Manstein knew very well that once the Soviet army established a second landing site on the right bank of the Dnieper River, it would bring a fatal blow to the Dnieper River defense line he had established. In order to avoid this worst situation, he
It was decided to use all means to prevent the 7th Guards Army from crossing the river.
When he learned that the bomber formation that was going to bomb the pontoon had failed, Manstein couldn't help but became angry. He quickly called the commander of the air force and ordered him to dispatch more bombers, escorted by fighter jets, to bomb the pontoon bridge on the Dnieper River.
In order to protect the safety of the pontoon, Goryunov dispatched General Podgorny's 4th Fighter Aviation Corps. Hundreds of fighter planes launched a melee above the Dnieper River with invading German bombers.
During the several-hour battle for air supremacy, fighter planes from both sides were constantly hit, either exploding in the air or dragging long black smoke ribbons and falling into the river or nearby open land, making earth-shattering explosions.
The pontoon bridge on the Dnieper River was unfortunately broken once during a German bombing. Fortunately, the director of the engineering corps, Pulyaskin, organized emergency repairs and repaired the bridge in the shortest time, allowing the main force to cross the river.
It won't be interrupted.
The air battle lasted until three o'clock in the afternoon. Seeing that the German Air Force commander could not complete the mission assigned by Manstein, he ordered the participating bombers and fighter planes to withdraw from the battle. In this air battle, the German army lost 15 fighter planes and 32 bombers.
It ended with the achievement of shooting down 49 Soviet fighter planes.
Although the Soviet fighter losses were greater than those of the Germans, they successfully defended the pontoon bridge on the Dnieper River, allowing the entire 111th Guards Division and a regiment of the 72nd Guards Division to successfully pass through the pontoon bridge and arrive at
On the right bank of the Dnieper River, a landing site belonging to them began to be established.
Shumilov, who was commanding the battle on the left bank, learned that he had a complete Guards Division and part of another Guards Division that had completed crossing the river, and began to consider the issue of establishing a landing site.
He stood in front of the table, with his hands on the edge of the table, leaning forward slightly, staring at the map for a while, then raised his head and said to his chief of staff: "Comrade Chief of Staff, now we have the 15th and 111th Guards on the right bank.
division, and part of the 72nd Guards Division, right?"
"Yes, Comrade Commander." The chief of staff nodded, affirming Shumilov's statement, and then asked: "Do you mean to prepare to officially start building the landing site?"
"Yes, that's what I think." Shumilov said in a positive tone: "According to the deployment of superiors, the area on the other side should be the area where we build the landing site, but the troops stationed there now,
But it is Sokov's 27th Army. If we cannot take over the defense from them as soon as possible, I am afraid we will become the laughing stock of others in the future."
After listening to Shumilov's statement, the chief of staff thought for a long time and said hesitantly: "Comrade Commander, since you said those places are the defense areas of the 27th Group Army, do you think General Sokov will take the initiative to move their defense areas
, transfer it to us?”
"Comrade Chief of Staff, you don't understand General Sokov." Shumilov smiled at the Chief of Staff's statement, and then said to him: "He is a commander who has a great overall view. If I
If we make a request to him, he will definitely order the troops to hand over the existing area to us."
Although he said this, the chief of staff was still uneasy. He felt that if he came to negotiate with the 27th Army, he might be rejected outright, so he tactfully said to Shumilov: "Comrade Commander, I think it is better for the 27th Army to negotiate with him."
If you come forward and communicate with the 27th Army, the effect may be best."
It didn't matter to Shumilov whether he communicated with Sokov or whether the chief of staff came forward. Since the chief of staff took the initiative to bring up the matter, he also guessed the other party's difficulty, so he nodded with a smile and said: "Okay.
, Comrade Chief of Staff, then let me call General Sokov and convey our intentions to him."
After speaking, Shumilov asked the director of the communications corps to help him contact Sokov. He planned to personally discuss the specific matters of handing over defense with Sokov.
At this moment, Sokov was listening to Fomenko's report: "Comrade Commander, the Rusov Regiment that stood firm in Jinji Town has successfully repelled eleven German charges, and the casualties of the troops were considerable. And Ko
Colonel Ida's 562nd Regiment is the closest to them, do you think we should send them to reinforce them?"
