After coming out of the front headquarters, Ozerov apologized to Ponedelin and said: "Comrade Commander, I'm really sorry. I shouldn't have doubted General Sokov. I didn't expect that his analysis was so accurate. Marshal Zhukov
Sure enough, he sent his right-wing troops to coordinate with us."
"Comrade Chief of Staff, this time Marshal Zhukov sent the Polish 1st Army." But there was no joy on Ponejelin's face. He reminded Ozerov: "I have dealt with this army before. They
Their combat effectiveness is not as strong as we imagined. Even if our two armies fight together, they can only act as a check on the Germans at best. It is us who are really fighting against the Germans."
"Yes, Comrade Commander." Ozerov nodded and said: "This is indeed a headache. But now it is impossible for our superiors to send us more troops. If we want to defeat the Germans, we must
The Polish Army's help to us is indispensable."
The two had just returned to the group army headquarters and were about to convene a meeting with the division commanders to convey the instructions from the front army headquarters. However, they unexpectedly received a call from Bogolyubov, chief of staff of the front army: "General Ponedelin,
I have something important to inform you now."
When Ponejelin heard the other party speaking to him in such a serious tone, he couldn't help but feel a little bit in his heart. He secretly thought that something unexpected had happened. Didn't Marshal Rokossovsky intend to let the Polish 1st Army cooperate with us?
But he still tried to put a smile on his face and asked politely: "General Bogolyubov, do you have any new instructions from Comrade Marshal?"
"That's it." Bogolyubov said: "We have just received notification from our superiors that we intend to place Lieutenant General Kozlov's 19th Army and the 3rd Guards Tank Corps under the command of our front army. I and
After study, Comrade Marshal decided to strengthen these two forces in your offensive direction."
"General Bogolyubov, is this true?" After receiving Bogolyubov's confirmation, Ponedelin said excitedly: "Great, simply great. A group army has been added in the main attack direction.
With a tank corps, our assault force has been greatly strengthened. And even if we capture the enemy's position again, we will have enough troops to consolidate the occupied area."
"It may take another two days for the new troops to arrive." Bogolyubov told Poniejlin on the phone: "The task of your army group is to resolutely defend the existing area so that the enemy cannot advance even a step. Do you understand?
?”
"Understood, General Bogolyubov." Ponedelin said confidently: "As long as our 50th Army's organization is still there, the Germans will never even think of passing through our defense zone."
After putting down the phone, Ponedelin excitedly said to Ozerov: "Comrade Chief of Staff, let me tell you some good news. The Chief of Staff of the Front Army, General Bogolyubov, just called and said that the base camp is preparing to mobilize the 19th Group Army and
The 3rd Guards Tank Corps strengthened our Second Front Army. After discussion, Comrade Marshal and the Chief of Staff decided to strengthen the newly added troops in our main attack direction."
"Comrade Commander, this is great." Ozerov raised his eyebrows and said excitedly: "With the addition of new troops, we will be more confident in defeating the enemy."
"Comrade Chief of Staff," Ponejelin pointed to the map and said to Ozerov: "Look, there is a German fortress on the way we are advancing. The attack we launched here yesterday was blocked.
Failure. If we want to continue to advance deeper into the German defenses, we first need to capture this fortress."
Hearing what Ponedelin said, Ozerov had a troubled expression on his face: "Comrade Commander, it's difficult. This fortress has only two entrances and exits, one facing the direction of our attack, and connecting the fortress and
The bridge outside had been blown up by the Germans. The troops we rushed up were blocked by wide trenches. When we tried to erect the bridge, the German troops in the fortress blocked our bridge erection with intensive firepower through the firing port.
area, causing heavy casualties to our engineers who built the bridge."
"Yeah, this damn trench is blocking our way forward." Although there is an entrance and exit behind the fortress, Ponejelin was unwilling to try it. Not to mention that after the troops reached the back of the fortress, Germany
Whether people blow up the bridge connecting the fortress to the outside, even if they don't blow up, the detouring troops will be hit by the powerful artillery fire in the fortress, and they will inevitably pay huge casualties. Therefore, the best direction of attack is still in the fortress.
