Rotmistrov was given a precious 24 hours, which he could use to reorganize his troops.
Seeing a series of numbers, Rotmistrov felt as if his heart had been tugged hard by someone. He never dreamed that during the assembly of his troops, they would be attacked by the German army.
bombing and paid such a heavy price.
Although the chief of staff knew that Rotmistrov was in a bad mood, he still summoned up the courage to ask tentatively: "Comrade Commander, I don't know which unit do you plan to take the lead in tomorrow's attack?"
Rotmistrov glanced at his chief of staff, and then said: "I think it is better to let Colonel Bourdeine's 2nd Guards Tank Corps take the lead. Although they paid a lot of effort in today's bombing,
casualties, but the number of tanks currently available to the entire army still exceeds 150."
"Comrade Commander," who knew that after he finished speaking, the Chief of Staff put forward a different opinion: "Colonel Bourdeine's tank corps suffered the greatest losses in today's bombing, which had a negative impact on the morale and morale of the troops.
Adverse effects. Do you think it’s appropriate for them to take the lead?”
"Comrade Chief of Staff, you are right. Colonel Bourdeine's tank corps suffered the heaviest losses in today's bombing." Rotmistrov explained to his Chief of Staff: "Let
They took the lead to give them a chance to take revenge. I believe that the commanders and soldiers of this army are full of hatred for the enemy, and they will definitely be able to display extremely strong combat effectiveness in tomorrow's battle."
While the 5th Guards Tank Army was reorganizing its troops, Sokov, who was dozens of kilometers away, was puzzled. According to his idea, Rotmistrov's troops had already started attacking.
Why hasn't there been any movement yet?
Seeing Sokov's thoughtful look, Tsvetayev asked curiously: "General Sokov, I think you seem to be worried. What are you thinking about?"
"Comrade General," Sokov said, pointing in the direction across the river: "The enemy on the other side has been counterattacking our landing site, and there is no sign of weakening."
"Yes, that's true." Tsvetayev was also deeply touched by Sokov's statement: "I feel that the enemy's counterattack has not only not weakened, but has shown signs of strengthening."
After Sokov waited for the other party to finish speaking, he asked: "Comrade General, please tell me why this is?"
"This shows that the enemy has nothing to worry about and can invest troops in our direction without any scruples."
"You are right, Comrade General." Sokov nodded and said: "Since the enemy has invested more and more troops to counterattack our landing site, it proves that the friendly forces' attack has not contained the enemy's effective strength.
.”
"The friendly forces' attack has no effective force to contain the enemy?" Hearing what Sokov said, Tsvetaev asked in surprise: "General Sokov, what do you mean, I don't quite understand.
?”
"Comrade General, according to the plan, General Rotmistrov's 5th Guards Tank Army will launch an attack on the enemy an hour ago." Sokov said with a wry smile: "However, until now, we have
We have not received any news about this army group, which proves that their attack did not achieve the desired results."
"It makes sense." Tsvetayev very much agreed with Sokov's statement, but he was now affiliated with the Voronezh Front and could not directly obtain information from the Steppe Front. He could only say to Sokov euphemistically: "How about that?"
, you contact General Konev to see if he knows about the situation of the 5th Guards Tank Army?"
Sokov picked up the phone, dialed his own army headquarters, and asked Samyko who answered the phone directly: "Comrade Chief of Staff, do you have any information about the 5th Guards Tank Army?"
Samyko was confused by Sokov's question. After a while, he replied: "Comrade Commander, our location is at least fifty or sixty kilometers away from General Rotmistrov's troops. How is it possible?"
Do you know their situation?”
"Comrade Chief of Staff, since you don't know the situation of the 5th Guards Tank Army, please call General Zakharov, Chief of Staff of the Front Army, to find out about the situation of the Army."
Hearing that Sokov was so eager to learn about the intelligence of the 5th Guards Tank Army, Samyko was very surprised: "Comrade Commander, why are you so anxious to learn about the situation of friendly forces? You know, our combat area is separated from them.
