Red Moscow

  Sokov's tactics of luring the enemy played a very good role in this offensive battle.

  When the commanders and fighters of the 3rd Infantry Division shouted on the spot and pretended to charge, they did confuse the enemy. The German observation post, whose sight was obscured by the gunpowder, thought that the Soviet army had launched a large-scale offensive, and immediately used the method of blowing whistles and making phone calls to inform their companions who were retreating to the second line of defense to return to the first line of defense as soon as possible to fight. .

  But the Germans never dreamed that this was just a small trick played by Sokov. But when groups of German soldiers returned to their first line of defense along the communication trenches, they were baptized by overwhelming artillery fire before they entered the combat position, and paid a heavy price.

  When the commanders and fighters of the 3rd Infantry Division rushed into the first trench of the German army, there were almost no living people in sight. Occasionally, I saw a few who could still move, either sitting in a daze in the trench with a disheveled face, or lying on the ground with blood from their mouths and noses.

  For these surviving German officers and soldiers, if they voluntarily raised their hands and surrendered, the Soviet army would spare their lives; for those who rushed forward with their weapons staggering, they greeted them directly with grenades and bullets.

  In less than five minutes, the commanders and fighters of the 3rd Division occupied the entire trench and raised the red flag.

"Report to Comrade Commander," seeing that his troops had successfully occupied the first trench, the commander of the 3rd Division immediately called Sokov and reported emotionally: "My troops have successfully occupied the first trench." The first line of defense of the German army is advancing to the second line of defense."

Although it is so easy to capture the first line of defense, Sokov did not take it lightly. He said into the microphone: "It was a good fight, Comrade Colonel. But you can't be proud. Now you have only broken through the first line of defense of the German army. , the arduous battle is still to come, I hope you will continue to work hard and achieve greater victories."

   "Don't worry, Comrade Commander." The commander of the 3rd Division said carelessly: "We will definitely be able to take down the enemy's position."

  After putting down the phone, Sokov turned his head and asked Sidolin: "Comrade Chief of Staff, how is the progress of the 109th Infantry Division? Have they broken through the first line of defense of the German army?"

"Report from the division commander, Colonel Braginsky." Sidolin replied: "Their troops have already rushed into the first line of defense of the German army, and they are still fighting fiercely. I believe it will not take long before the enemy can be taken down." position."

After hearing this, Ponejelin next to Sokov couldn't help frowning slightly, and said: "What's the matter, they attacked the German army at the same time, the 3rd Division all launched an attack on the second line of defense, and the 109th Division Still dawdling on the first line of defense."

  The speaker is not interested, but the listener is interested. Pornejelin originally complained about the slow movement of the 109th Division, but it made Sokov think of a problem. While looking down at the map, he asked Sidolin: "There seems to be a reservoir dam in the triangle."

   "Yes, Comrade Commander." Sidolin replied: "The German Narew River Reservoir Dam is exactly in the triangle."

Sokov frowned, raised his head and asked Sidolin: "Comrade Chief of Staff, do you think this is possible? Once the Germans find that they can no longer hold on to the triangle, they will jump over the wall in a hurry and blow up the battlefield." What about the dam?"

   "It's possible." Without waiting for Sidolin to answer, Ponegerin nodded and said, "Once the German army blows up the dam, the attack road of the 109th Infantry Division will be flooded."

   "Chief of Staff, please tell Colonel Braginski that he immediately send a small force to the reservoir area to ensure that the enemy will not blow up the reservoir."

"Yes!" Realizing the seriousness of the problem, Sidolin immediately picked up the phone, called Braginsky, and directly relayed Sokov's original words, and finally said: "Comrade Colonel, can we successfully The elimination of the German troops in the triangle depends entirely on whether your division can keep the reservoir dam."

Braginsky realized the seriousness of the problem after listening to Sidolin's words. If the Germans really exploded the reservoir dam, then their own troops would be the first to suffer. He hurriedly replied: "Understood, Comrade Chief of Staff, I immediately dispatched a small team to the reservoir dam to stop the German army's plot to blow up the reservoir dam."

After putting down the phone, Sidolin reported to Sokov: "Comrade Commander, I have given an order to Colonel Braginsky, and he also agreed to send a small force to the reservoir dam as soon as possible to prevent possible sabotage by the Germans. .”

