According to Konev's plan, at dawn, the troops who followed orders and entered the attack position would launch a general attack on the besieged German troops from more than a dozen areas at the same time.
But what was unexpected was that after dawn, no more than three troops actually went into battle. Because of this, Stemmermann was able to calmly transfer troops in areas that were not attacked to fight in areas with fierce fighting, and cooperate with
The defenders there repelled the Soviet attack.
The battle started at eight o'clock in the morning and lasted until eleven o'clock at noon. All attacks launched by the Soviet army were repulsed without exception. The sluggish troops also changed when they saw that the friendly forces that launched the attack earlier were repelled by the Germans.
They had to cower. For a while, the situation on the battlefield fell into a stalemate.
Seeing this situation, Konev couldn't help but became furious. He was furious on the phone at Lieutenant General Sharoshin, the commander of the 37th Group Army: "General Sharoshin, what did your army do? According to the battle order of the front army, you
The attack should be launched in at least four locations at the same time. But until now, why are you still holding back? Do you want to go to a military court?"
Faced with Konev's accusation, Saroshin on the other end of the phone said with a grimace: "Commander Konev, I also want to follow the orders of my superiors and launch an attack on the enemy's defensive positions. But it can't be done. My troops
They were all recruited before the battle began. The new soldiers were basically recruited from the local area. They had not undergone systematic military training and did not have any combat experience. Therefore, they were forced to brave the severe cold and rush to the designated starting point for the attack overnight.
This is simply an impossible task.”
"Then tell me, when will your troops launch an attack?"
Sarosin thought for a while, and then replied cautiously: "It will take four hours at the earliest."
"What, we have to wait four hours?" If Saroshin appeared in front of Konev at this moment, Konev would definitely grab whatever he could find in front of him and throw it at him: "Wait another four hours, God will
It’s going to be dark. Do you think recruits with no combat experience can still demonstrate their combat effectiveness at night?”
"No." Sarosin replied awkwardly, "But I will shorten the preparation time as soon as possible."
"I'll give you an hour." Konev said in an unquestionable tone: "After one hour, your troops must be at the designated position to attack the Germans, otherwise you will wait to be dismissed." After that,
, without waiting for the other party to speak again, he hung up the phone heavily.
"Comrade Commander," Zakharov came over and said to Konev: "Not only the 37th Group Army, but also several other group armies are in a similar situation. To be honest, although we have an advantage in strength, due to the large number of new recruits,
, with poor equipment, it is indeed very difficult to quickly eliminate the stubborn Germans."
"No matter how difficult it is, we must destroy them." Konev gritted his teeth and said: "In order to destroy the enemy in the Cherkasy salient, we mobilized 1.2 million people from two fronts, and the enemy is fully prepared.
There are only 60,000 or 70,000 people, which is equivalent to 120 people fighting six or seven people. If we cannot win this way, the Supreme Command will definitely be disappointed with us."
As the Chief of Staff of the Front Army, Zaharov knew very well that once the Supreme Commander himself knew the specific situation here, he would definitely be furious, and someone might be unlucky by then. In order not to become this unlucky child, he could do anything he could
Just try to find a way to severely damage the enemies in the encirclement.
"Comrade Commander," Zakharov reminded Konev: "Our cavalry units have arrived at the attack position. Do you want to order them to attack immediately?" He asked this because Konev was not a cavalryman.
Because of his background, his affection for the cavalry was not as good as that of Zhukov, Voroshilov, Budyonny and others.
"No," Konev rejected Zakharov's proposal without hesitation: "It is not the best time for the cavalry to attack." Seeing Zakharov's embarrassed look, he explained, "While the cavalry is preparing
In the attacking area, the German army not only has a complete position, but also has strong defensive firepower. If they launch an attack rashly, the cavalry on horseback will become the targets of the Germans. I don't want my men to die in vain."
"Okay." In fact, Zaharov was not willing to let the cavalry die. It was just because many troops were unable to attack the German army at the specified time and place that he reluctantly proposed to Konev.
Now that he had been rejected, he did not insist on his opinion, but asked cautiously: "Then what should we do next?"
