Department, and seized all the German troops on the edge of the swamp. Heights."

"Good job." After Zhukov finished speaking, he said to Rokossovsky: "Koschka, I will call him now and ask him what his next plan is." Kosovsky hung up the phone without any reaction.

A few minutes later, Zhukov connected to the observation post where Sokov was, and said with a smile: "Misha, I congratulate you on your victory in the first battle. The other troops are still preparing for artillery fire. Your troops have captured the enemy's first battle." A line of defense."

Hearing Zhukov praise himself in this way, Sokov didn't know how to reply for a while, so he could only laugh dryly.

Zhukov was obviously used to Sokov's reaction, and continued, "What are your plans for the future?"

Sokov had just finished talking with Sidolin before Zhukov called, studying what to do after the troops crossed the swamp. Hearing Zhukov's question at this moment, he replied truthfully: "Comrade Marshal, according to my original idea, once I break through the German defenses, I will quickly rush to the depths of the enemy's defenses. But after the troops pass the swamp, I will Only then did I realize that I had imagined the problem too simply.”

"Oh, why is it so easy to imagine?" Zhukov asked pleasantly, "Why don't you tell me."

"The soil on the opposite side of the swamp is not suitable for tanks or heavy artillery at all. That is to say, even if we use hovercraft to transport many tanks and heavy artillery there, it will not be usable at all." Sokov said with a bitter face: "Don't talk about tanks driving After a few steps, it will fall into the quagmire. Even if it is a heavy artillery, as long as it is fired, the huge recoil will also make it fall into the quagmire."

"Then have you thought of a solution?"

"Think about it." Sokov replied: "I plan to send engineers to pave the road with logs to pave a road for tanks. As for the heavy artillery, because the occupied high ground is relatively dry, artillery positions can be set up on the high ground , so that the enemy's second-line positions can be bombarded condescendingly."

"Misha, you are very thoughtful." After listening to Sokov's narration, Zhukov praised: "If I were to take command, the things I can do are similar to what you are going to do."

"Comrade Marshal," although the battle went so smoothly once it started, Sokov did not take it lightly, but asked Zhukov humbly: "Do you think there is anything we need to improve?"

"Misha, in the upcoming battle, if your troops continue to attack smoothly, it is certainly a good thing, but it will also bring you certain dangers."

Hearing this, Sokov immediately raised his vigilance: "Comrade Marshal, can you explain in more detail?"

"Think about it, in this Operation Bagration, we used troops from four front armies to deal with the four armies of the German army. This means an unprecedented large-scale battle." Zhukov took it easy. He said: "If your attack speed is too fast, leaving the friendly forces on the left and right wings far behind, then you will face the danger of exposing the flanks to the enemy. If the enemy turns to your two wings to attack, then Your attacking troops and the rear may be cut off. At that time, the reinforcements of the friendly army will not come up, and your surrounded troops will not be able to break out, and there may be a possibility of being annihilated by the enemy."

Although Zhukov's words were not pleasant, Sukov knew in his heart that the other party cared about him, and specifically pointed out his current problems.

"Comrade Marshal," Sokov asked cautiously, "Then what should I do?"

"At that time, we fought steadily and steadily, adopting the tactics of consolidating a place after occupying a place, and gradually pushed into the depth of the German army's defense." Zhukov said: "In this way, even if the friendly troops on the left and right wings of your army are pulled down by you for a long distance, the enemy will attack the German army. When you attack, you can also rely on a solid defensive position to defend, and you will not be cut off by the enemy in the middle."

After hearing this, Sokov thought to himself that this is a steady and steady attack, and although the speed of the attack will be slowed down, it can ensure that the attacking troops he advances will be cut off and encircled by the enemy. Thinking of this, he nodded and said, "Comrade Marshal, I understand. I will move forward cautiously as you said."

"Well, Misha, you can think so much." Zhukov said earnestly: "Although I also hope that you can achieve good results, but at the same time I am also worried about your safety. Our troops often When you have an advantage, because a certain unit stands out in the past, it is encircled by the enemy, which disrupts the entire offensive process and finally leads to failure. I don't want you to encounter a similar situation."

"Comrade Marshal, thank you for your concern." Sokov said gratefully: "I will definitely follow your instructions and steadily advance deep into the enemy's defense, and I will never give them a chance to encircle me."

"Let's stop here for our conversation." Zhukov said with a smile: "Misha, I wish you good luck!" But before he hung up, he deliberately added, "I forgot to tell you, I am now at Here at the 3rd Army Headquarters, if you have anything to do, you can call me directly here."