Sokov originally wanted to reject Tsvetayev's proposal. After all, the river here is wide and there are no bridges. It is easy for artillery to cross the river. But if he wants to come back, it may not be that easy: "Comrade General, the Uzbekistan in front of us is
There are no bridges on the De River. If after all the effort to transport the artillery to the other side of the river, the enemy counterattacks us and our troops cannot stop them, wouldn't it be equivalent to giving the artillery to the enemy in vain?
"
Listening to what Sokov said, Tsvetayev felt that it made some sense. After all, there was no bridge on the river, and he could only rely on Colonel Yakov's hovercraft to transport them to the other side one by one. Once the people on the east bank landed on the
When the defenders cannot stop the enemy's attack, these artillery pieces will not have time to transport them back, and they will all fall into the hands of the Germans.
"You are right, General Sokov." Tsvetayev said with a wry smile: "I thought of the problem too simply..."
"Wait a minute, Comrade General." A bold idea suddenly came to Sokov's mind, and he said to Tsvetayev: "I suddenly have a new idea. Maybe we can move the artillery to the river.
The landing site on the other side.”
"But, but..." Tsvetayev was confused by Sokov's words. He asked in confusion: "Didn't you just say that it is easy for artillery to cross the river, but it is very difficult to come back again."
"Yes, I did say this." Sokov did not deny what he had said, "but now I have a bold idea to use artillery units to attract the attention of the Germans."
Seeing Tsvetayev's confused look, Sokov continued: "Didn't Marshal Zhukov order us to find a way to rush into the city before dark? I have decided to complete this task on the right wing landing site, and on the left wing
Troops at the landing site consolidate the existing area.
In order to give the enemy a false impression, I think we can use a hovercraft to transport an artillery regiment across the river, making the enemy think that we are preparing to strengthen the attack firepower at the left landing site, so as to achieve the purpose of rushing into the city as soon as possible. In this way, they will concentrate their forces on us
The left wing, while the right wing will inevitably become empty, and our assault troops at the landing site on the right wing will be able to tear open the enemy's defense line and smoothly rush into the city."
"I'm afraid the enemy won't pay much attention to Sokov's plan just by moving artillery to the east coast." After thinking about Sokov's plan for a while, Tsvetayev put forward his own opinion: "I think we can also concentrate on the two aviation
The division's strength was used to carry out fierce bombing on the German positions in front of the left-wing troops, making the enemy mistakenly think that we would use this as a breakthrough, and they would inevitably mobilize forces from other directions to block the advancement of our left-wing troops."
After listening to Tsvetayev's proposal, Sokov couldn't help but secretly sigh: Old ginger is still hotter. If Tsvetayev's proposal is followed, the two aviation divisions that provide air cover will attack the German positions.
By carrying out intensive bombing, I am afraid that the Germans will wishfully believe that their troops will choose that direction to break through.
"Okay, Comrade General." Sokov nodded and said, "I agree with your opinion. We should gather the planes of the two aviation divisions and carry out violent bombing on the German positions in front of the left wing troops, causing a heavy blow to the enemy.
There is an illusion that we will put the breakthrough there."
The troops responsible for providing air cover for the right-wing landing site were from the Steppe Front. If they wanted to change the direction of the attack, they would naturally need to consult with Konev.
When Sokov got through to the front army headquarters, the person who answered the phone was Zakharov. After he recognized Sokov's voice, he quickly lowered his voice and asked Sokov: "Comrade Sokov, about Kharkov
Have you heard about that?"
When Sokov heard this question, he was stunned for a moment. Then he realized that Zakharov was asking about the bearded man reporting wrong intelligence to military attachés from various countries. He nodded quickly. After nodding, he remembered that he was on the phone.
, the other party could not see his actions, and quickly added: "Yes, Comrade Chief of Staff of the Front Army, I have obtained this news from Marshal Zhukov."
"Comrade Sokov," the receiver was silent for a while before Zakharov's voice came out again: "Now that your troops are closest to Kharkov, I wonder if they can enter the city before dark?"
"Comrade Chief of Staff of the Front Army," the situation on the battlefield is changing rapidly. Sokov has no confidence in answering Zakharov's question and can only say vaguely: "We will do our best."
At this time, Sokov suddenly heard someone talking quietly inside: "Chief of Staff, who called?"
