Chapter 1642 Establishment of air defense posts

  The four enemy planes that broke into the sky above the city were all shot down under the joint attack of the ground anti-aircraft artillery fire and the fighter squadron. This was originally a happy result, but Lunev found that Sokov's face was gloomy, as if he was thinking about some important issue.

   As soon as the two returned to the hall of the church, Sameko greeted them. He had already learned the good news that the four incoming enemy planes had been shot down from the mouths of the staff. So as soon as he saw Sokov, he said excitedly: "Comrade commander, this is really exciting news. We successfully shot down the four enemy planes trying to bomb the city, and none of them slipped through the net. "

  Unexpectedly, Sokov just hummed casually, and then walked past him. Seeing this, Sameko couldn't help but looked dazed. He quickly grabbed Lunev who was coming over, and asked in a low voice: "Comrade Military Commissar, we shot down four enemy planes, which is something to be happy about. The expression on your face looks like our army has lost a battle?"

   Lunev was also quite strange in his heart. Seeing four enemy planes being shot down one after another, Sokov was also very happy at first, but suddenly thought of something, and his expression became serious. So after hearing Sameko's question, he shook his head with a wry smile and replied, "I'm sorry, Comrade Chief of Staff, I don't know. If you want to know the answer, you might as well ask the commander yourself."

   "Comrade Commander," Sameko, who was eager to know the answer, followed Sokov back to the table and asked tentatively, "What's on your mind?"

   "Comrade Chief of Staff." Hearing Sameko's voice, Sokov, who had just sat down, looked up at his Chief of Staff and said with a serious expression, "I'm thinking about the enemy plane breaking into the sky above the city."

Sameko felt that he had grasped Sokov's mind, so he confidently comforted him and said: "Comrade Commander, although we have limited anti-aircraft artillery deployed in the city, even if the enemy planes break into the city, they will never be able to please him." Just like the four planes that broke in today, not all of them were shot down by us in the end."

   Unexpectedly, just after he finished speaking, he saw Sokov shaking his head like a rattle: "Wrong, Comrade Chief of Staff, wrong. What I think in my heart and what you said are not the same thing."

  This time it was Sameko's turn to be dumbfounded. He looked at Sokov and asked in a daze, "Then what are you thinking?"

  Sokov did not immediately answer Sameko's question, but asked instead: "Comrade Chief of Staff, I want to ask you, where did the enemy plane come from?"

To Sokov's question, Sameko replied without hesitation: "According to reports, the enemy planes flew in from the south of the landing field. They passed through our right bank landing field, crossed the Dnieper River, and broke into the city. ..."

Before Sameko finished speaking, Sokov raised his hand to stop him from continuing: "Comrade Chief of Staff, since you said that the enemy planes came from the south of the landing field on the right bank, I would like to ask you, they passed by more than one division. Why didn’t we get any report before the enemy plane entered the city?”

As soon as this question was mentioned, Sokov's heart became inexplicably angry, and he said angrily: "And we have deployed a strong anti-aircraft firepower on the bank of the Dnieper River, why didn't we carry out firepower interception, and let the enemy planes break through?" Into our city? If the anti-aircraft artillery battalion of the 98th Guards Division hadn't responded in a timely manner and carried out anti-aircraft fire to prevent enemy planes from bombing the city, how much loss would we have suffered today."

  Sokov said this with a burst of anger. The divisions he placed on the right bank and the anti-aircraft firepower network deployed by the river did not seem to have spotted the four enemy planes. In other words, the commander at the landing field found the enemy plane, but felt that the enemy plane was not here to bomb him, so naturally he was so concerned that it had nothing to do with him.

   Fortunately, only four German bombers broke into the city this time. What if it was the German fast armored column that passed through the entire right bank defense line? At that time, the defenders in the city of Klemenchug may be caught off guard by the Germans, so Sokov intends to make use of the problem today to sound the alarm for the commanders under him.

Sameko raised his hand to wipe the sweat from his forehead, and replied with some embarrassment: "Comrade commander, I think that when the enemy plane passed through our defense line, our people might have spotted it. But seeing that the enemy plane was not in their After staying in the defense area, I felt that it must be bombing other areas, and the result caused the enemy plane to pass through the entire right bank landing field..."

