Chapter 1212 A plan to confuse the real with the fake

"Comrade Commander, if all the troops participating in the battle are our troops, we can accurately identify the enemy and the enemy without changing the painting or covering the red flag." General Poluboyarov said confidently: "This is our housekeeping skill."

   Regarding General Poluboyarov’s statement, Sokov found it hard to believe: “Without changing the paint job or covering the red flag, can the identification of friend and foe be completed?”

   "Of course." General Poluboyarov said proudly: "Our tank soldiers have a way to complete the identification of friend and foe without any changes."

  General Poluboyarov’s words gave Sokov a new idea. He knew that the friendly forces were launching a counterattack in the Oboyan area, trying to drive the enemy across the Pena River. If Poluboyarov's troops can really complete the identification of friend and foe without changing any markings, then they can make full use of this to achieve the goal of driving the enemy across the Pena River.

  Thinking of this, he said to Sameko: "Comrade Chief of Staff, get in touch with General Katukov immediately and say that I have something important to discuss with him."

  The phone was connected quickly, and Katukov's kind voice came from the receiver: "Comrade Sokov, do you have something important to discuss with me?"

   "Comrade General," Sokov still admired the illustrious tank general in his heart. He said respectfully, "I heard that you are still attacking the German army entrenched along the Pena River?"

"Yes, the enemy's defense is very solid and they are fighting tenaciously. None of the attacks we have launched have achieved the desired results." Katukov asked briefly after finishing the situation: "Comrade Sokov , what are you asking this for?"

   "Comrade General, I have a way to eliminate the enemies along the Pena River as soon as possible, but I need your cooperation."

If others say this, Katukov may think he is bragging, but Sokov is a person who has repeatedly performed miracles. Since he said that there is a way to break through the enemy's defenses and destroy the enemies entrenched on the Pena River , that will definitely work. He took a deep breath and tried his best to ask in a calm tone: "Comrade Sokov, do you have any good ideas?"

   "Yes, Comrade General, I do have a good idea, but for safety reasons, I can't talk to you on the phone." Sokov asked cautiously: "Can I go to your headquarters to have an interview with you?"

"Yes." Katukov felt that Sokov's actions must be due to the importance of the matter. He did not say it on the phone, but was worried about leaking secrets, so he nodded and replied, "My headquarters is on the east side of Oboyan. Someone will be sent to fetch you."

After putting down the phone, Sokov said to Poluboyarov: "Comrade General, call your chief of staff immediately and order him to send out a group of skilled tank soldiers, but take over the captured tanks. Also, put the Whether your mechanized brigade can destroy the enemies entrenched on the banks of the Pena River depends entirely on you."

Although General Poluboyarov did not understand why Sokov issued such an order, he followed his order and called his chief of staff, ordering the other party to deploy manpower, but received the captured tanks, Transfer the mechanized brigade to the south and prepare for battle.

   On the way to Katukov's headquarters, General Poluboyarov couldn't help asking curiously: "Comrade Commander, what can you do to destroy the enemy entrenched on the Pena River?"

Seeing that he, General Poluboyarov, Samoilov and the driver were the only ones in the car, Sokov believed that what he said would not be leaked, so he boldly announced his plan to Poluboya General Rove explained it in detail.

After listening to Sokov's narration, General Poluboyarov's eyes widened in surprise, he looked at Sokov and murmured: "Comrade Commander, your plan is really bold, I think Apart from you, I am afraid that no one else can come up with such a bold battle plan."

   "Comrade General," Sokov asked with a smile, "Do you think this plan of mine can break through the enemy's defense?"

"No problem, no problem." General Poluboyarov shook his head first, then nodded vigorously and said: "If General Katukov can agree to let his troops cooperate, then the chance of success is at least 80%." .”

   "Comrade General, I can come up with a good battle plan, but the people who implement the plan are your troops." Sokov asked cautiously: "Can you complete this task?"

   "Don't worry, Comrade Commander." General Poluboyarov patted his chest and assured Sokov: "We will never let you down."

