Red Moscow

After finishing the matter of the 120th Guards Division, Sidolin tentatively asked Sokov: "Comrade Commander, do you need to report this matter to the Front Army Command?"

Sokov thought to himself that it would be a bit of a fuss for a small German scout to report to the front army headquarters for such a trivial matter, so he waved his hand and said, "No need, this matter is over."

"Comrade Commander," Sidolin reminded Sokov: "The commander of the front army just went to Luran Town during the day, and something like this happened at night. If you don't report it, when Comrade Marshal finds out about it, how can you blame him?" manage?"

"Don't worry, the recent work of the Front Army Command is focused on how to liberate Warsaw. What happened here is nothing to them." Sokov waved his hand and said: "What we have to do now , is to try to consolidate the Luran landing site as much as possible, and use it as the starting point for future attacks."

Sidolin agreed with Sokov's statement in his heart. You must know that the main attention of the Front Army Command is now concentrated on the left-wing troops, while the three armies on the right-wing fighting on the Narew River rarely ask questions. If it hadn't been for the interception of an erroneous piece of information from the German army, I am afraid that Sokov would not have had the chance to meet Rokossovsky yet.

"Comrade Commander," Sidolin thought for a while, and asked Sokov tentatively: "As far as I know, the 8th Guards Army has deployed two divisions into Warsaw City and is trying to get in touch with the Warsaw Uprising Army. To meet our main force across the Vistula."

But Sokov shook his head after hearing this, and said disapprovingly: "Although troops from two divisions have entered the west of Warsaw, I don't think the time is ripe enough to liberate the whole of Warsaw."

Regarding Sokov's statement, Ponejerin expressed a different view: "No way, Comrade Commander. You must know that the troops attacking Warsaw today, in addition to the 8th Guards Army, also have the 47th Army and the 47th Army. The Polish 1st Army, now the German army in Warsaw, is being restrained by the rebel army, and it is impossible to concentrate on resisting our attack..."

Before Ponedelin could finish speaking, Sokov raised his hand and interrupted him: "Comrade Deputy Commander, if the rebel army in the city has close contact with us, then when we attack Warsaw, they will be able to Constantly harassing the rear of the German army, causing the enemy to lose sight of the other. But what about the actual situation now? The rebel army only wanted to cooperate with the Allied forces hundreds of kilometers away, but they ignored our army approaching the city, even if ours The army has entered the city, and they will not actively cooperate."

"So, we won't be able to take Warsaw in a short time?" Ponegerin looked at Sokov and asked, "Comrade Commander, is my understanding correct?"

"Totally correct." Sokov said with a sneer: "Not only our army was unable to successfully capture Warsaw City, but even the defenders in Warsaw City may not be able to last long. Otherwise, the Allied Forces would not take the risk of organizing a transport fleet to attack the city." The city is airdropped."

What Sokov said was confirmed a few days later. According to the bulletin issued by the Front Army Command, shortly before the troops of the Polish 1st Army carried out the landing operation, the troops of the Krajov Army, in accordance with the orders of Komorowski and Montel, withdrew from the coastal suburbs to the city. , losing their position to the Germans. Moreover, when Krajov's army withdrew from the river bank, they did not even notify the units of Liudov's army, which resulted in the annihilation of all these remaining units by the German army.

The Polish Seventh Regiment, which entered the west of Warsaw City, and two Soviet divisions and one regiment, had to give up their attempt to capture the city after a week of bitter fighting because they could not get in touch with the rebel army, and the supply line was destroyed by the German army. With this thought, he crossed the river and returned to the right bank of the Vistula.

After reading the briefing from the Front Army Command, Ponejielin and Sidolin were convinced of Sokov's "judgment". Sidolin said with emotion: "Comrade Commander, I really didn't expect it. , you analyzed that the two divisions entering the city will not play much role at all. Unexpectedly, you were really right."

"Comrade Chief of Staff, it's actually very simple." Sokov said with a normal expression: "The Magnusev landing field established by the 8th Guards Army has been continuously attacked by the German army from the very beginning. In order to cooperate with the Polish 8th Army The 1st Army took Warsaw, and they managed to barely open a passage. If the troops sent to Warsaw can gain a foothold and open the situation quickly, then it is irrelevant whether they can get supplies from the landing field.

