Red Moscow

  Chapter 2052

Sokov recalled the parameters of the IS-2 in his heart: This heavy tank produced by the Chelyabinsk Tank Factory is equipped with a D-25T 122mm tank gun, which is evolved from a 122mm naval gun of. The types of bombs it uses are: BR-471 armor-piercing bombs and OF-471 grenades, and the weight of the projectiles is about 25 kilograms. The firing rate is only 2 rounds per minute, and the ammunition base is 28 rounds.

  The armor-piercing power is 152 mm at a shooting distance of 500 meters; 142 mm at a shooting distance of 1000 meters; 133 mm at a shooting distance of 1500 meters; and 122 mm at a shooting distance of 2000 meters. In other words, even at a distance of 2000 meters, it can penetrate the 102 mm thick frontal armor of the German Tiger heavy tank.

   Sokov raised his head and asked Sidolin: "Comrade Chief of Staff, ask General Tolstikov, do you know who the commander of this unit is?"

   "The head of the heavy tank regiment is Lieutenant Colonel Ilya." Sidolin replied: "Now he is with our scouts."

   "Ask again, how many infantry are there to assist the tank regiment in combat?"

   "Comrade General," Sidolin quickly let go of his hand covering the microphone when he heard Sokov say this, and asked, "The commander asked, how many infantry are there to cooperate with the heavy tank regiment?"

   "No, not a single infantryman."

"What, there is no infantry?" After listening to the report, Sokov asked in surprise: "Without infantry to fight together, how can we attack with only tanks?" He pointed at Sidolin with his hand and ordered, "You let the General Tolstikov told the scouts to ask friendly tank units not to attack Siedlce for the time being, at least until the infantry of the 1st Guards Division arrives before launching an attack on the city.”

Seeing Sokov's serious expression, Sidolin realized the seriousness of the problem, and quickly relayed his words to Tolstikov, asking him to inform the friendly tank regiment not to attack the city for the time being, lest suffer.

When Sidolin put down the phone, seeing Sokov staring at the map with a serious expression, he quickly reported to him: "Comrade Commander, I have conveyed your meaning to General Tolstikov, and I believe he is very happy." Consensus will soon be reached with the commander of the heavy tank regiment."

But a few minutes later, Tolstikov called and said to Sidolin helplessly: "Comrade Chief of Staff, I have conveyed your meaning to Lieutenant Colonel Ilya, the head of the heavy tank regiment, but ordered Regrettably, he rejected my proposal. He also said that their regiment was tasked with attacking Siedlce alone, without the cooperation of other troops."

"It's over, it's over." Hearing Tolstikov's reply, Sokov suddenly became pessimistic: "I don't think it will be long before this heavy tank regiment disappears from our army's organizational structure. .”

Seeing Sokov's pessimism, Sidolin, who had just put down the phone, comforted him and said, "Comrade Commander, the heavy tank regiment is equipped with heavy tanks like the IS-2. It has to be able to penetrate the armor of these tanks. I think they have a chance to succeed in attacking the city alone."

"Comrade Chief of Staff," Sokov said with a serious expression: "A tank unit without infantry cooperation will only end up being destroyed when it encounters German anti-tank fighters. Maybe the frontal armor of these tanks can withstand The German 88mm anti-aircraft guns or tank guns, but what if the Germans planted a large number of anti-tank mines on their way forward? Or ambushed anti-tank fighters carrying iron fist rocket launchers on both sides of the road? Here Under these circumstances, do you think they will still be able to take Siedlce?"

"General Sokov, you are right." Bulganin, who had been listening in, suddenly said, "Actually, the 11th Guards Tank Army encountered a similar situation when it fought against the Viking Division at the beginning of this month. A tank battalion ahead was completely wiped out by the Germans in less than ten minutes because it was not covered by infantry."

"What, the Viking Division?" Sukov commanded the troops to fight against many SS divisions, and the only one that failed to win was the Viking Division, so this troop gave him a bit of a shadow: "Where are they now? , how many troops are there?"

   "It has been defeated by your friendly forces." Bulganin did not tell Sokov the detailed results of the battle, but simply said: "The Viking division, which has suffered heavy losses, has now retreated to Warsaw."

  Sokov was thinking, since the Viking division appeared, there must be other SS divisions nearby. Thinking of this, he asked Sidolin: "Chief of Staff, when you spoke to General Tolstikov just now, did he say what the number of the German army stationed in Siedlce is?"