"Comrade Chief of Staff, this is a serious problem in our army today." Sokov said with a straight face, expressionless: "Today only four enemy planes broke into the city, if we don't know about this Ask, the next time it enters the city, it may be the armored fast column of the Germans. At that time, it will be too late for us to regret it.”

Sameko could hear the other party's anger from Sokov's tone, knowing that the other party would definitely find several commanders to beat him up today, so he straightened his body and replied, "Comrade commander, please rest assured, I will investigate immediately The flight path of the enemy plane is a serious criticism of the commanders who spotted the enemy plane but did not warn, as well as the commanders of the coastal air defense forces."

   Sokov is very satisfied with Sameko's statement. He nodded and said in a slow tone: "Comrade Chief of Staff, it is now a large corps fighting. As the head of the group army, it is impossible for us to do everything. , there may be deviations.”

   "Understood." Sameko replied again: "I will notify the division commanders and let them report to us on time every day what happened below."

   Seeing that his goal had been achieved, Sokov waved to Sameko and motioned him to call the division commanders and convey his thoughts to everyone.

  Lunev sat down next to Sokov and asked curiously: "Comrade Commander, why did I notice something wrong with your expression when you came down from the clock tower, so you were thinking about this matter."

"We don't have radar, and we didn't detect the movement of enemy planes in advance." Sokov glanced at Sameko, who was on the phone not far away, and said to Lunev: "Therefore, it is necessary for us to establish an air defense post system so that we can Before the enemy plane arrives over the city, take all precautionary measures.”

   "Comrade Commander," Lunev waited for Sokov to finish speaking, and asked tentatively, "I have heard you mention 'radar' twice. I wonder what it is?"

   Hearing what Lunev said, Sokov realized that the large-scale equipment of radar by the Soviet army was after the end of World War II. At this time, there was no radar in the Soviet army at all, and even a commander of Lunev's level could not know what it was.

Sokov organized the vocabulary in his mind, and then popularized it to Lunev: "Radar is an electronic device that uses electromagnetic waves to detect targets. With this equipment, even if the enemy plane is hundreds of kilometers away, We can also spot incoming enemy planes through radar, and how many of them..."

   "Oh, is there such equipment?" Lunev asked in surprise when he heard this, "Why have I never heard of it?"

"So far, only the British and American allies have this kind of advanced equipment, and even the Germans don't have it." Sokov said without blushing: "Last year, several US military officers arrived at the The army came to teach our commanders and fighters how to use the rocket launcher, and I overheard them talking about it at that time."

"Oh, so that's the case." Lunev knew about the US military instructors teaching how to use rocket launchers in the Soviet army, so he believed in Sukov's statement: "No wonder I never heard of it. Said something like that."

"Comrade Commander," Sameko, who had just finished the phone call, heard what Sokov said later when he came back, and couldn't help asking curiously: "Tell me, when will our troops be able to use this long-distance gun?" Can you spot the equipment of the enemy plane?"

"It's hard to say, Comrade Chief of Staff." Sokov looked at Sameko and said, "Even the British and American allies have very limited equipment for this kind of advanced detection equipment. If we want them to support us, I'm afraid It's going to be a long wait."

  Sameko couldn't help being disappointed after hearing this: "Hey, I'm worried that the waiting time is too long. By the time the Allied forces give us aid, the war is already over."

   "Comrade Chief of Staff, although we will not be able to obtain such advanced equipment to monitor the movement of enemy aircraft in a short period of time, we can achieve the same purpose through other methods."

  Sameko knew that Sokov had always been resourceful and could come up with many ways that no one could think of, so he asked cautiously, "Comrade Commander, what do you plan to do?"

   "In order to detect enemy aircraft in time and make corresponding preparations, we should establish an air defense post system."

   After Sokov finished speaking, he found that both Sameko and Lunev looked bewildered. Their reactions were within Sokov's expectations. They neither had the ability to predict, nor were they traversers like themselves. Naturally, it was impossible to know the air defense post that appeared a few years later.

