Red Moscow

Trofimenko ordered his subordinates to bring refreshments to Sokov and others, and they ate and chatted.

While chatting, Sokov raised his hand to check the time from time to time because he was worried about missing the departure time of the train.

Trofimenko saw it and asked curiously: "General Sokov, I see that you are constantly looking at your watch. Is there anything else?"

"There's nothing wrong." Sokov explained to Trofimenko: "I'm worried that I'll stay here too long and miss the departure time of the train. In this case, I can trouble you to find us a train. The car will take us to Vienna.”

"Oh, so you were worried that the train would leave directly without waiting for you. Don't worry, this is just a small matter. Leave it to me." After saying that, Trofimenko got up and walked to the table and took the He picked up the phone and dialed a number and said into the phone: "I'm Trofimenko, pick me up at the train station. ...The train station? I want to ask, at what platform does a train from Moscow stop?" , what time will the train leave for Vienna today..."

When Sokov heard Trofimenko call the train station, he suddenly felt more at ease. As long as Trofimenko said hello to the station, the train would never leave as long as he did not return to the train.

Sure enough, after Trofimenko put down the phone after making the call, he came over and said to Sokov: "General Sokov, I have made an agreement with the train station. As long as you do not return to the station, the train cannot leave. Just stay here with me."

"Thank you very much."

"You're welcome, it's just a phone call." After Trofimenko said this, he suddenly got back to the topic: "General Sokov, you must also know that in the battle to liberate Kiev, our group army only acted as a reserve The team did not participate in the attack on the city, so a lot of honors fell on the friendly forces. "

When Sokov heard that the 27th Army, the most powerful force among the front troops, was reduced to a reserve force during the Battle of Kiev, he was very dissatisfied. He even thought about what would have happened if he had not left the battlefield due to serious injuries. , maybe the 27th Army can become the first force to rush into Kiev.

But as time went by, his thoughts gradually faded away. There was no such thing as force in his life. Since he was no longer the commander of the 27th Group Army, the performance of this unit on the battlefield had nothing to do with him. . At this moment, when he heard Trofimenko mentioning the old story again, he waved his hand and said: "General Trofimenko, I heard that it seems that because the army suffered serious attrition during the battle and lost the ability to serve as the main attack, he was dismissed by his superiors. Arranged to serve as reserve team."

"General Sokov, I'm not afraid of your jokes. This may have something to do with my command level." Trofimenko said unexpectedly: "Since the army group became the front army reserve, I have heard the commander below say more than once, My command level is not as good as yours. If you were in charge, we would not only win a certain battle beautifully, but the number of casualties among our troops would also be greatly reduced."

Sokov laughed and said: "General Trofimenko, those commanders are talking nonsense. How can I be so good?"

"When I first heard them saying that, I was very unhappy." Trofimenko said, "But after I carefully looked at the battles you commanded, I found that my command level is really not the same as yours. On a higher level.”

Sokov did not speak, but looked quietly into Trofimenko's eyes. He wanted to find out whether the other party really admired him or was deliberately making sarcastic remarks.

"For example, during the Battle of Kursk, due to Vatutin's poor command, there were huge flaws in our army's defense on the southern front." Trofimenko said seriously: "In order to block the crazy attack of Manstein's troops, The Supreme Command transferred two armies from the Grassland Front, but they were still unable to stop the fierce German offensive. However, as the 27th Army under your command entered the battlefield, the situation on the battlefield developed in a direction favorable to our army. , especially several German SS divisions, under the attack of the troops under your command, there is no way to fight back..."

Although Kopalova has seen Sokov's achievements in newspapers and magazines, many of the things cannot be published in those publications that target the public, so the content she understands is also very limited. At this moment, when she heard Trofimenko praising Sokov in person and listing a series of achievements achieved by Sokov, she felt proud to be there.

