In the evening, members of the 27th Army Headquarters led by Trofimenko and Samyko finally arrived in the city of Otac and settled in the school that Smirnov had prepared for them.
When the two sides met, first Trofimenko stepped forward to shake hands with Sokov, and then Chief of Staff Samyko. After shaking hands with Sokov, he actually gave him a bear hug, patted his back and said excitedly.
: "Comrade Commander, it's great to see you safe and sound. You don't know that after you were injured and sent to Moscow, the commanders of all divisions were in chaos and said they would take the initiative to attack the enemy's positions.
To avenge you."
"Comrade Samek, please express my gratitude to those division commanders and tell them that I am still alive and well."
"I won't tell you this." Unexpectedly, Samyko let go of Sokov, took a step back, shook his head and said: "Now the 27th Army is under your command again, and almost all division commanders are
If you have anything to say to your old subordinates, you can tell them directly."
Now that the two commands have been merged together, Sokov naturally has to re-divide the division of labor. He serves as the commander of the combat cluster, Trofimenko serves as deputy commander, Samyko serves as chief of staff, and Smirnov serves as deputy commander.
chief of staff.
Regarding Sokov's arrangement, Samyko put forward his own meaning: "Comrade Commander, I think General Smirnov is older than me in terms of seniority and age, so he should be the chief of staff of the combat cluster, and I
You can act as his deputy."
"General Samyko, you are so humble." Smirnov said: "Although I am older and more senior than you, I am not as good as you in commanding operations. I will serve as your assistant.
I have no complaints."
Seeing that Samyko seemed to want to say something else, Sokov raised his hand to stop him and said: "Chief of Staff Samyko, please don't refuse. Just be your chief of staff with peace of mind."
Next, Sokov informed the two of them about the recent combat situation.
When Trofimenko learned that both Murovany Kurilivtsi and Sokilyani had been captured, and that the two cities were connected as a whole and became a combat cluster on the Dniester River.
When he reached the salient of the German defense line on the right bank, he couldn't help but say in surprise: "My God, Comrade Commander, how did you do it? Not only did you break through the enemy's defense line in such a short period of time, you also established a
A salient that threatens the entire German defense line?"
"Comrade Deputy Commander," Sokov originally wanted to call Trofimenko by his name, but felt it was inappropriate and decided to address him by his title instead: "The enemy's defense line seems solid, but in fact it is riddled with holes.
As long as we grasp their weaknesses, there shouldn't be much of a problem in breaking through their defenses."
"Then what are your plans next?" Trofimenko asked.
"Come and see here." Sokov pointed to the map and explained to Trofimenko the offensive route discussed by him and Smirnov. "I plan to wait for our superiors to replenish our ammunition, then continue to advance westward, and
The area north of Wingene extends into Romania.”
After hearing this, Sameko showed an excited expression on his face. He raised his head and said to Sokov: "Comrade Commander, if our troops can be the first to enter Romania, they will have the opportunity to go down in history."
Hearing that he would get the chance to go down in history, Trofimenko became uncomfortable. He tentatively asked Sokov: "Comrade Commander, when do you plan to order the troops to move westward?"
"I don't know yet." Sokov shook his head and said with regret: "It depends on when our superiors can replenish ammunition and fuel for us. Without these things, our tanks and artillery can only become decorations.
.”
"Comrade Commander, I have an idea." Trofimenko asked cautiously: "Do you want to hear it?"
Although Sokov had a higher position than Trofimenko, his qualifications were far behind him, so he responded politely: "Please tell me, General Trofimenko."
"We can concentrate all the ammunition and fuel and give it to one or several troops for use." Trofimenko said: "In this way, we can launch an attack on the enemy as soon as possible."
After listening to Trofimenko's proposal, Samyko nodded slightly, seeming to agree with the other party's proposal. He turned his attention to Sokov, wanting to hear his answer.
"No," But Sokov shook his head and replied simply, "I don't agree."
