Chapter 1140

  Building fortifications in spring is a headache.

  The trenches dug with great effort were filled with turbid stagnant water overnight, so that water pumps could not be used to pump water.

   Sokov took two soldiers to inspect the defense area of ​​the 212th Infantry Division that day. Still far away, he could see in the trenches ahead, soldiers standing upright from time to time, slapping the dirt in their shovels on both sides of the trenches.

  He saw two soldiers smoking a cigarette sitting on a tree stump, and was about to go over to say hello to them and ask where the division headquarters was. As he was approaching, he suddenly heard an old soldier say to another young soldier: "Valodya, do you know? The trenches today remind me of the construction site of the cathedral."

  After being heard by the soldier who became Valoja, he asked curiously: "Uncle Gennady, tell me quickly why our trenches remind you of the construction site of the cathedral."

  Sokov knew that the cathedral they were talking about should refer to the Cathedral of Christ the Savior by the Moscow River. It was originally built to commemorate Russia's victory in the Napoleonic War in 1812. The design was completed in 1831 and the foundation stone was laid eight years later. It is a religious and historic memorial building and the largest Orthodox church in Russia. Ten thousand people.

   This precious ancient building was bombed in 1931. The relevant departments planned to build a 200-meter-high Soviet Palace on the original site, and a 40-meter-high Lenin statue was planned to be built on the top. However, due to the discovery of design problems, the construction was stopped shortly after the start. It was not until the 1960s that a warm-water swimming pool was established.

Uncle Gennady continued: "After the cathedral was blown up that year, the relevant departments planned to build a 200-meter-high Soviet Palace on the spot, and my construction team also participated in the construction. When we dug the long After the foundation of 300 meters, 200 meters wide and 15 meters deep, a sudden collapse occurred, and more than a dozen workers were buried in the soil. After rescue, most of them were rescued, but there were still two workers Unfortunately died.

  If an accident occurs, the construction can only be temporarily stopped. Originally, we planned to wait for the next day to continue construction, but early the next morning, we came to the pit to have a look. My God, the pit was full of water. At that time, someone found more than a dozen water pumps and started pumping water. However, after pumping for three days and three nights, the water level still did not drop at all.

  After the discussion of the superiors, it was decided to temporarily stop the construction of the Palace of Soviets. It was announced to the outside world that the construction had to be suspended because of design problems. After re-modifying the design plan, resume construction. "

   "Before the war broke out, I went there to see it." Valoja said, "The outside is surrounded by barbed wire, and there is a sign that says 'heavy construction site, please do not approach!'"

   "It was said," Gennady continued, "that when the cathedral was blown up, someone in the crowd heard a voice telling him that only a church could be built on this site, and no other buildings would be allowed."

  What Gennady said sounded a bit far-fetched, but Sokov didn't care. After all, there are some legends that spread to more people, and they will naturally change.

  Just listening to Valoja, he continued to ask: "Uncle Gennady, the three trenches we dug yesterday were all submerged by stagnant water today. Does this mean something?"

"It doesn't mean anything." Before Gennady could speak, a stern voice came from not far away: "Gennady, Volodya, other comrades are working, but you two are lazy here, Hurry up and get back to work!"

  Hearing the man's voice, both Gennady and Valoja hurriedly stood up, raised their hands to salute each other, and walked towards the trench being dug with tools.

  The man stood on the spot with his hands behind his back, looked around, and unexpectedly found Sokov standing not far away and the two soldiers behind him, trotting over quickly. He came to Sokov and stood at attention, raised his hand to salute, and reported: "Hello, Comrade Commander, I am Lieutenant Colonel Kunsakov, Political Commissar of the 212th Infantry Division. The troops are digging trenches, please instruct!"

   "Continue digging trenches." After Sokov raised his hand to return the salute, he asked casually, "How about it, is your trench here also flooded by stagnant water?"

   "Yes, Comrade Commander." Kunsakov replied respectfully: "Now is the season of spring snowmelt, and the melted snow has seeped into the trenches, and water will naturally appear."

Sokov has recently been troubled by the accumulation of water in the trenches. He knows very well that the temperature of the accumulated water formed by the melted snow is very low. If soldiers stay in such water for a long time, they are prone to frostbite. A type of non-combat attrition. Hearing what Kunsakov said at this moment, he asked casually: "Do you have any good ideas?"

"There is still a way." Kunsakov replied: "We can put wooden stakes in the trenches, and then lay logs or planks on them. In this way, even if there is water in the trenches, our soldiers don't have to stay in the water." inside."

The method proposed by Kunsakov, Sokov also discussed with the new director of the engineering corps a few days ago, felt that to do so, the trench must be dug two meters deeper on the existing foundation, and thousands of wood. After some discussion, the plan to lay logs in the trenches was rejected.

"Comrade Lieutenant Colonel," Sokov said to Kunsakov: "Your plan was good, but it was very difficult to implement at that time. Have you ever thought that in so many trenches, all Laying logs is such a huge project. Even if our commanders and fighters work day and night, I am afraid that it will not be completed until July. When the enemy's large-scale attack begins, we..."

   When Sokov said this, he realized that he had slipped his tongue, and stopped quickly. But Kunsakov was still asking: "Comrade Commander, how do you know that the Germans will launch a large-scale attack on us in July?"

"It's normal," Sokov said perfunctorily, "The enemy likes to attack us at the end of June and July. For example, the Great Patriotic War broke out on June 22, 1941. That's fine." , keep busy, I'll go to another unit to have a look."

Sokov wandered around the divisions, and after returning to the headquarters, he called Vitkov and Lunev over, and said to them worriedly: "Comrade Military Commissar, Comrade Chief of Staff, the situation is very bad today. Wonderful. As the snow melts, our new fortifications will accumulate water overnight, and even the old fortifications will see water from time to time."

