Red Moscow

  Chapter 1498

Seeing that Sokov suddenly fell silent, Sameko thought he was still worried about the matter he was arguing with Nedelin, so he quickly comforted him and said, "Comrade Commander, I think General Nedelin's character is like that. It's just about things and people, so don't worry too much."

   Sokov raised his head, with a confused expression on his face. He hasn't recovered from his contemplation, so he didn't understand what his chief of staff said just now?

   "What were you talking about, Comrade Chief of Staff?" Sokov asked.

  Sameko didn't expect Sokov to be distracted when he was speaking, so he quickly repeated what he just said.

After figuring out what Sameko was talking about, Sokov waved his hand and said generously: "Comrade Chief of Staff, what you said makes sense. Anyway, General Nedelin, as an artillery commander, From his perspective, the points he made were all correct."

  Seeing that Sokov was so thoughtful, Sameko asked tentatively, "Then you really agree to hand over the artillery to his command?"

"Yes, the artillery transferred from the 7th Guards Army will be handed over to him. How to use these artillery units is up to him." After Sukov finished speaking, he added: "However, the two artillery divisions in our hands cannot be handed over to him to command."

"Comrade Commander, isn't this very good?" Sameko heard Sokov say this, although he didn't understand the reason why the other party said that, he still reminded him: "In any case, he is the artillery commander of our army. How can he not be allowed to command the artillery within the army?"

"Comrade Chief of Staff, I did this for a reason." Now that he remembered who Nedelin was, Sokov naturally knew where the other party would go next: "He is only temporarily serving as the artillery commander of the group army. After the defense of the Dnieper River, he will be transferred to other fronts."

"Transferred to another front?" Sameko was suspicious of Sokov's words. Just a few hours ago, Sokov didn't even know the name of the new artillery commander. How could he know that the other party would be transferred soon? Woolen cloth? This is obviously illogical. Thinking of this, he asked back: "Comrade Commander, where did you hear this news?"

Sokov was stunned for a moment, thinking that he had been to the Front Army Command two days ago, he took the opportunity to push the blame on Konev: "It was when I went to the Front Army Command two days ago that I heard Commander Konev I said it myself."

   "Oh, it was Commander Konev who said it." Now that Sokov moved out of Konev, it is enough to dispel Sameko's doubts. Sameko nodded and asked curiously, "Do you know which unit he was transferred to?"

   "It won't be long before he will be transferred to the Southwest Front Army as the artillery commander."

"Really?"

"Of course it is true." Sokov replied affirmatively: "He is only holding a temporary position with us and will be transferred soon. Therefore, it will not matter if the artillery of the Army Group is not entrusted to him. influences."

After listening to Sokov's explanation, Sameko no longer struggled, but nodded and said: "You are right, Comrade Commander. The most taboo thing for the troops is to change commanders frequently. If we really will The artillery of the group army was handed over to him to command, and after he left a few days later, the higher-ups sent a new artillery commander, and the artillery commanders had to adapt to the style of the new commander again."

  Due to heavy artillery fire, the attack on the fortress of Merefa was delayed for two hours.

  Niejielin used these two precious hours to set up artillery positions on both sides of the Muza River, and called a meeting of artillery commanders to let them clarify the targets of their attacks.

   When it was ready, Nedelin called Sokov and asked politely: "Comrade Commander, my artillery is ready, can we start shelling?"

   "Let's go, General Negelin!"

Less than a minute after Sokov put down the phone, he heard rumbling gunfire from outside. Although he could not see the situation outside while staying in the headquarters, Sokov knew very well that it was the 7th Guards Army The artillery is bombarding the fortress of Meliefa.

   As soon as the cannon rang, Konev called.

   "Comrade Sokov," Konev asked straight to the point, "are your artillery shelling the fortress?"

   "Yes, Comrade Commander of the Front Army."

   "The fortifications of the Meliefa Fortress are very strong. Among the artillery you have, there are no heavy artillery. Is there any difficulty?"

"Comrade Commander of the Front Army, there must be difficulties, but we will find a way to overcome them." Sokov replied: "Our artillery fire is mainly focused on bombarding the walls of the fortress. As long as we can blow out the gaps in the walls, our troops will It can quickly rush into the fortress and start a battle with the enemy."