Sokov patiently listened to Trofimenko's praise for himself, and then said slowly: "General Trofimenko, you are really flattering me. In fact, when it comes to command level, I can only be considered a middle-class leader at best." "The people who really know how to command are Marshal Zhukov, Marshal Rokossovsky, and Marshal Konev. If the battles I fought were led by them, I might have achieved better results."

"General Sokov, you are so humble." Trofimenko said with a smile: "Since the end of the war, when I have nothing to do, I have conducted research on the main commanders on each front. Through research, I found that even if some battles were commanded by three marshals, they could indeed win, but the casualties of the troops would never be small.

What impressed me most was that in the third Battle of Kharkov, other troops were retreating steadily in the face of the German attack, but your troops were the only ones to win. Isn't this a sign of superb tactics? Performance? "

Hearing Trofimenko talk about the Third Battle of Kharkov, Sokov couldn't help but feel a little technical. He asked the other party: "Can you find me a map of Kharkov?"

"No problem." Trofimenko stood up again and walked to the desk, looking for the map spread out on the table: "I was studying this battle two days ago, and the map is ready."

After Trofimenko placed the map on the coffee table in front of the sofa, Sokov quickly looked at the map and then told the other party: "General Trofimenko, the Third Battle of Kharkov At the time of the outbreak, our army was at an absolute advantage in terms of strength and equipment, and the recently concluded Battle of Stalingrad further stimulated the morale of our army. Under such circumstances, who could say anything about us? He may be defeated by the Germans, and he will definitely be regarded as an enemy spy, don’t you think?”

"Yes." Trofimenko nodded and approved Sokov's statement: "If I heard any of my subordinates dare to say such a thing, I might just pull out a gun and kill him. General Sokov, please continue talking, give me Introduce the situation at that time.”

"Manstein knew very well that with his troops and equipment at an absolute disadvantage, it was basically impossible to block the onslaught of our two fronts, so he adopted the tactic of luring the enemy in deep." Kove pointed at the map and said: "His troops basically began to retreat in large strides as soon as they engaged with our army. Although our army seemingly recovered a large amount of territory, in order to defend these places, we had to mobilize our troops. Deploy defenses. As a result, our front line has been lengthened, and the number of logistical supply points has increased from one or two hundred kilometers to thousands of kilometers; and the troops used for the offensive have also become weaker.

Looking at the German army again, as Manstein continued to shrink the defense line, their forces became concentrated and even formed an advantage over our army in some areas. When Manstein discovered that our army's offensive momentum was weakening, he decisively launched a counterattack. However, our army was naturally caught off guard when faced with the German counterattack due to its dispersed forces and serious lack of supplies..."

"Oh, that's it."

"Manstein is very smart. He understands in his heart that as long as it is the land he gave up, our army will occupy it. Although our army is constantly dividing its troops to weaken the strength of the attacking troops, the Supreme Command saw that it had regained such land. Land, but will commend the troops below. The commanders of the units who are commended will inevitably have the idea of ​​underestimating the enemy, thinking that the Germans are already vulnerable. As long as their own troops advance, they do not even need to fight the opponent's defense line. It will fall apart.

The troops were dispersed, the commanders had the idea of ​​underestimating the enemy, and the unfavorable factors of logistical supplies not being delivered in time made it impossible for our army to organize an effective defense when the German army launched a counterattack, resulting in the enemy breaking through the defense lines one by one. "

"General Sokov, I have thought of what you said." Trofimenko continued to ask: "But how did the troops under your command achieve successive victories and turn the situation around despite the unfavorable battle situation? Woolen cloth?"

"General Trofimenko, as I just said, even if the total strength cannot be compared with the enemy, as long as you know how to concentrate your forces, it is possible to form a local advantage over the enemy." Sokov said: "As long as you know how to concentrate your forces, you can have a local advantage over the enemy." My troops and equipment are superior, can’t I win the battle?”

After Sokov’s patient explanation, Trofimenko understood many things that he had not understood before.

After Sokov's story came to an end, he asked tentatively: "General Sokov, do you have any good suggestions for me in the upcoming actual military exercise?"