"Since our main force did not launch an attack on the designated area according to the original plan, the Germans will definitely concentrate their efforts on attacking Highland 239, open a gap from there, jump out of our encirclement and join forces with the German troops who came to respond." Konev
He said solemnly: "Comrade Chief of Staff, please inform General Fuming to ensure artillery support near Hill 239. Since we cannot effectively contain the German troops, we can only use powerful artillery firepower to suppress them."
…………
Sokov left the front headquarters before dawn and returned to his own headquarters.
Considering that after a fierce battle, the 116th Division has already suffered more than half of its casualties, and if it continues to fight, it may have to withdraw to the rear for repairs. Therefore, Sokov transferred the less powerful 262nd Division to take over their defense. Anyway, today
A general offensive will be launched, and the German army will be overwhelmed by the time, and the intensity of the attack on Highland 239 will definitely be greatly weakened.
But Sokov never dreamed that the combat missions assigned by Konev to the troops below would not be implemented truthfully. As a result, Stemermann could mobilize more troops to participate in the attack on Hill 239.
In order to attack and break through Hill 239, Stemermann mobilized all the heavy artillery in the army. After establishing an artillery position, he bombarded Hill 239 indiscriminately, turning the small hilltop into a sea of flames.
In the past, the German army waited for the artillery bombardment to end before setting off from the offensive position. But since Stemmermann learned that Sokov served as the commander of the 53rd Army, he felt that he had to adjust his tactics, otherwise there would be no way to break through the encirclement. So
While the bombardment was still going on, the German troops participating in the attack secretly moved toward the high ground. When the bombardment ended, they were only more than 200 meters away from the Soviet position, and they could rush into the trenches with just one charge.
This tactic was originally introduced by Sokov. If it were his old troops who were holding the position, they would have discovered the Germans' intentions early and made the necessary countermeasures. Unfortunately, the troops holding the position at the moment were only combat-effective.
The weak 252nd Division hid in artillery holes when they were shelled by the Germans. There were no observation posts in the trenches. As a result, after the shelling was over, the Germans rushed into the trenches before the smoke cleared.
A fierce hand-to-hand battle started with the defenders.
After paying a great price, the Soviet army finally drove the enemy out of the position. In addition to the heavy casualties among the commanders and soldiers, even the division commander was seriously injured.
After Sokov learned the news, he was silent for a moment and asked the division chief of staff who called him: "Comrade division chief of staff, can your division commander continue to direct the battle?"
The division chief of staff glanced at the division commander lying on a stretcher, covered in blood, shook his head and said, "No, he can no longer continue to command the troops for the time being."
"Comrade Chief of Staff of the Division," learned that the division commander could no longer continue to command the troops due to injuries. Sokov thought for a moment, and then said into the microphone: "Listen, you will temporarily take over the command of the troops, and I will send one soon."
People have passed by. Do you understand?"
"Understood, Comrade Commander." The division chief of staff quickly replied: "I will temporarily perform the duties of the division commander until the new division commander arrives."
Sokov put down the phone, called Smirnov in front of him, and said to him: "Comrade Chief of Staff, the situation on Highland 239 is very bad now. The 252nd Division holding its position just fought a fierce battle with the enemy, and even
Even the division commander is injured. Look, who should be sent to temporarily act as the division commander?"
Hearing Sokov's question, Smirnov immediately thought of a series of lists and wanted to pick one to recommend to Sokov. But after going through it carefully, he shook his head regretfully. These people were either
Those who are not capable enough will not be qualified for the position of division commander; and those who are capable enough are holding important positions now, and they cannot be allowed to give up their current positions to act as division commanders or something like that.
"I'm sorry, Comrade Commander." Smirnov shook his head and said, "I really can't find a suitable candidate to serve as the commander of the 252nd Division."
Seeing that Smirnov could not name the candidate he wanted to recommend, Sokov took the initiative and said: "Then I let General Kirillov take this position. What do you think?"
When Smirnov heard the candidate recommended by Sokov, he didn't have much opinion. After all, the other party was the commander of the army before the war, so he said cautiously: "I think General Kirillov is a suitable candidate, but he is not
I know if he is willing." After saying that, he picked up the phone in front of him, broadcast a number and said, "I am Smirnov, please ask Lieutenant Colonel Kirillov to come to the headquarters. The commander has work to do.