   When the vehicle in which Sokov arrived at the original division headquarters of Major General Gritsenko, a soldier in the uniform of a tank soldier stepped forward immediately. After raising his hand to salute Sokov, he said, "General Sokov, I am here to greet you by order of the commander."

   After nodding his thanks, Sokov asked with a smile: "Comrade commander, how far is it from your army headquarters?"

   "It's less than eight kilometers." The tank soldier replied blankly, "It takes more than 20 minutes by car at most."

Knowing that Katukov's army headquarters is only eight kilometers away from here, Sokov still couldn't help being secretly surprised. Katukov put his headquarters so close to the front, so he didn't worry about it. Will I be in danger? He said politely to the tank soldier: "Comrade commander, please show us the way quickly. I have something urgent and need to see General Katukov immediately."

   Half an hour later, Sokov appeared in Katukov's headquarters. Here, besides Katukov, there are many commanders with generals on their shoulders. Seeing Sokov enter the door, Katukov immediately stepped forward and gave him a warm hug: "So Comrade Kove, welcome to your headquarters."

   After Sokov finished introducing General Poluboyarov to him, he also introduced several generals standing at the table to Sokov one by one. Through his introduction, Sokov learned that these people were all the commanders of the 6th Tank Army, the 31st Tank Army and the 3rd Mechanized Army.

"Comrade Sokov," after introducing each other and a few more pleasantries, Katukov went straight to the point: "You just said on the phone that you have a way to break through the enemy's defenses and let them all go Pena River. Is it true what you say?"

   "Yes, Comrade General. I have a way to drive the enemy across the Pena River, but I need your cooperation."

Katukov knew that Sokov's coming to him would definitely involve the cooperation between the two armies, so he nodded and said, "Let's talk about your plan first. If it is feasible, I will definitely let my troops fully cooperate with you."

Sokov came to the map, looked at the map of the situation of the enemy and us first, then picked up the explaining stick leaning against the wall, pointed at it and said to Katukov: "General Katukov, I hope you Continue to send troops to attack the enemy's position..."

"Comrade Commander," Sokov had just said this, when he was interrupted by the commander of the 3rd Mechanized Army. He said to Katukov: "Our army has been attacking the enemy, but due to the enemy's strong Fortifications, our offensive has been unable to make progress, if we are allowed to continue to attack, what will the friendly forces do?"

   "Comrade General," Sokov waited for the other party to finish speaking, and said politely: "Please listen to me before expressing your opinion, okay?"

   "Listen to Comrade Sokov first." Katukov was eager to understand Sokov's plan. After stopping his subordinates, he gestured to Sokov and said politely: "Please continue!"

Sokov nodded, and went on to say: "When your troops launched an attack on the enemy's position, a German armored unit suddenly appeared from behind you, and behind the armored units there were groups of soldiers. Infantry, your attack on the enemy will immediately fall apart..."

   "How could there be Germans behind us?" The commander of the mechanized army immediately became anxious when he heard Sokov say this: "Could it be that other troops just watched the enemy steal our way?"

   After Katukov raised his hand again to stop his subordinates from continuing, he tentatively asked Sokov: "Comrade Sokov, if I guessed correctly, you intend to let your troops pretend to be Germans, right?"

"Exactly, Comrade General." Seeing that Katukov had guessed his intentions at once, Sokov felt very relieved. It would save trouble talking to smart people. He continued: "When our fake German army appears, will we Shoot at your defeated troops, so as not to be seen by the enemy. After dispelling the enemy's suspicion, they can swagger into the enemy's defense area, and then launch a surprise attack, so as to achieve the goal of seizing the enemy's position."

Seeing the puzzled expressions in everyone's eyes, Sokov quickly added with a smile: "Don't worry, commanders and comrades, after our tank troops appeared, the main targets of attack were those tanks that had been destroyed, and the For the tanks that are still intact, they use high-explosive bombs to attack. Although the bombs are earth-shattering, they cannot destroy our tanks. As for the infantry, they will shoot into the sky, trying not to accidentally injure their own people."

