Time soon came to the next day, and there were still three hours before the bombardment before the attack. Shtemenko, who woke up early, said to Sokov, who had not slept all night: "Comrade Sokov, I want to come in person."
Let’s go and have a look.”
"No, no, no." Shtemenko's suggestion scared Sokov into a cold sweat. If he really let the other party go to the front to observe the battle, if something went wrong, there would be three advantages and two disadvantages. He couldn't afford that.
Responsibility: "Comrade Deputy Chief of General Staff, the frontier is too dangerous. I have no right to let you take risks."
"Yes, General Shtemenko." After Sokov finished speaking, Smirnov also echoed: "You are the representative sent by the base camp to our army group. How can we let you take risks easily? What if?
If something went wrong, it would be a trivial matter for me to be implicated, and it might even affect the future of Comrade Commander."
If Smirnov had persuaded him directly, Shtemenko might still be stubborn. But since the other party brought Sokov out to talk about the problem, it would be hard for him to say anything. After all, as deputy chief of staff, he knows many frontline commanders.
He did not want a promising commander like Sokov to ruin his future because of his recklessness.
"Okay, I don't have to go to the front line." Shtemenko said: "But after the offensive battle starts, I want to directly observe the progress of the battle in a safer place close to the front line. I don't want to stay at the headquarters.
Here, we can understand the progress of the battle through telegrams or telephone records."
Sokov saw that although Shtemenko expressed compromise, he still did not give up the idea of going to the front to observe the progress of the battle. He thought for a while, and then said to Shtemenko: "Comrade Deputy Chief of General Staff, I think you can
Go to the division headquarters of the 3rd Guards Airborne Division, which is no more than three kilometers away from the front. You can clearly see the progress of our army in the observation post."
"Yes, yes, Comrade Commander is right." Upon hearing this, Smirnov said that if he really chose the observation location at the headquarters of the 3rd Guards Airborne Division, he would not only be able to see the combat situation at the front, but also
Ensuring Shtemenko's safety can be said to be a good thing that kills two birds with one stone. "I think General Shtemenko will go to the 3rd Airborne Division to observe the battle situation."
Smirnov raised his hand to check the time and said: "The artillery preparations before the attack will start in two hours. I think you should rest for a while. After the artillery preparations start, it will be too late to rush over."
"That's right." Sokov felt that what Smirnov said was very reasonable. This place is only a few kilometers away from the headquarters of the 3rd Airborne Division. It wouldn't take much time to walk there, so he agreed: "Comrade Deputy Chief of General Staff
, you rest for a while, I will accompany you there later."
"Comrade Commander," Smirnov became a little anxious when he heard that Sokov was also going to the front: "Do you also want to go to the front to observe the battle situation?"
"Yes, Comrade Chief of Staff." Sokov said to Smirnov: "If this was just the forward headquarters, I might stay here to command. But the headquarters was moved here last night, and I am not at the headquarters.
When the time comes, you can completely take over my command."
"But the injury on your leg hasn't healed yet."
"It doesn't matter." Sokov waved his hand and said confidently: "I can go there by car. The injury on my leg won't bother me at all." In order to dispel Smirnov's concerns, he added, "Don't worry, Chief of Staff.
Comrade, I will keep in touch with you at any time."
Now that Sokov has made a promise, Smirnov knew that no matter what he said, he could not change Sokov's decision. He could only nodded and said helplessly: "Okay, Comrade Commander, everything depends on
You. But you must also promise me that you must pay attention to safety and never let anything happen."
"You can rest assured about this," Sokov looked sideways at Shtemenko and said with a smile: "Comrade Chief of Staff, don't forget, the Deputy Chief of Staff is with me, as long as we make sure
There is no problem with his safety and my safety."
Sokov's words caused a burst of laughter, and the tense atmosphere in the room suddenly disappeared without a trace.
While several people were talking, the phone on the table rang. Smirnov grabbed the receiver, put it to his ear and said, "I'm Smirnov, where are you from?"
Sokov thought it was from one of his subordinates, so he didn't pay attention. Instead, he spoke to Shtemenko in a low voice. But inadvertently, he noticed that Smirnov's expression changed drastically, and he guessed what might have happened.
