Chapter 1613 Coordinating the Operation of Crossing the River (Part 2)

  Konev's words aroused good-natured laughter from all around.

"Comrade Commander," Shumilov knew that Konev was joking with him, and quickly pulled the opponent's hand from his forehead, and said seriously: "I'm not joking with you, what I said is true. "

   "Is everything true?" Konev did not hear the call between Shumilov and Sokov, so he expressed serious doubts about his statement. He sat at the table carelessly, looked up at Shumilov, and asked, "Then tell me, how did you manage to cross the Dnieper River under the blockade of German firepower just by barely being able to transport a battalion of river-crossing equipment?" task?"

Shumilov had already guessed that Konev would ask such a question, smiled slightly, and replied: "Comrade commander, if we rely solely on our troops to cross the Dnieper River by force, the troops transported by this river crossing equipment are far from enough. But if Are there any friendly troops on the other side to assist?"

  Konev is a smart man. Hearing what Shumilov said, he immediately realized that he might have reached an agreement with Sokov on the right bank, and quickly asked, "Did Comrade Sokov contact you just now?"

   "Comrade Commander, I really can't hide anything from you." Shumilov grinned and said, "That's right, shortly before you entered the door, I just finished talking with General Sokov."

   "How does he plan to assist you?"

   "When General Sokov talked to me just now, he said that he was about to send troops to surprise the two small towns of Ratswe and Jingji located by the river, where our troops would cross the river."

   "Here comes the map!"

Hearing what Konev said, the chief of staff quickly put the map in front of him, pointed to the map and introduced to Konev: "Comrade commander, you see, these two towns are located in Dnieper. As long as we occupy this place, we can block the communication line on the river and cut off the German transportation line from Kirovgrad to Cherkasy.”

After seeing the locations of the two small towns, Konev nodded slightly: "Yes, once Sokov's troops occupy these two small towns, they can meet your troops to cross the river. And after your vanguard troops cross the river , in addition to taking the time to establish a complete defense system in the town, at the same time, it is also necessary to send people to conduct reconnaissance around, find out the deployment of nearby German troops, and prepare for the next battle."

   "Understood, Comrade Commander." Shumilov replied: "I will arrange this immediately."

   Just when Shumilov was about to instruct the chief of staff to arrange crossing, Konev asked: "Comrade Shumilov, which division do you plan to send to cross the river first?"

   "Major General Vasilenko's 15th Guards Division, as the vanguard of the group army, will take the lead in crossing the Dnieper River and establish a reliable landing field on the right bank to create favorable conditions for large troops to cross the river."

After listening to Shumilov's cliché, Konev suddenly remembered something, and asked casually: "By the way, it seems that this Major General Vasilienko said that he appeared near his division headquarters last night. captured the German snipers and caused them a lot of casualties. How did this matter be resolved in the end?"

"Comrade commander, don't tell me, General Sokov's method is really effective." As soon as this matter was mentioned, Shumilov suddenly regained his spirits: "The soldiers of the division guard battalion fired around and disturbed the German snipers. Then, at the position where the sniper might be attacked, a bonfire was lit, which distorted the air in the scope, making it impossible for the sniper to hit the target accurately in the first place.”

   "So, the German snipers have been eliminated?"

"Yes, Comrade Commander, all of them have been dealt with." Speaking of the German snipers who were killed, Shumilov felt elated: "After the post-inspection, there were a total of four snipers, and none of them escaped. They were all killed by our soldiers."

   While Shumilov's men were preparing to cross the river, Colonel Koyda's 188th Division began its attack on Chigirin. According to Sokov's instructions, the troops rushed to the target that had been reconnaissance in units of platoons.

  Sokov's instructions were made temporarily. The commanders and fighters of the 188th Division, including those in Koida, were all at a loss. They don't know why he suddenly made such a result. But as the battle progressed, everyone understood Sokov's wry smile.

  After the Viking Division drove the 84th Division out of Chijilin last night, it established a defensive position outside the city. The commander knew very well that it was impossible to build a position that could resist Soviet artillery bombardment overnight. Therefore, he made full use of the unfinished fortifications, placed an assault gun in each position, and brought an infantry squad outside to resist possible Soviet attacks.