   "I think we should send a telegram to our superiors." Lunev said first: "Report our situation here to them, and ask them to send a special engineering unit to help us build strong fortifications."

"Comrade Military Commissar, it is obviously unrealistic to ask the superiors to send engineering troops to help us." Before Sukov could speak, Witkov retorted: "You know, our precious engineering troops are currently rushing to repair our Those roads and bridges in the rear that have been destroyed by the enemy simply cannot spare any troops to help us build fortifications."

   Knowing that the engineering troops are rushing to repair roads and bridges in the rear, Lunev stopped talking. He knew very well in his heart that if the damaged roads and bridges were not repaired, the rear logistics department would not be able to transport ammunition, fuel and various military supplies to the front in time.

   "Chief of Staff," Sokov heard Vitkov mention the transportation issue, and couldn't help asking: "How long can the supplies we have hoarded now last for a battle?"

   "About seven days." After a short thought, Witkov gave an answer: "After seven days, our troops will face the situation of running out of ammunition and food."

   Lunev heard Sokov suddenly asked about the situation of supplies, and couldn't help but asked, "Comrade Commander, why are you asking this? Are you planning to attack the enemy?"

"What, Comrade Commander, are you planning to take the initiative to attack the enemy?" Vitkov was taken aback by Lunev's words, and he hurriedly asked: "When, where, and with what kind of force do you plan to use, To attack the enemy?"

"That's right, I really want to attack the enemy's defensive positions." Sokov frowned and said, "From the current situation, the construction of fortifications has encountered great difficulties. Instead of waiting for the enemy to attack us, break through our It is better for us to take the initiative and launch a limited attack on the enemy."

Sokov walked to the map and looked at it, and then said: "I plan to break through the defense lines of the Skeleton Division and the Imperial Division, approach Barvenkovo, and disrupt the enemy's deployment. If all the supplies are only enough for the troops to use for seven days, then we The number of troops participating in the battle should be reduced as much as possible.”

Lunev was confused by Sokov's words, and he asked inexplicably: "Comrade commander, I don't understand. If you want to attack the enemy, shouldn't the more troops the better? Why don't you just ask your superiors for reinforcements?" , but to reduce the number of troops participating in the war?”

"Comrade Military Commissar, the reason is simply that we are short of supplies." Sokov explained to Lunev: "If we use eight divisions and all artillery and tank brigades, the daily consumption of supplies is staggering. After seven days, these materials are exhausted, and once the enemy launches a counterattack, our remaining troops will only be wiped out by the Germans. But if we only use half or even less of our troops, then we can reduce the consumption of materials, In this way, we have more time to fight the Germans, so that the superiors have more time to provide us with supplies."

  Vitkov felt that Sokov seemed to have a mature idea long ago, so he asked tentatively: "Comrade Commander, I would like to ask, which day do you plan to choose for the offensive?"

"Send reconnaissance personnel to conduct reconnaissance on the German defensive positions." Sokov told Vitkov: "I plan to use two to three divisions and a tank brigade to attack the enemy. In order to make this attack To be successful, it is necessary to understand the distribution of the enemy's forces."

   "Don't worry, Comrade Commander." Witkov said to Sokov: "I will urge the Reconnaissance Office to obtain the latest map of the distribution of German forces as soon as possible."

  Sokov continued: "Chief of Staff, you must tell the scouts to conduct detailed and accurate reconnaissance of the enemy, so as to reduce the casualties of our army in the attack."

  When Sokov said this, he inadvertently glanced at Lunev next to him. Seeing the excited look on the latter's face, he couldn't help but thump in his heart. He hurriedly said to Lunev: "Comrade Military Commissar, this is just an idea of ​​me and the chief of staff. It is still unknown whether we will take offensive actions at that time. You must not report to your superiors casually, and you will be let down at that time." We became very passive."

When Lunev heard what Sokov said, his old face blushed. He thought that after hearing the battle plan of Sokov and Witkov last time, he immediately sent a message to Beria in Moscow through his special radio station. reported. It turned out that there was an oolong in the end, and everything he heard was just a deduction conducted by Sokov and Witkov on the map. For this reason, he was severely criticized by Beria.

Hearing Sokov greet himself at this moment, he quickly replied: "Don't worry, Comrade Commander, I didn't understand the situation last time. I will definitely not act recklessly this time. I will definitely wait until you have the battle plan. After reporting to the Front Army Command, it will be reported to Moscow."

  Sokov is very clear that the other party has a special channel to report the situation of the troops to the superior, and he understands this very well. After all, this is the responsibility of the other party. He nodded slightly, and said, "Comrade Military Commissioner, after the chief of staff and I determine the time for the attack, I will give you a detailed combat plan, and you will continue to report to Moscow."

Lunev did not expect Sokov to be so reasonable, and offered to give himself a copy of the plan after the battle plan was confirmed, and he would report it to Moscow, and quickly said gratefully: "Thank you, Comrade Commander, thank you for your support. my trust."

  Sokov waved his hand and said with a smile: "Comrade Military Commissioner, we are now partners. If we want to make achievements, we need to cooperate with each other, are you right?"

"That's right, what you said is really correct." Lunev nodded to Sokov and said, "Comrade commander, don't worry. As long as I am still the military commissar of the group army, I will fully cooperate with you." Work together to fight the enemy on the battlefield of the future and build great exploits."

   Sokov spoke to Lunev, and Witkov had already finished calling the reconnaissance office. He reported to Sokov: "Comrade Commander, I have already called the reconnaissance office, and they promised that after dark, five reconnaissance teams would be dispatched to go deep into the enemy's rear for reconnaissance, and in the shortest possible time Feedback with accurate information within the time limit."

  (end of this chapter)