Almost an hour later, Ponejelin called Sokov and reported to him: "Comrade Commander, all our troops are ready to attack the German army in front. We are waiting for you.
Final order!"
Before replying to Ponedelin, Sokov turned to ask Tsarev, who was sitting at the table chatting with Smirnov: "General Tsarev, are your artillery ready?"
"Yes, Comrade Commander." Tsarev nodded and said: "One howitzer artillery division, two self-propelled artillery regiments and six Guards Rocket Battalions are ready to fire."
"Fire, General Tsarev."
After giving the order to fire, Sokov said into the microphone: "I have ordered the artillery to fire. After our artillery disperses the assembled German troops, you can launch an attack again. This way, you can break through at a very small cost."
German defensive position."
As the order to fire was given, shells flew across the sky one after another, flying towards the direction where the German troops were gathering.
Artillery shells and rockets of different calibers fell like hail. The German troops who had canceled the attack and had not yet had time to evacuate were immediately enveloped in artillery fire.
The artillery roared and shrapnel flew across the sky. After learning that there was no need to attack the Soviet positions, these German soldiers were preparing to return to their respective stations, but unexpectedly they were suddenly attacked by artillery fire. Many officers and soldiers had no time to hide and evacuate. They were killed.
The air waves from the explosion of the shells were lifted up into the sky, and then they fell heavily, turning into mutilated corpses.
Compared with the Soviet commanders and fighters who were about to launch an attack on them, these German officers and soldiers were elite. However, the Soviet army did not compete with their marksmanship or bayonets. They only bombarded them with artillery fire from a distance. The Germans just wanted to fight back.
, and could not see the target, and could only be blown to pieces in the dense artillery fire.
Seeing that the situation was not good, the German commander quickly issued evacuation and retreat orders to reduce the casualties of the troops.
But it was too late. The assembled troops had already fallen into chaos under the Soviet artillery fire. The officers and soldiers were scurrying around like headless flies, each looking for a safe place. The orders of the German commander could not be conveyed at all.
Go down.
Ponedelin stood in the observation post and saw through the telescope that the German army was in chaos. He couldn't help but cheered. Then he put down the telescope, came to the table, picked up the phone, and called Chuvashov and Shechtman respectively.
The two made a phone call and told them that the German army had fallen into chaos under the attack of artillery fire, and asked them to prepare for battle and launch an attack on the enemy as soon as the artillery fire stopped.
Sokov received a call from Ponedelin and knew that the German army had fallen into chaos under the heavy artillery fire, so he called Burgos, director of the armored forces: "Comrade Colonel, the German troops have assembled.
, has fallen into chaos under the powerful artillery fire of our army. You immediately notify the commanders and fighters of the tank brigade, and as soon as the artillery fire stops, they will immediately launch an attack on the enemy's position."
"Comrade Commander," Burgos reminded Sokov carefully: "The Germans have many anti-tank fighters. If we don't have infantry to cooperate, I'm afraid we won't be able to advance very far."
"Don't worry, Colonel Burgos." Sokov said with a smile: "Behind your tank brigade, there will be three infantry divisions following you. If the German anti-tank fighters don't show up, they will be beaten.
Kill our commanders immediately."
While the bombardment continued, the two tank brigades commanded by Burgos had already passed the position held by Ponejelin's troops and headed towards the position where the artillery fire was pouring.
The reason why he led the tank troops to attack at this moment was because he understood Sokov's tactics, which was to quietly approach the enemy while the German army was under shelling and unable to observe the battlefield, and then launch an attack as soon as the shelling ended.
If it is an infantry unit, it must stay two hundred meters away from the shelling area in order to avoid being harmed by one's own artillery fire. But if it is a tank unit, there is no such scruple. Let alone two hundred meters, even if it is only fifty meters, as long as it is not attacked by
The gunfire hit directly, and the flying shrapnel could not harm the crew in the tank.
Ponejelin saw that all the tank troops were advancing forward, and there was nowhere left to sit still. He quickly ordered the infantry to follow up urgently. Even if they could only stay two or three hundred meters away from the enemy's position, the impact could be greatly shortened.
distance.
