Chapter 1191 Dinghaishen Needle (Part 2)

  After Lunev accepted the task, he personally visited the division commanders and explained to them what role these rockets can play on the front line. After the other party agrees with their views, they propose to collect the rockets distributed to each division and hand them over to Khokhlov's 182nd Division for use.

   Facing the order issued by Lunev, the division commanders did not dare to disobey the order, and quickly ordered the company equipped with new rockets to hand over all the rockets.

   After collecting all the new rockets, Lunev personally led more than 20 trucks, loaded with thousands of new rockets, towards the Shumakovo area for safety reasons.

  After a night of driving, the convoy arrived at Shumakovo at dawn.

   Seeing that Lunev was about to get out of the car, a commander in the same car quickly asked: "Comrade Military Commissar, where should we unload these rockets?"

   "Don't worry, Comrade Major." Lunev waved his hand at the other party and said, "I'll go see the commander first and listen to what he has to say, and then arrange for you to unload the car."

When Lunev walked into the headquarters, he happened to see Sokov with his back to the door, looking down at the map on the table, while Khokhlov, Shepilov and others stood on both sides of him, Listen to him assign combat missions.

   Lunev stopped two or three steps behind Sokov, coughed lightly, and said, "Comrade Commander, here I come!"

  Sokov heard Lunev's voice, stood up straight and turned around, asking in surprise, "Comrade Military Commissar, why are you here?"

"Didn't you call the chief of staff yesterday and order him to collect a sufficient number of rockets from those troops that have not yet set off?" Lunev replied with a smile: "I am worried that these rockets will not be safe on the road. So I personally brought people over here. Now the convoy is parked outside, I don’t know where to unload these rockets?”

"Colonel Khokhlov," knowing that the convoy transporting the rockets was parked outside the headquarters, Sokov hurriedly ordered Khokhlov: "Immediately arrange manpower to unload the rockets from the vehicle and properly arrange the Store it locally." The chief of staff of the division knew that this matter was of great importance, so he didn't dare to neglect it, so he went out to arrange for people to unload the trucks himself.

  After the division chief of staff left, Lunev asked Sokov curiously: "Comrade Commander, I heard that General Apanashenko has been here before?"

  Sokov didn't hide anything, but nodded: "Yes, I came here yesterday."

   "What is he here for?" Lunev asked cautiously, "Is it an order for you to command the troops to counterattack?"

Seeing that Lunev actually knew about this matter, Sokov couldn't help being taken aback, but then he thought that since Lunev was from the Ministry of Internal Affairs, he must have his own news channel. He knew about this, so he nodded: "That's right. He I was ordered to bring the 182nd Division into battle to counterattack the enemy who broke through in the direction of Oboyan, but I refused."

   "Why did you refuse?"

   "Without knowing the enemy's strength and equipment, he rashly launched an attack on the enemy." Sokov said angrily: "Such an attack will not have any results except for casualties."

   "Comrade Commander, when you disobeyed orders, didn't you think that you might be sent to a military court for this matter?"

   "I haven't thought about it." Sokov shook his head, and then said firmly: "As long as my soldiers don't die in vain, even if I'm sent to a military court, what's the big deal."

"I think you asked the chief of staff to send all the rockets to Shumakovo. The situation here must be very bad." Lunev asked tentatively: "Do you really think the enemy will rush to us?" here?"

  When Sokov first chose this defensive area, he thought of the records in the history books: After the German army broke through the Soviet defense line and advanced 35 kilometers, it was met with the tenacious defense of the Soviet army, so that it could no longer move forward. In other words, even if the German army broke through Oboyan's defense line, by the time they got here, they would already be at the end of their strength. Not to mention the elite troops under him, even ordinary troops could still stop them.

"Yes, based on the current situation of the enemy and the enemy, after breaking through Oboyan, the enemy will definitely continue to advance northward in order to rush to Kursk as soon as possible after breaking through Oboyan, and use this as the starting point to attack Moscow. Our fortified area , right in the way of the advance of the German army."

   It was said that Sokov was full of confidence, but Lunev was still uneasy: "Comrade Commander, without the support of artillery, tanks and air force, how can we resist the German armored forces?"