"It's Comrade Sokov."
"Give me the phone. I want to talk to him."
A moment later, Konev's voice came from the receiver: "Is it Comrade Sokov? I'm Konev!"
"Hello, Comrade Commander of the Front Army."
"You must be very aware of the current situation." Konev did not beat around the bush and asked straight to the point: "Tell me truthfully, can your troops rush into the city before dark?"
Regarding the question raised by Konev, Sokov dared not answer casually whether he could or could not. He could only say euphemistically: "Comrade Commander of the Front Army, we are making preparations for the attack. I believe there is a high chance that we can do it in the sky."
Heiqian rushed into the city."
Sokov said it tactfully, but to Konev's ears, it meant something else: "We will definitely be able to rush into the city first before dark." The reason why he thought so was entirely wishful thinking.
Because the performance of Sokov's troops on the battlefield has always been very eye-catching.
Konev laughed cheerfully, and then asked Sokov: "Comrade Sokov, if there is anything we can do to help you achieve this task, please feel free to ask."
"That's right, I'm calling you to ask you to ask the aviation division supporting us to change the direction of attack."
"Change the direction of attack?" Konev asked in surprise: "Where do you plan to change it?"
"The troops currently receiving air cover from the aviation division are the troops at the landing site on our right wing." Sokov said into the microphone: "I would like to ask you to ask the aviation division to support the troops at the landing site on the left wing and bomb the German positions in front of them.
"
"Oh, isn't there an aviation division sent by the Voronezh Front?" Konev said puzzledly: "Isn't it enough for one aviation division to cover one of your combat directions?"
"No, Comrade Commander of the Front Army, the situation is not what you imagined." Sokov quickly explained: "I plan to use the power of two aviation divisions to carry out indiscriminate bombing of the German positions in front of the left landing site, inflicting heavy damage to the enemy.
It creates an illusion and makes them think that we will choose that place as a breakthrough point."
"Comrade Sokov, if I remember correctly, according to the results you reported, the troops at the left wing landing site are now less than one kilometer away from the main highway in Kharkov. As long as a powerful offensive is launched, it will be enough to break through the enemy.
defense, why would you consider abandoning that direction?"
"There are many reasons, Comrade Commander of the Front Army." Sokov said: "First, there are too few troops at the left landing site. After they occupy a vast area, they have to allocate a lot of troops for defense, which leads to participation in the offensive.
The number of personnel has been greatly reduced. In this case, even if we are close to the city, it is very difficult to completely break through the enemy's defense line."
"Since you don't intend to break through from the left wing, why do you mobilize the power of two aviation divisions to bombard the enemy's defensive positions?"
"The reason is very simple. When the enemy sees that we have dispatched so many aircraft, they will definitely fall into the trap and think that we have chosen that direction for the breakthrough. In order to block our attack, they will definitely allocate forces to strengthen the defense there, and the right wing
The defensive strength will inevitably weaken."
"You make sense." Konev is also a smart man. When he heard this, he understood Sokov's intention to do this, which was to divert the attention of the German army so that the right wing troops would not be distracted when they carried out the assault.
He encountered too fierce resistance. However, he was still worried about whether the enemy would fall into the trap: "But, will the enemy fall into the trap?"
"In addition to mobilizing fighter planes from two aviation divisions to bomb enemy positions, we have also taken other measures." In order to dispel Konev's concerns, Sokov took the initiative and said: "I just ordered a hovercraft to launch an artillery regiment.
Encountering the east bank of the Oude River, this can create further illusions for the Germans, thinking that the troops at the left landing site will break through their defense lines."
"It seems that you have considered all the issues that should be considered. Not bad." After listening to Sokov's words, Konev praised him and finally said: "I will contact the Air Force immediately and ask them to change it."
The direction of attack will make the enemy think that the left wing is the direction of our attack."
Since cooperating with Sokov's troops to invade Kharkov was the top priority at the moment, before Konev could put down the phone, Zakharov picked up the phone next to him and informed the air force commander to send out
The aviation division changed the direction of the attack in order to confuse the enemy.
With the help of hovercraft, the artillery of the Soviet artillery regiment was transported across the Oude River one after another, and new artillery positions were established at suitable locations. This situation was quickly reported to the German scouts in a timely manner
to their superiors.