"General Fomenko," Sokov felt very heavy when he learned that the Rusov regiment had suffered a lot of casualties under the enemy's fierce attack. However, the troops of the 7th Guards Army were gradually crossing the river. If at this moment
Sending Majevo's 562nd Regiment for reinforcements will inevitably cause unnecessary chaos when friendly forces come to take over the defense. It is precisely because of this consideration that Sokov simply rejected the other party's request: "Majevo
Lieutenant Colonel Waugh's 562nd Regiment cannot be used, so you can only call Colonel Rusov back and ask him to continue to hold on. Reinforcements will arrive soon."
"Reinforcements, where did the reinforcements come from?" Fomenko asked in confusion: "Since the 562nd Regiment closest to them cannot be used, where did the reinforcements come from?"
"Except Lieutenant Colonel Majevo's 562nd Regiment, are there no other reinforcements?" Sokov said: "General Fomenko, don't forget that General Shumilov's troops are crossing the river one after another. When they
After his troops reach a certain proportion on the right bank, even if I don't tell him, he will offer to take over our defense area. In this way, new troops will replace Colonel Russov and hold on to Jinji Town."
"But, can they make it in time?"
"It should be in time." Sokov said in an uncertain tone.
As soon as he finished speaking, he heard the radio operator speak: "Comrade Commander, General Shumilov, Commander of the 7th Guards Army, wants to speak to you."
"You heard it, General Fomenko." Sokov heard the operator said that Shumilov was talking to him, and guessed that it must have something to do with the handover of defense, so he stood up and patted Fomenko on the arm, smiling.
Said: "If I guessed correctly, General Shumilov should have come to talk to me about the defense zone."
After putting on the headphones, Sokov said into the microphone: "Hello, General Shumilov, I am Sokov."
"Hello, General Sokov." Shumilov's voice came from the earphones. He said with a smile: "If I contact you at this time, it will not affect your command of the operation, right?"
"No, no." Although Sokov had just vowed to tell Fomenko that Shumilov's troops would soon take over the defense of those warring areas, but whether the next situation will go according to his analysis remains to be seen.
Kokov was still unsure. He was eager to understand Shumilov's true intentions, so he asked straight to the point: "What do you want from me?"
"That's it, General Sokov." Shumilov did not talk in circles, but said straightforwardly: "All of my 111th Guards Division and the 222nd Regiment of the 72nd Guards Division have successfully crossed the river.
When we reach the right bank. Together with General Sivarenko's 15th Guards Division, I already have two divisions and one regiment on the right bank. Therefore, I would like to implore you to formally demarcate the area assigned to us by our superiors.
Hand it over to us?”
When Sokov heard what Shumilov said, he couldn't help feeling ecstatic. He knew that his superiors sent him to fight in this area just to cooperate with the 7th Guards Army in crossing the river. After the new landing site was established, his troops would
were transferred to other areas to fight. At this moment, fighting is taking place in the occupied areas. If General Shumilov's troops can take over the defense in time, the casualties of the troops can be effectively reduced.
Hearing that Sokov didn't speak for a long time, Shumilov thought that he was unwilling, and asked with some lack of confidence: "General Sokov, are there any difficulties? If you can't hand over all the positions to us,
You can also hand over part of the area first and wait for the remaining area to be discussed later when the time is right."
"General Shumilov, you misunderstood me." Seeing that the other party had misunderstood, Sokov quickly explained: "I can follow the orders of my superiors and hand over the designated combat areas to you. But..."
"But what?"
"The troops stationed in Jinji Town are fighting the enemy." Sokov said: "They have repelled 11 German charges, and the troops have suffered a lot of casualties. I don't know how many troops you plan to send to this town to receive our troops.
defense?"
The town of Kinki was simply a shame for Shumilov. A regiment of the 15th Guards Division held on here. As a result, the battle only lasted a few hours before the town was occupied by the Germans, and the people in the town
The defenders were almost completely wiped out by the Germans. Now that he wanted to take over this area from Sokov's hands, Shumilov felt it was necessary to show some sincerity.
"General Sokov, I plan to send the 222nd Regiment of the 72nd Guards Division to take over the defense." Shumilov said: "The regiment has three infantry battalions, a machine gun company and an artillery company, with a total strength of 1,900 people.
.”
After listening to the data reported by Shumilov, Sokov secretly thought about it. Although the artillery artillery cannot be transported from the left bank temporarily due to the load-bearing capacity of the pontoon bridge, the regiment still has a machine gun battalion.
