Red Moscow

  Chapter 2176 Fight the strong enemy first

  The 1st and 6th Guards Divisions of the 48th Army, after continuously breaking through multiple German lines of defense, successfully rushed into the town of Puutusk and fought fiercely with the defenders in the town.

  If it was a few days ago, if Sokov's troops wanted to successfully enter the town of Pultusk after breaking through several German defense lines in a row, it would take a lot of time and also pay huge casualties. However, because Sokov successfully used a fake defense map to confuse the enemy, the German commander transferred the main force to other areas, which led to the weakening of the frontal defense of the 48th Army. Only the commanders and fighters can rush into the town so easily.

Knowing that two Guards divisions had entered the town and were engaged in a fierce battle with the stubborn enemy, Sidolin smiled and said to Sokov: "Comrade Commander, it seems that our preliminary preparations were not in vain. A fake The intelligence of the enemy will confuse the enemy and make them make wrong judgments, which will lead to the weakening of our offensive frontal defense."

"Comrade Chief of Staff, the Germans are not fools. They will adjust their deployment in time after they find that they have been deceived." Sokov pointed to the map and said to Sidolin: "They transferred to several divisions in other areas. They will return one after another tomorrow, and we will use this time difference to intensify our attack on them."

   "Need to send the second echelon into battle?" Sidolin asked.

  Sokov did not make any decision immediately, but told Sidolin: "Call the two commanders of the guards and ask them how they are doing now, and whether they still have the ability to maintain a strong offensive?"

  Sidorin agreed, and then called the two commanders of the Guards to learn about the current situation of the troops.

A few minutes later, Sidolin put down the phone and reported to Sokov: "Comrade Commander, Major Generals Tolstikov and Onupriyenko replied that their troops suffered few casualties in the attack and that they were totally able to keep fighting."

Sokov nodded after hearing this, and then said: "Let them speed up the attack, try to control the town of Pultusk as soon as possible, and then start a new round of attack on the German position south of the town. By the way, and Artillery Director Botha General Bove, whose artillery assistance is needed to break through the enemy's lines."

   "Comrade Commander," Sokov just finished speaking, when Potapov's voice came from the door: "Here I come! If you have any instructions, please give the order directly."

   "General Potapov, you came just in time!" Sokov waved at Potapov, beckoning him to come in front of him.

After the opponent stood by the table, Sokov pointed to the map on the table and said to Potapov: "The 1st and 6th Guards Divisions, which are the main offensive missions, are now competing with the Germans for the town of Puutusk. Once they have captured the town, the next step is to attack the German positions south of the town. I hope your artillery will establish new artillery positions as soon as possible, and prepare artillery fire for the German defensive positions."

"The German army initially deployed the 5th Jager Division, the 35th Infantry Division, the 232nd Infantry Division and the 592nd People's Grenadier Division to the south of the town of Puutusk." Sokov introduced Puwu to Potapov The situation in the south of Tusk town: "But because the enemy has taken advantage of our strategy, most of the troops have been transferred away, and now the troops south of the town are only left with the 5th Jager Division and the 592nd People's Grenadier Division. "

"Misha," Ponedelin, who was sitting next to him, said to Potapov, "The 592nd People's Grenadier Division is actually similar to our militia. A link..."

Before Ponedelin could speak, Potapov rushed to say: "Comrade Deputy Commander, I understand. Later our artillery fire will concentrate on bombarding the 592nd People's Grenadier Division, and from them open the infantry. An offensive opening."

   Unexpectedly, as soon as he finished speaking, he was denied by Sokov: "Wrong, General Potapov, what you want to fight is not the 592nd People's Grenadier Division, but the 5th Jager Division."

   This confused Potapov. According to his understanding, with Sokov’s character, he must fight weak enemies first, and then turn around to fight strong enemies. How could the order be reversed? He asked inexplicably: "Comrade Commander, why did we fight against the powerful 5th Jager Division?"

"It's very simple." Sokov replied: "If we hit the 592nd Volksgrenadier Division first, they will definitely call for help from the 5th Jager Division, and the Jaeger Division will provide them with support. But if we Fight the Jaeger Division first. The 592nd People's Grenadier Division is too weak to provide support to the Jaeger Division. We can only watch as we defeat the Jaeger Division. After we defeat the strong enemy, we will turn around It is much easier to deal with weak enemies."

