The 18th Guards Army was all stationed in the Safran area within the specified time.
Kurishenko's 41st Guards Division is at the front, less than two kilometers away from the German defense line. Behind them is the 3rd Guards Airborne Division, and behind them is the 4th Guards Airborne Division and the Army Corps.
Headquarters.
That night, Sokov appeared at the army headquarters. Accompanying him were Ponedelin, Muzichenko and more than 20 cadets who had not been assigned. The temporary staff group formed by them would
Until the end of the Battle of Uman, he followed Sokov's actions.
Seeing Sokov's appearance, Afnin hurriedly stepped forward to greet him. After raising his hand in salute, he asked in surprise: "Comrade Commander, why are you here?"
"In two days, we will launch an attack on the German Uman Group." Sokov said: "The headquarters is more than a hundred kilometers away from the front line, and it is impossible to resolve what happened on the front line in time, so I established a
Advance headquarters, come to you to command the battle."
Hearing that Sokov was coming to his place to command operations, Afunin had a troubled expression on his face. He was worried that if Sokov really set up the forward headquarters here, he, the army commander, would become a decoration.
Fortunately, Sokov saw his embarrassment and continued: "General Afnin, don't worry, I will not set up the forward headquarters in your army headquarters, which will interfere with your command. My
The headquarters will be located not far from here. If you need anything, you can contact us by phone."
Afuning secretly breathed a sigh of relief, and then asked with concern: "Comrade Commander, are the security forces accompanying you sufficient? If not, I will send you a security company here."
"I came out here with only one guard company, under the command of Lieutenant Koshkin." Using one company of troops to protect the forward headquarters of the group army is indeed a bit small, so facing Afunin, he showed
Sokov readily agreed: "I accept your kindness. I will ask your subordinates to report to Koshkin later."
After Sokov sat down at the wooden table, he began to ask Afunin about his defense situation: "General Afunin, have all your troops reached the designated position?"
"Yes, Comrade Commander." Afnin quickly pushed the map in front of Sokov and introduced to him the defense situation of the Guards: "The 41st Guards Division was the first to enter the Safran area. Their defense
You must know the situation very well, so I won't repeat it here. One kilometer behind them is the 3rd Guards Airborne Division. At the front are the 8th and 10th regiments of the division, and the 2nd regiment and artillery.
As the second echelon, the regiment is placed behind and to the left of the main force of the division..."
"Wait a minute, General Afunin." Sokov heard this and quickly interrupted Afunin: "I would like to ask how strong the artillery regiment of this division is?"
Hearing Sokov's question, Afunin was stunned for a moment, then understood what the other party meant, and hurriedly replied: "The division's artillery regiment has a total of 33 artillery pieces of different calibers, including 24 76.2 mm artillery pieces and 9 122 mm artillery pieces.
Door."
After listening, Sokov nodded slightly: "The firepower is good. What about the artillery regiment of the 4th Guards Airborne Division?"
"Their number of artillery pieces is smaller." Afnin said: "Although there are still 24 76.2 mm artillery pieces, because one of the artillery battalions is equipped with a 152 mm heavy artillery piece, there are only 3 artillery pieces. The whole regiment has a total of 27 artillery pieces.
Door."
"General Afunin, listen." Sokov waited for Afunin to finish speaking this time and then said: "According to my estimation, before we launch an attack on the German Uman Group Army, the Germans may attack
If the 41st Guards Division launches an attack in the defense zone, it may require artillery support from friendly forces, and you will be responsible for coordinating this matter."
After figuring out what was going on, Afnin expressed his position to Sokov: "Comrade Commander, the 41st Guards Division is also a unit under my command. When they are attacked by the Germans, I will definitely order other units to fight for them.
Provide necessary support.”
After saying this, he paused for a moment and asked tentatively: "Comrade Commander, do you really think that the Germans will launch an attack on Safran in the next two days?"
"That's right, General Afnin." With his rich command experience, Sokov felt that after the Germans were driven away from the Safran area by the 41st Guards Division, they would definitely not be reconciled. If there was a chance, they would
Launch a tentative attack on Safran to determine whether heavy troops should be deployed in this area. "I think the Germans will launch an attack on the defense area of the 41st Guards Division tomorrow at the latest. You must prepare for the battle in advance."
Be prepared so as not to catch the Germans off guard."
