After Samyko ordered the operator to send the report and returned to the table, Sokov looked into the hall and asked tentatively: "Where are the cultural relic experts from Moscow?"
"I went to rest with General Chistyakov." Samyko explained to Sokov: "It was too late, and the experts traveled all night and were very tired."
"General Chistyakov?" Sokov asked with some surprise after waiting for Samyko to finish: "Isn't he the commander of the 6th Guards Army? Why did his superiors let him come with cultural relic experts?"
"Comrade Commander, you don't know something." Before Samyko could answer, Lunev rushed to answer: "General Chistyakov no longer holds the position of commander of the 6th Guards Army.
"
Hearing what Luniev said, Sokov couldn't help but raise his eyebrows and asked tentatively: "Did he make any mistakes and be dismissed by his superiors?"
Lunev quickly waved his hands to stop Sokov from continuing: "Comrade Commander, you can't say that. General Chistyakov does not assume the position of commander because his superiors have a new appointment for him. You may also
You don’t know, but he is now the representative of the base camp sent to our front army.”
"Oh, that's what happened." After a few casual remarks, Sokov changed the topic to the current war: "By the way, how is the progress of General Gritsenko's troops now?"
"It's going very smoothly." When Sokov asked about the results achieved by the 384th Division, the gloom on Sameko's face was swept away. He said with excitement: "Maybe it was our attack in the direction of the bridge that successfully succeeded.
Attracting the enemy's attention, they never imagined that we would unexpectedly carry out a forcible crossing in the widest section of the Oude River. When the leading troops of the 384th Division rushed into the enemy's defense line on hovercrafts, the enemy had not returned at all.
god.
According to General Gritsenko's report, the division now has two regiments of troops, successfully crossed the Oud River, and established a landing site three kilometers wide and two kilometers deep on the east bank."
Sokov was very satisfied with the results achieved by the 384th Division. He nodded and said: "General Gritsenko did a good job. We now have two landing sites on the east bank of the Oude River. If the Germans want to remove these
Bringing two nails into their defense zone is not an easy task."
"Comrade Commander, no matter what, the enemy's strength is still much stronger than ours." Sameko said worriedly: "Once their offensive forces attack, I'm worried that our landing site may be lost."
"Comrade Chief of Staff, what's wrong with you? You have so little confidence in our commanders and fighters?" Lunev retorted: "Don't you know that since the commander came to the 27th Army, our record against the Germans has...
Always maintain an undefeated record?”
"Comrade Military Commissar, I am the chief of staff of the group army. I naturally know the situation of the army very well." Samyko replied with a grimace: "But now the main force of the front army and the troops of the Voronezh front army are still far away from us. Now
We are going deep alone. If Manstein is determined to concentrate the superior forces in the city to attack us, whether he can hold the landing site is still a question."
"Comrade Chief of Staff, you don't have to worry about this." Sokov comforted Samyko and said: "In any case, it is no longer the early stage of the outbreak of the Great Patriotic War. The strength of our air force, artillery and tank troops are not as good as those of the enemy.
In comparison, we even have an absolute advantage in some areas. If the enemy really wants to attack our army's landing site after dawn, we can ask the front army headquarters for help and request the dispatch of the air force to attack the enemy on the ground."
Sokov sneered and said in a contemptuous tone: "No matter how many troops and equipment the German army has, once our air force is deployed, the enemy who has lost air superiority can only become a target for attack aircraft and bombers."
"Did you report the news about our establishment of a second landing site to your superiors?"
"Not yet." Samyko shook his head and said, "I saw that the time was too late, and I was worried about disturbing General Konev's rest, so I planned to wait until dawn before reporting to him."
"Comrade Chief of Staff, the war is fierce now. General Konev is probably so busy that he doesn't even have time to sleep." Although Sokov had some objections to Samyko's approach, he did not criticize him, but directly
He grabbed the high-frequency phone on the table and said, "I'd better report this to him personally."
After getting through to the front army headquarters, the person who answered the phone was Chief of Staff Zakharov: "I am Zakharov, where are you?"
"Comrade Chief of Staff of the Front Army," Sokov waited for Zakharov to finish and said quickly: "I have important information to report. Has the commander taken a rest?"
