In Sokov's memory, Apanashenko died on August 5. As for the reason for his sacrifice, the information said that he was bombed by enemy planes when he inspected the forward command post, not that he died.
At this moment, I saw that the date of Apanashchenko's death actually coincided with history, and the reason for his death was also due to an air strike. Sokov, who wanted to know the details, asked curiously: "Comrade Chief of Staff, can you tell me the specific situation?"
"
Samyko nodded and told Sokov the details he knew: "Comrade General General took his guard early this morning and drove to the area occupied by the Voronezh Front to inspect the area. As a result, he encountered an enemy plane halfway.
Because he and his guards were traveling in three jeeps and two trucks in a neat formation along the road, they attracted the attention of the German pilots, who dive-bombed the convoy and killed all of them on the spot.
A truck was destroyed, and the commanders and fighters on the truck suffered heavy casualties.
Comrade General was riding in a jeep. When the driver saw the enemy plane swooping down from the sky, he immediately realized something was wrong and left the road to hide in the nearby woods. Unexpectedly, when he was about to rush to the woods, he accidentally ran over a bomb.
A landmine blew up the jeep on the spot.
When the accompanying soldiers arrived and rescued Comrade General from the car, he was already in critical condition. The accompanying soldiers quickly sent Comrade General to a nearby field hospital for first aid. Unfortunately, his injuries were too serious. After some rescue efforts, he was
Still couldn't save his life."
"Where is the body of Comrade General?"
"It is said that the Supreme Command has sent a plane to transport his body back to Moscow."
After learning the details of Apanashenko's sacrifice, Sokov thought of Chuvashov's troops and couldn't help but ask: "How is the 98th Guards Division doing now? Did they have anything during the transfer process?"
Bombed by the enemy?"
Facing the question raised by Sokov, Samyko showed a bitter expression on his face: "Comrade Commander, didn't all the divisions just send you telegrams to report their situation? Didn't Colonel Chuvashov
Send you a telegram?"
Sokov looked through the telegrams at hand and found no telegram from Chuvashov. He shook his head and said, "No, he didn't send me a telegram."
"Then I will contact Colonel Chuvashov immediately and ask them about the situation there."
While Samyko went to tell the operator to send the report, Sokov picked up the telegram on the table, called the Reconnaissance Division, and asked the director of the Reconnaissance Division who answered the phone straight to the point: "Comrade Director, the scouts sent out,
is there any news?"
"Not yet, Comrade Commander." The director of the reconnaissance department replied respectfully: "If there is any news, I will report it to you as soon as possible."
After Samyko explained the contents of the report to the operator, he walked back to Sokov and happened to hear his conversation with the director of the reconnaissance department. As soon as he put down the phone, he asked tentatively: "Comrade Commander
,No news from the Scouts yet?”
"No." Sokov waved his hand and said, "Maybe there will be intelligence feedback before dark."
"Comrade Commander," Samyko said with a sad look on his face: "Our army group's performance was too eye-catching in the battle to liberate Belgorod. Moreover, the new river-crossing equipment assigned to us by our superiors may have been known to the Germans.
I'm worried that in order to prevent us from forcing our way across the Oude River, the enemy may place obstacles on the shore so that the hovercraft can no longer rush to the enemy's position as easily as it did last time."
"Your analysis makes sense." Sokov agreed very much with Samek's statement. Although there are a series of confidentiality regulations for hovercrafts, as long as they are used once on the battlefield, the hovercraft will no longer be anything.
Secret weapon. Sooner or later, the Germans will use their special methods to understand the purpose of hovercraft and develop ways to deal with hovercraft. "It may not be easy for us to break through the Oude River again."
"Before the attack on Belgorod, our artillery had exhausted all the ammunition in stock." Samyko continued: "If our superiors do not give us replenishment, then we may not be able to attack Kharkov.
Prepare for artillery fire."
If it were something else, Sokov might be worried, but when Samyko mentioned the lack of artillery shells, Sokov smiled. He clicked on the map with his hand and said to Samyko: "Comrade Chief of Staff,
Don't forget, there are several ammunition depots in Belgorod. The artillery shells stored in them include not only shells for German artillery, but also artillery shells for Soviet artillery. Before the troops were transferred, I had ordered them to transfer the artillery shells.