"Don't worry, Comrade Commander." Afnin felt that Sokov's worries were a bit unfounded, so he said disapprovingly: "If the Germans dare to launch an attack rashly, we will definitely give them a head-on attack."
After hearing this, Sokov couldn't help frowning. He felt that Afunin seemed to underestimate the enemy, and it would be easy to suffer a loss, so he reminded the other party: "General Afunin, although our army is gathering towards the Uman area, the German army still has
Don’t underestimate the strength of our army to resist our attack, otherwise we will suffer heavy losses in the next battle."
Afuning blushed and replied with some embarrassment: "You are right, I will remind the commanders below to be more vigilant, so as not to be caught off guard by the Germans because of underestimating the enemy."
Sokov stayed here in Afunin for almost an hour before Ponedelin appeared at the headquarters. He reported to Sokov: "Comrade Commander, the forward headquarters has been built, you can go there."
The first thing he did when he arrived at the forward headquarters was Sokov told a cadet in charge of communications: "Please pick up the commander and speak to Chief of Staff Smirnov."
The student staff officer agreed and immediately connected the phone for Sokov. Soon, he handed the phone to Sokov: "Comrade Commander, the call has been connected."
Sokov thanked him, then put the receiver to his ear and said: "Comrade Chief of Staff, I am Sokov."
"Hello, Comrade Commander." Smirnov on the other end of the phone asked with concern: "Have you arrived in the Safran area?"
"Yes, I have arrived. I am staying at my forward headquarters at the moment." After Sokov simply replied, he asked directly: "Has the 49th Infantry Corps arrived in Vilishanka?"
"Yes, Comrade Commander, they have arrived at the designated location an hour ago." Smirnov said: "We are seizing the time to build fortifications. I estimate that by this morning, all the fortifications will be completed.
"
Sokov was silent for a moment, and then asked: "Is there any news about Colonel Yakov?"
"Comrade Commander, I was just about to tell you about this." Smirnov said: "Colonel Yakov and his hovercraft unit have returned and brought a second batch of weapons and equipment. Some of them were left behind.
After receiving the weapons of the 116th Division, he took the remaining weapons and rushed to the Safran area."
"This is really great." When Sokov learned that Yakov was coming to his area with weapons and equipment, he couldn't help but secretly rejoiced. As soon as the weapons arrived, they could be equipped to the combat backbones of the 41st Guards Division.
Improving the combat effectiveness of the troops: "When will they arrive?"
"It's hard to say," Smirnov said: "Maybe we can arrive before dawn, maybe we have to wait until noon tomorrow."
"Also," just when Sokov was about to put down the phone, Smirnov suddenly said hesitantly: "This time there is another important person who went to your place with Colonel Yakov."
"Important person?" Sokov asked in surprise: "Who is it? Marshal Zhukov or Marshal Vasilevsky?" In Sokov's mind, only these two marshals are most likely to come to him.
Come.
"No." Unexpectedly, Smirnov said unexpectedly: "It's General Shtemenko, Deputy Chief of General Staff and Chief of Operations. He came specially from Moscow to see you this time."
"The Chief of Operations came to see me in person?" Sokov thought of his meeting with Shtemenko in the hospital. The other party wanted him to work at the General Staff Headquarters. Could it be that this time he came to the frontier to bring up old matters? He
He asked Smirnov tentatively: "Comrade Chief of Staff, do you know his purpose?"
"I don't know." Smirnov answered simply. "He only said that he came to our army with Colonel Yakov this time, and he came specifically to see you. But I am not sure what his purpose is.
."
Sokov became uneasy. If Shtemenko came this time to invite him to join the General Staff again, it would be difficult for him to refuse like last time. After all, if a person of his status did not get the invitation from the Supreme Command,
He cannot come to the front line casually without permission. In other words, he may have gotten the tacit approval of the Supreme Commander himself when he came to see him this time.
Seeing that Sokov had put down the phone, Ponedelin looked distracted, and quickly asked with concern: "Comrade Commander, what's wrong with you? Are you feeling unwell?"
"No, General Ponedelin." There are no outsiders here, and the staff members can be regarded as Ponedelin's students, so Sokov was a little casual in his title: "Deputy Chief of General Staff and Minister of Operations Shtemenko
General, he has come to the front with Colonel Yakov. He will reach us by noon tomorrow at the latest."
