Granin put down his telescope and said to his chief of staff with relief: "The enemy's artillery position has been destroyed. Until their new artillery position is established, the enemy attacking the bridge will not receive any artillery support."
"That's right, comrade regiment leader." The regiment chief of staff agreed: "And we have two captured tanks as fixed forts on the east bank of the bridge. If the enemy wants to seize the bridge, they will inevitably pay huge casualties.
"
Granin raised his hand to look at his watch and asked: "When will the main force of the division arrive?"
"I'm afraid it will take another hour or two." The regiment chief of staff explained to him: "The headquarters sent a large amount of weapons and ammunition to the division, which greatly slowed down the march of the follow-up troops."
"Originally, we only brought two basic amounts of ammunition. Facing the enemy's crazy attack, we may not be able to support it for less than three hours." Granin nodded and said, "With this batch of ammunition sent by our superiors, we can persist.
A longer period of time to wait for the arrival of the main force of the group army."
"As soon as the main force of the division arrives, we can switch from defense to offense and launch an attack on Kharkov's outer positions." The regiment chief of staff looked at the fighting area east of the bridge and said with emotion: "But I don't know that.
At that time, how many people can be left in the battalion?"
The regiment chief of staff's concerns were justified. Although the rockets on the west bank destroyed the German artillery positions several kilometers away, the German officers and soldiers of the 320th Infantry Division still launched an attack on the 1st Battalion's position without hesitation.
Granin picked up the phone on the table, connected the first battalion, and asked Shamrich directly: "Comrade Major, can you stop the German attack?"
"Don't worry, comrade commander." Shamrih's voice came over the phone: "As long as the enemy does not have artillery cover, it will be very difficult to break through our battalion's defense line."
Granin was very satisfied with Shamrich's answer. Even though the main force of the regiment was only separated from the first battalion's position by a river, he was unwilling to put the troops into battle easily. He knew very well that
If you put your troops into battle too early and suffer serious losses, your regiment will basically miss out on the subsequent battle to liberate Kharkov. If you only use one battalion to carry the enemy hard, you will have defeated all the battalions.
, but there are still two battalions available. In the next phase of the battle, your regiment can still accept important combat tasks.
The situation of the battle on the Oude River was quickly reported to the Army Group Headquarters.
After receiving the battle report, Samyko read it quickly, and then reported to Sokov: "Comrade Commander, the 98th Guards Division reports that the 1st Battalion of the 296th Guards Regiment, which is stationed on the east bank of the Oud River, is in the camp.
Under the command of Chang Shamrih, no less than a hundred enemies were killed and the enemy's attack was successfully repelled.
At the same time, Lieutenant Colonel Granin, the leader of the regiment, also ordered the troops to launch new rockets from the west bank to attack the German artillery positions, completely destroying the artillery positions that posed the greatest threat to our army's crossing of the river..."
"The one who attacked the bridge was the German 320th Infantry Division." After listening to Samyko's report, Sokov asked rhetorically: "This division is relatively powerful among the German 11th Army. They once fought in Prokhorov
Outside the city of Calgary, the force of one regiment forced two friendly divisions to retreat steadily."
"That's right, Comrade Commander." Samyko agreed very much with Sokov's statement: "It is because of the strong combat effectiveness of this unit that Kenf deployed them in the outer positions on the western outskirts of Kharkov.
, to prevent our army from attacking the city."
"Now our troops standing on the east bank of the Oud River only include one battalion of Major Shamrih. They have to face an enemy several times their number. Even if the enemy's artillery position is destroyed and the enemy loses the cover of artillery fire,
But the offensive is still fierce, can our troops hold on?"
Hearing Sokov's question, Samyko showed a confident expression on his face: "Don't worry, Comrade Commander. You must know that the commanders and fighters of Major Shamrih's battalion are almost all sailors. You also know,
In our army, the unit with the strongest combat effectiveness is the sailors, and the combat effectiveness displayed by a battalion of them on the battlefield is often more powerful than that of a regiment of ordinary troops."
