Just as the troops still staying at Merefa Fortress were preparing a special bathhouse for female soldiers, the troops of General Managarov's 1st Mechanized Corps also arrived outside the city of Klemenkoug.
This force was established in Kosterevo in September 1942 and made great achievements during the Battle of Stalingrad. Solomatin, the commander of the army, was awarded the rank of lieutenant general for his outstanding military exploits.
Although Konev has personally stated that he will hand over this unit to the command of Sokov. But now among the commanders in Kremenchug and the landing field on the right bank of the Dnieper River, the highest-ranking commander is Fomenko, commander of the 84th Division.
Major General. After they arrive, it becomes a headache for them to decide who should be responsible for unified command of the troops.
After Colonel Chuvasov in the city of Kremenchug learned that General Solomatin was calling, he went out of the city to greet him personally and invited him to his headquarters. While warmly entertaining the opponent, he ordered Chief of Staff Wu
Lieutenant Colonel Zhakov sent a telegram to the Army Group Headquarters, reporting the news of the arrival of Lieutenant General Solomatin to the headquarters.
After receiving the telegram, Samyko also showed a troubled expression on his face. He said to Sokov: "Comrade Commander, this is a headache. You know, we are currently in Kremenchug."
The only troops in the area are the 98th Guards Division, the 84th and 254th Infantry Divisions. The highest ranking officer is Major General Fomenko, while General Solomatin is a lieutenant general. Let him accept the command of a major general or colonel.
He definitely doesn’t want to in his heart.”
"Yes, Comrade Chief of Staff, you are right." Sokov agreed very much with Fomenko's statement: "If it were me, even if I didn't say it, I would feel very uncomfortable in my heart.
When executing the order, there will definitely be a big discount, thus affecting the implementation of the combat plan."
"What should we do?" Samyko asked Sokov for instructions: "How about we move the headquarters there overnight?"
"Don't mess up our original plan for such a trivial matter." Sokov thought for a while, then shook his head and said: "I think after the train returns from Kremenchug, let the 73rd Infantry Brigade board the train.
I went with the car to Kremenchug in advance and unified the command of the troops there."
When Samyko heard that Sokov was planning to go deep into the front line again, he originally wanted to object, but then he thought that the conditions for the transfer of the headquarters were not yet mature. It would be better to let Sokov go first and take over the command of several troops.
It can help the defense work there to be improved as soon as possible. Thinking of this, he nodded and said: "Okay, Comrade Commander, I will immediately call Major Guchakov and inform him to prepare the troops to board the train.
"
When Guchakov received the call from Samyko, he was quite surprised. He asked in confusion: "Comrade Chief of Staff, according to the order of boarding, shouldn't we leave the day after tomorrow? Why did it suddenly change to
today?"
"The situation in Kremenchug has changed a little. Comrade Commander must rush there as soon as possible." Samyko explained to Guchakov on the phone: "Your troops are his most trusted, so after the group army
The chief will make a decision, and it will be up to you to escort him to Kremenchug."
Upon learning that Sokov was preparing to go to Kremenchug, Guchakov immediately became energetic. He assured Samyko: "Comrade Chief of Staff, I immediately issued an order to the troops to prepare them for departure.
You can rest assured that as long as our brigade commanders and fighters are here, the safety of Comrade Commander can definitely be ensured."
When Samyko put down the phone, Sokov said to him: "Chief of Staff, send a telegram back to Colonel Chuvashov and ask him to receive General Solomatin well. If you have any questions, wait until I get there."
"
"Do we need to move the 1st Mechanized Army to the landing site on the right bank as soon as possible?" Samek asked for instructions.
"No need for the time being." Sokov shook his head and said: "Where the troops of the 1st Mechanized Army will be deployed and how they will be deployed will be discussed after I arrive in Kremenchug and consult with General Solomatin.
"
Although Sokov always remembered that Konev said that from now on, Lieutenant General Solomatin's 1st Mechanized Army will be placed under his command, but he is young and has a lower military rank than Solomatin. Is the other party willing to sincerely
Obeying his own orders was still an unknown question. He wanted to rush there as soon as possible just to solve this problem.
After Solomatin drank tea for a while at Chuvashov's headquarters, he returned to the subject: "Comrade Colonel, I would like to ask where my troops should be deployed. Also, as far as I know, in Kle
There are several troops in Menchug and the landing site on the other side, who should be under unified command?"