"Why?" Trofimenko asked in confusion, and then explained: "You know, in the early days of the war, we did this. The troops who received ammunition and fuel successfully tore apart the main force.
The encirclement of the German army caused more commanders to escape."
"General Trofimenko," Sokov replied: "The situation today is different from when the war broke out, and our tactics must be adjusted in time according to changes in the situation.
You are right. Giving all the ammunition and fuel to the assault troops can indeed improve their combat effectiveness. But have you ever thought about it, now that we are on the offensive, if the reinforced troops cannot break through the enemy's defense line,
When the troops behind us are disarmed in disguise due to lack of ammunition, the situation will develop in a direction that is not conducive to us."
Seeing Trofimenko's frustrated look, he added: "General Trofimenko, he can't drink hot soup in a hurry, so we, as commanders, must be patient and wait for the troops to do all the fighting."
After preparation, it is not too late to attack the enemy."
"I understand, Comrade Commander." Trofimenko replied with a wry smile: "We will continue to advance deeper into the enemy's defenses after our superiors have given us enough ammunition and fuel."
While Smirnov was communicating with Samyko, Sokov suddenly received a call from General Korodeyev.
"General Sokov, this is Korodeev." Korodeev, who was still high-spirited some time ago, now speaks in a feeble tone: "I came to you for help."
"General Korodeev, we are friendly forces. If you need anything, please just ask." Sokov said without being humble or condescending: "As long as it is within my ability, I will do my best to help."
When Korodeev made this call to Sokov, he was still very uneasy. A month ago, he was on an equal footing with him, but after not seeing each other for a few days, Sokov actually became the commander of the combat group and also commanded
Two armies fighting made him feel ashamed.
However, now that he has organized many forced crossings of the Dniester River, none of them have succeeded, so he can only come to Sokov for help: "General Sokov, my troops have carried out forced crossings many times.
Resistance caused our river-crossing operations to end in failure."
Although Korodeev's 52nd Army was fighting on Sokov's left flank, since the two armies had no affiliation with each other, Sokov had no idea what the other party's progress was. At this moment, Korodeev heard:
When my husband said this, he was a little surprised. He asked in surprise: "General Koroteyev, you haven't broken through the German defense line of Transnistria yet?"
"Yes, General Sokov." The matter had reached this point. Korodeev felt that there was no need to hide anything, so he answered truthfully: "We have launched many attacks on the right bank, but due to the German army's
With tenacious defense, all offensive actions will ultimately end in failure."
"Then what can I do for you, General Korodeev?"
"I have two ideas." Korodeev said: "The first is to send a force to take advantage of Otac, let them reach the right bank of the Dniester River, and then go down the river to attack the German defenses.
Position to launch an attack. Second, please send troops to flank the German defensive positions and cover my troops crossing the river."
Supporting Korodeev's troops to cross the river can strengthen the attack power on the right bank. Sokov still understands this. However, he did not easily agree to the other party's request, but said euphemistically: "Korodeev
General, we are friendly forces, and it is natural for us to support your operations. However, the troops I can use are limited now. I need to discuss it with other members of the headquarters and discuss a practical plan before giving you an answer. You see
OK?"
After hearing Sokov's answer, Korodeev couldn't help but feel a little disappointed, but he still tried to say in a calm tone: "Okay, General Sokov, I'll wait for your answer."
After Sokov put down the phone, he called several people in front of him, told them about Korodeev's request for help, and finally asked: "Tell me, what should we do?"
"Comrade Commander," Smirnov said on his own initiative, as he had had similar experience: "I think, let General Korodeev send a force to cross the river from Otats and then go down the river.
, carried out a flank attack on the German river defense positions."
But Sameko put forward the opposite opinion: "I don't think it is necessary. If friendly forces are allowed to pass through our defense line, I am afraid it will cause unnecessary chaos. I think it is more convenient for us to send troops directly."
"It's too easy to say that we directly send troops." But Smirnov retorted: "Where do we have the troops that can be mobilized now?"
