After Sokov's intensive deployment, each division entered its respective attack positions.
The night before the attack began, Sokov summoned all regiment-level commanders in the combat cluster and went to the division command center in Mamayevgang for a meeting.
Seeing that the commanders who had noticed were all here, Cidolin stood up and said to everyone: "Comrades Commander, please be quiet, we have a meeting below."
After no one was talking in the room, Cidolin continued: "According to the orders of our superiors, our combat cluster will launch an attack on the central area occupied by the German army. The attacking forces were divided into two left and right routes. The 67th Guard Division commanded by Colonel Merkulov and an artillery regiment. Their mission was to attack the Central Railway Station. According to our reconnaissance, the 297th German Infantry Division commanded by Major General Moritz von Derebel.
The 23rd Infantry Division, the 321st Infantry Division and the 41st Guard Division will take down the department store where the German troops are heavily deployed, with the cooperation of two tank brigades and an artillery regiment."
As soon as Sidolin said this, Colonel Sivakov raised his right hand high. Sidolin pointed at him with his hand and asked with a little dissatisfaction: "Col. Sivakov, I am assigning a task. Do you have any problems?"
"Comrade Chief of Staff," Sivakov stood up from his seat and asked Sidolin; "I want to ask, the main direction we chose to attack was at the Central Railway Station. But now, only Colonel Merkulov's Guard Division attacked the station, while the rest of the troops were transferred to other directions."
Hearing Sivakov's questioning, Sidolin hurriedly cast a look of help at Sokov. Seeing Sokov nodding at him and saying whatever he wanted, he immediately became confident: "Col. According to our recent reconnaissance, the German command may have been transferred to the department store, so we have made corresponding adjustments in the deployment of troops. Is there anything wrong with doing this?"
Since Cidolin had already said that the enemy's headquarters might have been transferred and his troops were in the main attack direction, Sivakov naturally would not say anything, so he sat down directly.
"Our attack method is different from the ones that everyone is familiar with." Sidolin felt that the attack method this time was all the common fighting style of his own troops, so he gave the division commanders and regiment commanders a vaccination: "We will not have any artillery preparations before attacking, but will directly attack the enemy-occupied areas."
"Comrade Chief of Staff," Colonel Merkulov, who was rushing to speak this time, frowned and asked: "Without artillery preparation, I rashly ordered the infantry to attack the enemy-occupied areas. Will this cause a large number of casualties among our commanders and fighters?"
"Don't worry, comrade Colonel, what you are worried about will not happen." Sokov stood up, raised his right hand and pressed down, signaling Merkulov to sit down, and said in a calm tone: "Before our attack, our army implemented artillery preparation tactics, which were already familiar with the Germans and mastered the corresponding countermeasures. Every time the cannon fire, the cunning Germans retreated to the second line of defense. When our artillery was over and the infantry began to charge, they returned from the second line of defense they hid to repel our attack.
The reason why I don’t prepare for artillery is that I don’t want to waste precious shells. Of course, our artillery not prepare for artillery before attacking does not mean that they do not participate in the battle. I think everyone should have noticed that all artillery positions are very close to the front line, and the artillery commander can directly see the target to be attacked.
The purpose of my doing this is to get the cannons bayonets, use close-range shooting methods, use direct aiming artillery to destroy the enemy's fire points, and cover our infantry to launch an attack." After Sokov's explanation, everyone finally understood his intention, and a sudden look appeared on his face.
"Chief of Staff, keep talking." Sokov said briefly, sat down again, and handed over the next voice to Cidolin.
"To be honest, the Central Railway Station we are going to seize first is very complex." Sidorin walked to the wall and pointed to the map with an explanation stick to introduce to everyone: "In order to seize the station, both sides of the enemy and us have had a long tug-of-war, and almost all the buildings in the station have been turned into ruins. The enemy's fortifications, so in these ruins, our scouts could not find out where the simple ruins were, where the firepower points were disguised by the German army."
