Red Moscow

  Chapter 2053

Malinin considered that the two forces are now fighting jointly. If there is no unified command, even if they rush into Siedlce by then, it may become a situation of fighting on their own. So he asked Sokov: "Comrade Sokov , since the attack on Siedlce is a joint operation between you and the 11th Guards Tank Corps, which side do you think should be in command?"

"The chief of staff of the front army, whether it is Tolstikov, the commander of the 1st Guards Division, or Onu Priyanko, the commander of the 6th Guards Division, both of them have the rank of major general." Sokov said: " And as far as I know, Guttman, the commander of the 11th Guards Tank Corps, is also a major general. The three of them are of the same rank. If there is no unified command, even if the troops rush into Siedlce, they will fight on their own. situation. As for who will be in charge, I think it’s up to you to decide.”

Seeing that Sokov handed over the decision-making power to himself, Malinin thought for a moment, and then said: "Comrade Sokov, the 11th Guards Tank Corps is currently in charge of the main offensive task, and your 1st Guards Tank Corps and The 6th Division is only assisting in combat operations, so I suggest that Major General Guttman Tank Corps command this attack. Do you have any objections?"

   "No." Now that Malinin had made a decision, Sokov replied simply: "I firmly obey your orders."

"Okay, since you have no objection." Malinin reminded Sokov: "Then you say hello to the two division commanders, Tolstikov and Onuprienko, and ask them to obey the command of Major General Guttman Tank Corps. "

After negotiating with Malinin about the attack on Siedlce, he put down the phone and said to Sidolin: "Comrade Chief of Staff, immediately call the two division commanders and tell them to wait for the troops to reach the outer attack area of ​​Siedlce. After that, he accepted the unified command of General Guttman, commander of the 11th Guards Tank Corps."

   "Understood, Comrade Commander." Sidolin replied: "I will immediately convey your order to the two division commanders."

Regarding Sokov's arrangement, Bulganin on the side nodded and said with satisfaction: "General Sokov, you have done a good job and know how to let the right person command this battle. To be honest, I just returned I'm worried, if you don't agree to Chief of Staff Malinin's proposal, how can I convince you."

   "Bulganin," Khrushchev heard Bulganin say this, couldn't help asking: "Why do you think so?"

"You must know that the troops attacking Siedlce are the 11th Guards Tank Army, and the two newly arrived Guards Infantry Divisions are just auxiliary attacks." Bulganin explained to Khrushchev: "Infantry The commander doesn't know how to command the tank troops, if one of the two Guards division commanders is allowed to command this battle, I'm afraid the orders he gives to the tank troops will make the tank soldiers at a loss."

"Comrade Military Commissar is right." Bulganin had just finished speaking, and Ponedelin added: "The streets in Siedlce are narrow, and only the commander of the tank corps knows how to use tanks in such terrain. Only by fighting can we avoid command errors, resulting in tanks being wiped out by the Germans on the narrow streets."

   After receiving the order from Sidolin, Tolstikov and Onuprienko immediately rushed to the temporary headquarters of the 11th Guards Tank Army, where they accepted Guttman's combat order.

Seeing the arrival of the two division commanders, Guttman hurriedly stepped forward to shake hands with them, and said politely: "; Comrade division commanders, welcome to your arrival! I hope that in the next battle, we can work together to kill the Germans." Get out of Siedlce."

"General Guttman," Tolstikov asked first, "I'm curious, since your troops have rushed into the city of Siedlce, why haven't you been able to drive out all the defenders in the city? where to go?"

Hearing Tolstikov's question, Guttman couldn't help blushing, and introduced to the two division commanders: "Two division commanders, my troops did rush into the city and caused great damage to the enemy. Chaos. But because our infantry did not catch up in time, tanks fighting alone in the city may be able to break through the enemy's defenses, but there is not enough infantry to occupy the city."

"General Guttman, we are here now." Tolstikov figured out why the opponent had not been able to occupy the city, and said to Guttman with a smile: "As long as your tank can break through the enemy's defense line, Our infantry will be able to follow and occupy it. Just give the combat order, and we will definitely cooperate with you.”

   "Yes, General Guttman." Onuprienko also echoed: "We will resolutely obey your command, so you can give us orders."

