Red Moscow

  Chapter 1650

Facts quickly proved that Yegor's proposal was completely correct. The German soldiers brought over this time were cowards. As soon as Mikhaiev asked a question, he knew everything without saying a word. Situation, confided cleanly.

After mastering the situation in the city, Mikhaiev ordered the German soldiers to be taken away, and then said to Yegor with a smile: "Captain Yegor, we can grasp the situation in the city so smoothly, thank you a lot No. Without your reasonable advice, we would still be interrogating German prisoners in vain."

   Regarding Mikhaiev's praise, Yegor just smiled lightly, and then he said with emotion: "Comrade Battalion Commander, I think the Commander is indispensable for being able to arrive here so smoothly tonight."

"You're right, Captain Yegor." To Yegor's statement, Mikhaiev immediately agreed: "When Comrade Commander ordered commanders above the company level to master German, I I once complained about him. Unexpectedly, the reason why he would issue such an order was to facilitate future operations behind enemy lines. Today, one-third of the commanders and fighters in the entire battalion can speak German proficiently. This is also the case today. The fundamental reason why the operation can be so smooth."

   "Egor," Narva, who was standing next to him, suddenly asked, "You arrested all the German soldiers at the entrance of the village, so you didn't get spotted by the enemies on the road?"

"Don't worry, Narva." Yegor comforted Narva and said: "In order not to alarm the enemies on the road, I ordered people to trick the soldiers at the entrance of the village into one by one and control them all. After arresting them, I sent a few soldiers with good German skills to stay at the entrance of the village to monitor the enemies on the road.”

   After confirming what happened in the village and not alarming the enemies outside, Narva asked Mikhaiev again: "Comrade Battalion Commander, now that the situation in Pavlish is clear, when shall we enter the city?"

   "Don't worry, Comrade Captain." Mikhaiev replied, "I'll report the situation here to my superior first, and hear what the brigade commander thinks."

  Narva and Egor knew in their hearts that the so-called request to the brigade headquarters for the next move was actually just a cover, and the final decision-maker was always Sokov.

  Ten minutes later, Sokov received a call from Guchakov himself: "Comrade Commander, I just received a telegram from Lieutenant Mikhaiev, deputy brigade commander and first battalion commander."

   "What did the telegram say?"

"They captured a few Pavlish soldiers who became the garrison headquarters, and learned about the deployment of the city from their mouths." Guchakov reported: "With the transfer of large troops, the defenders in the city There is only one regiment with an incomplete organizational structure, and the total strength does not exceed two battalions. Among them, the enemy guarding the material transfer warehouse has only the strength of a company."

   After learning about the strength of the troops in the city, Sokov breathed a sigh of relief. If there were only two battalions in the city, Mikhaiev's troops would be able to hold on for a few days or even longer after occupying the transfer warehouse. However, Sokov, who was worried about the comfort of the first battalion, still asked a little nervously: "Major Guchakov, how is the current situation of the troops, has the enemy noticed it?"

"The first battalion is still staying in the village by the roadside. The German soldiers at the entrance of the village have been eliminated by them and replaced by our own people." Guchakov did not wait for Sokov to ask again. Take the initiative to say: "Lieutenant Mikhaiev said that he will take people to seize the city when there is no trace of the enemy on the road. Judging from the comparison of troops, as long as they occupy the material transfer warehouse, there will be enough time , Hold on until our reinforcements arrive."

From Guchakov's tone of voice, Sokov heard a hint of underestimation of the enemy, and quickly reminded him: "Comrade Major, you must not underestimate the enemy. You must know that although the main force of the German army was transferred away, Pa There are only two battalions of defenders left in the city of Frisch, but once the Germans know that their material transfer warehouse has been occupied by our army, they will definitely send some troops back to help."

He was afraid that Guchakov would take his words as a deaf ear, and he specially emphasized: "If only the defenders in the city besieged the Mikhaiev camp, they should be able to hold on for a while with the supplies in the warehouse until our Reinforcements have arrived. But if the German army returns with heavy troops, how long do you think they can last?"