But the actual situation is that the troops who entered Warsaw did not get the support of the rebel army and fought alone in an unfamiliar place. The bridge connecting the two banks has not been repaired for a long time, and they can only get their urgently needed supplies through the Magnusev landing field. But once this supply line is cut off by the German army, the two divisions in the city will soon be out of ammunition and food due to lack of supplies. At that time, instead of taking the city, they were wiped out by the enemies in the city. Under such circumstances, Comrade Marshal was absolutely correct in ordering the withdrawal of troops decisively. "

"Our army can't gain a foothold on the left bank of the Vistula River," Ponegerin said thoughtfully after waiting for Sokov to finish speaking, "then the prospect of the rebel army in the city is not good."

"If my guess is correct," Sokov said mysteriously, "in at most one week, the Krajov Army among the rebels will order everyone to lay down their weapons and surrender. This uprising that broke out in Warsaw, It ended up being a tragedy."

If Sokov had said this a few days ago, Pornejelin would never have believed it, and would have thought that the other party was scaremongering. But at the moment he was lost in thought. As a senior military commander, he knew very well that once the uprising in the city was suppressed by the German army, the German army would be free to engage in a life-and-death battle with the Soviet army. will develop in an unpredictable direction.

"Comrade Commander," Ponejerin said bitterly, "I trust your judgment. If the rebel army in Warsaw really surrendered to the Germans under the command of the Krajov Army commander, the Germans will not be able to surrender." Then we can concentrate on dealing with our attack. At that time, let alone the liberation of Warsaw, it is still unknown whether we can hold the area we are occupying now."

"Comrade Deputy Commander, I think the focus of the next battlefield will be towards our area." Sokov smiled and said to Ponejerin, "You have to be mentally prepared first."

"No way." Hearing what Sokov said, Ponegerin had an expression of disbelief on his face: "Judging from the battle situation in the past half month, what we have done in the Narew River is nothing more than A tough and fruitless battle, how could the superior put the focus of the battle on us?"

"It is true that the artillery fire from the Modlin Fortress has suppressed our army from making greater progress." Sokov said: "But we should also see that the German army is on the east bank of the Vistula and Narew Rivers. There is also a triangular territory. As long as this place is captured, the three armies can become a powerful whole, and use this place as the starting point of the attack to launch a new round of attack into the depth of the German defense."

"Although the enemy's territory is not large, it is not an easy task to take it down." Ponejelin shook his head after hearing this and said, "The top of the triangular landing site is at the confluence of two rivers. The section can only be attacked from the front. But the position of the enemy's defense line is under the cover of crossed artillery fire on the other side of the river, and the enemy can also bombard our attacking troops from the Magdalen Fortress at the top of the triangle."

"You are right, Comrade Deputy Commander." After agreeing with Ponejielin's statement, Sokov continued: "But if the enemy in this place is not eliminated, we will be near the Narew River. There is no point in the battle, and it is impossible to advance to the enemy's depth from here."

While the three were discussing, Rokossovsky called: "Misha, come to my headquarters immediately, I have important combat tasks for you."

"Okay, Comrade Marshal, I will rush over as soon as possible."

"I'll send a plane to pick you up later, so that you can reach the front army headquarters faster."

After putting down the point, Sokov said to Ponejielin and Sidolin: "Deputy Commander, Chief of Staff, it seems that I have misfortune to say the matter again. Comrade Marshal asked me to go to the headquarters of the Front Army and said that there are important Assign me combat missions. In fact, even if you don’t say anything, you can analyze what mission Comrade Marshal intends to assign to me.”

"So, eliminating the enemies in the triangle is the top priority right now?" Ponegerin asked tentatively.

"Yes, Comrade Deputy Commander, this is an obvious problem." Sokov raised his hand and looked at his watch, and said, "I have to rush to the airport immediately, and the plane sent by Comrade Marshal to pick me up will soon arrive."