Those who were in direct contact with Sokov's troops were the officers and soldiers of the 42nd Army. They saw that the Soviet army not only intensified their bombing, but also established artillery positions on the east bank. No matter how they looked at it, they looked like they were going to launch a massive attack.
Somewhat panicked, he quickly reported this information to Commander Weller of the 8th Group Army.
After receiving the report, Weller said to his Chief of Staff: "Chief of Staff, what do you think? I said it right, right? The right-wing bridgehead established by the Russians on the east bank of the Oude River is their main offensive starting position. Now blocking
The position in front of them is being brutally bombed by the Russians. Moreover, the Russians are also seizing the time to build artillery positions by the river. Presumably their artillery shells will fall on our defense line."
Although it was not hot in the headquarters, after hearing what Weller said, the Chief of Staff raised his hand to wipe the cold sweat from his forehead and replied with some embarrassment: "Your Excellency, Commander, your analysis is accurate. The Russians really learned from me."
The army's right wing launched an attack, and their attack on the left wing was nothing more than a diversionary action."
Seeing that the chief of staff finally reached a consensus with himself, Weller nodded with satisfaction and continued: "Immediately transfer troops from our left wing to strengthen the 42nd Army. They must hold their position and the Russians must not be allowed to rush into the city.
.”
"But, Your Excellency, Commander." But when the Chief of Staff heard that Weiler planned to transfer troops from the left wing to reinforce the bombed right wing, he said with some hesitation: "To transfer troops from the left wing to reinforce the 42nd Army, the defense of the left wing
Isn’t the strength weak?”
"Don't worry, my chief of staff." Weller said triumphantly: "The Russians on the left no longer have the strength to continue the attack. You can safely and boldly mobilize your troops."
Seeing that Weller was so confident and unable to refute him, the chief of staff called Wilhelm Stemermann of the 11th Army: "General William, I am the chief of staff of the group army. I am conveying the commander's order to you now: Immediately
Deploy a division of troops and rush to the right flank to support the 42nd Army. The situation there is very bad."
But after hearing this, William Stemmermann said hesitantly: "Chief of Staff, the situation on the right wing is not good, and we are not much better here. If I transfer troops to the right wing, the Russians suddenly attack me.
Attack, how should I deal with it?"
"General William Stemmermann," the chief of staff said with a smile after hearing the question raised by William Stemmermann: "Based on my experience in fighting with the Russians, they do not have the strength to launch attacks in two directions at the same time.
Attack. Since they choose to attack on the right wing, the troops on the left wing will not make any movements, so you can rest assured."
Since it was Weller's order, although William Stemmermann was dissatisfied, he did not dare to object casually. He could only call the commander of the 198th Infantry Division. Tomorrow he would immediately lead his troops to the right wing to reinforce the enemy.
The attacking 42nd Army.
The scouts lurking near the German positions discovered that the enemy was mobilizing troops, and immediately reported to the Army Intelligence Division by telegram. The director of the Intelligence Division who received the report came to the headquarters and reported to Sameko: "Comrade Chief of Staff, we
I just received a telegram from the scouts and it seems that the enemy is mobilizing troops."
"Mobilize troops?" Sameko grabbed the telegram in the opponent's hand and asked in confusion: "How did the Germans mobilize troops at this time?" After reading it, he couldn't help but be a little surprised and picked up the phone on the table.
, dialed Sokov's temporary headquarters, and said with some excitement, "Comrade Commander, I want to tell you good news. The Germans have indeed fallen into your trap, and now a unit is coming from the front of the right wing landing site.
Transferred, presumably to your direction to strengthen the defense there."
"This is really great." Even though Sokov said it eloquently in front of Konev and Tsvetaev, he was unsure in his heart. He was deeply afraid that something would happen and everything he had done would be in vain.
After listening to Sameko's report, I couldn't help but feel ecstatic: "Comrade Chief of Staff, since the enemy has mobilized their troops to leave, their defensive strength will inevitably weaken. When the time is right, you will immediately launch an attack.
Be sure to rush into the city before dark."
"Don't worry, Comrade Commander." Samyko expressed his position to Sokov: "Since the enemy's strength has become weaker, we will definitely be able to rush into the city before dark and successfully complete the tasks assigned to us by our superiors.
"
This chapter has been completed!