If it is too far away, joint operations will be unlikely."
"You are wrong, Comrade Chief of Staff." Seeing that Samyko did not understand what he meant, Sokov retorted: "They are closely related to our next military operations. If they launch an attack on the enemy, they can contain the German army.
A large number of effective forces will reduce the pressure on our left wing landing site."
"Did something happen at the left landing site?" Sameko, who was in charge of commanding the right landing site, really didn't understand the situation at the left landing site, so he asked tentatively: "Has the enemy launched a counterattack in this area?"
"The enemy's counterattack has not stopped for a moment, but now it seems that their attack intensity is getting stronger and stronger." Sokov said sternly: "So now I need you to verify with the Chief of Staff of the Front Army, Rotmister
Whether General Rove's troops have launched an attack on the enemy and what results they have achieved. Only after understanding the situation of friendly forces can I know what to do next."
Tsvetayev waited for Sokov to put down the phone and asked cautiously: "General Sokov, do you have any ideas?"
"Comrade General," Sokov turned to Tsvetayev and said, "I want to confirm the current situation of the 5th Guards Tank Army before considering the next military action."
"Regardless of whether General Rotmistrov's troops launched an attack on the enemy, I will order the troops at the landing site to attack the enemy."
Tsvetayev frowned: "General Sokov, I don't understand. Since the troops will attack the enemy regardless of whether General Rotmistrov's troops launch an attack, how about calling the front headquarters?"
Phone call, is it still necessary?"
Faced with Tsvetayev's question, Sokov replied: "Comrade General, if General Rotmistrov's troops launch an attack on the enemy, then our troops on the left landing site will attack in time, and
Cooperate with their operations."
"But what if General Rotmistrov's troops did not launch an attack?"
"If General Rotmistrov's troops do not attack the enemy," Sokov continued, "then I will order the two landing sites to attack at the same time to disperse the enemy's forces. Then it will depend on which side the troops are.
I can be the first to break through.”
"Two landing sites launched an attack at the same time?!" Tsvetayev said in surprise: "General Sokov, with your current strength, can you break through the German defense line?"
"It would be very difficult for me to complete such a task if I were the only one in the army." Sokov looked at Tsvetayev and said with a smile: "But now with your help, it's like I have more people out of thin air."
With a few divisions, there won’t be much of a problem if we expand the landing site and break through the enemy’s defense line in this way.”
Tsvetayev carefully considered Sokov's words and felt that this was indeed the case. In order to help Sokov's troops break through the enemy's defense line, he transferred an artillery division, a tank brigade and two troops to the left landing site.
With an artillery division, such a powerful force, coupled with Sokov's infantry division, it is not difficult to consolidate and expand the landing site.
Tsvetayev smiled and shook his head, pointed at Sokov with his finger, and said in a dumbfounded voice: "General Sokov, why do I feel like I have been on a pirate ship? Yes, it was you who were in Ude
A left-wing landing site has been established on the east bank of the river, but now my troops have exceeded half."
Seeing that Tsvetayev saw through his little trick, Sokov laughed dryly, and then said: "Comrade General, although you have adjusted the direction of the attack without asking for instructions, I assure you that from here on
If you launch an attack on the enemy, you will definitely achieve huge results."
Regarding Sokov's statement, Tsvetayev did not immediately express his opinion, but asked: "General Sokov, my artillery unit has already arranged the firing positions. I wonder when you plan to let them
How about putting it to use?"
"Don't be anxious, Comrade General." The two artillery divisions provided by Tsvetayev were Sokov's secret weapons. How could he reveal his trump card before the attack started? He quickly replied: "Wait until we
Before the attack begins, the artillery can be put to use."