  If the Soviet army prepares for artillery fire before attacking, the damage to these scattered firepower points will be limited. But once the Soviet army launches a full-scale attack, the crossfire formed by these scattered firepower points can cause huge casualties to the attacking troops.

  Sokov ordered the 188th Division to break up the troops into pieces and use platoons as units to attack the scattered firepower points of the German army, forcing the German army to disperse their firepower to intercept the Soviet army's attack.

   Once these firepower points are exposed, the artillery regiment following the infantry can use direct shooting to destroy the German assault guns one by one, opening the way for the offensive troops to advance.

Koida, who was standing in the observation post with Sokov, saw that the firepower of the German army was destroyed one by one. When his soldiers did not pay much price and quickly advanced towards the urban area, he couldn't help saying with emotion : "Comrade Commander, your tactic is really great. It easily broke through the German defense. However, I think the artillery fire is still too weak. It would be great if the rocket launcher can also use this bayonet tactic."

   "What did you say?" Sokov, who was holding up the binoculars to observe the battle in the distance, suddenly put down the binoculars in his hand and turned to ask Koyda: "Colonel Koyda, what did you just say?"

  Kuida was taken aback, and murmured to himself, did I say something wrong just now? He said cautiously: "I said, your tactic is really great, and it easily broke through the German defense..."

   "Not this sentence." Sokov shook his head and said, "The latter sentence."

   "I said that the firepower is still a bit weak. It would be great if the rocket launcher can also use the bayonet tactic."

   "Yes, that's the sentence." Sokov clenched his fist with his right hand and slammed it on the palm of his left hand. He said emotionally, "Next time we encounter a solid German fortification, we will use rocket launchers to deal with them."

Koyda opened his mouth wide in surprise, and asked inexplicably, "Comrade Commander, how do you attach a bayonet to the rocket launcher?" He kindly reminded Sokov, "Comrade Commander, the launcher of the rocket launcher is tilted. It doesn't shoot flat like other guns."

"Actually, it's not impossible for the rocket launcher to shoot flat." Sokov grabbed the binoculars hanging around his neck, gestured and explained to Koida: "Look, the launcher of the rocket launcher is tilted, but we As long as you use something to raise it behind, the launcher will be parallel. In this way, you can shoot flat at the enemy's target."

  After listening to Sokov's explanation, Keida's eyes widened like brass bells. He didn't expect that Sokov would think of a countermeasure just because he said something casually. After he took a few deep breaths, he calmed down a little: "Comrade commander, if the rear of the rocket launcher is raised so that the launchers are parallel, then we can use it to deal with the solid walls of the German fortress in the future. Regardless of the walls No matter how thick it is, as long as a salvo is fired, the gap can basically be blasted."

  The phone rang not far away, and a staff officer immediately picked up the phone to listen. After he put down the phone, he came over and reported to Sokov: "Comrade Commander, General Fomenko reported that the 254th Regiment has set off and is expected to reach the attack target in half an hour."

  Sokov just nodded slightly after hearing this, and said lightly: "Got it."

  Koida came over and said: "Comrade Commander, as long as the 254th Regiment can capture the two towns of Latseve and Jingji, the 7th Guards Army on the left bank can quickly cross the river and establish a new landing field on the right bank."

   "Yes," Sokov said casually: "With the landing field they have established, the possibility of the Germans trying to drive us into the Dnieper River is greatly reduced."

But what Koyda said next made Sokov's heart sank suddenly: "Comrade Commander, have you ever considered that once the 7th Guards Army uses Latswe and Jingji two Based on the town, they have established their landing field, so the task of attacking Cherkasy in the future may be handed over to them by the superiors."

The combat map that he had just seen not long ago immediately appeared in Sokov's mind. From the geographical point of view, once the 7th Guards Army builds a huge landing field based on the two towns of Ratswe and Jingji, then They will be the closest troops to Cherkasy.

  In his memory, the Soviet army encircled the German army near Cherkasy in early 1944. And this was also the worst breakout battle of the German army. Not only did many German troops, including the Viking Division, suffer heavy casualties, but even the commander of the 11th Army, William Stemmermann, was also killed in battle. This battle, which is enough to be recorded in the annals of history, is obviously not what Sokov wants to see if his own troops just cooperate with each other.