Speaking of this, Cidolin pointed at Merkulov with an explanation stick: "Col. Merkulov, when you attack, you should not just map fast, but attack steadily and destroy one fire point if you find a fire point. If the infantry cannot solve the fire point, use the radio station to contact the artillery deployed in the rear, and use direct aiming and shooting to destroy those fire points one by one."
"The Chief of Staff said a lot." Ivanov, after Sidolin finished speaking, stood up and added: "After the battle begins, of course, the sooner the enemy's position, the better, but we cannot just map faster, which will cause too much casualties to our offensive troops. To occupy one place, consolidate one place and keep it firmly in our hands. Even if the enemy launches a counterattack, he will not want to take it over again."
After Sidolin finished assigning all the tasks of each division, he asked habitually: "Do you have any questions?"
"Comrade Chief of Staff," Shivakov raised his hand again: "I want to ask, why is the main task of my 23rd Infantry Division holding its position?"
"It's very simple, comrade Colonel." Cidolin said confidently: "Because none of us can guarantee that the attack we launched will be successful. Once our full attack is frustrated and the enemy launches a counterattack, what kind of force do we use to block them?
Therefore, the task of your division is very arduous. As long as you can ensure the safety of the rear of my offensive troops, you will set up a job. Do you understand?"
"I understand, Comrade Chief of Staff." Shivakov replied loudly, "I understand all this time."
After the meeting, the commanders who attended the meeting dispersed one after another. The remaining Belkin asked Sokov curiously: "Misha, why did you announce at the meeting that the enemy's headquarters may be transferred to the department store?"
"My political commissar." Since it was a private occasion, Sokov had to speak more casually: "At this time, even if news about Paulus's headquarters in the department store spread, other troops would not be able to come to join the war. Moreover, I concentrated three infantry divisions, two tank brigades and an artillery regiment to attack the department store. Before our attack failed, I thought my superiors would not send troops to replace us."
Belkin was also worried about other friendly forces' attacks. After hearing Sokov's explanation, he became much more at ease. He nodded repeatedly and said, "Misha, you should be thoughtful and we have all made arrangements. Even if the superiors know the truth, they will change to other troops to attack, and they will not be able to keep up with the time."
Before Belkin said goodbye, Cuikov called and asked: "Col. Sokov, I heard that you are holding a military meeting. What do you think?"
"No, Comrade Commander, there is no opinion." Sokov replied: "Everyone said that we must firmly obey my orders."
"It's great that everyone is willing to obey your orders." After complimenting, Cuikov emphasized: "Col. Sokov, you are now commanding more troops than I can use. Therefore, you must not let me down, otherwise your cluster commander will end up doing it."
…………
Just as dawn the next day, Merkulov's 67th Guard Division launched an attack.
Before dawn, many guard soldiers lurked in the ruins not far from the German positions. As soon as they saw three red signal flares rising into the air, they immediately knew that the attack had begun. They came out of their hiding places, held their weapons, bent over, and carefully advanced towards the enemy-occupied area.
Perhaps it was because they had not prepared artillery fire before the attack that they had successfully confused the enemy. They never dreamed that the Soviet army would suddenly launch an attack on their positions without preparing for artillery fire, and were caught off guard.
Sokov, who was standing in the observation center, saw the soldiers jump into the trench blocked by the ruins through the telescope, and used bayonets and grenades to fight the enemy in close combat. Since most of the enemies were not prepared at all, they suddenly heard gunshots and explosions outside. After hesitating for a while, they realized that it was the Soviet army that launched an attack.
A German battalion commander heard his subordinates report to him that the Soviet army had launched an attack on the railway station. He thought the other party was lying about military information, so he scolded the other party without saying anything. Unexpectedly, as soon as he put down the phone, an officer with a bandage on his head hurriedly ran in and reported to the battalion commander: "Battalion Commander, the Russians have broken into our positions and are fighting hand-to-hand combat with our officers and soldiers."