"Two division commanders, this is how I think about it." Seeing that the two division commanders were willing to obey his command, Guttman felt more at ease. He pointed to the map and said to the two: "I plan to bombard these two division commanders with artillery fire." Area, after the shelling is over, my tank brigade will lead the way, and your troops will follow behind these tanks and attack the city."

   "No problem, we will go back and deploy immediately."

As soon as the two division commanders returned to their units, they heard rumbling artillery from the direction of the city. This was the artillery unit directly under the Guttman command army, which shelled the German fortifications in the city, trying to destroy them with artillery fire. The vital force of the German army.

  The shelling only lasted half an hour before it stopped abruptly. As soon as the gunfire stopped, the 20th and 65th Tank Brigades split into two groups and launched an attack on the city that was still filled with gunpowder.

  The defenders, who were dizzy by the artillery fire, saw the Soviet tanks rushing up, and tried to repeat the trick. After preparing to make way for the tanks, let the anti-tank fighters attack the tanks from both sides of the road. But they soon discovered that these tricks of theirs could no longer be used, because there were groups of Soviet infantry behind the tanks, and the anti-tank fighters who turned to the two wings all fell under the dense bullet rain. under.

  The tank unit of the Skeleton Division discovered that the Soviet tanks had rushed into the city, and hurried back from the northern suburbs of the city, trying to launch an attack from the Soviet flank. According to the commander's idea, as long as a few more Soviet tanks are destroyed, the attack on the city will fall apart.

  But what he didn't expect was that the Leopard tanks driving along the street were suddenly hit by anti-tank fire from the buildings on both sides of the road. The rockets fired from the window of the building accurately hit the top of the tank's weak armor, and soon turned the Panther tanks, which were not so powerful not long ago, into piles of burning torches on the street.

   Seeing that the situation was not good, the German armored commander was worried that if the fight continued, the tanks in his hands would be lost. He quickly ordered the armored troops to withdraw from the battlefield and take the northern suburbs of the city. Flee in the direction of Warsaw.

  Although they lost the support of tanks, the defenders in the city are still stubbornly resisting the Soviet attack. Since the anti-tank fighters could not attack the Soviet tanks from the buildings on both sides of the road, they could only deploy a few anti-tank guns on the front of their attack, trying to destroy the tanks that were advancing.

But it is a pity that the IS-2 tanks of the 50th Battalion of Soviet heavy tanks are rushing to the forefront. The general small-caliber anti-tank guns hit the armor plate of the IS-2 heavy tanks, just like tickling Almost, there is no way to slow down the forward speed of the tank.

  The defenders brought in another 88mm anti-aircraft gun, trying to destroy the Soviet tanks advancing along the street. But unfortunately, the hastily fired shell hit the front armor of the tank, and did not penetrate at all, but turned into a ricochet.

   Seeing that the Soviet tanks were not damaged and were still rumbling towards the position, the defenders on the position could not help but become flustered. Especially when they saw groups of Soviet commanders and fighters behind the tanks, knowing that when the opponent rushed over, it was their own time of death, so they gave up their positions one after another, turned around and fled in the opposite direction.

  Whether it is the commanders and fighters of the 1st Guards Division or the 6th Guards Division, they thought that the attack on Siedlce would be a **** battle, but they did not expect that the defenders would abandon their positions and run away not long after the troops entered the city. The commanders and fighters who charged fast more or less wiped out a few enemies, and the commanders and fighters who entered the city later did not even see a single living German soldier. Fight face to face.

   The 36th Tank Brigade, trapped in the city and unable to expand its results, saw the defenders in the city suddenly fall into chaos, and some even passed by their vicinity and fled towards the western suburbs.

  The brigade commander was still at a loss when he saw this. He didn't know what medicine the enemy had taken wrongly, so he would voluntarily abandon his position and run away. Just when he was puzzled, the car radio suddenly heard Guttman shouting "Hi, I'm Guttman, can you hear me? Repeat, I'm Guttman, can you hear me ?"

   "I can hear you, Comrade Commander." Hearing that Commander Guttman was calling, the brigade commander who answered the phone asked quickly, "Do you have any instructions?"

