Red Moscow

"Comrade Deputy Commander, this is how I think about it." Sidolin said: "Promote Daniel to captain, and Fermi and Remo are both promoted to second lieutenants. What do you think?"

"What, promote Remo to second lieutenant?" Pornejelin thought silently: "This is not the same as promoting him four ranks in a row. Can Daniel and Fermi, who have only been promoted two ranks, agree? You know , the person who contributed the most in this matter is Second Lieutenant Daniel!"

"I know, I know that in this matter, Second Lieutenant Daniel has contributed the most." Xidolin explained: "I propose to promote Remo to the rank of second lieutenant because he has made a lot of contributions in the past, but because of He was not promoted for various reasons, and now he just uses this opportunity to compensate him."

Ponegerin didn't want to have a dispute with Sidolin over such a trivial matter, so he handed over the conflict to Sokov: "Comrade Commander, what do you think should be done?"

"The one who has contributed the most this time is Daniel, who can be promoted to two ranks and given the rank of captain." Sokov said: "Fermi and Leimo are each promoted by one level, Fermi is promoted to a master, and Leimo is promoted to the rank of captain." For Sergeant."

"But, Comrade Commander, Corporal Remo..."

Sokov didn't wait for Sidolin to finish, he raised his hand and interrupted him: "Comrade Chief of Staff, as commanders, we must know how to win and lose. I agree with you, Corporal Remo has established a lot of It's not fair to him that he didn't get the promotion for some reason. One thing for one thing though, we're giving three of them promotions now in recognition of their role in deceiving the Germans , the credit established, don’t get involved with other things.”

After talking so much in one breath, Sokov took a sip of the tea in front of him, saw the disappointed expression on Sidolin's face, and added: "Comrade Chief of Staff, if you think we need to compensate Lei For Corporal Mo, you can find another time, so as not to cause unnecessary conflicts."

"Comrade Commander is right." Ponegerin echoed: "The person who has contributed the most this time is Second Lieutenant Daniel. If he sees that Fermi, Remo and others have been promoted more than him, he will definitely have a feeling in his heart." I'm afraid that if he encounters a similar task in the future, he may treat it negatively."

"That's it." Sokov didn't want to get entangled in this matter, so he made a final decision: "Daniel was promoted to captain, Fermi was promoted to master, and Lei Mo was promoted to sergeant."

Now that Sokov has made a decision, Pornedelin and Sidolin will naturally have no objections. After Daniel and the others come in, they will complete matters such as awarding honors and promotions in the shortest possible time.

Before Daniel came here, he knew that he might get a medal. After all, he made a lot of contributions this time. When he got the medal box and heard Ponegerin announce that he was promoted to captain because of his outstanding achievements, he almost fainted with happiness. Fortunately, he recovered quickly, straightened his back and replied loudly: "Serve the Soviet motherland!"

After seeing off Daniel, Sokov said to Sidolin: "Chief of Staff, call the Chief of Armored Forces and the Chief of Artillery and ask them to come to the headquarters. How to use artillery and armored forces in offensive operations, we must first Bring out the charter." Potapov and Malyshev's offices were not far from here, and they showed up at the headquarters within minutes of receiving the call.

After the two raised their hands to salute Sokov, they said: "Comrade Commander, Director of Artillery Potapov (Director of Armored Corps Malyshev) has been ordered to come, please give instructions!"

"Please sit down!" Sokov greeted the two to sit down, and said to them: "In a few days, we will launch an attack on the enemy. I came here today to study how to reasonably attack the enemy in offensive operations. Use artillery and armor."

Hearing that an attack on the German positions was about to be launched, Potapov couldn't help but his eyes lit up, and he asked, "Comrade Commander, I wonder when we will launch the attack?"

"January 12." Sokov said to Potapov after telling the time of attack, "General Potapov, we will carry out intensive artillery preparations for the German positions before the attack, and strive to destroy them. Fortifications to reduce our army's casualties during the attack. Do you have any good suggestions?"