Sokov thought about it carefully, and it seemed that this was really the case. Especially Major Shamrih, who had repeatedly performed extraordinary feats on the battlefield since he became his subordinate during the Battle of Stalingrad. Defending Mamayev Heights
When the troops under his command ran out of bullets at the Beigang position, they bravely rushed up to fight the enemy with bayonets face to face, and repelled the enemy's attack. Now they are holding on to the important area. I believe that Shamrih
Your performance will definitely not disappoint you.
Although he had confidence in the Shamrih Battalion to hold its position, he was unwilling to let such a heroic unit fight alone for a long time, so he raised his head and asked Samyko: "When will the 98th Guards Division arrive in Ukraine?"
Dehe?"
"Comrade Commander, since they are carrying a large amount of ammunition transported by Colonel Yakov, their marching speed will inevitably be slowed down. I estimate that it will take another hour or two to reach the bridge."
"Send a message to Colonel Chuvashov and ask them to speed up and don't let the 296th Regiment fight alone."
"Don't worry, Comrade Commander." Samyko nodded and said: "When I received the battle report from the division, I called back and ordered Chuvashov and the others to speed up their march and must reach the designated location within an hour.
Be prepared for counterattack."
After finishing talking about the 98th Guards Division, Sokov hurriedly asked: "Have the troops in Dergach moved towards the Oud River?"
"The 254th Infantry Division of Colonel Shechtman is currently setting out as the first echelon. According to their current marching speed, they will be able to reach the Oude River in about three hours."
After listening to Samyko's report, Sokov felt very unhappy. This plan really couldn't keep up with the changes. According to his own ideas, after the 98th Guards Division sent the 296th Regiment to seize the bridge, the main force should arrive before dawn.
They rushed to the Ude River, but they were still marching on the road. The departure time of the city defenders was also delayed, resulting in the original preparations to launch an attack on the outer positions of Kharkov's western suburbs at ten o'clock in the morning.
The offensive plan had to be postponed.
Seeing the angry look on Sokov's face, Samyko couldn't help but feel a little scared. However, he was worried that Sokov would blame the division commanders below, so he said cautiously: "Comrade Commander, although the troops in front of me have not yet been able to
Entering the designated position, but for us, it is not a bad thing."
"Isn't it a bad thing?" Sokov asked in confusion, "Why?"
"Judging from the current battle situation, the main force of our front army fighting on the left and the troops of the Voronezh Front are not progressing very smoothly. If we launch an attack on Kharkov prematurely, the enemies on the left will turn around to support our front.
enemies, thus increasing the difficulty of our attack."
Sokov lowered his head again, stared at the map in front of him and thought carefully. He felt that Samyko was right. Now the attack on Kharkov by the two fronts on the left did not seem to be going smoothly. If he
At this time, he hastily launched an attack on the outer positions in the western suburbs. Kenf would definitely ask for help from Hott and mobilize troops to strengthen his frontal defense. Even though his troops occupied the bridge on the Oude River, the enemy only needed to be on the bridge.
If you build a defense line all around, it will be difficult for your own troops to expand the results.
Seeing that Sokov was deep in thought, Samyko couldn't help but ask: "Comrade Commander, what are you thinking about?"
"Comrade Chief of Staff, what you say makes sense. If we launch an attack on Kharkov's outer positions at this time, then Hott's troops will definitely rush over to support the enemy in front of us. Once the enemy with a large force is on the bridge,
Establishing a defense line nearby will defeat our intention to expand the landing site and start a tug-of-war with us in this area."
"Comrade Commander, this is it." Sameko continued: "Although we have occupied the bridge on the Oude River, the landing area established is too small. If under such circumstances, we take the initiative to attack the enemy, we will
The west bank of the bridge cannot deploy too many troops, so we can only use refueling tactics to attack the enemy with a company or battalion size."
"Using refueling tactics to attack an enemy with a numerical advantage is a suicidal act. We cannot do this kind of loss-making business." Sokov said solemnly: "So the best way is to attack the West Bank
On the landing site, they started a tug-of-war with the Germans. The first was to consume their effective forces, and the second was to wait for the progress of the friendly forces on the left. As long as the main force of the front army could annihilate a large number of German effective forces outside the city, Holt would definitely send reinforcements to the enemy on the front.
, redeployed back. In this way, we will have the opportunity to decisively launch an attack on the enemy, and we will definitely be able to break through the outer positions in the western suburbs of Kharkov in the shortest possible time."
