On the afternoon of February 21, exciting news reached Sokov's division headquarters: Zaporozhye, where Manstein's headquarters is located, was occupied by troops of the Southwestern Front.
When the news came, Sidorin couldn't help but have doubts about Sokov's analysis: "Comrade division commander, the troops of the Southwest Front have occupied Zaporozhye and separated the enemy's front. Do you think that under such circumstances?
, is it possible for the German army to launch a larger-scale counterattack against our army?"
"Comrade Chief of Staff, the capture of Zaporozhye by the troops of the Southwestern Front does not mean that our army has won." Sokov felt that the tactics used by Manstein happened to be the ones he was most familiar with, so he reminded Sidorin.
Said: "In more than a month, our army has regained so much lost ground, but it has basically fought a battle of defeat, not a battle of annihilation. Now the enemy's strength is still there, even if it has temporarily lost some territory, when our army changes
When you are exhausted and unable to attack again, the enemy may launch a counterattack. This is called: if you save people and lose land, you will save both people and land; if you save land and lose people, you will lose both people and land."
"Your statement is quite interesting." After listening to Sokov's words, Bely said with great interest: "By temporarily abandoning some positions, we can concentrate the available troops; and the troops occupying these territories
, they have to allocate manpower to hold on, and in this way, their strength will become weak. One side has strong troops, while the other side has scattered troops. It is obvious who wins and who loses in a fight.
"
After listening to Sokov and Bely's chorus, Sidorin immediately realized the seriousness of the problem: "Division commander, deputy division commander, so to speak, as our army occupied Zaporozhye, the enemy's full counterattack may be necessary.
here we go?"
"Chief of Staff, you are right, the enemy's full counterattack will begin soon." Sokov said sternly: "So we must prepare for the battle as soon as possible."
"Misha, our current defense front is ten kilometers wide. In addition to infantry, there are only 60 tanks and five self-propelled artillery." Bely said with some concern: "With such a small amount of technical equipment, if we are attacked
Is the German Panzer Army's offensive sure of victory?"
"Under the current circumstances, it is basically impossible to obtain supplies of technical equipment from superiors." Sokov said: "So we have to find ways to strengthen our own defense forces."
Bely knew that Sokov would not say this for no reason, and he must have thought of a way to deal with it, so he asked curiously: "Misha, do you have any good ideas?"
"Fighting head-on is definitely not the answer. Our division's equipment and combat effectiveness are not at the same level as the main force of the German army." Sokov said with a normal expression: "We have to find a way to create a false situation for the Germans and make them think that our army
There is a huge army massed in Luhansk."
"Then what should be done?" Bely continued to ask.
"We can use plywood to make a large number of fake tanks and fake artillery to set up fake positions. The real tanks are deployed two kilometers away, and each tank must have three or four firing points. After firing a few shots, we can change the location.
, This will make the enemy think that we have assembled a large number of armored forces in Luhansk."
"Misha, the tactics you mentioned sound very familiar." Bely frowned and thought for a while, then immediately remembered where he had heard of it, "This was when General Katukov was holding Mtsensk.
, a tactic that has been used before.”
Sidorin was still a small staff officer during the defense of Moscow. He did not know the history of Katukov, so he couldn't help but curiously asked: "Comrade Deputy Division Commander, I would like to ask, how was this tactic used back then?"
What’s the effect?”
"The effect is quite good." As a tank soldier, Bely naturally praised Katukov greatly: "You know, when General Katukov first took over the tank brigade, he only had 45 taels of old-fashioned light tanks.
, and the ammunition is not enough. If they were to go out to fight the German tank troops, the entire army would definitely be destroyed.
He knew that fighting head-on was not the answer, so he asked the soldiers to dig fake bunkers day and night, made a large number of fake tanks out of plywood, and set up fake tank positions. The real tank positions were deployed four kilometers away.
.Because the work intensity was too high, his tank crews complained one after another, and even called him 'a German spy who wants to tire everyone to death.'