"Comrade Commander," Potapov stood up and said to Sokov with a serious expression: "Since the artillery has entered the existing position, I have sent several batches of artillery observers to map the enemy's defensive positions to ensure that Our department was able to destroy more German fortifications when it carried out the artillery preparations before the attack."

"Good job, General Potapov." After praising Potapov, Sokov looked at Malyshev and asked, "What about you, Comrade Chief of Armored Forces, how do you plan to use our army in the offensive?" Where's the tank?"

As Sokov's subordinate, Malyshev naturally understands Sokov's combat style. When he heard the other party ask himself at this moment, he quickly got up and replied: "Comrade commander, I will order the troops to carry enough troops ten minutes before the end of the shelling." A large number of infantry advanced towards the German position. After approaching the range of 200 meters, let the infantry get out of the vehicle and follow the tanks forward."

"Wait a minute, Comrade Chief of Armored Forces." Potapov couldn't help interrupting Malyshev after hearing this, "I want to ask, why did you have to let the German army stand two hundred meters away from the German position? What about our infantry getting out of the vehicles? Wouldn’t it be good for the soldiers to charge directly into the German positions in tanks?”

"General Potapov, let me explain this to you." Sokov interrupted: "The reason why General Malyshev ordered the infantry to dismount two hundred meters from the German position was to avoid I was accidentally injured by our army's artillery fire. You must know that the flying shrapnel has no effect on the body of the tank, but if our infantry is still sitting on the tank when the shrapnel is flying horizontally, I am afraid it will cause a lot of casualties. "

"Oh, so that's what happened." After finding out what was going on, Potapov asked Sokov again: "Comrade Commander, the artillery preparations before the attack can indeed destroy some of the German fortifications, but it is very difficult." It is difficult to effectively consume their troops. Once our army launches an attack, do we need our artillery to move forward and continue to provide them with artillery support?"

"This is for sure, General Potapov." Sokov said: "The Germans have fallen into our tricks and have transferred their main forces to other areas. In the area we are attacking, the enemy's defense strength has become abnormal. Weak, in order to delay our army's attack and wait for the reinforcements to come, the defenders will definitely use various fortifications to resist, which requires our artillery to continue to attack them and destroy these damn fortifications."

A surprised expression appeared on Potapov's face: "What, the main force of the German army has been transferred from the area where our army is about to attack? What's going on, comrade commander, can you explain to me?"

"It's very simple." Sokov explained how he used his tactics to provide the Germans with a fake defense map, which caused the Germans to make a misjudgment, causing them to withdraw their main force from the Soviet offensive area and transfer them to the Soviet Union. Both Potapov and Malyshev were told in detail about the insignificant lot.

After listening to Sokov's narration, Potapov couldn't help but exclaimed: "It's great, Comrade Commander, you are simply great. First, throw out a piece of real information and let the Germans verify it, and wait for them to confirm that you are If the information received is true, then there will be no doubt about the truth of the information provided next.”

"That's right, that's how things are." Ponegerin nodded and said, "To be honest, when Comrade Commander proposed this plan, I was opposed to it in my heart. I don't think the Germans are stupid, such a low-level scam. , they will not be fooled. But I soon found out that I was wrong, and it was very wrong. The Germans actually started to mobilize their troops according to the fake deployment map provided by the commander. Originally deployed on our main offensive The troops in the direction were basically transferred to unimportant areas. In this way, after the offensive begins, our troops can easily break through the German defenses."

"Comrade Deputy Commander, the situation on the battlefield is changing rapidly, and we must not take it lightly." Sokov worried that Pornegerin would underestimate the enemy, and quickly reminded him: "Although the German army is at an absolute disadvantage in terms of strength, we must not take it lightly." If they use the original fortifications to defend tenaciously, our attack will still be very difficult."

"Comrade commander, you can rest assured about this." Potapov said confidently: "Anyway, I am also an artilleryman. I know how to use artillery effectively."

"That's good." Sokov believed in Potapov's statement. Since the opponent was appointed as the artillery commander in the early stage of the war, he was appointed as the commander of the group army, which shows that he still has many advantages. He said: "General Potapov, I hope that you will make great achievements in the offensive battle in the near future."