  Sokov's words scared Guchakov into a cold sweat. He did, as Sokov guessed, have the idea of ​​underestimating the enemy. I feel that there are only two battalions of defenders in the city, even if they are all used to besiege Mikhaiev and the others, it may take ten days and a half a month to wipe out one battalion. However, if the German army sent heavy troops back to help ensure the safety of the transshipment warehouse, the time that the troops staying in the warehouse could last was very limited.

Thinking of this, he quickly said seriously: "I understand, Comrade Commander. I will send a report to Captain Mikhaiev so that they are always vigilant and ready to resist the heavy German attack. At the same time, once the attack begins, The main force of our brigade will go all out to break through the German defenses in the shortest possible time."

   "Comrade Commander," Sameko asked tentatively as soon as Sokov hung up the phone: "When should we launch an attack on the German army?"

"Don't worry, Comrade Chief of Staff." Don't look at Sokov wishing to lead his troops to attack Berlin tomorrow, but now he has to wait patiently for the opportunity: "It will take more than ten hours for the 69th Army to take over our defense. , to reach Klemenchug. It will take more time for them to enter the landing field on the right bank. In other words, we need to wait at least 24 hours before we have the opportunity to launch an attack on the German army."

   "We still have to wait for more than 24 hours?" Hearing what Sokov said, Sameko showed a disappointed expression on his face: "Will we delay the war if we drag it on like this?"

"No." Sokov shook his head and said, "Actually, the later we launch the attack, the better for us." Seeing Sameko's puzzled expression, he continued, "If we don't move for a long time Then, the Germans will confidently and boldly invest their forces in the attack on the new landing field. And when their battle is in full swing, we will unexpectedly launch an attack on the German defense line south of the landing field, and we will be able to achieve unexpected results.”

In order to ensure a breakthrough of the German defenses in one fell swoop, Sokov also specially told Sameko: "Comrade Chief of Staff, the artillery shells are limited, please urge the logistics comrades to prepare more shells for the artillery. Halfway through, all the shells were fired. Once the cover of artillery fire is lost, our troops participating in the attack will have to pay more sacrifices."

  Sameko knew that although Sokov didn't like to prepare for artillery fire before the attack, he still couldn't do without the cover of artillery when the troops attacked. When the First Artillery Division liberated the town of Latseve, it had exhausted its inventory of shells. If they were not replenished in time, after the offensive battle started, the only artillery that could participate in the battle would be the Second Artillery Division.

"Comrade Commander, you don't have to worry about this." Sameko quickly explained to Sokov: "I talked with the director of the logistics department, and he said that he would give priority to replenishing the First Artillery Division. Now that he has made a promise , I believe that at the beginning of the offensive, there will not be only one unit of the Second Artillery Division singing a one-man show."

"Well, that's good." Hearing that Sameko said that he had already talked with the director of the logistics department, Sokov nodded slightly and continued: "Since the Weaponry Department stopped supplying our new rockets, our inventory is One shot is one shot, and if we want to break through the enemy's solid fortifications, we can only rely on our traditional artillery. If the troops are not supported by powerful artillery fire when they attack, they will inevitably pay a heavy price."

"Comrade Commander," Sameko felt that since he wanted to use traditional artillery to provide artillery support for the attacking troops, he had to remind Sokov: "If you want to use traditional artillery firepower, provide artillery support for the attacking troops." For the necessary artillery support, I think some places should be paid attention to."

   "Tell me, Comrade Chief of Staff." Sameko's words aroused Sokov's curiosity: "I want to know what needs attention."

   "If you want to use artillery fire to open the way for the infantry, I think 76.2mm artillery can be used." Sameko said according to his own thoughts: "But if we encounter German densely fortified areas, we must use our heavy artillery."

  Sokov agreed with Sameko's statement very much, so he asked casually: "How is the reserve of heavy artillery shells today, can it support high-intensity battles?"

   "There is no problem." Sameko explained to Sokov: "Because we have a special way to obtain the shells needed for heavy artillery, now each heavy artillery has no less than ten base ammunition reserves."

I thought it would be pretty good to have two or three base ammunition for each heavy artillery, but I didn’t expect that there were as many as ten bases. This made Sokov very happy: "My God, our heavy artillery actually has so many ammunition reserves, enough for the Germans to drink a jug."

   "If our attack goes well," Sameko said imaginatively: "So many heavy artillery shells are enough to hit the city of Kirovgrad."