"So that's how it is." After figuring out Sokov's combat intentions, Potapov couldn't help feeling secretly in his heart. He felt that Sokov's combat style was really arbitrary, not to mention that the enemy couldn't figure out his details, even himself As a subordinate, if the other party doesn't explain, he will also be at a loss.

After assigning tasks to the artillery, Sokov said to Sidolin again: "Let the 3rd Infantry Division and the 120th Guards Division prepare for battle. Once the offensive of the 1st and 6th Guards Divisions is frustrated, they will be dispatched." into battle."

  After recording Sokov's order, Sidolin asked tentatively: "Are the 109th, 211th, and 284th infantry divisions of the second echelon, and the three infantry brigades, also ready for battle?"

"Comrade Chief of Staff, although the more troops we invest, the more we can take the initiative on the battlefield." Sokov said: "But today is only the first day of offensive operations. If we put all our troops into battle, Once the troops in the later stage suffer serious losses and their attack capabilities weaken, how can we have follow-up troops to continue fighting? The second echelon troops are on standby. As for when to go into battle, it needs to be decided according to the changes in the situation on the battlefield.”

   "Okay, Comrade Commander." Now that Sokov has made a decision, Sidolin will naturally not object. He nodded and said, "I will immediately convey your order to all divisions and brigades."

   Potapov stayed in the headquarters not long before he got up and said goodbye and returned to his troops.

When he conveyed Sokov's deployment to his subordinates, these commanders were also shocked: "Isn't it the usual practice to attack the weak enemy first, and then the strong enemy? Fight a weak enemy. If you can't eat a strong enemy in one bite, then the battle may fall into a stalemate."

"Commanders, please be quiet, and let me explain to you." In response to the problems of the commanders, Potapov relayed Sokov's words to everyone, and finally said with a smile: "What's the matter with you, why? Do you want to question the commander's decision? You know, not long ago, I felt that you still had unconditional trust in him."

  Potapov's words embarrassed the commanders present. A commander of the artillery regiment blushed and said: "Comrade General, you are right. We should not question the commander's decision. You know, he has basically never lost a battle on the battlefield. If we want to win The best way is to carry out his orders unconditionally."

"Comrade Colonel," Potapov was satisfied with what the regimental commander said. He nodded and continued: "You are right. As long as we absolutely trust the commander, we will surely win." Immediately he He waved at the crowd, "Let's all go back to our respective units and make preparations. We will shell the enemy south of the town as soon as the two guards capture the town of Puutusk."

   While the artillerymen were preparing intensively, the situation on the battlefield changed a little. The German army was worried that the remnants of the 129th Infantry Division in the town would not be able to defend, so they deployed a regiment of troops from the 5th Jager Division to reinforce the town.

   Sokov, who got the news, called Sidolin and said: "Comrade Chief of Staff, the German army has deployed troops from the 5th Jager Division to reinforce the town. To ensure a smooth attack, we need to do something."

   "Comrade Commander, what should we do?" asked Sidolin.

"You call General Potapov immediately and say that the situation on the battlefield has changed." Sokov said: "Let the artillery units bombard the German positions south of the town in advance to disrupt the German defense deployment. .”

Potapov received a call from Sidolin and was a little surprised when he learned that the shelling would be advanced: "Comrade Chief of Staff, I see that the fighting in the town is still going on here, why should we bombard the German positions south of the town in advance?" Woolen cloth?"

"General Potapov, the situation on the battlefield has changed." Sidolin said to him: "The Germans have drawn troops from the 5th Jaeger Division into the town to strengthen the town's defenses. The shelling was carried out in order to disrupt the deployment of the German troops so that they could no longer mobilize forces to reinforce the town of Pultusk."

   "It turned out to be like this." After figuring out what was going on, Potapov said: "Then I will immediately order the artillery to fire and bombard the defense area of ​​the 5th Jager Division to disrupt their combat deployment."

