Red Moscow

  Chapter 2039 Strong Fortress (Part 2)

   While Yakov was setting up heavy artillery positions, Sidolin made another suggestion to Sokov: "Comrade Commander, although we will not launch an attack on the fort for the time being, see if we can request the air force to attack and bomb the fort?"

   "Comrade Chief of Staff, you mean to send out the air force to bomb the fortifications?" Sokov asked back.

"Yes, Comrade Commander." Sidolin said affirmatively: "I hope to destroy the fortifications in the fortress through bombing, so that our army will not have to pay a high price for capturing these fortifications after rushing into the fortress. "

   Regarding Sidolin's proposal, Sokov thought about it, and finally rejected it. He clearly remembered that in order to capture the Brest Fortress, the German army shelled and bombed the fortress, but the damage caused to the defenders in the fortress was limited. If it weren't for the defenders lacking enough ammunition, food and water, as well as some necessary military supplies, they might have been able to resist for a longer period of time.

"Comrade Chief of Staff, the fortifications in the fortress are solid. I think that even if the air force is dispatched, I am afraid that it will not be able to cause too much damage to these buildings. Instead, it will waste ammunition in vain." Sokov shook his head and said: "I think it is still a waste of ammunition." After Yakov's heavy artillery battalion blasts the city wall, let our troops rush in and wipe out the enemy."

   Seeing Sokov's resolute attitude, Sidolin couldn't say anything more, so he could only reluctantly agree: "Well, we will wait for the artillery to open a passage for the infantry."

When Yakov came back to report to Sokov that the super heavy artillery had been deployed, Sokov pointed to the map and said to Yakov: "Yasha, order the artillery to bombard the northern wall of the Kobrin Fortress. Blast a few gaps in this direction so that our infantry can rush through."

"Misha." Hearing Sokov's order, Yakov said with some surprise: "Isn't there a bridge connecting the two banks here? Why don't you attack from this direction, but open a gap from the north wall? Woolen cloth?"

"The reason is very simple." Sokov didn't go around in circles, and said bluntly: "If we launch an attack from the position of the city gate, the enemy's artillery and machine guns deployed here will cause huge casualties to our attacking troops. You Think about it, although the bridge is spacious, if two or three tanks are destroyed by anti-tank fire and block the bridge, how will our troops enter the fortress? So my idea is to rush into the fortress from the city wall, and then send troops to clear it Enemy at the gate so that our tank units can swagger into the fort."

   "Comrade Armored Corps Chief," Sokov said, he turned his head and asked Colonel Malyshev, who was standing beside him silently, "Do you think I'm right?"

"Exactly, Comrade Commander." Hearing Sokov ask himself, Malyshev quickly stepped forward and replied respectfully: "If we attack directly from the gate of the fortress, the enemy's anti-tank firepower will be enough to wipe out the enemy." Our tank. No matter how strong the tank is, its top armor is the weakest. Even if the anti-tank gun deployed by the enemy above the door is a 37mm anti-tank gun known as a stepping stone, it can still destroy our tank. "

  Yakov glanced at Malyshev casually. After seeing the other person's face clearly, he couldn't help but widen his eyes in surprise: "You, are you Colonel Malyshev?"

   "Yes, Comrade General." Malyshev didn't see Yakov just now because he rarely stayed in the headquarters, and he didn't know that the other party served as the chief of artillery. Hearing the other party asking himself at this moment, he quickly replied: "I am Malyshev." He looked at Yakov who looked familiar, and thought to himself: Who is this general, and how could he know me?

"Hello, Colonel Malyshev." Yakov held out his hand to the other party and said friendlyly: "I don't think you may remember me, let me introduce myself. My name is Yakov, Smolens I was an artillery lieutenant in the 14th tank division during the battle of Sk, and now I work in the General Staff. But just an hour ago, my friend Misha, your commander, General Sokov, appointed me as Acting Chief of Artillery."

Hearing Yakov say that he was the artillery lieutenant of the 14th Tank Division during the Battle of Smolensk, Colonel Malyshev's sleeping memory was awakened, and he immediately remembered who the general in front of him was. Unsurprisingly, he said, "So it's you, General Yakov. Please forgive me, I didn't recognize you just now."

When Sokov heard the two chatting, he couldn't help being a little curious. He was about to ask if they knew each other, when he suddenly remembered that Colonel Malyshev had told him that during the Battle of Smolensk, he had commanded a Tank units and several militia brigades, presumably Yakov was still his subordinate at the time.