"Can it be put to use before the attack?" Tsvetayev repeated Sokov's words and asked in surprise: "General Sokov, didn't you say that soon after the artillery preparations before the attack started, the enemy
We retreated to the rear positions through the communication trenches. Isn't our shelling just a position without many enemies?"
"Comrade General," Sokov replied with a smile: "If the artillery only bombards the enemy's positions before the attack begins, the results achieved will indeed be very limited. But if our artillery bombards the enemy when they launch an attack,
There was a sudden artillery attack, and while they were fleeing, our tanks led the infantry to charge."
"Why do you do this?" Tsvetayev asked in confusion.
"It's very simple. The enemy launched many attacks on our landing site, but our artillery never fired." Sokov explained: "This gave the enemy the illusion that we had no artillery at all. This way
They will let down their guard when attacking.
When we launched a sudden artillery attack on them, the enemy would instantly become confused. While the enemy was fleeing, we launched a decisive attack and followed the enemy in pursuit. The German troops who were holding on to the defense line saw our troops rushing over with their own troops. In order to prevent
In case of accidental damage, they dare not fire at will, and even if they fire, such resistance is negligible."
"So that's it!" Tsvetayev couldn't help but shine when he heard this: "As long as our army follows the fleeing enemy and attacks the enemy's defense line, the enemy staying in the fortifications must
If we don't dare to fire casually, we can easily break through the enemy's defense line."
Samyko's call came back, and he said in a serious tone: "Comrade Commander, I just asked General Zakharov. General Rotmistrov's troops have not launched an attack yet?
"
Sokov asked in confusion: "Why? According to the plan, shouldn't they have attacked the enemy long ago?"
"Something happened, Comrade Commander." Samyko reported to Sokov in a low voice: "When the 5th Guards Tank Army was gathering in various villages, it was accidentally bombed by enemy planes, and the troops suffered heavy losses. It turns out that
The scheduled attack time had to be postponed by 24 hours."
"I understand, Comrade Chief of Staff." After expressing his gratitude to Samyko, Sokov asked: "How are the troops at the right landing site? Are they ready to attack?"
Samyko was once again stunned by Sokov's statement. He looked at Sokov and asked: "Comrade Commander, do you plan to let the troops on the right wing also attack the enemy?"
"That's right, that's what I thought about." Seeing that Samyko understood his intention, Sokov nodded and said: "The two landing sites on the left and right launched attacks on the enemy at the same time. While dividing the enemy's forces, they tried to find a way to break through.
their defense."
Knowing that he was about to launch an attack on the German army, Sameko hurriedly asked: "Can our artillery be used?"
"Of course it can be used." Sokov replied simply: "Use artillery fire to eliminate some of the enemy's effective forces first, and then the rest of the battle will be easier to fight."
"However, we do not have the coordinates of the enemy's positions. It may be difficult to use artillery to inflict heavy damage on them."
"Comrade Chief of Staff, our artillery does not bombard the enemy's positions." Sokov repeated what he had just said to Tsvetayev to Samyko, and finally emphasized: "As soon as the enemy's retreat begins,
Our commanders and fighters are about to launch an attack and must chase the enemy into their positions."
After Samek learned about Sokov's combat plan, he continued to ask: "Then when will we launch the attack?"
As the commander of the 27th Group Army, Sokov naturally knew the situation of his troops well. He asked into the microphone: "Is two hours enough?"
"That's enough, Comrade Commander." Sameko pondered for a moment, then replied decisively: "Within two hours, all offensive troops can enter the landing field on the right wing and prepare for the attack."
After Samyko said this, he remembered that there was only one infantry division in Sokov, so he asked cautiously: "Your troops there are too weak. Do you need me to add more troops to you?"
"There is no need." Sokov rejected Samyko's kindness and said to him: "In the landing field on the left wing, in addition to Major General Gritsenko's 384th Infantry Division, there are also General Tsvetaev's troops.
, including tank brigades and artillery divisions. With our current strength, there should not be much problem in breaking through the enemy's defense line."
