Chapter 127 Rokossovsky's Difficulties

  That evening, Rokossovsky called several division commanders in the city to hold an impromptu combat meeting. The topic of this meeting was to cooperate with the right-wing 61st Army to eliminate the German troops located north of Susinich.

After the meeting began, Chief of Staff Ma Linin pointed to the map on the wall and said to the teachers attending the meeting: "In the north of Susinich, there is a large village called Popkovo, which is located on a high ground overlooking the surrounding area. It is from here that De Kou fired shells at the city of Susinich. Our meeting this time is to discuss how to take Popkovo and completely eliminate the threat of the enemy to the city.”

  The commander of the 324th Infantry Division, Kiryukhin, waited for Malinin to finish speaking, and asked, "Comrade Chief of Staff, can you tell us what kind of troops and technical equipment the enemy has in this village?"

"According to our information," Malinin replied to Kiryukhin's question, "there are about 2,000 German soldiers stationed in this village. They have tanks and large-caliber artillery. Around the villages and towns, a ring of fortifications was built."

  When they learned that there were 2,000 German troops stationed in the village and town, and they also had a large amount of technical equipment, the division commanders who participated in the meeting couldn't help but frowned. They knew in their hearts that this was a vicious battle and it was not easy to fight. Even if the army is fully staffed and supported by powerful artillery fire, if you want to capture such a village, you will have to pay a huge price. But now there is a shortage of soldiers and insufficient ammunition. To attack the enemy with such troops and equipment, isn't it hitting a stone with a pebble?

Seeing the silence of the division commanders, Rokossovsky guessed what everyone was worried about, so he got up and said: "Mr. Ask us, why can't we defeat the enemy and break through their lines with more divisions than the enemy?"

   Rokossovsky's words immediately caught the attention of the teachers, and they all involuntarily turned their eyes to each other, wanting to hear what he would say next. Rokossovsky went on to say: "I told them that when our divisions were full, there were only 8,000 people, and after a long battle, there were only 3,500 people left in each division. There are 2,000 left. And the enemy? Their infantry divisions number from 10,000 to 12,000, while tank and motorized divisions number from 12,000 to 15,000."

   When their units suffered heavy losses, soldiers and junior commanders were recruited to other divisions, and the division headquarters withdrew to the rear to form new units. By doing this, they can ensure that the combat effectiveness of the troops will not be affected. And what about our troops? Generally, they replenish while fighting, and a large number of recruits without combat experience are recruited into the army. Although the number is large, the combat effectiveness has declined..."

   Rokossovsky observed everyone's reactions while talking, and saw that everyone was nodding their heads in agreement with his statement. After saying a bunch of things that had nothing to do with combat but resonated with the division commanders, he cut the topic to the point: "In this battle to capture Popkovo, the group army is going to invest in three infantry divisions and two tanks. brigade, two artillery regiments, and three rocket artillery battalions. The 61st Army on the right will invest approximately equal forces and launch an attack from the north. I believe that even if there are more German troops and technical equipment in Popkovo, they will not For our simultaneous attack from the north and the south, only failure awaits them."

After Rokossovsky finished speaking, Malinin announced the combat order. The three infantry divisions participating in the attack were the 11th Guards Division of Chernyshov, the 324th Infantry Division of Kiryukhin, and the The 97th Infantry Division of the Base Camp Reserve. After announcing the combat order, the commanders of the participating divisions raised some questions that they might encounter. Ma Lining, who had already done his homework, gave them detailed answers one by one.

  After the meeting, the other division commanders got up and left the headquarters, but Chernyshov stayed. He took out two documents from his briefcase, handed them to Rokossovsky, and said at the same time: "Comrade Commander, this is the combat report and commendation submitted by Captain Sokov, the commander of the Istria Battalion. Please have a look at the application report."

Rokossovsky, who had just stood up, took the document from Chernyshov, stretched out his hand and made a gesture of invitation: "Comrade General, please sit down, I will take a look at these two documents first." With that said, he sat back in his seat and carefully browsed Sokov's report.

After reading the award application report, he handed it to Lobachev, and said at the same time: "Comrade Military Commissar, take a look, this is an award application report submitted by Captain Sokov." Then he buried himself in the battle Report.

Lobachev quickly finished reading the award application report, and once Rokossovsky finished reading the combat report, he said: "Comrade Commander, I propose to award the medal for all soldiers of the female anti-aircraft machine gun company, and this Sergeant Lida, you can award her the Order of the Red Star alone."

Regarding Lobachev's proposal, Rokossovsky immediately nodded in agreement: "Comrade Military Commissar, I agree with your proposal. You know, on the battlefield, facing a ferocious enemy, even male soldiers sometimes It will also show panic. But these young female soldiers bravely fought the enemy tenaciously and wiped out the enemy. This is very remarkable. In addition to awarding them, I also recommend promoting Lida Sergeant sergeant is the rank of second lieutenant."

   "I agree!" Lobachev nodded vigorously, and said: "Comrade Commander, I will draft the order."

After Lobachev got up and left, Rokossovsky handed over the combat report to Chernyshov, and at the same time said to him with a serious expression: "In the report of Captain Sokov, it was stated that in the recent battle, the troops The reduction in personnel has reached 40%, and I hope that the superior will replenish his troops and the weapons and ammunition he has consumed. Comrade Chernyshov, please tell him that I can agree to the commendation of the female soldier company; but the replenishment of soldiers and weapons and ammunition, I can't do it, let him figure it out on his own."

   "What, let him find a way to solve it by himself?" Chernyshov immediately turned into a sad face when he heard Rokossovsky say this: "Comrade commander, this may be difficult to do."

"General Chernyshov," Rokossovsky said helplessly, "there is a huge shortage of soldiers in each division, and the superior has not replenished us for a long time. Where can I find someone to give Soko Husband to add? Another point, you must not forget that the Istria battalion is fully equipped with German equipment, and the logistics department cannot replenish ammunition for them. Before the battalion completes the collective refit, the ammunition needed is only can rely on their own ability to solve.”

  (end of this chapter)