  After putting down the phone, Sidolin reported to Sokov: "Comrade Commander, the Artillery Director said that he immediately ordered the artillery to fire!"

"Very good." Sokov nodded, and said, "If the 1st and 6th Guards Divisions cannot take the town of Puutusk for a long time, order the 3rd Infantry Division and the 120th Guards Division to pass through the town. Attack directly on the positions of the 5th Jaeger Division."

   "No problem." Sidolin replied: "I will call the two division commanders immediately and let them prepare for the attack."

  The commander of the 3rd Infantry Division is Major General Kirilov. Since he became the division commander, he has not fought a single battle. Although he knew that his troops might go into battle today, he still felt a little uneasy because he hadn't received the combat order for a long time. At this moment, he was walking back and forth in the command post with his hands behind his back, and he glanced nonchalantly at the phone on the table, hoping that the phone would ring soon.

  When the phone rang, he immediately rushed to the table, grabbed the microphone and put it to his ear: "I'm Kirillov, what instructions do you have?"

   Seeing Kirillov's movements so swiftly, Lieutenant Colonel Miyakov, the chief of staff sitting at the table, couldn't help being a little dazed. But he quickly came back to his senses, listening to the conversation between Kirillov and the other end of the phone.

"What, prepare for an early attack?... This is really great, Comrade Sidolin." Kirillov said with a smile on his face: "I will immediately issue a battle alert to the troops and be ready to attack at any time... Got it , Please tell Comrade Commander that our 3rd Infantry Division will never let him down."

After putting down the phone, Kirillov said excitedly to Myakov: "Comrade Chief of Staff, I just received a call from Sidolin, who said that due to changes in the situation on the battlefield, our division may You must enter the battlefield earlier than expected. Now you notify the commanders of the regiments, and then check carefully to see if every soldier is ready for battle."

"Okay, Comrade Division Commander." Knowing that the troops will soon go into battle, Miyakov is also very happy. Since the previous division commander died in the battle, the commanders and fighters have not been in high spirits. If this attack If you can perform well in battle, it will be very helpful to improve morale.

  After Miyakov finished the call, Kirillov took the initiative to discuss with him: "Comrade Chief of Staff, in order to facilitate the command of the troops, do you think we have moved the headquarters forward?"

Miyakov, who was still smiling, froze when he heard what Kirilov said. He still remembers that when he attacked the triangle, the former division commander also saw that the troops were going well, so he took the initiative to attack the triangle area. Proposed to move the troops forward. Unexpectedly, the division headquarters was bombarded by the German army during the process of advancing, and almost the entire army was wiped out.

With this lesson learned, when he heard Kirillov's plan at this moment, Miakov quickly reminded him: "Comrade commander, I think the division headquarters should not move casually, otherwise there will be accidents during the transfer. It may cause the troops to fall into chaos due to the loss of unified command, which is very detrimental to our subsequent offensive."

  Hearing what Miyakov said, Kirilov immediately remembered that the reason why he was able to serve as the division commander was because the former division commander moved forward with the headquarters during the battle, but was shelled by the enemy and unfortunately died. Because all the division commanders were killed and no one could take over as division commander, he was appointed as division commander by Sokov.

   "Comrade Chief of Staff, I understand what you mean." Kirillov looked at Miakov and asked, "Are you worried that the last tragedy will happen again when the division headquarters is transferring?"

"That's right." Seeing that Kirillov had already guessed the reason for his objection, Miakov nodded without concealing it, and replied truthfully: "Since the last time I suffered a huge loss, the morale and morale of the troops have barely If there is any accident during the transfer of the division headquarters this time, I am worried that it will be a fatal blow to the morale and morale of the army."

"Don't worry, Comrade Chief of Staff." Kirillov said: "Although there are various risks on the battlefield, the enemy's artillery and air force have been suppressed by our army. advantage, so even if we want to move the division headquarters forward, the chance of encountering danger is very low."

Seeing that Miyakov seemed to want to say something more, Kirillov raised his hand to stop him: "Stop talking, Comrade Chief of Staff. I promise you, at least wait until the troops of our division break through the enemy's line of defense and stand firm." After the heel, move the division forward."

  (end of this chapter)