Red Moscow

After the attack on the right wing failed, the two division commanders who participated in the attack sat with Bely to discuss how to attack next.

Gurdiyev did not express his opinion immediately, but looked at Bely and said: "Colonel Bely, you have a very close relationship with Colonel Sokov, you can ask them how the progress is going?"

Colonel Gorishny, like Gurdiyev, fought in Stalingrad for a period of time, and was later withdrawn to the east bank for repairs due to the excessive loss of troops. This time, he had just completed the replenishment of soldiers, and was transferred back to the city to participate in the counterattack. Gorishny originally planned to perform well this time, but he didn't know that the first battle got off to a bad start.

Hearing Gurdiyev's proposal, he sneered and said, "What's the matter with you, Colonel Gurdiyev? When our troops on the right attacked, with the cooperation of tanks, they couldn't break through the enemy's defense. Could it be that you Do you think the performance in the direction of the left-wing Mamayev Gang can be better than ours?"

Gurdiyev just smiled lightly, and then asked Bely: "Colonel Bely, do you think the attack in the direction of Mamayev Post will make progress?"

Regarding Gurdiyev's question, Bely said cautiously: "It's hard to say. Although the troops on the left did not have the cooperation of tank troops when they attacked, Sokov is a person who knows how to fight. Give us an unexpected surprise."

After speaking, he immediately asked the communications soldier to connect to the Mamayev Gang Command, and he wanted to talk to Sokov himself. After some twists and turns, he finally got in touch with Sokov, and asked bluntly, "Misha, how is the situation there?"

"We have occupied the enemy's first line of defense," Sokov asked curiously, not knowing the situation in the direction of the Red October factory on the right wing, "Colonel Bely, have you broken through the enemy's defense?"

"Oh, don't talk about it. Our attack was repulsed by the enemy, and we lost a few tanks." After Bely finished speaking aggrievedly, he asked tentatively: "Do you see if you can mobilize a small force? When launching a new offensive, move to the right and assist us in taking the enemy's positions."

Gurdiyev and Gorishny both heard Bely's request, held their breath, leaned their heads, and put their ears as close to the microphone as possible in order to hear Sokov's reply clearly. After a while, Sokov's voice came from the receiver: "No problem, Colonel Bely. When you attack again, I will send a battalion of troops to move to the right flank and assist you in capturing the enemy's position."

"It's so strange." Seeing Bely put down the microphone, Gorishny couldn't help but said curiously: "It's so strange how they broke through the enemy's defense without the cover of tanks."

Gurdiyev grinned, and then said to Gorishny: "Colonel Gorishny, that's because you haven't fought with Colonel Sokov, so you don't know him well. Don't look at him as a young commander. It's not long, but when it comes to fighting, you really have a way, which makes people have to admire."

"Really?" Gorishny couldn't help being dubious about Gurdiyev's statement.

"We fell into the enemy's siege in Orlovka some time ago. He directed us to break through the enemy's defense line in the north and rush out to join the friendly forces." In order to increase the credibility of the incident, he pointed at Bely with his hand. Pointing, said: "At that time, the tank commanded by Colonel Bely, covering my troops, rushed into the enemy's position and wiped out the defenders. But the price we paid was very small."

Gorishny waited for Gurdiyev to finish speaking, then turned his head to look at Bely, and saw that the other side nodded vigorously, before confirming that what he had heard was true. Although he still looked down on Sokov a bit, his mind was shaken a bit. He looked at Bely, then at Gurdiyev, and asked tentatively: "Then he can help us capture the enemy's position?"

…………

After Sokov agreed to send troops to support the right-wing troops, he immediately called Papchenko: "Comrade Lieutenant Colonel, are you ready to attack?"

Papchenko quickly replied: "They are all ready and can launch an attack at any time."

"When you attack the enemy's second line of defense, you don't have artillery support, so you must find a way to build more machine gun positions close to the enemy's position, so as to suppress the enemy's firepower and cover our soldiers' charge." Sokov finished ordering After the other party thought of Bely's request, he continued: "I promise to the friendly commanders on the right that when they attack the enemy's position, we will deploy troops to reinforce them. You will see the friendly army's attack later. , immediately dispatch a battalion to move to the right to support our friendly forces."

"Comrade Commander," Papchenko said with some hesitation when he heard Sokov's order, "I have observed the enemy on the right flank, and they have built a circular fortification. Not a small number of casualties. Don’t expect a lot of casualties, but the enemy’s position has not been taken.”

"Comrade Lieutenant Colonel, you can't just fight and rush in battle." Sokov waited for the other party to finish speaking, and then said unhurriedly: "You need to use your brains more. If you use tactics properly, you can greatly reduce the troops' combat effectiveness." casualties."

Papchenko had not been a subordinate of Sokov for a long time, so he naturally didn't know what tactics to use to reduce the casualties of the troops, so he asked cautiously: "Comrade commander, what should we do to reduce the casualties of the troops?" to the lowest?"

Hearing Papchenko's question, Sokov couldn't help sighing softly, and secretly said that if it was his old subordinates, he would probably have understood his intentions from his few words. And Papchenko has not been in contact with him for a long time, and he needs to communicate with him more in the future, so that he can gradually adapt to the tactics he uses.

Now that Papchenko has raised a question, Sokov naturally wants to answer him: "You take out a battalion and let half of them wear the uniform of the Romanian army. When the friendly army on the right starts to attack, you order those The soldiers wearing the enemy's uniform pretended to flee to the enemy's defensive position, while the other half of the soldiers who did not change their costumes pretended to chase after them. In order to make the performance more realistic, in the process of chasing and fleeing, both sides must Keep shooting and pretending someone is shot and down, so you can fool the enemy's eyes."