The front: "We have to find a way to suppress the German firepower and cover our engineers to build bridges that can allow tanks and other combat vehicles to pass."
"This fortress has been repeatedly reinforced by the Germans, so it is extremely strong. The thickness of the top alone is more than five meters. Even aircraft bombing cannot penetrate their fortress." Ozerov said: "We are now
The maximum caliber of the artillery we have is only 122 mm, which cannot penetrate the top of the fortress. Unless our superiors can give us 203 mm artillery and use condensate-breaking bombs, it is possible to destroy the German fortress fortifications."
"Comrade Chief of Staff, you should know that your request will not be approved." Ponedelin remembered that in order to capture the Brest Fortress, Sokovto had found a 280 mm super heavy artillery, but
After completing the task of attacking the enemy, the artillery was immediately transferred. He must not think that he has Sokov's ability to obtain such heavy artillery from his superiors. The only thing they can do is to use the existing artillery
, to find a way to destroy the German fortress: "We can only find a way to solve this problem ourselves."
Ozerov thought for a long time and finally proposed to Ponedelin: "Comrade Commander, since you came, I have often heard you mention General Sokov. I guess he is a resourceful man. We might as well go to him."
Please tell me if there is any good way to destroy the powerful firepower of the German fortress."
After receiving the call from Ponedelin, Sokov drew a sketch of the fortress on the paper in front of him and began to think about how to deal with the German fortress. Ponedelin on the other end of the phone was deeply afraid.
It disrupted his train of thought and he didn't dare to speak casually. He just waited quietly.
Sokov stared at the sketch he had drawn. After thinking for five or six minutes, he came up with a way to deal with the German fortress, and then said into the microphone: "General Ponedelin, are you still there?"
"Yes, Comrade Commander, I'm still here." Ponejelin quickly asked, "Have you come up with any good ideas?"
"According to your description," Sokov said: "The firepower network in the fortifications is divided into upper and lower levels. The upper level is higher than the ground of the fortress. It can shoot from a high position at our troops rushing towards the fortress; and their lower level
As for the firepower, it comes from the ground of the regional fortress. In other words, after you have built the bridge and the troops pass over the bridge, they can shoot from the bottom, attack the weak belly of the tank, and the infantry following the charging tank, causing you
Huge casualties.”
"Yes, yes, you are right." After listening to Sokov's words, Ponedelin nodded repeatedly and said: "Is there any way to deal with the German double-layer firepower network?"
"This is actually easy to handle." Sokov said with a smile: "General Ponedelin, you have been my deputy commander for a long time. You should know that when I use artillery on the battlefield, my favorite
It is to "mount the cannon with a bayonet", that is to say, bring the artillery close to the enemy's fortifications to fire. You can prepare a batch of large-caliber artillery, deploy it four to five hundred meters away from the fortress, and use direct shooting to destroy the German army.
The upper level firepower network.”
"Yes, I remember your favorite artillery tactic, which is the 'bayonet on the cannon' tactic. It works well every time. I will let the artillery use this tactic to destroy the upper level fire network of the German army." Poneje
Lin continued to ask humbly: "How to deal with the fire network at the lower level?"
"To deal with the lower firepower network of the German fortress, you can no longer use direct shooting tactics." Sokov patiently explained to Ponedelin: "You can ask the soldiers to fill the oil drums with explosives and ignite them.
After that, push into the trench. The huge explosion shock wave, even if it cannot collapse the bottom of the fortress, can kill more than half of the German soldiers hiding inside. When the enemy's resistance stops, you can seize the time to build the bridge and quickly
Rush into the fortress."
After Sokov explained his idea, he also specifically reminded Ponedelin: "General Ponedelin, this is just the offensive plan I imagined. Whether it is true and effective in actual combat still needs to be verified by your troops. If
If it doesn't work, you have to find another way."
"I don't think the problem is big." Possibly out of trust in Sokov, Ponedelin nodded and said, "I believe that with your tactics, my troops will be able to successfully break through the German defenses and successfully defeat the enemy."
The ground rushed into the fortress."