   "No, Comrade Commander." Sidolin replied very simply: "I am afraid that even General Tolstikov himself does not know what the number of the German army stationed in Siedlce is."

   After saying this, Sidolin saw that Sukov frowned again, and asked tentatively, "Comrade Commander, what are you worried about?"

"Since the Viking division has appeared on the Belarusian battlefield, there should be other SS divisions nearby." Sokov knocked on the position of Siedlce with his hand, and said, "I am now worried about being stationed in Siedlce. The defenders in Caicheng are a certain SS division of the German army. If the heavy tank regiment attacks alone, the entire army is in danger of being wiped out."

"General Sokov," Sokov's words made Bulganin feel uneasy. He felt that if a tank unit was truly annihilated by the German army, it would have a negative impact on the morale and morale of his own troops, so he took the initiative to attack Soko. The husband said: "I immediately called Comrade Field Marshal and asked him to contact General Guttman and tell the heavy tank regiment to wait until the infantry of the 1st Guards Division arrived before launching an attack on the city."

"Comrade Military Commissar, it would be great if you could call Comrade Marshal." Sukov said to Bulganin emotionally: "If the heavy tank regiment waits for the infantry of the 1st Guards Division to arrive After that, we will attack the city, and I believe our army will be able to liberate the city from the Germans before dark."

The phone of the Front Army Command was quickly connected, and Bulganin said into the microphone: "I am Bulganin, is Comrade Marshal there? ... What, he went to the grassroots army? When will he come back? ... I don't know ?!... Then you ask the chief of staff, General Ma Linin, to answer the phone, I have something important to tell him."

   A few minutes later, Bulganin put down the phone, looked at Sokov blankly and said, "General Sokov, there may be deviations in the information provided by your troops."

  This time it was Sokov's turn to be at a loss: "Comrade Military Commissioner, I don't know where this matter went wrong?"

"Chief of Staff Malinin told me that the troops attacking from the northern suburbs of Siedlce, in addition to Lieutenant Colonel Ilya's 50th Heavy Tank Regiment, and the 36th Tank Brigade under the 11th Guards Tank Corps have broken through the German defenses At this time, the 65th Tank Brigade was heading towards Siedlce from the northeast.

  The 50th Independent Guards Heavy Tank Regiment has devoted itself to the fierce battle in Siedlce, advancing side by side with the 20th Tank Brigade, advancing from the southern suburbs of Siedlce to the north of the city. "

"What's going on here?" Sokov asked Sidolin awkwardly: "Comrade Chief of Staff, you got information from General Tolstikov, how could there be such a big difference between what Comrade Military Commissar said? Woolen cloth?"

"Comrade Commander, I think the scouts may have given General Tolstikov the wrong situation." Ponejielin said to Sokov: "It is better to order the 1st Guards Division to speed up the march and arrive as soon as possible. Siedlce joined friendly forces. In any case, the more troops attacking the city, the better the chances of success."

"Comrade Deputy Commander, what you said is very reasonable." Sokov agreed with Ponedelin's statement, and then told Sidolin: "Comrade Chief of Staff, you are telling General Tolstikov to speed up. While monitoring the marching speed of the troops, inform him of the real situation in Siedlce, so that he can know what's going on in his mind."

Tolstikov received a call from Sidolin and learned that the two tank brigades of the 11th Guards Tank Corps were fighting fiercely with the Germans in the city. Only then did he realize how wrong his intelligence was. Immediately issued an order to the troops to speed up the march, and rushed there as soon as possible to cooperate with friendly troops.

  The 50th Heavy Tank Regiment, which entered the city from the southern suburbs, was ambushed by a part of the German Skeleton Division. The three tanks that opened the way were directly destroyed and burned on the road. The tank soldiers who escaped from the tank by chance were also shot by the Germans in nearby buildings, and all died near their tanks.

  The tank soldiers of the 20th Tank Brigade, after tenacious fighting, drove the German army from the city of Siedlce to the northwest suburbs. Then he rushed to the northwest suburb of the city in one go, and had a fierce confrontation with the German infantry, artillery and tanks. Due to the lack of infantry accompanying and artillery cover, the tank brigade was forced to withdraw to the southwestern suburbs of Siedlce after suffering certain casualties.

Malinin knew that Bulganin was in Sokov's headquarters at the moment, and that the 1st Guards Division of the group army was advancing in the direction of Siedlce at a rapid march speed, so he promptly reported various battle reports to Bulganin .