He smiled lightly, and then said to the two of them: "Every time an enemy plane approaches our defense zone, we can hear the roar of the plane's engine from a long distance away. Considering this characteristic of the enemy plane, we should stay within the defense zone Set up an air defense sentry point at a certain distance to monitor the activities of enemy aircraft.

  Each post is generally composed of 3 to 5 people, and each post is separated by one to three kilometers. In important areas such as bridges, ferries, and transportation hubs, the interval between sentry posts should be shortened.

  An air defense sentinel’s usual work is as follows: They monitor the activities of enemy aircraft at all times. Once they find that an enemy aircraft is in the air, they will send out signals, fire guns, and blow whistles in time to alert the troops in the defense area. After receiving the alarm, the troops in the defense area will enter the air-raid shelter for temporary shelter, or prepare to fire; after the enemy plane leaves, a signal to clear the alarm will be issued, and the concealed troops will return to their positions. "

"Interesting, interesting." After listening to Sokov, Sameko said two interesting things in a row, and then expressed his opinion: "Comrade commander, I think that to establish such an air defense post system, our group army must The headquarters must take the lead. If each division is responsible for it, I am worried that it will fall into chaos because there is no unified command."

"Well, what you said makes sense." Sokov nodded, and said to Sameko: "I have already told you the idea of ​​establishing the air defense post system, and it is up to you to discuss with the division commanders below. Come on."

But Sameko did not call immediately, but said hesitantly: "Comrade commander, I need to digest what you said, sort out a charter, and then pass it on to the commanders of the divisions below. "

   "Yes." Sokov knew that he only had a half-knowledge of the so-called air defense post system. If it was promoted rashly within the range of divisions, many problems would inevitably arise. Since Sameko took the initiative to express his willingness to help him improve the charter, Sokov is naturally happy to see the result: "Comrade Chief of Staff, hurry up and distribute it to all divisions immediately after completion."

  After discussing the air defense post, the topic inadvertently returned to capturing Pavlish. Lunev asked Sokov: "Comrade Commander, do you think Major Guchakov and the others can successfully seize the material transfer warehouse?"

"Comrade Military Commissar, based on what I know about Major Guchakov, it shouldn't be a big problem to seize the material transfer warehouse." Sukov frowned and said, "What I'm worried about is that once they are detected by the enemy and attacked During the siege, how long can you hold on? Can you hold on until our reinforcements arrive?"

"The enemy may not even dream of it, and we will take the initiative to attack them." Regarding Sokov's concerns, Lunev said confidently: "So their defense in the north of Pavlish City is not too tight. Let alone infantry The brigade also received support from the 188th Division, and even without support, I believe they would have been able to break through the German defenses in a short time."

  When talking about the attack, Sokov inevitably thought of the new rockets that are out of stock now. Without this sharp weapon, the price paid by the troops when they seized the German positions would probably increase exponentially.

  Thinking of this, Sokov couldn't help saying to himself: "I don't know how the commander of the front army negotiated with his superiors. Can we restore our rocket supply?"

   "Comrade Commander, this matter involves too many aspects." Lunev said to Sokov: "I'm afraid it will be difficult to give an accurate answer in a short period of time."

"Then what should we do?" Although Sokov had been prepared in his heart, he said in frustration when he heard Lunev say this: "We lack a sufficient number of artillery and tanks. When we attack the enemy, we will all Relying on this new type of rocket helped us clear the way. If the superior no longer provides it to us, it means that the sacrifices made by our department in the next battle will increase significantly."

"Don't worry, Comrade Commander." Lunev continued to comfort Sokov: "Since General Konev has expressed his opinion, it means that he will definitely fight for you with all his strength." In order to divert Sokov's attention, he took the initiative The topic of being on the clock tower was brought up. "By the way, the Women's Anti-aircraft Artillery Battalion shot down two enemy planes today. This is a great victory. Colonel Chuvashov should be urged to act more quickly and report the results of the girls' battles as soon as possible. They are honored."

"Just awarding honors is not enough." Lunev's words really successfully diverted Sokov's attention, and he said: "We should immediately draft an order for the commanders and fighters of the anti-aircraft artillery battalion who participated in the battle." , everyone was promoted to a rank."

  (end of this chapter)