Red Moscow

  Chapter 1576

   More than a dozen grenades emitting white smoke were tied by the soldiers with ropes and placed at the bottom of the bridge. Soon, a series of explosions sounded, and Samoilov, Mikhaiev, Serelkov and others standing on the bridge felt their feet trembling slightly.

  After the explosion ended, Serelkov gave another order: "Continue to explode."

   Soon, the second wave of grenades emitting white smoke was also placed at the bottom of the bridge by the soldiers...

  As soon as the gunshots and explosions on the Dnieper River Bridge sounded, Sokov was awakened from his sleep. He grabbed the pistol under his pillow and asked vigilantly, "Where did the gun fire?"

  In fact, the bridge is five or six kilometers away from the church where Sokov’s headquarters is located, but in the dead of night, some sounds can be heard very far. Sokov, who was sleepy and alert, was naturally awakened when he heard gunshots and explosions in the distance.

"Comrade Commander, it's nothing serious." Hearing Sokov's voice, Sameko turned his head and said to him, "There is a German sabotage team occupying the bridge head on the right bank of the Dnieper River Bridge. Lieutenant Samoilov is The officers and fighters in command of the special company are destroying the enemy."

"Why didn't you tell me earlier?" Sokov put his pistol aside, bent over to put on his boots, and asked displeasedly: "If the Germans really occupy the bridgehead on the right bank, the special company without heavy weapons will pay a huge price." casualties, it will be difficult to regain the bridgehead on the right bank.”

"In addition to the special company attacking from the left bank, there are also three companies of the infantry brigade attacking from the right bank." Sameko replied confidently: "Five companies attacking from two directions at the same time will definitely destroy this an enemy."

"The special company is one company in name, but it actually consists of two companies." Sokov picked up the pistol that was placed aside, walked up to Sameko, slapped the gun on the table, and continued: " There are so many soldiers crowded on the bridge and charging towards the bridge on the right bank occupied by the Germans, tell me, what a heavy price we will pay?"

  Sameko blushed and replied with some embarrassment: "Comrade Commander, I'm sorry. When I received the report, I learned that the enemy had only 20 people. I thought it was nothing special, so I didn't wake you up."

   "20 people?" Sokov was stunned by the number. The Germans only dispatched 20 people, and they wanted to blow up the bridge over the Dnieper River. Isn't it too whimsical? "Is this number reliable?"

"Totally reliable." Sameko replied, nodding his head, "This infiltrating enemy was discovered by a sentry from the 73rd Infantry Brigade. He also carefully counted the number of Germans. , He immediately rushed back to the company to report to Captain Narva, and then the information was reported to my place layer by layer."

"This enemy was discovered in the defense zone of the infantry brigade." Sokov stared at the map on the table and asked thoughtfully: "How did they pass through our army's defense line and reach the Dnieper River smoothly?" What about the bridge?"

  After hearing what Sokov said, Sameko realized that his thinking had gone wrong, and quickly explained: "Comrade Commander, the enemy did not infiltrate from the infantry brigade position."

When Sokov learned that the enemy appeared in the infantry brigade defense area, he was still worried about Guchakov's future. He appointed him as the infantry brigade commander. There were many different voices. Infiltrating his defense zone, if I want to promote him again, I am afraid that I will attract a lot of opposition.

At this moment, Sameko said that they did not infiltrate from the infantry brigade defense area. While he was secretly relieved, he also raised his own doubts: "Didn't they infiltrate from the infantry brigade position, then did they fall from the sky?" ?”

"According to the report," Sameko pointed to the map and reported to Sokov: "The enemy passed through the defense zone of the mechanized army along the Dnieper River, quietly entered behind the defense zone of the infantry brigade, and then touched the No. At the head of the bridge on the right bank of the Dnieper."

   "What did General Solomatin do?" After listening to the report, Sokov said angrily, "Did they not deploy patrols by the river, and let the enemy infiltrate so easily?"

"After dark, it rained for a while." Although Sameko did not call Solomatin to find out the situation, he could also guess the reason why the German army successfully passed the mechanized army defense zone, so he took the initiative to say: "It may be While the patrol was sheltering from the rain, the German sabotage squad passed through their line of defense."