After Sokov waited for Ponedelin to finish speaking, he was eager to know what he was doing at Rokossovsky's place tonight, so he asked tentatively: "By the way, Comrade Marshal is here to see you. Is there anything important?"
"
"As you have analyzed," Ponejelin said: "Marshal Zhukov sent the Polish 1st Army to assist our attack. I was recruited to the front army headquarters tonight just to contact the commander of the Polish army and discuss the plan.
The next battle matters."
"Oh, the Polish 1st Army was sent to you." Sokov was worried that Ponedelin looked down on the Polish 1st Army, and specifically reminded him: "General Ponedelin, the Polish 1st Army was cooperating with us.
During the battle, their performance was really poor. But after more than half a year of baptism of blood and fire, I believe their combat effectiveness must have been greatly improved, and they will definitely be your good helpers in the next battle."
"I hope so."
"When will you attack the Germans again?" Sokov asked.
"The specific attack time is not yet clear." Ponejelin said: "We had just returned to the army headquarters when we received a call from Chief of Staff Bogolyubov, saying that the base camp was going to send the 19th Army and Guards Tanks
The 3rd Army replenished the Second Front Army, and after discussion with the Marshal, he planned to deploy these two troops within our combat area. In other words, we would not attack the German army until these two troops arrived.
Launch a new round of attack."
"Oh, three armies plus a tank corps." Sokov said with some surprise: "This is a good lineup. It will definitely be able to easily break through the German defenses. And every time an area is occupied, there will be enough troops to consolidate it.
The occupied area was prevented from being lost in the German counterattack."
While Sokov and Ponedelin were talking on the phone, Runev and Sidorin sat nearby and listened. Both of them heard most of the conversation clearly.
After Sokov put down the phone, Runev said: "Misha, if General Ponedelin adds two group armies and a tank corps at once, the original enemy will not be a concern."
"Comrade Military Commissar is right." Sidorin said with great excitement: "In this way, we don't have to worry about having our army group put into combat before attacking Berlin."
Regarding Sidorin's obsession, Sokov did not say anything, but smiled faintly, wondering in his mind whether the troops of the Second Front could gain the opportunity to attack the Reichstag after entering Berlin. It was still a question.
Perhaps like real history, the 150th and 171st divisions of the 79th Infantry Corps of the 3rd Assault Army will be responsible for the attack on the Capitol.
However, in order not to dampen the opponent's enthusiasm, Sokov paused for a moment and said: "Comrade Chief of Staff, take advantage of the favorable opportunity when the troops do not have to go into battle for the time being, seize the time to replenish, not only to replenish ammunition and supplies, but also to replenish
Soldiers. If we are not fully prepared, we may suffer losses when our army enters Berlin and attacks the enemy."
"Comrade Commander, you can rest assured on this." Sidorin said confidently: "As for the replenishment of weapons, ammunition, supplies and soldiers, I will definitely be supervising and there will never be any mistakes. I assure you,
By the time the troops enter Berlin, at least 80% of the troops in each army group can be ensured."
Regarding Sidorin's statement, Sokov nodded slightly. He remembered that when Rokossovsky's troops arrived at the outskirts of Berlin, they all suffered varying degrees of losses. The division with the largest number of soldiers only had 80% of its strength, while
The division with a small number of soldiers only has about 50% of its soldiers.
In order to allow the army to have more soldiers, Sokov said to Sidorin: "Comrade Chief of Staff, please inform the commanders of each division and let them continue to search for possible prisoner of war camps and liberate the commanders and fighters of our army who are detained there.
Come out and add as many troops as possible to our ranks."
"Comrade Commander, we have roughly inspected the combat area and found no prisoner-of-war camps." Sidorin reminded Sokov: "So the idea of replenishing soldiers from prisoner-of-war camps, I think, is unrealistic."
"Comrade Chief of Staff, let me remind you that although no prisoner of war camps have been found in the combat areas of our group army, it does not mean that there are none in the combat areas of friendly forces." Sokov told Sidorin: "You can let all parties
The division commander will send out manpower to conduct searches deep into the areas controlled by friendly forces, and there may be unexpected gains."
This chapter has been completed!