   Seeing Sokov suddenly fell into silence, Keida seemed a little flustered. He tentatively asked, "Comrade Commander, did I say something wrong?"

"No, no," Sokov, who was thinking about how to make more contributions in the Battle of Cherkasy, quickly waved his hand when he heard what Koida said, and changed the subject: "By the way, how is the current battle going? , Has your troops entered the city yet?"

  Hearing what Sokov said, Koyda hurriedly raised his binoculars and looked towards the distant battlefield: "Some commanders and fighters have rushed into the city and are trying to seize those buildings occupied by the Germans..."

"Colonel Keida," now that the troops have rushed into the city, Sokov felt that there was little point in staying here, so he said to Koida, "Order the troops entering the city to Control as many buildings as possible so that if the enemy counterattacks, they can effectively crush their attacks."

   "Understood, Comrade Commander." Hearing what Sokov said, Koyda realized that he might have to leave, and quickly asked, "Where are you going? I will send someone to **** you there."

   "Of course, go back to the division headquarters of the 84th Division," Sokov said: "Only there, can you learn the latest results of the 254th Regiment in the first place."

  Ten minutes later, Sokov, escorted by a guard platoon, returned to the division headquarters of the 84th Division.

  Seeing Sokov enter the door, Fomenko hurriedly greeted him: "Comrade Commander, you are back!"

  Sokov nodded, and then asked: "Where has the 254th Regiment arrived, and has it launched an attack on the target?"

"I just learned that they are still on their way to the towns of Ratsve and Jingji. If they want to launch an attack, they may have to wait for a while." After reporting to Sokov, Fomenko asked about the attack The situation in the city: "Comrade Commander, I wonder how the 188th Division is progressing?"

"Some commanders and fighters have rushed into the city and are seizing the buildings occupied by the enemy." Sokov said lightly: "I have told Colonel Koida to let the troops seize more buildings as soon as possible, and find a way to get more buildings in the city." to gain a firm foothold in order to prevent a possible counterattack by the Germans."

Knowing that the 188th Division had entered the city, Fomenko immediately felt relieved. He then asked Sokov: "Comrade Commander, do you need to put General Gritsenko's 384th Division into battle to shorten the time for capturing the city?" ?”

"No, Major General Gritsenko's 384th Division can't move." Sokov shook his head and said, "The Germans will never sit back and watch Chijilin lose. It won't be long before their reinforcements will arrive. Arrive At this time, the 384th Division will be put into battle again to deal with the enemy who comes for reinforcements."

"Comrade Commander," Fomenko recalled what Sokov said when assigning the task, and couldn't help asking: "If we capture Chigirin, as well as the towns of Ratesve and Kinki, can we Transfer more troops from the original landing field?"

   "Drop all the troops here, who will hold on to the landing site?" Sokov asked back: "Do you want to hand over the landing site to the Germans?"

   "No, Comrade Commander, that's not what I meant." Fomenko quickly argued, "I just thought that if there were more troops here, the chances of victory would be greater."

"General Fomenko," Sokov thought about this issue carefully on the way back here. Now that the 7th Guards Army has successfully crossed the river and established a landing field on the right bank, it seems a bit awkward for his troops to stay here again. superfluous. The best way is to withdraw to the original landing field, otherwise the superior may temporarily assign a certain division under his command to the command of the 7th Guards Army, and he will suffer a lot by then. Therefore, he must first explain to Fomenko here, so that he can understand: "If the 7th Guards Army has established a landing field on the right bank, it will be redundant for us to stay here. The best option is to return to the original landing field. , open a new passage from that direction, and rush into the depths of the German defenses."

   "Then what should we do here, Comrade Commander?" Fomenko asked unwillingly after hearing this.

"Naturally, it was handed over to the 7th Guards Army." Sokov said: "Next, our army's attack target may be Cherkasy. And the superior will definitely hand over this task to the unit closest to the target. At best, we can only be used as a reserve team, and when the attack does not go well, we will be put into battle to deal with those enemies who are still stubborn."

  (end of this chapter)