   "Do you still need air force support?"

"Of course." Sokov continued: "The enemy still has artillery units in the fortress. I am worried that when our infantry launches an attack, the enemy will use intensive artillery fire to intercept them. At this time, the air force needs to attack the enemy's artillery. The positions were bombed to completely destroy the heavy weapons the defenders relied on."

  Konev said "hmm", and continued: "I wonder when the air force should be dispatched?"

Sokov looked up at his watch and replied: "Our artillery has just started shelling the enemy. It will last at least an hour. As soon as the shelling is over, our ground forces will launch an attack on the fortress. I hope Then you can get support from the air."

   "Understood," Konev said: "After your shelling is over, the air force will go to the sky above the fortress to provide you with the necessary air cover."

   After saying this, Konev paused for a moment, and then asked tentatively: "Have you seen General Nedelin?"

   "Yes, Comrade Commander of the Front Army. Not long ago, I had an argument with him."

   "An argument happened?" Konev asked a little nervously: "What did you argue about?"

"That's right, Comrade Front Commander. As you know, my troops generally don't need any artillery preparation before attacking; General Nedelin's opinion is just the opposite of mine. He thinks artillery preparation before attacking is necessary. . We're arguing about what happened."

  After listening to Sokov's explanation, Konev felt more at ease when he learned that there was no major conflict between him and Nedelin. Nedelin is about to be transferred to the Southwest Front Army as the artillery commander. He has already received news from the Supreme Command. Naturally, he does not want Sokov to have a grudge against Nedelin for a small matter, so he specifically told Sokov: Comrade Kov, in any case, General Nedelin is older than you and has more seniority in the army than you, so you have to respect him and ask him for advice if you don't understand anything. Do you understand?"

   "Understood, Comrade Commander of the Front Army." Sokov judged from Konev's words that the other party also knew that Nedelin was about to be promoted. My own information comes from the history books of later generations, and Konev's source of information should be the Supreme Command. In order to reassure Konev, Sokov assured him: "I will definitely establish a good relationship with General Nedelin. If there is anything I don't understand, I will ask him humbly."

   "Very good, very good." Konev nodded with satisfaction after hearing Sokov's reply, and said repeatedly: "Since you have such an awareness, I am relieved."

  Seeing Sokov put down the phone, Sameko hurriedly asked with concern: "Comrade Commander, what did General Konev say?"

Sokov felt that the conversation with Konev was not a secret, so he truthfully said to Sameko: "Comrade Commander of the Front Army told me to have a good relationship with General Nedelin. place, we must humbly ask him for advice.”

   "Comrade Commander, it seems that the incident is true."

"what's up?"

"That's what you just said." Sameko looked around. Although the staff officers closest to them were more than a dozen steps away and couldn't hear their conversation clearly, he still lowered his voice and said: "It seems that the superiors are really planning to let General Nedelin go to the Southwest Front Army as the artillery commander, otherwise General Konev would not specifically tell you on the phone to have a good relationship with General Nedelin, probably because he is worried that you will suffer in the future. "

Sokov felt that what Sameko said was very reasonable, but he did not continue to dwell on this issue. Instead, he told Sameko: "Comrade Chief of Staff, call some of the division commanders at the front and ask them where they are. how is the situation?"

  The call first reached the division headquarters of the 182nd Division. As soon as he heard Khokhlov's voice coming from the headset, Sokov asked bluntly: "Comrade Colonel, how is the situation there?"

Khokhlov recognized Sokov's voice, and quickly replied: "Comrade commander, the artillery bombardment is very violent. Now the direction of the fortress has been covered by artillery fire. We can't see anything except the smoke that blocks the sky and the sun." arrive."

  Sokov didn't get the answer he wanted from Khokhlov, and he was somewhat disappointed, but he still told the other party: "Keep monitoring the direction of the fortress, and report to me in time if there is any latest news."

   Seeing Sokov put down the phone, Sameko hurriedly asked: "Comrade Commander, how is the situation in the 182nd Division?"

   "The gunpowder smoke is too heavy, and I can't see anything clearly. Colonel Khokhlov can't provide me with any useful information."