Sokov thought for a while and replied: "The tactics of aircraft bombing, artillery bombardment, and tanks covering infantry charges will still be feasible in the next ten or twenty years. But if such tactics are used in a large-scale war, , In the end, it may turn into a war of attrition, whoever has more troops and more equipment will be the final winner."

From what Sokov said, Trofimenko keenly realized that Sokov might have come up with some new tactics, and asked cautiously: "General Sokov, if you are to command such a What will you do in offensive operations?”

Sokov has always believed that the Soviet army's tactical thinking was outdated and too rigid, and they relied on human sea tactics to win battles. But with the development of the times, future wars will be fought with high technology, and the number of troops and equipment will no longer be the key to determining the outcome of a battle.

He didn't want to talk about the new tactics he knew, but he couldn't bear Trofimenko's entreaties. After hesitating for a while, he still said: "General Trofimenko, I have an immature idea. . Before the formal ground attack begins, our army should find ways to use its long-range firepower to carry out uninterrupted attacks on the enemy's defensive positions and depths, and then launch another attack after basically destroying their defenses. A comprehensive attack can minimize the casualties of the troops. "

I thought my words would be an inspiration to Trofimenko, but as soon as he finished speaking, the other party shook his head and said: "General Sokov, I think your idea is a bit unrealistic. Think about it, if we attack the enemy's defensive positions and defense depths continuously, will the enemy sit still and wait for death? I think they will definitely launch a counterattack. By then, it may evolve into something like this. Positional warfare during the war.”

Seeing that Trofimenko couldn't listen to his opinions, Sokov couldn't help but feel a little disappointed. After chatting absentmindedly for a few words, Sokov stood up and said goodbye: "General Trofimenko, it's getting late. I have to rush back to the station as soon as possible."

"General Sokov, it's still early." Seeing that Sokov was about to leave, Trofimenko tried his best to persuade him to stay: "It's not easy to come here, but you have to have a meal before leaving."

Sokov said so many heartfelt words to Trofimenko simply because the troops he was commanding now were the troops he had served as commander. But now it seems that he is playing the piano to a cow, and there is no point in staying any longer. Therefore, he politely rejected Trofimenko's offer to stay and left here resolutely.

After coming out of the building, Seryosha saw something wrong with Sokov's face. When there was no one around, he asked in a low voice: "Misha, what's wrong with you? I saw that you looked unhappy when you left General Trofimenko's office. Did something happen?"

"Seryozha, I think you can see that Trofimenko invited me here just to ask me what he should do in the military exercise next month to achieve good results and attract attention. Attention from superiors.”

"Well, I can indeed see it." Seryosha nodded and asked with some confusion: "But when did he say the wrong thing and make you unhappy?"

"I didn't tell him in the end that I had an immature tactical idea and wanted to discuss it with him. Do you remember that?"

"Of course I remember." Seryosha and Sokov are old friends, so they naturally understand his speaking style. As soon as he said this, his eyes suddenly widened and he asked in an unbelievable tone: "Misha, do you mean what you said?" Did you figure out the immature tactics you mentioned in the past few months?"

The tactics Sokov told Trofimenko were new tactics used by the United States to deal with Iraq in later generations, and he only made slight modifications. But Trofimenko unhesitatingly denied the superiority of this tactic. It was precisely because of this that Sokov had no interest in continuing the conversation and couldn't wait to leave.

"That's right." Anyway, this tactic would not appear until more than forty years later. At this moment, Sokov regarded this tactic as his own initiative without any psychological burden: "After returning to Moscow from the Far East, I stayed in the At home, in addition to writing books, I just think about some tactics. The tactics I just mentioned to General Trofimenko are new tactics that I have just figured out and plan to test in actual military exercises.

But now it seems that General Trofimenko is not a knowledgeable person at all, and I am too lazy to continue chatting with him. It is better to return to the station early and wait for the train to take us to Vienna, so that I can meet General Malinen as soon as possible. "