But when the battle started, everyone found that they had misunderstood Katukov. Fighting with this brigade commander could at least save their own lives. In the eight-day battle, the tank brigade destroyed a total of 133 German tanks.
, and two aircraft. In recognition of their military exploits, their superiors awarded them the honorary title of the First Guards Tank Brigade."
"Oh my God, they actually destroyed more than twice the number of enemy tanks." Sidorin asked cautiously: "What about their casualties?"
"Chief of Staff, I don't remember clearly how many infantry casualties there were." Bely replied: "But their brigade only lost four tanks. Two of them were disabled during the retreat due to malfunctions.
Not abandoned."
Knowing that this was a tactic that Katukov had used before, Sidorin asked with some worry: "Comrade division commanders, since this is a tactic that has been used before, I'm worried that it won't be hidden from the eyes and ears of the Germans."
"I think we can give it a try." The decision-making power on this matter still lies in Sokov's hands. He said confidently: "Although General Katukov made the Germans suffer like this in Mtsensk,
It was a loss, but those German commanders would never tell anyone about their humiliating experiences, so I’m afraid many officers didn’t know the reason for their disastrous defeat.”
"But what if the enemy knows?" Sidorin asked nervously: "Then the fake position we deployed will be completely destroyed."
"Then we will find a way to prevent the enemy from knowing." When he said this, Sokov was already thinking about where to deploy the fake positions and what kind of fake positions to deploy: "This matter is up to me.
Let Colonel Bely take charge."
Seeing that Sokov personally took over the task of establishing a fake position, Sidorin was relieved and proactively proposed: "Comrade division commanders, then I will organize the residents of the city to help our soldiers make fake tanks out of plywood.
"
"No, the residents of the city cannot participate in the matter of camouflaging the positions." Sokov rejected Sidorin's proposal without hesitation, although the work of camouflaging the tanks and camouflaging the positions was completed by the soldiers.
The intensity was a bit high, but he had to be vigilant. Who knew if there were any spies left by the Germans among the residents in the city? If the news leaked out, all his arrangements would be ruined.
In order to prevent Sidorin from misunderstanding, he patiently explained to the other party: "Comrade Chief of Staff, our division has not been stationed in the city for a long time. We don't know if there are any German agents lurking among the residents. If the residents
When participating in the task of setting up fake positions, it is easy for secrets to be leaked."
At this point, Sokov felt that it was necessary to strengthen the security in the city to prevent the German agents lurking in the city from finding out the details of the troops, so he ordered Sidorin: "Chief of Staff, the war is imminent, even if the city
There are no German spies inside, and we must also be on guard against enemies who may infiltrate. The division guard battalion mobilizes forces to form patrol teams and conduct strict checks at all intersections entering and exiting the city to prevent enemies from sneaking into the city."
When Sidorin started calling the guard battalion to arrange the formation of a patrol team, Sokov shook his head at Bely and said: "Let's go, Comrade Deputy Division Commander, let's prepare fake tanks and fake positions to meet the possibility of
Germans attacking the city."
On the way to the 122nd Regiment's position, Bely suddenly asked something: "Misha, how can we make the enemy believe that the fake positions and fake tanks they saw are real?"
"Comrade Deputy Division Commander, I have carefully considered your concerns." Sokov has a good idea about how to make the enemy believe that the tanks and positions they saw are real:
"Place a real tank near the fake tank position, and when the battle begins, fire at the enemy. In this way, the enemy will think that there is really our tank position, thus diverting their attention."
Bely's mind was very useful. After listening to Sokov's words, he immediately drew inferences and said: "Our artillery positions can also be arranged in this way, placing a self-propelled artillery nearby, firing a few shots and then moving the position. The Germans don't
Knowing that we have self-propelled artillery, when it comes under shelling fire, there will definitely be a misjudgment and the false artillery position will be regarded as real."
This chapter has been completed!