"Deputy Chief of General Staff General Yeremenko?!" When Ponedelin heard the name, a look of surprise appeared on his face: "What is he doing here with us?"
"I don't know." Sokov shook his head and replied truthfully: "I just asked the chief of staff and he said that General Shtemenko did not explain his purpose."
Anyway, the answer will not be revealed until Shtemenko arrives, and Sokov is not willing to waste time on this kind of thing. He picked up the phone, connected to Afunin's headquarters, and said: "General Afunin
, I have something to inform you. Perhaps at dawn tomorrow, or perhaps at noon, Colonel Yakov’s hovercraft detachment will arrive in the Savka area. Please arrange your personnel to prepare for the response, and there must be no misunderstanding. "
"Understood, Comrade Commander." Afunin's two airborne divisions had received a large amount of weapons and equipment from Yakov. Now that they heard that Yakov was here again, Afunin could not help but feel something in his heart.
Lenovo felt that the other party was sending weapons and equipment to us again, so he asked cautiously: "Do we have a share in the weapons that Colonel Yakov sent this time?"
"General Afnin," Sokov replied: "The weapons sent this time are mainly used to equip the 41st Guards Division. You know, if they don't have strong firepower and want to break through the German defense line, then
There is no doubt that they are going to die. Therefore, the weapons sent this time are all provided to the 41st Guards Division."
Knowing that the two airborne divisions were not eligible to participate in the distribution of weapons, Afuning was somewhat disappointed. But then he thought about it, the 41st Guards Division was also a unit under his command. They had received new weapons and equipment, which improved their combat effectiveness.
As the commander of the army, I can still get a lot of the results achieved in the battle.
After thinking about this, he took the initiative to ask Sokov: "Comrade Commander, do you need me to send people to help the 41st Guards Division carry weapons and ammunition?"
"There's no need for this." Sokov said: "When the weapons arrive, I asked Colonel Yakov to deliver the weapons directly to the defense area of the 41st Guards Division, so that when they come to collect them, they will not have to deploy a large number of manpower to carry them.
Supplies.”
"Do I need to inform him now?"
"No need for the time being." Sokov didn't know when Yakov's hovercraft detachment would arrive in Safran, so he directly rejected Afunin's proposal: "I think it's better to wait for the weapons to be delivered before informing Kurishin."
General Ke, please make preparations to receive it, lest any accidents happen when you arrive, which will waste time and make him happy in vain."
Yakov arrived faster than Sokov imagined. Just after nine o'clock in the evening, he appeared at the forward headquarters.
"Hello, Misha!" Yakov greeted Sokov: "I'm back!"
Seeing Yakov appearing in front of him, Sokov was surprised: "Yakov, how come you arrived so quickly? I thought you had to wait until dawn at the earliest."
"Yes, if I were to accompany the transport ship, I might have to wait until dawn to arrive." Yakov replied: "But I came here on an assault hovercraft. Since it didn't carry any supplies, the hovercraft traveled very fast."
Just when Sokov was about to have someone pour tea for Yakov, he heard the other party continue to say: "Misha, I brought you an old friend."
Sokov, who had already learned about the situation from Smirnov, naturally knew that the old friend Yakov was talking about should be Deputy Chief of General Staff and Minister of War Shtemenko, but he still asked in a pretense of confusion.
: "Yasha, who is this old friend?"
"It's me, Comrade Sokov." Shtemenko, who had a big beard, walked in from outside the house and said to Sokov with a smile: "I didn't expect that I would appear here!"
Although both of them had the rank of general, Shtemenko, as deputy chief of general staff and chief of operations, obviously had a higher military rank. So Sokov took two steps forward, raised his hand and saluted the other side, respectfully.
Said: "Hello, Comrade Deputy Chief of General Staff, welcome to my forward headquarters."
"Hello, Comrade Sokov! We meet again." Shtemenko held Sokov's hand, shook it vigorously and said, "I only found out about you when I wanted to visit you with Lunev some time ago.
He has returned to the front line quietly."
Sokov did not believe Shtemenko's statement at all. You must know that he is a recognized living file. No matter whether he can name the 300 division commanders in the army or after reading the battle report,
He clearly remembers what happened that day in each division-level unit. How could Shtemenko, as the deputy chief of staff, not know about the personnel appointments at the regiment level?