Solomatin's question left Chuvasov at a loss as to how to respond. Fortunately, Uzakov came over with a telegram and reported to him: "Comrade Division Commander, this is a telegram from the Army Headquarters.
"
Chuvashov snatched the telegram from Uzakov's hand and read it nervously. After reading the contents, he breathed a sigh of relief, and then said to Solomatin: "Comrade General, I
I just received a call from General Sokov, the commander of the group army, and he asked me to entertain you well. As for how the troops will be deployed and who will be under unified command, we will wait until he arrives."
After Solomatin waited for the other party to finish speaking, he asked calmly: "Then when will your commander arrive?"
"General Solomatin," Chuvasov thought for a moment, and then replied: "If everything goes well, we can reach us in eight hours at the fastest."
"What, eight hours at the fastest?" Solomatin's face showed an unhappy look: "Comrade Colonel, do you know that in war, every minute is precious. If my troops stay
Is it too late to wait for eight hours outside Kremenchug before you start mobilizing when your commander arrives? If the Germans launch an attack at this time, will your troops holding on to the right bank landing site be able to stop them?
Enemy attack?"
"General Solomatin," Chuvasov couldn't help but feel angry when he heard that the other party looked down on his friendly forces, but he still suppressed the anger in his heart and tried his best to say in a calm tone: "You may not know, now
The two divisions that stood firm at the landing site on the right bank had once fought face to face with the most elite SS division of the German army. In the end, the enemy suffered huge casualties, and even almost had their designation revoked.
Even if the Germans launch an attack at this moment, I believe that with the combat effectiveness of these two divisions, there will not be much problem in crushing the German attack."
After listening to this, Solomatin couldn't help laughing and said: "Comrade Colonel, it seems that you are confident in the combat effectiveness of your friendly forces. I hope that when the enemy's attack begins, the two divisions on the landing field on the right bank will really be able to
I can block the enemy's attack."
"General Solomatin, I believe that the performance of the friendly forces in the battle will definitely exceed your imagination." Chuvasov said confidently: "You can use one division to deal with the SS division of a group army of our army.
Every encounter with our army ends in a disastrous defeat, and I believe there will be no exception this time."
When you meet a close friend, a thousand glasses of wine are too few, and a word of discord is too much. Chuvasov had already ordered the kitchen to prepare wine and food for Solomatin, and was ready to entertain him well. However, due to a dispute in the conversation, the two of them
Soon they broke up on bad terms.
After Solomatin returned outside the city, the army chief of staff came up to him and asked curiously: "Comrade commander, what did the friendly comrades say, where do you plan to deploy our army?"
Solomatin glanced at the Army Chief of Staff and said angrily: "Now the several units of the 27th Army don't even have a unified command, let alone where we can place defenses."
"Are they just going to let us stay outside the city?"
"That's not true." Solomatin shook his head and said, "Chuvasov told me that his commander, Major General Sokov, was preparing to arrive from the distant Merefa Fortress. About eight hours later,
You can get here.”
The army chief of staff became even more worried after hearing this: "Are we just going to let our troops wait outside the city for eight hours?"
"Although the commander here can't make the decision, we can't wait here stupidly." When Solomatin came out of Chuvashov's division headquarters, he had already considered how to deploy the troops. At this moment, he heard that the Army Chief of Staff
After asking, he took the opportunity to say: "Immediately transfer the 219th Tank Brigade to the vicinity of the Dnieper River Bridge, so that if the situation on the right bank becomes critical, the Tank Brigade can rush over to provide support."
After recording his order, the Army Chief of Staff then asked: "What about the mechanized brigade? Let them continue to stay outside the city, or should they follow the tank brigade to the Dnieper River Bridge?"
"The 19th Mechanized Brigade moved in with the 219th Tank Brigade." Solomatin said: "The remaining two mechanized brigades, as well as the tank regiment, artillery regiment and rocket launcher battalion, all continue to stay outside Kremenchug.
, awaiting further orders from me."
"Yes, Comrade Commander." The Army Chief of Staff waited for Solomatin to finish speaking and then replied loudly: "I will convey your order to all units as soon as possible."