As soon as the shelling stopped, those German officers and soldiers who were lucky enough to survive the shelling discovered that the Soviet tanks were approaching rapidly, and immediately used anti-tank guns to deal with the oncoming tanks.
Anti-tank guns are indeed a powerful weapon against tanks, but in the recent shelling, most of the dozen or so original anti-tank guns have been destroyed by artillery fire. The remaining few anti-tank guns have to stop the two tank brigades.
Assault, that is simply a fantasy.
Seven or eight tanks were lined up in a row, with their machine guns spraying bullets as they rolled towards the positions occupied by the Germans. The Soviet commanders and soldiers following the tanks, despite being covered by tanks, still remained sufficiently vigilant.
.They ran for a while and then lay down on the spot, shooting, covering the tanks as they moved forward to attack.
The German army, which had already fallen into chaos, except for a few soldiers who occupied favorable terrain and resisted stubbornly, the rest fled towards the back. Do they want to escape further and further away from the battlefield, or do they plan to withdraw to the next line of defense and continue to resist?
But for them, as long as they do not surrender, it is only a matter of time before they are wiped out by the Soviet army.
Ponejelin also did not expect that the artillery bombardment disrupted the deployment of the German army. As soon as the tank troops rushed forward, the German defense collapsed in an instant, and there was no decent resistance at all. He originally wanted to capture the German army.
He was content with his position. But at this moment, he decided to adjust his deployment and charge as far into the enemy's depth as he could, completely disrupting the German defense deployment.
However, this matter was of great importance and he had to report to Sokov before adjusting the deployment. So he quickly called the headquarters and prepared to report his new plan.
After hearing Ponedelin's new plan, Sokov began to think in his mind: "If Ponedelin's troops want to rush deeper into the German defenses, then he must deploy more troops to cooperate with them.
"
After thinking clearly, he first called Afuning and asked directly: "General Afuning, how many troops do you have at your disposal now?"
Although he didn’t understand why Sokov asked this, Afnin still answered truthfully: “Except for the 3rd and 4th Guards Airborne Divisions and some directly affiliated troops, I have no available troops.
.”
Sokov considered that there was a Romanian army in the city of Otac, so he did not need to leave too many troops for defense, so he said to Afunin: "General Afunin, let me tell you one thing, the waves on your right wing are
Nedelin's three divisions have launched an attack on the frontal German defensive positions, and the progress is now going very smoothly.
Their attack must have attracted the attention of the German troops in many areas. And the enemy's defenses across from you may have become weaker. I think if you launch an attack at this moment, the chance of breaking through the enemy's defense is very high.
of."
When Afuning heard this, he suddenly became energetic. He also felt that this was the best time. I am afraid that a considerable part of the German troops who were originally blocking his front were transferred to the area where the fighting was taking place. In this way, their defense changed.
If you are too weak, as long as your own troops make a surprise attack, you may achieve unexpected results.
Afuning, who wanted to understand this, was eager to try, but he was still a little worried: "Comrade Commander, what you said makes sense. But if our two divisions move forward, the defense area will be empty again, and no one will be able to defend it.
.”
"You don't have to worry about this." Sokov comforted the other party and said: "The Romanian army stationed on the left bank position is the 52nd Regiment commanded by Colonel Udrea. According to my observation, this army is the friendliest to us. You
You can completely hand over the defense area to them, and then you can command the remaining troops of the 18th Guards Corps to quickly rush towards the German defensive positions."
"Is the Romanian army really reliable?" Afnin still said with concern: "If they defect on the battlefield, we will be in a situation where we are attacked from both sides. By then, the troops who have lost their logistical supplies will no longer be strong, no matter how many there are.
, and cannot escape the end of being annihilated by the Germans."
"General Afnin, you are too pessimistic." Sokov said into the microphone: "According to my observations during this period, the most reliable unit in the Romanian 18th Division is Colonel Udrea's
52nd Regiment, just hand over the position to them with confidence and boldness."
"Okay, Comrade Commander." Since Sokov has already said this, it would be cowardly to continue to evade. Afnin was unwilling to bear this inexplicable charge, so he decisively agreed.
"The 3rd Guards Airborne Division will launch an attack on the frontal German defense line in forty minutes. At the same time, Major General Rumyantsev's 4th Guards Airborne Division will also quickly move forward."