"In addition to artillery, the use of armored forces is also the key." Sokov turned his attention to Malyshev again: "You should first tear a gap in the German defense line, and the infantry we arrived later can tear up the breakthrough. bigger."

"You are right, Comrade Commander." Malyshev said with a wry smile, "I have been studying German armored assault tactics for so many years, and now I finally have the opportunity to use their tactics against them. The effect should not be too bad."

"Comrade Armored Corps Director," Ponedelin reminded Malyshev: "When the armored forces carry out assaults, remember not to lose touch with the infantry. Tanks without infantry cover, facing the German anti-tank fighters, can only wait and see. slaughtered lamb."

"Comrade Deputy Commander, you can rest assured about this." Malyshev explained to Ponedelin: "Today, each of our tank brigades is equipped with a motorized brigade. Stay in line with the tanks as the tank brigade advances."

Regarding Malyshev's answer, Ponejielin showed a satisfied smile on his face: "Not bad, General Malyshev, you are very thoughtful. I believe that in the upcoming East Prussian offensive, you The Armored Forces will surely achieve brilliant results."

"Our artillery moves forward in the battle, which involves many aspects." Potapov said: "For example, covering troops, transportation of ammunition, etc., all need you to help us coordinate and solve them."

"General Potapov, you don't have to worry about this, I'll let the logistics troops arrange this matter." After Sidolin finished speaking, he turned to Malyshev: "And you, Comrade Chief of Armored Corps, tank The required fuel and ammunition will be replenished by the logistics department in a timely manner. All you have to do is to rush to the depths of the German defense without stopping."

Before the meeting was over, Rokossovsky called. He asked bluntly, "Misha, what are you doing?"

Sokov glanced at Potapov and Malyshev who were sitting at the table, and then replied: "Comrade Marshal, I am calling a meeting of the director of artillery and the director of armored forces to discuss how to deal with the attack in the upcoming offensive. Use artillery and armor."

"Oh, you are in a meeting." Rokossovsky said in a slow tone: "I called to remind you of one thing. We are fighting on Polish soil, which is different from fighting on our own land. .A quarter of the population of this country is Ukrainians, Jews, and Germans. They will largely not help us, and even make some small moves behind us, so be vigilant against them.”

"Understood, Comrade Marshal." Sokov nodded and said, "I will handle the relationship with the local people well and try not to conflict with them."

"It's good that you understand." Rokossovsky continued: "Continue with the meeting. I hope you can work out a good offensive plan, which can be regarded as a good start for our East Prussian offensive."

After putting down the phone, Sokov said to everyone: "Commanders, the Marshal just called to remind us to beware of the local residents. You know, a quarter of Poland's population is Ukrainians, Jews and Germans. , although the Jews have been imprisoned in concentration camps and do not pose any threat to us, we need to be more vigilant to the Ukrainians and Germans we meet in East Prussia. They will not support us until the battle situation is clear, and even He will also make a small move in the back and cause us trouble."

"Don't worry, Comrade Commander." Sidolin said: "I will convey your thoughts to the commanders of the divisions, reminding them that in the battle to capture East Prussia, they must be vigilant to the local residents and prevent the other party from causing unnecessary damage to us. Loss."

As for how to make the troops more vigilant, Sidolin did not say, and Sokov did not ask. It's not that he didn't want to ask, but he couldn't think of how to deal with the relationship with the local residents. He just hoped that it would be fine if these residents didn't help, and don't make trouble for himself, so that the situation would not be easy to control.

The meeting ended quickly, Sokov called Potapov to stop, and asked tentatively: "General Potapov, I wonder how your subordinates treat you?"

"Thank you Commander for your concern." Potapov said with a smile: "Although I have passed through a German prisoner-of-war camp, the commanders still respect me very much. At least no one has disobeyed the orders I gave. "

Knowing that Potapov could follow orders and prohibitions in the army, Sokov felt more at ease, so that there would be no situation where Potapov could not command the troops.