After the troops were officially awarded the honorary title of Guard Division, they were conveyed to the commanders and fighters of the division by telephone and telegram, and the whole division suddenly became thunderous. At the beginning of the attack the next day, the troops on the left and right wings were as powerful as rainbows, defeating the German army in front of them in a mess and unable to organize forces to counterattack him.
Because the main force of the German army in the Zhizdra region was restrained by the newly promoted 31st Guard Division, the infantry army commanded by General Orlov successfully arrived at the city of Zhizdra without undergoing fierce battles. According to Rokosovsky's idea, as long as the city was captured, the overall defense line of the German army could be torn a gap and opened the road to Bryansk.
However, there were serious differences in opinions within the Army Command on whether the 31st Guard Division seized Zedra or General Orlov's infantry army was used to complete this task. Chief of Staff Malining first stated: "In this attack, Major Sokov's 31st Guard Division's performance is obvious to all, and their division restrained one-third of the German army in the front of our army. I think the honor of seizing the city should be left to them."
"Comrade Chief of Staff, you are right. The 31st Guards Division did perform well, but after a long battle, the troops suffered a lot of casualties, and the commanders and fighters were exhausted." The next speech was artillery commander Kazakov: "So I suggest that this offensive mission be handed over to General Orlov's infantry army to complete."
"I agree with General Kazakov's opinion." As soon as Kazakov finished speaking, he immediately received support from military committee member Lobachev: "The system of the infantry army was abolished when the war situation was most critical last year. As the situation changed, the infantry army was rebuilt one after another. This battle was the first battle after the reconstruction of General Orlov's infantry army. If there was no dazzling record, I was worried that it would make the Supreme Command unhappy."
After hearing the reactions of the three, Rokosovsky did not immediately express his opinion, but asked Orel who was sitting aside: "Comrade Armored Soldier, I want to hear your opinion. What do you think about this?"
Orel originally wanted to echo Malining's opinion, but when he heard Lobachev's words, he changed his mind. He felt that the other party was very reasonable. Once Orlov's infantry army did not have any dazzling performance or outstanding results in this offensive battle, then they might be blamed by the Supreme Command. Although they could not express support to Malining in public, they could not express the opposite opinion. Therefore, after he hesitating for a moment, he finally spoke: "I listen to the commander, and you will do whatever you say, and I firmly support you!"
Oryol's answer surprised Rokosovsky. He didn't expect that this old subordinate would give such an answer that neither side would offend. In his heart, Rokosovsky wanted to hand over the task of seizing Juzdra to the 31st Guard Division of Sokov. Now the city is like a ripe apple, and can be picked with just one hand, so that Orlov's troops can easily achieve military merits. He felt very sorry for Sokov.
However, after repeatedly weighing the powerful relationship, he decided to hand over the task of seizing the city to Orlov to complete. He made up his mind and stood up and said, "Since everyone has expressed their opinions, I will talk about my views. I agree with the opinions of the military committee member that General Orlov's infantry army will not be long before they can rebuild. If they do not establish great merits, it will be difficult to explain in the Supreme Command. Therefore, I decided to hand over the task of attacking the city of Juzdra to Orlov's infantry army to complete."
Seeing Rokosovsky's final decision, Malining couldn't help but sigh, regretting that the 31st Guards Division had lost such a good opportunity. But Kazakov breathed a sigh of relief. He believed that Orol's infantry army would be able to successfully capture the city of Zedra.
Rokosovsky looked at Kazakov and asked, "Comrade Artillery Commander, if you want to attack the city of Juzdra, you must first seize the German defenses outside the city. I want to ask, how large amount of artillery fire support can you provide for Orlov?"
Kazakov had long memorized these questions. When he heard Rokosovsky's question, he immediately replied without hesitation: "Comrade Commander, please rest assured. This time I have prepared eight artillery regiments and two rocket artillery battalions. The artillery fire support before the war can last for more than half an hour. After the artillery bombing is over, I believe that General Orlov's troops can easily seize these positions from the enemy."
Seeing that Kazakov was so confident, Rokosovsky did not ask again, but turned his attention to Orel: "Comrade Director of the Armored Forces, I want to ask, where are you going to deploy the base camp to our tank army?"
"Comrade Commander," Orel heard Rokosovsky's question and immediately pointed at the map in front of him and replied: "In order to prevent our attack from being noticed by the enemy, the tank army will be placed as the second echelon fifteen kilometers behind the starting point of the attack."
"What, it's fifteen kilometers behind?" Rokosovsky frowned and asked Orel: "Will the distance be too far? If the infantry's attack is frustrated, our tanks will not be able to support them."
"Don't worry, Commander." Orel looked at Rokosovsky and said, "From the hidden location of the Tank Army to the starting point of the infantry attack, there are flat roads. When our infantry launches an attack, the Tank Army will start from the assembly area and arrive at the battlefield within half an hour."
Out of trust in Orol, Rokosovsky did not verify after hearing him, so he nodded and agreed to his plan: "Well, Comrade Armored Soldiers, since you are so confident, the tank army will be deployed where you said."
Finally, Rokosovsky faced Malining again and said to him: "Comrade Chief of Staff, immediately let General Orlov come to the command center, and you will personally arrange the offensive tasks for him. Do you understand?"
Seeing that Rokosovsky had made up his mind, Malining did not sing a opposite tune with him, so he could only agree helplessly: "I understand, Comrade Commander, I will leave it to General Orlov." After pausing for a moment, he asked carefully, "Comrade Commander, do you think you should say hello to Major Sokov in this matter so that he would not have bad ideas."
Chapter completed!