"General Konev is discussing work with Lieutenant General Fomin, commander of the front artillery." Zakharov knew that Sokov would never call at this time if he had nothing important to do, so he asked tentatively.
: "Comrade Sokov, you called me right now. Did something happen?"
"Yes, Comrade Chief of Staff of the Front Army, I would like to report to you and General Konev: the 384th Infantry Division of our group army has crossed the Oud River and established a three kilometers wide and two deep
kilometers of landing ground.”
"Oh, you have established a new landing site on the east bank of the Ude River." Zakharov answered the phone and looked down at the map spread out on the table to find the location of the new landing site. He said excitedly: "
Well done, Comrade Sokov. In this way, you can charge into Kharkov from any point..."
Before Zakharov could finish speaking, Konev, who was discussing work with Lieutenant General Fomin, interrupted him: "Comrade Chief of Staff, whose phone number is it?"
Zakharov excitedly reported to Konev: "It was a call from Sokov, commander of the 27th Army Group, and his troops once again established a new landing site on the east coast."
"It's great that a new landing site has been established." Konev took the phone from Zakharov's hand, put it to his ear and asked: "Comrade Sokov? This is Konev. You
Did our troops really establish a new landing site on the east coast?"
"Yes, Comrade Commander of the Front Army." Sokov heard that Konev was asking the question, and quickly reported the results of the 384th Division to Konev in detail. Finally, he said: "Our army is here
Two landing sites have been established on the east coast. After dawn, the Germans will definitely launch a counterattack. At that time, I hope you can send the air force to bomb the enemies attacking on the ground."
"Don't worry, Comrade Sokov." After listening to this, Konev said with a smile: "I told you last time that we must find ways to attract the enemy out of the city and engage in field battles with them. Now
You have established two landing sites on the east bank of the Oud River, and you will definitely encounter a large-scale counterattack by the enemy. We can use this opportunity to kill the enemy's effective forces on a large scale and weaken their defense force."
After Konev and Sokov chatted for a while, he asked casually: "By the way, Comrade Sokov, I heard from Marshal Zhukov that you took over the 300th Infantry Division under the 5th Assault Army and appointed your own
A subordinate has taken over the position of the division commander, is that true?"
"Yes, this is indeed what happened." Sokov was worried that Zhukov had not clearly explained the cause and effect of the matter to Konev. In order to avoid misunderstandings, he explained to him: "The commander of the front army, the 300th Division and
After the 37th Tank Brigade captured the Feski collective farm, they discovered a huge underground wine cellar containing a large amount of vodka. The two commanders actually allowed their men to drink alcohol. After my reconnaissance team arrived in the area, they only
I saw people all over the floor sleeping and drunk, and no one could stand.
After I learned the news, I was worried that they were in danger, so I quickly sent troops to the area to strengthen the defense there, and decisively ordered people to take over the duties of the two commanders."
When Konev received a call from Zhukov, the other party only told him that Sokov had taken over an infantry division and a tank brigade at the Fisky collective farm. But Zhukov did not say why he took over these two units.
After hearing this, Konev was still muttering in his heart, feeling that Sokov was too audacious. Relying on his close relationship with Zhukov, he dared to blatantly take over friendly troops.
But after listening to Sokov's explanation, he realized that his original view was wrong and said quickly: "Comrade Sokov, you are right. We cannot tolerate such commanders and should punish them severely."
After a short pause, he continued to ask: "How do you plan to use these two troops in the next battle?"
"Comrade Commander of the Front Army, they have already launched an attack on the German army at this moment."
"An attack on the German army?" Konev asked with a surprised look on his face: "Where should we attack the enemy?"
"Just west of the Fischi collective farm, a German army has built fortifications on the high ground. After our reconnaissance, we found out that this enemy force belongs to the Viking division."
"What, the troops of the Viking Division?" As a front commander, Konev naturally has more ways to obtain information than Sokov. He certainly understands the strength of the Viking Division. He asked solemnly: "The 300th Division
Are you currently launching an attack on the Viking Division's troops?"
"Yes."
"How is it going?"