To the south of the city."
"The ammunition in the arsenal was transferred?" Sameko asked in surprise: "Comrade Commander, why didn't I know about this?"
Hearing Samyko's question, an embarrassed expression flashed across Sokov's face. He lowered his head and looked through the telegram in front of him, then pulled out a telegram and handed it to Samyko: "This is the infantry
Colonel Belkin, the deputy commander of the 84th Division, sent me a telegram stating that their division had emptied all the captured ammunition depots during the transfer."
If Sokov was talking about someone else, Samyko might still ask questions, but when he heard that it was Belkin, Samyko wisely remained silent. He knew that Sokov and Belkin were old friends.
Partner, even if Sokov doesn't ask for some things, Belkin will know what to do based on his understanding of him.
"Comrade Commander, this is great." Samyko put the telegram back in front of Sokov and said with a smile: "In this way, we don't have to worry about the troops having to attack Kharkov before attacking.
No more artillery support."
"Misha, Misha!" Yakov and Lunev walked in from the outside. When they saw Sokov sitting at the table, they immediately shouted: "Do you know? Something happened, something happened!"
Sokov couldn't help but feel a thump in his heart, and then asked in a panic: "What happened?"
Yakov quickly walked up to Sokov, looked around, and said seriously: "Misha, have you heard? General Apanashenko was attacked by an enemy plane while inspecting the troops.
Unfortunately, he died in an air raid."
"I already know about this." Sokov nodded and said: "It's really unfortunate. Our army liberated Belgorod. It was originally a happy thing, but after Apanashenko University...
This incident will affect everyone's mood to some extent."
Lunev, who was standing next to Yakov, sighed softly and said regretfully: "As far as I know, the reason why the Supreme Command arranged for Comrade General to serve as the deputy commander of the Voronezh Front Army is to let him follow General Vatutin.
Learn how to fight the Germans. After he has actual combat experience, he will be assigned to serve as the front commander of a certain front. But now that he has died, the arrangement from his superiors has been ruined."
"Alas, what a pity." Yakov said regretfully: "He was also the highest-ranking commander of our army who died after the outbreak of the Great Patriotic War."
"Colonel Yakov, this was a pure accident." Hearing this, Samyko couldn't help but interject: "I believe that similar tragedies will not happen again in the future."
Sokov secretly thought: Apanashenko's sacrifice is just the beginning. In a few months, Vatutin of the Voronezh Front will die; then, the young general Chernyakhov will die.
A few days before he was promoted to marshal, Skiy unfortunately encountered German shelling and died.
However, Sokov could only keep these things in his heart and could not tell others, otherwise he would be regarded as a lunatic by others.
After everyone lamented Apanashenko's sacrifice for a while, they inevitably mentioned the next battle to liberate Kharkov. Lunev tentatively asked Sokov: "Comrade Commander, what do you think of our commanders and soldiers?"
In the battle to liberate Kharkov, can we still perform as outstandingly as in the liberation of Belgorod?"
"It's hard to say, Comrade Military Commissar." Sokov said with a wry smile: "I think our army will probably pay a heavy price when we forcefully cross the Oud River."
"What, forcibly crossing the Oud River will cost a lot?" Lunev seemed to disagree with Sokov's statement. He asked with some confusion: "Since we have a hovercraft, are we still worried about being unable to break through the enemy?
The riverside position?”
"Comrade Military Commissar, I do not deny that the hovercraft played a role that cannot be underestimated in the battle to liberate Belgorod." Sokov said to Lunev sincerely: "But we cannot think that the hovercraft will be used every time because of this.
It can play a great role in the battle. I am even considering that maybe in the battle to liberate Kharkov, we will not find any occasion to use the hovercraft."
Sokov's words made Yakov frown, and he asked displeasedly: "Misha, why do you say that?"
For Yakov, the hovercraft that made a brilliant appearance in the battle to liberate Belgorod was like his own child, and he would not let anyone speak ill of it, not even an old friend like Sokov.
