In the evening of that day, Rokossovsky summoned several division commanders in the city to hold an impromptu combat meeting. The topic of this meeting was to cooperate with the 61st Army on the right to eliminate the German troops north of Susinich.
After the meeting began, Chief of Staff Malinin pointed to the map on the wall and said to the division commanders participating in the meeting: "To the north of Susinich, there is a large village called Popkovo, located on the high ground overlooking the surrounding areas.
It was from here that the German invaders fired artillery shells at the city of Susinich. Our meeting this time is to discuss how to capture Popkovo and completely eliminate the enemy's threat to the city."
Kiryuhin, commander of the 324th Infantry Division, waited for Malinin to finish speaking and then asked: "Comrade Chief of Staff, can you tell us what kind of troops and technical equipment the enemy has in this village and town?"
"According to our intelligence," Malinin replied in response to Kiriukhin's question: "There are about two thousand German invaders stationed in this village and town. They have tanks and large-caliber artillery. In order to prevent being attacked by our army, they have
Ring fortifications were built around the villages and towns.”
When they learned that there were two thousand German troops stationed in the villages and towns, and they also had a large amount of technical equipment, the division commanders who participated in the meeting couldn't help but frowned. They all knew in their hearts that this was a tough battle and not easy to fight. Even if the troops
With a full complement of troops and the support of powerful artillery fire, if you want to capture such a village or town, you will have to pay a huge price. But now there is a shortage of soldiers and insufficient ammunition. Using such troops and equipment to attack the enemy is not to attack the enemy with an egg.
Seeing the silence of the division commanders, Rokossovsky guessed what everyone was worried about, so he stood up and said: "Comrade division commanders, when Military Commissar Comrade Lobachev and I returned to Moscow some time ago, someone
Ask us, why are we unable to defeat the enemy and break through their defenses despite having more division-level troops engaged in the battle than the enemy?"
Rokossovsky's words immediately attracted the attention of the division commanders. They all looked at each other involuntarily, wanting to hear what he would say next. Rokossovsky continued: "I
Tell them that our divisions had only 8,000 men at full strength, and after a long period of fighting, each division had only 3,500 men left, and some divisions even had only 2,000 men left. And what about the enemy? Theirs
The infantry division has 10,000 to 12,000 men, while the tank division and motorized division have 12,000 to 15,000 men."
When their units suffer serious losses, soldiers and junior commanders will be replenished to other divisions, and the division headquarters will withdraw to the rear to form new units. In doing so, they can ensure that the combat effectiveness of the units will not be affected.
.And what about our troops? They are usually replenished while fighting. A large number of new recruits with no combat experience are added to the troops. Although the number is larger, the combat effectiveness has declined..."
Rokossovsky observed everyone's reactions as he spoke, and saw that everyone was nodding their heads in agreement with what he said. After saying a bunch of words that had nothing to do with combat, but that could resonate with the division commanders, he
Cutting the topic to the point: "In this battle to capture Popkovo, the group army is preparing to invest three infantry divisions, two tank brigades, two artillery regiments and three rocket launcher battalions. And the 61st Group Army on the right wing is also
We will invest roughly equal forces and launch an attack from the north. I believe that no matter how many German troops and technical equipment there are in Popkovo, facing our simultaneous attacks from the north and the south, they will only face the fate of failure."
After Rokossovsky finished speaking, Malinin announced the combat order. The three infantry divisions participating in the attack were Chernyshev's 11th Guards Division, Kiriukhin's 324th Infantry Division, and the 324th Infantry Division from
The 97th Infantry Division of the base camp reserve team. After announcing the combat order, the commanders of each division participating in the war raised some problems that they might encounter. Ma Lining, who had done his homework long ago, gave them detailed instructions one by one.
answer.
After the meeting, the other division commanders got up and left the headquarters, but Chernyshev stayed. He took out two documents from his briefcase, handed them to Rokossovsky, and said at the same time:
"Comrade Commander, this is the combat report and commendation application report submitted by Captain Sokov, the commander of the Istria Battalion. Please take a look."
Rokossovsky, who had just stood up, took the documents from Chernyshev's hand, stretched out his hand and made a gesture of invitation: "Comrade General, please sit down, I will take a look at these two documents first."
With that said, he sat back down in his seat and read Sokov's report carefully.
After reading the commendation application report, he handed it to Lobachev and said at the same time: "Comrade Military Commissar, look, this is a commendation application report submitted by Captain Sokov." Then he immersed himself in watching the battle.
Report.
Lobachev quickly read the commendation application report. As soon as Rokossovsky finished reading the combat report, he said: "Comrade Commander, I recommend that the women's anti-aircraft machine gun company be awarded the medal for all soldiers, and this
Sergeant Lida, she can be awarded the Order of the Red Star alone."
Regarding Lobachev's proposal, Rokossovsky immediately nodded in agreement: "Comrade Military Commissar, I agree with your proposal. You know, on the battlefield, facing ferocious enemies, even male soldiers sometimes
They would also appear panicked. But these young female soldiers fought bravely and tenaciously with the enemy and annihilated them all, which is very remarkable. In addition to conferring medals on them, I also recommend that they be promoted to Lida
Sergeant is the rank of second lieutenant."
"I agree!" Lobachev nodded vigorously and said, "Comrade Commander, I will draft an order right away."
After Lobachev stood up and left, Rokossovsky handed the battle report back to Chernyshev and said to him with a serious expression: "Captain Sokov's report stated that the troops had
The reduction in personnel has reached 40%, and I hope that the superiors will replenish the troops, as well as the weapons and ammunition consumed. Comrade Chernyshev, please tell him that I can agree to the commendation of the female soldier company; but the replenishment of troops, weapons and ammunition,
I can't do it, let him figure it out on his own."
"What, let him find a solution by himself?" Chernyshov heard what Rokossovsky said, and immediately turned into a frown: "Comrade Commander, this may be difficult to do."
"General Chernyshov," Rokossovsky said helplessly: "Currently, there are huge shortages of soldiers in each division, and the superiors have not given us more replacements. Where can I find people to fill Soko's army now?"
Husband, please add more? Another point, you must not forget that the Istrian battalion is fully equipped with German equipment, and the logistics department cannot replenish ammunition for them. Before the battalion completes the collective reloading, the ammunition required is only
They can rely on their own abilities to solve the problem."
