However, what they responded to was a barrage of bullets, which killed many of the German soldiers who came forward.
The German soldiers, who were lying on the ground again, finally heard the sound of gunfire on the position, which was coming from Soviet-made weapons. Only then did they understand that the friendly positions had long been occupied by the Russians.
The four Aerial Fortresses hovering in the sky fired all the ammunition they carried before turning around and flying towards the field airport. The German troops on the ground had long been frightened away by the terrifying firepower of the Aerial Fortresses, until the planes took off.
After walking for a long time, they were still lying on the ground and did not dare to move.
Unwilling to be annihilated, the German commander waited until the Soviet aerial fortress was gone, organized a commando team of hundreds of people, and launched an attack on the position occupied by the Soviet army. But regrettably, the densely packed positions on the position
The firepower formed an insurmountable fire net, causing the charging German soldiers to fall in pieces.
The attack had just been defeated, and the pursuing Soviet troops came up from behind. The fleeing German troops were immediately surrounded by two sides. Although many German officers and soldiers who were unwilling to fail were still resisting, more soldiers were waiting for the Soviet commanders and fighters.
Rushing in front of him, he immediately threw away the weapons in his hands, raised his hands high, and surrendered to the Soviet army.
The troops fleeing from the north of Uman City were blocked by the troops of the 130th Division in the northwest direction. Then the 57th Army and part of the 31st Army of the First Ukrainian Front rushed up from behind to complete the encirclement of the German army.
While the final battle was still going on, Chumakov, commander of the 57th Army, could not wait to call the headquarters to report the latest battle situation to Sokov.
At that time, Sokov was answering Konev's call. The call from Chumakov was answered by Smirnov: "General Chumakov, this is Smirnov, do you have any good news for me?"
?"
"Yes, Comrade Chief of Staff." Chumakov reported emotionally: "Our troops have broken through the German defense line, joined forces with the friendly forces coming from the north, and then followed the fleeing enemies and surrounded them.
In front of the blocking position of the 130th Division, they are being eliminated bit by bit."
"Joining forces?! Great! This is really great." Smirnov said loudly into the microphone: "Which unit is joining forces with friendly forces, and which friendly forces uniting forces are joining forces with? You tell me
, I’ll write it down!”
He clamped the microphone to his ear with his shoulder, took a pencil from the table, and began to record, while repeating loudly: "The troops joining us are the 340th Division under General Moskalenko's 38th Army.
, our troops joining them are Lieutenant Colonel Kirillov's 252nd Division...I have written them all down. General Chumakov, thank you."
Smirnov put down the phone and said happily to Shtemenko who was sitting aside: "Comrade Deputy Chief of General Staff, the 252nd Division of the 57th Army has joined forces with the 38th Group Army commanded by General Moskalenko!
And in front of the blocking position of the 130th Division, we completed the encirclement of the fleeing enemies, and the annihilation battle is now underway."
Sokov, who had just finished the phone call, saw that Smirnov was so excited and asked quickly: "Comrade Chief of Staff, seeing that you are so happy, is there any new victory?"
"You are right, Comrade Commander." Smirnov nodded and said: "Lieutenant Colonel Kirillov's 252nd Division assisted General Moskalenko's 38th Army and broke through the German army north of Uman.
defensive position and successfully joined forces with the 340th Division of the group army. Now they have surrounded the fleeing enemies in front of the 130th Division's blocking position and are annihilating the enemy bit by bit."
"Well done." Sokov was naturally happy when he heard such results. He secretly thought: "As long as Kirillov accomplishes more meritorious deeds in this battle, he will be able to legitimately be promoted to his military rank and rank in the future.
Position."
Now that Kirillov was mentioned, he naturally thought of Ponedelin. He sent him to rescue the prisoners of war imprisoned in the open pit. So far, there has been no response, and he does not know how their current mission has been completed.
"Comrade Chief of Staff." Sokov looked at Smirnov and asked: "Is there any news about Lieutenant Colonel Ponedelin?"
Hearing Sokov's question, the expression on Smirnov's face darkened: "No, Comrade Commander. So far, I have not received any reports about them."
