The efficiency of ground reconnaissance carried out by reconnaissance aircraft is very high.
Half an hour after the first reconnaissance plane took off, intelligence feedback came back. After sorting it out by the reconnaissance squadron leader, it was reported directly to Sameko.
After reading the report of the reconnaissance plane, Samyko reported to Sokov and Managarov: "Comrade Commanders, according to the reconnaissance of the reconnaissance plane, the enemy has assembled a large number of troops thirty kilometers downstream of the city.
The troops seem to be trying to cross the river."
The German army crossed the river to the left bank of the Dnieper River and attacked Managarov's defense area. Therefore, he was very interested in this reconnaissance information. Before Samek finished reading, he asked: "How many troops does the enemy have?"
, mainly from that direction?”
Samyko handed the telegram to Derevyanko and continued: "The enemy has about one division of troops, including a large number of tanks and armored vehicles. Judging from their location, they should have come from Onu.
Friyevka district.”
The Onufrievka District is located just south of the landing site on the right bank and is the gathering place for large German troops. Now that the German army has transferred part of its troops to the east side of the river, it is believed that the pressure on the front of the landing site will be greatly increased.
reduce ground.
"The enemies crossing the river from the lower reaches do not pose much of a threat to us." Managarov took the telegram from Derevyanko, read it for a while and said: "To the southeast of the city is the Kremenchug Reservoir.
, my troops are deployed on the bank of the river that generates electricity for the reservoir. Even if the Germans cross the Dnieper River from the lower reaches, if they want to break through our defense line, they must be prepared for a forced crossing."
Sokov looked at the map in front of him and felt that what Managarov said was very reasonable. The river that provided water for the Klemenko Reservoir was wide. As long as the Soviet army held on to the bridge, the German tanks and armored vehicles would not be able to do so.
If you pass, you can only choose other areas, or even give up attacking with heavy weapons.
After reading the map, Sokov raised his head and said to Managarov: "Comrade General, it seems that the focus of the German attack is still in the northwest of the city. The terrain there is flat. As long as the German combat vehicles can cross the river,
Your troops will be under tremendous pressure."
"That's right, General Sokov." Managarov nodded and said: "We lack enough anti-tank weapons. Facing the powerful German attack, we will definitely pay a lot of casualties. But it doesn't matter, we
All the commanders and fighters understand that as long as they can defeat the enemy and defend our great motherland, no matter how much sacrifice they make, it will be worth it."
Sokov automatically ignored Managarov's cliches and continued: "Comrade General, you should focus your defense on the northwest direction of the city and resolutely prevent the enemy from breaking through your position."
Even though Konev had handed over the 53rd Army to the command of Sokov, but facing a general of Managarov's age and with far more seniority than him, Sokov still maintained enough respect: "You are now
You are using your troops evenly and placing your main forces in the northwest and southeast directions of the city. If the German forces attacking from both directions are of equal strength, your deployment is still remarkable.
But now various signs indicate that the focus of the German attack is in the northwest direction of the city, so your deployment should be adjusted accordingly. Use enough troops to resist the German attack."
"Chief of Staff," as soon as Sokov finished speaking, Managarov turned to his Chief of Staff Derevyanko and said: "Comrade Chief of Staff, please contact the 214th and 233rd Infantry Divisions immediately and understand that they will do their best immediately.
Preparation for departure.”
"Comrade Commander," as soon as Managarov finished speaking, Derevyanko reminded him: "Although there is a barrier from the Kremenchug Reservoir, the number of German troops participating in the attack is almost one division. I am worried that only
Relying on the 252nd Division, I’m afraid it will be difficult to block the enemy’s attack.”
"Comrade General," Sokov advised Managarov to focus his defense on the northwest direction, but by moving two divisions from the southern front at once, it would be equivalent to weakening the defense force in this direction, which is obviously not good.
It was appropriate, so he said to Managarov: "There is only one division here on the southern front. The strength is too weak. Do you think we should add more troops?"
"How can I mobilize any troops?" Managarov said with a wry smile: "If there were any, I would have mobilized them to the river."
"Yes, Comrade General." Sokov said with a smile: "You can deploy the troops in the north of the city to defend against the troops that broke out from Poltava, and transfer some of them to strengthen the defense in the south."
