When a convoy of more than a dozen jeeps and five trucks appeared in everyone's sight, Gorokhov's eyes widened in surprise: "Oh my God, why are there so many jeeps? Is it possible that General Konev
Come to us in person?"
Smirnov stared at the convoy for a while, shook his head and said: "Comrade Military Commissar, I don't think so. If the commander of the front army is really here, there should be at least a few armored vehicles in the convoy. But look,
They were all jeeps, not even an armored vehicle."
"Who could it be?" Gorokhov said with some dissatisfaction: "This new commander has come to us to take office, and he has to bring so many followers with him. He must be too arrogant."
Soon, the motorcade stopped near the welcoming crowd.
Koshkin, who was sitting in the passenger seat of the second car, waited for the car to stop, immediately opened the door and got out, opened the rear door, then stood straight by the door, waiting quietly for Sokov
come out.
When the car first entered the town, Sokov saw Smirnov and Gorokhov standing at the door of the headquarters. After Koshkin opened the car door, Sokov bent down and got out of the car, sorting out.
He took off his clothes and walked towards where the two of them were.
"General Sokov?" Seeing that the person coming out of the car was actually Sokov, Smirnov was extremely surprised and said: "Why is it you?"
While shaking hands with Smirnov, Sokov smiled and asked: "Chief of Staff Smirnov, why can't it be me?"
"I asked the Chief of Staff of the Front Army two days ago. He said that you have not completed your studies at the Frunze Military Academy. I am afraid it will take a long time before you can return to the front line." Smirnov said with a smile on his face.
He said happily: "I really didn't expect that the new commander would be you. This is really surprising."
"You are right. According to the study plan, I will stay at the Frunze Military Academy for at least half a year. However, because Major General Tarasov was accidentally injured, my superiors made a temporary decision to let me end my studies early and come here to take over.
The position of commander of the 53rd Army Group."
"Hello, General Sokov." Gorokhov stepped forward to shake hands with Sokov, and at the same time nuzzled at the trainees who were lining up after getting off the bus, and asked: "Those commanders followed you from Moscow.
Right?"
"Yes, Comrade Military Commissioner." Sokov nodded and said: "They are all students in the intermediate commander training class of the Frunze Military Academy. They have participated in many battles before enrolling and have rich experience in command and combat.
Experience. This time I brought them here, some of them will stay at the headquarters as staff members, while others will be assigned to the units below to serve as regimental commanders."
At this time, Ponedelin and others also came over. Just when Sokov was about to introduce to Smirnov, he saw a look of astonishment on Smirnov's face: "Oh my God,
General Ponejelin, is it you or your ghost that I see?"
"Hello, General Smirnov." Ponedelin and Smirnov are old acquaintances, and they were promoted to major generals at the same time, but now his military rank is only major, so after saluting him, he said respectfully
Said: "I'm glad to see you here. I will work under your leadership in the future."
"General Sokov, what's going on?" After listening to Ponedelin, Smirnov turned to ask Sokov: "Why is General Ponedelin wearing the rank of major?"
"Comrade Chief of Staff," regarding the issue of Ponedelin, Sokov did not want to discuss it in public, so he said vaguely: "I will tell you about this another time. You first send someone to settle the people behind me."
These students."
Smirnov agreed, called a staff officer, and gave him a few instructions in a low voice. After the staff member left, Smirnov said to Sokov: "Comrade Commander, this is not the place to talk. Let's go first."
Go back to headquarters."
Sokov took Ponedelin and three others into the headquarters, followed by Smirnov and Gorokhov.
"Comrade Chief of Staff," Sokov asked straight to the point as soon as he sat down: "I heard that not long ago, our superiors gave us a large number of additional troops. Is this true?"
"That's right, Comrade Commander." Smirnov nodded and replied affirmatively: "We have indeed added new soldiers to each division of our group army. Today's Guards Division has an establishment of 10,000 people. Ordinary infantry
There are also eight thousand people in the division."
Kirillov behind Sokov whispered: "There are so many people."
"Comrade Major," Smirnov didn't know Kirillov and could only address him by his military rank: "You don't know something. After our army broke through the Dnieper River defense line, it exposed the problem of insufficient manpower.
.To this end, we had to recruit troops locally in Ukraine. The quality of these recruits was extremely poor and their military morale was unstable, so they could only fill up the numbers."