.”
When Sokov ended the call and put down the phone, Smirnov suddenly said: "Comrade Commander, there are still several divisions of the 27th Army. Why don't you arrange combat missions for them?"
"Comrade Chief of Staff, look here." Sokov pointed to the map and said to Smirnov: "There are no friendly troops on the right wing of the 27th Army. If all the troops belonging to the Army advance to the west, then
This will inevitably expose the weak right wing, leaving them open to attack from the flank."
Smirnov thought about it carefully and found that what Sokov said was very reasonable. If the troops of the 1st Ukrainian Front launched an offensive in the Uman area at this moment, they would be able to attract most of the German army's attention. In this way, the combat cluster would
The right wing will become safe. At the same time, more troops can be mobilized for frontal attacks.
Sokov is just an ordinary person, and it is inevitable that there will be a lot of confusion when assigning tasks. But Smirnov's conversation with him gave him new inspiration. Since the troops on the right wing cannot be used, then
I can use the left wing. You must know that on the left side of my combat area is Korodeev's 52nd Army. Now the army's troops have successfully reached the banks of the Dniester River, making my left wing safe.
.
"Comrade Chief of Staff," Sokov said to Smirnov: "General Korodeev's 52nd Army is now operating on the left flank of our combat group. In other words, we don't have to worry about the Germans coming from this direction.
, launched an attack on us. Therefore, the 57th Army, which was originally deployed in this direction, is of little use."
Smirnov immediately understood what Sokov meant and quickly added: "Comrade Commander, I have the same idea. It is completely possible to transfer two divisions from the 57th Army to the right bank positions and use them as reserves.
.”
"General Chumakov," Sokov and Smirnov discussed some details before calling directly to the commander of the 57th Army, Major General Chumakov: "I am Sokov, and I have an important battle now.
The mission must be deployed to your army."
"Comrade Commander," Chumakov heard that there was an important combat mission. He quickly took out a pen and paper and was ready to record it: "I'm ready. Please tell me."
"Immediately mobilized Muzychenko's 233rd Division and Kirillov's 252nd Division and rushed to the right bank of Otats to take over the defensive position there."
Chumakov couldn't help being stunned after hearing this, and then reminded Sokov: "Comrade Commander, the task you assigned to our army a few days ago is to ensure the safety of the left wing of the combat cluster. If we mobilize the strength of two divisions at once, we will
They were worried that they would not be able to stop the German attack."
"You don't have to worry about this," Sokov comforted the other party: "The 52nd Army on the left wing has already advanced with us. In other words, our left wing is very safe now, and there is no need to deploy too many troops in that direction.
.”
"Okay, Comrade Commander." After Chumakov figured out what was going on, he also felt that there was no need to put an entire army on the left wing of the defense area. These troops could be put into more important battlefields. "I obey your order.
, immediately transfer the two divisions to the defensive positions on the right bank of Otac."
"Comrade Commander," Smirnov said to Sokov excitedly after waiting for Sokov to complete the task: "Judging from the current situation, the German army has been disrupted by our army's sudden counterattack. I believe that in the future
In the next two or three days, they will not be able to mount a decent resistance at all, and by then we will be able to liberate more cities belonging to us from the hands of the Germans."
"Comrade Chief of Staff, we cannot be blindly optimistic." Seeing that Smirnov was getting carried away, Sokov quickly reminded him: "If the Germans jump over the wall and capture the residents of the city to use as human shields, then we will
If we are unable to deal with the enemy harshly, it will inevitably affect our military morale."
"I don't think the Germans are so despicable, right?" Smirnov said in an uncertain tone: "If others find out about using civilians as human shields, they will be laughed at."
Sokov sneered twice: "Comrade Chief of Staff, do you think Germans are the kind of people who are afraid of being laughed at? I think this situation is very likely to happen. We must first come up with a countermeasure to avoid being laughed at by the Germans."
People are in such a miserable state..."
Hearing what Sokov said, Smirnov couldn't help but his eyes lit up. He asked in surprise: "Comrade Commander, do you have any good ideas? Come on, tell me and I will judge whether it is suitable."
This chapter has been completed!