As the order was issued, the 219th Tank Brigade, the most elite of the 1st Mechanized Army, took the lead. This brigade has three tank battalions and is equipped with all T-34 tanks. This unit has always been regarded as a critical force by Solomatin.
, during the offensive battle, if a certain German position cannot be captured for a long time, Solomatin will send out this powerful tank brigade to assault the enemy's position and cover the infantry to break through the enemy's defense line.
It was followed by the 19th Mechanized Brigade, which had a tank regiment with 21 tanks, three infantry battalions on trucks, and two artillery batteries equipped with 76.2 mm field guns.
Solomatin's purpose of deploying these two brigades near the Dnieper River Bridge was to prepare his troops to attack in the shortest possible time when the defenders of the landing site on the right bank were defeated. You know, Sokov's troops were
They are invincible and invincible. Once they are defeated by the German army and their own troops block the oncoming German army, they will become famous and will be very helpful to their future prospects.
When the troops of the Mechanized Army were mobilized to the bank of the Dnieper River, they immediately alerted the 254th Division that was stationed here. After the division commander, Colonel Shechtman, learned the news, he and the political commissar, Colonel Billing, immediately led a guard line out and wanted to do something.
Know where this troop comes from.
The two stood at the end of the bridge, reaching out to stop the oncoming tank.
After the leading tank stopped, the top hatch of the turret was opened, and a tank crew lieutenant wearing a black jumpsuit and a tank cap got out of it. When he saw the two people standing at the bridge, he quickly jumped out of the tank.
Come trot over.
After Shechtman waited for the tank corps officers to come to him, he asked with a straight face: "Comrade Lieutenant, which unit do you belong to, and why are you here?"
After the tank lieutenant raised his hand to salute the two men, he replied with a smile: "Comrade colonels, we are from the 219th Tank Brigade of the 1st Mechanized Army."
Sokov did not inform Shechtman about the situation of the 1st Mechanized Army, so Shechtman asked with surprise: "Comrade Lieutenant, I remember that there seems to be no one like you in the organization of the 27th Army.
Detachment. Where did you come from?"
"Comrade Colonel, you are right, we are indeed not from the 27th Group Army, we are from the 53rd Group Army."
"The 53rd Army?" Shechtman was even more puzzled: "Why are you here?"
This time it was the tank lieutenant's turn to be surprised: "Why, Comrade Colonel, don't you know that from now on, our 1st Mechanized Army will be temporarily assigned to the command of the 27th Group Army, and we have been ordered to come to strengthen the defense of the landing site on the right bank."
"This is really great." Hearing that the tank troops were here to strengthen the defense of the landing site on the right bank, Shechtman and Billing looked at each other and saw joy in each other's eyes: "With the tank troops
With the support, we will be more confident in blocking the German attack."
Seeing the two colonels beaming with joy, the tank trooper lieutenant poured cold water on them: "Comrade colonels, the order we received is to station ourselves near the Dnieper River Bridge and not enter the defensive position on the right bank for the time being."
"Not entering the defensive position on the right bank?" Shechtman asked puzzledly: "Why is that?"
The tank lieutenant waved his hands and said: "Comrade Colonel, even if you ask me this question, I can't answer you because my superior didn't tell me the reason at all."
Shechtman thought about it and realized what the lieutenant said made sense. If it were him, he wouldn't have casually told the company-level commanders below about the battle plan. It was normal for the other party not to know.
"Comrade Lieutenant," Billing couldn't restrain his curiosity and couldn't help asking the tank crew lieutenant: "Where is your brigade commander? I want to talk to him."
The tank trooper lieutenant quickly replied: "Comrade Colonel, if you want to talk to our brigade commander, I can notify him by radio and ask him to come here to meet you."
After obtaining Shechtman's consent, the tank trooper lieutenant turned back to the tank and prepared to notify the brigade commander via radio, asking him to come here to meet the two Shechtmans.
After the tank lieutenant left, Billing asked Shechtman: "Comrade division commander, tell me why the friendly tank brigade did not continue to advance when it reached the river?"
Shechtman frowned and thought for a while, then replied: "I think it may be because we don't have a unified command here yet, and no one can give them orders. They didn't know what to do for a while, so they could only move the troops first
Deployed near the bridge. Once they are needed on the right bank, they can pass through the bridge and enter the landing site on the right bank in the shortest possible time."