Samyko took a long breath and then said: "Comrade Commander, I think we may have to wait a day or two before launching the attack on Kharkov. I wonder if we can let a few main divisions stay in
How about taking a break in the city?"
Sokov was very excited about Samyko's proposal. But then he thought about it, fighting relies on a spirit of energy. Although the commanders and fighters in the city are a little tired now, they are full of fighting spirit.
If they were given a two-day rest, their energy might be exhausted.
"No." Sokov shook his head and said: "Comrade Chief of Staff, I know that the commanders and soldiers have become a little tired after this period of fighting, but we cannot let the troops rest in the city."
This time it was Sameko's turn to be confused: "Comrade Commander, why?"
If Samyko was lucky enough to read "Zuo Zhuan", Sokov would naturally tell him: it is a matter of gaining strength at once, then failing again, and finally exhausting the insights. But the other party did not know about this book from the East at all, so Sokov's explanation was somewhat confusing.
It's hard.
"Comrade Chief of Staff, our commanders and fighters have achieved many victories during this period of fighting, and are focused on fighting the Germans face to face in order to achieve more achievements." Sokov organized in his mind.
After checking the vocabulary, he said: "When they can't wait to compete with the enemy, we suddenly order them to rest, and their fighting spirit will weaken during the rest period. After they finish resting, and want to fight again, I'm afraid it will take more
It will take some time for adjustments to be made to restore the original state.”
Sokov's explanation made Samyko enlightened. He nodded vigorously and said: "Comrade Commander, I understand what you mean. The current fighting will of the commanders and soldiers is like a car in winter. Once it starts,
You can't stop it casually, otherwise it will take a while to warm up before restarting. Do I understand correctly?"
Seeing that Samyko understood his intention, Sokov smiled and nodded: "You are right, Comrade Chief of Staff, this is what I want to express." When he said this, he began to think secretly in his heart.
If you want to make a point again, just follow Samco's example of using a car in winter.
"Then the troops in the city will continue to move towards the Oude River according to the original plan?"
"That's right, order the troops in the city to continue to advance to the Ude River." Sokov was not an unreasonable person. He said to Samyko: "You can let them slow down their marching speed and let the soldiers march
Take a break during the process.”
Facing Sameko's puzzled expression, he continued: "If the soldiers were allowed to stay in the city to rest, the warm reception given to them by the residents would quickly make them lose their fighting spirit. And to rest during the march,
When they hear the sound of gunfire from the front, they will think of their comrades fighting the enemy in the front, and their hearts will always be filled with fighting spirit."
After saying this, Samyko completely understood Sokov's intention and quickly replied loudly: "Yes, Comrade Commander, I will convey your intention to the commanders of each division."
While Samyko was calling the division commanders to explain their tasks, Sokov thought he should call Konev to learn about the progress of the left-wing troops.
After the call was connected, the person who answered the phone was Chief of Staff Zakharov. When he heard that the call was from Sokov, he asked straight to the point: "Comrade Sokov, what is the situation there? Are the troops arriving?"
What position is it?"
"Our leading group has now occupied the bridge over the Oude River and is fighting the counterattacking enemy on the east bank."
"Oh, your troops have crossed the Oud?"
"Yes, Comrade Chief of Staff of the Front Army." Sokov replied truthfully: "The vanguard regiment has established a landing site on the east bank and launched a fierce battle with the enemy who tried to retake the bridge."
Knowing that Sokov's vanguard had crossed the Ude River, Zakharov asked anxiously: "When will you launch an attack on Kharkov?"
"I feel that the time to attack Kharkov is not yet ripe."
"Isn't the time right?" Zakharov asked in surprise: "Why?"
"I feel that if our troops launch a hasty attack on Kharkov before the main force of the front reaches the outside of Kharkov, Hott will definitely dispatch a sufficient number of troops from his defense zone to reinforce the Kef combat cluster.
Strengthen the frontal defense of our army." Sokov said into the microphone: "Our army group does not have many artillery and tanks. It is very difficult to expand the landing site eastward under the heavy siege of the German army. Even if it takes a huge effort
Even if you sacrifice yourself, the results achieved will be very limited."
Zakharov was silent for a long time and then asked: "Then when do you think is the best time to attack?"