   "How about I call other divisions and ask them how the situation is?"

"There is no need for this, Comrade Chief of Staff." Sokov shook his head and said: "Now the artillery is covering the fortress with artillery fire. No matter which division's position, you can only see a piece of gunpowder smoke. Other than that, you can see everything." not."

   "Then what shall we do?"

   "Wait, let's talk after the shelling is over."

   Just like that, Sokov and the two sat down at the table and continued to study the details of capturing the fort and the railway junction.

  After the shelling lasted for fifty minutes, the commanders of the divisions participating in the battle called one after another.

The first person to call was Major General Fomenko, the commander of the 84th Division. He couldn't wait to ask: "Comrade Commander, according to the prior agreement, the shelling will stop in ten minutes. Can you see if we can move in the direction of the fort in advance?" ?”

   There is a reason for Fomenko to ask this question. In the few attacks covered by artillery fire, Sokov ordered the participating troops to go into battle a few minutes before the end of the shelling. As soon as the shelling stopped, before the German army returned from the second line of defense to the first line of defense, the vanguard of the Soviet army had already approached the German trenches. The advantage of adopting this tactic is that the price paid by the troops is much smaller than that of conventional offensive methods.

  But I didn't expect Sokov to wait for him to finish speaking, but shook his head and said: "Comrade General, our battle to capture the fortress is different from previous battles for positions. There is no need to launch an attack in advance."

"Why?" asked Fomenko, puzzled.

"The reason is very simple. In order to avoid our artillery fire, the German army will retreat to their second line of defense during the shelling at the beginning of the offensive battle." Sokov explained to the other party: "The enemy defending the fortress was attacked by our army. When shelling, a few people will be left to observe, and the rest will retreat to the basement to hide.

  If we still follow the original offensive method, we will quickly advance towards the enemy's position while the shelling has not stopped. When the shelling stops, I am afraid that when our commanders and fighters are still looking for a way in the smoke, the enemies hiding in the hidden fortifications will massacre them. "

   "So what should we do?"

"It's better to wait until the shelling is over and the smoke clears before ordering the troops to attack." Sokov told Fomenko on the phone: "But before the attack begins, you must arrange the divisional artillery regiment at the front so that you can use artillery fire at any time." Destroy those exposed firepower points, and cover the infantry for a smooth charge into the fortress."

   "Understood, Comrade Commander." After Sokov's explanation, Fomenko immediately understood how to fight the next battle, and quickly replied: "I will follow your instructions."

"Comrade General," Sokov knew that the troops were attacking the fortress for the first time, and they lacked the necessary experience in attacking fortifications. Compress the living space of the Germans and cooperate with friendly forces to completely wipe them out."

After Sokov finished calling Fomenko, he told Sameko: "Comrade Chief of Staff, you just overheard the conversation between me and General Fomenko. Then please, call the division commanders , Tell them the tactics I plan to use, lest they rush for success and cause unnecessary losses to the troops."

   "Yes, Comrade Commander." Sameko excitedly agreed: "I will immediately convey your meaning to all participating troops to prevent them from suffering unnecessary losses."

  After the bombardment ended, the red brick wall of the fortress was blown down with seven or eight gaps of 20 to 30 meters wide.

  The Germans in the fortress were also fooled by the Soviet bombardment. According to their previous experience, the targets of the opponent's shelling were the firepower points and city gates of the fortress. As long as the firing point is destroyed and the city gate is blown open, the Russians will try to rush in along the gate of the fortress.

  But this time the shelling did not shell the city gates at all, and even those strong firepower fortifications were not hit by many shells. The opponent's artillery fire was concentrated on the city walls. Now that the city wall has been bombarded in seven or eight places, if you want to hold the fort, you must mobilize your strength to block these blasted gaps. However, in this way, the defense strength of many areas will inevitably be weakened.

  But it’s not enough not to block the gap. In that case, the Soviet army will continue to pour into the fortress like a tide. Therefore, after a fierce ideological struggle, the commander of the fortress decided to put all the reserves into battle, go to the opening of the city wall that was blasted, and block the Soviet troops who were about to rush into the gap.

  (end of this chapter)