"Comrade Colonel," Guttman said to the tank brigade commander, "now the commanders and fighters of the 1st and 6th Guards Divisions of the friendly army are under the cover of our 20th and 65th Tank Brigades and the 50th Heavy Tank Regiment. Let me launch an attack in the city. How is the situation there, and report to me quickly."

   "Reporting to Comrade Commander," the tank brigade commander quickly replied, "Our brigade controls the center of the city. At this moment, we can see a group of German officers and soldiers passing by the area we occupied and heading towards the western suburbs."

   "Towards the western suburbs?" Guttman asked tentatively, "Are they running away?"

"Yes, Comrade Commander." The tank brigade commander said affirmatively: "The enemy did not launch an attack at all when they saw our tanks. Instead, they went around to a nearby alley and continued to flee westward. According to my judgment, the enemy I have completely lost the will to resist, and I just want to escape from the city as soon as possible."

   "Comrade Colonel, you listen." Guttman said to the tank brigade commander: "After the infantry of the friendly army appears in the area you occupy, you will guide them to attack the fleeing German army. Understand?"

   "Understood, Comrade Commander." The tank brigade commander replied loudly: "I will convey your order to the battalions."

After Guttman deployed the task to the 36th Tank Brigade, he was worried that the commanders and fighters of the 1st and 6th Guards Divisions would attack too fast. The two division commanders called and informed them that the city center had been occupied by the 36th Tank Brigade.

  After listening to Guttman, Tolstikov asked tentatively: "General Guttman, so the enemy's defense in the city has basically been defeated by us, and they are hurrying to escape?"

"That's right, General Tolstikov. That's exactly the case." Guttman affirmed Tolstikov's statement, and added specifically: "I have given the 36th Tank Brigade The commander issued an order, as long as you see your troops appearing near the city center, you will immediately guide you to attack the enemy, and make sure to keep more enemies behind."

After finishing the call with Guttman, Tolstikov immediately notified several of his regiment leaders that the German army had no decent resistance in Siedlce, and ordered them to speed up their attack and be sure to attack before the enemy escaped. Before the cities, wipe out more of their living forces.

   When Onuprienko conveyed the order to his subordinates, Ma Daqiang asked curiously: "Comrade commander, are the Germans in the city really fleeing? It can't be false news, right?"

"No, Lieutenant Colonel Madaqiang." Onu Priyanko said confidently: "This is what General Gettman, the commander of the 11th Guards Tank Corps, said personally. By the way, his 36th Tank Brigade is now Right in the middle of the city, your regiment should speed up and rush to meet them. After meeting, their tanks will lead you to attack the fleeing German soldiers."

Knowing that the defenders in the city had lost their will to resist and were fleeing towards the west of the city, the Soviet commanders and fighters who invaded the city knew that their chance to make a contribution had come, and all of them retreated towards the enemy as if they had been beaten with chicken blood. direction to pursue.

  After more than three hours of fierce fighting, the sounds of gunfire and explosions in the city gradually faded away.

  Guttman heard that the movement in the city was getting quieter, so he called the commander of the 20th Tank Brigade and asked, "Comrade Brigadier, how is the situation there?"

The tank brigade commander just poked his head out of the turret, looked out at the street still filled with gunpowder smoke, and reported to Guttman: "Comrade commander, in my field of vision, I can no longer see a standing German. There were only dead Germans everywhere, along with destroyed tanks and barricades."

"Good job, Comrade Brigadier." Guttman knew from the other party's report that the defenders in the city were almost wiped out. After a few compliments, he called several other subordinates and asked them about the troops. Progress in town.

After making the phone call that should be made, Guttman became clear about the fact that all the enemies in the city had been driven out of the city. Even if there were still living German soldiers in the city, they became the commanders and fighters of the two Guards divisions. captive.

Confirming that the city had been occupied, he ordered the radio operator to say: "Send a telegram to the Front Army Command immediately, saying that our department has successfully occupied the entire city of Siedlce. Except for a few defenders in the city who escaped, the rest were not captured." To be wiped out is to become a prisoner of the two Guards divisions."

  After dictating the order, he raised his hand and patted the operator on the shoulder, and ordered: "Send the telegram to the Front Army Command immediately, and report the victory to Comrade Marshal!"

  (end of this chapter)