Regarding the combat plan proposed by Sokov, Katukov pondered for a long time, and then asked: "Comrade Sokov, I want to ask, where did you get so many German tanks. You know, our army The tanks are different from the German tanks, even if they are put on the same painting, they will be spotted at a glance."

"Comrade General, you don't have to worry about this." Sokov explained with a smile: "We captured 29 tanks in the battle to annihilate the Imperial Division. We can use these tanks to pretend to be German armored units. As for the infantry Well, then there is no need to worry, the military uniforms we seized are enough to arm one or two brigades."

   "Your plan is good, but there are still many flaws." Katukov said cautiously: "If someone among the Germans observes carefully, they will definitely find the problems."

   "What's the problem?" Sokov was stunned when he heard what Katukov said. He thought about the plan several times, taking into account all the issues that should be considered. How could there be any problems? Thinking of this, he tentatively asked: "Comrade General, I don't know where there is a flaw."

"You said that when the infantry charged, they shot into the sky to avoid unnecessary casualties. This is the biggest flaw." Katukov explained to Sokov: "You fought for a long time, and one person on both sides None of them fell down, anyone would be suspicious.”

  Sokov felt that what Katukov said was very reasonable, so he humbly asked him for advice: "Comrade General, what should we do to make up for this flaw."

"Since it's a war, there must be casualties, not only from the enemy, but also from our own people." Katukov said: "When both sides meet, they can raise their guns an inch and shoot. It can avoid accidentally injuring your own people. And the commanders and fighters rushing to the front, when they hear the gunshots, it is best to fall down and hide in the nearby bullet crater while they are down, so as not to be accidentally crushed by the tank. "

As soon as Katukov finished speaking, Sokov immediately imagined the battle scene: troops wearing German uniforms and Soviet uniforms fired at a short distance away, and people kept falling to the ground and rolling into the Nearby craters.

"Also," continued Katukov, "I can order people to release smoke behind some malfunctioning tanks, and you fake German armored units can shoot at the smoking tanks, no matter what you use. The only problem is the armor-piercing shells, but I still don’t understand, the more lively the fight, the better, so that the Germans in the position can completely believe that this is a force that broke out from the rear of our army.”

"This plan is really great." The commander of the 31st Tank Corps said to Katukov: "Comrade Commander, I think the mission of the feint attack should be given to Colonel Inov's 100th Tank Brigade. After a series of battles, many tanks have malfunctioned. In my opinion, these tanks can be driven onto the battlefield and used as targets for friendly tank attacks."

   After discussing some details with Sokov, Katukov asked, "Comrade Sokov, when will your tank unit be able to enter the battlefield?"

   Sokov turned to General Poluboyarov and asked, "Comrade General, when will your troops be able to go into battle?"

  Poluboyarov looked at his watch, then straightened his body and reported to Sokov: "I think we will be able to pretend to be the enemy and go into battle in two hours at the latest."

"Very good." In response to General Poluboyarov's reply, Sokov nodded with satisfaction, and then continued: "However, when the troops are marching, it is best to have troops in our uniforms escorting them before and after, so as not to cause unnecessary trouble. misunderstanding."

   "Don't worry, Comrade Commander." General Poluboyarov grinned: "I will never make such a low-level mistake. I promise to bring all the troops safely to the starting point of the attack."

   "Also, before you set off, you must check whether the ammunition and fuel of the German tanks are sufficient." Sokov warned with some anxiety: "If it is not enough, remember to replenish it in time."

   "Comrade Sokov, since it will take two hours for your troops to arrive, I will postpone the upcoming attack and wait until you reach the designated position before attacking the enemy."

"Comrade General," Sokov reminded Katukov, "You hope that you can pass on this plan to more commanders, at least to the platoon commanders, so as to avoid fights between your own people and your own people." .”

  (end of this chapter)