Chapter 1218 First defeat

  When Sokov put down the phone, he had already awakened Sameko who was sleeping beside him. The chief of staff was lying on the camp bed, and asked Sokov sleepily: "Comrade commander, what happened ahead?"

"General Poluboyarov reported to me that an enemy appeared in the defense zone of his mechanized brigade. According to their analysis, the enemy may have entered by mistake in order to seize the bridge over the Pusol River at night. Entered our army's defense zone." As Sokov walked towards his camp bed, he said lightly, "This enemy was wiped out in just a few minutes under the attack of our army."

Knowing that the Mechanized Brigade had just wiped out a small sneak attacking unit, Sameko suddenly became sober. He sat up and asked cautiously: "Comrade Commander, since the enemy wants to seize the bridge over the Pusel River, is it absolutely necessary?" I will not give up easily because of one failure, I am worried that they will continue to send troops to compete with our army for the bridge, and the commanders and fighters of the mechanized brigade must be vigilant so as not to be caught off guard by the enemy."

"Comrade Chief of Staff, you can sleep in peace." Sokov said confidently: "I have ordered General Poluboyarov to inform the comrades of the mechanized brigade to prepare them for combat and prevent the enemy from attacking again. .”

Seeing Sameko opened his mouth and seemed to want to say something, Sokov waved his hand at him, "Comrade Chief of Staff, don't worry, General Poluboyarov is also an old commander, if you deal with the Germans He is very experienced in night raids. You should rest at ease, there is still a lot of work to be done when the sun rises."

  Now that Sokov has said this, Sameko also feels that he is a little nervous. If even an old commander like General Poluboyarov can't be trusted, who else can he trust in the future? Thinking of this, Sameko lay down again, closed his eyes and continued to sleep.

   There is an idiom called extreme joy begets sorrow. Just when Sokov thought everything was under his control, something unexpected happened. Ten minutes before dawn, the sleepy Sokov heard the phone on the table ring again, but he didn't move. He knew that the person on duty would answer the phone for him.

Soon, he heard the phone ring, and then came the voice of the duty officer: "This is the Army Group Command, where are you?" The voice of the duty officer quickly became flustered, "Okay, General Comrade, please wait a moment, I will go and wake up Comrade Commander immediately."

  Hearing footsteps coming towards him, Sokov turned over, opened his eyes and asked the duty officer who walked in front of him: "What's the matter?"

   "Comrade Commander, something has happened." The watchman said in a panic: "General Poluboyarov reported that the bridge over the Pusel River has fallen."

"What?" Sokov heard what the attendant said, and rolled off the bed. He didn't even bother to put on his boots, so he rushed to the table, grabbed the microphone on the table, and stuck it to his ear He asked nervously: "General Poluboyarov, what is going on? Didn't I always warn you not to be vigilant? Why did you lose the bridge over the Pusyl River?"

  Because of his anxiety, Sokov's voice was extraordinarily loud, waking Sameko who was sleeping beside him. He sat up in a jerk, looking nervously at Sokov who was answering the phone, trying to figure out what happened.

   "Comrade Commander, our soldiers have not slept all night and have been guarding the position."

   "Always on guard?" Sokov asked angrily: "Then why did you lose your position? Did the enemy dispatch hundreds of tanks?"

   "No, according to the reports of the soldiers, no more than fifteen German tanks captured the bridge."

"What, fifteen tanks broke through your defensive position?" Sokov slapped his hands on the table several times in anger: "What is your mechanization for, even this enemy can't stop it?" Fortunately, Sokov was on the phone, if the brigade commander who lost his position appeared in front of him, maybe Sokov would dare to draw his gun and kill him.

Facing Sokov's thunderous fury, General Poluboyarov did not speak. After Sokov's attack, he said cautiously: "Comrade commander, please listen to my explanation. The situation is like this. The enemy They were very cunning. They adjusted their tactics in time after they discovered that the vanguard unit was wiped out. They used an unknown number of tanks to move back and forth between 800 and 1,000 meters in front of our position to attract our army's attention. force.

   While our army's attention was attracted by them, another tank unit was dispatched to the upper reaches of the Pushol River, and along the river to the side of our army. You also know that the fortifications we built hastily faced the southeast direction for defense, while the enemy turned around from the northeast direction, and they circled behind our army in one fell swoop. block the enemy. "

After listening to General Poluboyarov's explanation, Sokov calmed down slowly. He felt that the German army's deception tactics were very effective. Even if he was commanding troops at the front, he might fall into the trap of the Germans. . Thinking of this, his anger gradually calmed down. After he pondered for a while, he said into the microphone: "General Poluboyarov, the enemy has occupied the bridge. What are you going to do next?"

"What else can be done, of course, is to recapture the bridge. If the enemy is allowed to gain a foothold there, they will definitely pass through there and wedge into our army's defense zone." General Poluboyarov assured Sokov. : "Comrade Commander, I will personally command the troops to counterattack and destroy the enemies occupying the bridge before noon."

   To regain the bridge from the enemy, it is easy to say, but not easy to do. Sokov asked cautiously: "How many troops are there on the left bank?"

"The mechanized brigade also has two fully staffed infantry battalions." General Poluboyarov said: "When our troops on the right bank attack the enemy occupying the bridge, the mechanized brigade will simultaneously launch an attack from the left bank, forming a counterattack against the enemy. The momentum of pinching."

  Sokov considered that the tank troops are basically on the left bank, while the right bank only has tank troops. If they attack without the cooperation of infantry, they will be easily killed by the German anti-tank fighters. After staring at the map for a while, he asked, "Where is Major General Fomenko's 84th Infantry Division now?"

   "Their station is two kilometers behind us."

   "Since their station is not far from you, then you should immediately get in touch with Major General Fomenko and ask him to send infantry to attack with tanks, trying to regain the lost position in the shortest possible time."

  (end of this chapter)