Sokov nodded, and didn't stay on this topic any longer, but looked at Ponejielin and Sidolin and asked, "Although our attack went smoothly, it's because the German army was beaten by us. One is caught off guard, and the fortress artillery in the Modlin Fortress cannot provide artillery support for the enemy in the triangle area. If the artillery deployed by the enemy in the rear fires, I am afraid our attack will become difficult."

"You are right, Comrade Commander." Ponegerin agreed with Sokov's statement, and he proposed his own plan: "Look, let our artillery move forward. Once The Germans fired, can we also use artillery fire to counter the enemy's artillery positions?"

"I think it's ok." After Sukov agreed to Ponegerin's proposal, he said to Sidolin: "Chief of Staff, call the Artillery Director immediately and ask him to move the artillery of the Army Group forward in batches and prepare for it. Preparations for countermeasures by enemy artillery positions."

  Two hours after the fighting started, Zhukov called and asked bluntly, "Misha, how is the fighting going with you there?"

"Report to Comrade Marshal, the progress of our department is very smooth." Sukov heard the call from Zhukov, and quickly reported to the other party: "Now the 3rd Infantry Division on the left wing has successfully occupied the three lines of defense of the German army. , wedged into the German defenses to a depth of two kilometers. The 109th Division on the right was not slow to move, they seized two directions, and wedged into the German defenses for three kilometers."

  Zhukov was silent for a moment, and asked back: "The troops on the left broke through three directions, and only wedged two kilometers into the enemy's defense zone; while the troops on the right broke through two lines of defense, they wedged three kilometers. What's going on?"

"Comrade Marshal, the situation is like this." Seeing that Zhukov didn't know what was going on, Sokov quickly explained to him: "The terrain on the right wing is relatively complicated, and the places where fortifications can be built are limited, so the German defense lines are separated. much farther than the left.”

"Oh, that's what happened." After Zhukov figured out what was going on, he specifically reminded Sokov: "I see on the map that there is a reservoir dam in front of the right-wing attack area. Have you considered that the enemy found When they can't hold the triangle, maybe they will make a fuss about the reservoir dam?"

   "Comrade Marshal, I have also considered this point." Seeing that Zhukov and his second brother had the same ideas, Sokov couldn't help but secretly pleased. The report said: "I have issued an order to Braginsky, the commander of the 109th Division, to send a small force to occupy the reservoir dam. The enemy must not blow up the dam and use the flood to submerge our army's way forward. "

   "Has his troops been sent?" Zhukov asked.

  Sokov did not answer immediately, but cast a glance at Sidolin, asking him with his eyes. After seeing Sidolin nodded slightly, indicating that the squad of the 109th Division had been dispatched, he said into the microphone: "Comrade Marshal, the squad of the 109th Division has been dispatched. If everything goes well, they should have arrived near the reservoir. Next, let's see how they take the reservoir dam from the hands of the Germans."

  Zhukov said: "If you need my help, just say it."

   "Comrade Marshal," Sokov remembered that the enemy's artillery had remained silent since the beginning of the battle. But the more so, the less at ease he felt. Hearing what Zhukov said, he quickly said: "The enemy's artillery has not moved at all since the start of the battle. My heart is not at ease."

  After hearing this, Zhukov asked in a low voice, "Why are you not at ease?"

"Although the enemies of Modlin Fortress were attacked by our friendly forces, they were unable to provide artillery support for the enemies in the triangle." Sokov expressed his doubts: "But in addition to the artillery fire of the fortress, they also have Powerful cross-fire. But the fire that caused the cancellation of our last offensive has so far been silent, and I fear that the Germans are plotting something."

"What kind of conspiracy can there be?" Zhukov obviously didn't take Sokov's concerns seriously: "I think the enemy's artillery may have suffered heavy losses in the artillery preparations before our attack, and they are no longer able to provide for the enemy in the triangle area. Artillery is backing up, so you don't have to worry at all."

"but…"

"There is no but." Zhukov interrupted Sokov, "You should focus all your attention on how to capture the triangle. You know, if you deal with the enemy earlier, it will disintegrate Modlin The morale of the defenders of the fortress, and thus the offensive of the 65th and 70th armies, became a little smoother."