"Comrade Commander," Derevyanko cautiously suggested to Managarov: "We can move the ski brigade north of the city to the south for defense."
"Comrade General," Sokov saw Managarov's hesitant look and quickly said, "I think it will be enough to transfer one division from the southern front to reinforce it, and then send the 299th Infantry Division
Transfer over..."
"No, no, this is definitely not possible." Unexpectedly, after listening to Sokov's proposal, Managarov shook his head desperately and said, "In this way, our defense in the north direction of the city will become weak.
If the enemy retreats from the direction of Poltava, what strength can we use to stop them?"
"Comrade General, you don't need to worry about this." Sokov comforted Managarov and said: "My troops are arriving one after another, and the defense in the north of the city can be handed over to my troops."
Managarov suddenly realized that the troops holding Klementchug were not only his 53rd Army, but also Sokov's 27th Army. Both he and his troops needed to obey the command of the young man in front of him.
Then he laughed and said: "General Sokov, all the troops here are under your command. We will mobilize them as you say. There will never be any complaints."
"Okay then," since Managarov stated that he would only follow his own lead, Sokov stopped being pretentious and said to Derevyanko, "General Derevyanko, please give the infantry corps
The two division commanders of the 214th and 299th divisions called and they seized the time to assemble their troops and prepare to rush to the northwest of the city to reinforce the friendly forces fighting there."
Taking advantage of the time when Derevyanko notified the troops to adjust their deployment, Sokov ordered Samyko: "Chief of Staff, since the enemy has transferred part of its troops from the Onufriyevka area, it means that the front of our landing site will bear a heavy toll.
The pressure will be greatly reduced. You notify several commanders at the front and ask them to seize the time to adjust their deployment, repair and strengthen defenses, and be ready to meet the enemy's attack."
"Okay, Comrade Commander."
"Also," Sokov continued before Samek left, "contact the two division commanders of the 182nd and 300th divisions and order them to mobilize the commanders and fighters and make all battle preparations."
Hearing Sokov's order, Samyko was a little confused: "Comrade Commander, what are you asking them to do for combat mobilization?"
"Comrade Chief of Staff," Sokov tapped his hand on the table a few times, and then said: "The German army divided its forces to cross the river and launch an attack on the defense area of the 53rd Army. In this way, their strength became weak.
We can absolutely take advantage of this rare opportunity to launch a limited counterattack."
Some time ago, Samyko had repeatedly persuaded Sokov to counterattack the enemy, but he was rejected. When he heard him say this, his face was full of surprise: "In Onufriyevka
Will the district launch a counterattack?"
"certainly."
"Then what is the purpose of this counterattack?"
"Consume as much of the German army's effective strength as possible." After Sokov said this, he ordered Samyko: "Chief of Staff, please call the bomber squadron in the north of the city and ask them to bomb the German troops in the southeast preparing to cross the river.
.Although only four bombers could not cause much damage to the enemy, they could disrupt the enemy's rhythm of crossing the river."
"This is a good idea." Sameko once participated in the Moscow Defense War. His unit was bombed by enemy planes every day. Even if there were only one or two enemy planes, it would cause considerable casualties to the unit. Therefore,
He agreed very much with Sokov's order, "I'll make arrangements right away."
…………
Konev soon learned that the German army crossed the Dnieper River and rushed towards Kremenchug from the northwest. He personally called Sokov and said in a reproachful tone: "Comrade Sokov,
Since the enemy has crossed the Dnieper River and launched an attack on Klemenkoug from the northwest, if it is important, why don't you report it to me in time?"
"Reporting to Comrade Commander of the Front Army," Sokov replied in an unassuming tone: "We have long expected that the enemy would take such action to retake Klementchuk, so we adjusted our defense deployment in time and are fully capable of blocking it.
Enemy attack."
Seeing Sokov speaking so carefully, Samyko couldn't help but frown slightly, feeling that Sokov was a little too arrogant. According to the intelligence he had, the German troops fighting across the river had at least two divisions, so that they could encircle two divisions.
The purpose of a group army, but Sokov didn't seem to care at all.