  Sokov knew that this was not the time to pursue responsibility, but to find a way to eliminate the enemies occupying the bridgehead on the right bank. Otherwise, when they placed explosives on the pier and detonated with a bang, the bridge might be blown up.

   "Chief of Staff, what is the current progress towards the bridge?"

   "The battle is still going on." Sameko replied: "The enemy used the two captured rotary machine guns to form a crossfire to block the bridge deck, which frustrated the special company's attack."

  Sokov tried hard to recall the equipment of the special company, and asked in an uncertain tone: "Comrade Chief of Staff, is the special company not equipped with rocket launchers? Facing the firepower of the German army, it is absolutely possible to use rocket launchers to deal with them."

"There are bazookas." Sameko replied with a wry smile, "but the range of the bazooka is only about 100 meters, and our soldiers can't get close to this effective range. Also, we don't know how many explosives the enemy has placed on the bridgehead on the right bank." , dare not use heavy weapons easily, lest the explosives be accidentally detonated, causing damage to the bridge."

   When Sokov heard it, it seemed that this was really the case. Regardless of the bazooka equipped by your own troops, it is particularly effective against German tanks and strongholds, but the premise is to enter the effective range. Now the special company attacking from the left bank can't get close to the effective range at all, and can only stare blankly at the enemy's firepower.

   "Comrade Chief of Staff," Sokov thought to himself that since the attack from the left bank would be difficult to achieve results, he could only consider the troops attacking from the right bank. In any case, the Germans had limited forces, and it was difficult for them to face the two-sided attacks launched by their own troops at the same time, so they ordered Sameko: "Contact the commander of the infantry brigade who is in charge of the operation immediately, and let them quickly launch an attack from the right bank and wipe out the enemy." Enemies occupying the bridge."

   "It is Captain Mikhaiev who commands the battle on the right bank," Sameko said: "I believe he is fully capable of taking the bridgehead on the right bank occupied by the enemy before Samoilov."

"Get in touch with Samoilov and Mikhaiev immediately, and let them report the battle at the bridgehead to the headquarters in a timely manner." Sokov said to Sameko: "In this way, we can make an accurate decision at the first time. judgment."

But when Sameko got in touch with Samoilov, he had an expression of surprise on his face. He excitedly reported to Sokov: "Comrade Commander, Lieutenant Samoilov reported that he was attacked by our army on both sides of the strait. The German army has basically been wiped out, only a few enemies who planted explosives are still hiding at the bottom of the bridge, and now Lieutenant Serelkov is leading people to wipe them out."

   "The enemy is hiding under the bridge, it's not easy." After hearing Sameko's report, Sokov frowned, "As long as our soldiers show up, they are very likely to be shot by the Germans."

"Comrade commander, you can rest assured about this." Sameko said with a smile: "Lieutenant Serelkov ordered the soldiers to tie the grenade to the rope, pull the string, put it at the bottom of the bridge, and use the exploding shrapnel to destroy the enemy. "

  Sokov asked worriedly: "What if the Germans jump into the river and escape?"

"Lieutenant Mikhaiev deployed a company of fighters by the river to closely monitor the surface of the river. As soon as he found any floating objects, he would immediately shoot without hesitation." Sameko said confidently: "Even if there are one or two Even if an enemy dives to escape, he will be shot to death by the soldiers on the shore."

Now that the battle on the Dnieper River Bridge has come to an end, Sokov no longer cares about the battle here, but shifts his attention to other directions: "Is there any movement from the 84th and 254th divisions? "

  Sameko was stopped by Sokov's question. He looked at Sokov blankly, not knowing why the other party would ask such a question: "Comrade Commander, I don't understand what you mean."

"The reason is very simple." Sokov clicked on the map on the table with his finger, and explained to Sameko: "According to what I know about the Germans, if they really wanted to blow up the bridge, they would certainly not send just one force."

   "Will you not send only one unit?" Sameko asked with some surprise: "Comrade Commander, you mean that the enemy's sabotage team has infiltrated, but we didn't find it."

"That's right, that's how I think about it." Sokov nodded and said, "In order to prevent being intercepted by our army, the enemy's sabotage teams cannot come from the same direction. Therefore, I think that the enemy may follow the first Down the Dnieper, through the area fortified by the 84th and 254th Divisions, to meet the Germans occupying the bridge."