   I really didn't expect that after three years, Colonel Malyshev is still standing still. His former subordinate, Lieutenant Yakov, is now a general.

   "General Yakov, Colonel Malyshev," Sokov guessed that the two were old acquaintances, but Sidolin asked curiously, "Did you two know each other before?"

"Yes, Comrade Chief of Staff." Malyshev nodded and replied: "During the Battle of Smolensk, the tank unit I commanded was Lieutenant Yakov, no, it was the tank of General Yakov. 14th Division."

"It turns out that the two of you are old acquaintances." Sidolin finally came to his senses. He nodded to Malyshev and said, "Comrade Chief of Armored Forces, after the battle begins, the heavy artillery unit commanded by General Yakov will The wall of the Kobrin Fortress opened several gaps, allowing our infantry to rush in. After the infantry cleared the German troops near the gate of the fortress, the tank troops under your command will quickly rush into the fortress through the gate of the fortress. Understand? "

   "Understood, Comrade Chief of Staff." Malyshev nodded and said, "As long as the tank enters the fortress, it can play a huge role."

   Sokov raised his hand to look at the time, and then said to Yakov: "Yasha, it's almost time, let your artillery do it."

  Yakov nodded, walked to the table, picked up the phone, and said into the microphone: "Comrades, battalion commanders, aim at the wall on the north side of the Kobrin Fortress and fire!"

  After the order was issued, there was no rumbling cannon sound as everyone imagined. Sidolin listened carefully to the movement outside, and asked Yakov with some surprise: "General Yakov, why haven't your subordinates fired yet?"

"Don't worry, Comrade Chief of Staff." Yakov said to Sidolin with a smile: "I am not commanding the artillery unit on the side, but the super heavy artillery unit. These heavy artillery have a slow rate of fire. You have to be patient." Wait."

  As soon as Yakov finished speaking, there were several dull explosions outside, and everyone felt the ground under their feet tremble slightly. "Here, Comrade Chief of Staff, did you hear that?" Yakov pointed out with his hand and said with a smile: "The super heavy artillery battalion fired."

  The six 203mm howitzers of the 203rd Heavy Artillery Battalion fired first. A few seconds later, a violent explosion occurred in the Kobrin Fortress. The concrete outer wall, which was more than two meters thick, was blasted into three large holes that were as tall as a person.

   Seeing that the shelling was effective, the battalion commander of the 203rd Battalion commanded the ammunition man to start loading, preparing for the second round of shooting.

  The 280mm howitzers of the 280th Heavy Artillery Battalion have a much slower rate of fire than the 203mm howitzers. Although the reloading was carried out at the same time as the 203rd Battalion, when others finished firing a shot and started reloading ammunition, they hadn't even fired a single shot. Seeing this, the battalion commander immediately became anxious, and urged him repeatedly: "Comrades! The brothers of the 203 Heavy Artillery Battalion have already fired the first shot and are about to fire the second shot, but we haven't even finished loading, so we need to speed up." .”

  Under the urging of the battalion commander of the 280th Battalion, three 280mm howitzers finally fired the shells successfully after the friendly army completed the second firing. Although the rate of fire of this artillery is slower, it is much more powerful than the 203mm howitzer. The gap made by three shells was larger than the gap made by six cannons.

The artillery observer saw several gaps in the city wall by the heavy artillery, and quickly reported to Yakov: "Comrade General, the shelling of the two heavy artillery battalions has achieved great results. Now the wall on the north side of the Kobrin Fortress, Five gaps have been blasted, allowing our infantry to pass through."

  But after listening to the report, Yakov did not get carried away, but asked cautiously: "How big are these five gaps, and how many people can pass through at one time?"

   "The one with the most five gaps can pass two people at the same time; the remaining gaps can barely pass one person."

  After hearing this, Yakov couldn't help frowning, and said: "No, such a gap is not enough, we need to continue bombing, and the bigger the gap, the better."

After putting down the phone, Yakov said to Sokov: "Misha, the artillery observer reported that the wall of the Kobrin Fortress has been blasted five gaps, the largest gap can only pass two people, and the remaining gaps are barely enough. I can pass one person. I think such a gap is still not good for our attack, so I ordered the heavy artillery battalion to continue the bombardment, trying to make the gap bigger."