. He quickly stopped the conversation and asked with some urgency: "Comrade Chief of Staff, what happened?"
"Comrade Commander." Smirnov covered the phone with his hand and reported to Sokov: "The call is from General Zakharov. He said that the attack plan will be adjusted and the artillery preparation time will be advanced by one hour.
conduct."
"Prepare artillery fire one hour in advance?" The notice from the front army headquarters surprised Sokov. He asked in surprise: "Comrade Chief of Staff, what happened? Why do we need to prepare artillery fire in advance?"
Sokov stood up in a hurry, reached out to Smirnov, took the phone and put it to his ear, "I am Sokov."
"It turns out to be Comrade Sokov, I am Zakharov."
"Comrade Chief of Staff of the Front Army." Sokov asked confusedly: "I would like to ask, why do you need to prepare for the artillery attack an hour in advance? If you do this, will it disrupt the original offensive deployment?"
"Comrade Sokov, something unexpected happened." Zakharov said with a wry smile: "We just received a report that the 1st Ukrainian Front commanded by Marshal Zhukov had carried out an attack on the German position half an hour ago.
Fierce shelling. This actually means that their attack on the Uman area will be at least half an hour earlier than our army."
When Sokov heard this, he immediately guessed Konev's intention. He wanted to attack the Uman area with the First Front Army commanded by Zhukov at the same time to see who had the ability to capture the city first.
After thinking about this, he asked tentatively: "Comrade Chief of Staff of the Front Army, does Marshal Konev mean to prepare to launch an attack on the Uman area with the First Front Army at the same time, and then see who can seize the city first?"
"That's right, Comrade Sokov." Seeing that Sokov had guessed Konev's intention, Zakharov did not hide it and replied truthfully: "This is how Marshal Konev considered it."
"Comrade Chief of Staff of the Front Army, if we temporarily adjust the deployment, I am afraid it will cause unnecessary chaos." It was confirmed that Konev wanted to launch a ground attack on Uman at the same time as Zhukov, but Sokov did not agree with this approach in his heart:
"I think we should follow the original plan and launch an attack on the Uman area."
"Comrade Sokov," Zakharov said unhappily after hearing this: "Don't you know that the Supreme Command arranged for our two fronts to attack Uman at the same time, which is actually a disguised competition.
, let’s see which force can capture Uman earlier. If we still launch the attack according to the original time, it means that we have already lost at the starting line.”
"I have a different opinion." Sokov felt that hastily changing the attack time would disrupt the rhythm of the participating troops, so he boldly expressed his opinion: "The troops participating in the first round of attack may be doing something at this time.
Pre-war deployment. If they are rushed one hour in advance, it will definitely disrupt their original plan. Even if they launch an attack in a hurry, I am afraid that many troops will have problems with coordination due to lack of preparation. Therefore, I strongly recommend not
Adjust the attack time at will, prepare artillery fire according to the original time, and launch a ground attack on the enemy's defense line after the artillery bombardment is over."
"This is absolutely impossible, Comrade Sokov." Zakharov said forcefully: "I have notified other troops first. If you tell them again that the order just now is invalid, you will still execute it according to the original order.
Tell me, will it have a negative impact on the prestige of our front army headquarters?"
After Sokov put down the phone, he shook his head with a wry smile, thinking that if what Zakharov said was true, some planned coordinated operations might go wrong.
"Comrade Sokov," Shtemenko, who had already learned about the situation from Smirnov, came over and asked, "What did General Zakharov say?"
"He said that he had already given orders to other troops, saying that the artillery bombardment would be carried out one hour in advance, and the ground attack time would also be advanced one hour." Sokov sighed and said: "I advised him to launch the attack according to the original time.
But it was vetoed by him. He also said that other troops had been notified in advance. If the order was changed overnight, it would have an impact on the commander's prestige."
"Comrade Sokov, please forgive me." Shtemenko, as the deputy chief of general staff, must have a more comprehensive view of the problem than Sokov: "In fact, Marshal Konev also has his reasons for making such a decision. Although they are all
It is to attack the invaders of Faxi Temple, but this time the base camp arranged for their two front armies to attack Uman at the same time, which is tantamount to a disguised competition. Whoever's troops can take the lead in conquering Uman will gain more trust and trust from the supreme commander himself.
appreciation."