Sokov did not answer immediately. He turned to look at Samyko and asked the other party if he had received a call back. Seeing that the other party smiled bitterly and shook his head, he continued to talk to the microphone: "Comrade Commander of the Front Army, now the 300th Division has successfully
We have occupied the position halfway up the mountain and are competing with the enemy for the position on the top of the mountain."
"Comrade Sokov," Konev asked seriously, "are they capable of seizing the position from the Viking division?"
"Comrade Commander of the Front Army," Sokov said sternly: "After I have taken care of the affairs here at the headquarters, I will immediately return to the Fisky collective farm and direct the battle there. I believe that we will be able to capture the high ground before dawn.
"
"What else are you doing at the headquarters?"
"Several cultural relic experts came from Moscow and planned to receive the batch of cultural relics we intercepted." Sokov was worried that Konev did not know about this, and specifically reminded: "It was the representative of the base camp, General Chistyakov, who brought them here.
of."
After Sokov's reminder, Konev immediately remembered that General Chistyakov, the representative of the base camp, did indeed bring a group of cultural relic experts to Sokov's army. He thought for a moment, and then said to Sokov
: "Comrade Sokov, you can leave the handover of cultural relics to your deputy. You must return to the Fisky collective farm immediately and command the troops to attack the highlands. You must capture the highlands before dawn. What?
So, do you have confidence?"
Since Konev's words were of such significance, Sokov could not say no, and quickly replied: "Don't worry, comrade commander, I will rush back to the Fisky collective farm immediately and personally command the troops to seize the high ground."
After Sokov put down the phone, he said to Samyko: "Comrade Chief of Staff, call Major Guchakov and order him to immediately assemble the second battalion, artillery company, and machine gun company."
When Samyko heard Sokov's order, he couldn't help showing an expression of astonishment on his face: "Comrade Commander, if the 73rd Infantry Brigade withdraws its troops and leaves again, Dergach's defense force will become even weaker.
.If the enemy comes for a sneak attack, I cannot guarantee that the remaining troops can defend the city."
"Major Guchakov's infantry brigade has a total of four battalions, with machine gun companies, artillery companies, and some directly affiliated troops." Sokov said facing Samyko: "Although I will take the second battalion and the machine gun company
, the artillery company has been transferred, but even if the enemy launches a sneak attack, the remaining troops in the city, plus the temporarily formed militia, can completely block the enemy for a few hours, and then our reinforcements will arrive to support."
When Samyko called Guchakov to give orders, the director of the communications corps personally came over with a telegram and reported to Sokov: "Comrade Commander, this is a telegram from the 384th Division."
Sokov took the telegram and saw that there was quite a lot on it. He waved his hand to the director of the communications corps, indicating that he could leave, and then he picked up the telegram and looked at the contents carefully.
It turned out that the battle that took place on the high ground was indeed what Narva reported. The troops were about to occupy all the positions, but unexpectedly they were suddenly attacked by enemy artillery fire. The commanders and soldiers who were engaging in hand-to-hand combat and close combat with the enemy were suddenly attacked by the enemy.
Nearly half of the casualties were caused by the shelling. After the shelling, the German troops who came for reinforcements drove the remaining Soviet commanders and fighters down from the top of the mountain.
The unwilling Weisbach was unwilling to see the easy victory slip away in vain, so he once again prevented the troops from launching a new attack. But regrettably, the three consecutive charges launched by the troops ended in
It ended in failure. So far, the number of casualties among the troops has exceeded 1,500.
When Sokov was reading the telegram, Runev, who was eager to know the situation of the battle, also came over. He stood beside Sokov and tilted his head to read the contents of the telegram. After seeing the number of casualties in the troops, he couldn't help but said in surprise
: "Oh my god, the total number of troops participating in the attack was only 3,000. Now, in order to seize a small mountaintop position, the casualties of the commanders and soldiers exceeded half. How was this Weisbach battle fought?"
"I think there is something wrong with the tactics." After Sokov handed the telegram to Lunev, he said to him: "Comrade Military Commissar, you and the Chief of Staff are responsible for handing over cultural relics. I will wait for the infantry brigade to
After the second battalion, the machine gun company, and the artillery company were assembled, they rushed to the Feski collective farm as quickly as possible, hoping to seize the hilltop position from the Viking division before dawn."
This chapter has been completed!