There is still no big problem in blocking the German attack.
Thinking of this, Sokov nodded and then said: "Okay, General Shumilov, I will immediately notify Colonel Rusov who is stationed in Jinki Town and ask him to be ready to hand over the defense with the 222nd Regiment you sent.
"
Seeing that Sokov agreed to hand over the defense of Kinki Town, Shumilov went on to say: "I plan to let the 111th Guards Division take over the defense of Ratseve Town and nearby ferries, while General Sivarenko's close
The 15th Guards Division will take over the defense of Qijilin City. What do you think?"
When Sokov heard this, he said, well, every inch of the area that his troops finally occupied must be handed over to Shumilov. Although he was a little unwilling to do so, he still said magnanimously: "No problem, Shumilov."
General Milov, I will greet the commanders and soldiers below and ask them to hand over defense to your troops."
"Great, this is really great." Seeing Sokov agreeing to his request, Shumilov couldn't help but be overjoyed: "I will immediately notify the division commanders on the right bank and ask them to take over your defense."
After Sokov ended his call with Shumilov, he turned around and told Fomenko: "General Fomenko, you can send a telegram to Colonel Rusov, saying that the friendly 222nd Guards Regiment is about to take over their defense.
Get them ready to hand over defense."
"Understood, Comrade Commander." When he learned that the 222nd Guards Regiment was about to take over the defense of the Rusov Regiment, the sadness on Fomenko's face was wiped away. As long as friendly forces take over the defense, the Rusov Regiment can preserve more
There are many effective forces. "I immediately informed Colonel Rusuf and asked him to make preparations for handing over defense."
"Also," just when Fomenko turned around and was about to ask his chief of staff to send a telegram to Rusov, he heard Sokov saying again: "Contact Colonel Belgin again and tell the friendly 15th Guards Division
He will take over the city's defense so that he can also be prepared to switch defenses."
"Ah, even Chigilin City will be handed over to friendly forces this time?" Fomenko was surprised by Sokov's words. He asked in surprise: "The occupied area has been handed over to friendly forces, so let's stay here
Where is it?"
"Needless to say, General Fomenko. Since the areas under our control have been handed over to friendly forces unconditionally, there is no point in staying here anymore. The next thing to do is to withdraw to the original landing site and prepare to break through from there.
German defense and expand the area of our landing site."
Fomenko's expression became serious: "Comrade Commander, we now have three infantry divisions and one artillery division. It will probably take two days at the earliest to withdraw them all to the original landing site."
"If we let all the troops complete their assembly before starting to retreat to the old landing site, it will definitely take a lot of time." After thinking for a while, Sokov said to Fomenko: "We will evacuate in batches based on regiments.
Here, retreat to the original landing site."
After explaining Fomenko, Sokov called Koida again and asked: "Colonel Koida, I formally inform you of something. You will immediately hand over all the areas controlled by your division to friendly forces.
111th Guards Division. After completing the handover of defense, you will retreat as a regiment towards the original landing site. Do you understand?"
Koida was surprised after hearing this and asked in surprise: "Comrade Commander, we are fighting well here, why do we have to withdraw to the original landing site?"
"Comrade Colonel," Sokov said briefly to Koida: "General Shumilov called me not long ago, and their troops will take over all the areas under our control. In this way, if we stay here any longer,
It doesn’t make much sense, so we can only choose to withdraw to the original combat area.”
Then, Sokov notified Colonel Terenga, commander of the 1st Artillery Division, and ordered him to withdraw the artillery units from existing artillery positions in regimental units and move them toward the original landing site.
The last person to notify was Major General Gritsenko, commander of the 384th Division.
After the call was connected, Sokov exchanged brief greetings and then asked: "Comrade General, have all your main troops withdrawn from the city?"
"Yes, Comrade Commander, the two infantry regiments have withdrawn from the city." Gritsenko replied loudly: "Now the troops are following your order and taking a short rest."
"Comrade General, I am now officially informing you that your troops will stop resting and reorganizing immediately."
Before Sokov could finish speaking, Gritsenko rushed to ask: "Comrade Commander, let us stop resting immediately. Is there any area where we need reinforcements?"
"You misunderstood, Comrade General." Sokov said: "I am not sending you to the battlefield. On the contrary, I want you to retreat immediately towards the original landing site. When you get there, I will give you at least three
Days to rest and recuperate.”
This chapter has been completed!