  Sokov didn't want his troops to progress smoothly, break through the layers of defense of the German army in one breath, and rush directly to the city of Kirovgrad. But he knew better in his heart that each heavy artillery had ten bases of ammunition, which sounded like a lot, but if the German army had solid fortifications, the consumption of heavy artillery shells would be very alarming. At that time, not to mention hitting the city of Kirovgrad, even capturing Alexandria may be very difficult.

After thinking about the problem, he said to Sameko: "Comrade Chief of Staff, each heavy gun has ten bases of ammunition. Medium-sized cities such as Ya and Kirovgrad need a large amount of heavy artillery shells to destroy the enemy's fortifications. In other words, the consumption of heavy artillery shells will be very alarming, and the ammunition will run out in less than two days. Therefore, while replenishing ammunition for the First Artillery Division, we must not forget to continue replenishing heavy artillery shells."

  As a chief of staff with rich combat experience, Sameko naturally hopes to use more heavy artillery on the battlefield. The German army had some strong fortifications, which could not be destroyed by several rounds of 76.2mm artillery, but after being replaced with 152mm heavy artillery, the fortifications could be wiped out with one shot.

Hearing Sokov's order not to forget the replenishment of heavy artillery shells at this moment, it just fit his heart, nodded vigorously, and replied: "After dawn, I will explain to the director of the logistics department and ask him not to stop hoarding heavy artillery shells. Work."

  The German army moving to the northwest finally disappeared from the road outside the village at around four o'clock in the morning. The soldiers on duty at the entrance of the village immediately reported the news to Mikhaiev.

  After listening to the soldiers' report, the third company commander said with a relaxed face: "Thank God, the Germans are finally over, and then we should continue to move towards Pavlish."

"Wait a minute, commander of the third company." But as soon as he spoke, he was refuted by Narva: "Although there are no Germans on the road now, it does not mean that all the troops that should be transferred have been transferred. I suggest Let’s rest here for another half an hour before continuing on our way.”

   "But there are obviously no enemies on the road outside, so why continue to delay?" The third company commander said unconvinced: "I am worried that if we continue to delay, it may delay the opportunity of the war."

"Captain Narva is right," Mikhaiev expressed his support to Narva at this time: "Although the large German troops have passed, I think we should continue to wait in the village, maybe later There are other German units."

  Egor reacted relatively quickly. Hearing what Mikhaiev said, he immediately blurted out: "Comrade Battalion Commander, are you worried that the divisional headquarters of the German army will remain in the city of Pavlish?"

"That's right." Seeing that Yegor had guessed his own thoughts, Mikhaiev did not hide anything, and said truthfully: "According to the consistent performance of the German army, their divisional headquarters usually walk at the back of the team. In this way, once the situation ahead is not good, they can transfer in the fastest time.

  Don't look at the large German troops passing by, but I'm sure their division headquarters are still staying in the city. If we go out at this time, we may run into them directly. As long as they check, our fake identities will be exposed, so to be on the safe side, let's wait and set off. "

Ten minutes later, the soldiers at the entrance of the village came to report again, saying that a convoy was found on the road outside, with several armored vehicles driving in front, seven or eight covered trucks full of soldiers behind, and more than 20 barrels in the middle. Car, it looks like there are big names in the convoy.

"Comrade battalion commander, it seems that you guessed it right." After listening to the soldiers' report, the third company commander couldn't help admiring Mikhaiev and others. If he really set off just now, he would definitely meet this convoy head-on Yes, at that time, my own unit will be in danger of revealing its identity: "The enemy's divisional headquarters is really behind."

   Mikhaiev nodded slightly, and said with a normal expression: "After the German convoy passes by, we can march towards Pavlish in a big way. Presumably no one will come to check our identities by then."

  But the third company commander suddenly had a bold idea: "Comrade battalion commander, since we know that there are German division commanders in the convoy on the road, why not attack them, maybe we can catch a big guy?"

"Commander of the third company, you are so nonsense." Before Mikhaiev finished speaking, Yegor criticized the commander of the third company and said: "Our task is to seize the material transfer warehouse in Pavlish city. If the sound is heard, the defenders in the city will be more vigilant, causing our plan to fail. Besides, even if we launch an attack on the convoy, do you think we can eat this convoy in a short time?"

  (end of this chapter)