  Sameko panicked after hearing what Sokov said. He secretly blamed himself. As the chief of staff who advised Sokov, he was not as thoughtful as the commander in terms of how to think about the problem. He said hastily: "I immediately called General Fomenko and Colonel Shechtman to ask them how the situation is."

   "Comrade Chief of Staff, you are responsible for calling Colonel Shechtman." Sokov said to him: "General Fomenko, let me do it."

  So the two had a clear division of labor and called the two teachers at the same time.

  Sokov heard Fomenko's tired voice coming from the receiver, and said quickly: "Hello, General Fomenko, I'm Sokov, I'm sorry to disturb your sleep."

"Hello, Comrade Commander." Fomenko, who was drowsy at first, became energetic when he heard that the caller was actually Sokov. He knew that if there was nothing important, Sokov would definitely Will not call in the middle of the night, and quickly ask respectfully: "What instructions do you have?"

"General Fomenko, the situation is like this." Sokov led a German sabotage team to take advantage of the rain to go up the Dnieper River, pass through the defense line of the mechanized army, and occupy the Dnieper River Bridge. I told Sameko about the incident at the bridgehead on the right bank in detail, and finally said: "I think the enemy must have sent more than one sabotage team, so I called to ask if the patrol team in your direction found any suspicious people." .”

   "Comrade Commander," Fomenko did not hastily answer Sokov's question, but replied cautiously: "I will first understand the situation and then report to you. Do you think it is okay?"

  Sokov didn't know that he could get the information he wanted from Sameko immediately, so he nodded and agreed to his request: "Okay, General Fomenko, I'll wait for your report."

When Fomenko put down the phone, Colonel Manoxin, the political commissar of the division, came over wearing a military overcoat and asked curiously: "Comrade commander, the commander called in the middle of the night. Is there any important task that you want to give us to complete?" ?”

"Comrade Commissar," Fomenko said to Manoshin with a serious expression, "the enemy infiltrated the rear of our army from the defense zone of the mechanized army, and once occupied the right bank of the Dnieper Bridge. Fortunately, the superior responded in time and wiped out the enemy." This sabotage squad of the German army did not cause more damage."

   Knowing that the enemy's infiltration did not cause too much loss, Ma Nuoxin felt rejoicing: "Fortunately, the enemy did not infiltrate from our defense area, otherwise you and I will be blamed by our superiors."

"Comrade Political Commissar, you may be too absolute." Fomenko shook his head and said, "Although we haven't received any reports yet, we don't rule out the possibility of enemy infiltration. We need to notify the patrols everywhere and increase The strength of the patrol must not allow the Germans to pass through our defense zone smoothly."

The chief of staff, who was awakened, came over and just heard Fomenko's last words, and quickly stated: "Comrade commander, don't worry, I will immediately notify the patrols and ask them to increase their patrols to prevent the Germans from attacking." permeation of."

"Wait a minute, Comrade Chief of Staff." Just as the Chief of Staff was about to make a phone call, Manoshin stopped him, and then said to Fomenko: "Comrade Commander, I think the reason why the Germans were able to successfully Passing through the defense zone of the mechanized army is probably camouflaged."

The words awakened the dreamer, and Fomenko raised his hand and slapped himself heavily on the forehead, and said repeatedly: "Yes, yes, Comrade Political Commissar, what you said is very reasonable, maybe the Germans are disguised as our soldiers." , ready to swagger through our defense zone, we have to guard against this.”

   "If the enemy puts on the uniform of our army," the chief of staff asked with some embarrassment: "How will our patrol identify them?"

Fomenko recalled his conversation with Sokov, and then said to the chief of staff: "Comrade chief of staff, according to what we have so far, the Germans are in groups of 20, and each of them holds a large Box. Tell our patrol team that as long as they see a squad dressed like this, they don’t need to step forward to question them, but shoot directly.”

   "What if we accidentally injure a friendly army?" asked the chief of staff.

  Fomenko replied blankly: "If you accidentally injure a friendly army, I will be responsible for everything when the superiors hold them accountable in the future."

  (end of this chapter)