Sokov already knew that these new recruits were of no use. After Smirnov finished speaking, he asked casually: "Comrade Chief of Staff, where do our new recruits come from?"
"Our recruits mainly come from two places." Smirnov said: "One is Klemenkoug, and the other is Kirovgrad, which was just liberated."
Gorokhov added on the sidelines: "What the chief of staff said makes sense. The recruits from these two cities have been under German rule for two years and their sense of identity with us has declined. We still need to spend a certain amount of money."
Time will change him."
It was Gorokhov's job to do ideological work for the soldiers. Sokov did not intend to interfere too much. Instead, he turned around and continued to ask Smirnov: "Comrade Chief of Staff, how is our equipment?"
"Oops, very bad." Smirnov said with a serious expression: "The artillery regiments of each division suffered heavy losses in the early battles. Now each regiment only has four or five artillery pieces. And the situation of the artillery divisions is not optimistic either.
, the entire division now only has three 152mm howitzers, six 105mm howitzers, and five 122mm cannons."
"The strength of the artillery is really too weak." Sokov said with emotion after hearing this: "How can these few artillery pieces defeat the enemy in an artillery battle with the German army?"
"The small number of artillery guns in the artillery is a problem, but what is more serious is the equipment of the infantry." Smirnov continued: "Today each company only has twelve pistols, twenty-five submachine guns and sixty Mosin-Nagant rifles.
.As for the machine guns, each company has a disc-type light machine gun, and each battalion has a heavy machine gun..."
Smirnov's words made Sokov frown more and more. The newly recruited soldiers had poor quality and poor equipment. He had been mentally prepared for a long time. Now he learned about the situation of the troops from Smirnov's mouth, which was better than he imagined.
The pain became more serious, and I felt worried.
"The firepower of the artillery is seriously insufficient, the equipment of the infantry is so poor, and the newly added soldiers have not received special military training." This time it was Muzichenko's turn to say: "Using such a force to compete with the Germans,
It’s like asking them to die.”
Facing the major who suddenly interrupted, Smirnov couldn't help but frown. He felt that the other party was so rude, and he actually interrupted casually while he was talking to Sokov.
Sokov saw Smirnov's dissatisfaction with Muzichenko and quickly explained: "Comrade Chief of Staff, let me introduce to you. This is Major Muzichenko. Take a look at Major Ponedelin.
They are all members of my advisory group.”
Hearing what Sokov said, no matter how dissatisfied Smirnov felt in his heart, he could only bury it in his heart and continue to express his opinion: "According to the analysis of his superiors, once the besieged German army fails to break through in the north of the encirclement, they will
It is possible to change the direction of the breakout, and the area defended by our army group will be their first choice."
Sokov hummed softly and said, "Tell us about our defense situation."
"The group army headquarters is located in Bochapingchi, where our main forces are stationed. The defense direction is to the north." Smirnov pointed to the map and introduced to Sokov: "Our right wing is the 5th Guards Tank Army.
, to the northeast is the 29th Tank Corps. To the west of the headquarters is Highland 239, which is defended by the 41st Guards Division."
"Wait a minute," Sokov felt very cordial when he heard the number of the 41st Guards Division. He quickly interrupted Smirnov and asked impatiently: "It's the Guards who stood guard on Mamayev Hill.
The 41st Division?”
Hearing Sokov's question, Smirnov was stunned for a moment. Then he thought that during the Battle of Stalingrad, it was Sokov who led his troops to defend the Mamayev Heights. He first commanded the 73rd Infantry Brigade, and then the nearby troops.
The 41st Guards Division nodded and said with a smile: "Yes, Comrade Commander, it is the 41st Guards Division that you once commanded. They suffered heavy losses in the Battle of Kharkov and just
After completing the repairs, he was transferred to Highland 239."
Sokov thought to himself, I will go to the 41st Guards Division another day to see if I can meet familiar commanders and fighters. After all, this was the unit he once commanded and has achieved considerable achievements. He nodded and continued.
: "Comrade Chief of Staff, please continue."
"Comrade Commander, look here." Smirnov pointed to the west and north of Hill 239 and continued: "To the west is our 20th Tank Corps, while to the north is the 18th Tank Corps.
area……"
After listening to Smirnov's introduction, Sokov suddenly discovered that the area held by the 41st Guards Division was the most difficult area for the Germans to pass through. In addition to many Soviet defenses along the way, in the northeast of Highland 239
There is also a large swamp, which is very unfavorable for the deployment of German armored forces.