Sokov's words have already reached this point. If Papchenko still can't understand, then Sokov plans to replace the regiment with a new leader. Fortunately, Papchenko is not too stupid, he quickly replied: "Understood, Comrade Commander. Our purpose of doing this is to give the enemy the illusion that the surviving soldiers on the position are all preparing to flee to them." In this way, when our fighters approach the enemy's position, they will not be attacked by any attack."

"Comrade Lieutenant Colonel, you are right." Seeing that Papchenko understood his intentions, Sokov nodded with a smile, and said with satisfaction: "Using this tactic to attack the enemy's position can save the Keep your casualties to a minimum. Also, be careful not to accidentally cause accidents.”

"Comrade commander, please rest assured, I will remind the soldiers to pay attention and try to avoid accidental injury." Papchenko hesitated for a moment when he said this, and then asked: "I want to use this tactic to attack The enemy's second line of defense, I wonder if it's okay?"

"No, Comrade Lieutenant Colonel." Hearing what Papchenko said, Sokov immediately denied it: "When the friendly forces on the right launched an attack, the enemy's attention was attracted. Your own troops will think they are survivors on the positions occupied by us. And the enemy in front of you is in a state of high tension at the moment, even if you see one of your own troops fleeing from our army positions, in order to prevent Our troops rushed in and would definitely shoot without any explanation."

Ivanov, who was standing beside Sokov, hardly spoke, but quietly observed how Sokov commanded the troops. In all honesty, he resented his superiors for demoting him, only to have a younger officer take his place. But since I saw the two regiments taking the enemy's position lightly today, I immediately realized the shortcomings between myself and Sokov. If I were to command the attack, even if I barely captured the enemy's position, I am afraid that the troops will suffer casualties. will also multiply.

When Sokov issued orders to commanders at all levels, he still had some scruples in his heart that Ivanov would come out and sing a different tune. But with a series of orders issued, Ivanov not only did not contradict himself, but also cooperated very well, which made Sokov very satisfied.

Half an hour later, Bely called Sokov again: "Misha, we will launch a new attack on the enemy in five minutes. How is your army ready?"

"Get ready, Colonel Bely." Sokov replied readily, "As soon as your offensive starts, my troops will attack the enemy from the flank."

"That's great, I'll let the troops start attacking now." Bely said, and was about to hang up the phone, but heard Sokov shouting into the microphone: "Colonel Bely, please wait a moment, I It's not finished yet."

Bely knew that Sokov must have something important to say, so he quickly put the receiver close to his ear and asked, "Misha, do you have anything to add?"

"Colonel Bely," Sokov said cautiously: "According to what I know, our army's progress in the direction of Orlovka is not going well. The German army may go south at any time. You must take precautions as soon as possible. So as not to be caught off guard."

Sokov's words shocked Bely into a cold sweat. If Sokov didn't remind him, he would have forgotten that all the German troops in the front had been transferred to the north, and the only ones left in the front were the Romanian troops from the slave country. After he put down the phone, he said to Gurdiyev and Gorishny: "Two division commanders, Sokov just reminded that the enemy from the north may go south at any time, and we must take preventive measures as soon as possible. .”

Gurdiyev and Gorishny exchanged glances, each seeing shock in the other's eyes. Gurdiyev said to Gorishny: "Colonel Gorishny, I think Sokov's analysis makes sense. The German troops going north may go south again at any time. We must take preventive measures as soon as possible."

"How many troops do you plan to transfer to the north for defense?" Gorishne asked cautiously.

"One regiment." Gurdiyev stretched out a finger and said, "I'm talking about each of us dispatching a regiment to defend the north. You know, this area is not dangerous to defend. If there are fewer troops to deploy , can’t stop the enemy at all.”

"Colonel Gurdiyev," Gorishny objected to Gurdiyev's proposal: "If we each deploy a regiment of troops to defend against an enemy who may or may not be heading south, Then our frontal offensive strength will be weakened. In my opinion, it is enough to deploy a battalion each to defend. Anyway, the distance is not too far. Once the situation is unavoidable, the troops responsible for the offensive mission can turn around in time. Support them."

"Colonel Gorishny," Gurdiyev did not argue with him about Gorishny's thoughts, but said rationally: "For the safety of our flanks, I decided to draw a regiment for As for the defense of the north, as for how many troops you plan to send, that is your business, and I have no right to ask."

Although Gorishny heard that Gurdiyev said this, there was anger in his tone. However, he considered that it was far from enough to attack the enemy's front with only two regiments of troops. Therefore, he still insisted on his opinion, and only planned to send a battalion to strengthen the defense in the north.

After the right-wing troops launched a new offensive, more than a hundred soldiers in Romanian uniforms suddenly appeared in the left-wing positions occupied by the Soviet army, and fled towards the right-wing Romanian army positions in a mess. Behind them, more than two hundred Soviet soldiers followed closely.

The Romanian soldiers who were fleeing in front kept shooting at the back indiscriminately while running away. The Soviet soldiers who were chasing after saw the Romanian soldiers in front of them shooting, but they did not dodge, but fired while marching. In the dense gunfire, people on both sides continued to fall.

Soldiers in the Romanian position are shooting at the Soviet commanders rushing from the direction of the Red October factory. Suddenly, I saw a group of comrades who had escaped from the lost position on my right flank, followed by more than 200 Russians chasing after them. A Romanian officer hurriedly ran to the right side of the position, stuck out half of his body from the trench, waved desperately at the soldiers, and shouted loudly: "Hurry up, come to me quickly!"

The Romanian soldiers who were shooting while fleeing stopped shooting at the pursuing Soviet soldiers when they heard the officer's shout, but ran towards the Romanian position with their weapons bent.