Seeing the expression on Yakov's face, Sokov realized that he might have said the wrong thing, and quickly explained to Yakov: "Yasha, please don't get me wrong. I said that the hovercraft was in the process of liberating Kharkov."
It is only used in battles, and it is difficult to find a place to use it. This is entirely because the Germans already know that we have a hovercraft that can quickly cross the river. I think they are taking remedial measures at the moment, setting up obstacles along the river positions so that our hovercraft cannot
Landing ashore again as easily as last time."
After listening to Sokov's explanation, the expression on Yakov's face softened a lot: "Misha, you are too pessimistic. Our hovercraft can travel on any complex terrain, even if the Germans deploy in front of the riverside positions
Landmines will not cause much harm to the hovercraft."
This time it was Sameko's turn to be confused: "Why?"
"The reason is very simple." In response to Samyko's question, Yakov patiently explained: "The reason why the hovercraft can be used on various complex terrains is because when it is traveling, the hull is in the air, and the hull of the ship is in the air.
There is a certain distance between the bottom and the ground, so even if it passes through a minefield, the damage suffered will be negligible."
Just when Samyko was pleased with what Yakov said, Sokov lost no time in pouring cold water on him: "Comrade Chief of Staff, don't be too happy too early. Even if the enemy's minefields cannot
Hovercraft pose a real danger, but what about the obstacles set up by the Germans? For example, anti-tank triangular cones or large iron triangles can block the path of the hovercraft."
There was silence in the room for a while, and Yakov said with difficulty: "Misha is right. If the Germans use anti-tank obstacles to deal with our hovercraft, they can indeed prevent our hovercraft from quickly approaching their defensive positions."
"Is there any good way?"
"There is a way," Yakov said, looking at Sokov: "Before the attack, use intensive artillery fire to bombard the German coastal positions, destroy various anti-tank obstacles arranged by the enemy, and provide space for our hovercraft.
Open up a passable road. However, I remember that all the artillery shells you hoarded were used up before the attack the day before yesterday."
"Comrade Commander," Lunev heard what Yakov said, and said to Sokov anxiously: "We should report to our superiors immediately, saying that our shells have been used up, and ask our superiors to replenish us with shells as soon as possible.
, otherwise it will be difficult to launch the next stage of offensive operations."
After hearing what Lunev said, Sokov and Samyko looked at each other, and then smiled and said to Lunev: "Comrade Military Commissar, before you and Yasha entered the headquarters, I was just talking to Comrade Chief of Staff.
Regarding the cannonballs..."
An expression of surprise appeared on Lunev's face: "Comrade Commander, has the superior promised to give us priority in replenishing artillery shells?"
Sokov shook his head.
Runev's smile froze on his face.
Seeing Lunev's expression, Sokov smiled slightly and then said: "Although the superiors are temporarily unable to replenish us with artillery shells, we can find a way to solve it?"
"How to solve it?" When Lunev asked this, he couldn't help turning his head and glanced at Yakov who was standing next to him. He secretly thought that Sokov was trying to take advantage of the Weapons and Equipment Department again. Fortunately, Colonel Yakov
Here, it is naturally not difficult for him to come forward to ask for weapons and ammunition.
"Comrade Military Commissar, you misunderstood." Sokov guessed Lunev's thoughts and explained to him: "During yesterday's battle, the 84th Infantry Division occupied several German ammunition depots.
In addition to various weapons and ammunition, there are also a large number of artillery shells, some of which are standard artillery shells of our army. No matter when our superiors order us to attack the enemy, the artillery shells used to prepare artillery fire before the attack are still barely enough."
"How come there are artillery shells of our army's standard in the enemy's arsenal?" Lunev asked in confusion.
"The reason is very simple." Before Sokov could speak, Yakov explained to Lunev: "Belgorod used to be an important military stronghold of our army, and it is normal to stockpile weapons and ammunition there. But
After the city was occupied by the Germans, these weapons and ammunition unfortunately fell into the hands of the Germans. Fortunately, we have now liberated the city, so these weapons and ammunition stored in the warehouse are back in our hands."