Seeing that there was no news about Smirnov, Sokov was disappointed in his heart and promptly changed the subject: "Comrade Chief of Staff, when I just spoke to Marshal Konev, he told me that Ryazanov
The flying fortress sent by the general caused huge casualties to the German troops on the ground."
"Really?" Smirnov said with some surprise after hearing this: "Why didn't General Ryazanov call me to report the results of the battle, but reported directly to the front army headquarters?"
"I think General Riazanov may have reported the results to General Goryunov, who then reported to Marshal Konev."
Smirnov agreed with Sokov's analysis: "Well, it is possible. General Goryunov is his immediate superior, so it is natural that he should report the results to General Goryunov first.
thing."
"Comrade Sokov, I congratulate you." Shtemenko extended his hand to Sokov and said with a smile: "Congratulations to your troops for successfully liberating Uman."
Sokov held Shtemenko's hand, chuckled twice, and then asked tentatively: "Deputy Chief of General Staff, I would like to ask, since the city of Uman was liberated by our group army alone, who will be awarded the title in the future?"
Can you give us two more places for the honorary title of naming the city?"
"Comrade Sokov, you can rest assured on this." Since Shtemenko has been staying by Sokov's side, he naturally knows which unit contributed the most in the battle to liberate Uman: "If nothing unexpected happens,
, the three divisions of the 18th Guards Corps will all receive this highest honor."
"Great, this is really great." Thinking that the last time he commanded the liberation of Kharkov and Belgorod, only three troops won the honorary title, Sokov couldn't help but feel a little disappointed. Although at this moment
What Shtemenko said was just a pie for me, but Sokov was still in a happy mood: "On behalf of the comrades of the 18th Guards Army, I would like to express my gratitude to you!"
"Comrade Deputy Chief of General Staff," Smirnov asked next to him: "Judging from the current situation, the battle to eliminate the German Uman Group will not last a few days. Once the battle is over, you plan to return to the General Staff
Ministry?"
"That's right, Comrade Smirnov." Regarding Smirnov's statement, Shtemenko gave an affirmative answer: "I will return to Moscow as soon as the Battle of Uman is over. I will
After being away for such a long time, I must have accumulated a lot of official business, and I believe it will take a lot of time to deal with it."
Although Shtemenko was chatting with Smirnov, he also told Sokov tactfully: I will leave soon and it will not affect your subsequent command.
Sokov heard the hidden meaning of Shtemenko's words and was secretly delighted. However, he still had to say what should be said in the scene: "Comrade Deputy Chief of General Staff, I can't believe that you will be going back so soon.
, I really can’t bear to have you leave.”
"Really?" Shtemenko said jokingly: "Otherwise, I will ask the Supreme Command to apply to stay with you until the end of the war?"
If Shtemenko really stayed here until the end of the war, Sokov would have suffered a nervous breakdown. He said in a panic: "If you really have a lot of official business to deal with, you should rush back as soon as possible.
.”
Shtemenko laughed heartily: "Comrade Sokov, I was just joking with you. I didn't expect you to take it seriously. Now that Uman has been liberated, I can tell you some things. Before I left Moscow,
Comrade Antonov told me that as long as your troops take Uman, I can return."
He stared at Sokov for a while and continued: "According to my estimate, it will take you at least four or five days to capture Uman. But I never dreamed that it would take less than 24 hours.
, actually liberated this city, which really surprised me."
Sokov knew that at this time, he should keep a low profile to avoid making others unhappy, so he said humbly: "Comrade Deputy Chief of General Staff, since you have been staying in my headquarters, you should understand that we can achieve such
It is impossible for our army alone to achieve victory."
"Tell me more details."
"First of all, the troops of the First Front commanded by Marshal Zhukov took the lead in launching an attack on the German army, causing the enemy to mistakenly think that the north was the main direction of our army's attack, while the south was just a feint attack force to contain their forces, so they focused their main attack
All the troops were transferred to the north to block Marshal Zhukov's troops."
"Secondly, the 18th Guards Army encountered heavy snow during the attack. This is really as the saying goes: God bless Russia! The heavy snow blocked the enemy's sight, preventing them from discovering our troops marching in the snow.
Only in this way can we successfully carry out sneak attack operations and achieve the greatest victory with the least casualties."