"Comrade Deputy Chief of General Staff, I understand what you mean." Sokov waited for Shtemenko to finish and said quietly: "The reason why I suggested General Zakharov not to modify the attack time is completely
Considerations on other levels.”
"Considerations at other levels?" Shtemenko asked puzzledly: "Comrade Sokov, I don't quite understand what you mean. Can you explain it to me?"
"Comrade Deputy Chief of General Staff, please look at the map." Sokov picked up the pencil on the table and drew a few dotted lines on the map: "Our army is going to attack the Uman area. For the Germans, it is not possible at all.
What a secret. They must have been wondering during this time, from which direction our army will attack? From Zhitomir in the north, or from Kirovgrad in the south? It is precisely because they cannot figure out the direction of our attack.
So when the Germans deploy their forces, they don't know which direction to focus on."
"Comrade Sokov," Shtemenko felt that what Sokov said made sense. After nodding slightly, he asked, "If you were Manstein, how would you deploy your troops?"
"If I were Manstein, without the ability to fight on two fronts, I would definitely choose one direction as the key defense. To the north is Marshal Zhukov's First Ukrainian Front, and to the south is Marshal Konev's Second Ukrainian Front.
.In terms of overall strength, the First Front poses a greater threat to them."
"In other words, Manstein may focus his defense on the north of Uman?"
"Yes, this is indeed the case." Sokov continued: "But in order to prevent our army from linking up with the First Front Army, they have recently frequently launched missiles at our Front Army's defense area, just to use this long-range
Attack to disrupt the speed of our troop assembly, thereby buying them precious time to consolidate the city's defenses."
"What you say makes sense, keep talking."
"The Germans have no idea which of our troops will attack them first, so they are in a state of uncertainty in terms of troop deployment. Today, Marshal Zhukov's troops fired artillery in advance, which will give the Germans an illusion.
It is believed that our army will first launch an attack from the north of Uman, and Manstein will transfer the main forces to this area in the shortest possible time to start a decisive battle with the main force of our army."
"If Manstein really does this, then the obstacles we encounter when attacking will be greatly weakened." Sokov said with a smile: "In this way, even if we launch the attack, it will take longer than Marshal Zhukov's
The troops were later, but our entry into the city was not necessarily later than theirs."
If anyone else had said this, Shtemenko would definitely have scoffed at it, but since it came from Sokov's mouth, it had to attract his attention. After thinking for a long time, he asked: "Your
This means that if we still launch the attack according to the original time, then the Germans will focus on Zhukov who took the lead in preparing artillery fire, and transfer the main force to the north of Uman, thus creating a favorable fighter opportunity for us.
?”
"Yes, Comrade Deputy Chief of General Staff. If we still carry out artillery preparations against the German positions according to the original time, then even if the enemy finds out that they have been fooled, they will not be able to transfer the troops transferred to the north back in time. And we will not be able to transfer the troops to the north in time.
When an attack is launched from the south, it will be easy to break through the weak German defense line. Maybe while the comrades of the First Front are still fighting fiercely with the enemy on the outskirts of the city, my troops have already planted the red flag on the top of the municipal building."
Sokov's statement was very tempting, and Shtemenko couldn't help but feel excited. He knew very well that it didn't matter which army captured Uman, what mattered was how to shorten the combat time to reduce the casualties of the troops.
.
He stared at the map for a long time, raised his head and said to Sokov: "Comrade Sokov, I think your idea is very good. Why don't I communicate with Marshal Konev and let your troops continue to follow the original time?"
The attack made the Germans mistakenly believe that the direction of the attack was from the north, so they transferred troops from the south to reinforce the north."
"Comrade Deputy Chief of the General Staff," since Shtemenko offered to communicate with Konev, Sokov had exactly what he wanted. If he could really convince Konev to attack at the original time, he might be able to greatly reduce his own
The casualties of the troops. Thinking of this, he nodded vigorously and said sincerely: "Then I'll leave it to you."
This chapter has been completed!