After hearing this, the German battalion commander immediately shouted: "Hold on, hold on to me firmly. I will call the regiment commander and ask him to send troops to reinforce us immediately."
The German battalion commander called the regiment commander and reported to him about the battle outside the station. However, the regiment was attacked by Soviet troops from several directions, so there was no way to draw troops to reinforce. Therefore, the regiment commander could only shout in vain to the microphone: "Hold on, I order you to keep an eye on me. As long as you firmly defend your position, there will be a way."
The regiment commander knew very well that this kind of nutritious order would have no purpose even if it was passed on. Therefore, after he issued the order, he immediately ordered the regiment to command the transfer, and he wanted to hide in a safe place to continue commanding the battle.
According to Sokov's idea, since the railway station was the focus of the two sides' competition, today's attack would inevitably be subject to stubborn resistance from the German army. However, less than a quarter of an hour of the battle, the troops carrying out the assault successfully broke through the German army's peripheral positions and rushed into the ticket sales and waiting halls where there were still ruins. The artillery deployed behind did not even have the chance to fire.
"Comrade Commander," Merkulov said excitedly when he saw this scene: "I really didn't expect that the enemy would be so vulnerable."
When Sokov saw the troops rushing into the station hall so quickly, his first reaction was to think: "Is the defenders who stayed at the station not the Germans, but the Romanian army or the Italian army that cheated his teammates?"
He put down his telescope and turned to Merkulov and said, "Comrade Colonel, get in touch with the commander in front and ask if the enemy they were fighting with were Germans, Romanians or Italians?"
"I understand." Merkulov agreed, walked to the middle and picked up the phone on the table, ordered the communication to connect with the front line commander, and repeated Sokov's question.
Soon, the answer came back. When he heard this answer, Merkulov was shocked. He came to Sokov and replied awkwardly: "Comrade Commander, I have verified it. The enemies who stood outside the station were indeed the Germans and a few Hungarian troops."
"Strange, why did the enemy's combat power suddenly become so weak?" Sokov said to himself: "Does the enemy no longer want to continue fighting?"
"I don't think so," Merkulov shook his head and said, "I think it might be something else."
"Are other reasons?" Ivanov, who was watching the fun, retorted when he heard Merkulov say this: "Comrade Colonel, then tell me, what other reasons are?"
"I'm sorry, I couldn't think of it for a moment." Merkulov said a little embarrassedly: "Anyway, judging from the performance of the Germans just now, it's indeed a big loss."
"You don't have to guess, I've guessed the answer." Sokov said confidently: "Because the German army's supply has become increasingly difficult during this period, many soldiers are probably not full at all, so they have no strength to fight. On the one hand, we are soldiers with full food and drink and high morale; on the other hand, we are Germans with low morale, morale resistance, and not full food and clothing. It is normal for such a one-sided battle."
"It makes sense, it makes sense." After listening to Sokov's analysis, Merkulov thought about it carefully, and felt it made sense. He quickly echoed: "I think we can solve the battle in the station in less than an hour."
"Comrade Colonel, don't underestimate the enemy." Seeing that Merkulov was a little proud, Sokov quickly reminded him: "The enemy is like a wounded beast now, but the more injured the beast, the more powerful it is to bite people."
Before Sokov could finish his words, everyone heard a series of explosions coming from the ruins of the ticket hall in the distance, and the black smoke rose in groups.
"Oh no." Seeing the rising smoke and hearing the loud explosions, Merkulov was stunned: "Comrade Commander, it seems that the enemy has set up some ambush in the hall, so that our soldiers rush in and endure hardships."
"In my opinion, the enemy may have buried mines and explosives in the hall. When we saw our soldiers rushing into the hall, we detonated mines and explosives, causing us huge casualties."
"Comrade Colonel," Sokov told Merkulov: "Let the troops retreat first, reassemble, and launch a new attack on the station."