"Comrade Military Commissar, you can rest assured about this." Seeing that Lunev was worried about the German armored units, Sokov comforted him and said, "You must have seen it when you came here. There are hills on both sides, and the enemy cannot deploy large-scale mechanized troops here. Our troops can rely on the terrain and use bazookas to attack enemy tanks on the hills on both sides. This wiped out the German tanks, and they The combat effectiveness will be greatly reduced."

"Comrade Commander," said Colonel Sepilov, the political commissar, "judging from today's battle situation, the friendly forces have been carrying out uninterrupted counterattacks. They are constantly driving away the enemies who have broken through their own defense lines and regaining their own positions. .”

After waiting for Shepilov to finish speaking, Sokov said calmly: "Comrade Colonel, you are right. The troops of the Voronezh Front Army are continuously launching uninterrupted counterattacks against the enemy who broke through the line of defense. But Their counterattack, apart from increasing the casualties of the troops, has no effect at all. Just look at it, maybe it will appear near our position this evening, and then it will be the official confrontation between us and them .”

   Lunev believed in Sokov's judgment very much in his heart. He said that the enemy would come, so the enemy would definitely come. He stared at the map in front of him and asked without raising his head, "Comrade Commander, which regiment is the first line of defense?"

   Colonel Khokhlov hurriedly replied: "Report to Comrade Military Commissar, the troops standing on the first line of defense are the 546th Regiment of Lieutenant Colonel Goryachkin..."

"Oh, it's the 546th Regiment of Lieutenant Colonel Goryachkin." Lunev nodded and said, "When your division was training, I visited twice and saw this Goryachkin Lieutenant Colonel Jin. In my impression, he is a commander with great fighting spirit. I believe that under his command, all the commanders and fighters of the 546th regiment will be able to block the German attack."

   But Sokov thought of something else. After Lunev finished speaking, he asked Khokhlov: "Comrade Colonel, how many commanders I brought here are in this regiment?"

"Report to Comrade Commander," Khokhlov smiled when he heard Sokov ask, "There is a battalion commander, three company commanders and several platoon leaders in the 546th regiment, all of whom are you." The commanders brought in from the Sixth Army. The regiment's remarkable achievements in training are inseparable from the few commanders you brought in."

  Sokov originally worried that the commanders and fighters of the 546th regiment had not experienced actual combat. Even if they trained well, they would be considered pretty good if they could make use of one-third of the results of their training on the battlefield. But when he heard that there were so many old troops in the regiment, his heart suddenly became more at ease. Those were the backbone of battles who had experienced many battles. With them in the army, he didn't have to worry at all.

"Comrade Colonel," Sokov said to Khokhlov: "According to my judgment, the Germans may reach our first line of defense in the evening. Immediately contact Lieutenant Colonel Goryachkin. Once the enemy is found If there are traces, report to the command immediately."

  In the evening, although the sky was still bright, the commanders and fighters who stood firm on the first line of defense still found no trace of the enemy. Under such circumstances, the commanders and fighters, who had been tense for a day, couldn't help but relax a little. Everyone was discussing in a low voice: "We have been waiting here for a day, why haven't we seen any trace of the enemy?"

   "Aren't there tens of thousands of friendly troops in front of us? How could their defense line be broken by the Germans? I think it must be that the superiors made a mistake in their judgment..."

"Don't talk nonsense," said the soldiers who questioned Sokov as soon as he made it, "The commander himself made this analysis, and his judgment has never been wrong. He said that the enemy is coming , the enemy will definitely come, so I will stay on the ground obediently, and no one is allowed to leave their posts without permission."

The commander of the first battalion, Lieutenant Zuminte, saw that the soldiers looked a little tired, so he asked the commander of the regiment, Lieutenant Colonel Goryachkin, for instructions: "Comrade commander, judging from the current situation, the enemy does not know when it will appear. And We keep all our fighters in the trenches, and the tension for a long time will make people tired, and I am afraid that the enemy has not yet appeared, and our soldiers are all exhausted."

  Lieutenant Colonel Goryachkin asked back: "Do you have any good ideas?"

"Yes, Comrade Commander." Zu Mingte replied: "We can leave a few observation posts and continue to monitor the enemy's movements. The rest of the commanders and fighters will go back to their shelters to rest. When the enemy comes, let them come out to fight. Not too late."