"Yasha, you are right." Sokov agreed with Yakov's arrangement: "The walls of the fortress are densely covered with artillery ports and shooting holes for guns. If these fortifications are not destroyed as much as possible, our Once the troops launch an attack, they will suffer heavy casualties under the powerful firepower of the enemy."

   "Misha, I have another suggestion."

   "Tell me, Yasha, any suggestions?"

   "When the heavy artillery blasts the gap in the city wall enough, you can use other artillery to bombard the inside of the fortress." Yakov suggested to Sokov: "This may cause a certain degree of casualties to the Germans in the fortress."

"Yes." Sokov agreed to Yakov's proposal without hesitation. Although the fortifications in the fortress are strong, ordinary shelling will cause limited casualties to the defenders, but it is better than nothing: "Wait until the gap in the city wall is big enough. At that time, you can order other artillery units to bombard the inside of the fortress."

The infantry responsible for the offensive mission this time was Major General Onuprienko's 6th Guards Division. He felt that the time was right at this moment, so he took two steps forward and asked Sokov cautiously: "Comrade commander, do you know why?" How long will my troops have to wait before attacking the fortress?"

"It won't be too late to launch an attack after the artillery blasts a big enough gap in the city wall for you." After saying this, Sokov suddenly remembered something, and quickly told Yakov: "Yasha, you Tell the Heavy Artillery Battalion not to concentrate the gaps, but to spread them out as much as possible."

  Yakov asked a little puzzled after hearing this: "Misha, why?"

   Sokov picked up a piece of black bread on the table and explained to Yakov. He first cut a few gaps in the middle with a knife, and casually said: "Yasha, look, for example, the gaps in the bread are the gaps we blasted in the wall of the Kobrin Fortress. If you concentrate on one If there are no destroyed firepower points near the gap, they can open fire on our troops crowded here, causing huge casualties to our army."

He cut a few gaps in different positions of the bread, and continued: "But if our gaps are scattered, there will be no congestion for troops entering the fort through the gaps. Even if there are many survivors near the gaps They can't block so many gaps at the same time, and our offensive troops can enter the fortress smoothly."

"I understand, Misha." Yakov waited for Sokov to finish, nodded his head and said, "I will immediately notify the commander of the heavy artillery battalion and ask them to blast gaps in different positions to prevent my attacking troops from entering the city wall." There is a congestion situation.”

  After receiving Yakov's call, the Heavy Artillery Battalion readjusted the shooting angle. In the next hour, more than twenty gaps in the city wall were blasted through which the infantry could pass.

  Seeing that the city wall was riddled with holes, Yakov ordered other artillery units to fire into the fortress. All of a sudden, the entire fortress was full of explosions. Soviet shells roared and hit the masonry structure of the fortress wall, rubble splashed, and flames were everywhere.

  Sokov heard the sound of artillery from outside, and said to Onuprienko: "Comrade General, it's almost time, and you can order your troops to attack. I wish you good luck!"

   "Thank you, Comrade Commander!" Onuprienko said excitedly: "I will never let you down."

  When the commanders and fighters of the Guards Division began to cross the river, although the German troops in the fortifications on the opposite bank also carried out firepower to intercept and fire, the firepower was obviously not as good as when they dealt with the two infantry brigades.

  The reason for the sudden weakening of firepower is that some firepower points were directly destroyed by heavy artillery. Although some firepower points are still intact, the German officers and soldiers inside have already been stunned, and it is impossible to resist.

   It was precisely because of the weak firepower of the enemy that after the commanders and fighters of the Guards Division reached the other side of the river, they poured into the fort from the blasted gap, competing with the defenders for the ownership of the fort.

  Shortly after the first batch of commanders and fighters entered the fortress, they cleared the defenders of the Kobrin Gate and sent a signal to the tank troops waiting in the distance.

  The tank soldiers, who had been waiting impatiently for a long time, immediately started the tanks after seeing the signal from the commanders and fighters of the Guards Division, and drove towards the Kobrin Gate aggressively. Behind them, the commanders and fighters of the 1st Guards Division closely followed.

   Knowing that the troops of the 1st and 6th Guards Divisions had entered the fort one after another, Sokov couldn't help but heaved a sigh of relief. Although difficult battles are still needed to capture the fortress, tens of thousands of commanders and fighters have successfully entered the fortress, which means that the battle has achieved a preliminary victory.

  (end of this chapter)