  Sokov heard Zhukov's overtones. He felt that he was a little nervous. The war was going well, but he was still suspicious. But Sokov is not actually suspicious, but the behavior of the Germans is so abnormal that he has to be taken seriously. Before Zhukov put down the microphone, he timely made his request: "Comrade Marshal, I hope to get support from the Air Force."

"Oh, Air Force support?" Zhukov hesitated for a moment before readily agreeing to Sokov's request, "No problem. I'll say hello to the Air Force Commander later, what kind of air force do you need?" Support, just talk to him, he will definitely provide enough help."

   With Zhukov's promise, Sokov felt more at ease, and he quickly expressed his gratitude to Zhukov: "Thank you, Comrade Marshal. Don't worry, I will definitely not disappoint your trust."

   "Well, I will wait for your good news." Zhukov finally said: "Good luck to you!"

  After putting down the phone, Sokov looked at Sidolin and asked, "Chief of Staff, where is the artillery now?"

Sidolin moved the map in front of him and reported to Sokov: "A howitzer regiment has now entered the first line of defense occupied by the 3rd Division. No matter where the German artillery fires, they can Timely counter-fire to ensure a smooth infantry attack."

"Very good!" After listening to Sidolin's report, Sokov nodded and said with satisfaction: "The Artillery Director has done a good job. After we complete the combat task of occupying the triangle, we must award him a medal." .”

  Everything seems to be moving in a good direction, but the weather is unpredictable, and people have misfortunes. Soon, a bad news spread to the army headquarters with the report that the enemy's artillery started to act.

When Sidolin learned that the German army had begun to bombard the 3rd Infantry Division, he quickly called the Artillery Director and said anxiously: "Comrade Artillery Director, the enemy's artillery is bombarding the attacking 3rd Division. I order your artillery to fire immediately to suppress the enemy's fire."

   Just as the phone was put down here, another phone rang again. Sidolin grabbed the microphone and said loudly close to his ear: "I am Sidolin, where are you?"

   But after listening for a moment, a look of shock appeared on his face. Then he covered the microphone with his hand and reported to Sokov: "Comrade Commander, it's not good, something serious happened."

   Hearing that Sidolin said something important, Sokov couldn't help but thumped in his heart, secretly wondering if the Germans blew up the reservoir dam? But he still pretended to be calm and said: "Chief of Staff, don't worry, just speak slowly, what happened?"

  "The troops of the 3rd Division were suddenly attacked by the German army, and the troops suffered a lot of casualties..."

   "Chief of Staff," Sokov interrupted Sidolin, "We already know that the 3rd Division was hit by German artillery fire. You focus on what happened."

  Sidorin took a deep breath, and then continued: "The convoy of the 3rd Division headquarters was hit by German artillery fire on the way to the new headquarters. The jeep the division commander was riding in was hit by artillery fire and died on the spot."

   "What, the commander of the 3rd Division died?" Sokov asked in shock, "Who told you this news?"

   "It's Lieutenant Colonel Miyakov, Chief of Staff of the 3rd Division." Sidolin replied: "Because the jeep he was riding in was a bit far from the division commander's car, so he survived by luck."

Sokov walked up to Sidolin, took the microphone from him, and said loudly: "Lieutenant Colonel Miyakov? I am Sokov. I now officially appoint you as the acting commander of the 3rd Division." .”

   "Yes, Comrade Commander." Knowing that he was appointed as division commander, although he was acting as an agent, Miyakov also seemed very excited: "I wonder what the next combat mission of our division will be?"

"Attack, continue to attack until the enemies in the triangle area are cleared." Sokov raised his voice and said, "Comrade Lieutenant Colonel, please tell the commanders and fighters of the division to display a positive fighting spirit, destroy more enemies, and sacrifice for you." The teacher's report. Do you know what I mean?"

"Understood, Comrade Commander." Miyakov hurriedly replied: "I understand what you mean, we will be more heroic and tenacious in the next battle, strive to destroy more enemies, and sacrifice for the dead Master revenge."

  Seeing that Miyakov realized what he meant, Sokov nodded in satisfaction, said: "Good luck!" and put down the phone.