Goryachkin considered that many positions are set up on hills with a wide field of vision. If the enemy really wants to appear, it is estimated that they will be spotted by observation posts seven or eight kilometers away, and there will be enough time for commanders and fighters to enter Combat post. Thinking of this, he nodded and agreed with Zu Mingte's proposal: "Okay, Comrade Captain, just do as you said. Except for a few observation posts, the rest of the commanders and fighters should go back to their respective shelters to rest."

   Time passed by, and Sokov, who was staying in the division headquarters, was a little anxious. He wondered if the records in the history books were wrong. Didn’t the German army rush to the 35-kilometer depth of the Soviet army today? Otherwise, how can you be sure that you haven't seen a trace yet?

  Although he had just asked the division chief of staff not long ago, he couldn't help asking again at this moment: "Comrade chief of staff, is there any news at the front?"

   "No, Comrade Commander." The division chief shook his head and replied, "No news at all."

   "Damn, why haven't we seen the enemy yet?" Sokov muttered softly, raised his hand to check the time on his wrist, and found that it was already nine o'clock in the evening.

"Comrade Commander, don't worry." Seeing Sokov's fidgeting look, Lunev comforted him and said, "Although it is already nine o'clock in the evening, the sun outside has not yet set. The biggest advantage is that the days are long and the nights are short, the sky is bright at three or four o'clock in the morning, and it will not be completely dark until eleven o'clock in the evening."

   Lunev's words immediately reassured Sokov a lot. Since the sky is not dark, the German attack will definitely not stop. Just because they didn't show up at this moment doesn't mean they won't show up again later. Thinking of this, he ordered the division chief of staff: "Get in touch with Lieutenant Colonel Goryachkin immediately and ask him to closely monitor the south, and report to the division headquarters immediately if he finds any traces of the enemy."

   Just as the division chief of staff agreed and was about to pick up the phone to convey Sokov's order to Lieutenant Colonel Goryachkin, the phone on the desk rang without warning. The division chief hesitated for a moment, grabbed the microphone, and said loudly: "I am the division chief, where are you? ... What, you found German tanks there? ... How many are there? Is there any infantry behind you? ...".

  Hearing the appearance of the German tanks, Sokov's spirit was immediately lifted. He quickly pricked up his ears and listened carefully to the call between the division chief of staff and the other party, but he heard it intermittently, which made him anxious. After finally waiting for the division chief of staff to put down the microphone, he hurriedly asked, "Comrade chief of staff, what's the situation?"

"Comrade Commander," the division chief of staff replied straight up, "Lieutenant Colonel Goryachkin reported that the observation post of the First Battalion found the traces of the German army. After careful confirmation, the enemy has a total of two tanks and five armored vehicles." , is advancing along the emergency road to the defense zone of the first battalion. Now the distance is eight kilometers, and it will take 20 minutes at the fastest to enter the defense zone of the first battalion."

  Although Sokov knew very well that his troops must be ready for battle at this moment, he still asked habitually, "Are all the troops ready for battle?"

  "Yes." The chief of staff of the division replied affirmatively: "From the moment the enemy was confirmed, a combat alert has been issued to the troops, and now the commanders and fighters are successively defending positions."

Knowing that the enemy was really coming, Khokhlov, who was still skeptical of Sokov, quickly asked Sokov for instructions: "Comrade Commander, since the enemy has appeared, we need to send the rockets that have just arrived Are the bombs handed over to the 546th Regiment?"

"No need, Comrade Colonel." Sokov shook his head and said contemptuously: "Only two tanks and five armored vehicles, sixty or seventy enemies at full strength, with the equipment of your division, they can be easily eliminated. They don't need rockets."

"Oh I see."

"Today's battle is just the beginning, and more brutal battles are yet to come." In order to let Khokhlov have a clear understanding, Sokov specially reminded him: "When the enemy invades in large numbers, use new rockets It is not too late. Our troops must be like a gate, firmly blocking here, absolutely not allowing the enemy to move forward."

"Don't worry, Comrade Commander." Khokhlov assured Sokov: "If we have so much equipment and still can't stop the enemy's attack, it will prove that I am incompetent as a division commander. You It is entirely possible to remove me and send me to a military court, and then find a suitable person to replace me."

"Comrade Colonel, I hope that I can lead you into Berlin and occupy the Reichstag, instead of sending any of you to a court-martial." Sokov waved his hand at Khokhlov. Said: "Arrange someone to check the telephone line, don't wait for a while to make a call, but find that the line is faulty, it will be a delay."

  (end of this chapter)