  After recording the contents of the phone call, Bulganin said to everyone: "...at 12:00 noon, the 20th Tank Brigade has successfully established a position at the intersection of the railway line and the road line near Sshala.

   At 13:00, with the support of artillery, the German army invested 21 tanks, 7 assault guns and 1 motorized infantry battalion to launch a counterattack against the new position of the 20th Tank Brigade from the Scala area.

  15:00, the 20th Tank Brigade destroyed 6 German tanks and 7 assault guns, and lost 9 tanks. The main force of the 20th Tank Brigade withdrew to the southwestern suburbs of Siedlce.

  Some units of its 3rd Battalion assisted the 3rd Guards Cavalry Division to block the two traffic arteries of the Siedlce-Warsaw Highway and the Siedlce-Sen Luochen Highway. "

   After Bulganin finished reading, Sokov turned his head and asked Sidolin: "Chief of Staff, where is the 1st Guards Division now?"

   "They're approaching the northeastern outskirts of Siedlce."

Sokov looked at the map of the situation between the enemy and the enemy that the staff had just drawn, and told Sidolin to say: "Chief of staff, tell General Tolstikov to get in touch with the brigade commander of the 65th Tank Brigade immediately. Under the cover of troops, launch a final attack on the city."

Ten minutes later, Tolstikov called the headquarters, and he reported excitedly: "Comrade Chief of Staff, I have some good news for you. The leading regiment of our division is in the northeast suburb of Siedlce. Having encountered the 65th Tank Brigade of our army, and the 12th Motorized Rifle Brigade, we now have enough strength to attack the city."

"This is really great, General Tolstikov." Sidolin couldn't help being overjoyed when he learned that the vanguard of the 1st Guards Division had joined forces with the friendly tank brigade and motorized infantry brigade in the northeastern suburbs of the city. Quickly ordered: "Immediately order the vanguard to attack the city under the cover of the tank brigade. Be sure to clear the remaining defenders in the city in the shortest possible time."

  The conversation between Sidolin and Tolstikov was clearly heard by Sokov who was standing next to him. He turned his head and asked Ponegelin, who was also looking at the map beside him: "Comrade Deputy Commander, what do you think of us bringing the 6th Guards Division into battle?"

Ponejielin nodded, pointed to the east of Siedlce and said: "Since the 1st Guards Division has reached the northeast suburb of Siedlce, the 6th Guards Division can start from the eastern suburbs of the city. Offensive. In this way, our offensive forces form a pincer offensive, which can effectively break through the enemy's defenses and deal them a devastating blow."

"General Sokov," although Bulganin's military level is average, but after hearing the tactics studied by Sokov and Ponegerin, he couldn't help expressing his opinion: "You see, whether to take your The plan is to report to Chief of Staff Malinin, maybe he can help you."

Sokov felt that what Bulganin said made sense. Now it is the 11th Guards Tank Corps that is attacking Siedlce. Although his troops are actively assisting the friendly army in the attack, some friendly army commanders are against him. There may be resistance to this approach, but if Ma Lining comes forward to coordinate, all possible problems will be solved.

  He picked up the phone and connected to the Front Army Command. After hearing Malinin's voice, he immediately said: "Hello, Comrade Chief of Staff of the Front Army, I am Sokov."

   "Comrade Sokov, what's the matter?"

"It's like this, Comrade Chief of Staff of the Front Army." Sokov stared at the map and said: "The vanguard of my 1st Guards Division has reached the northeast suburb of Siedlce, and I have also arrived at the 6th Guards Division. Prepare them to rush to the eastern outskirts of the city and carry out a pincer offensive against the remaining defenders in the city."

"Comrade Sokov, I really didn't expect you to move so quickly." After hearing Sokov's words, Malinin said with relief, "I'm wondering where I should draw troops to reinforce the guards attacking Siedlce. The 11th Tank Army, I didn't expect your troops to be close to the attack position.

   You are doing it right! I will immediately contact the commander of the tank army, Major General Guttmann, and ask them to cooperate with your troops to eliminate the remaining defenders in Siedlce. "

   "Comrade Chief of Staff of the Front Army," Sokov waited for Malinin to finish, and added: "My two Guards divisions lack sufficient artillery. I hope they can get artillery support from the Guards Tank Army when they attack."

   "Don't worry, Comrade Sokov." Ma Linin said with a smile: "There will be artillery support, and there will be firepower points along the way for tanks to clear the way. Everything will be there."

  (end of this chapter)