He raised his head and looked at Smirnov and said: "Comrade Chief of Staff, why do I feel that the 41st Guards Division standing on Hill 239 does not have much chance of fighting?"
"You are right, Comrade Commander." Smirnov agreed with Sokov's statement: "If the German Viking Division and the 72nd Infantry Division want to break through southward, they will be attacked along the way.
The 5th Guards Airborne Division and the 29th Tank Corps were completely blocking the attack, and coupled with the swamps, it was very difficult for the enemy to approach Highland 239."
"Since the chance of the Germans approaching Hill 239 is low, we can consider leaving only a small number of troops on guard." Muzichenko expressed his opinion again: "And use the main force to deal with the enemies outside the encirclement."
Sokov stared at the location of Hill 239 and fell into deep thought. Judging from the map, Hill 239 is surrounded by the Ukrainian Great Plains. As long as you occupy the open space, you can use firepower to block a large area, even if the German troops who break through want to bypass it.
Here, there is bound to be a huge price to pay.
"Major Muzichenko," Sokov said, shaking his head: "You must not take any chances on the battlefield. If you feel that it is difficult for the Germans to get close to Hill 239, you will withdraw the main troops on the high ground. If the high ground
The ground is empty. Once the enemy rushes over, how can our small force stop them?"
"However, between the Viking Division and Hill 239, in addition to our troops, there is also a swamp, and the German tanks will certainly not be able to pass through."
"Muzichenko, Comrade Commander is right." Ponedelin stood up and spoke for Sokov at this moment: "If it is summer or March that has just thawed, then the swamp between the two armies is indeed
It’s an insurmountable chasm. But it’s the coldest day right now, and the swamps are already frozen. German tanks and armored vehicles are marching arrogantly along the frozen land toward Hill 239.”
The speaker is unintentional, but the listener is intentional. Ponedelin's words reminded Sokov of a puzzling question. Since it is the coldest season now, the history books say that the German army had difficulty moving because of the muddy roads.
, had to throw away all the heavy equipment and run away, huh?
Seeing Sokov looking thoughtful again, Smirnov couldn't help but ask: "Comrade Commander, what are you thinking about?"
"I was wondering, how do you make the roads muddy?"
Smirnov replied without thinking: "It's very simple, we can bombard the swamp with artillery fire. The high temperature generated by the explosion of the artillery shell will make the frozen soil become muddy."
Smirnov's words woke him up from his dream. Sokov realized that he had got into trouble. He always thought about the impact of weather changes on the road conditions. But he forgot that the high temperature generated by the explosion of artillery shells or aerial bombs was enough to
Turn a piece of frozen land into mud and make it difficult to walk.
But a new problem has arisen. The artillery firepower in the group army is now weak, and the bombardment of the swamp is probably too weak. If the swamp is to become muddy and difficult to walk again, it must be carried out in the shortest possible time.
Replenish the army with enough artillery.
"Comrade Chief of Staff," Sokov decided to find out if he could get supplements from his superiors before asking Yakov for help, so he asked Smirnov: "Do you think your superiors can supplement us with artillery?"
"It's very difficult, Comrade Commander." Smirnov shook his head and sighed: "There are so many troops in the entire front army who need to replenish soldiers and weapons and equipment. Our superiors can replenish us with so many troops.
It is an act of benevolence and righteousness, and I think it is unlikely that they will assist us with weapons."
Now that Smirnov has made it clear that his superiors will no longer replenish weapons and equipment for his troops, Sokov can only ask Yakov for help if he wants to improve the troops' existing backward equipment.
"Comrade Chief of Staff," Sokov asked Smirnov tentatively: "Can the phone here be able to communicate with Moscow?"
"Of course, Comrade Commander." Smirnov said proudly: "We have installed a high-frequency telephone in the headquarters and can communicate with Moscow. Do you want to communicate with Moscow now?"
"That's right." Sokov replied affirmatively: "I plan to ask for help from the Weapons and Equipment Department and ask them to support us with a batch of weapons and equipment as soon as possible to improve the current backward equipment situation."
This chapter has been completed!