But when Sokov came to the field airport by car, he happened to see a transport plane landing. After seeing the plane come to a complete stop on the runway, Sokov patted Koshkin, who was sitting in the co-pilot's seat, and said, "Comrade Captain, drive the car over."

Koshkin nodded and said to the driver beside him, "Drive the car next to the plane."

When we came to the plane, the cabin door had already been opened, and the gangway was lowered. A pilot stood beside the ladder, saluted Sokov, and asked politely, "Is this General Sokov?"

"Yes, it's me." Sokov nodded: "Are you here to pick me up?"

"Yes, Comrade General." The pilot nodded and said, "I am here to pick you up on the order of the Front Army Headquarters. Please get on the plane."

After Sokov took Koshkin onto the plane, he accidentally saw an unexpected person. He said in surprise: "General Popov, why are you here?" It turned out that the commander of the 70th Army was still sitting on the plane.

Popov stood up, shook hands with Sokov, and said with a smile: "General Sokov, of course, like you, was also ordered to go to the headquarters of the Front Army."

Sokov looked at the pilot in the cockpit, then at Popov in front of him, and suddenly realized: "Oh, I understand. Comrade Marshal let the pilot pick you up first, then pick me up on the way back, and then take us The two were sent to the headquarters together."

"That's right, that's it."

After the plane took off, Popov asked curiously: "General Sokov, do you think Marshal Rokossovsky is so eager to ask us to go to the headquarters of the Front Army, what tasks have you assigned to me?"

Hearing what Popov said, Sokov smiled: "General Popov, I think you should have already guessed why Comrade Marshal summoned us?"

Popov also grinned and said, "Yes, I do have a bold idea, but now I want to hear your guess and see if we want to go together."

"The triangular area at the confluence of the Vistula and Narew Rivers blocks our way forward." Sokov said: "If we want to advance the enemy's defense depth, we must take this place first."

"Since our army crossed the Vistula River, we have also found an attack on this area." Popov frowned and said: "But the enemy's powerful artillery fire caused huge casualties to our attacking troops. Not only did the soldiers suffer huge losses, but they also wasted a lot of ammunition, but they failed to drive the enemy out."

"The existence of the triangle is very detrimental to the next step of our army's operations." Sokov did not know whether Popov had read the notification from the Front Army Command, so he took the initiative to say to him: "The attack on Warsaw City has already It failed, and I think the higher-ups should put the focus of the next phase of the attack on the Narew River Basin where we are."

"Ah, the attack on Warsaw failed?" Popov asked in surprise after hearing this: "Didn't it mean that the two infantry divisions that entered the city had to cross the river because their supplies were cut off and they couldn't contact the rebels?" Return to Jian? When did you say that the attack on Warsaw failed?"

"General Popov, in the report of the Front Army Command, it is true that the failure of the attack on Warsaw was not mentioned, but as a senior commander, you should see something from this information."

Popov began to think carefully about what Sokov said, and the more he thought about it, the more he felt that what the other party said made sense. He raised his head, looked at Sokov and said, "General Sokov, I think your analysis is very reasonable. The superior may really plan to let us attack the triangle area. But if our troops are attacked at the same time How to deal with the enemy's crossfire and the artillery fire from the Magdalen Fortress?"

When Sokov's troops were expanding the results of the battle, they were hit by German artillery fire, and as a result, they suffered a lot of casualties. Since there was no powerful artillery fire to suppress the enemy's artillery positions and Modlin Fortress, Sokov's troops had been consolidating the existing line of defense for more than half a month, and had no plans to expand the landing field.

He shook his head and said to Popov: "I'm sorry, General Popov. To be honest, I have no way to deal with the powerful artillery fire of the Germans. Comrade Marshal invited us to the headquarters today. If it is really going to let us eliminate the two rivers In the triangle area at the intersection, we must first ask him if he can find a way to suppress the German artillery fire, so as to ensure the success of our offensive."

Not being able to get the answer he wanted from Sokov, Popov couldn't help but feel a little disappointed. But thinking of the next task, the two armies might act at the same time, so he nodded and echoed: "Yes, General Sokov. If we want to eliminate the triangle area occupied by the Germans, we must find a way Suppress their artillery fire first, so as to reduce the casualties of our troops during the attack."