"Aren't there two divisions of troops in the city?" Samek said: "I think one of the divisions will be drawn out to cross the river to attack the flanks of the German defensive positions and cover the 52nd Army's troops crossing the river."
"These two divisions serve as reserves and are ready to go into battle at any time." Smirnov raised his voice and said: "If there are huge casualties in the battle to support friendly forces, they will not be able to participate in the next battle.
"
But Trofimenko did not participate in the debate. He knew very well that Sokov had the final say on all matters in this room. No matter how many plans were discussed, he had to wait for his final decision.
After the argument between Samyko and Smirnov came to an end, Trofimenko looked at Sokov and asked: "Comrade Commander, which plan are you going to adopt?"
Sokov's eyes were fixed on the map, his fingers tapped lightly on the table, and after a long time he said: "If the original battle plan is followed, the two divisions deployed in Otac City cannot be easily used.
But now the situation has changed, and our plans need to be adjusted accordingly."
"How to adjust?" Smirnov asked.
"Comrade Chief of Staff," Sokov raised his head and told Smirnov: "Immediately call Colonel Surodenko of the 130th Division and order his troops to set off in an hour and go to the right bank to replace the Guards Airborne Corps.
3rd Division defense area."
"What, let the 130th Division take over the defense area of the 3rd Guards Airborne Division?" Smirnov asked in surprise: "Where are you going to send Colonel Konev's troops?"
"Naturally, let them go down the river to attack the German flanks holding the river defense position, and support the 52nd Army on the left bank to cross the Dniester River."
"Comrade Commander," after listening to Sokov's order, Smirnov reminded him: "The 3rd Guards Airborne Division is one of the most capable troops. If they are allowed to go into battle, I am worried that the troops will
There were many casualties.”
"It doesn't matter," Sokov waved his hand to Smirnov and said: "Judging from the current situation, if we want to continue attacking westward, we need to wait at least a week. The 3rd Guards Airborne Division is even supporting
In the battle with friendly forces, we suffered a certain amount of casualties and had enough time to resupply."
"Okay, Comrade Commander." Since Sokov had already spoken to this extent, Smirnov could not refute him in public, so he could only bite the bullet and said: "I will immediately report it to Colonel Konev and Suro
Colonel Denko called and assigned them the latest combat mission."
"Wait a minute." Just when Smirnov picked up the phone and was about to make a call, Sokov stopped him: "Are there any tank troops on the right bank position now?"
"That's right." Smirnov nodded and gave Sokov an affirmative answer: "Now there are tank units of our army in the two landing sites on the right bank."
"Very good." Sokov carefully looked at the terrain downstream and felt that the terrain there was flat and fully capable of tank operations, so he planned to put all the tank units that had been idle for a long time into the battle. "Anyway, they
Idle time is idle, why not let them join the battle and treat it as training."
After Smirnov understood Sokov's intention, he nodded, "No problem, I will contact Colonel Burgos immediately and ask him to prepare the tank troops for attack."
After assigning the task, Sokov asked the director of the communications corps to get through the phone of the 52nd Army. He said to Korodeev who answered the phone: "Comrade General, I have made the deployment. In three hours, I will order an
A detachment of troops will launch an attack on your enemy on the other side of the river from the upper reaches of the Dniester River.
Please be sure to send someone to monitor the movements on the other side of the river. Once you discover that our attack has begun, you will need to launch a crossing operation. Only if we act at the same time can the crossing operation be successful."
"Don't worry, General Sokov." Korodeev heard the implication of Sokov's words. He was worried that he would not cooperate in time, causing the river crossing operation to fail again, so he assured the other party: "My troops
We have already made preparations to cross the river, and as soon as your attack starts, my troops will respond positively."
"That's good!" Sokov said after getting the other party's promise: "I hope that before dawn tomorrow, our two armies can meet on the right bank of the Dniester River."
This chapter has been completed!