"Yes, there is indeed some luck involved in the success of this attack." Shtemenko objectively analyzed: "But when it snows, only your troops are in action, while other troops are not."
Resting. It is precisely because you are good at seizing opportunities that you can achieve such a victory."
After a pause, Shtemenko asked Sokov with a smile: "Comrade Sokov, I am going back to Moscow soon. Is there anywhere I can help you?"
"Comrade Deputy Chief of General Staff," the biggest headache for Sokov now is naturally the problem of soldiers. The new recruits originally added to the army were Ukrainian civilians without military training and no combat experience, which seriously diluted the army.
After this battle, the casualties of the troops reached an alarming number. If we continue to recruit troops from the local area, the combat effectiveness of the troops will be further diluted. It is out of this concern that Sokov asked what
Demenko said: "I wonder if you can give me some additional soldiers? It would be better if they are people who have undergone strict military training and have combat experience."
"Oh my God, where can I find such soldiers for you?" Even though Shtemenko is the deputy chief of staff, he doesn't have much say in the issue of replenishing soldiers. After listening to Soko
After his husband's request, he said with a wry smile: "If there are such soldiers, the superiors will definitely give priority to the Guards Group Army. The ordinary combined arms group army is the second echelon of supplements, and whether they can be supplemented still depends on
It depends on how this unit performs in battle."
Seeing Sokov's annoyed expression, he raised his hand and patted Sokov's shoulder gently, and said sincerely: "Comrade Sokov, please wait patiently for a while. I think you need the soldiers and soldiers."
Weapons and equipment will be replenished."
Sokov was thinking in his mind that the chance of getting reinforcements from his superiors was infinitely close to zero. Using prisoners of war to replenish the troops, not to mention whether Ponejelin and the others could find the prisoners of war, even if they found them, they would have suffered the inhumane treatment of the German army.
It is still unknown how effective the tortured prisoners of war will be. If this is not possible, the only option is to recruit soldiers from the local area and let them improve in battle.
After having this idea, he asked Smirnov: "Chief of Staff, has Comrade Military Commissar come back?"
"Not yet." Smirnov shook his head and gave Sokov a negative answer. He continued: "In any case, Uman is not a small city. Comrade Military Commissar wants to let the people hiding in the basement
It will probably take a lot of time to greet all the residents."
"Comrade Commander," Smirnov felt that Sokov would not ask about Gorokhov for no reason, so he asked tentatively: "Do you have anything to do with him?"
"Comrade Chief of Staff," when Sokov said this, he glanced at Shtemenko intentionally, with a helpless expression on his face: "You must have heard what Comrade Deputy Chief of Staff said just now.
There are soldiers who cannot be supplemented by superiors. Therefore, I think that we should recruit some new soldiers in Uman City to make up for the soldiers we lost in the battle."
Learning that Sokov planned to recruit soldiers in Uman, Smirnov carefully reminded him: "Comrade Commander, since these areas became German-occupied areas soon after the outbreak of the war, the residents living here,
Regardless of men, women, old or young, all have the opportunity to receive military training. If new soldiers are recruited locally and added to the army, not only will it not strengthen the strength of the army, but on the contrary, the existence of such people will greatly dilute the combat effectiveness of our army.
.”
He was worried that Sokov would not listen to his opinions, and specifically emphasized: "The 49th and 57th armies are typical examples. It turns out that the units to which these two armies belong are the most powerful in combat. As a result, new recruits were added.
, causing the unit's combat effectiveness to plummet. Now the most powerful unit in our group army is General Afnin's 18th Guards Army. They made huge sacrifices in the battle to liberate Uman. If they are given additional supplies,
The new recruits recruited locally will inevitably make their combat effectiveness as weak as two infantry armies."
If he had a choice, Sokov would naturally not use new soldiers to supplement the 18th Guards Army, but now the three divisions to which that army belonged had more than 50% casualties in the battle to liberate Uman, and he was not capable of it.
Find so many commanders and fighters with rich combat experience to supplement the 18th Guards Army.
"Comrade Chief of Staff," Sokov said helplessly: "First recruit a group of new soldiers and replenish the troops. As for training, there are so many veterans in the company, and the veterans can teach some practical skills to the new soldiers.
Combat experience to help recruits grow up quickly."
This chapter has been completed!