Chapter 1152 The End of the Imperial Division (Part 1)

  What happened in Stalin's office, it is impossible for a person of Sokov's level to know. At this moment, he is ordering the troops to launch the final general attack on the already defeated Imperial Division.

  In order to save this force, under the plea of ​​Hausser, the German army dispatched more than 50 fighter planes, trying to blow up a gap in the encirclement of the Soviet army, so that more officers and soldiers could escape.

  Sokov tried his best to surround the Imperial Division and the Skeleton Division. Now that the Skeleton Division has been destroyed, how could he easily let the Imperial Division go? Seeing that the enemy dispatched the air force, he was not to be outdone, and ordered the two aviation divisions under his command to take off to meet the enemy planes, while the bomber divisions would bomb the fleeing enemy.

  Major General Val, in order to avoid repeating the mistakes of the Skeleton Division, ordered the troops to begin to gather at the settlement north of Rockinsick Town, intending to carry out an assault with the advantage of troops and break through the encirclement circle just formed by the Soviet army.

Merkulov, who was directing the troops to attack, received a call from the head of the 199th Guards Regiment and learned that the enemy was constantly attacking the regiment's position. Since there were only temporary field fortifications there, facing the enemy I am afraid that he will not be able to sustain the strong attack for a long time, so he can only ask Merkulov for help.

  After listening to the report of the regiment leader, Merkulov said to him: "Comrade Colonel, I order you to hold the position at all costs. The whole regiment must stand there like a nail, and you are not allowed to retreat a step."

  For Merkulov’s general order that didn’t make any sense, the regimental commander could only bite the bullet and reply: “Yes, Comrade Commander, we will resolutely hold our position at all costs and prevent the enemy from passing through our position.”

  As soon as Merkulov ended the call with the front line, he immediately ordered the communications soldier: "Hurry up, connect me to the headquarters, and report to the comrade commander if there is an urgent military situation."

The phone was connected quickly, and when he heard Sokov's voice coming from the receiver, Merkulov said hastily: "Comrade Commander, I just received a call from the commander of the 199th Regiment. Thousands of troops are constantly attacking his position."

   "Can they hold it?" Sokov asked briefly.

"It's very difficult, Comrade Commander." Melkulov understood Sokov's character and knew that the other party wanted to know the real situation on the battlefield, so he didn't hide it, and replied truthfully: "The Dobro that our army just captured Outside the town of Pilia, only temporary field fortifications can be used, and it may be difficult to resist the enemy's continuous attack."

"I understand, Comrade General. Just wait a moment, I'll ask if there are any other troops of our army nearby." Having said that, Sokov took the microphone away from his ear and turned to ask Vitkov, who was beside him: " Chief of Staff, which unit of our army is near the town of Dobropilya?"

   "Yes," Witkov replied without hesitation: "According to the information just obtained, Colonel Starcha's 124th Guards Regiment is now rushing to the area, and it is about eight kilometers away from there."

"General Merkulov," Sokov said again, putting the microphone close to his ear, "I have already asked the Chief of Staff. Colonel Starcha's 124th Guards Regiment is now 124 miles away from the town of Dobropilya. With eight kilometers to go, they are the closest force to the town."

"What, there are still eight kilometers left?" Merkulov couldn't help being bitter when he heard Sokov say this. He was well aware of the current road conditions. The troops had to march eight kilometers on a muddy road, and it took two hours If you can arrive within a few days, you can be regarded as quick-moving, but can your 199th regiment last for two hours? He hesitated and asked Sokov: "Comrade Commander, can you get them to the town of Dobropilia within an hour?"

"This is impossible, Comrade General." Sokov said: "If there are transport vehicles and the road is in good condition, then let alone an hour, I am afraid that it will only take a quarter of an hour before the friendly army can rush over. But the current road condition, Being able to rush there within two hours is already considered very fast.”

   "Then what should we do?" Merkulov asked with a wry smile, "Should we just watch the enemy jump out of the encirclement and escape back to Barvinkovo ​​smoothly?"

"Don't worry, Comrade General." Sokov said into the microphone: "Although the 124th Regiment can't reach the town of Dobropilia within two hours, they can use the new rockets within an hour. Bombard the assembled enemies."

After putting down the phone, Sokov told Vitkov: "Chief of Staff, record my order: First, order the Starcha Regiment to rush to the town of Dobropilia as soon as possible, and select a suitable launch location as soon as possible, and use the rocket Second, order Colonel Neche Polenko's bomber aviation division to continue bombing the enemy forces on the ground."

   "Comrade Commander," Vitkov reminded Sokov: "After such a long battle, I think the number of rockets carried by the 124th regiment should not be much."

"Let Colonel Sidolin find a way to ensure that the Starcha Regiment has a sufficient number of rockets." Sokov said firmly: "Now that the enemy is concentrated in one place, our rockets can exert their greatest power. "

   "Comrade Commander, I think there is still a problem in gathering so many rockets within the time limit." Witkov said cautiously, "How about letting the Air Force continue the bombing?"

"Comrade Chief of Staff, there are not only our planes in the sky, but also enemy planes." Sokov shook his head and said, "As long as the enemy planes find our bombers bombing the ground, they will swoop in and attack. The bomber aviation division has Many bombers were lost under such circumstances."

"Okay," Vitkov said helplessly seeing Sokov's firm attitude, "I will immediately notify Colonel Sidolin and order him to dispatch manpower immediately to send rockets to the 124th Regiment. In fact, we have already We have basically wiped out the Skeleton Division, and even if part of the Imperial Division escapes, we have won a big victory."

Hearing what Vitkov said, Sokov's face immediately sank: "Comrade Chief of Staff, you can't say that. There is an old saying in the East: It is better to cut off one finger than to hurt the opponent. It is said that it is better to cut off the opponent than to hurt the opponent." Ten fingers is not as good as breaking one finger. If we just defeated the Imperial Division, I believe it will not be long before they regain their combat effectiveness and will still pose a threat to us on the battlefield. But if If the Imperial Division is wiped out, even if the Germans regroup, their combat effectiveness will probably be greatly reduced."

"I understand." After Sokov's explanation, Vitkov immediately understood the significance of annihilating the Imperial Division, and quickly stated: "I will convey your meaning to Colonel Sidolin and order him to do so in the shortest possible time. Replenish the Starcha regiment with enough rockets."

"Also," Seeing that Witkov was about to make a phone call, Sokov stopped him again, and ordered: "Don't look at us capturing Colonel Shimon, the acting commander of the Skeleton Division, but in our encirclement, there are still Two to three thousand officers and soldiers of the Skeleton Division continued to resist. Now the focus of the attack of the 41st Guards Division has been shifted to the Imperial Division. Then the task of clearing out the remaining enemies of the Skeleton Division is left to Colonel Sivakov's 71st Guards Division To be done."

  (end of this chapter)