Arrange it for him."
Kirillov was staying in a wooden house not far away. After receiving the notice, he hurried over. Entering the headquarters, he raised his hand to salute Sokov and Smirnov and reported loudly:
: "Report to the Commander, Comrade Chief of Staff, Lieutenant Colonel Kirillov has been ordered to come, please give instructions!"
Sokov glanced at the lieutenant colonel rank on Kirillov's shoulder straps and said kindly: "Hello, General Kirillov. Now the commander of the 252nd Division was injured in the battle and can no longer continue to command the troops. I
I plan to send you to take over his position, what do you think?"
"I resolutely obey your orders, Comrade Commander." Kirillov said respectfully: "I will definitely not disappoint your expectations." After a pause, he added, "I want to ask, are you
Do you plan to let me take office alone, or will I be allowed to bring a few people with me?"
"Needless to say, in order to open up the situation as soon as possible, you must bring a few more people with you." Sokov understood what Kirillov meant and emphasized to him: "The candidates will be selected from the students in the training class.
Let’s pick and choose to see if there are any good seedlings.”
"Okay then." Since Sokov agreed to his situation, Kirillov was not polite: "I have chosen eight commanders. I wonder if you can give them to me?"
"Okay." Sokov readily agreed to Kirillov's request. Anyway, so far, only six people have gone to the 41st Guards Division, and the remaining trainees are still waiting for assignments.
They followed Kirillov to practice at Highland 239, which will be of great help to their future growth. "For those students who have not yet been assigned, you can choose whatever you like."
Seeing that Sokov agreed to his request so readily, Kirillov was secretly relieved. He was really worried that Sokov would reject him. If he went to the 252nd Division alone, it would probably take a long time.
Only time can open up the situation. But now that the war is critical, how can you have so much time for yourself. Now that you have a student to accompany you, you have a helper, and it will be much more convenient no matter what kind of work you do.
"Lieutenant Colonel Kirillov," Sokov still called him his current military rank in front of outsiders: "I really wrong you by letting you serve as division commander this time."
"No grievance." Hearing what Sokov said, Kirillov quickly replied: "I am very touched that you can trust me so much. Don't worry, I will definitely live up to your expectations."
Sokov was not interested in such clichés. He said to Kirillov: "Comrade Lieutenant Colonel, in order to break through our army's encirclement, the enemy launched a violent shelling on Hill 239, and took advantage of the defenders to avoid the shelling and secretly moved
We arrived near the high ground. As soon as the shelling ended, we immediately launched an attack and caught our army by surprise. Your predecessor, knowing that the German troops had rushed into the position, personally led the guard battalion to counterattack and was injured."
"He acted really bravely..."
"Brave?!" Sokov interrupted Kirillov before he could finish his words, and said with a sneer: "I think he is stupid. Doesn't he know that he is the commander of a division?
An ordinary officer charged like that. As a result, his injury caused a certain degree of confusion in the unit's command system. Remember, you are the division commander, not the company commander or the battalion commander. You are not required to charge into the battle. You just
You need to stay at your command post and just command the troops. Do you understand?"
"I completely understand, Comrade Commander." Kirillov nodded and said, "Don't worry, I won't just lead people to charge."
"Let's continue the topic just now. Since the Germans are using artillery fire to sneak up on your position, how do you neutralize their threat?"
"Comrade Commander, I have an idea." Kirillov gestured on the map and said: "When the enemy shells, I plan to move our troops to the two wings of the position. When the enemy's infantry launches an attack, we will attack from both wings.
They can be defeated quickly and their attempts to seize the high ground can be defeated."
"Lieutenant Colonel Kirillov," Smirnov raised his own doubts about Kirillov's statement: "When the enemy is shelling, you don't let the commanders and soldiers enter the artillery holes, but disperse them to the left and right sides of the position.
On both wings, aren't they worried that artillery fire will cause them heavy casualties early on?"
"I have carefully observed the terrain there." Kirillov replied with an expression like this: "The left and right wings of the defensive position are exactly at the arc of the positive slope. The enemy's artillery shells fell not many, so the troops were hidden there and on standby.
It is undoubtedly the most suitable.”
This chapter has been completed!