Just when he was about to criticize Sokov, a thought suddenly came to his mind. It seemed that since he met Sokov until now, the opponent had never lost a battle. Perhaps it was this series of dazzling achievements that made him
Sokov was full of confidence when fighting the Germans and had the confidence to win.
Thinking of this, he swallowed back the words he was going to criticize Sokov, and instead asked kindly: "Comrade Sokov, do you have any difficulties now? If you need any help, just ask and I will try my best to satisfy you."
Yours."
What Sokov is most worried about now is Poltava behind him. The German army is still stubbornly resisting the attack of the two Guards Group armies in that city. No one can guarantee that they will not be able to fight back. If in that city,
One day in the future, they will suddenly launch an unexpected counterattack against the Soviet army. It is believed that the Soviet army will definitely fall into chaos in a short time, thus affecting the supply line of Sokov's troops.
With this mentality, Sokov asked Konev with some anxiety: "Comrade Commander of the Front Army, I would like to ask when will the friendly forces take Poltava?"
Konev was silent.
The battle to attack Poltava has lasted for half a month. The two Guards armies have only managed to clear away the enemies on the periphery of the city. They rushed into the city several times, but before they could gain a firm foothold, they were driven out of the city by the Germans.
came out.
"Comrade Sokov," Konev said with a heavy tone: "Although I want to tell you that we will soon liberate Poltava. But as your superior, I can only regret to tell you that the city
The enemy here is very tenacious, and the intention of the two Guards armies to go to the city cannot be realized. I think the battle to capture the city will continue for a long time."
Konev's answer made Sokov feel cold. The delay in liberating Poltava means that the main force of the front army will be contained there, and supplies from the rear will be given priority to the siege forces.
Troops. As for your own troops, the proportion of weapons, ammunition and military supplies they need will be greatly reduced.
"Comrade Commander," Sokov promptly changed the topic in order to resolve the negative energy Konev brought to him: "Taking advantage of the enemy's opportunity to mobilize troops to cross the river, I plan to organize troops to carry out a limited counterattack against the enemy.
."
"Limited counterattack?" Sokov's words confused Konev: "Comrade Sokov, I don't understand what you mean. What is the preset goal of limited counterattack?"
"Comrade Commander of the Front Army, I feel that there is no need to argue with the Germans about the gains and losses of one city or one place at this time," Sokov said into the microphone: "Therefore, our counterattack this time is not to recapture the territory from the Germans.
How much land is there, but to find ways to consume as much of the enemy's vitality as possible.
As long as we weaken the enemy's strength during the counterattack, then in the subsequent battle, whether it is defense or offense, the pressure our troops will bear and the resistance they will face will be greatly weakened."
When Konev heard it, Sokov's words seemed to make sense. He carefully recalled the Battle of Kharkov at the beginning of the year. The Soviet army originally had the advantage in numbers and equipment, but in the end it was defeated by Mansch.
Tan Yin. The reason is that in order to consolidate the territories abandoned by the German army, a large number of troops had to be deployed for defense, thereby weakening the offensive power of the forward troops.
Secondly, the enemy retreated too quickly at that time, and the Soviet army also advanced too fast, leaving the logistics far behind. As a result, the Germans destroyed roads, bridges and culverts, preventing the Soviet supplies from being transported to the front line in time.
The fighting troops soon fell into a desperate situation of running out of ammunition and food because they could not get enough supplies.
"Comrade Sokov, what you said makes sense." Konev said with emotion: "The reason why the Battle of Kharkov at the beginning of the year suffered an undeserved defeat despite having an absolute advantage was because the enemy
When fighting our army, they gave up the positions they occupied too quickly, but their strength was not greatly damaged.
When they gathered all their forces together, our offensive troops had to divide their forces to defend the captured territories, so their numerical advantage turned into a disadvantage. Coupled with insufficient logistical supplies, it was natural for them to be defeated by the Germans.
.
I agree with you launching a limited counterattack aimed at weakening the German army. If anyone makes irresponsible remarks to you, you can tell me directly and I will make the decision for you."
With Konev's support, Sokov suddenly gained a lot of confidence. He quickly said: "Don't worry, Comrade Commander of the Front Army, I will never let you down."
